New Member Calendar
BID DAY & BONDING
Delta Gamma’s eight-week new member period kicks off with Bid Day! The moment you arrive at DG, you’ll be paired with an active sister (called a Pi Alpha – you’ll learn why later!) whose job is to make you feel comfortable and excited throughout the day’s festivities. She’ll help you get decked out in DG gear, introduce you to your new sisters, and be there to answer all your questions. You will have a new Pi Alpha for each of your first four weeks in DG – get ready to go on sister dates galore!
In addition to meeting older members, you’ll also have plenty of opportunities to bond with your new member class! Together you’ll learn about our Fraternity history and life in DG and get to know each other with the help of our VP: Member Education and Director of New Members. These two officers will be there to guide you from Bid Day to Initiation in March, planning weekly meetings in the suite, bonding activities ranging from sweet to silly, and a new member retreat.
BIG-LITTLE WEEK, REVEAL, & PLEDGE FAMILIES
One of the biggest highlights of Delta Gamma’s new member period happens just a few short weeks after Bid Day - each new member gets her very own pledge family! Your family will act as your mentors and second home within the chapter, and many DGs count their bigs and littles among their closest friends at WashU. Our VP: Member Education, Director of New Members, and President will work tirelessly to match you with the perfect big sister. For four days, you’ll be showered with love, surprise presents, and clues about your big’s identity. It’s always so much fun to see new members show up at Letter Day Lunch on Wednesday in brand new DG swag from their bigs!
The week finishes with Big/Little Reveal, a chapter-wide event where littles finally get to find out who their bigs are. You’ll be welcomed into your amazing new pledge family before being whisked away for a late night treat at your family’s traditional celebration spot in St. Louis – places like John's Donuts and Jeni's are always hopping with DGs after Reveal!
ANCHORSPLASH
As a new member, you'll dive right into our philanthropy and foundation in early March with Anchor Splash Week! Whether you’re tabling in the DUC, handing out vision facts around campus, coaching a sorority or fraternity team, or just sporting your letters at the AC pool, you'll have tons of opportunities to help raise money and awareness for Service for Sight. As one of the biggest and most well-attended philanthropy events on campus, Anchor Splash is a great way to "dive in and do good" as a new member of DG!
INITIATION
The new member period ends in late March with Inspiration and Initiation, during which you’ll become a full-fledged member of Delta Gamma. Our rituals are what truly bind us to each other and the Fraternity: every Delta Gamma chapter has used the same Initiation ritual since our founders first created it in 1873! The week leading up to Initiation is both exciting and incredibly meaningful. You’ll take part in traditions shared by the more than 15,000 collegiate members of DG across the country, such as Inspiration, as well as those unique to our chapter at WashU, like the painted anchors we make for our bigs.
Some new members find Initiation especially significant because of a family connection to the Fraternity. Each year, biological sisters, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and even close friends from home have the opportunity to come to WashU and welcome their loved ones into lifelong sisterhood in Delta Gamma. In 2014, our chapter was joined for Initiation by two moms and a best friend, and we could not have been more thrilled to share this amazing weekend with them.
