Terminology Guide

Glossary of Terms

Active	A fully initiated member is a currently enrolled in college.
Alumni/Alumnae	An initiated member who is a college graduate.
Bid	A formal invitation to join a chapter.
Big Brother/ Sister	An active member of a fraternity/sorority who serves as a sponsor, advisor, and special friend to a new member, guiding them through their new member program and initiation.
Chapter	The local group of a national fraternity/sorority.
Formal Recruitment	The period set aside for structured/formal recruitment of new members.
Fraternity/Sorority	A Greek letter organization characterized by a ritual, pin, and a strong tie to friendship and moral principles.
Hazing	Forcing somone to something against their will, causing mental or physical abuse; is strictly forbidden by Illinois law and University policies.
Initiation	The traditional ritual that brings men/women into full membership.
Intake	The process NPHC sorority chapters perform to recruit, interview, and choose new members.
IFC	Interfraternity Council; the governing body of all fraternities.
Lavaliere	A pendant with a fraternity’s/sorority’s Greek letters on it.
Legacy	A potential new member whose grandparent, parent, and/or sibling is an alumnus or active member of a fraternity/sorority.
National Headquarters	The central organization of a particular fraternity/sorority.
NIC	North-American Interfraternity Council; Governing body for 66 national men’s fraternities.
NPC	National Panhellenic Conference; A national organization composed of 26 member sororities, each of which is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of women, undergraduate and alumnae.
NPHC	National Pan-Hellenic Council; A National organization composed of 4 sororities and 5 fraternities whose membership is historically African-American and the local governing board for member chapters.
New Member	A person who has accepted an invitation to join a chapter and has not yet been initiated.
Panhellenic Council	The governing body of all NPC sororities.
Philanthropy	A charitable fundraiser or service project sponsored by many Greek organizations.
Potential New Member	A student interested in joining a fraternity/sorority.
Preference	During the last part of fraternity/sorority recruitment, a potential new member determines which fraternity/sorority he or she is interested in joining. For Panhellenic, the potential new member is able to list three sororities in her preference order.
Recruitment	The process used by fraternities/sororities to select new members.
Gamma Chi	Recruitment Counselor; A sorority member who has disaffiliated from her chapter during formal recruitment. She is especially trained to help potential new members and answer any questions they may have about sorority membership.
Ritual	The traditional secret ceremony of a fraternity/sorority.
Sister	A term used by sorority members to refer to one another.
Soror	The term used by members of historically African-American sororities to refer to one another.