Even if you are an individual who adamantly shies away from all things Greek, you still probably recognize the renowned phrase: Bid Day.
Although you may solely recall Bid Day as that dreaded day you or your seemingly unfortunate friend proceeded to get trampled on by hundreds of ecstatically screaming girls, many sorority members view Bid Day as the end of the everlasting, incessant formal sorority recruitment process.
Therefore, Bid Day is a cause for celebration for the potential new members and the existing members as well.
This year, Tech decided to replicate most colleges’ Bid Day experiences by requiring all existing sorority members to gather on Tech Green at precisely 6pm. Differing from last year, the 2014 Bid Day extravaganza allowed the sororities to welcome all potential new members at once instead of in staggered shifts. The newly adapted process intended to create a more impacting, dramatic effect as the potential new members rushed all at once to their designated sorority.
Once they gather the new members at Tech Green, the selected sorority then rushes with their members to their “home,” otherwise known as the sorority house. During this time, some innocent bystanders become casualties to the hordes of squealing girls bolting to their respective sorority homes. At the houses, though, this celebration is only beginning.
After taking tons upon tons of photos in various sorority-squat poses, the new girls are then generally treated to catered meals with their sorority sisters. Usually the new members also take this time to talk, laugh, and engage with older sisters, which, to many sorority members, is the most important part of Bid Day.
Moreover, this may be the first time new members truly begin to understand the inner workings and dynamics of the sorority they joined. Some members may be overwhelmed by the candidness of the sisters, while others may revel in similarities between themselves and the sorority.
Furthermore, the curtain of formal recruitment is officially dropped and now new members must decide if this sorority or sorority life in general is meant for them.
Eventually, new members will derive their own meanings for the term “sorority.” The word can be subjective, as “sorority” can embody various meanings to different individuals.
The sorority can fill several voids in the ultimate college experience. Some out-of-state students generally relate the sorority to the clichéd “home away from home,” and some in-state students look to a sorority for an engaged social life and networking system.
Once the food is devoured, the new members are then informed, if they have not been already, about “Run of the Roses.” The tradition entails all new sorority members going to every Tech fraternity scattered across campus and singing the fraternities a song generally changed in some way to highlight the sorority.
Since there are around thirty-two fraternities on Tech’s campus and usually fewer pledges per fraternity than sorority, the girls must “run” to each fraternity as only the first few girls are guaranteed roses.
Back amidst the Bid Day excitement, the new members learn the “Run of the Roses” song and after they sing the tune endlessly, the official Bid Day ends.
With some new members heading to Tech Square or older sisters’ apartments to continue spending time with other members, other girls head back to their dorms to contemplate the sorority life.
All in all, after the excitement of Bid Day, the nervousness of the formal recruitment process, specifically for the new members, will fade as they brace themselves for the adventure that is sorority life.