After a long recruiting process, fraternities and sororities from the College Panhellenic Council and the Interfraternity Council will gather for Bid Day to welcome new members.
Prospective members who went through recruitment and received an invitation from one of the four national sororities or nine national fraternities on campus will learn which organization they’ll be joining at 5 p.m. Monday at Brazos Park.
Amanda Perez, director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, said the process leading up to Bid Day is a little different for sororities and fraternities.
For the sororities, primary recruitment begins with potential members attending house tours to get to know each chapter, according to a College Panhellenic Council social post. Tours are followed by a three-day orientation, during which the potential members learn more about the chapters leading up to Bid Day. It’s a structured and mutual selection system that’s overseen by the council and Perez.
The rounds are used to determine if the values, beliefs and visions of the women and the chapters align. Each sorority has a different set of values they look for in a new member.
If both parties feel they are the right fit for each other, a bid is extended. New members can only get one bid through the formal recruitment process, and they won’t know who they matched with until they open a letter typically containing the sorority’s name and letters.
Nursing sophomore Marlene Ramirez underwent recruitment last year. As the first woman in her family to join a sorority, she went through the process alone and said it was scary at times. That changed with each chapter she met.
During recruitment, Ramirez shared a personal story with a member of Alpha Chi Omega. The two cried over their shared experiences, and from that moment, Ramirez said, she knew where her new home was.
“I literally didn’t feel like I was talking to a stranger. It felt like I was talking to someone that I already knew,” Ramirez said. “It just felt so natural.”
When it came time for Bid Day, she opened her letter with the other girls and found out she was going to Alpha Chi Omega.
“If I could do it all over again, I would,” she said.
For fraternities, the process is less structured, as the Intrafraternity Council and Perez don’t oversee activities. They only make sure events are registered and facilitate Bid Day.
The chapters host open events, and anyone can show up to as many or as few as they’d like. The events differ from chapter to chapter but can include steak, go-karting, poker nights or a trip to a local bar.
After recruitment ends, the chapter extends bids to the potential members. Recruits can receive up to nine bids if every fraternity likes them.
On Bid Day, the new members let their fraternity of choice know they’ll be joining them.
Lewis Patrick, a business management sophomore and member of Sigma Chi, said Bid Day can be overwhelming but equally rewarding, as it’s the “final push over the edge” to becoming a member.
Patrick encourages new members to be open-minded, have fun and embrace the UTA culture. He said that while Greek life is smaller at UTA compared to other schools, it still allows people to engage and connect with the university in a way many never do.
“We do it our own way. We do it the UT Arlington way,” Patrick said.
Saniya Samdani, a nursing junior and member of Zeta Tau Alpha, said seeing the Greek unity that happens when everyone comes together is magical.
She said everyone is happy for one another and celebrating in a way that promotes community on campus, something she said can be hard to come by at UTA.
Because of that, all UTA students, staff and faculty are encouraged to attend Bid Day to support students, even if they aren’t participating in Greek life themselves.