2008 Woodie Awards
Greek Speak
Marissa Kiple
Issue date: 9/27/06 Section: Greek Corner
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A friend of mine, not involved in Greek Life, asked me how she could join my sorority. I told her that she would have to attend recruitment events and meet the sisters. After she'd attended the events for the week like philanthropy, information, and preference night the sisters would vote on each potential new member. After that, we would have bid day and the sisters would pass out bids to the new members. When I finished my whole schpiel my friend looked at me and asked, "What the hell does that all mean?"
Some people speak Spanish, others speak German or French. We speak Greek…in our own special way. Being involved in the Greek Community, one picks up on the language, but to non members, we're speaking gibberish. So, to help you out, and to perhaps help you better understand what I'm writing in this weekly column, I'm going to provide you with a dictionary.
There are some terms that even the Greeks don't understand or say. We have terms, and then we have the politically correct term. I will provide the politically correct term in parenthesis.
GREEK SPEAK:
Rush (Recruitment): The series of parties and events one attends to get to know the fraternity or sorority they would like to become a member of.
Rushee (Potential New Member): The terminology used to refer to those attending the recruitment events.
Philanthropy: Community service. Every fraternity or sorority has an organization they help. For example, Alpha Sigma Tau's philanthropy is Habitat for Humanity and Pine Mountain Settlement School. Delta Zeta works with the hearing impaired and Galludet University.
Preference: The ritual ceremony each fraternity or sorority presents, usually having to do with the ideals or purpose of their organization.
Bid: The invitation presented to the potential new member to become a new member of the fraternity or sorority.
Pledge (New Member): The term used to refer to a student going through the process of joining the fraternity or sorority.
Pledging (New Member Education Process): The events and education a new member attends and learns in order to join the chapter.
Chapter: The term used to refer to the fraternity or sorority. (ex. The AST chapter at Frostburg.) Once you are a member of the chapter you attend meetings weekly to keep up to date on the current events of the fraternity or sorority. This is commonly referred to as chapter, because you're attending a chapter meeting.
Pinning: The ceremony in which a new member receives their pin or ribbons. The colored ribbons on pins are the organization's colors.
Initiation: The formal ceremony in which new members learn the secrets and traditions of an organization, and become a member.
Hopefully this helps you to better understand me, my articles, and my fellow Greeks. Until next week…There's more to Greek Life than bake sales and keg stands.
Some people speak Spanish, others speak German or French. We speak Greek…in our own special way. Being involved in the Greek Community, one picks up on the language, but to non members, we're speaking gibberish. So, to help you out, and to perhaps help you better understand what I'm writing in this weekly column, I'm going to provide you with a dictionary.
There are some terms that even the Greeks don't understand or say. We have terms, and then we have the politically correct term. I will provide the politically correct term in parenthesis.
GREEK SPEAK:
Rush (Recruitment): The series of parties and events one attends to get to know the fraternity or sorority they would like to become a member of.
Rushee (Potential New Member): The terminology used to refer to those attending the recruitment events.
Philanthropy: Community service. Every fraternity or sorority has an organization they help. For example, Alpha Sigma Tau's philanthropy is Habitat for Humanity and Pine Mountain Settlement School. Delta Zeta works with the hearing impaired and Galludet University.
Preference: The ritual ceremony each fraternity or sorority presents, usually having to do with the ideals or purpose of their organization.
Bid: The invitation presented to the potential new member to become a new member of the fraternity or sorority.
Pledge (New Member): The term used to refer to a student going through the process of joining the fraternity or sorority.
Pledging (New Member Education Process): The events and education a new member attends and learns in order to join the chapter.
Chapter: The term used to refer to the fraternity or sorority. (ex. The AST chapter at Frostburg.) Once you are a member of the chapter you attend meetings weekly to keep up to date on the current events of the fraternity or sorority. This is commonly referred to as chapter, because you're attending a chapter meeting.
Pinning: The ceremony in which a new member receives their pin or ribbons. The colored ribbons on pins are the organization's colors.
Initiation: The formal ceremony in which new members learn the secrets and traditions of an organization, and become a member.
Hopefully this helps you to better understand me, my articles, and my fellow Greeks. Until next week…There's more to Greek Life than bake sales and keg stands.
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