Soroity bid night closes rush

Anxious. Excited. Tense. So describes the more than 300 women who piled into Houston Hall for Bid Night yesterday, bringing closure to their two-week sorority rush process. Bid Night is an annual tradition during which rushees receive bids from the sorority they are invited to pledge. Yesterday marked the end of one of the most successful rush periods in recent memory, according to Debra Bonaminio, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Associate Director for Programming. "Recruitment went so smoothly," she said. "Everything clicked." Roughly 330 bids were issued this year, which is about 60 more than last year, said Bonaminio. "That's just phenomenal," said Panhellenic Council Co-Vice President for Recruitment Amy Spotts, noting that sororities are already the largest women's organizations on campus. "We're really looking forward to bringing in new freshman girls," Panhel president Jennifer Chanowitz said. "They're going to love it." "It's the beginning of new friendships," she added. However, members of the Panhel executive board weren't the only ones excited. "First of all, I'm just really excited that I got a bid, but I'm anxious to see where from," College freshman Elizabeth Downing said before the bids were issued. "I had a lot of fun doing [rush], but I'm glad it's over and the day is finally here." The nervous chatter was interrupted when the rho chis -- sorority members who led the rushees around to the houses during the rush process -- were allowed to distribute the bid envelopes to members of their group. "The squeals and the screams were very present in this room," said College freshman Diana Feinstein, who received a bid from Kappa Alpha Theta, her first choice. She said she liked "watching the girls who were screaming, hugging, crying [and] taking pictures. The room was completely full of excitement." The women at yesterday's event already knew that they were receiving bids because they received a phone call earlier in the day. That created a pleasant atmosphere, said College freshman Jessica Garrett, who received a bid from her first choice, Sigma Delta Tau. "Looking around there are a lot of smiles, so it's good," she said. Although some of the women were genuinely surprised, a lot of them had a sense of which sorority would offer them a bid. "You kind of get a feeling by the end of two weeks if you like the girls and the girls like you," said Wharton freshman Andrea Harris, who received a bid from Chi Omega, her first choice. For some, Bid Night can be summed up in one word: relief. "It was harder for me to decide which sorority to join than my choice to come to Penn," Feinstein said.