Today is round two of sisterhood, marking three days until Bid Day. It is anticipated that this year, there will be more bids given due to the number of girls going through recruitment.
Friday is the preference round, where potential new members (PNMs) will drop down from a maximum of eight sororities to a two sorority maximum. This tends to be the most intimidating and emotional round.
Scout Saunders, Head Pi Chi and rising senior, and Peyton Ryan, Assistant Head Pi Chi and rising senior, both went through recruitment as out-of-state freshmen. However, their relationships with their Pi Chis encouraged them to make the same impact on future PNMs, leading both of them to lead as Pi Chis last year and into their current roles.
“I would describe a Pi Chi as a recruitment counselor,” Saunders said. “They have a group of PNMs. This year, it averages about 17 PNMs per Pi Chi group because of the crazy number of PNMs this year.”
Each Pi Chi's affiliation with a sorority is kept private from the PNMs, therefore preventing bias and influence on the PNMs’ decisions made after each round. The Pi Chis make the perfect guide for a PNM so other girls, parents and friends are not influencing their decisions.
“Obviously, girls face disappointments throughout the week, and that’s a given every single year. But the PNMs are awesome, going to their parties and loving them. Recruitment has been a really positive experience so far this year for a lot of girls, especially us,” Saunders said.
Some girls come into recruitment knowing others in a variety of houses, while some come in completely new to the process. Even with prior connections, there is no guarantee that a PNM's top house will ask her back for a following round.
With the largest recorded amount of PNMs rushing this year, it heightens the anxiety of the PNMs. This also means that, as of now, there is a potential that almost every sorority will see their largest new member class yet.
“Every PNM that I’ve seen is really giving it their best go, even if they are having some disappointments,” Ryan said. “I’ve really seen them — the Pi Chis especially — try to pick their girls up and try to get them the best and try their very best. I’ve seen every PNM give it their all and really put their hearts into it, no matter what happens.”
Caroline Jones, Auburn University Panhellenic President and rising senior, emphasized the importance of self care and rest during recruitment. Sleep, specifically naps, and face masks are her recommendations to feel calm and ready for the remainder of the week. Saunders and Jones love a sweet treat run or a walk around campus.
Jones has enjoyed being in the heart of recruitment, located at a tent in the sorority village with Saunders and Ryan. There, they get to see all of the girls and serve the PNMs and Pi Chis and encourage them throughout the process whether it is by being a listening ear or grabbing a speaker and jamming out to some music.
Even if recruitment is nothing like a PNM thought it would look like, all decisions made behind the scenes are made for a reason.
“It only takes one chapter to find your place, so getting them to see it out and trust the process is really key,” Jones said.
So far, there is lots of positive energy in the sorority village heading into the preference round, and Pi Chis are looking forward to seeing their girls run home on Saturday.
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Piper Bosart, senior in journalism, is one of the assistant managing editors for The Auburn Plainsman. She has been with The Plainsman since January, 2022.
