Jackson Area Alumnae Panhellenic Association
www.jacksonpanhellenic.com
Greek Glossary
Active – an initiated sorority member attending college.
Alumna (plural is alumnae) – an initiated sorority member who is no longer an
active.
Bid – an formal invitation to join a specific sorority.
Chapter – an organized group of women representing a national sorority
Collegiate chapters are found on college campuses. Alumnae chapters are usually organized by geographic areas and support their collegiate chapters.
Deferred Recruitment (formerly Deferred Rush) – formal recruitment that takes place at the beginning of the spring semester.
Formal Recruitment (formerly Rush) – the process of mutual selection between a prospective member and active chapter. Each potential new member is given the opportunity to attend parties hosted by all participating sororities. As recruitment progresses, the sorority members and potential new members go through a mutual selection process until the last day, then participants are offered an invitation (bid) to join a sorority chapter.
Greek – any member of a Greek letter social or community service organization (fraternity or sorority)
Initiation – The formal ceremony that marks the beginning of active membership. Each chapter has a different set of requirements in order to be initiated.
Legacy – generally defined as a daughter, granddaughter, sister, or great-granddaughter of a sorority member. A potential new member could be a legacy to more than one sorority. Being a legacy does NOT mean automatic membership into that chapter. Nonetheless, being a legacy does not hurt your chances at membership in any way.
New member (formerly a Pledge) - a member of a sorority who has not been initiated.
Continuous Open Bidding (COB) – a period usually following Formal Recruitment where there may be an opportunity to fill a chapter’s designated number of new members. Open recruitment is limited to those chapters who do not fill their allowable quota in Formal Recruitment.
Potential New Member (formerly a Rushee) – a college woman who has chosen to participate in the recruitment process
Preferential Bidding – A mutual selection process for chapters and potential new members.
Quota – The specified number of recruitment guests to which each sorority may extend a bid.
Recruitment Counselor (or Rho Chi) – a sorority woman who has disaffiliated herself from her chapter during Formal Recruitment. She is specially trained to assist Potential New Members throughout the recruitment process and to answer any questions they may have about sorority membership.
Recommendation (Rec) – A form or a personal letter of provided by a sorority alumna to the chapter of her sorority on campus recommending a potential new member for membership. It may also be referred to as sponsorship or reference. This does NOT guarantee a bid from any sorority.
Strict Silence - The period of time after the close of preference events and prior to the distribution of bids when there is no communication between potential new members and sorority women.
Sister – A term used by sorority members to refer to one another.
