Rounds no longer a part of Bid Night festivities

Stevens’ annual Bid Night, a celebratory evening that welcomes the newest members of Greek Life, has been reformatted this year. A main part of the festivities, known as “rounds,” has been struck from the usual activities that occur on Bid Night. Rounds were a tradition in which members of sororities would go from fraternity to fraternity, celebrating their newest members, while also meeting other members of Greek Life.

This change was discussed when the Interfraternity Greek Council (IFC) and Stevens Panhellenic Council (SPC) met during a North-American Interfraternity Council IMPACT weekend to deliberate on Bid Night 2019. IMPACT is a “campus-based leadership institute designed to foster improved relationships between campus leaders through an intensive, interactive 2.5-day program.” Additionally, it is expected that the participants determine what change will occur as a result of their participation.

According to Malcolm McDaniel, Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, after the program was complete, the IFC and SPC “decided to not use the same format as in the past,” but will continue with the tradition of revealing their newest members on Bid Night.

The SPC declined to comment. The IFC initially refused to comment, but after multiple requests, they submitted a last-minute comment: “The changes regarding post-ceremony bid night traditions made it unreasonable for affiliated organizations to participate in the tradition.”

In regard to why this change has occurred, McDaniel explained that “the way that the rounds were done in past years has raised some concerns regarding risk management, and we always prioritize student safety and reducing risk as much as possible. The rounds concept also allowed for an imbalance in which fraternities would meet at maximum five sororities, where sororities would meet at maximum ten fraternities.”

While there is no specific policy change in place, this change in plans marks the end of a tradition for Bid Night festivities. When asked about alternatives the school is proposing with regard to this change, McDaniel stated that the IFC and Office of Undergraduate Student Life team are in “ongoing conversations about alternatives and new ideas to take the place of the rounds tradition,” and that “the future of Bid Night is an ongoing conversation … I support [the IFC] wanting to celebrate their newest members, as long as it’s done in a safe way.”