Glossary
Sorority terminology can be needlessly complicated. Here is a common glossary of terms we currently use related to fraternity and sorority life.
- Active member: A member who has been initiated into the sorority.
- Bid: A formal invitation to join a fraternity or sorority. When you "accept your bid," you are committing as a member of that organization.
- Bid matching: the mutual selection process.
- Big/little: An older member will be paired to guide you through your new member experience and make sure you feel welcomed and understand your new role. Some organizations call this a "big sibling," and the new member is known as the "little sibling."
- Chapter: the local branch of a national organization, represented by a unique combination of Greek letters. For example, Stanford Kappa Alpha Theta's Phi Deuteron chapter is the local branch of the national Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
- Chapter advisor: An alum of the sorority who guides active members through event planning, leadership and chapter management.
- COB: Continuous Open Bidding. Sororities can recruit new members outside of formal recruitment during COB. COB events are informal and not all chapters host them, depending on the quarter.
- Dues: The quarterly fees you pay to be a member of a sorority. Dues cover things like insurance (in case you are injured during a sorority event), educational programs and trainers from national orgs, events, and apparel.
- Exchange: An event co-hosted by two or more chapters to get to know each other. Also sometimes known as a "social" or "mixer."
- FSL: Fraternity and Sorority Life. Often refers to the FSL Office/team, or the professional staff here to support and advise you.
- Hazing: Hazing includes activities that cause another student to suffer bodily danger, physical harm, or significant degradation or humiliation. Hazing is both illegal and prohibited at Stanford.
- Initiation: A formal, traditional ceremony when a New Member becomes an Active Member. You will learn ritual during initiation.
- ISC: Inter-Sorority Council. This is the unifying, governing, and coordinating body for the sorority system at Stanford. Also known as "Panhellenic" at other schools.
- Lineage/lin: Another term for Big/Little, often used at Stanford.
- National: Usually refers to the national organization or headquarters of a sorority.
- New member: After you accept your bid and join a chapter, you become a New Member. This is a time for learning about your new sorority, the requirements, and the resources available to you.
- Panhellenic: The National Panhellenic Conference is an umbrella organization for 26 national women's sororities throughout the United States and Canada. This is not the same as The National Pan-Hellenic Council, a collaborative umbrella organization composed of historically African American Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities.
- PNM: Potential New Member. The students interested in going through recruitment.
- Quota: The number of new members that ISC sororities may accept during formal recruitment. This is determined by FSL based on the number of potential members participating in a given recruitment period, and is not determined until after the Preference round of formal recruitment.
- Recruitment: Also known colloquially as "rush," recruitment is the multi-day process you go through to meet chapters and their members. Can be formal or informal.
- Ritual: A ceremonial event unique to each organization that plays out the ideals and principles of that organization. They are the same for every chapter of the same fraternity or sorority, and are usually the time when students take an oath to uphold the values of that organization.
- Total: The allowable chapter size as determined by FSL. Chapters under this number are allowed to participate in Continuous Open Bidding (COB).