First posted: Jan. 13, 11:55 p.m. CST
Updated: Jan. 14, 11:55 p.m. CST
Shrieks echoed from behind Leverone Hall Tuesday night as more than 400 women ran outside to meet the sorority sisters who had invited them to join their chapters on Bid Night, the culmination of Panhellenic Formal Recruitment.
According to Jenni Glick, Assistant Director for Fraternity and Sorority Life, 425 women received offers, or “bids,” to join one of Northwestern’s 12 Panhellenic sororities during Bid Night at Leverone Hall on Tuesday. The number is slightly lower than last year’s pledge count of 441.
Zeta Tau Alpha’s co-Vice President of Recruitment Karina Martinez-Carter was waiting outside of Leverone Hall when the new pledges found out their bids at 6:30 p.m. Sisters from all houses were crammed onto the pavement, singing, clapping and waving enormous Greek letters.
“We have 35 wonderful new members that our chapter members love and adore,” Martinez-Carter said. “I know they’ll be amazing additions to our chapter.”
Kappa Alpha Theta accepted 34 women into its pledge class, according to Theta recruitment chair, Linnea Perelli-Minetti.
“We’re very, very excited and pleased with our new pledge class,” Perelli-Minetti said.
Weinberg freshman Eliza Epstein, who received a bid at Delta Gamma, said that Bid Night was stressful before it became fun.
“We had to sit on our bid cards before we opened them,” Epstein said. “Everyone just wanted to know what they were.”
Epstein said she was “very happy” with her bid.
“It’s always been my first choice,” Epstein said. “All the girls are just comfortable, friendly and down-to-earth.”
Medill freshman Allison Wierema was offered an invitation to join Gamma Phi Beta. Although this was not her top choice, Wierema said, “I felt really welcomed and wanted. They seem like really nice girls who want to have fun.”
Of more than 600 students who initially registered for sorority recruitment, about 30 percent dropped out by Bid Night.
For Shannon Rosenauer, a McCormick freshman, recruitment ended four days early. Rosenauer participated in sorority recruitment but said she wasn’t comfortable with the process.
“It’s really hard to get to know people just by talking in such a tense situation,” she said. “You literally sit there and just answer, ‘What’s your major?’ ‘Where are you from?’ ‘What did you do over break?’”
Rosenauer dropped out during the first set of recruitment activities that took place last week.
“I didn’t really feel like I had a connection with any of the houses,” she said. “I just didn’t like how it was so forced.”
Wierema also said that conversation during the recruitment process seemed unnatural, but that she still got to know many people.
“As the week went on, the conversation did help you get to know people,” Wierema said. “It wasn’t forced everywhere.”
Rosenauer did say she enjoyed meeting different people and might give sororities a second try.
“I am planning on trying it again in the future, or doing informal rush this spring,” she said.
More to come.