Greek Vocabulary

Active - an undergraduate student who has been initiated into lifelong membership of a Greek Organization

Alumna/alumnae - A graduated member of a women's Greek Letter organization, plural is alumnae while alumnus is a graduated member of a men's Greek Letter organization, plural is alumni.

Associate/New Member - A person who has gone through the recruitment process and is in the process of becoming an initiated member of the organization.

Badge - A symbolic pin worn by initiated members of Greek organizations.

Bid - A formal invitation to become a member of a Greek Letter organization.

Chapter - The local campus group of an Inter/national Greek Letter organization.

Colony - A newly-organized sorority or fraternity working towards an official charter from their national organization.

Continuous Open Recruiting (COR) - The process the Panhellenic Association uses to give bids outside of formal recruitment. They can only COR if they have spaces available after recruitment.

Dry Recruitment - Refers to the period before and during the recruitment process where the serving and/or presence of any alcoholic beverages at a recruitment event is considered illegal; all recruitment events at Hofstra are dry.

Dues - Fees paid to a Greek organization for membership, they are often paid per semester.

Formal Recruitment - The major recruitment process employed by the Panhellenic Association; occurs at the beginning of the fall semester.

Founders - The founding members of a Greek Letter organization.

Fraternity - A term used for men's Greek organizations; several women's Greek organizations are identified as fraternities in the official names, while others are considered women's fraternities.

Hazing - Hofstra University has an absolute prohibition on hazing. The University's strict definition may be found in the Policies section of our website.

IFSC - The Inter-Fraternity Sorority Council is composed of the three Greek umbrella organizations; African-Latino Fraternal Sororal Alliance, Interfraternity Council, and Panhellenic Association; it serves as the main programming and regulatory Greek body

Informal Recruitment - An open recruitment period where bids may be extended and accepted at any time. This practice differs between councils.

Informational - Opportunity for interested students to gather more information about ALFSA fraternities and sororities.

Initiation - The formal ritual ceremony when an individual is accepted as a full member.

Intake - The process used by LGC and NPHC organizations to accept new members.

Legacy - When a parent, grandparent, or older sibling is in a Greek organization and you join the same one (it could be at different schools) this is called a legacy.

New Member Period - The time from Bid Day until initiation.

Philanthropy - A cause for which a particular organization may raise money or volunteer time.

Potential New Member - Someone who could potentially be a new member of a Greek organization.

Recruitment - The formal period during which Greek organizations are actively seeking new members. However, in many councils, it is ongoing.

Rho Chi - Recruitment guide that helps women during the Panhellenic Association's formal recruitment.

Ritual - That which is revealed during initiation; the secret meaning that binds an organization.

Sorority - A Greek organization comprised solely of women.