How Do You Present Bids during COB?
 

All of the sororities on my campus used to give PNMs balloons and a poster reading "Welcome to XYZ, Susy Sorority," (or something along those lines) when they handed out bids. Eventually, this was done away with as more things were allegedly being given out to the PNMs, and questions of dirty rushing came into play. Now it's even more difficult to find a way to make bid day a special event.

For those of you that have ever participated in COB, how do you give out bids?

Do you invite all the PNMs somewhere and present the bids to them? Do you seek out the PNMs and hand them out? Do you present them individually? Or do you have all of them together and make a small event out of it?

I joined my chapter through COB, and we were just called and offered a bid. It was pretty nerve-wracking, because we had to wait four-ish hours after the last event to get called. I actually took a nap because I was so nervous. I got my bid around midnight. Unfortunately, there were girls who didn't get bids who stayed up until 2 AM or later before resigning themselves to the fact they didn't receive bids (you didn't get called if you didn't get a bid).

Our version of Bid Night occurred after our Pinning ceremony, and it was a lot of fun. This is when we got our first presents, welcome posters, yummy cake, etc. =) I suppose that by doing it this way, PNMs don't feel pressured into accepting bids. It just sucks for the girls who are waiting for the call that never comes. =(

We called the girls on Thursday night to offer them a bid, then went to their dorm on Friday to sing to them. They got a calendar of events, note about formal pledging/first meeting, and a few small gifts.

When I COB'd Alpha Xi Delta, we had to wait in our dorm rooms for a certain amount of time, I think between 7 and midnight, during which we would either get a phone call or a knock on the door. We had to have our doors closed.

My next door neighbor, and the girl on the other side of her, also rushed. Every time one of our phones rang, we'd freak out, first out of fear of getting the dreaded call, then out of frustration at someone tying up the line.

I had a knock on my door at around 11:45, and a sister hand-delivered my bid to me. I was so happy because this was a girl I knew from high school; we car pooled together, and performed in musicals together. I was doubly psyched bc we had had a minor tiff in HS, and I was petrified that it was going to impact my chances. She was one of only two people I knew in the sorority.

At the same time, I heard a knock on one of my neighbor's doors, as well as a phone ring. My next door neighbor also received a bid, and the girl two doors down received the phone call.

Immediately after receiving our bids (and hugging and crying), we were rushed off to the chapter room. My neighbor and I tried to console the other girl, but we had to go. I felt really bad about that, and I am not sure if another way would work better. I think it was pure coincidence that three rushees (there were 5 spots open and around 25 PNMs) lived in the same suite of 10 girls.

I PM'd you.

SAI holds a week of recruitment events that are very similar to COB. We hold a formal event every semester that is invite only. This year we instituted our first preference ceremony (which I wrote) at the formal event. It was written into the ceremony for the bids to be presented to the girls during the ceremony. It's pretty.

They usually have a week to decide to accept. Any girls that were invited but couldn't come, we put the bids in their student box.

I joined Kappa through COB. There were 3 open-house events, once a week for 3 weeks and after those three, there was an invite-only "Pref" ceremony. I got my call the day before the second open house (ironically, the same day Heath Ledger died). After the open houses, I had a poster board key with "Kappa <3's Erin" put on the front door of my apartment with a note about the bid-day festivities and formal pledging.

I actually received my bid to Gamma Phi from COB. This year we're doing Manis and Pedis, Mocktails, and BYOB for our COB events.
After we do MS on the PNMs, we go to their door (usually after sisters/new members have made sure that they're in the room) and clap and sing to them.
I love seeing the looks on their faces after they open their door :)

I also joined DZ through COB (I have a mini-thread here somewhere). They had events at the house so it was a really laid back environment. I went to the first themed night (80's night) and met as many girls as I could. The next night, as I was talking to some of the actives, the president and VP of recruitment said they had to talk to me and took me to another room. I was completely freaked out thinking but they said the girls really liked me and offered me a bid and gave me a bid day shirt after I accepted.

The chapter president and membership chair just showed up at my door with my bid. It was pretty laid back.

