Active: Term used to refer to an undergraduate member of a fraternity or sorority. An active has pledged and been
initiated and is not studying abroad.
Alumnae or Alumni: An initiated member who is no longer in college.
Bid: A formal invitation to a prospective member to join a fraternity/sorority
Bid Day: The last day of recruitment when prospective members decide which chapter to join and sign their bids.
Big Sister or Brother: After several weeks, a new member will be assigned an initiated member to be his/her big brother or sister.
This older member serves as a resource, role model, and problem solver for the new member.
Chapter: A local chartered group of a national fraternity/sorority
CFA - Council for Fraternity Affairs: Governing body of the campus men's fraternities
Formal Recruitment: The major period of time set aside by the ISC and CFA with a series of organized events for meeting potential
new members, also known as rush.
Fraternity: Formally, the name applied to all Greek letter organizations. Informally, the name applied to men's groups.
Initiation: A ceremony in which a pledged member becomes an active member
Inter-Sorority Council (ISC): The governing body of the campus sororities and women's fraternities.
Legacy: A person whose direct relative (parent, sibling, grandparents) is an alumna or active member of a fraternity/sorority.
Legacy stipulations differ for each sorority and fraternity
North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC): A national organization composed of 63 member men's fraternities, each of which is autonomous as a social Greek -
letter society of college men and alumni.
National Panhellenic Conference (NPC): A national organization composed of 26 member women's fraternities, each of whom is autonomous as a social
Greek - letter society of college women and alumnae.
National Pan - Hellenic Council (NPHC): The governing body of the nine historically African-American fraternities and sororities.
Pledge/New Member: A man/woman who has accepted a bid of a fraternity/sorority but is not yet initiated
Quota: The specified number of potential new members each sorority chapter can pledge.
Recruitment Counselors: Greek women carefully selected and trained to guide potential new members and answer any questions with
regard to sorority recruitment
Rushee: A college man or woman participating in Formal Rush
Sorority: A Greek-letter sisterhood, also called a women's fraternity
