On the weekend of January 13-14, Pitt’s Collegiate Panhellenic Association (Panhel) took over the William Pitt Union for their annual sorority recruitment event. Bravely clad in skirts and puffer jacket crop tops despite cold weather, 2,000 hopeful participants occupied the building each day. Unfortunately, this influx of recruits resulted in 49 unlucky bystanders being trampled and requiring treatment for high-heel stab wounds.
“I came here to find my sisters, my family, my forever,” said first-year student Sierra Blanchard on why she attended the recruitment. 29 other recruits each repeated this statement word-for-word when asked why they were attending.
William Pitt Union employees reported that over the course of the events, jackets and backpacks lined the hallways and stairwells because recruits were prohibited by Panhel from bringing these items into the meeting rooms.
“It was like trudging through foot-deep snow,” said WPU reservations attendant Kim Jones. According to Jones, multiple students reported tripping over the objects; at least 10 students received concussions from tripping and hitting their heads on Stanley cups.
While repeated warnings were given about these obstructions as a safety and fire hazard, nothing was done. Employees also reported that the smells of perfume throughout the building were “pervasive” and “eye-watering.”
Around 3:15 pm on Sunday, January 14, a recruit’s vape exploded, causing the perfume in the air to catch fire. This triggered a chain reaction in which every other attendee’s vape also exploded, resulting in every window in the building blowing out. Subsequent fires using the jackets and bags as kindling trapped the attendees in the meeting rooms. Attendees were reportedly unfazed, continuing on as though nothing happened. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire (PBF) arrived on the scene to put out the fires around 3:20 pm. PBF attempted to rescue the attendees but were instead berated by organizers for interrupting the events.
PFB reported that all fires were out by 4:05 pm; attendees remained in the building the entire time and exited around 10 pm. Despite losing all their belongings in the blaze and walking out looking like burnt-alive cartoon characters, attendees with unflinching smiles described recruitment as “exciting” and “the best day of my life.” Others, in tears and despondent over not receiving a bid to their preferred sorority, described recruitment as “exciting” and “the best day of my life.” Interfraternity Council is scheduled to host a similar recruitment event for fraternities this upcoming weekend.