Reports of CNN camera crew on campus spark unease during Panhellenic recruitment

Fraternities and sororities welcome the newest members of Greek life

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated The Daily Mississippian received a comment from CNN in time for publication. The story has been updated to reflect that The Daily Mississippian did not receive a comment at the time of publication.

A CNN camera crew was allegedly spotted filming during Panhellenic Formal Recruitment on the University of Mississippi campus last week.

Panhellenic sororities wrapped up recruitment with bid day on Saturday, Aug. 23 at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. The Daily Mississippian attempted to obtain comments from new members before, during and after they opened their bid day cards, but none provided comment. Several new members said they were instructed not to talk to any media outlets, as a result of speculation about CNN’s presence during recruitment.

The Daily Mississippian also requested comments from active members of Panhellenic sororities; however, several said they were instructed not to speak. The Daily Mississippian also reached out to the Interfraternity Council and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life but did not receive a response from either group.

UM Director of News and Media Relations Jacob Batte said there were many media outlets on campus this last week. Batte said the university does not have the authority to halt news organizations from covering stories in public spaces — like sidewalks and roadways.

“Students are free to speak with reporters; however, sorority chapters and their national organizations may have their own news media guidelines,” Batte said.

The Daily Mississippian reached out to CNN for confirmation but did not hear back by time of publication.

The Daily Mississippian was, however, able to photograph bid day on Saturday, Aug. 23 for Panhellenic sororities and Sunday, Aug. 24 for IFC fraternities. These photos can be found below.

Bid Day 2025

1 of 12

- +

1. Sophomore Ashlynn Hampton embraces new Delta Gamma member on Aug. 23. Photo by Jack Kirkland.

2. Freshmen Kappa Kappa Gammas run down Sorority Row to meet their new sisters on Aug. 23. Photo by Jack Kirkland.

3. Alpha Delta Pi's pledge class of 2025 poses outside of the house on Aug. 23. Photo by Olivia Cangelosi

4. Two new members pose with the Kappa Delta hand sign in front of their house on Aug. 23. Photo by Jack Kirkland.

5. Freshman Hayes Harrell is welcomed home to the Tri Delta house on Aug. 23. Photo by Jack Kirkland.

6. Alpha Delta Pis welcome new members on Rebel Drive on Aug. 23. Photo by Olivia Cangelosi.

7. New Chi Omega members run down Rebel Drive to the Chi Omega house on Aug. 23. Photo by Olivia Cangelosi

8. Alpha Phi's new members pose for a photo in front of their house on Rebel Drive on Aug. 23. Photo by Jack Kirkland.

9. New members pose in front of the Phi Mu house on Aug. 23. Photo by Jack Kirkland.

10. Freshmen line up on Fraternity Row before running home to their new houses on Aug. 24. Photo by Reagan Kurtz.

11. Sigma Chi's new members put on their jerseys in front of the Sigma Chi house on Aug. 24. Photo by Reagan Kurtz.

12. Members of Sigma Chi wait on their balcony for the new members to run home on Aug. 24. Photo by Reagan Kurtz

Tags: bid day sorority

Republish this article

Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Unless otherwise noted, you can republish most of The Daily Mississippian’s stories for free under a Creative Commons license.

For digital publications:
Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the HTML code and paste it into your Content Management System (CMS).
Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
Any website our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @thedailymississippian on Facebook and @thedm_news on X (formerly Twitter).

For print publications:
You have to credit The Daily Mississippian. We prefer “Author Name, The Daily Mississippian” in the byline. If you’re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: “This story was originally published by The Daily Mississippian” and include our website, thedmonline.com.
You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
You cannot republish our editorial cartoons, photographs, illustrations or graphics without specific permission (contact our managing editor Michael Guidry for more information). To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories.
You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
You can only publish select stories individually — not as a collection.
Any website our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
If you have any other questions, contact the Student Media Center at Ole Miss.