Fraternity Sorority
Terminology
Active - An initiated
man or woman who is a college student.
Alumna - A sorority
member who has graduated or left college (plural: alumnae).
Alumnus - A fraternity
member who has graduated or left college (plural: Alumni).
Associate/New Member/Pledge
- A non-initiated member in a fraternity or sorority.
Badge - The pin of
an initiated member.
Bid - A formal invitation
to join an organization.
Brother - A term used
by fraternity men in reference to one another.
Candidate - A person
who will potentially be inducted into an organization.
Candlelight - A formal
announcement of a sister being lavaliered, pinned, or engaged;
that is kept secret until that sister blows out a candle that
is passed around the circle of sisters.
Chapter - The local
group of an international organization.
Chapter Advisor - an
alumnus who establishes and maintains a close advisory relationship
with a chapter and serves as a teacher, counselor, and friend.
Chapter Total - The
maximum number of members to which a sorority chapter can
recruit.
Colony
- A newly organized group working to become a chartered chapter.
Community
Service -Hands-on activities directly benefiting
others.
De-pledge - the termination
of an associate member's relationship with a fraternity or sorority.
Dry Rush/Recruitment
- The practice of not serving alcoholic beverages at any rush/recruitment
function.
Faculty Advisor - A
member of the faculty or administration who establishes and
maintains a close advisory relationship with a chapter and
its scholarship program. The Faculty Advisor is not necessarily
an initiate of the particular organization.
Faculty Initiate -
A member of the faculty or governing board of a college or
university who is initiated into full membership of an
organization.
Formal - A dance and
dinner that organizations sponsor for their members.
Formal Rush - The period
of time set aside for structured recruitment.
Fraternity - The name
that applies to male chapters and is characterized
by a ritual, a pin, and a strong bond of friendship.
Fraternal Information and
Programming Group (F.I.P.G.) - A group of national/international
fraternities which have grouped together to form a uniform
risk management policy in order to obtain adequate liability
insurance.
House/Floor/Stairwell/Suite
- The structure in which organizations reside or socialize
together.
Initiation - A formal
ceremony during which a man or woman begins full membership
in an organization.
Interfraternity Council
(IFC) - The representative body of all men's fraternities.
Legacy - A rushee whose
grandparents, parents, sister/brother is a member of a particular
organization.
North
American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) - The international
organization composed of over 50 men's fraternities.
National
Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) - The
national organization for Latino Organizations.
National Pan-Hellenic Council
(NPHC) - The national organization for all historically
African-American organizations.
National Panhellenic Conference
(NPC) - The international organization composed of 26
women's fraternities.
New Member - a member
of a sorority or fraternity who has not been initiated (also
called associate member or pledge).
New Member Period -
The time during which new members learn about their organization,
its members, and their activities.
Panhellenic
Council - The local coordinating and governing organization
for women's sororities.
Philanthropy
-Endeavors raising money for charitable organizations.
Potential
New Member - A man or woman who is going through the rush/recruitment
process.
Quota - A specified
number of rushees that each sorority may pledge.
Recommendation - A
letter signed by an alumna/alumnus recommending a rushee for
membership.
Ritual - A value-based
esoteric ceremony that is traditional of a chapter. Rituals
are kept secret.
Rush/Recruitment - An
organized activity to meet potential members.
Recruitment Counselor
- A woman who disaffiliates herself from her sorority
during recruitment to help women interested in fraternity/sorority life
by answering questions unbiasedly.
Sister
- A term used by sorority members in reference to one another.
Sorority - The name
that applies to female chapters and is characterized
by a ritual, a pin, and a strong bond of friendship.
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