In the days following Bid Day, our community is extremely prominent on social media. There are tons of pictures being Instagrammed and posted in albums on Facebook. Bid Day "srat" videos are created and posted in an unbelievable turnaround time.
When Onward State posted an article featuring everyone's reactions to gaining new members, we were thrilled to see the excitement on everyones faces and through what they said. Instead of showing the excitement towards new members and hearing them talk about their feelings towards expanding their sororities, the focus was much different. To start, the title of the article itself was misleading. It claimed to be our “reactions” to gaining new members. Yet already initiated sisters were not asked a single question regarding our new members or Bid Day itself. Instead, we were all posed to look mindless and careless. The word “deeper” was said multiple times in the Onward State article, yet nothing deep was ever brought up.
Bid Day is one of the best days of the year for those of us in sororities. Yes, we are clad in glitter and face paint. But it’s a means of celebration, not a competition of how basic we can be. We’re welcoming girls into what we each believe to be the greatest sorority—homes each of us were welcomed into in the same way years before. The place where we met our forever friends. So please excuse us if we “can’t even” for those few hours we’re jumping up and down on Old Main lawn.
In my sorority alone, we have multiple aspiring surgeons, lawyers, and teachers and many girls in the Schreyer Honors College along with Dean’s list students semester after semester. Women that have graduated to go on to medical school. Women that have already been given opportunities at Fortune 500 companies. Women that deserve to be asked more significant questions than their Starbucks order.
No matter how much good we do and love we show towards each other, sorority stereotypes are still going strong. Greek life is a support system. Whether it be by showing up to each other’s philanthropy events or just being another person to rely on, we are a huge community. After one of my sisters had to spend last semester home for personal reasons, she came back to school being greeted with open arms and big hugs. She said she will forever be grateful to us and Greek life as a whole for remaining a place she can call home no matter how long she spent apart from us.
We raise millions of dollars annually for THON along with additional thousands raised for personal and local philanthropies. We are given an ample amount of job opportunities from alumni around the country and experiences we couldn't take advantage of otherwise. Our GPAs are quite impressive because we have to maintain a certain minimum to stay in our sororities. We are also encouraged to get involved in other clubs and organizations around campus. Without the support and guidance from my sisters and the executive board, I would still be trying to find my way in life.
It's time to let go of the sorority stereotypes. We are all extremely independent and goal driven women. We have the power to change the world and it's time that we're given credit for that.
