Students walking down University Place early Monday evening might have noticed cars and cones blocking traffic on either side of the Schine Student Center.

A short time later, it was hard to miss the flood of girls pouring out of Goldstein Auditorium after receiving their sorority bids, who later joined the jumping, dancing crowds holding large, colorfully decorated cutouts of their Greek letters.

Members of Delta Delta Delta stood and cheered loudly in front of their house as “Don’t Stop Believing” blared and nearby fraternity houses watched the spectacle. On the other side of Walnut Park, sisters and new members were seen celebrating, dancing on the lawn and hanging in the trees outside of the Delta Gamma sorority house.

During the bid night letter opening ceremony in Schine, Mika Panza, a freshman at the College of Arts and Sciences, said she witnessed plenty of emotions and screaming due to the excitement.

Bid Night is the final event in the Syracuse University Panhellenic Council recruitment process. The process began with a kickoff event on Jan. 17, and continued as newcomers attended four rounds of recruitment in which they toured houses and learned about the sororities and their respective philanthropy work, according to a SU PC recruitment guide.

For many, Bid Night becomes the moment when the time and financial commitments finally begin to pay off. New members to sororities often pay higher dues which can range between $105-885 per semester. These dues will vary based upon the chapter they join, according to the website of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs.

Newcomers chose their top three houses and received a bid from one out of the 12 sororities — one of which, Delta Phi Epsilon, was added to the council this year, and began recruiting in October. DPhiE replaced Alpha Chi Omega, which left SU in Jan. of 2011.

“I didn’t get my first choice. It’s a little disappointing, but it’s fine. I’m still excited,” Panza said before she ran to catch up with the other new girls in her sorority.

Outside of the Alpha Phi sorority house, members stood in the cold, dancing with silver balloons and waiting for their new sisters to arrive on University Avenue.

Amanda Day, a junior broadcast and digital journalism major and a member of Alpha Phi, said the past two weeks of recruitment have been worth the hard work.

“There have been long days, but they’re the most fun and exciting,” said Day. “This is such a live time of the year.”

The event was held on Monday, which is a change from previous years, when Bid Day typically occurred on Sunday. Day said one of the rounds lasted until two in the morning last year. She added that during Bid Day, sororities hosted more activities to welcome new members, so Bid Night was held for the girls to open their bid invitations and meet their sisters.

“Unfortunately, we have to wait until next weekend to hold our activities and really get to know the girls,” said Alex Summers, a sophomore studying fashion design and a Phi Sigma Sigma member. “It’s kind of a bummer.”

When the event occurred earlier in the day, it created more safety concerns because a number of students were leaving Schine during rush hour traffic, said Scot Vanderpool, manager of Parking and Transit Services.

To accommodate for this, University Place was closed from 5:30-8 p.m. on Monday. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs requested the closure, but could not be reached for comment on the decision.

Summers said another one of the downsides to the bid process being held at night was that it felt “ten times colder.” Despite the drop in temperature, Summers and her sisters did not lack enthusiasm when welcoming their new members outside of Schine dressed in leis, feather boas, knee socks and tutus.

Summers said during recruitment her sorority looks for “girls who have chill, down-to-earth personalities and girls that you can rely on and trust no matter what.”

As Bree Adesanya, a sophomore international relations major, was walking to her new sorority house, Kappa Kappa Gamma, she said it felt amazing to be included into the sisterhood of her top choice sorority.

Adesanya said she chose Kappa Kappa Gamma because “everyone in the house is so unique and welcoming.” She added that the rushing process was a little nerve-wracking, but she said all of the houses were friendly and inviting.

In the next six weeks, each chapter will host scholarship, philanthropy and social activities, in order to help sisters get to know each other and bond with the other women in their new member class, according to the recruitment guide.

This time will also be an education period for new members to learn about the history of their chapter, the national organization and other fraternity and sorority organizations at SU.

On Bid Night though, it was one big celebration and a rush of emotions as recruits officially became new members.

Published on January 28, 2014 at 2:35 am