More women not offered bids due to ǃÚnot maximizing' their options

The annual Bid Day event marked the end of an intensive process in which 433 freshmen were each formally invited to join one of Vanderbilt's 10 Panhellenic sororities. Greek Ambassadors sat with 33 groups of about 15 girls in the Student Recreation Center as upperclassmen representing their sororities taught them their chapter's chants and cheers.

Director of Greek Life Kristin Torrey said around 520 women were part of the Panhellenic open house pool.

In comparison, 260 men received bids on Friday out of about 425 men registered, according to Interfraternity Council Recruitment Chair Charlie Kirby.
After eagerly tearing open the envelopes containing their bids, new Panhellenic sorority members ran to meet the upperclassmen and receive shirts bearing the name of their sorority. They then boarded buses to off-campus locations to take part in activities such as bowling, laser tag and pizza eating.

New Pi Beta Phi sorority member and first-year student Claudia Fisher had no idea where her bus was headed, but she was "very excited" about the outcome of the recruitment process.

"We both got what we wanted," said Fisher in regard to herself and a friend who also joined Pi Beta Phi sorority. "I can't wait to hang out with the other sisters," she said.

Not every potential member was as pleased with the results of Bid Day, however.

"Women withdrew throughout the process, so this was pretty standard," Torrey said about the number of bids in comparison to the number of registered students. "There were more women this year who did not maximize their options at preference parties. Subsequently, a few more women did not receive bids today."

Potential new members must rank every house they attended on preference night in order to guarantee a bid.

Changes to recruitment may be made next year.

"We intend to do an assessment of the upperclass sorority women to see how they feel the experience can be improved," Torrey said. "Every year we look to improve, as in the addition of a recruitment lounge in the Student Life Center. People really appreciated having a place to hang out."

Torrey and Kirby both agree on the importance of receiving feedback from people living in The Commons.

Kirby said he wants next year's recruitment chair to continue adapting the recruitment process to The Commons.

"We were a little worried about first year students no longer living in Branscomb, Vandy/Barnard and Kissam, and thought distance between them would affect the numbers," Kirby said. "Next year we want to introduce (potential members) to their Greek Ambassadors sooner. Previously students would tour the frats and each fraternity would do a 15-minute spiel, but a lot of students didn't find this as informational."

Overall, though, "it's been a great year," Kirby said. "If a student comes in and wants to go Greek, then they can find a house where they really belong and brothers that they truly fit in with."

Torrey echoed the sentiment.

"We're very happy to be welcoming so many new members to the Greek community," she said.