Staying up all night out of excitement, decorating the house, making gifts, spending time with loved ones…sounds like I’m talking about a birthday or the holiday season, right? Well, multiply how great those days are by about 100 and you get Bid Day! One of my all-time favorite sorority events, where your sisters are the best gift you could ever ask for.

I still remember my very first Bid Day when I became a sister of Delta Phi Epsilon. During the long minutes of sitting on my bid along with all the other girls dying to open the envelopes, I remember crushing the hands of the two sitting on either side of me, Anna and Rachel – as it turns out, they were soon to be my Omicron pledge sisters. When we finally got the signal to open our bids, I remember absolutely mangling mine as I tried to get it open as quick as I could, and then tearing up as soon as I saw the purple and gold crest on the front. The rest is a blur of hugs, introductions, group photos, Bid Day tshirts, noise everywhere from chants, vuvuzelas, pots & pans, icebreakers, and fun and games at Krazy Village that night. It was honestly one of the best and most exciting days of my life.

The next year was my first time going through the recruitment process on the other side as an initiated sister, but I was still just as excited when Bid Day came around. I was living in the house that year, and went around to everyone’s rooms that morning jumping and screaming about how much I loved Bid Day, which is a lot of enthusiasm even by my standards. When our beautiful Pi class came walking down Greek Row for the first time to the sounds of our pots and pans, I lost my voice in about 5 minutes cheering for them. That year we went to Dave & Busters, where everyone had a blast bonding and playing games. I still have the glitter plastic bracelets that were my prizes, and every time I see them on my desk I smile and think back to that fabulous night.

This year was my last undergraduate Bid Day, which was bittersweet I got up extra early along with the other helpers to prep the house and get the new members’ goodie bags together. We then all met at Main Building with the rest of the sororities, and took our turn welcoming our new Rho class by cheering and hugging them as they came up the stairs. We had introductions at the house as usual, an unusual surprise occurrence of random tilty cars that just happened to be DPhiE colors, and then it was back to Dave & Busters for round 2. But the most important part of Bid Day isn’t the prizes or games, as fun and great as those always are. It’s the feeling of sisterhood and warmth at its strongest, it’s talking to girls you’ve just met as if you’ve known them all your life and reconnecting with sisters you may not get to see as often, it’s remembering everything you love about Delta Phi Epsilon and why you were drawn to this chapter in the beginning. No matter if you’re a new member or a senior, it’s impossible not to be moved by Bid Day, the most wonderful day of the year!

-Adrienne Girone 

The adventures of Drexel DPhiE women are not contained inside the city of Philadelphia. We traveled to Sea Isle City in New Jersey for some sun and relaxation. When one shows up at the beach with a massive group of twenty-something girls, you can expect to see some interesting reactions from the surrounding families on the beach. Other than the substantial number of people, we blended right in with the other beach-goers. Swimming through waves, soaking up sun, picnicking, and laughing- it was an fun summer day. 

-Jess Mattern (weekly blogger)

Bored and looking for adventure beyond our typical University city environment, we ventured to a center city for an elegant dinner party to celebrate two of our sisters' birthdays. Looking chic and fabulous, 20 sisters ventured to La Fontana to celebrate Angela and Emilie's twentieth birthday. While there, we toasted to the birthday girls and enjoyed delicious pasta dishes. With all the laughter and high spirits present, La Fontana can expect us back again.

-Jess Mattern (weekly blogger)

Living in the Delta Phi Epsilon House

The first time I saw my favorite quote about greek life was in the DPhiE kitchen on my bid day. It was printed out and glued to a small piece of scrapbook paper taped to the wall – “These letters don’t make me better than you, they make me better than I used to be.” Two years later, that same piece of paper still hangs on the wall in the house that I have called home for the last year. As my time living in our house comes to an end, I realize what these words mean to me and to the group of women who have been my roommates for the past year.

The DPhiE house is a crazy place to live, don’t get me wrong. It can be loud, crowded, and messy. At times, each of us has wanted to pull our hair out for one reason or another – whether it be the mountain of dishes that piles up in the sink from time to time or Jeffrey, the squirrel who lives in the wall of 301 and whose favorite time to have a squirrel party is 7am on a Sunday. However, I can say confidently that none of us would trade this year of our lives to live anywhere else.

Living in the house means having 15 roommates. It means never having to watch TV, study, eat dinner, laugh, or cry alone. Your roommates aren’t just people to live with, they are your sisters – and you’d better get used to it, because you’re going to learn pretty much everything about all of them. I’ve learned that Laura can set a fire with a bag of popcorn, that Emilie is the one person in the English-speaking world who watches Psych, and that yes, Giuliana does eat pasta for pretty much every meal. More importantly though, I have made connections with 15 of my sisters that I would never have without the DPhiE house. I met my 5 best friends, spent about a million hours watching SVU, borrowed from 15 different closets, and learned to love each and every one of my roommates. My advice to the pis is to take advantage of every second of your time here. Don’t pass up this unique opportunity to bond with your sisters over everything from bad TV to getting ready for socials. Even if you don’t live in the house, come visit your sisters who do live here every chance you get. Not only do they have a bigger TV than you - they want you here, because this house is every DPhiE’s home.

The letters that are hung on the outside of this house and that we wear proudly make us better women. For me, DPhiE has given me a year of change and amazing experiences that have improved me both as a sister and a person. It may have come with a lot of dirty dishes and a cockroach or two, but it was worth every minute.
-Claire Arnos