Only two women’s social clubs are participating in spring pledging this year: Tri Kappa Gamma and Zeta Rho.
Bid nights for the two clubs will begin Friday.
Ciara Beck, Zeta Rho member and junior interdisciplinary major from Colleyville, said her club will have seven new pledges. The pledging process will remain the same as usual.
“We try to keep it very traditional and follow the footsteps of each pledge class before” Beck said.
Though Zeta Rho’ s bid night rituals will remain mostly the same, the other women’s social club, Tri Kappa Gamma, will introduce new traditions.
The next few weeks will be Tri Kappa Gamma’s first chance to formally initiate members, as the social club was not re-chartered in time for Fall 2014 pledging.
Tri Kappa’s bid night will begin at a secret location on campus, where current participants will hand out club shirts and bids. From there, the girls will be led on a scavenger hunt around Abilene, which will end with games and devotional time at Southern Hills Church.
“Everyone is extremely excited for tomorrow night,” said Brooklyn Merkord, President of Tri Kappa and sophomore elementary education major from Round Rock. “Its going to be a great opportunity for all of the girls to get to know each other better, and a great chance for the friend groups to mix up. The girls are really excited about this new club.”
The 58 pledges will now become official members of the club, despite having been participants in its re-chartering in the Fall.
Each participant was required to pay a $50 interest fee in the fall, and another $150 in January to commit to the club in order to secure a bid.
Merkord said the club’s bid night will end any time from midnight to 1 a.m.
Men’s social clubs will not be actively recruiting this semester.
Garret Lane, member of Frater Sodalis and senior Bible major from Clovis, California, said the club would not conduct a bid night this semester.
“People just weren’t interested in doing it this year,” he said.
Another Frat member and Frat Brat Dad, Chris Perkins, senior political science major from Abilene, explained the thought process in closing recruitment this semester.
“We didn’t have enough people register this semester. We didn’t think it would be a good idea for just a couple of people to do the bid night together, because that wouldn’t have been very beneficial to building brotherhood,” he said. “So, we wont have any new members this spring.”
