Post-Bid Day Event Ideas?

Hi there,

I come from a campus that does recruitment in the spring and I am in charge of Women's Programming for Greek Council. We have 6 sorority chapters, but we have a very large Greek population with each chapter having over 100 active members and a possibility of 40-60 new members. I was thinking about putting on a program for all the sororities' new members after Bid Day to celebrate being Greek. I was wondering if any other schools' Greek System did a sort-of Post-Bid Day event and could give me any tips about what works and what doesn't.

Thank you for all your help!

Michelle

[CarolinaCutie]

At our school, we have a New Member Assembly that is like 2 weeks after Bid Day. All of the sorority new members (and when they have them, new fraternity pledges) meet with the officers of Panhellenic and the Greek advisor. Typically, they have a forum where they discuss issues surrounding being Greek (time management, maintaining academic standards, hazing, binge drinking, etc.). I went to many while I was in the chapter, and I always found them informative. I think what you want to do, with an emphasis on the celebratory aspect, sounds even better though!

[axidgl]

At my school, we have a ceremony in which we donate the items we made during the philanthropy round of recruitment to the organization who we made them for. New members are expected to attend, and selected new members and a senior member from the chapter accompanies them to present the organization with the donation.

[tnx_soulanna]

I know that at TCNJ, the NPC sororities have a social event where they announce each new member and everyone applaudes. They get certificates...it's really cute. you might want to try something like that.

[dznat187]

a cool all sorority event is such a great idea. since it will be cold when formal is over maybe have a fun social with pizza and hot chocolate and stuff like that. i like the service idea, maybe you can do something before and have the social at the end. anouncing all the new members is great and maybe an all NPC shirt would be cool to give to them or everyone. like matching shirts with school colors for everyone, except each chapter has their letters. i know our panhel was planning to do that this past fall.

[aephi alum]

The year I pledged, Panhel did a "welcome tea" for all new members. Each sorority's new member educator and president were also invited, as well as the Panhel officers. It kind of backfired, though. There were no icebreakers or activities to mix up the crowd, so everyone pretty much only talked to their pledge sisters. It was never done again.

I don't know if that would be feasible for you anyway - you'd have around 300 attendees, whereas we had around 140 (4 NPCs with NM classes around 30 each, plus a local with 5 NMs, plus the sorority and Panhel officers).

[dzrose93]

Originally posted by ThetaGirl22
Hi there,

I come from a campus that does recruitment in the spring and I am in charge of Women's Programming for Greek Council. We have 6 sorority chapters, but we have a very large Greek population with each chapter having over 100 active members and a possibility of 40-60 new members. I was thinking about putting on a program for all the sororities' new members after Bid Day to celebrate being Greek. I was wondering if any other schools' Greek System did a sort-of Post-Bid Day event and could give me any tips about what works and what doesn't.

Thank you for all your help!

Michelle

I think a post-Bid Day program for the new members is a great idea! Since it's springtime, a BBQ might be good. Maybe the fraternities would be willing to do the grilling for the girls? Then you could have a variety of outdoor games to play and you could pair girls up with members of other sororities so that they get a chance to mingle with each other and get to know people outside of their own chapters.

Also, someone else mentioned a t-shirt. Those are always a good idea!

Good luck with this!

[adpiucf]

Our campus does a Greek 101 that is mandatory for all new members. It's a mixer that is also an educational workshop to discuss topics like alcohol and drug abuse, hazing, the responsibilities of membership, the importance of being Panhellenic, and more.

Panhellenic also hosts a "Recruitment Counselor Reunion" for PNM's and the Panhellenic Exec/Counselors.

The individual chapters sometimes hold their own new member Panhellenic events, like a New Sister Supper or Panhellenic New Member Dessert.

What Works: The sororities need to know about this well in advance-- ideally way before they start making their new member calendar.

Making the event mandatory, provided there is an educational purpose and assessing a penalty to chapters who fall below a certain percentage of members attending without a valid excuse (class, illness) will encourage participation. Also, make it part of the sororities' new member education planning requirements, enforceable through Greek Council. This is only if it is an education workshop. Keep your workshop timed and interactive.


If the sororities endorse it, you'll have a better turnout. They can do this by talking it up amongst the delegates and giving good advance notice, courting the new member educators, etc. Maybe form a New Member Educator Roundtable where the officers get together monthly to discuss ideas and troubleshoot. More than likely they will want to piggyback events that work with one another-- like talking about hazing and alcohol, as well as being sisterly and Panhellenic.

Anything interactive where the members can mix and talk is a great way to encourage friendships and Panhellenism.

Stay organized in your planning and determine what you can do based on your budget. You're more apt to get a better turnout as well if you keep it on campus and the women don't have to find transportation to the event.

Good luck! It would be fun for some kind of take-away reminder of the event-- maybe a souvenir t-shirt or something that everyone can keep and sign messages to one another on.