Each semester, the Greek organizations on campus come together to welcome new members into their chapters.
With seven interfraternity council organizations and six college panhellenic council organizations, there have been many celebrations to welcome new members in various spots across campus.
Recently, potential new members (PNMs) ran home to their organizations on their respective bid days. When a PNM receives a bid from an organization on campus, it’s an invitation to join that organization and be a member.
PNMs find their home at various locations on campus, according to Lindsay Charters, the associate director of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
“Our campus students literally run home whether we’re doing it on Prince Lawn or on the football field,” Charters said, “all of the chapters are set up and they run to join their new chapters.”
New friendships can be formed on bid day when the active members welcome their PNMs into the chapter, according to sophomore Logan Boisvert.
“It was actually my little who ran home to me on bid day. Just knowing that we welcomed a new member class with amazing women definitely, it had a whole sincere feeling around it,” Boisvert said.
Involvement in Greek life can also lead to leadership and volunteering opportunities, according to freshman psychology major Avery Eberhart, a member of CCU’s Chi Omega.
Eberhart currently has a leadership position, and she has had a positive experience.
“I feel like I’ve made a lot of really good friends,” Eberhart said. “Having a philanthropy that we support makes me feel really good about it because we support Make-A-Wish.”
CCU has many different types of chapters and Greek life organizations and have different processes for joining and getting involved. The two most common processes are formal recruitment and continuous open bidding (COB).
The COB process is much different than formal recruitment, allowing the PNMs to decide how they want their process to go.
“COB is much less intense than formal recruitment because usually most chapters you get matched with an active member, and then you just have a one-on-one meeting with them,” Boisvert said. “Whereas formal recruitment, you have to go through all three rounds and then you get to run home on bid day.”
Charters said each Greek organization on campus provides philanthropic events and offers their members with several ways to give back to the community.
She said the philanthropies help students find purpose and leadership opportunities in addition to allowing them to bond with one another.
She said the philanthropies help students find purpose and leadership opportunities in addition to allowing them to bond with one another.
“The other piece is providing that values-based brotherhood and sisterhood experience. So they are, people are, joining organizations based off common values to find bonds with brothers and or sisters who also want to grow and share that same shared value set,” Charters said.
