Sisterhood was everywhere to be found on campus Sunday during NKU’s Panhellenic Council’s Bid Day, marking the end of their week-long fall recruitment and the beginning of many new lifelong friendships.
In sorority and fraternity life, Bid Day is the day when potential new members going through the recruitment process receive invitations, or bids, to join that organization. After accepting their bids, the new members “run home” to their respective chapters.
There are seven chapters at NKU that make up the Panhellenic Council, and all were involved in Sunday’s festivities. They are:
– Alpha Omicron Pi
– Delta Gamma
– Delta Zeta
– Kappa Delta
– Phi Mu
– Phi Sigma Sigma
– Theta Phi Alpha
After accepting their bids, the new members joined their sorority in a room on campus to celebrate their hard work and meet their new sisters.
After a couple years of uncertainty and dealing with the restrictions of in-person events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many members and fellow alumni that attended on Sunday were ecstatic to be able to continue their previous traditions of Bid Day and welcome everyone home.
Lin Dames, a Theta Phi Alpha alumna who rushed in 2018, enjoys being there for her chapter each year with support during recruitment week and Bid Day, even after graduation.
“I ran home in 2018 way back before COVID, and COVID really changed the way that Greek Life works here at NKU and it’s been rebuilding ever since,” said Dames. “I’ve grown to see these chapters become amazing.”
Like Dames, members of Theta Phi Alpha, Alpha Omicron Pi and others are simply just excited to greet the new members. “I love AOII and I really wanted to share our sisterhood and welcome others in,” said Emily Bergman, a senior in Alpha Omicron Pi.
“I am most excited for our new members to get to run home today,” said Lily Reimer, a current member of Theta Phi Alpha. “That’s what we lead up for, we get to run home and enjoy the new time we get to spend together.”
Along with the alumni and active members of each chapter, a major part of Bid Day itself are the new members who have been anxiously waiting for this day to arrive. Freshman and newest member of Alpha Omicron Pi Cyres McCay voiced doubts she had throughout recruitment.
“It was really fun, I definitely had a lot of uncertainty at the beginning because I didn’t really know if I would find someplace where I felt like I really fit,” said McCay. “But even after philanthropy round yesterday, and especially during preference today, I thought AOII [Alpha Omicron Pi] would be a place where I would be really comfortable and feel really happy there.”
Following Bid Day, the newly-accepted members will take time to get to know and connect with their fellow sisters on a deeper level, and they will be introduced to the ins and outs of sorority life. After this short period, the new members will be officially initiated, marking their active status with the chapter and commitment to their sisters.
“I am so excited, ugh all the nerves and stress,” said freshman and new member of Delta Gamma Isa Flaherty. “I am looking forward to just embracing my new sisterhood and finding my new best friends.”