Cries pierced the air in Bodek Lounge in Houston Hall yesterday as members of the most recent sorority rush class received their bids.
Hundreds of women opened envelopes last night containing the name of the Panhellenic Councilsorority that offered them membership. Each woman receives only one bid.
However, not all of the 480 women who began the rush process last Wednesday night were present. Many dropped out during the process or were not offered bids.
Panhellenic adviser Stacy Kraus would not provide the number of girls who received bids. In past years, about 350 attended bid signing for the eight Panhel sororities at Penn.
Outgoing Vice President of Panhellenic Recruitment Kelly Rytel said that everything went smoothly and that she was very pleased with the results of rush.
"It was a long process, but seeing all these girls placed in sororities and the happiness of it in the room really shows the greatness of the system and that it works out in the end," Rytel said.
After receiving bids and comparing with their friends -- and future sorority sisters -- women ran into Perelman Quadrangle outside Houston Hall to celebrate and take pictures with their new sororities.
Although women were excited about entering the Greek system, they were also relieved that the rush process was over.
"I'm just happy ... The whole process was really tiring," said College freshman Ainah Tan, who will be pledging Sigma Kappa.
Bids are determined through a mutual selection process in which rushers' and sororities' top choices go through a computer system which matches the women to a house.
"A lot is dictated by National Panhellenic rules," Rytel said of the system.
Penn had been the pilot for a number of years for the program now used by the National Panhellenic Council.
Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Scott Reikofski said that the system was designed to encourage women to look at multiple sororities.
The women rushing "may not get bids from the chapters they are looking at. ... [The system] encourages people to look at other chapters and give everyone a better chance," he said.
With the conclusion of annual rush, "new member education" -- or the pledging process -- begins for Penn's newest Greeks.
The rush process "was really exhausting but fun," College freshman Lauren Amster said. "I'm kind of relieved it's over."
