Greek Life Terminology and Their Definitions

Active Member: fully initiated member of a fraternity or sorority.

Alumni Member: a fraternity or sorority member who has graduated or is no long in college.

Bid: formal invitation to join a fraternity or sorority

Chapter: local group of a national fraternal organization.

Initiation: formal ceremony during which a man or woman begin full membership in a fraternity or sorority.

Intake: the process by which NPHC fraternities and sororities recruit new members.

Interfraternity Council (IFC): a representative governing body of Greek social fraternities.

Legacy: a potential member who's grandparents, parents, brother/sister was a member of a particular fraternity/sorority.

Local: a greek organization that is not affiliated with a national organization.

Panhellenic Association (PHA): the central governing body of the Greek social sororities.

Philanthropy: a charitable project sponsored by an organization. Most chapters have a local and national philanthropy.

New member: a new member of a fraternity or sorority who has not been initiated.

National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC): the campus coordination of a body of historically Africa-American fraternities and sororities.

Order of Omega: the national Greek leadership honorary organization.

Ritual: a traditional beliefs of a fraternity or sorority.

Recruitment: the process in which mutual choice and selection occurs to determine fraternity or sorority membership.

Recruitment counselor: a person who is available and willing to answer questions a potential member may have about recruitment. This person has completely disaffiliated him/herself from his/her chapter in order to provide subjective support.

Potential member: a person interested in becoming a member of a fraternity or sorority.