That sounds worse than not getting a bid at all and getting the "dreaded phone call" - a PNM would have her hopes up that she had matched with one of her two pref parties, only to see group #3 . . . yuck.

Or it could have been a computer or hand-matching error. I mean, I think there have to be at least a few of those out there with 1000s of women going through rush every semester. She should just tell her rho chi immediately that she never put that sorority down on her bid card.

I think it's rather tactless to make rushees open their bids in a "Greek Theater" (at least they're blunt about it) in front of everyone else, period.

I have no problem with groups snap bidding girls who didn't match elsewhere, but the PNM should know about it first.

A PNM should be contacted before the bid to a group she didn't pref is put in the envelope, IMO.

I also think this kind of snap bidding should only happen after QAs are exhausted, and if they are matching bids this way, it makes you wonder if they tried to match with QA first.

I might be misinformed, but I think the Greek Theater at the U of Arkansas is not exclusively for fraternity and sorority use. Concerts, various university events, performances, etc. take place there. As I recall, it's a replica of an ancient Greek theater. My understanding is that it was a gift to the university from Chi Omega, and was completed around 1930. It's been maintained / repaired / made wheelchair accessible, etc. over the years.

I agree that making rushees open bids in front of everyone is, at the least, potentially insensitive.

[quote]I might be misinformed, but I think the Greek Theater at the U of Arkansas is not exclusively for fraternity and sorority use. Concerts, various university events, performances, etc. take place there. As I recall, it's a replica of an ancient Greek theater. My understanding is that it was a gift to the university from Chi Omega, and was completed around 1930. It's been maintained / repaired / made wheelchair accessible, etc. over the years.[QUOTE]

Yes! And we had the best ever pep rallies there!!!! I'm not biased at all. :D

This actually happened once, when I was bid matching. A PNM "didn't understand" that putting a GLO's name down meant that she would accept the bid, and she got not A or B, but more like K. She absolutely freaked, and because of the hysteria, the Panhellenic Council decided not to hold her to the one year rule.

Frankly, I place the blame for such a thing squarely in the hands of the Rho Chi, or whatever they're called on campus.

Typically, as far as I've been aware on our campus, the one-year rule applies only to signed bid cards. For example, when I went through recruitment in 2005, we opened our bid cards in the theater (which is not an invasive method in practice, really) and the PNMs screamed and hugged and found the group of new sisters in the stands to walk home wiht. A couple girls in my Gamma Chi (Rho Chi) group opened their bid envelopes to get their second choice, and so were really disappointed. They honestly should have suicide preffed if they only would accept one bid, just to keep that chapter's lists accurate. Anyway, arkansas DOES guarantee a bid to every member who attends at least one pref night party. So, the girls who got their #2 choice, and were not willing to pledge choice #2, didn't show up at their bid house that day. However, because a handful of houses do open/continuous recruitment during the year, the girl was able to affiliate to a house that was not on her pref day schedule, because she never signed a bid card.
Of course, if you DO sign the bid card, you can't be in a GLO for one full year if you decide to drop out.
At least, that's the idea. A member that dropped out of our house after several weeks pledging ended up joining a house that does continuous recruitment... only weeks after we cancelled her membership. Our greek life office let that one go by the wayside, so it's possible that other things are let to slide too.

In the Chi Omega Greek Theatre?

This is incorrect. Signing your pref sheet after pref parties is the same as signing a physical, actual bid card. Those girls were NOT eligible to pledge another sorority just because they didn't go to their #2 choice on bid day...they are bound to that group for a year.

The rest of the post tells me that this poster is not clear on NPC rules, but if this is true, that seems like potential for A LOT of dirty rushing. Especially if the new release figures aren't being used.

i'm sure it's very sketchy, but all i know is that it definitely happens. perhaps they just don't enforce it, to assuage the PNMs and their often-complaining parents, or it's just under the office's radar.

Yipes...I'm surprised that none of the groups have ever filed a formal complaint. Parental interference isn't an excuse for breaking rules.

AF - guaranteeing a bid really doesn't make much difference if there's a chapter or 2 that's smaller than the rest and needs to keep bidding after quota is filled to get to total. It is, after all, A bid (just not the one the PNM wants).

I just found this thread and am wondering about this pref night paper vs bid card dilemma. Which carries the final binding agreement? I have seen it happen MANY times that a pnm does not end up pledging her 2nd choice, simply because it wasn't really what she wanted. So the pnm ends up pledging nothing and returns to go through rush again the next year.

Could it be that different rules regarding this issue vary from campus to campus? Where would I find out the last word on this?

There is nothing against the rules that disallows a girl who turned down a bid one year from rerushing the following year.

I didn't think so...it happens all the time and really usually works out to the pnm's advantage. I have also seen a pnm take her bid card, run to the house (the one she did not pref first) and then the next day decide this was really not what she wanted to do, decline the bid and go through again next year.

On preference night, when a PNM ranks her remaining chapters, she signs a MRAA (Membership Recruitment Acceptance Agreement). She can be matched to any chapter that she listed on the card. If she matches and chooses not to take the bid she received, she is ineligible to join another chapter for another year. The "bid card" on XYZ stationary is merely a formality. Don't list a chapter on your MRAA (pref card) if you would not accept a bid from them.

This only applies to formal recruitment. During informal recruitment, a PNM can be offered as many bids as there are chapters participating, but she is not bound to any if she chooses not to accept any.