In an effort to make the recruitment process less intimidating and stressful, we have provided a list of common “Greek Life” terms and their definitions below.
Active – A man who has been initiated into lifelong membership of a fraternity and is currently in college.Alumnus – An initiated member of a fraternity who is no longer in college.
Badge –Pin of an initiated member.
Bid – An formal invitation to join a fraternity, issued in writing directly from the organization to a potential new member and confirmed by the Interfraternity Council.
Chapter – The local chartered unit of a national fraternity.
Continuous Opening Bidding (C.O.B.) – Year-round period where fraternities invite men to their house for social, intramural, and other activities.
Formal Membership Recruitment –The period set aside for events, informationals, and membership selection during the first few weeks of fall semester.
Fraternity – The name applied to Greek organizations, including most sororities; informally it is applied to men’s groups.
Graduate Chapter –A chapter of a fraternity formed by and for persons beyond their undergraduate years.
Greek – A member of a fraternity or sorority. These organization and members are named such because they were founded at a time when Greek Society was the epitome of civilized life.
Informal Recruitment –The period set aside for events, informationals, and membership selection during the first few weeks of spring semester, not all chapters are eligible to participate based on current membership numbers.
Initiation –a ceremony by which new members become active members.
Interfraternity Council (IFC) –The local central governing body of NIC affiliated or eligible fraternities.
Legacy – A direct relative (brother, son, etc.) of a fraternity member.
National – The governing body and staff of each National Fraternity who oversees the local chapter.
National Inter-Fraternity Conference (NIC) –The national organization composed of fraternities, each of which is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter-society of college men, undergraduate and alumni.
New Member/Pledge – A man who has gone through formal pin in ceremonies and is learning the history and purposes of his fraternity, but has not yet been initiated into life-long membership. In Lambda Chi Alpha, “New Members” are referred to as Associate Members. The term “Pledge”is never applied within our Fraternity.
Philanthropy – An event or events, such as a sports tournament, that a chapter sponsors with the goal of raising money to donate to chapter’s charity.
Potential New Member –Any man who is not and has never been a member of a recognized social, Greek-letter-fraternity.
Ritual – The traditional initiation ceremony of a chapter. This is usually the only secret part of a fraternity.
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