At 2 p.m. on Friday, those outside the Auburn Arena might have heard screams of delight from the dozens of students within who were receiving the news of their sorority acceptance.
The doors flew open in the next minute as the newly-welcomed sisters burst out and around the corner to the Village dorms, eager to revel in the celebration with attending parents.
Greek life faculty and University Student Affairs announced that 1,617 women registered for this year’s Bid Day, with 1,433 of them having received bids, or just over 88% of the total number of applicants. This year’s Bid Day saw more sorority sisters welcomed than in 2018, though not as many applied as in last August’s pool of 1,645 students.
Recruitment for this year’s sororities began on Aug. 10, involving two rounds of Ice Water Teas, two rounds of Philanthropy, and a single round of Sisterhood and Preference Day leading up to the afternoon’s ceremony.
Sorority leaders were seen entering the arena decked out in fashionable outfits — despite the mid-90 degree temperatures — holding signs of their respective chapter’s Greek letters. Excited applicants entered from the left, with Aubie high-fiving women in the procession as they dashed from the building.
Alpha Delta Pi in blue and white, Alpha Omicron Pi in red, and Kappa Alpha in their signature green were just some of the many sororities on campus that boasted their colors heading into the facility.
Outsiders were not granted entry to Bid Day in the arena. Family members looked on from behind barriers. Only applicants, leaders and press officials were allowed past security.
After reaching the end of the line, each chapter gathered up in a courtyard among the Village dorms to meet their leaders and fellow sisters, as well as pose for photos.
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