Greek Terms and Fun Facts
It's All Greek To Me
Glossary of Greek Terms
Active - An initiated collegiate member who is currently paying dues to an undergraduate chapter.
Alumna - The graduate members of a Sorority. Plural: Alumnae.
Alumnus - The graduated members of a Fraternity. Plural:& Alumnae.
Associate Member - The term used to describe the period of time that an individual is learning about the chapter.
Bid - An membership invitation extended to a prospective member.
Bid Day - The last day of recruitment where a potential new member accepts the bid to become a new member.
Big Brother/Big Sister - An active member chosen to assist and advise a new member.
Brother - An initiated member of a fraternity. It is used as a term of address when an initiated member refers to another initiated member.
Chapter - The local group of undergraduate students on a particular campus recognized by the university and the (Inter)national organization.
College Panhellenic Council (CPC) - The governing body of the six National Panhellenic Conference sororities at VSU.
Continuous Open Bidding - The period in which any group may recruit and offer bids without scheduled parties or bidding.
Dry Recruitment - The practice of not serving alcoholic beverages at recruitment functions.
Fraternity - An individual men’s Greek-Letter organization.
GAMMA - Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol. A group of Greek student leaders who address the issue of misuse and abuse of alcohol within the Greek system and develop educational programs for the Greek community.
Greeks - Fraternity and sorority members.
Greek Organization - A fraternity or sorority (social, honor, or professional).
Independent - Slang for a person who is not affiliated with a fraternity or sorority.
Induction - The ceremony in which an individual begins to become a new member of a Greek organization.
Initiation - A ritual based ceremony that marks the acceptance of a lifetime commitment to the fraternity or sorority.
Intake - The term NPHC groups use when bringing in new members into the organization. Each NPHC chapter determines when they will conduct intake.
Interfraternity Council (IFC) - The governing body of the seven National Interfraternity Council fraternities at VSU.
Legacy - Someone who’s mother, father, sister or brother is a member of a particular Greek-letter organization. Being a legacy does not guarantee membership.
Membership Intake Process (MIP) - The joining of a NPHC organization. These organizations recruit members who have a certain number of college credits and grade point average.
Mixer - A themed party between a fraternity and sorority.
National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) - The umbrella organization for the nine historically African-American fraternities and sororities.
New Member - A new member of a fraternity or sorority aspiring to become an initiated member.
New Member Educator - A sister or brother responsible for overseeing the development of new members and their preparation for initiation. This individual serves as a liaison between the new members and the chapter.
Order of Omega – A national honor society for Greek members who demonstrate outstanding leadership and superior academic performance.
Philanthropy - An effort to promote human welfare. Philanthropic activity is one of the foundations of Greek-letter organizations.
Pinning - See Induction.
Potential New Member - A non-member who is eligible to participate in the recruitment process, visiting Greek organizations with an interest in possibility affiliating with one organization.
Preference Card - Card a potential new member signs at the end of formal recruitment, indicating the order of his/her preference for the sororities from which he/she will accept bids.
Recruitment - The organized period of selecting prospective new members. It is a mutual selection process.
Recruitment Counselor - An upper class member from a fraternity or sorority chosen and trained to assist during Formal Recruitment events and to advise potential new members throughout the process.
Rho Lambda - The National Panhellenic Recognition Honor Society. Membership is available to both CPC and NPHC sororities.
RUSH - See Recruitment.
Sister - An initiated member of a sorority. It is used as a form of address when one initiated member refers to another member.
Sorority - An individual women’s Greek organization.
Step Show - A function where the members or new members of an organization perform synchronized steps.
Strict Silence - This pertains only to CPC organizations. During this time, sorority women are not allowed to discuss anything about Recruitment or individual sororities with potential new members except during scheduled recruitment parties.
Greek Alphabet
| A ....................Alpha (al-fah) | N....................Nu (new) |
| B ....................Beta (bay-tah) | X....................Xi (zeye) |
| G ....................Gamma (Gam-ah) | O....................Omicron (ohm-e-cron) |
| D ....................Delta (del-tah) | P....................Pi (pie) |
| E ....................Epsilon (ep-si-lon) | R.....................Rho (row) |
| Z ....................Zeta (zay-tah) | S....................Sigma (sig-mah) |
| H ....................Eta (ay-tah) | T....................Tau (taw) |
| Q ....................Theta (thay-tah) | U....................Upsilon (yoop-si-lon) |
| I ......................Iota (eye-o-tah) | F....................Phi (fie) |
| K ....................Kappa (cap-ah) | C.....................Chi (ki) |
| L ....................Lambda (lam-duh) | Y.....................Psi (sigh) |
| M ....................Mu (mew) | W....................Omega (o-mega) |
Fun Facts About Greek Life
- 85 percent of the Fortune 500 executives are members of Greek organizations.
- 25 United States Presidents have belonged to Greek-letter organizations.
- Fraternities and sororities have maintained a higher grade point average than the undergraduate average at most universities.
- Greek organization members have a higher graduation rate than non-members.
- A study by the Center for the Study of College Fraternities found that fraternity and sorority members we significantly more satisfied with their college experience than non-members.
- 63 percent of the U.S. President's cabinet since 1900 have been fraternity men.
- 77 percent of Who's Who in America are Greek.