College 101: The Process of Joining a Greek Organization

Many colleges and universities throughout the world have sororities and fraternities, better known as Greek Life. In order to join such an organization, one must go through an even called "Rush." Rush is where you visit all of the houses (another word for Greek Organizations), and decide if you would like to become a part of one of them. At the same time, the houses are looking at you to decide whether or not you would be a good fit for them.

There are two types of Rush. The first is Formal Rush, which usually occurs during the fall. This is a school-sponsored event run by Panhellenic and Inter-Fraternity Council. There is usually a separate Rush for fraternities and sororities, so that the men and women don't mix. Rushees go through several rounds, where they meet and greet members of each house. After each round, each house invites back the rushees that they would like to see join their organization. At the end, houses give bids to rushees. The rushees accept, attending the house's Bid Day. At Bid Day, the rushees now become pledges of the organization.

A lot of fraternities and sororities do not refer to their pledges as "pledges" at all. In my sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, new members are called Alphas. In Phi Sigma Sigma, they are called Neophytes. You get the idea. New members spend their pre-initiation time learning about the organization. They are usually assigned a buddy from the organization, that is referred to as the "Big" sister or brother. In ADPi, they were called Diamond Sisters to keep everyone on the same level. The "older" member is supposed to teach the new member all of the ins and outs of the organization, including rules and history.

Almost every Greek Organization gives a handbook to the new members. This is a supplement and a study guide to what the other members teach them about the organization. One of the offices held by someone in the organization is "New Member Educator." This person is often referred to as the "House Mother" in sororities and "Pledge Master" in fraternities. This person is the one that the new members can turn to for help with learning what they need to know in order to be initiated.