Active:  A fully initiated member of a fraternity or sorority; a chapter or colony current members.

Affiliation:  The fraternity or sorority to which an individual is a member.

Alumna/Alumnus:  A graduated member of a fraternity or sorority.

Badge:  A symbol that Greeks wear to indicate their membership to their organizations, often a pin that is worn on the left breast.

Bid:  A formal invitation to join a fraternity or sorority.

Chapter:  The local groups of a larger national organization designated by a special Greek letter name.

COB:  (Continuous Open Bidding) A term used by sororities that indicates the opportunity for a chapter to invite a woman to membership if it did not fulfill its quota in formal recruitment or it has not reached its membership total.

Dues:  Membership, philanthropic, room, board, and other fees paid to the local chapter of a sorority or fraternity in order to be a member.

FIPG:  Fraternity Information and Programming Group, a group of large inter/national fraternities that have grouped together to form a uniform risk management policy in order to obtain adequate liability insurance.

FMA:  (Fraternity Management Association) An independent organization that works closely with a majority of fraternities and sororities to advise on financial matters of the organization.

Formal Recruitment:  The recruitment process which takes place in the spring semester.

Fraternity:  The name that applies to all Greek letter organizations, particularly to men’s groups.

Greek Alumni Council:  (GAC) Alumni leadership for the Greek community.

Initiation:  The formal ceremony that brings new members into full active membership.

IFC:  (Interfraternity Council) Governing body of all men’s Fraternities on campus.
IJC:  (Interfraternity Judiciary Committee) A group composed of representatives from the men’s fraternities at Lehigh who conduct hearings for charged individuals or organizations within the Greek community.  Any member of the University may file a report with the chairperson of IJC or the IFC Advisor.

Legacy:  A potential new member whose grandparent, parent, or sibling is an alumna/us of, or active in, a particular sorority or fraternity.  Fraternities and sororities are not obligated to invite all legacies to join their organization.

National:  The inter/national governing organization for a Fraternity or Sorority.

NPC:  (National Panhellenic Conference) The governing body for 26 inter/national women’s fraternities.

New Member/Pledge:  Someone who has been accepted as a member of a fraternity or sorority.  This member may be initiated following the 6-week period of new member education about the fraternity or sorority.

Panhellenic (Panhel):  Governing body composed of the chapters of NPC sororities on campus.

Philanthropy:  Charitable projects sponsored by an organization.

PJC: (Panhellenic Judicial Committee) A group composed of representatives from the sororities at Lehigh who conduct hearings for charged sororities of the Greek community.  Any member of the University may file a report with the chairperson of PJC or the Panhellenic Advisor.

Potential New Member:  (PNM) A man or woman who is registered for recruitment and is attending recruitment functions.

Quota:  The number of women that each NPC-affiliated sorority is permitted to extend a bid to during the formal recruitment process.

Recruitment (Rush):  A process of mutual selection to determine membership in a fraternity or sorority.  It is an opportunity for undergraduates interested in joining a fraternity or sorority to meet members, learn more about the organization, and potentially join a fraternity or sorority.

Recruitment Counselor (Rho Gamma):  A member of a Sorority who disaffiliates from her Sorority during the Formal Recruitment Period in order to be an unbiased representative of the Greek community for potential new members.

Ritual:  The set of values Greek organizations were founded upon.

“The Hill”:  The section of campus in Sayre Park that is populated by various residential facilities including a majority of the Fraternities and Sororities.  Most commonly used as a reference for a social destination.

Total:  Maximum allowable chapter size, including both new and initiated members, as determined by Lehigh’s Panhellenic.