Your lungs are gasping for air, your legs go numb from running so fast, you're screaming your head off, but it doesn't matter. You are currently running down Bowman field to claim your new home with your new SISTERS! What could be better after a long week of hell?
As all sorority girls know, recruitment is simultaneously the best and worst time of the year. The best is, of course, that you get to wear adorable outfits, take cute pictures and most importantly, bring new girls into your sisterhood. The worst, unfortunately, is that recruitment is stressful and draining. Plus, add all of the extra calories you consume after binging on Cookout and Taco Bell at the end of the day when all of your rounds are finished, and you’ve hit the jackpot. Alas, the light at the end of this very confusing tunnel is a day when the new girls sprint down the hill towards literally hundreds of screaming girls and a lifetime of sisterhood. And that day is Bid Day.
There are two ways to look at Bid Day, from the new member’s eyes and from the sisters’ eyes, yet both are completely different. Let’s start with the new members.
After going through recruitment for the last week and meeting so many girls you barely remember your own name, you finally get to run to your new home. For some, this is the most joyous occasion. For others, it can be bittersweet. There is always one girl who didn’t receive a bid from her first choice, and that girl will be reconciling all of her feelings during the short run from Tillman onto the green grass, while others will be hurdling headlong into the arms of their welcoming sorority. Not only are the New Members overcome with emotion, but also they are trying to maintain a graceful stride, a smile and balance as they pray to the heavens above that they will not face plant in front of the entire Greek community. After the initial celebration is over, the girls will eventually go to their second location that normally includes some form of cheering, activities and Chick-Fil-A trays. Once time is spent bonding together as a pledge class and the sorority as a whole, the day will come to an end and the new members will retire to their dorms to dream of throwing what they know and wearing their adorable new items courtesy of the useful bid day bags.
To look at Bid Day from the eyes of the sisters is a whole different animal. Not only is this a day that is coordinated by someone whose sole job in this organization is to plan and prep for this event, but also the sisters are psyched to see their future littles and grandlittles finally be welcomed into open arms. Whatever the bid day theme is, intense preparation occurs to attain the perfect look. Flower headbands, neon sunglasses, face paint, signs and jean shorts are common pieces that take more planning than one would imagine. After standing in the heat and holding bags and signs, the feeling of relief as the new girls exit Tillman is unparalleled. Factor in the girls who are getting their bigs and littles back from Pi Chi land, and you have one of the happiest times in a sorority girl’s life. Much celebration and crazy pictures ensue, and seeing the smiles on the younglings enough to make recruitment all worth it in the end. At the end of the day, the sisters retire to the hall, where more shenanigans happen until late into the night.
Bid Day is a tradition amongst sororities across the nation, and Clemson is no exception. Running down the hill is usually saved for the Clemson football team in Death Valley, but when sorority girls do it on Bid Day, it’s safe to say the festivities are supreme. Not only does this day mark the beginning of a new chapter for the youngest members, but also it marks the day where we trade in wearing our letter shirts to class for oversized party shirts and norts. And we all know how important that is.
