Ole Miss students participate in Bid Day as part of sorority rush in Oxford, Miss., Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013. (DM Photo/Katie Williamson)
Greek recruitment at Ole Miss culminated Sunday as gentlemen received their bid cards in their dorms and ladies congregated at the Lyceum to watch the revealing of their Gamma Chis and to receive their bid cards.
The Lyceum has long been the meeting point for the potential new members, presumably due to “its central location and proximity to all the sorority houses,” according to Gamma Chi Jennifer Green, senior accounting major.
Before bid cards are distributed, Gamma Chis traditionally gather on the Lyceum steps wearing shirts with their collective letters on them, under which are second shirts with their individual sorority letters. A member of the Panhellenic executive board announces the names of each sorority, and the Gamma Chis who belong to it remove their outer shirts to reveal to their potential new members their actual Greek affiliation.
Gamma Chi and senior art major Elizabeth Mary Wilson said she had fun with the process.
“I almost tried to mislead the girls as to what sorority I’m in, because they kept trying to guess, and I’m not allowed to tell them,” she said. “That was fun!”
The goal among Gamma Chis is to surprise their potential new members and promote the idea that the girls will already know at least one person in their new sorority.
After being given their bid cards, the new members are so excited that they typically choose to run to their new houses on Rebel Drive or Sorority Row. An unofficial tradition of bid day is the gathering of men and unaffiliated women to gather, often with lawn chairs, in the Circle to watch the girls run.
“It’s just kind of funny,” said Zach Breeding, junior environmental and recreation policy major. “They get so excited, sometimes they trip. And it’s just generally fun to cheer them on!”
Once the ladies reach their houses, they are greeted by the active members, shown around their new houses and given bid day gifts and sorority-themed refreshments. The gifts are meant to welcome the new members by providing as many Greek-oriented shirts, sweaters and dorm decorations as possible to promote their new affiliation. These gifts are often geared to the chapter’s selected theme for the day, which can range from carnival to pirates to Mardi Gras and sometimes determine the activity for the evening.
Fraternities rarely engage in this level of pomp and circumstance. Typically, they invite their new members to the house for lunch or dinner, and they continue to mingle and get to know one another late into the evening. According to sophomore public policy major Will Pipes, Chi Psi, the newest fraternity on campus, has other plans.
“We’re going to a place called Sky Zone that’s basically full of inflatable, bouncy stuff. It’s going to be so great.”
