Greek Affairs

Registration

Registration for recruitment opens August 22, 2022. Those wishing to go through sorority recruitment can signup here and those wishing to go through fraternity recruitment can signup here. There is no cost to go through recruitment. 

If you would like to watch a brief video about Greek Life here on campus, please check out our recruitment video!

Click here to watch our video.

Get to know current members through pre-recruitment events! These events can be found on The N.E.T./Presence on the calendar. Click here to check out what is going on!

Check out our guidebook to learn more about each organization before recruitment! 

Why Go Greek?
There are many reasons why students choose to join a fraternity or sorority. Many students join with the desire to belong to a community and to create a close bond with other students. Others indicate that it is the leadership training and community service opportunities that first attracted them to Greek Life, while others still say it was the academic and networking benefits. At Muskingum University, we have a long history of providing these opportunities, as well as others, to students.

How do I join?
At Muskingum University, formal recruitment occurs during fall semester and informal recruitment occurs in the spring. All first year students must have a 2.5 high school GPA to join in the fall and upperclassmen must have a 2.35 university GPA. Please refer to the Student Code of Conduct for more information.

Each student must also attend a Greek Orientation before joining an organization. These orientations will cover information about each organization, the hazing policies in place at the university, what it means to be Greek and going over recruitment week. The following dates are when orientations will take place for Fall 2021:

• September 6 - 7PM BSC 336
• September 7 - 11AM BSC 336
• September 8 - 7PM BSC 336
• September 14 - 11AM Caldwell Hall 370
• September 16 - 7PM BSC 336

What is Recruitment Week?
Recruitment Week is a week long process. It is a chance for you to introduce yourself to the sororities and fraternities and for them to get to know. You will attend different party nights to learn about the values, standards, and purpose of each organization.

What is a Recruitment Counselor?
A Recruitment Counselor is a member of a sorority who has chosen to disassociate with her chapter in order to help women going through the recruitment process. She disassociates during the recruitment process so that she may better serve as an unbiased resource for prospective members. At Muskingum University Recruitment Counselors are only used in conjunction with sorority recruitment.

Will joining affect my grades?
Scholarship is actually one of the foundations of Greek Life. Every chapter has one officer who is dedicated to the academic achievement of the chapter and its members. This officer is responsible for developing programs to improve members' academic performance.

Each chapter has a program in place to assist members who are not performing to their potential and also to celebrate the achievements of members who are doing well. Several chapters have an average GPA above all the undergraduate average.

Will I be hazed?
Hazing is against federal, state, and local laws. It is also against Muskingum University student organization policies as well as the policies of each chapter on campus. Hazing has no place in the activities of fraternities and sororities.

Does it cost a lot?
Joining a fraternity or sorority does carry a financial commitment. Each chapter is self-supporting with revenue coming from dues paying members. When students join a Greek organization, they agree to pay dues and fees while enrolled at Muskingum University in order to maintain membership.

While Greek membership is affordable, some chapters are able to make accommodations for special circumstances, but you should discuss the financial obligations with your parents before you join.

Does being a member of a fraternity/sorority really have benefits after graduation?
Definitely! Being a member of a fraternity or sorority is a lifetime commitment. Once you are initiated, you are a member for life! Each organization maintains an extensive alumni network which is extremely beneficial when networking for internships and jobs.

Being a member of a Greek organization gives you a connection to hundreds of successful Greeks in the job market. Additionally many chapters have alumni groups that operate in many cities throughout the country.

Becoming an active member of such an organization after graduation will supply you with more connections for job networking... and gives you the opportunity to build even more lasting friendships!

Greek Speak
What did you just say? Greek students may use some terms you may not understand. Please, use the guide to our Greek Speak below.

Active: A person who has been initiated into a lifelong membership of a fraternity or sorority and is in good standing with this organization.

Alumnus/Alumna: A fraternity or sorority member who is no longer a member of a collegiate chapter.

Alumni/Alumnae: More than one fraternity or sorority member who are no longer members of a collegiate chapter.

Badge: The symbol worn by initiated members of a Greek-letter organization.

Bid: A formal invitation to join a sorority or fraternity.

Big: Short for "Big Sister" or "Big Brother," an active member to serve as a mentor for new members.

Brother: An initiated member of a fraternity.

Chapter: A membership unit of a national or international sorority or fraternity.

Chapter Consultant: An alumna or alumnus who establishes and maintains a close advisory relationship with a chapter and serves as a teacher, counselor, and friend.

Colors: The official pair or triad of colors that represent a specific Greek organization.

Deactivate: The formal process by which an initiated member disaffiliates him/herself from the chapter.

Dry: Term used to describe events where alcohol is forbidden. All recruitment events are dry events.

Extension/Expansion: The process of establishing new chapters.

Formal Recruitment: The official recruitment period of the school year held in September.

Founders' Day: The date celebrating the original founding of a Greek-letter organization.

Fraternity: A Greek letter sisterhood or brotherhood.

Good Standing: A status reached upon the fulfillment of all financial, scholastic, and behavioral obligations to a chapter.

Greek Week: An annual week of events held in spring semester that celebrates the positive aspects of belonging to a Greek-letter organization.

Hazing: Any willful act or practice by a member directed against a member or associate member, which is likely to: cause bodily harm or danger, offensive punishment, or disturbing pain; compromise his/her dignity; cause embarrassment or public shame; cause him/her to be the object of malicious amusement or ridicule; cause psychological harm or substantial emotional strain; impair academic efforts. Hazing is forbidden within the Greek Community at Muskingum University and is against Ohio law.

House: A chapter's physical facility.

Inactive: A member attending the same institution in which his/her chapter is located who has no material participation in chapter activities.

Informal Recruitment: A continuous, open rush period with no specific activities of recruiting and pledging.

Initiate: A member who is undergoing or has undergone the initiation ceremony.

Initiation: Ritualistic ceremony during which new members receive lifelong membership privileges.

Interfraternity Council (IFC): The cooperative campus organization of collegiate members of men's fraternities.

Lavaliere: A piece of jewelry with the letters of one's chapter.

Lavaliering: The practice of a fraternity member giving his lavaliere to a woman, signifying their committed relationship.

Legacy: A member whose mother, sister, or grandmother was a member of the same sorority, or a member whose father, brother, or grandfather was a member of the same fraternity.

Letters: A specific group of Greek letters chosen to represent the specified Greek organization.

Little: Short for "Little Sister" or "Little Brother"

Local: A sorority or fraternity without guidance from or affiliation with any national organization.

New Member: A woman or man who has accepted a sorority or fraternity bid but is not yet an initiated member.

Panhellenic Council: The cooperative campus organization of collegiate members of women's fraternities/sororities.

Pin: The symbol worn by initiated members of a Greek-letter organization; also another name for a badge.

Pinning: The practice of a fraternity member giving his badge to a woman.

Pledge: A promise made by a new member.

Recruitment: A period of time during the school year in which events are held by each Greek organization for the purpose of selecting new members.

Ritual: The sacred ceremonies practiced by every chapter of a Greek-letter organization.

Sister: An initiated member of a women's fraternity/sorority.

Sorority: A Greek letter sisterhood.