OPINION: Top 5 UGA Bid Day themes ranked by a former sorority member (2024)

The University of Georgia is home to many avenues of student involvement, whether it be clubs, classes or Greek life. For Greek life, one of the biggest days of the year is sorority Bid Day. At the end of the week-long process, the girls rushing open a bid from one of the sororities they visited during the Preference Round and “run home” to a sorority awaiting them with themed festivities.

This year, Bid Day took place on Sunday, Aug. 18. The day was filled with unique themes that each sorority selected; each house was decorated with painted banners, balloon arches, bid day shirts that matched the theme, trucker hats, signs for the new members to wear around their necks and more.

Culture editor Jesse Wood is a former sorority member. Wood and The Red & Black Opinion Desk have compiled a list of their top five favorite Bid Day themes from 2024 Panhellenic Recruitment. The choices were based on decorations and banners, outfits, as well as the overall creativity of the theme itself. Every house was taken into consideration and was critiqued on style and attention to detail.

We Chews You, Alpha Omicron Pi

Alpha Omicron Pi’s bid day theme was an explosion of bright, bubblegum pink, which I personally loved. Each of the new members wore a pink bubblegum bubble sign around their neck, a white tank top with bright pink bubble letters, pink bottoms and a neon pink trucker hat with the sorority letters. I think this theme could have been tacky if not executed well, but the sorority did an exceptional job at keeping the theme easy for all members to match one another. The use of bubble letters, pink and bubblegum was a creative bid day theme that I felt surpassed not only this year’s themes collectively, but many past themes as well.

Envy the Ivy, Alpha Phi

This year, I thought that Alpha Phi’s bid day theme was an understated, classy theme compared to the bright, eye-catching ones that sororities usually opt for. The muted shades of greens, pinks and whites complimented the Alpha Phi house in a sophisticated way. I also loved how the banners looked more like pieces of art, not so much a preppy Canva creation. The sorority members wore green trucker hats with white bid day tank tops.

Happy Bid Day, Alpha Chi Omega

Alpha Chi Omega delivered a fun, bright bid day theme that I thought was adorable. The sorority spun off “birthday” to create “Bid Day,” and the event was complete with pastels, birthday cake signs, light yellow bid day shirts and neon pink trucker hats. Confetti flew through the air the entire day to match the lighthearted theme.

Love Flies at Gamma Phi, Gamma Phi Beta

This year was the year for pastel color schemes at bid day, and Gamma Phi Beta was the best to do it this year. I loved the way the banner looked in front of Gamma Phi’s beautiful white house with the balloon arches on either side. The banner had depictions of hot air balloons and clouds in what resembles postal stamps. The bid day signs were made to look like postcards, and the sorority members wore light pink hats with baby blue shirts. The front yard was complete with a white bouncy castle.

Played Your Cards Right, Kappa Delta

I love Kappa Delta’s unique and loud bid day themes. This year, the sorority went with a red and white theme to resemble a deck of playing cards. The active members wore white shirts, and the new members wore the red opposite shirt. The house was decorated with bright red and white balloons and banners painted as playing cards. The sorority went with the same bid day signs for the new members as they usually do, but the ones for this year were complete with red, sparkly borders.

Honorable Mentions:

Delta Zeta in Full Bloom, Delta Zeta

PC 24 Just Landed, Delta Delta Delta