Potential sorority members had no excuse for bad breath Saturday morning during a sorority brunch, even after eating.

"We're handing out highlighters, post-its and my personal favorite, recruit-mints," said Sarah Donnenberg, Panhellenic Council (PHC) vice president for communications.

The pink-and-white-packaged mints were available Saturday at the PHC's Go Greek Brunch, an event in Findlay Commons that allowed students to spend time with sorority officers and PHC executives while enjoying a spread that included muffins, bagels and Danish pastries.

"We wanted to do something in East Halls to reach out to freshmen," PHC President Ann Marie DiPietro said. "We figured it would be a good time to do it when people are coming to brunch."

Ally Blueweiss, Zeta Tau Alpha recruitment chairwoman, spent most of the brunch surrounded by groups of as many as seven or eight potential sorority members.

"The goal is to persuade the girls to rush and to familiarize the girls with some faces," Blueweiss said. "Having a big number of girls is great for everyone."

Blueweiss said she talked to at least 30 girls during the event and tried to alleviate the worries of students nervous about joining a sorority.

Lauren Resnick (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said she has always been interested in sororities and was excited to join.

Still, she admitted she was a little overwhelmed by the recruitment process.

"Everyone's nervous," Resnick said. "Today made it less nervous because everyone is so friendly."

Jasmine Ahmadi (freshman-engineering) found out about the brunch through Facebook.

She said she came to meet sorority members and learn more about greek life.

"They make you feel comfortable and are just talking about everyday things girls talk about," Ahmadi said. "Now at least I know some people and what the girls are like."

The brunch was a first-time event.

It was part of the PHC's increased recruitment effort this year, DiPietro said.

The PHC nearly emptied the bank on its recruitment budget and even printed a 20-page informational booklet on greek life, which was placed in every freshman girl's mailbox.

The promotional pamphlet includes information about each sorority, answers to frequently asked questions and suggested dress attire for recruitment events.

"The promotion has been double of what it was in the past," said Mallory McCloskey, Delta Delta Delta recruitment chairwoman.

McCloskey added that the goal of the brunch was simply to generate interest in greek life among first-year students, not for sororities to convince girls to join their organization.

PHC Vice President for Membership Emily Cohen said that the total number of girls who go through recruitment divided by the number of sorority chapters will be the size of each chapter's new-member class.

Last year each sorority had a new-membership class of 18, Cohen said.

DiPietro said she would like to see this year's numbers increase to 25 girls in the membership class, but her primary goal is to take care of however many students choose to register.

"We're focusing on retaining the amount of people who register," DiPietro said. "We want to ensure that our potential new members are having an enjoyable experience and ending up in a chapter that is the best fit for them."

Students interested in registering for sorority recruitment can sign up at greeks.psu.edu/phc through Sept. 23.