On Saturday, August 24, 42 girls gained a new home and family here on campus. With the college being the home to two Alpha chapters and one of those having founded the sorority movement on college campuses, the event has an atmosphere unlike any other.
Throughout the week, potential new members (PNM’s) visit each organization and learn about their philanthropies, leadership opportunities, and sisterhood. The PNM’s are split into three groups and led by unaffiliated members who encourage the PNM’s to go Greek and provide guidance to the PNM’s as recruitment week is a stressful time for people.
The days leading up to bid day are long and tiring for everyone involved, but it all pays off when on that morning, the members of the Panhellenic Council go door to door to give the PNM’s their bids. The hours following this are incredibly nerve-racking for the future Greek women as well as the sororities, as they are about to meet their new sisters and families and begin their legacy in the Greek community.
As the new members arrive at Wallace Hall, they are met by members of the Panhellenic Council who welcome them and direct them to the rooms of the sororities bid they’ve accepted. At 2 o’clock, the three sororities march to the front of Wallace Hall, chanting their sorority songs and waving signs and flags with their organization’s letters on them. The events that follow are short but last a lifetime as the new members are embraced by their sisters and begin to shed tears of joy as the excitement of the event takes over.
After the new members are welcomed home, the Panhellenic Council is welcomed back into their sisterhoods as being part of the recruitment process requires them to disaffiliate from their organizations to maintain sanctity within the community and create a fair playing field for recruitment week.
CJ Bonifer - Photography Manager