Greek Definitions
Active: A member who has been initiated into lifelong fraternity or sorority membership and participates in chapter activities at the collegiate level.
Alumni/Alumnae: Initiated fraternity or sorority members who have graduated from college.
Badge: The pin of an initiated member.
Bid: A formal invitation to membership in a particular fraternity or sorority.
Big Brother or Sister: An active member of a fraternity or sorority who serves as a mentor to a new member, guiding him or her through the new member program and initiation.
Brother: A term used by fraternity members to refer to one another.
Chapter: A local group of the larger (inter)national organization, designated by a special Greek name.
Fraternity: The name that applies to all Greek organizations characterized by a ritual, badge and strong ties to friendship and moral principles. Informally, women's fraternities are called sororities.
Greek: Any member of a Greek-letter organization.
Greek 101: A program to educate new members on about Greek Life at UNLV, responsibilities of being Greek and current issues facing college students.
Initiation/Induction: The formal ceremony that marks the beginning of active membership. Each chapter has a different set of requirements in order to be initiated/inducted.
Interfraternity Council (IFC): The governing body of 11 fraternities at UNLV.
Initiated Member: A member who has completed the new member process and has gone through the initiation ceremony.
Intake: The membership selection process for NPHC organizations. It typically involves an interview, application process, and membership education.
Lavaliere: A pendant with a fraternity or sorority's Greek letters on it.
Legacy: The brother or sister, son or daughter, or grandson or granddaughter of a fraternity or sorority member. Each (inter)national organization has its own policy regarding legacies.
Membership Recruitment: The mutual selection process that prospective members and chapter members go through during the recruitment period to get to know one another.
NIC (North-American Interfraternity Conference): Governing body for 73 national member men's fraternities and alumni associations.
NPC (National Pan-Hellenic Conference): The umbrella organization for 26 women's fraternities. NPC supports its chapters by promoting values, education, leadership, friendship, cooperation, and citizenship
NPHC (National Pan-Hellenic Council): The National Pan-Hellenic Council, Inc. (NPHC) is a coalition of the nine (9) largest historically African American Greek-letter fraternities and sororities, currently representing over 1.5 million members internationally.
(Inter)national Headquarters: The central organization of a particular fraternity or sorority.
New Member: A member of a fraternity or sorority who has not been initiated.
New Member Program: A period of learning about fraternity and sorority life prior to initiation. This period varies for all groups.
New Member Release: When a new member ends one's fraternity or sorority membership before initiation.
Philanthropy: A charitable fundraiser or service project sponsored by a fraternity or sorority.
Potential New Member (PNM): A college student who is interested in joining a Greek organization and is taking part in the recruitment process.
Rho Gamma (Recruitment Guide): A Pan-Hellenic sorority member who has disaffiliated herself from her chapter during formal membership recruitment. She is specially trained to help potential new members and answer any questions they may have about sorority membership.
Sister: A term used by sorority members to refer to one another.
Social: A get-together event with another Greek organization.
Total: Allowable chapter size for PHC chapters, as determined by the College Pan-Hellenic, and includes both new members and initiated members. UNLV's current Pan-Hellenic Chapter total is 65 members.