This past week has concluded yet another successful Greek life recruitment. On Thursday, February 24, bid day closed out the process as potential new members received their bids to the sorority or fraternity they were welcomed to join.
Bid day serves as the final step within the recruitment process. Meet the Greeks started the procedure as the initial meeting between chapters and potential new members.
Jon Buchalski, assistant director of student activities for fraternity and sorority life, said, “You hope students meet as many members of organizations they are interested in as possible in order to find their match and begin their journey into Greek life.”
Once Meet the Greeks was completed, the recruitment process serves as the first acquaintance process between chapters and potential new members.
With recent changes Buchalski has brought in, this bid day was completed in a different way. Once the potential new members complete their three day process of recruitment, which consists of meeting each chapter, as well as narrowing down their selection for which they are most interested in, they are asked to meet one last time and receive their bids chosen on their preference, as well as the chapters.
The potential new members arrived to Young Auditorium this past Thursday full of excitement and nerves as they anticipated seeing which invitation they received from which chapter.
“I couldn’t even fall asleep last night,” Samantha Barnwell, potential new member expressed. “I just want to open my bid already and find out where I belong.” Other potentials agreed with Barnwell and shared mutual feelings of both fear and anxiety, combined with overwhelming excitement.
In the past, new members went into a room with the Greek Senate committee and were handed their bids one by one. However, Buchalski’s changes rid of this particular method, as all new members were handed an envelope and told to open at the same time. Seconds later, cheers of excitement were released as members celebrated their bids. The wait was over, and they were in the process of becoming official members of a specific chapter. Although 15 potentials did not receive a bid from their first choice, they are encouraged to come to learn more about the chapters’ bid they were given or come out for formal recruitment in the fall of 2013.
Afterwards, the recruitment counselors were told to take their own specific chapters and lead them to a classroom where the sororities patiently waited. Once led to their rooms, chapters celebrated the new members who accepted their bids.
With Winter Storm Nemo prolonging events throughout recruitment, the typical one-week process of recruitment has stretched to almost three weeks. Casey McCabe, Chief Panhellenic Officer, expressed her happiness, as well as relief, that recruitment has come to a successful end.
McCabe said, “Seeing the relief of the new girls opening their bids made the wait worthwhile. They were good sports for waiting out the extra weeks with us as we planned to efficiently speed the process as quickly as possible. Everyone was so understanding.”
McCabe said bid day reminded her of her own bid day which she experienced exactly two years ago, and how she would love to be in the new girls’ shoes.
Tarryn Cortese of Delta Phi Epsilon expressed her happiness of the decisions they made for which girls were welcomed into her specific chapter. “There were so many amazing girls who came out for Greek life this year, which was awesome. Greek life is becoming an even bigger community at Monmouth and our chapter is excited for all of the new members, no matter where they end up.” Cortese said, “We had such a connection with so many girls, and we were happy they felt the same way towards us. This is the beginning of an amazing four years for them, and I wish I could be a freshman all over again.”
Now that bid day is over, the start of the six-week process for the new members begins. This process consists of getting to personally know all about the chapter they were accepted to, as well as all the current active members involved. Once the six weeks are completed, they will be formally initiated into the chapters and become official brothers and sisters of the sorority or fraternity.
PHOTO TAKEN by Erin Bukowski
