At 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, the Union Ballroom felt like a crime scene. Chairs lay knocked over on the floor, and screams echoed down the hallway.
To ease the minds of any onlookers, an impossible amount of glitter and confetti hinted that no violence had occurred in the space. Just 10 minutes prior, crowds of feather-boa-adorned U sorority members filled the room, spinning around in pink tutus and Mardi Gras beads, waving flags with Greek letters and shouting inaudible chants into megaphones.
This is Bid Day.
Each Fall Semester, six sororities on campus — Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Pi Beta Phi — welcome new members to their chapters after three days of recruitment.
This year 327 girls received bids, with most joining the celebration Tuesday night. After a short introduction from Ambra Jackson, president of the U’s Panhellenic Council (which oversees Greek life on campus) and ASUU president, each new member anxiously ripped open a white envelope announcing her placement in a sorority.
The room erupted in deafening screams as each of the bids ran to join their group of sisters. Some cried, some jumped, most squealed with excitement. Christine Farley, an undeclared freshman, chose to hug her fellow members after receiving a bid to Alpha Chi Omega. With bright red cheeks, Farley described the event as exciting beyond words.
“It just felt right,” she said of her placement. “On the first day [of recruitment] I just knew.”
At the end of the ceremony, each sorority led the new members to its house on Greek Row, located on 100 South.
Cassie Eley, vice president of recruitment for the Panhellenic Council, said she’s been planning and looking forward to the bid event since January.
“You’re joining a sorority,” she said, glitter from the event shining in her hair, “but you’re also joining a huge community that you can rely on.”
Eley joined a sorority during the second semester of her first year at the U. As an out-of-state student, she said Greek life gave her a home and helped her become less shy.
But not all recruits feel the same. Christina Jones, a senior in painting and art history, was walking up the steps to the Union when a mob of the bids, running to their new sororities, rushed at her. Jones received a bid for Kappa Kappa Gamma in 2012, during her freshman year, and was reminded Tuesday night why she declined the invitation after just two days.
“The idea of being constantly screamed and snapped at drove my decision,” she said.
Jones’ experience of Bid Day was confusing and not as exciting as she had anticipated. She wasn’t sure why people were yelling or where she was supposed to go.
Though it isn’t as common as acceptance, a small number of recruits decide not to join a sorority after receiving a bid — some because they didn’t get the house of their choice. Additionally, Eley said two girls did not receive a bid at all this year. These two rushed as “single-intention,” meaning they only chose one house, and weren’t selected, which can occur for a number of reasons, such as a maxed-out quota for new sorority members or an inability to meet Greek life standards (such as GPA requirements).
For those interested in joining a sorority who missed the bids, recruitment will occur again at the start of Spring Semester.
@CourtneyLTanner
