For many Trinity students, Bid Day is a much-anticipated Greek life tradition that welcomes new members into one of the 14 Greek life organizations. However, just like countless other events on campus, Bid Day has not remained unaffected by COVID.

Normally, Bid Day sees students who were accepted into a Greek life organization rushing across campus, passing through the Student Involvement Office and arriving at their final destination: Miller Fountain. At Miller Fountain, they are greeted by Greek life banners, balloons and the active members of the fourteen Greek life organizations. It’s a day full of excitement and camaraderie where potential new members are enveloped into Greek life organizations and begin New Member Orientation. For most active members of Greek life, this is one of the fondest and most joyful memories from their recruitment experience.

Last year’s Bid Day looked much different. Calista Valuk, a junior and active member of Gamma Chi Delta, notes how last year’s Bid Day was held exclusively outside, forgoing the Student Involvement Office tradition, and saw their new members being welcomed by less than 10 active members who were all donning masks. In addition, as seen in Trinity’s YouTube video “Trinity University – Bid Day 2021,” the participating Greek life organizations had to visit the Miller Fountain one at a time during their scheduled time slot and finish with their Miller Fountain celebration before the next Greek life organization arrived. This meant that unfortunately for the potential new members of 2021, their Bid Day was without the effervescent excitement of being surrounded by all of Trinity’s Greek life organizations, without the welcoming arms of the entirety of their new organization and without getting to celebrate those who make it possible.

Despite the sacrifices made last year, potential new members and active members alike should not be disheartened about what COVID might mean for Bid Day 2022. According to Kate McGarrity, Greek Council recruitment and orientation co-chair, “Bid Day this year is going to be a lot closer to what it was before COVID.”

“The main change this year,” McGarrity said, “is that it’s exclusively outside, whereas [poterntial new members] would run into the Student Involvement Office and then back out, but now they’re just going to run from Bid Day check-in to the Esplanade, to the fountain, so it’ll all be outside and also just masking up … otherwise, it’ll be the same and I don’t think that the Student Involvement change will … decrease the excitement or the experience.”

It seems that, despite the challenges COVID has posed and may pose on Trinity’s campus, some normalcy is returning to Bid Day as, like McGarrity said, the only difference will be the presence of masks and skipping the visit to the Student Involvement Office. That means that this year, potential new members will get to enjoy the rich traditions of Greek life together, and, on Feb. 11, the Trinity community will once again see a joyful celebration around the Miller Fountain.