Fraternity and sorority life terminology
Active: An initiated, dues-paying member who is enrolled in the university.
Advisor: An alumni member who serves as a resource for the active chapter and liaison between the alumni and collegians.
Alumnus/Alumna/Alumnx: An initiated member of an organization who has graduated from university and is no longer an active undergraduate member (plural forms: Alumni/Alumnae/Alumnx)
Badge: An insignia of membership worn by initiated members.
Bid: A formal invitation to join a fraternity, sorority or cooperative.
Bid Day: The last day of sorority formal recruitment, when potential new members receive a bid to join a chapter and begin their new member process. A potential new member can only receive one bid.
Brother: Term used primarily by fraternity members when referring to each other.
Call: A yell used most commonly by National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and culturally based chapters. Used to identify and greet brothers and sisters. Non-members are not permitted to use the call.
Chapter: The name applied to the local organization of a national fraternity or sorority.
Chartering: When an establishing chapter receives official recognition from its (inter)national office to have a chapter at a campus.
Collegian/Collegiate: An initiated member of a fraternity or sorority currently in college. Formerly known as active.
Crossing: Initiation from pledge to new member, often utilized in culturally based Greek-lettered organizations.
Continuous Open Bidding/Continuous Open Recruitment (COB/COR): An opportunity for chapters that do not reach total during primary recruitment to bid to total. The continuous open bidding process is less formal, and not all chapters will participate in continuous open bidding. Continuous Open Bidding/Continuous Open Recruitment is also the blanket term for recruitment that occurs outside of the Primary Recruitment Period.
Council: The governing and or collaborative body of a number of chapters with a shared historical purpose or founding. Member fraternities and sororities are held accountable to council policies.
Culturally based: Fraternities and sororities that include the celebration or appreciation of a particular culture.
Expansion/Extension: The process used by (inter) national organizations to establish a new chapter of their organization at a university.
Formal Recruitment: The primary selection period of the year for interested students to join a Panhellenic sorority.
Founders’ Day: An event celebrated by fraternities and sororities to highlight the founding of their organization and celebrate its history. It is not necessarily held on the day the organization was founded.
Fraternity and Sorority Life Community Center (FSLCC): Operating center of Fraternity and Sorority Life on EIU’s campus. Home to all councils of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Greek Court (GC): Houses 13 fraternities and sororities in an on-campus living opportunity. Range in size from 6 – 18 bed spaces per house.
Initiate: An individual who has recently become an active member of an organization.
Initiation: The traditional ritual or formal ceremony, which marks the transition to full membership of an organization.
Informational: Recruitment event for culturally based fraternity or sorority.
Informal Recruitment: An opportunity for prospective new members to find a fraternity or sorority through various events hosted by each group.
Intake: The process through which NPHC and NALFO organizations select and educate members.
Legacy: To have a relative that is a member of the same fraternal organization of which you are a member. Relationship that determines legacy varies by organization.
Line: New member class of an NPHC and NALFO organizations.
Line Brother/Sister: Someone who is going through the same intake process for the same organization.
Neophyte: New member of an NPHC or NALFO organization. Also called a Neo.
New Member/Associate Member: A new member of an organization who has committed to joining the organization, is in some stage of the new member process or has completed the new member process, but has not yet been initiated.
Neophyte Presentation: A formal presentation of a new line to campus once new members have been initiated.
Order of Omega: An honor society for Greek members who demonstrate outstanding leadership and academic achievement. Limited to the top 10% of Greek students in a fraternity and sorority community on a campus based on cumulative GPA.
Philanthropy: Charitable events to support a specific cause or non-profit organization.
Preview Day: Open house for prospective new members to meet Interfraternity Council & Panhellenic Council organizations.
Prophyte: Term used to refer to an older member in a NPHC, NALFO and some MGC organizations.
Recruitment: The process where sororities and fraternities get new members. Potential new members have the opportunity to interact with all participating organizations and learn more about fraternity/sorority life.
Recruitment Counselor/Panhellenic Ambassador: Members of a Panhellenic sorority who assist potential new members going through sorority recruitment. It is their job to answer questions and provide guidance to potential new members.
Rush: A term formerly used to describe a recruitment process. Now called recruitment.
Saluting: Tradition common to many NALFO organizations consisting of a synchronized recitation of information typically not set to music. This can include performing synchronized body movements in a line formation to greet others, honor traditions and history of the organization, as well as celebrate their cultures.
Sands: Members of different organizations that went through an educational process and joined at the same time (Same Year, Same Semester). Mostly used in NPHC.
Soror/Sister: A term used primarily by sorority members when referring to each other.
Stepping: A historically Black tradition characterized by synchronized hand/foot movements, along with singing, dancing, chanting and acting.
Stroll: A coordinated dance done by members of cultural Greek organizations.
Walk Around: Open house for prospective new members to meet Interfraternity Council organizations.
Yard: A term used to refer to the particular campus or university where a chapter is located.