Greek Alphabet and Dictionary

Below you will find a helpful dictionary for Greek Life.  Students who have recently joined a fraternity or sorority or those interested in joining are encouraged to become familiar with the letters and terms listed below.

Greek Alphabet

Greek Dictionary

• Active—A member of an organization that is initiated and enrolled in school.
• Bid—An invitation for a potential new member to join a particular organization.
• Chapter—An individual Greek organization established at a university.
• Dues – The amount of money paid to a chapter by an active each semester.
• Fraternity—A men's organization established through the bonds of brotherhood.
• Formal Recruitment – The process of fall recruitment followed by NPC sororities. 
• Greek—Another name for an organization established by the use of the Greek alphabet, or a member of such an organization.
• Hazing – A banned process at Michigan Tech for any and all student organizations and sports teams.  For more information, click here.
• Interfraternity Council (IFC) - The governing body of the men’s fraternities.
• Initiation—A ceremony in which a student becomes a full member of an organization.
• Local—An organization whose chapter is only established at one university.
• National—An organization which has chapters across the nation and has a (inter)national headquarters.
• National Panhellenic Council (NPC; Panhel) – The governing body of the four national sororities as well as four local sororities.
• New Member/Associate Member—A student who has already received a bid and is going through the pledging process, but has not yet been initiated into the organization in order to become a full member (active).
• New Member Process – The process that a new member must complete to become an active or full member of a Greek organization.  Time length varies by organization but generally lasts five to eight weeks usually concluding with a week of close chapter events.  Previously known as pledging.
• Philanthropy – The process of raising money for a specific organization or cause
• Potential New Member – A student attending recruitment events; previously known as a rushee.
• Preference—An invitation only recruitment event. A chance for a student to express an interest in receiving a bid by that organization.
• Recruiting – The process of introducing potential new members to the Greek community.
• Rush/Recruitment Event—An event which an organization sponsors to meet students.
• Silent Period – The period of time between a NPC organization handing out a bid and a student’s official answer; no NPC organization may be in contact with a potential new member at this time.
• Sorority—A women's organization established through the bonds of sisterhood.