Terminology

A member who has been initiated into lifelong fraternity or sorority membership and participates in chapter activities at the collegiate level.

Initiated fraternity or sorority members who have graduated from college.gree

The pin of an initiated member.

A formal invitation to membership in a particular fraternity or sorority.

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.

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.

A local group of the larger (inter)national organization, designated by a special Greek name.

Equivalent to being initiated. The term means different things to different groups, but generally means crossing over from being a pledge to being a full member.

Short for Dean Of Pledges an old term that groups still use to refer to the membership educator. ADOP/ADP would be the assistant dean.

The central organization of a particular fraternity or sorority. Often referred to as National Headquarters, International Headquarters, or just Nationals.

Term used to refer to an active member. (ie. someone paying dues.)

The name that applies to all Greek organizations, traditionally men’s organizations. Informally, women's fraternities are called sororities.

The graduate chapter of a National Panhellenic Council or Multicultural organization. Usually the local grad chapter oversees the operations of the undergraduate chapter.

Any member of a Greek-letter organization.

Used to identify members of the same organization across all chapters. Most have a deep meaning to that organization or ritualistic symbol.

Governing body of select fraternities and sororities that are more content-specific in their membership and experiences (i.e. engineering sorority, christian focused organizations, music focused organizations).

Recruitment event for culturally-based groups.

Any member who has completed the new member process and has gone through the initiation ceremony.

The formal ceremony that marks the beginning of active membership. Each chapter has a different set of requirements in order to be initiated.

The process chapters conduct to recruit, interview, choose, and educate new members, traditionally a title given in culturally-based organization.

Title of a potential student who the organization knows is interested in becoming an active member.

The governing body of some fraternities at UNC Charlotte. Traditionally, IFC operates based on the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) Standards, or affiliation requirements.

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 inviting and initiating legacies.

The members of a cultural Greek organization new member class.