Active: A member who has been initiated into lifelong fraternity or sorority membership and is active at the collegiate level.
Alumna/Alumnus: A member of a sorority/fraternity who is no longer in college.
Badge: The pin of an initiated member.
Bid: A formal invitation to join a fraternity or sorority.
Bid Day: The last day of recruitment when new members accept their bids and officially join their new organization.
Brother/Sister: A term used by fraternity/sorority members to refer to one another.
Chapter: A local group of the larger national organization.
Chapter or Leadership or Regional Consultant: An alumna or alumnus who works for the national organization and maintains a close advisory relationship with a local chapter.
College Panhellenic Council (CPC): The governing body for the 8 nationally recognized sororities at Longwood.
Formal Recruitment: The period of time set aside by the Panhellenic Council for meeting potential members.
Fraternity: The name applied to all Greek letter organizations. Informally, this name applies to men's groups while women’s organizations may be sororities or women’s fraternities.
Greeks: Members of a Greek letter fraternity or sorority.
Initiation: The formal ceremony that brings a new member into full Greek membership. Each chapter has a different set of requirements that must be met in order to be initiated.
National Panhellenic Conference (NPC): The governing body for 26 national and international sororities and women’s fraternities, eight of which are active and operate on Longwood’s campus.
New Member: A potential member who has accepted the bid of a fraternity or sorority, but who has not been initiated.
New Member Educator: The chapter officer who oversees the development of new members and prepares them for initiation.
New Member Program: The period of learning about fraternity and sorority life prior to initiation. In addition to learning the history of the organization, new members may attend presentations on topics such as study skills, acquaintance rape, substance abuse, and other important issues.
Open Recruitment or COB: The period after formal recruitment in which chapters may recruit and offer bids without scheduled events through IFC or CPC.
Philanthropy: A service project sponsored by a chapter from which donations of goods, money, and/or time are given to charitable organizations. Each chapter has at least one philanthropic organization it gives it’s time and money to throughout the year.
Potential New Member: A college man or woman who is participating in Recruitment.
Quota: A specified number of women a Panhellenic sorority may offer bids to during formal recruitment.
Recruitment Counselor: An initiated member of a Panhellenic sorority who guides potential new members through the recruitment process.
Recruitment Guidelines: Guidelines set forth by the Panhellenic Council to ensure a fair and stress-free Recruitment process.
Silence: A period of time when conversation and contact between potential new members and Panhellenic sorority active members and alumnae are strictly limited by recruitment guidelines.
Sorority/Women’s Fraternity: A group of women joined together in friendship for leadership and academic purposes.