Sorority recruitment reached its peak Sunday as more than 100 women rushed out of the Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center to celebrate Bid Day with their new sisters.
Sorority members passed the time singing and chanting on the quad as they waited to greet their new sisters. About 150 women went through recruitment, and 116 received a bid to join a sorority. About 35 women dropped, and only three were cut from recruitment.
“I think this group of freshmen women are amazing,” Panhellenic President Isa Ramirez said. “They’re excited to learn. They’re excited to be leaders. They’re so enthusiastic to start school. They’re just ready to start their lives in college, and I think they show so much hope in the future of all these sororities.”
Gamma Phi Beta received 26 new members. Alpha Phi, Alpha Chi Omega and Phi Mu received 30 new members each. All sororities gave out more bids than they did last year.
Julia Larson, Gamma Phi Beta president, said she is honored to be the sorority’s leader.
“These women are absolutely incredible. They are so genuine and loyal and passionate,” she said. “And all of these women inspire the highest type of womanhood every day, and we’re on top of the world.”
Heather Rasmussen, Alpha Phi recruitment vice president, said Bid Day felt like Christmas morning. She also said she remembers going through recruitment and wanting to be like the sorority women.
“It’s nice to see the fresh faces and knowing everything that they’re going to learn and experience, and being on the upper end of it,” Rasmussen said. “Greek Life in general at OCU is really special. I would be in any house and be happy. OCU is a place of high-caliber students regardless, so it’s no surprise that the Greek members are the same.”
Jacqueline Hirlinger, Alpha Chi Omega president, said she’s excited to work with the new members, who she already considers strong women.
Phi Mu had the lowest number of new members last year, but they extended the most bids along with Alphi Chi Omega and Alpha Phi this year.
Phi Mu’s OCU chapter formed in 2013, making it the newest sorority on campus. They’ve only had their own house since 2015, according to their website, ocu.phimu.org.
“Since Phi Mu came to campus, this is the first recruitment where we’ve just been totally on par with the other houses,” said Quinn Carpenter Weedon, Phi Mu president. “I think it’s so special that I got to see this kind of growth in an organization. There’s no other place on this campus where you can be the president of an organization that grew like Phi Mu did.”
This is also the first year that a member of Phi Mu is serving as Panhellenic president.
“It was kind of just a whim that I decided to be Panhellenic president, but it has honestly been the most rewarding job I’ve ever had on campus,” Ramirez said. “I love working with their chapters and I feel so much closer to all of them. I feel like the Panhellenic community is just getting so much stronger, which is one of my biggest goals.”
Ramirez said she’s proud of Phi Mu and the progress the organization has made.
“When I first went through recruitment, Phi Mu recruited us in the clubhouse–we didn’t even have our own house,” she said. “So every year, I think we get more comfortable with recruiting and getting bigger numbers.”
All sororities except for Gamma Phi Beta will have continuous open bidding, which means they can still give out bids throughout the year.
“I know I’ve been saying this for the whole week, but have an open mind and an open heart, because you never know what you’re going to find in sorority life and at OCU,” Ramirez said.
Fraternity Rush starts Aug. 24 and concludes with Bid Day at 10 a.m. Aug. 26 in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel. Formal nights will be at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 24-25 in Kramer School of Nursing.
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