Greek Terminology

ACTIVE: A member who has been initiated into lifelong fraternity or sorority membership and is active at the collegiate level.

BADGE/PIN: The pin of an initiated member.

BID: A formal invitation to join an IFPC fraternity or sorority.

BID DAY: The last day of recruitment when new members accept their bids and officially join their new organization.

BIG: Short for “big sister” or “big brother”; an active member who serves as a mentor for newer members.

BROTHER: A term used by fraternity members to refer to one another.

CHAPTER: A local group of the larger inter/national organization.

COLONY: A student organization in the final stage before being installed as a charted chapter of a inter/nationally affiliated organization.

CONTINUOUS OPEN RECRUITMENT: A process that allows chapters to continuously recruit and bid new members outside of the formal recruitment period.

DEFERRED RECRUITMENT: The policy at UAlbany that requires students to delay fraternity or sorority membership until the second semester of their freshman year.

DIVERSIFIED GREEK COUNCIL (DGC): The governing body of ten culturally based chapters at UAlbany.

FRATERNITY: The name applied to all Greek-letter organizations. Informally, this name applies to men's groups while women’s organizations may be sororities or female fraternities.

GREEKS: Members of a Greek-letter fraternity or sorority.

GREEKWEEK: An annual celebration in which chapters participate in educational, social, and service events. It is a time for all Greek organizations to unify.

INITIATION: The formal ceremony that brings a new member into full Greek membership. Each chapter has a different set of requirements that must be met in order to be initiated.

INTAKE: The process by which NPHC and DGC chapters recruit, inform, and initiate new members.

INTERFRATERNITY COUNCIL PANHELLENIC COUNCIL (IFPC): The governing body of fourteen inter/nationally and locally recognized fraternities and sororities at UAlbany. IFPCC oversees Formal Recruitment for its member chapters.

ALL GREEK COUNCIL (AGC): The governing body of all 29 active chapters at UAlbany.

LEGACY: Someone whose mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, or grandfather is an initiated member of a specific Greek organization.

LITTLE: Short for “little sister” or “little brother”; a newer member who is mentored by an older member of the organization.

NATIONAL PAN-HELLENIC COUNCIL (NPHC): The governing body of nine nationally recognized African-American fraternities and sororities, five of which are active and operate on UAlbany’s campus.

NEW MEMBER: A potential member who has accepted the bid of a fraternity or sorority, but who has not been initiated. (IFPC)

NEW MEMBER EDUCATOR: The chapter officer who oversees the development of new members and prepares them for initiation.

NEW MEMBER PROGRAM: The period of learning about fraternity and sorority life prior to initiation. In addition to learning the history of the organization, new members may attend presentations on topics such as study skills, acquaintance rape, substance abuse, and other important issues.

OPEN RECRUITMENT: The period after Formal Recruitment in which fraternities may recruit and offer bids without scheduled events through IFPC.

PHILANTHROPY: A service project sponsored by a chapter from which donations of goods, money, and/or time are given to charitable organizations.

PLEDGE: see “New Member.”

POTENTIAL NEW MEMBER: A college man or woman who is participating in Recruitment. (IFPC)

PREFERENTIAL BIDDING: The process of mutual selection between IFPC sororities/fraternities and potential new members.

PROBATE/SURFACING SHOW: The introduction of new members of a NPHC or DGC chapter to the Greek and campus communities.

QUOTA: A specified number of women a Panhellenic sorority may offer bids to during formal recruitment.

RUSH: see “Formal Recruitment.”

SISTER: A term used by sorority members to refer to one another.

SOROR: An initiated member of a NPHC sorority.

SORORITY: A group of women joined together in friendship for leadership.

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