Recruitment kicked off Aug. 23. For six days, prospective members visited sorority houses and met current members in a structured process, which includes four rounds of cuts before bids were given out Wednesday.
“The first two nights were five or six hours long walking from house to house,” Cox said.
Ashley Privette, a freshman who also dropped, said the process was exhausting.
“Making sure you have the right outfits and stuff so you look presentable and people will want to pick you and talk to you and stuff (was a challenge),” she said.
Prospective members can get advice and support from older sorority members, called Gamma Chis, who disaffiliate from their sororities during recruitment.
“My Gamma Chis were rock stars because not every girl had such an easy process,” Fisher said.
Gamma Chi Samantha Forlenza said her job is to understand.
“I know all the anxious jitters and everything they were feeling. I remember I just wanted to rip open my bid card and go. I did rush because I just wanted to make friends, and by the end I was like, I really want this so bad,” Forlenza said.
Forlenza is a member of Alpha Chi Omega — a secret that wasn’t revealed until just before new members opened their Bid Day envelopes.
“(Bid Day) is really great because I get to go back home, and I get to see all my friends that I haven’t been able to talk to and my house and my house mom,” Forlenza said.
Privette had ideas for how she would modify recruitment.
“The fraternity guys do it in a more open thing where you just like go and visit and see which ones you like,” she said.
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“My idea is that rush should be spanned out with 10 nights, so each sorority has their own night, and different groups of girls go for two or three hours. And you actually just stay there at the house. That’s how you get to know about people, actually hanging out with them.”
MINUTE-BY-MINUTE
Panhellenic Council sorority recruitment began Aug. 23. It ended Sept. 2 with a loud, colorful Bid Day.
Staff Writer Cole del Charco, who was covering the event for The Daily Tar Heel and did not receive a bid, ran along for the ride with Staff Writer Karli Krasnipol, a sophomore who was participating in recruitment.
6:01 p.m. All the prospective sorority members had arrived at the Forest Theatre. They started to sit down.
“I’m super excited and very nervous but more excited,” Krasnipol said.
6:03 p.m. The sorority chapters were screaming in the distance.
“In about 10 or 20 minutes I’m going to find a group of girls that are going to make me a better person over the next three years,” Krasnipol said.
6:04 p.m. Gamma Chis left their groups and went to the stage.
6:06 p.m. Chapter members revealed their sororities by joining in a cheer.
6:12 p.m. The cheering ended. Gamma Chis were all wearing their chapter shirts.
6:14 p.m. Prospective members sat on their bid cards after they were distributed.
6:15 p.m. The new members opened their letters and saw their bids.
6:16 p.m. Screaming.
6:18 p.m. New members ran to their chapters in the field by McIver Residence Hall. Krasnipol had predicted how she’d feel.
“A lot of adrenaline coursing through my veins,” she said.
6:27 p.m. Chapters began running to their houses with new members and reaffiliated Gamma Chis.
“I’m so excited to be home! Alpha Delta Pi!” Krasnipol said.
@ColedelCharco
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