Active – An initiated sorority member attending college.
Alumna, (plural is alumnae) – An initiated sorority member no longer in college.
Shreveport-Bossier Alumnae Panhellenic – The local chapter of the National Panhellenic Conference, a cooperative alumnae organization.
Badge – An insignia of fraternity or sorority membership worn by initiated members. Each sorority has its badge.
Bid – An invitation to join a specific sorority.
Bid Day – The last day of recruitment, when potential new members receive bids to join chapters and become new members. Each chapter will usually host a Bid Day activity to help the new members get to know each other and the rest of the chapter, like bowling or roller skating. The Unanimous Agreements state that there is to be no alcohol use or men associated with recruitment or Bid Day.
Big sister (Big) – An active member of a chapter who is paired with a new member as a mentor.
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.
College Panhellenic Council – A council for all of the National Panhellenic Conference sorority chapters on a campus. This council serves as the governing body for all NPC chapters on campus and organizes the recruitment process. Each chapter chooses a delegate to sit on its College Panhellenic council.
Continuous Open Bidding (COB) – An opportunity for chapters that do not reach quota during primary recruitment to bid to total and/or quota. The continuous open bidding process is less formal, and not all chapters will participate in continuous open bidding.
Deferred Recruitment – formerly called “deferred Rush”. Formal recruitment that usually takes place at the beginning of the spring semester.
Formal Recruitment – formerly called “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 – A member of a Greek letter organization, normally a social fraternity or sorority.
Initiation – A meaningful ceremony by which new members are made active members of a sorority.
Legacy – Generally defined as a daughter, granddaughter, sister, or great-granddaughter of an initiated sorority member. A potential new member could be a legacy to more than one sorority.
National Panhellenic Conference – The National Panhellenic Conference, or the umbrella body for 26 inter/national women’s fraternities and sororities.
New Member – once referred to as “Pledge”. A person who has accepted the bid of a sorority but has not been initiated.
Open Recruitment – 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 (PNM) –once referred to as “rushee”. A college woman who has chosen to participate in the recruitment process.
Preferential Bidding or Pref – The conclusion of the formal recruitment week when sororities and potential new members indicate their choices.
Quota – The number of potential new members to which each chapter can offer bids during formal recruitment. This is determined with a formula involving the number of chapters and the number of women participating in bid matching.
Recommendation (Rec) – A form completed by an alumna member of a sorority recommending a potential new member for membership.
Recruitment Counselor or Rho Chi, Gamma Chi, Pi Chi – A sorority member who is disassociated from her sorority to serve as a recruitment guide. Each PNM will be assigned a recruitment counselor during formal recruitment.
Silence – A period of time after the close of membership recruitment events and prior to the distribution of bids when there is no communication between potential new members and sorority members.
Sister – a term used by sorority members to refer to one another.
Snap bidding – An option available to chapters that did not fill quota. Chapters may offer bids to potential new members whose preferences were not matched, meaning they would not be extended a bid by chapters they listed on their preference rankings after preference round. This process takes place before bids are distributed, and a potential new member would receive a phone call or other contact by a sorority offering her a snap bid. If she chooses to accept, the new member would participate in normal Bid Day activities.
Total – The allowable chapter size on a campus, as determined by the College Panhellenic, including new and active members. Chapters that fall under total may be allowed to participate in continuous open bidding until they reach total.