Each year greek organizations belonging to the Panhellenic Association and the Interfraternity Council recruit new members twice a year, accepting most members during the first few weeks of the fall semester.
Recruitment ends with bid day ceremonies for sororities and fraternities supervised by their respective governing councils.
NEW SORORITY WOMEN REVEAL CHOICES
Dozens of girls leapt for joy as they tore open the envelopes containing their sorority bids on Sept. 4.
This year’s Sorority Bid Day also coincided with the UM-FSU football game, which meant that the sororities could not partake in their usual Bid Day festivities. On top of that, heavy rains shifted the revealing from its originally scheduled site on the Rock to the UC Flamingo Ballroom.
“I think that it was still just as exciting and everyone was still just as anxious,” said Katie Danza, a sophomore and member of Delta Gamma. “The timing was unfortunate but I don’t think it affected the mood.”
Although the sororities were able to welcome their new members in the traditional fashion, some made arrangements to surprise them anyway. For instance, Sigma Delta Tau threw a surprise pool party for its new members last Tuesday.
Not all of the sororities decided to have the activities at a later date, but regardless each sorority brought their members back to their suites to get acquianted.
“It’s sad that we couldn’t do the normal Bid Day festivities, but we still got to spend time with the girls after the revealing, so I still thought it was very special,” Danza said.
FRATERNITIES OPEN DOORS TO NEW BROTHERS
All the fraternities gathered at the UC Rock on Sept. 8 to find out who would be chosen to be their future brothers.
Each potential new member received their bids from the fraternities and then, before they headed to the Bid Day ceremony, they had to decide which fraternity’s bid they wanted to accept.
For many, Bid Day comes as a reprieve.
“In the Bid Day itself, it’s actually a culmination of two weeks of dry rush,” said Rich Parker, a senior and a member of Phi Delta Theta. “It’s all of the work the fraternities put into looking for and offering bids to potential new members. It’s a relief day that rush is over and we are ready to begin the recruitment process.”
Bid Day also triggers anxiety and frustration in some and excitement in others.
“I’m very pumped,” said Donny Landis, a freshman and a potential new member for Sigma Alpha Mu. “I’m just really happy to be in Sammy.”
Eric McCoy, a sophomore and Sigma Chi member, remembers his feelings from that day a bit differently.
“I thought it was kind of weird, all the ‘rah-rah’ness of the fraternity stuff,” McCoy said.
Once all of the new potential members were announced to their fraternities, the members congregated into tightly packed circles and began chanting.
Now that rush and Bid Day are finished, fraternities are now looking to the future.
“I think that the new guys will bring a new voice and a new face to the house,” said McCoy.
Sasha Filimonov is a member of the Sigma Delta Tau sorority. She may be contacted at a.filimonov@umiami.edu