Glossary
Active: A member who has been initiated into lifelong fraternity or sorority membership and participates in chapter activities at the collegiate level.
Alumni/Alumnae: Initiated fraternity or sorority members who have graduated from college.
Badge: The pin of an initiated member.
Bid: A formal invitation to membership in a particular fraternity or sorority.
Big Brother or Sister: An active member of a fraternity or sorority who serves as a mentor to a new member, guiding him or her through the new member program and initiation.
Brother: A term used by fraternity members to refer to one another.
Call/Chant: Audible sounds used by members to acknowledge or gain the attention of other members. Calls may vary regionally within organizations, and some organizations may use more than one call.
Chapter: A local group of the larger (inter)national organization, designated by a special Greek name.
Crossed: The same as being initiated. The term means different things to different groups, but generally means crossing over from being a new member to being a full member.
Dues: Each organization has a set amount they must pay to be in Greek Organizations. It will pay for any chapter fees, events, clothing, and more. Most organizations have a payment plan to make the amounts more manageable. New Member Dues may be more expensive than actives due to onetime fees from their national organizations.
Executive Office: The central organization of a particular fraternity or sorority. Often referred to as National Headquarters, International Headquarters, or Nationals.
Fraternity: The name that applies to all Greek organizations characterized by a ritual, badge and strong ties to friendship and moral principles. Informally, women's fraternities are called sororities.
Graduate/Alumnae Chapter: The graduate chapter of Greek Organizations. Fraternities and Sororities are lifetime organizations. At times, there will be chapters of men and women who have already graduated but wish to still serve and give back to their organization.
Greek: Any member of a Greek-letter organization.
Hand sign: Used to identify members of the same organization. Most have a deep meaning to that organization or ritualistic symbol.
Initiated Member: Any member who has completed the new member process and has gone through the initiation ceremony.
Initiation: The formal ceremony that marks the beginning of active membership. Each chapter has a different set of requirements in order to be initiated.
Intake: The process chapters conduct to recruit, interview, choose, and educate new members.
Interfraternity Council (IFC): The governing body of 3 fraternities at UTEP. IFC operates based on the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) Standards, or affiliation requirements.
Lavaliere: A pendant with a fraternity or sorority's Greek letters on it. Known to be worn with your organization’s letters.
An older tradition is fraternity men “Lavaliere” their significant other when the relationship has become serious. They will ask their S/O to wear their letters.
Legacy: The brother or sister, son or daughter, or grandson or granddaughter of a fraternity or sorority member. Each (inter)national organization has its own policy regarding legacies. This can sometimes include aunts/uncles and cousins as well.
Line Name: The name given to a pledge class. Some groups number their lines by Greek Letters (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc.) but may have a descriptive name as well that is specific to characteristics of the group.
Line: The members of a cultural Greek organization new member class.
Membership Recruitment: The mutual selection process that prospective members and chapter members go through during the recruitment period to get to know one another.
National Association of Latin Fraternal Organizations (NALFO): The representative body governing historically Latino/Latina Greek Letter organizations.
Neophyte (aka "Neo"): A new member of a cultural Greek organization.
New Member Presentation (aka Rollout, Probate): A formal presentation of a new line to campus. Usually done in a public forum after members have been initiated.
New Member Educator/Coordinator: An Officer position in Greek Organizations that will teach the new member class about the history of their organization, expectations of a members, and prepare them for their time in the brotherhood/sisterhood.
New Member Program: A period of learning about fraternity and sorority life prior to initiation. This period varies for all groups.
New Member Release: To end one's fraternity or sorority membership before initiation.
New Member: A member of a fraternity or sorority who has not been initiated.
NIC (North American Interfraternity Conference): Governing body for 72 national member men's fraternities and alumni associations.
NPC (National Panhellenic Conference): The umbrella organization for 26 women's fraternities. NPC supports its chapters by promoting values, education, leadership, friendship, cooperation, and citizenship.
NPHC (National Pan-Hellenic Council): A national organization composed of four sororities and five fraternities whose membership is historically African-American.
Number: The number you are assigned based on the chronological order you are in on your initiation line (often members of other culturally based organizations identify or relate to one another by distinguishing that they are the "same" number).
Philanthropy: A charitable fundraiser or service project sponsored by a fraternity or sorority.
Pinning/New Member Pinning: A ritual ceremony that designates the start of a new member process.
Potential New Member (PNM): A college student who is interested in joining a Greek Organization and is taking part in the recruitment process.
Preferencing: During the last part of Panhellenic sorority recruitment, a potential new member determines which particular sorority she is willing to join. The potential new member lists two sororities in her order of preference.
Quota: The specified number of potential new members to which each sorority may extend a bid.
Recruitment Counselor/Rho Gamma: A Panhellenic sorority member who has temporarily disaffiliated from her chapter during formal membership recruitment. She is specially trained to help potential new members and answer any questions they may have about sorority membership.
Sister: A term used by sorority members to refer to one another.
Social: A get-together event with another Greek organization.
Soror: Term used to refer to a sister in a NPHC or Multicultural organization.
Stepping: A historically black tradition characterized by synchronized hand foot movements, along with singing, dancing, chanting, and acting. Many Latino/Latina and Multicultural groups participate in stepping as well.
Stroll (aka Party Walk, Party Hop): A line dance done by members of cultural Greek organizations; usually done at a party or step show.
Total: Total is the allowable chapter size, including both new and initiated members, as determined by the Panhellenic Council.