Due to increased traffic on past Bid Days, Panhellenic decided to limit guests with a new wristband policy this year; Safety hazard concerns developed because it had become common for potential new members to bring extended family members and significant others to Bid Day.
According to Jaylin Goodwin, Panhellenic president, many people had come to past bid days believing it has always been open to the public.
“The overcrowding issue did not only encompass fire safety violations, but also personal safety for our members. People forget that women actually live in the residence halls bid day events happen in,” Goodwin said.
In 2015, Panhellenic invited representatives from Auburn University’s Office of Public Safety to attend Bid Day. According to Panhellenic, they accepted all recommendations in an effort to improve student safety.
“Having thousands of individuals wandering around with access to these halls is potentially dangerous. In addition to the interior spaces being absolutely crammed, there were also a very large number of people in an outdoor space that is essentially enclosed, which opens up many other types of risks. Taking all of these into account is what led us to implement this policy,” Goodwin said.
Wristbands were distributed to active members on preference day, Friday, August 12. According to Goodwin, new members received their two guest wristbands the morning of bid day. Each sorority received enough bands for their own members, plus ten bands for advisors or guests.
“In the end, we distributed about 7,300 wristbands to cover everyone there,” Goodwin said.
“I believe that the wristband policy works to benefit the safety and happiness of our members and their loved ones, which is my number one goal,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin noted that a wristband policy on bid day is not a new policy to other SEC schools.
“When I attended the Southeastern Panhellenic Conference in Atlanta this past spring I was surprised to learn in a small group meeting with other SEC Panhellenic Presidents that we were just about the only ones who did not have bid day closed off,” Goodwin said.
Another new policy put into use this year, is that new members walked together from the Arena to their new sorority, whereas last year new members ran to their new sorority separately.
After bids were distributed, the new members found the representative from their new sorority and were led to the sorority’s chapter room.
Hannah Burke, pre-elementary education sophomore, said the new policies didn’t effect active members much.
“I was a little jealous that they left the arena in sections," Burke said. "I wish we had done that last year so I could have ‘ran home’ with my future sisters."
Isabelle Sager, political science freshman, said she gave her two guest wristbands to her mother and her sister.
“This is a pretty smart policy because it limits the crowd of people so it’s not as crazy, and if you wanted other family members and friends there, then they can come to town, but they just wouldn’t be able to go to the sorority,” Sager said.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
