Fraternity and Sorority Life - Office of Student Engagement

FSL Fast Facts

Fraternity and Sorority Life students make up about 15% of the undergraduate student population
The All FSL GPA is a 3.24, surpassing the All Campus GPA of a 3.23
Last year, we had 514 members with a 4.0 GPA
Chapters hosted or attended 117 educational programs
Our members completed a total of 25,625 community service hours
The FSL community donated $159,592 to philanthropic initiatives
The FSL community donated over 21,000 pounds of food to the Bear Pantry on campus

Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Siscoe

During my collegiate days at MSU (many years ago), I joined a National Sorority. That affiliation provided me an abundance of growth and development opportunities. I can truly say that my sorority experience laid the foundation for me as an ethical leader, engaged citizen, and culturally competent professional.

While involvement in the Fraternity and Sorority Life community may not be the right experience for all students, it does provide a positive connection for many. Thousands of our alumni have enriched and enhanced their Missouri State University experience through involvement in our Greek-lettered organizations. Our fraternities and sororities offer students the opportunity to make friends, to serve others, and to gain leadership experience, both on campus and on a national level.

We are proud of the accomplishments of our growing number of Greek-lettered organizations and students. You owe it to yourself to learn about these organizations and to consider whether membership would be the right choice for you!

Dr. Dee Siscoe

Vice President for Student Affairs

If you're new to Fraternity and Sorority Life, some of the language might be confusing. Below you'll find an overview of commonly used terms.
- Active - a member who has been initiated into a chapter, is an undergraduate, and actively participates
- Alumni/Alumnae - initiated fraternity or sorority members who have graduated from college
- Badge - the pin of an initiated member
- Bid - a formal invitation to join a fraternity or sorority
- Chapter - a local group of a fraternal organization
- Colony/Associate Chapter - a new group of an inter/national organization before they are installed as a chapter
- Fraternity - the name that applies to all Greek organizations, traditionally men's organizations. Informally, women's fraternities are called sororities
- FSL - Fraternity and Sorority Life
- Hand Sign - used to identify members of the same organization across all chapters. Most have a deep meaning to that organization or ritualistic symbol
- Initiation - a formal ceremony or ritual in which a new member gains full membership
- Intake - the process through which National Pan-Hellenic Council chapters gain new members
- Interfraternity Council (IFC) - The governing body of some fraternities at MSU.
- Legacy - a potential new member whose immediate family member or grandparent is in a fraternity or sorority
- Line - The members of a cultural Greek organization new member class
- Local Chapter - a Greek letter organization that is not affiliated with an inter/national organization
- National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) - a national organization composed of four sororities and five fraternities whose members are historically African/Black-American
- Neophyte ("Neo") - A new member of a cultural Greek organization
- New Member - a member who has accepted the bid of a fraternity or sorority, but has not yet been initiated
- New Member Presentation (Probate) - a formal presentation of a new line to campus. Usually done in a public forum after members have been initiated
- Panhellenic Association - an umbrella organization for 26 (inter)national women's sororities throughout the United States and Canada
- Panhellenic Counselor (Pi Chi) - a Panhellenic sorority member who will assist potential new members during formal recruitment.
- Para ("Nalia") - short for paraphernalia. The different items of clothing someone is wearing
- Philanthropy - a charitable fundraiser or service project sponsored by a fraternity or sorority
- Potential New Member (PNM) - a person interested in becoming a member of a fraternity or sorority
- Prophyte - term used to refer to an older brother/sister from the same chapter, typically only used for culturally-based organizations
- Recruitment - the mutual choice and selection process to determine fraternity or sorority membership
- Ritual - the traditional beliefs and oaths of a fraternity or sorority
- Soror - term used to refer to a sister in a National Pan-Hellenic Council or Multicultural organization
- Stepping - a historically black tradition characterized by synchronized hand foot movements, along with signing, dancing, chanting, and acting. Many Latino/Latina and Multicultural groups participate in stepping as well.
- Stroll - a line dance done by members of National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations; usually done at a step show
- Yard - the term used to refer to the particular campus or university where a chapter is located

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