Students celebrate receiving sorority bids
The yells and chants of sorority women rang across campus Sunday as female students received bids to various sororities.
The day marked an end to the competitive two-week recruitment process for hundreds of female underclassmen at Syracuse University.
The process started with 17 groups of about 50 young women in each one. Those who made it to the end filled several classrooms at noon as their Rho Gammas gave each of them an envelope. Inside the envelopes was a bid to join one of the 12 National Panhellenic Conference-affiliated sororities at SU.
Sarah Schmalbruch, a freshman magazine journalism major, received a bid from Alpha Xi Delta.
‘Being a sister means I’m a part of something that will be a huge part of my life for the rest of my life,’ Schmalbruch said. ‘I can’t believe it.’
Members from various sororities participated as Rho Gammas, who were responsible for guiding the young women through the recruitment process. There were two to three Rho Gammas assigned to each recruitment group.
‘The Rho Gammas were here to talk to any of the girls who had hesitations, to celebrate and to be a shoulder to cry on,’ said Alison Pang, a freshman public relations major who received a bid from Gamma Phi Beta.
After the groups’ Rho Gammas passed out the bid envelopes, the young women were instructed to sit on the envelopes until every woman received one. Following two minutes of anxious waiting, cheers and tears filled each group.
The young women then walked to Schine Student Center, where current members of every sorority lined the auditorium. The sisters were wearing matching shirts, sunglasses, boas and crowns and were displaying their letters.
Not every participant received a bid from her top house. The young women now must decide whether or not to pledge the sorority that gave them a bid. Some will be using their pledge classes to make the final decision.
‘I’m excited to see who’s in my pledge class because that’ll be a big determinant of whether or not I pledge,’ said Kara McFarlane, a freshman television, radio and film major who received a bid from Gamma Phi Beta.
For some young women, deciding to rush and pledge was easy.
‘I wanted to rush because I wanted to make a close-knit group of friends like I had in high school,’ said Jill Condulis, a freshman television, radio and film major who received a bid from Kappa Kappa Gamma. ‘I think I’ll definitely pledge. I’ve met so many girls just through rushing.’
For those who did not rush this year or receive the bid they had hoped for, Condulis recommended rushing next spring.
Said Condulis: ‘It was a great experience.’
Published on February 6, 2011 at 12:00 pm
