Sorority bidding day, which took place on Harris Field Wednesday afternoon, is the first opportunity of the year for new pledges and current members of various sorority chapters to come together. ?The event provides chapters the first chance to meet all of their new sisters. The new pledges make up about 40 percent of the chapter according to Leslie Resnick, vice president of membership and a junior in business management.?This year 359 women signed up for seven chapters with about 40 members each.?New pledges gathered by Witherspoon Student Center prior to joining their chapters. Ashlee Cuddy, a freshman in life sciences, said she felt an overwhelming excitement at the prospect of finally becoming a part of her chapter.??”I feel like this is the first day, a whole new beginning to my life,” Grace Weinlein, a freshman in psychology, said.??Another important part of the bidding ceremony is the unveiling of the Sigma Rho Chis recruiting counselors. Sigma Rho Chis are members of chapters who spend the pledging time disaffiliated with their particular chapters. According to John Mountz, the director of Greek Life, this allows pledges to make a more informed choice of the chapter they wish to pledge and it also provides a more meaningful and fair experience.??”They couldn’t wear their letters and had to make their Facebook accounts private,” Resnick said. “It’s really weird not to be able to show your letters or wear your T-shirts with pride.”??The Sigma Rho Chis unveiled their chapter affiliation by dancing to music and removing their generic sorority shirts in favor of their specific chapter shirts.??Throughout the bidding, chapters participated in singing, and current members bestowed gifts such as T-shirts and balloons on their new members. Bidding is a celebration and is the first sisterhood event, said Resnick.??”We’re all very excited to meet the new girls that are a part of our chapter. Today is the big day,” Stephanie Suchoza, president of Delta Zeta and a senior in business management, said.?According to Mountz, sororities have higher numbers than they’ve had in a long time.??”This year we’ve had more women participate and receive bids than anytime in the last seven years,” Mountz said.??Resnick said there has been more public relations work throughout the year and the online registration made it easier and the process much quicker.??”We’ve been planning since January for bidding. We’re really excited that we have more women,” she said.??Rebecca Krebs, president of Alpha Delta Pi, said she was pleased with the overall turnout of her particular chapter during the pledging events.??”We just had an excellent rush. I’ve never seen our whole chapter come out for everything like it did this year,” Krebs said.