|
Active |
A
member who has been initiated into lifelong
fraternity or sorority membership and is active at the
collegiate level. |
|
Alumna / Alumnus |
A
member of a sorority/fraternity who is no longer in
college. |
|
Badge |
The
pin of an initiated member. |
|
Bid |
A
formal invitation to join a fraternity or sorority. |
|
Bid
Day |
The
last day of recruitment when new members accept their
bids and officially join their new organization. |
|
Big |
Short
for “big sister” or “big brother”; an active
member who serves as a mentor for newer members. |
|
Brother |
A
term used by fraternity members to refer to one another. |
|
Chapter |
A
local group of the larger national organization. |
|
Chapter Consultant |
An
alumna or alumnus who works for the national
organization and maintains a close advisory relationship
with a local chapter. |
|
Closed Relations |
A
period of time when conversation and contact between
potential new members and fraternity active members and
alumni are strictly limited by the recruitment
guidelines. |
|
Colony |
A
student organization in the final stage before being
installed as a charted chapter of a nationally
affiliated organization. |
|
Continuous Open Recruitment |
A
process that allows chapters to continuously recruit and
bid new members outside of the formal recruitment
period. |
|
Deferred Recruitment |
A
policy that could be in the future that requires
students to delay fraternity or sorority membership
until the second semester of their freshman year. |
|
Formal Recruitment |
The
period of time set aside by the Interfraternity Council
and Panhellenic Association for meeting potential
members. |
|
Fraternity |
The
name applied to all Greek-letter organizations.
Informally, this name applies to men's groups while
women’s organizations may be sororities or female
fraternities. |
|
Greeks |
Members of a general Greek-letter fraternity or
sorority. |
|
Greek
Week |
An
annual celebration in which chapters participate in
educational, social, and service events. It is a time
for all Greek organizations to unify. |
|
Initiation |
The
formal ceremony that brings a new member into full Greek
membership. Each chapter has a different set of
requirements that must be met in order to be initiated. |
|
Intake |
The
process by which NPHC chapters recruit, inform,
and initiate new members. |
|
Interfraternity Council (IFC) |
The
governing body of nationally recognized fraternities. IFC oversees Formal Recruitment for
its member chapters. |
|
Legacy |
Someone whose mother, father, sister, brother,
grandmother, or grandfather is an initiated member of a
Greek organization. |
|
Line |
The
new member class of a NPHC chapter. |
|
Little |
Short
for “little sister” or “little brother”; a newer member
who is mentored by an older member of the organization. |
|
Multi-Cultural Council (MCC) |
The
governing body of one culturally based chapter |
|
National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) |
The
governing body of nationally recognized fraternities
and sororities |
|
National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) |
The
governing body for 26 national and international
sororities and female fraternities, four of which are
active and operate |
|
North
American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) |
A
conference of men’s private fraternities founded in
1909, which includes 66 member national and
international fraternal organizations comprising 5500
chapters in the United States and Canada. |
|
New
Member |
A
potential member who has accepted the bid of a
fraternity or sorority, but who has not been initiated. |
|
New
Member Educator |
The
chapter officer who oversees the development of new
members and prepares them for initiation. |
|
New
Member Program |
The
period of learning about fraternity and sorority life
prior to initiation. In addition to learning the history
of the organization, new members may attend
presentations on topics such as study skills, etiquette,
social awareness, acquaintance rape, substance abuse,
and other important issues. |
|
Open
Recruitment |
The
period after Formal Recruitment in which fraternities
may recruit and offer bids without scheduled events
through IFC. |
|
Panhellenic Association (Panhel) |
The
governing body for four nationally recognized sororities
and female fraternities |
|
Philanthropy |
A
service project sponsored by a chapter from which
donations of goods, money, and/or time are given to
charitable organizations. |
|
Pledge |
see
“New Member.” |
|
Potential New Member |
A
college man or woman who is participating in
Recruitment. |
|
Preferential Bidding |
The
process of mutual selection between Panhellenic
sororities and potential new members. |
|
Probate Show |
The
introduction of new members of a NPHC chapter |
|
Quota |
A
specified number of women a Panhellenic sorority may
offer bids to during formal recruitment. |
|
Recruitment Counselor |
An
initiated member of a Panhellenic sorority who guides
potential new members through the formal recruitment
process. |
|
Recruitment Guidlines |
Guidelines set forth by the Interfraternity Council to
ensure a fair and stress-free Recruitment process. |
|
Rush |
see
“Formal Recruitment.” |
|
Silence |
A
period of time when conversation and contact between
potential new members and Panhellenic sorority active
members and alumnae are strictly limited by recruitment
guidelines. |
|
Sister |
A
term used by sorority members to refer to one another. |
|
Soror |
An
initiated member of a NPHC sorority. |
|
Sorority |
A
group of women joined together in friendship for
leadership and academic purposes. |
