| Active |
a member of a Greek organization who is currently still
enrolled as an undergraduate. |
| Alumna |
a sorority member who is no longer a student. The plural
is Alumnae. |
| Alumnus |
a fraternity member who is no longer a student. The
plural is Alumni. |
| Bid |
An invitation to join a fraternity or sorority. |
| Blackball |
During the process of determining which rushees shall
receive bids, one brother or sister may veto the bid. This veto action
is called a "blackball." |
| Brother |
an initiated member of a fraternity. |
| Chapter |
The campus group of a national organization. Within
each organization, chapters are usually referenced via a Greek-letter
order. For example, the founding chapter would be the "Alpha
Chapter," and the second chapter is usually the "Beta Chapter." |
| Chapter Advisor |
an alumnus who establishes and maintains a close advisory
relationship with a chapter and serves as a teacher, counselor and
friend. |
| Colony |
a student organization in the final stage prior to
being installed as a chartered chapter of a Greek-letter organization. |
| Depledge |
the termination of a pledge's relationship with a Greek-letter
organization. |
| Dry Rush |
On many campuses, alcohol is forbidden from all events
associated with introducing the fraternity/sorority to rushees. |
| Formal Rush |
the 'official' rush period of the year with specific
scheduled events. On many campuses, the most concentrated period with
Formal Rush for entertaining and selecting pledges is known as "Rush
Week". |
| Fraternity |
The name informally applied to a Greek-letter brotherhood.
|
| Greeks |
Students affiliated with Greek-letter fraternities
and sororities. |
| Hazing |
any willful act or practice by a member or associate
member, directed against a member or associate member, which, with
or without intent, is likely to: cause bodily harm or danger, offensive
punishment, or disturbing pain, compromise the person's dignity; cause
embarrassment or shame in public; cause the person to be the object
of malicious amusement or ridicule; cause psychological harm or substantial
emotional strain; and impair academic efforts. In addition, hazing
is any requirement by a member or pledge which compels a member or
associate member to participate in any activity which is illegal,
is contrary to a member's or associate member's moral or religious
beliefs, or is contrary to the rules and regulations of the fraternity,
institution of learning, and civil authorities. |
| House |
a chapter's physical facility which serves as its home. |
| Inactive Member |
a brother or sister who has graduated. The individual
is still a member of the organization, but is denoted as "inactive"
to designate that they have graduated and no longer participate in
the day to day activities of the fraternity or sorority. |
| Informal Rush |
a continuous, open rush period with no specific, scheduled,
system-wide activities of rushing and pledging. Bids may be extended
and accepted at any time. |
| Initiation |
A formal ceremony by which new members become initiated
members. |
| Interfraternity Council (IFC) |
The council made up of all fraternities at a school. |
Local Fraternity
aka "Local" |
a Greek-letter group which exists on a campus but which
has no affiliation with a national Greek organization. |
| Panhellenic |
The council of all sororities at a school. |
| Panning |
designates the start of a pledge process. The Pledge
wears a fraternity/sorority pin while pledging, and at the moment
of pinning, officially becomes a pledge. |
| Rush |
A series of events offering members and potential members
the opportunity to get to know each other. |
| Rushee |
a non-member who is eligible to participate in the
rush program, visiting Greek organizations with an interest in possibly
affiliating with one organization. |
| Sister |
an initiated member of a sorority. |
| Sorority |
an individual women's Greek-letter organization. This
is the term commonly used to distinguish between men's (fraternities)
and women's (sororities) organizations. |