Emery Wainscott
Lifestyle Editor
[email protected]

Murray State’s Interfraternity Council hosted its twice-yearly Bid Night for newcomers on Saturday, Aug. 28 at Roy Stewart Stadium.

Bid Night is the final event in a week of recruitment. During recruitment, newcomers visit different fraternities as part of Rush Week, usually after Kickoff.

“The two big events that the IFC puts on are Kickoff, which is like a big meet-and-greet, so that everyone can gain information about the events that each fraternity will put on in between Kickoff and Bid Day,” said IFC Recruitment Chair Mason Welden.

At the end of Rush Week, chapters vote on each person interested in their fraternity and extend a bid to those upon whom they agree, so some newcomers can receive multiple bids. Bid Day is the day when each invitee accepts or declines bid offers.

“We try to get all the new guys to attend Kickoff so that they can get a grasp of each fraternity and determine who they want to learn more about during the recruitment process,” Welden said. “These events which fraternities put on range from an informational night with alumni speaking to playing kickball, going out on the lake or even going to play paintball.”

Potential new members will then attend Bid Night, where they are welcomed by the fraternity they chose. At this year’s Bid Night, Welden said the members arrived and were presented with their bids privately in the Racer Room, where they made their decision. The new members then gathered with others who accepted a bid from the same fraternity and ran out of the stadium’s tunnel and onto the field. Welden said at this point, yelling and excitement took place as the groups were jumping up and down in celebration.

Welden said his Bid Day took place in the Curris Center Ballroom instead of outdoors.

“We ran from the hall into the ballroom to where the brotherhood could greet us,” said Welden, who is a member of Alpha Sigma Phi. 

Ian Nation, a freshman wildlife and conservation biology major who joined Sigma Phi Epsilon, said he accepted his bid because he felt welcomed from very early on.

“I would have been crazy not to,” Nation said. “There isn’t a better fraternity on campus or in the state of Kentucky. All of the men in the fraternity are honorable and are intelligent members of society… Bid Night was an absolute blast.”

After Bid Night, new members are enrolled in a member education program. The program teaches the members about the history of the fraternity and their motto, slogan and tenets. 

“Programs can range anywhere from a few weeks up to an entire semester,” Welden said. “Now I cannot speak on behalf of everyone’s initiation process because those are things which remain within the walls of the fraternity, but once initiated, these new members will be considered brothers.”

Welden said although sorority recruitment is much different, the process for sorority Bid Night is similar to the IFC’s. Both sororities and fraternities host mixers where members of both chapters participate in activities such as hayrides and movie nights. They also work together during Homecoming to build a float for the parade.

During all of these mostly outdoor events, Welden said COVID-19 guidelines were followed. The Executive Council of the IFC was assigned a fraternity each night where they checked to ensure that all guidelines were being followed, he said.

Welden said he didn’t rush until after he transferred to Murray State. In high school, Welden said he was very involved as a member of Future Farmers of America and played soccer and baseball. When he graduated in 2019, he attended the University of Kentucky where he said he focused strictly on school. Here at Murray State, Welden is an agronomy major and in his junior year.

 “When I transferred to Murray I knew that I needed to get involved,” Welden said. “When I met the brothers of Alpha Sigma Phi they felt like home. They liked me for who I was and were genuine during rush week and the weeks following.” 

 Since joining the fraternity, Welden has risen to a leadership role and was encouraged to get involved in other student organizations.

Elections for the IFC are in mid-November of each year. Welden said he ran for recruitment chair by giving a speech and was then elected for a year term.

Part of Welden’s duties as recruitment chair is planning the formal week of recruitment for fall and spring semesters. Welden does this by attending weekly meetings and informing all 10 fraternities on plans and updates. As part of the IFC, he helps plan Bid Day and Kickoff. Any other events are the responsibility of each fraternity.

“There are rules that all the fraternities have to follow,” Welden said. “They are addressed in the IFC meeting prior to Rush Week starting. The main ones are no alcohol, tobacco or illegal substances to be partaken during rush events or with these potential new members at any time between Kickoff and Bid Day, and no talking bad about any other fraternities to influence these incoming students.”

If students are interested in joining a fraternity after Bid Night, Welden said they must meet a GPA requirement, which differs for each fraternity and can be found on the IFC’s Instagram, @ifcmurraystate. If a candidate meets all requirements, fraternities can extend snap bids or 365-bids, which are valid for a year.