UPDATE: Read the next story in our investigative series on UCF’s Bid Day battle
At a school as young as the University of Central Florida, establishing tradition is a critical part of campus life. So when one of UCF’s few treasured traditions suddenly got ripped away, students became outraged.
And that outrage is growing right now as UCF fraternity and sorority members are struggling to understand why male, tuition-paying students will be banned from standing on a public UCF sidewalk Saturday to welcome hundreds of new sorority members to their houses.
Video from Bid Day Tradition Prior to Male Ban Enforcement:
It’s an alcohol-free tradition that has been going on at UCF longer than anyone who graduated within the last decade can remember. Fraternity members stand on the Greek park sidewalk, clapping, to welcome the new sorority members as they run home. As you can see in previous video of the event above, KnightNews.com has covered it for the last couple years.
Several Greek students, who asked not to be identified because they’re afraid of retaliation from UCF Asst. Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life Scott Clark, complained to KnightNews.com about the decision to end this alcohol-free tradition. So KnightNews.com emailed Clark for an explanation.
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A UCF spokesperson responded on Clark’s behalf, explaining the National Panhellenic Council (NPC), which is the umbrella organization for all Panhellenic sororities at UCF, has a rule prohibiting the participation of men in membership recruitment and Bid Day activities.
UCF told KnightNews.com the rule is not new — just UCF’s decision to enforce it.
“This rule has been in place for a while,” according to UCF’s statement. “This past year at a conference the NPC passed a resolution asking its chapters to commit themselves to enforcing this existing rule.
“Thus, we have been working with sororities on campus and the IFC to make sure its members know about this development. We are helping spread the word about the national organization’s regulation. That means there are to be no men involved in the Bid Day events at UCF. This includes being in Greek Park and approaching any females on Bid Day.”
UCF also said it is planning to hold a BBQ for men to welcome the new sorority women at a yet to be determined date sometime after the traditional Saturday welcoming.
But questions remain about whether UCF has the authority to ban a male, tuition-paying student from walking down a public sidewalk on the state university campus — during a celebration hosted by a registered student organization which benefits from state activity & service fees, which often mandate open access by law to all students.
There are also questions regarding whether the national rule banning men at “Bid Day” extends past the moment when women find out which sorority they join — which if it didn’t would of course mean the UCF tradition wouldn’t violate the national rule. The issue could come down to a matter of interpretation.
KnightNews.com asked follow up questions to UCF regarding those issues — along with other major issues we uncovered while researching national sorority rules today — and we will be breaking new stories covering those additional angles throughout the rest of the week as part of our special investigative series on the end of this alcohol-free tradition.
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Check back for updates as this Saturday’s Bid Day event approaches. Find out when we post an update first by liking us on Facebook to get news of the updates right on your feed.
