Sorority rush ends as frosh receive bids

Emotions were running high as over 300 women crowded into Houston Hall to receive bids from Penn's seven sororities on Sunday evening.

The event marked the culmination of the Panhellenic Council's two-week formal recruitment process - which is known as rush - during which freshmen women participated in a series of rounds, visiting each sorority house and getting a sense of which one was right for them.

According to Panhel's Vice President for Recruitment Kristin Moon, approximately 335 bids were issued, a number consistent with last year's total.

"It was such a success," Moon said, noting that the addition of a philanthropy round, during which rushees completed projects to be donated to breast cancer patients at the Rena Rowan Cancer Center, made this year's rush especially attractive.

For some rushees, though, the culmination of rush marks the end of a difficult process.

College freshman Kendra Fretz, who was hoping for a bid from Alpha Chi Omega, described the process as a good opportunity "to meet people who are similar to you," but commented that the process itself was exhausting.

"I'm so glad rush is over," Fretz said before receiving her bid.

Fretz added that she was impressed with the type of women she met during the rush process.

"They're like real people," she said, noting that Penn's sororities do not conform to the negative stereotypes sometimes attached to them.

While women anxiously waited to receive their bids, Moon spoke to the crowd about her experiences as a sorority sister.

Becoming involved in a sorrority is "one of the best decisions I have made during my time at Penn," Moon said.

Moon went on to say that the Greek system gave her an opportunity to become a leader and find out what type of person she wanted to become.

"The neatest thing is you work with so many people that work so hard," Moon said of Panhel's formal recruitment process, stressing the time and effort that each house put into planning and coordinating events.

Incoming Panhel president Alison Ng also said that this year's rush was a success.

"I think everything went really well," she said. "All of the sorority women were really excited."

After Moon spoke, members of Panhel's executive board and over forty rho chis - sorority sisters who guided freshmen through the rush process - revealed their own house affiliations. Each rho chi then distributed bids to rushees.

On Saturday, women signed bid cards, indicating which houses they would be willing to pledge with. Bids were then matched up by regional sorority advisors under the supervision of Associate Director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Leah Shafer.

Moon said that a very high percentage of women received bids from their first choice houses.

As each rushee opened her bid card, the room exploded with laughter and crying. The group then proceeded into Perelman Quadrangle, where members of each house were waiting with signs and balloons.

"Everyone wanted to welcome the new girls," Ng said. It was "a nice thing to come out to after this whole process."

Most houses then hosted dinners for new members, followed by what College sophomore and Sigma Delta Tau sister Emily Lerman described as "extensive bonding and education."

"We're very happy with our pledge class," Lerman said. "We got the best girls."

College freshman Rebecca Simon, who received a bid from Chi Omega, said that while rush was definitely overwhelming at times, "you just have to go into it with an open mind and not get completely caught up in it."

Wharton freshman Ida Chen, who also received a bid from Chi Omega, said that deciding on which house to select as her first choice was difficult, but that she feels she made the right decision.

"I think they'll be my friends for life rather than just for my four years at Penn," Chen said of her new sisters.

Bid signing is traditionally followed by a six-week pledging process conducted independently by each house. In early March, freshmen women will be officially initiated as sisters of their respective houses.

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