About Greek Life
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Terminology
Active
An initiated undergraduate member of a fraternity or sorority.
Alumna
A post-collegiate life-long member of a sorority. Generally, women move to alumnae status after eight semesters of undergraduate study. Plural is alumnae (pronounced alumnee).
Alumni
Used to refer to multiple male or female post-collegiate members of Greek organizations. An alternative plural is the combination alumni/ae.
Alumnus
A post-collegiate life-long member of a fraternity. Generally, men move to alumni status after eight semesters of undergraduate study, but they may continue to pay active member dues up until graduation, if their undergraduate work continues beyond eight semesters. Plural is alumni (pronounced alumnye).
Bid
A formal invitation to join a fraternity or sorority.
Chapter
A local branch of a national Greek organization. Each fraternity and sorority at K-State has a unique chapter designation; for example, we are home to the Gamma Chi chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity.
Community service
Time and effort donated toward a charitable cause or community institution to benefit the public. Please note the difference between community service and philanthropy.
Formal membership recruitment
The NPC sorority membership selection period held before school starts in the fall.
House
Independent living unit owned or rented by a chapter's alumni Housing Corporation Board. Many chapter members live in the chapter house at some point during their college years; many chapters require that members live in-house for at least one year. A Greek organization should not be referred to as a "house,” since "house" only refers to the building that their members may or may not live in.
IFC
Interfraternity Council, the local governing body for the fraternities.
Informal or open recruitment
The membership selection period for fraternities and sororities with openings throughout the fall and spring semesters.
Legacy
A man whose father, brother, or grandfather is a member of a fraternity, or a woman whose mother, sister, or grandmother is a member of a sorority.
MGCA
Mid-American Greek Council Association. A leadership organization that serves Interfraternity and Panhellenic Councils from schools within a 17-state region of the central United States. Our executive officers visit the regional conference in Chicago each year to compete for awards, attend education sessions, and learn about other Greek communities.
Go to the MGCA website
NALFO
National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations. K-State has two member chapters, Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority and Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity. Membership inquiries for these organizations should be directed to the fraternity or sorority of interest.
New member or associate
Formerly known as a "pledge,” this is a man or woman who has accepted an invitation to join a Greek organization, but has not yet been initiated.
NIC
North-American Interfraternity Conference, the national leadership organization for its member fraternities. K-State has 23 member chapters: Acacia, Alpha Gamma Rho, Alpha Tau Omega, Beta Sigma Psi, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Chi, Delta Sigma Phi, Delta Tau Delta, Delta Upsilon, FarmHouse, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Kappa Theta, Pi Kappa Alpha, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Pi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Theta Xi, and Triangle.
We are also home to three independent national fraternities: Delta Lambda Phi, Kappa Sigma, and Phi Delta Theta.
NPC
National Panhellenic Conference, the national leadership organization for its member sororities. K-State has 11 member chapters: Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, and Sigma Kappa.
NPHC
National Pan-Hellenic Council, the governing body of historically African-American fraternities and sororities. K-State has three member fraternities—Alpha Phi Alpha, Omega Psi Phi, and Phi Beta Sigma—and four member sororities—Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho, and Zeta Phi Beta.
Membership inquiries for these organizations should be directed to the fraternity or sorority of interest.
PHC/Panhellenic
Panhellenic Council, the local governing body for the sororities.
Philanthropy
Fundraising activities or service projects for charitable institutions, or charitable aid/donations to these institutions. (Please note the difference between philanthropy and community service).
SRC
Social responsibility committee. A team of students dedicated to upholding the standards of the Greek community and our policies regarding social events. SRC members visit each registered social event every week with a checklist to ensure policy compliance, and then report back to the IFC director of risk management. Violations are followed up by the IFC director of judicial affairs.