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Greek Glossary ​

A

  • Active: An undergraduate sorority woman who is a current and initiated member of her chapter.
  • ​Alumna: A sorority woman who has graduated. Alumnae (plural) often assist collegiate sorority women with recruitment.

B

  • Bid: An invitation to sorority membership.
  • Big Sister: An active member of a sorority who serves as a mentor to a new member, guiding her through the new member program and initiation.

C

  • Chapter: Another word for an individual sorority at UBC. 

D

  • Disaffiliate: A woman who temporarily does not identify as a member of a specific sorority in order to stay neutral and assist potential new members during their recruitment process. Your Recruitment Counsellor and the Panhellenic Council are all disaffiliated during Formal Recruitment.

F

  • Fraternity: Greek-letter sisterhood or brotherhood. Some sororities are “women’s fraternities” but use the word “sorority” for clarification.

I

  • ​​​Initiation: A ceremony where new members of a sorority become official active members.
  • Invitationals: The second round of Formal Recruitment at UBC. This round consists of visiting up to 5 sororities for 30 minutes each.​

L

  • Legacy: A woman whose grandmother/mother/sister is a member of a sorority. She is a legacy to that sorority.

N

  • National Panhellenic Conference (NPC): The international governing body of 26 international sororities; this includes the 8 at UBC.
  • New Member: A woman who has accepted a bid from a sorority but is not yet initiated.
  • New Member Period: The period after formal recruitment (usually 4-9 weeks) where new members learn about their organization and participate in activities to get to know their active sisters before initiation.

P

  • Panhellenic Association: A university-based governing body for sororities.
  • Philanthropy: A charitable fundraiser or project that a sorority works to commit service.
  • Potential New Member (PNM): A woman going through sorority recruitment.
  • Preference (Pref): The last and most formal round of recruitment, which consists of visiting up to 2 sororities for 60 minutes each.

R

  • Recruitment Counsellor: A disaffiliated woman who assists PNMs during recruitment and offers impartial advice.

S

  • Sister: A term used by sorority members to refer to one another.
  • Sorority: A Greek letter sisterhood.

T

  • Tours: The first round of formal recruitment at UBC consists of visits to 8 sororities for 20 minutes each.

V

  • ​​​​​​Values-Based Recruitment: A recruitment style that focuses on meaningful conversations between active members and potential new members with the goal of recruiting women who will have a positive impact on chapters and the Panhellenic Community.
© 2020, property of UBC Sororities
  • About
    • Our Values
    • Our Chapters >
      • Alpha Delta Pi
      • Alpha Gamma Delta
      • Alpha Omicron Pi
      • Alpha Phi
      • Delta Gamma
      • Gamma Phi Beta
      • Kappa Alpha Theta
      • Kappa Kappa Gamma
    • Our History
    • Panhellenic Council
  • Join
  • FAQ
  • Contact