Congratulations! You’ve chosen your sorority!
Now for the really fun part… new membership. Before I started the whole process of recruitment, I figured once you had your bid, that you’re officially a sister. I was wrong, after getting the bid there’s still a round two. This one consists of surprises (good ones of course), presents, and, you guessed it, more bow headbands. Every sorority is different, but there is generally an eight-week period from the time of pledging to initiation. What’s the difference? Pledging is accepting the bid and saying you’re committed to wanting to be in the sorority. There is usually a ritual or tradition to go along with this. Then there is initiation, where you become an active member, or, in other words, an ‘official’ sister.
I have been busier these past eight weeks than my entire first semester. My calendar is now full of sorority-related events, ranging from philanthropy fundraisers to general meetings, where in my first four months I didn’t even need a calendar. My favorite event among all of these was Big/Little Week. It has absolutely nothing to do with height, but rather a process in which one of the sisters becomes your Big (an equivalent to a mentor, big sister-type). Once you have a Big, then you become a Little, which you probably figured that one out already. During a week at the beginning of new membership, after Bigs and Littles are paired up, there is Big/Little Week (which has different names depending on the sorority).
So why is this my favorite event? Well, first, there are the presents. Your Big, who remains a secret until a special end-of-the-week reveal, showers you in gifts ranging from candy to heartfelt letters, sand pails to hand-painted picture frames. Soon, you will find your entire desk overflowing with random objects, like a foam paper elephant hat. Oh, and I forgot to mention one other thing… the majority of the time your presents are delivered by very attractive fraternity gentlemen. I say gentlemen because many show up dressed in the full suit and tie! Many of you are probably hesitant about this process because of hazing. The University of Vermont has a zero-tolerance hazing policy, and any sorority suspected of abusive or humiliating activities is removed from UVM Greek Life. There is also The National Anti-Hazing Hotline (1-888-NOT-HAZE) if you feel you are being hazed or suspect someone else is subjected to hazing.
The new membership period is all about becoming educated about your sorority and having fun getting to know your future sisters. So reach out to them and get excited about being involved in your community!