Auburn University Recruitment - Fall 2010

[33girl]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

For some of these girls, they aren't as much disgusted with the thought of joining the chapter they got as much as shocked that they didn't get the chapter they thought they would. I know from experience with a girl in my chapter who expected to receive a bid from her legacy chapter and didn't that sometimes you just can't help crying. She thought she'd let her sisters down. Her family had redecorated her room at home already in anticipation! All she really needed is for someone to take her aside, shake her up a little, tell her to dry her tears because later she'd regret embarassing herself. She washed her face and made the best of the day. She called her family, broke the news. They ran around tearing down all the other sorority things and ran out to make an AOII basket of goodies before she made it home. She made a great AOII. You can't always hold it against them for getting a little emotional over the shock of the day. Not everyone gets what they are expecting.

Yeah, I honestly think it isn't "OMG I wish I was dead/I hate this effing sorority" rather it's "OMG I let people down/am going to look like an idiot for all the times I said I was going to be an XYZ." The latter being why it's best to play your cards close to your vest regarding your preferred chapters.

This is the reason why, tradition though it may be, I'm really not a fan of these large public bid-acceptance fests. At least when it's just 3 or 4 ABC sisters coming to your own private room, you can have a moment or two (or ten) to close the door, wipe the shock off your face, and cry if you need to - the sisters will understand.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Yeah, I honestly think it isn't "OMG I wish I was dead/I hate this effing sorority" rather it's "OMG I let people down/am going to look like an idiot for all the times I said I was going to be an XYZ." The latter being why it's best to play your cards close to your vest regarding your preferred chapters.

This is the reason why, tradition though it may be, I'm really not a fan of these large public bid-acceptance fests. At least when it's just 3 or 4 ABC sisters coming to your own private room, you can have a moment or two (or ten) to close the door, wipe the shock off your face, and cry if you need to - the sisters will understand.

I completely agree. We had a more private bid acceptance process. It wasn't enough for some girls at times, but even then, each sorority had their own private area to accept their new members that no one was privy to. When the NM I was discussing came down the hall, I just put my arm through hers and led her to my dorm room and had a quick chat with her, gave her a hug and took her to the bathroom to freshen up. We were able to get back to the event in under 10 minutes. She kept it together for the rest of the day. Trust me...everyone knew what the deal was.

[littleowl33]

We've certainly had girls come to our preference round and/or bid day crying or visibly upset because they were dropped or didn't get a bid to their top choice. As a sister it is hard to not take it personally sometimes, but it's completely understandable. Sometimes those girls continue to mope and either drop out or fade into the background for their sorority experience, but the majority of them go on and become enthusiastic, involved members. It's just a decision between spending all your time thinking about what could have been or making the most of your time in your new chapter - or even working extra hard to improve your chapter if it's struggling.

Originally Posted by 33girl

This is the reason why, tradition though it may be, I'm really not a fan of these large public bid-acceptance fests. At least when it's just 3 or 4 ABC sisters coming to your own private room, you can have a moment or two (or ten) to close the door, wipe the shock off your face, and cry if you need to - the sisters will understand.

JHU is toying with the idea of moving from a private bid acceptance to a public one and it scares me, frankly. Panhellenic feels that getting your bid midday in a private room, then waiting until the evening to celebrate with your new sisters (which is the way it's done now) is anti-climactic and too prone to violations, like sisters pressuring PNMs throughout the day. They believe doing a big public acceptance will get girls more amped up and more likely to accept their bids. Buuut I can also picture a lot of crying girls going nowhere. At least with the current system they can take a few hours to think about it and then give it a try. Although, this has also back-fired and made girls psych themselves out (or get bad advice from friends) and change their mind or not show up to bid night. I guess we'll see.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by littleowl33

JHU is toying with the idea of moving from a private bid acceptance to a public one and it scares me, frankly. Panhellenic feels that getting your bid midday in a private room, then waiting until the evening to celebrate with your new sisters (which is the way it's done now) is anti-climactic and too prone to violations, like sisters pressuring PNMs throughout the day. They believe doing a big public acceptance will get girls more amped up and more likely to accept their bids. Buuut I can also picture a lot of crying girls going nowhere. At least with the current system they can take a few hours to think about it and then give it a try. Although, this has also back-fired and made girls psych themselves out (or get bad advice from friends) and decide not to accept. I guess we'll see.

My school has done things in a way that I think is good.

The girls line up and go into an office with the Rho Chi to actually GET their bids. That way, if a PNM is skeptical or upset, there are Rho Chis around to talk.

Then there is Bid Day afterward where you are announced and run to your chapter.

I think it's good in that you do not get your bid MOMENTS before you step in front of a screaming crowd and you have a chance to get yourself together/talk to someone/etc. If you cried, you got it all out before it was showtime. So crying at the houses later on is minimal.