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fratbidnight
Fraternity Bid Night Credit: Abby Graham , Abby Graham

Fraternity recruitment culminated last night as 521 bids were formally issued to new members.

New members witnessed the changeover of the Interfraternity Council and listened to a talk by David Stollman, the co-founder of HazingPrevention.org, before heading off to be welcomed by their new brothers.

Having brought two new fraternities, Alpha Sigma Phi and Phi Sigma Kappa, into the formal recruitment process this semester, outgoing president and College senior Andrew Turell explained that the IFC is “trying to increase the supply for the demand.”

Related: Phi Sigma Kappa begins recolonization

Director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, Scott Reikofski, said that 654 men and women registered for formal fraternity recruitment this semester. Of these, 48 received two or more bids and 157 did not receive a bid. This is a significant decrease from the 230 students who registered but did not receive bids in 2013.

Reikofski added that between five and eight fraternities would continue second-round recruitment, and he expected that this would increase the total number of bids issued to 550.

Related: Sorority bid night brings cheers and balloons

The lowest number of bids issued since 2004 was in 2013, although that year also had one of the highest yield rates, with 80.8 percent of bids being accepted. New members are not obliged to sign for their bids officially until noon on Friday, but Reikofksi estimated that the number of bids that sign would increase this year.

He explained that one impression he got from the recruitment process this January was that there was “more genuine interest” in the fraternity system, with students asking more questions about aspects of fraternity life such as alumni networks. He attributed this in part to the addition of the new chapters on campus, as growth “piques interest in the whole community.”

“I’m always excited about the new generation,” he added.

Related: Penn’s ninth, newest sorority anticipates colonization

Everyone in attendance had already received their bids informally from the fraternities over the last few days. “I’m excited about it,” said College freshman Tim Graul, who had received a bid from Delta Psi, more commonly known as St. Anthony’s. Andrew Burnick, a Wharton freshman with a bid for Sigma Chi, described himself as “jubilant.”

New members were introduced to the fraternity system with a talk by Stollman, the keynote speaker who discussed the values behind the fraternity system and the need “to be actively breaking [negative] stereotypes,” such as those caused by hazing.

While filling the hall with a lot of amusement about these stereotypes, he said, “We can laugh about it, just not live it,” emphasizing the fact that fraternity life is about a moral code. “We exist to make men better men, and women better women,” he said, highlighting the significance of leadership and philanthropy in the fraternity system.

The night also marked the formal changeover of the IFC board. Turell described handing over his position as “a little sad,” adding that he was “proud of all [they’ve] accomplished.” He described himself as having “tremendous faith” in College senior James Germi, the incoming president who officially took over the position last night.

Germi, who held the position of philanthropy chair on the outgoing board, said he was “really excited” to “continue the momentum that [they] started to build.”

After being introduced to the new fraternity members, he told the packed auditorium in Meyerson Hall that they were about to begin “the most incredible experience of [their] lives.”

Correction: A previous version of this article said that Delta Psi is commonly known as St. Andrew’s. It is commonly referred to St. Anthony’s.

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