Glossary of fraternity/sorority terms
Active – a member of a Greek organization who is currently enrolled as an undergraduate student.
Alumna (pl. alumnae) – a sorority member who is no longer an undergraduate student. Sometimes
called a “graduate” member.
Alumnus (pl. alumni) – a fraternity members who is no longer an undergraduate student. Sometimes
called a “graduate” member.
Bid – an invitation to join a fraternity or sorority.
Bid Day – the final day of a recruitment period when bids are distributed.
Bid Matching – a system for matching the choice of a potential new member with the choice of a
chapter.
Brother – an initiated or new/associate member of a fraternity.
Chapter – the campus group of a national organization. Within each organization, chapters are usually
referenced via a Greek-letter designation. For example, the founding chapter would be the “Alpha
Chapter” and the second is typically the “Beta Chapter”, and so on.
Chapter Advisor – an alumna/alumnus who establishes and maintains a close advisory relationship with
a chapter and serves as a teacher, counselor, and friend.
College Panhellenic Association – the cooperative campus organization of collegiate members of the
National Panhellenic Conference sororities (“Panhellenic”).
Colony – a fraternity or sorority with provisional recognition status and in the final stage prior to being
installed as a recognized, chartered chapter of the organization.
Continuous Open Bidding (COB) – a term used by Panhellenic sororities, COB is an open recruitment
period with no structured and scheduled community-wide activities. Bids may be extended and
accepted at any time. At Wittenberg fall recruitment is considered COB, as is recruitment following Bid
Day in the spring.
Dry Recruitment – alcohol is strictly prohibited from all events associated with introducing any
sorority/fraternity to potential new members as well as newly-joined members.
Formal Recruitment – the official selection period of the year with structured, scheduled events. On
many campuses, the most concentrated period with Formal Recruitment for entertaining and selecting
new members is known as Recruitment Week. At Wittenberg this takes place at the beginning of the
spring semester.
Fraternity – an individual Greek-letter organization. This is a term commonly used to distinguish
between men’s organizations (fraternities) and women’s organizations (sororities). Some sororities are
formally known as “women’s fraternities.”
Greeks – students affiliated with fraternities and sororities.
Hazing – any willful act or practice by a member or associate member, directed against a member or
new/associate member, which, with or without intent, has the potential to: cause bodily harm or
danger, offensive punishment, or disturbing pain; compromise the person’s dignity; cause
embarrassment or shame in public; cause the person to be the object of malicious amusement or
ridicules cause psychological harm or substantial emotional strain; and/or impair academic efforts. In
addition, hazing includes any requirement to participate in any activity which is illegal, in contrary to a
member’s or new/associate member’s moral or religious beliefs, or is contrary to the rules and
regulations of the organization, institution of learning, and civil authorities.
Inactive Member – an individual who is still a member of the organization but is denoted as inactive to
designate that they have disassociated, taken a leave of absence, and and no longer participate in the
day-to-day activities of the chapter. This status usually has a time limit of one academic year or less. This
not the same as a graduate/alumni member or a resigned/terminated member.
Initiation – a formal ceremony by which new members become initiate members.
Intentional Single Preference (ISP) – a term used by Panhellenic sororities. ISP is when a potential
member lists only one sorority on their Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement
(MRABA) when there is more than one option to list.
Interfraternity Council (IFC) – the governing council made up of all fraternities on campus.
Legacy – the child, grandchild, sibling (or in some cases stepchild, step-grandchild or step-sibling) of an
initiated member. Each organization has a different legacy definition and policy.
Manual of Information (MOI or “Greenbook”) – Handbook containing historical, procedural,
instructional, philosophical, and practical information about the National Panhellenic Conference and
College and Alumnae Panhellenic Associations.
Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement (MRABA) – a one-year binding agreement that
a Potential New Member makes with the College Panhellenic Association on Preference Night during
Formal Recruitment. By signing a MRABA, the PNM states they will accept a bid into any sorority listed
on the agreement.
New Member – a member of a fraternity/sorority who is not yet an initiated/active member. Sometimes
called “pledge member” or “associate member” depending on the organization’s terms.
New Member Depledging – the termination of a new member’s relationship with a chapter prior to
initiation.
National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) – a conference body composed of delegates from 26
sororities/women’s fraternities. All sororities at Wittenberg are members of the NPC.
National Panhellenic Conference Area Advisor – a delegate or alternate of one of the 26 NPC
organizations who serves as a resource to the college and alumnae Panhellenics in a proximal area.
North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) – a trade association made up of several national
fraternities. Most fraternities at Wittenberg are members of the NIC.
Philanthropy – an active effort, project or service to promote human welfare or the raising of funds to
be donated for that purpose.
Pinning – ceremony that designates the start of a new member process. The New Member often wears
a pin or emblem and at the moment of pinning, officially becoming a new member.
Potential/Prospective New Member (PNM) – a non-member who is eligible to participate in the
recruitment process.
Quota – the number each National Panhellenic Conference sorority may pledge on campus during
formal recruitment.
Recommendation/Reference – a written letter or statement endorsing a student for membership.
Recruitment – a series of events offering initiated members and potential new members the
opportunity to get acquainted with one another.
Release Figures – a term used by Panhellenic sororities, this is a process to manage the number of
invitations issued by each chapter participating in formal recruitment.
Rho Gamma – a term used by Panhellenic sororities, this is a recruitment counselor. A neutral
representative of Panhellenic who temporarily disassociates from the sorority to impartially guide and
support potential members through the recruitment process.
Snap Bidding – a term used by Panhellenic sororities, this is an option available to chapters that did not
fill Quota during formal recruitment. Chapters may offer bids to potential members whose preferences
were not matched. This process takes place before bids are distributed. Snap Bidding is not the same as
COB and is not intended to fill spaces in the chapter Total; it is limited to students who participated in
the formal sorority recruitment process.
Sorority – an individual Greek-letter organization. This is a term commonly used to distinguish between
men’s organizations (fraternities) and women’s organizations (sororities). Some sororities are formally
known as “women’s fraternities.”
Total – a term used by Panhellenic sororities, this is the allowable chapter size, including both the new
and initiated members, as determined by the College Panhellenic. Total at Wittenberg is determined
once in the fall and once in the spring and is based on median chapter size.
Unanimous Agreements – agreements to which the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) member
groups have unanimously agreed and that lead to orderly and equitable conduct of their mutual
functions. Unanimous Agreements are binding on all NPC organizations.
