Love it or hate it, one of the busiest weeks at Lipscomb began when Bid Night kicked off the spring 2017 pledge week on Friday night in Collins Alumni Auditorium.
Students will likely soon be seeing “raptors” in the square, clubs cheering and pledges approaching you to sign their pledge book.
Over one hundred students stood on stage in Collins and shouted to the crowd that they were a “proud pledge” of their new social club. Each club had a unique and different way of introducing their new members; some social clubs had their new members do dances and cheers, while others took a more serious tone.
“I thought that Bid Night went really well,” Sigma Iota Delta senior Grant Mathis said. “The atmosphere was ecstatic. It was fun to see all the clubs with their pledges as well to see the ways in which all the different clubs, and Greek life in general, is growing.”
Theta Psi stole the show this year, taking a record number of new members. The club started with just introducing 10 pledges, and then had each new member come on stage one by one.
“I’m excited!” Theta Psi senior Zack Eccleston said. “I think it’s a really cool opportunity to open Greek Life up to more guys, and I see it as a testament to the way Theta Psi tries to carry itself that so many guys are drawn to that.”
Theta Psi took a total of 26 pledges this year.
“It’s certainly a challenge to figure out how to do pledge week with that many guys, but that also presents a really cool opportunity to examine the spirit of the week and find new ways to seek that while staying true to our traditions and values,” Eccleston said.
There are eight girls social clubs on campus — Phi Sigma, Delta Omega, Pi Delta, Kappa Chi, Phi Nu, Delta Sigma, Alpha Zeta and Gamma Lambda. There are five guys social clubs on campus — Sigma Iota Delta, Tau Phi, Theta Psi, Sigma Omega Sigma and Delta Nu.
“There are so many pledges this semester, which is a really cool indicator of Greek Life becoming more inclusive,” Eccleston noted. “I hate the flip side of that though; there are some guys and girls that didn’t get a bid, but I hope that increasing numbers means better capacity to take more people in the future.”
“I can’t imagine my college experience at Lipscomb without the close friendships I have made,” Mathis added. “I can contribute those friendships to my decision to go through pledging. It’s a challenging week, but it’s so incredibly worth it.
“The biggest blessing from pledging and joining Greek Life was making those connections and making all sorts of new friendships, including ones with individuals that I didn’t pledge with or people from other clubs.”
If you have any questions about the rush process, feel free to contact Sam Parnell via email at sam.parnell@lipscomb.edu.
Photo courtesy of Katie Markham