In a rush to get home, thousands of women flooded their chapter houses, running with open arms, to celebrate Fall Bid Day 2017.
Seventeen sorority chapters welcomed more than 1,400 women to the Panhellenic community, with an average of 80 women in each new member class, wrote Devon Leasure, the president of UF’s Panhellenic Council, in an email.
The number of women who received bids this year was approximately the same as last year, Leasure said. About 1,300 women received bids last year, according to Alligator archives.
“I am proud of our community of over 4,000 women for helping find over 1,400 students at the University of Florida a new home away from home,” Leasure said.
Kady Cramer, a 20-year-old UF architecture junior, dropped out of the recruitment process after she received the list of houses who were interested in her in round three. Sorority rushing is divided into rounds, with each round narrowing down the list of potential houses.
“When I wanted to rush, I was very open minded about, you know, which sorority I was going to be in,” Cramer said. “But throughout the process, you kind of like meet these girls and really picture yourself in their house.”
Cramer decided not to continue because she did not have memorable conversations with the girls in the houses that picked her.
Paris Aubin, the 21-year-old president of Delta Phi Epsilon, was excited to welcome the new women home.
“I’m honestly proud to represent them.” Aubin said. “I would love to go out and say ‘I’m president of Delta Phi Epsilon;’ these girls are amazing.”
Other sorority presidents denied to comment and did not allow an Alligator reporter to talk to women who received bids.
After Fall Bid Day, women will go through the process of becoming members of their sororities and will be referred to as “pledges.”
Isabella Rodriguez, a 17-year-old UF applied physiology and kinesiology freshman who received a bid from Kappa Delta, said she jumped up and down when she saw her favorite house had accepted her.
“I chose this chapter because every girl in this sorority seems down-to-earth and real,” Rodriguez said. “They’re all the funniest girls ever, and they just seem a lot like me, so I feel like this is the place where I fit in the most.”
A new member of the Kappa Delta Sorority sprints toward the house on Fall Bid Day 2017.
From left: Peighton Jones, a sister of Kappa Delta, shares an enthusiastic hug with new member, Fraleigh Krause.
Paige Draper (right) excitedly welcomes a new member of the Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority, Amelia Wilson.
A crowd of Phi Mu Sorority sisters excitedly cheer as they greet their new members on Fall Bid Day 2017.
Madeline Fava, a new member of Phi Mu, poses with her Fall Bid Day 2017 buddy, Reilly Lord.
