More than 400 women flooded Stafford Commons late Wednesday afternoon, filled with anticipation and excitement as they waited to discover which sororities they would soon call their homes.
This fall recruitment event, known as Bid Day, acts as an opportunity for the women to meet with their new sorority sisters, according to Meredith Mason, president of the NC State Panhellenic Association and a senior studying elementary education.
Bid Day, which marks the final day of Rush Week, is the day when prospective sorority members receive bids from sororities to join the chapter.
“The biggest thing about sororities is that they will give such a sense of belonging on such a large campus, and that is something that a lot of people coming in, especially as freshmen, really look for,” Mason said. “It helps you establish a good friend group, a diverse group with multiple interests and perspectives. It offers outlets for community service as well as sisterhood, and there are a lot of different avenues to express yourself.”
Ashlyn Thompson, a freshman studying psychology, was anxious as she waited to find out the sorority in which she was accepted.
“I’m most excited for the friendships that come with it and all the exciting nights,” Thompson said. “Like I’m really excited for movie night, for just hanging out with a bunch of people who are there for you to lean on.”
Thompson said she had wanted to join a sorority since she was in fifth grade. She described Rush Week as exhausting but fun, and she was glad that she was able to participate without feeling judged.
“I’m hoping to get confidence in myself, support, that kind of stuff,” Thompson said.
The group of women gathered in circles among their rush groups, closed their eyes and held out their hands. While doing so, the recruitment counselors walked around with bags of bids, handing each girl a shirt representing the sorority that bid on them.
Following a countdown, the girls opened their eyes simultaneously to see which shirts they were given, many screaming excitedly.
About 85 percent of the girls get the bids they had as their first choice, according to NC State’s Fraternity and Sorority Life website.
Afterward, many of the women met with their new sorority sisters, and bonded on campus before going to visit their respective chapter houses.
“My favorite part [of being in a sorority] has been just feeling empowered by my sorority sisters to take leaps of faith to do different things on campus that otherwise maybe I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do without their support,” Mason said.
The members of the Kappa Delta Sorority use paper plane cutouts to pair their new initiates with their big sisters during Bid Day at Stafford Commmons on September 14
