Delta Phi Epsilon

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Greek Lingo

A Greek: One of the five million men and women who have been initiated into a college fraternity or sorority that is named with Greek letters.

Fraternity: A group of students for a common goal. There are many kinds of fraternities, including social, professional, and honorary. (The word fraternity is derived from the Latin word 'frater' meaning 'brother.' A fraternity is a brotherhood of men).

Interfraternity Council (IFC): The governing/coordinating council for the general fraternities.

National Panhellenic Council (NPHC): The NPHC is the governing/coordinating council for the historically African-American fraternities and sororities.

Panhellenic Association: The governing/coordinating council for the general sororities. All Panhellenic Association member sororities are affiliated with the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC).

Sorority: A women's fraternity. (The word sorority is derived from the Latin word 'soror', meaning 'sister'. A sorority is a sisterhood of women.)

Order of Omega: A national honor society recognizing fraternity and sorority members who excel in academic achievement, Greek leadership and campus involvement.

GAMMA: Stands for "Greeks Advocating Mature Management of Alcohol," a peer organization that promotes responsible use of alcoholic beverages with the Greek community.

Hazing: Mental or physical abuse or harassment of a member. Hazing is prohibited by university policy, state law, and the policies of national fraternities and sororities.

Local: A fraternity or sorority not affiliated with a national organization.

Colony: A newly formed affiliate of a national organization that has not yet received its charter. The members of a colony are referred to as "founders."

Chapter: A local group of a national organization.

Chapter Advisor: An Alumnus/Alumnae or faculty/staff member who serves in an advisory role to provide guidance to the organization.

New Member: A student who has made a commitment to a specific Greek organization to become an initiated member. (Some organizations call this a "pledge," we do not!)

Neophyte: A person who has completed the New Membering process but has not yet been initiated.

Sister/Initiate: A member who has completed the New Member Education process and has been initiated.

Big Brother/Big Sister: An active member assigned to be the personal mentor for a New Member.

Active Member (Often referred to as Brother or Sister): Refers to a member who has gone through a New Member process and has been initiated, through a ritual, into the chapter.

Alumnus: A fraternity graduate (Alumni-plural).

Alumna: A sorority graduate (Alumnae-plural).

Legacy: A close blood tie (Grandmother, Mother, or sister) to a particular sorority. (If your Mother was a DPhiE, then you are a legacy.)

Pin: The fraternity/sorority badge of membership.

Recruitment: Activities hosted by Greek organizations designed to help non-members get acquainted. After a series of recruitment events, interested students may be offered a bid.

Structured Recruitment: Events hosted by Panhellenic Council involving all national sororities.

Potential New Member (PNM): A student who attends recruitment events.

Bid: An invitation from a chapter to join the organization.

Bid Matching: In the conclusion of the Structured recruitment process for Panhellenic Association (general sororities), each Potential New Member submits a prioritized choice of sororities they would like to join and each sorority submits a prioritized list of women to whom they are interested in offering a bid. Some Potential New Members may not receive a bid to her favorite chapter since the Panhellenic Association sororities have a maximum number of bids (Quota) that they can offer.

Continuous Open Bidding ("COB" or Unstructured Recruitment): At the conclusion of the Formal Recruitment process for the Panhellenic Association sororities, those chapters with a membership size less than a specified number (Total) can continue to give out bids via an unstructured/informal recruitment process.

Initiation: Ritualistic ceremony during which New Members receive lifelong membership privileges.

Intake: The membership recruitment and induction process for the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC).