Panhel offers 339 bids, down from last year

The volume of bids marks a decrease from last year, when Duke’s nine chapters gave out 364 bids.
The volume of bids marks a decrease from last year, when Duke’s nine chapters gave out 364 bids.

Duke’s nine Panhellenic Association sororities gave out 339 bids on Sunday’s Bid Day, concluding a two-week recruitment process.

The volume of bids marks a decrease from last year, when Duke’s nine chapters gave out 364 bids. A portion of the decrease was attributed to dropouts, but Howard declined to comment on how many chose to cut their recruitment process short. The pledge classes were in between 36 and 39 members each.

“Recruitment is going very well this year,” wrote senior Katie Howard, president of the Panhel executive board, in an email Saturday. “This is our second year at the [Durham] Convention Center, so we’ve been able to smooth out any bumps in the process that occurred last year.”

Although most of the process took place at the convention center, bids were given out on Sunday in Reynolds Theater in a room that participants said was bustling with nervous energy.

“On Bid Day, we were all together in one tension-filled room where we opened our envelopes saying which sorority we were in,” said Chidinma Nnoromele, a freshman who received a bid from Zeta Tau Alpha.

Although Nnoromele said that she was satisfied with her placement, she described the period of recruitment as a “stressful process.” She said that preference night—the night before Bid Day when women list their remaining sororities in order of preference—was the most stressful. She said she felt a sense of relief at receiving her bid on Bid Day.

“The day is overwhelming, but so awesome because all of the sisters are welcoming you and hugging you right away,” Nnoromele said. “They even put a decoration on my door.”

Howard expected potential new members, known as PNMs, to be excited on preference night as Panhel approached final decision-making time.

“Essentially, PNMs will rank their remaining chapter options—up to three chapters—after attending the chapters,” Howard explained. “Through a process of mutual selection, anyone who maximizes their options by being open to accept a bid from any of their remaining sororities, will very likely receive a bid the next day,”

Any PNMs who withdrew from recruitment before Bid Day are eligible for recruitment for Panhel’s newest sorority, Gamma Phi Beta, which has been introduced to campus this year, Howard said.

“This is an exciting new option for anyone who didn’t quite find the right fit these past two weekends, but still wants to get involved immediately in Greek Life,” Howard said.

Following Bid Day events, some first-year women returned to East Campus having chosen to drop their aspiration of joining a sorority. Those who accepted their bids, returned after taking photos on West Campus decked out in new gear denoting their sororities.

“Since I am an only child, I am so thrilled to finally have all these sisters,” said Anna Mukamal, a freshman who received a bid from Alpha Delta Pi.

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