After going to some of DG's COBs the VP Membership just called to offer me a bid over the phone. We got a bid day t-shirt at our first meeting and a basket of DG goodies.

This may be a *slight* hijack so I'm sorry in advance.

My big joined our sorority when it was a colony. She said that the group was originally a non NPC sorority, and most of the girls chose to disaffiliate (I'm not sure if that's the correct term) and join a new, NPC. While they had a group of 70-some girls planning to be installed as this NPC, they still had some kind of recruitment events. I think they basically just put up signs around campus that said, "come meet the girls of *NPC Sorority*" and she went. She said there were a couple, and the president just called and offered her a bid. She said it was different because the entire chapter was going through the new member period together, so she never had a big, nobody gave them little presents, etc. I thought this was kind of sad...but I've also always been confused by it!

Is this considered COB? Or is it different when the group is a colony?

This is different than what we're talking about.

This is how I've known it to be done since my chapter doesn't have to COB much. There is usually not a big production out of it since there is only one or two members taken through COB. The chapter will try and make the new COB members feel special and appreciated but it isn't anything too formal.

When I joined, the president and VP membership came to my dorm room with my bid card and one cream rose. After I signed my bid, I got a candy-covered poster with "Delta Gamma <3 Lindsey" on my door like the other girls in my new member class. I think it was a good cross between not dirty rushing and still making me feel welcome and included once I accepted.

Thanks everyone for your responses :)

This is a cute idea. These are the kinds of ideas we're looking for. Since we only do COB, have a designated bid day, and need to give the girls 24 hours for them to sign their bids, it makes it difficult to try and make things special.

In terms of "surprising" girls, the only thing I could think to do would be to give out bids the day before bid day.

If bid day for COB is on a certain day, how is it possible that chapters can extend bids throughout the semester? Is it only in the case that they don't make quota/total?

Let’s see how I can explain this...

We don’t have quota and we only bid to total. Total is at 40. In terms of numbers, the chapters are all over the place. I’ve seen one of them hit total a couple times since I’ve been around (the last 5 years), I’ve seen another hit it once, and my chapter hasn’t at all. Since I was initiated, we’ve never had more than 19 sisters (but hopefully that will change this semester!)

So... Panhellenic designates approximately two weeks for recruitment. Bid day is always on a Tuesday (why this is the case, I’m not really sure). Bid day is designated as such because it essentially ends the period of “formal recruitment”. It isn’t a formal system, it’s just the period of time when all recruitment dates are to be submitted for approval through Panhellenic.

In April and November, each of the three chapters submits ideal nights and times for the following semester’s recruitment events to Panhellenic. The recruitment dates are reviewed, and if there are any conflicts, chapters will reschedule. Because there is no formal recruitment, Panhellenic tries to make sure that none of the sororities are holding parties on the same nights at the same time, so that PNMs are able to go to parties for all of the chapters. Sometimes sororities will have events on the same night, but they try to space out the times (one chapter’s party starts at 7:30, another one is at 8, another one is at 8:30). They’ll probably all overlap, but it gives time for PNMs to see all of the sororities that they wish (although they aren’t required to see all three).

So for example: This semester, we had our Kick-Off Recruitment Event (the one event where any PNMs that show up HAVE to attend all three parties), which was on Thursday, January 15th. Starting on Monday, January 19th, each chapter would hold their own individual recruitment parties. Any PNM can go. It isn’t by invite. Monday, February 2nd would mark two weeks of “formal recruitment”, and Tuesday, February 3rd is Bid Day. Basically, the chapters usually know who they’re bidding by that date, and the PNMs who have been coming around a lot know it to be as such.

Sometimes though, we hold more events after that. When my chapter has had an after-bid-day event in the past, we would have planned it the previous semester as a ‘just in case’, but we don’t always use it. And if we do, it’s usually because a PNM showed up to the last scheduled recruitment party, and it was the first one they attended. So we would hold that extra event to try and get to know her better. And that event didn’t need to be submitted through Panhellenic because it fell after Bid Day.

Hopefully that all made sense!