Lesson 2 Greek Life Objectives To explain the

Lesson 2 Greek Life Objectives To explain the Greek heritage and terminology used on campus and have new members understand the Greek system and Phi Sigma Rho’s place as a social Greek organization

Greek Life What does Greek Life mean to you? Reasons to “Go Greek” – Leadership opportunities Future leaders – Build lifelong sisterhoods – Balancing academic and a social life – Philanthropy Giving back to the community – Scholarship One of the sorority’s values

Heraldry of American college fraternities traces back to the centuries of the Crusades – If a knight wore a badge, he wore it proudly, for it distinguished and identified him Deeper concepts of Phi Sigma Rho are represented in our heraldry – Meanings are known only to initiated members – Symbols only become a reality when they are translated into action by those who aspire to be proud wearers of the badge of Phi Sigma Rho

Greek History First Greek organization was a fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa Society – Founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary in Virginia – Phi Beta Kappa resembled modern fraternities Held rituals Kept secrets Wore badges – Present day, Phi Beta Kappa is strictly an honors fraternity Kappa Alpha is the oldest men’s social fraternity The first social sorority was Adelphean Society – Founded in 1851 at Wesleyan College in Georgia – Later became Alpha Delta Pi and expanded to other campuses in 1913

Greek History National Interfraternity Conference (NIC) – Started in 1909 – Established to oversee all proceedings of fraternities and its members – Currently includes 66 fraternities National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) – Started in 1902 – Hosts all sororities and oversees the actions of its members – Currently includes 26 sororities – Phi Sigma Rho is not recognized by NPC as a national sorority, but can be locally recognized See UH’s Fraternity & Sorority Life Documents

Major Based Social Greek Organizations Many social fraternities and sororities began with a major requirement Most fraternities and sororities have removed that requirement – Fraternities that have kept their requirement Triangle (engineering and sciences) AGR (agriculture) Farm. House (agriculture) – Sororities that have kept their requirements Phi Sigma Rho Alpha Omega Epsilon (engineering and technical sciences) AGR (agriculture) A member of Phi Sigma Rho cannot be a member of another social sorority

Professional Greek Organizations Professional Greek organizations are focused on professional development – – Major based requirement Usually a grade requirement Required to include male and female members Professional Greek engineering fraternities Theta Tau (1904) Sigma Phi Delta (1924)

Academic/Honors Greek Organizations Academic/honors fraternities and service fraternities stand for high academic standing and community service – Largest service fraternity is Alpha Phi Omega Principles derived from the Boy Scouts of America A member of Phi Sigma Rho can be a member of academic and honors Greek organizations Ex: Tau Beta Pi

Greek Terminology Sorority – The designation normally given to women fraternity on college campuses Potential New Member (PNM) – An undergraduate interested in joining a Greek organization Rush – A designated period of time for the recruitment of new members Induction – The ceremony in which a woman, who has accepted a bid, formally becomes an associate member Initiation – The ceremony in which a candidate member becomes an active member

Greek Terminology Ritual – The secret activities involved in induction and other aspects of the sorority Colony – An organization in progress of petitioning a national sorority for affiliation but not yet installed as a chapter Installation – The official chartering of a chapter by a national/international organization Chapter – A Greek organization on campus or a meeting of that organization Legacy – A relative of a fraternity/sorority member

Greek Terminology National Panhellenic Conference – The governing organization for 26 national women's social sororities Inter. Fraternity Council – The governing body of male and co-ed social fraternities Order of Omega – National Greek leadership honors society

Greek Terminology Alpha to Omega – Each class and chapter is assigned a Greek letter and begins with Alpha – Some chapters choose to skip the Omega chapter and immediately begin using two letter designations, Alpha, Alpha Beta, etc. – Omega stands for the end and finality, and the interpretation is that the chapter will never end – Upsilon has not decided whether or not to skip/not skip the Omega class

Next Week Knowledge Assessment – Greek alphabet See page 15 of the member manual – Terminology