Bids: The great divide
*All names have been changed to assure anonymity.
It’s bids season in Geneseo, and it’s hard to ignore.
This weekend, the Geneseo campus experienced its biannual bids weekend, celebrating some student’s acceptance into a Greek organization. Geneseo recognizes ten social fraternities, twelve social sororities, and four professional and service organizations. The Geneseo Intergreek Council webpage states, “The bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood among members of Greek organizations are irreplaceable and result in friendships that last a lifetime.”
As of Spring 2018, around one in three Geneseo students were involved in a Greek organization. First-semester freshmen are not allowed to rush, so most experience their first bids weekend from afar. Alice, a senior, recalled, “I remember first semester freshman year on campus, people [were] going through the campus cheering, chanting, in the fall. And I was thinking, that is so ridiculous. Who would ever do that, they sound like such idiots.” Others, like Sarah, were sure they wanted to join. “It looked like a lot of fun, and I wanted to be a part of that fun.”
Bids day looks different for each organization. Local organizations and fraternities often walk through campus chanting traditional songs and handing out bids in person. National sororities held their bid acceptance in the Union Ballroom this year, letting their rushes run to their chosen sorority. But almost all Greek organizations hold a party for their newly accepted members on bids night.
According to Tim, a senior who is not affiliated with any organizations, all Greek organizations contribute negatively to campus issues. “Greek life upholds all of the things that are wrong with this school,” he said. “So much gets swept under the rug…people get abused, drugs and alcohol get abused. It’s just a culture that I fail to understand.” But even Alice, who thought the bids weekend chants were stupid, eventually joined a Greek organization. “Now I walk through the campus cheering every semester myself,” she said.
So, what is it exactly that makes these people change their mind? What does a bid really offer to a Geneseo student? To find out these answers, we asked students Ally, Jack and Emma why they joined their organization.
“Most of all, companionship,” Ally said: “I was looking for an allyship within a group of people.” Ally is a minority student and said being in an organization has made her life on campus generally easier. Emma, who joined her sorority in fall 2020, said COVID-19 influenced her decision. “I didn’t rush freshman year, because I didn’t think I would fit in. But then COVID happened, and I felt like I needed to be a part of something to make more friends.”
Many of the interviewees expressed that joining an organization was necessary to have a good social life in Geneseo. “It has a strangle-hold on Geneseo culture,” Tim, who is unaffiliated, said. “Honestly, it's really all the schools’ social life has to offer.”
Many students belong to clubs, which are generally less formal and exclusive than Greek organizations, as well as usually free. But for Ally, clubs were not enough. “When you meet someone, one of the first questions they ask you is your affiliation,” she said. “I always felt the clubs I was a part of were not enough of an answer.” After joining, Ally found that she got some of the allyship she wanted, but also struggled with finding her place in her organization. From the outside, she could show off her letters and “walk into parties easily.” But on the inside, she often pondered whether or not she had made the right choice.
Other interviewees also expressed that getting a bid and joining an organization gave them a sense of identity. Jack, a senior who rushed as a sophomore, said, “Being a part of that organization gives a presence to somebody. Let’s say you’re in this one frat. People know you’re in it, you’re proud of being in it. People like having that reputation and being able to say ‘yes, I’m a part of that.’”
This sense of identity can provide comfort and routine to college students. But what’s the tradeoff? Tim (unaffiliated) expressed his concern for hazing and even went so far as to call Greek life a ‘cult,’ complete with “hierarchies and initiations.”
“People want to be a part of something so bad they subject themselves to humiliation. They shell out money to be a part of something.”
Ally confirmed that she wanted to be a part of something so much so that she overlooks the cons of being part of an organization. “It gives me a different sense of identity, even if I can’t control what that identity looks like.”
Now that these students are a part of something, they continue to extend bids to the rest of the student body each semester. For those who are not a part of something, they often still reap the benefits of bids weekend: Aimee, an unaffiliated senior, looks forwards to bids weekend despite her non-affiliated status. “I’m excited for a weekend of drinking…with more people, around people. Greek life wasn’t for me. I think a lot of people are upset on bids weekend because they are jealous. But I don’t mind that I didn’t get a bid.”
Watching the new members accept their bids with glee can certainly be exciting, even from afar. But after bids comes six weeks of pledging, a time notorious for hazing rumors and sometimes truths. “Seeing how excited they are, you remember what it was like when you were in that position,” Emma said. “And you know, they don’t know what they’re in for.” When asked if she could share one thing with all newly admitted Greek life members, she laughed. “Good luck, and enjoy the ride,” she said. “Good damn luck.”