"Greek Dictionary"
Active: A man who has been initiated into lifelong membership in a fraternity and is currently in college.
Bid: An invitation to join a fraternity issued in writing or verbally directly from the Fraternity to a potential new member.
Chapter: The local chartered unit of a national fraternity.
Dry Recruitment: The prohibition of alcohol at any chapter event where potential new members are or may potentially be present.
Formal Recruitment: The predetermined time-span for recruitment in which the majority of rush occurs each year.
Fraternity: A Greek-lettered fellowship of men fostering the common ideals of brotherhood.
House Rotation: During the second two days of Rush Week all of the potentials are transported to each fraternity house to allow the potentials to have an opportunity to meet members from each fraternity.
IFC: "Interfraternity Council" IFC is the governing body of all six fraternities represented on campus.
Initiation: the formal ceremonies of a pledge/associate becoming a lifelong Fraternity member.
Legacy: A direct relative (brother, son, nephew, etc.) of a Fraternity member.
Nationals/Headquarters: The governing body or staff of each national/international fraternity.
Pledge/Associate: A man who has gone through formal pledging/associating ceremonies and is learning the history and purposes of his fraternity. A pledge/associate has not yet been initiated into lifelong membership.
Pledgeship/Associate Membership: The process by which a pledge/associate becomes an active member or brother of a fraternity.
Potential New Member: A non-fraternity member who is visiting Fraternities as a guest with possible potential for pledging or associating.
Rho Sigma (ΡΣ): A current fraternity man that has disaffiliated from his chapter to serve as a recruitment supervisor for potential new men during the IFC rush process. These men will serve as your rush group leader.
Rush 101: Rush 101 is an information session designed to prepare the potential for what to expect and what is allowed during the Rush week.
Rush week: A week where all of the fraternities host events and invite potentials to inform them about their respected organization and possibly extending invitations to join. Rush week is hosted and regulated by the IFC. Fraternity have very strict guidelines on what is allowed during Rush week.
Year Round Recruitment (Dynamic Recruitment): A method by which fraternities individually determine when they will extend bids to potential new members. Unlike formal recruitment, fraternities can extend a bid at any time during the year with Year Round Recruitment.
Section 2- How to join
Receiving a Bid
Throughout the process of "Rush Week" each fraternity will be offering bids (formal invitations to join a fraternity), to the potentials they feel are the best fit for their respected organization. Although receiving a bid is an honor the potential should not feel pressured into accepting the bid or feeling obligated to stay with the fraternity that has offered him the bid. The potential has three options when offered a bid:
The potential can ACCEPT the bid, which means the potential has made his decision and is not interested in joining ANY other fraternity. This is the first step of becoming a member of the specific fraternity.
The potential can HOLD the bid, which means he is interested but would also like to explore other fraternities before making a decision. Holding a bid is NOT denying the invitation, but allowing more time to see which fraternity is best fit for him. If the potential is holding a bid and later goes with another fraternity he SHOULD be respectful enough to inform the fraternity he was holding the bid for. This is a gentleman gesture and will prevent that fraternity from trying to contact the potential and a later time.
The potential can DENY the bid, which means the potential has NO interest in joining that particular fraternity. Denying a bid should only be done if the potential is 100% sure he does not want to be a part of that organization.
Potentials are encouraged to meet and get to know as many of the organizations as possible, but only ONE bid can be accepted.
Once the Bid is Accepted
Once the bid is accepted the potential then begins the new member process (the transformation process from potential to initiated brother). Some fraternities may refer to the new member process as an associate or pledge process. Throughout the new member process the "new member" will be taught history, values, morals, leadership, and brotherhood represented by their respected fraternity. At the completion of the new member process the once potential will become an initiated active member of the fraternity.
Section 3- Requirements to Rush
Effective for fall 2012 recruitment all potentials MUST preregister through the IFC website by September 10th.
Must be in good standing with the University not only academically, but judicially.
All potentials must have a minimum of a 2.5 cumulative GPA. First semester freshman will use high school GPA, all other cases will take cumulative college GPA. This is a VERY strict and serious requirement, no exceptions will be made.
All potentials are required to attend RUSH 101 to participate in the Fall 2012 Rush process.
Section 4 - Schedule
IFC will have officers present at each summer orientation to assist in the online preregistration process and to answer any questions or concerns.
All dates can also be seen on the IFC calendar
Section 5 - Why join?
Academics
Each fraternity on campus understands and values the importance of grades for each of its members. The first priority of a college student is to get an education and with the right fraternal experience this priority can not only be reached but excelled. Some major factors to academic success such as peer tutoring, study hours, scholarship opportunities, workshops, and upperclassman counseling is readily available.
Leadership
Within the structure of a fraternity a member is "in charge" or held responsible for a specific job or an event, not only allowing but forcing the member to become accountable and a leader to inspire his chapter to not only participate but dominate the event. Along with positions held in their fraternity, IFC, ETSU, and individual chapters host leadership workshops to transform members into leaders.
Social Activities
Throughout the year each of the fraternities and sororities participates in numerous social activities such as Homecoming, Relay For Life, concerts, Greek Wars, date parties, philanthropy events, and formals. These activities are a great way to meet new people and build lasting bonds and friendship.
Career Networking
In this slow economy the job market has become increasingly competitive. With this increase of competition it is critical to have an edge that sets you not only apart but ahead of the rest. A fraternal experience can provide this with the values, morals, leadership, and team working skills learned. Being able to state you were in a fraternity on a resume can be the difference in getting the job and not. Also a fraternity offers many more resources such as alumni, national newsletters and letters of recommendation. Joining a fraternity is an investment for your future.
Go BUCS and Go GREEK !!