Greek Statistics
48% of all US presidents have been Greek
Every U.S. President and Vice President, except two in each office, born since the first social fraternity was founded in 1825 have been members of a fraternity.
42% of US Senators are Greek
30% of US Congressmen/women are Greek
40% of all US Supreme Court Justices have been Greek
30% of Fortune 500 Executives are Greek
Over $7 million is raised every year by Greeks nationally.
850,000 hours are volunteered by Greeks annually.
71% of those listed in "Who's Who in America" belong to a fraternity.
Many favorite stars are Greeks, such as: Tim Mcgraw, Johnny Carson, Cindy Crawford, Michael Jordan, Horace Grant, Travis Tritt, George Bush, David Letterman, Bill Clinton, Anne Klein, Liz Claiborne, Jimmy Buffett, John Elway, Lou Gehrig, Martin Luther King,Jr., Frank Gifford, Ted Koppel, Neil Armstrong, Amy Grant, Donna Mills, Elvis Presley, Jane Pauley, Faith Daniels, John Goodman, and Candice Bergen. The list goes on and on...
Greek Vocabulary
Active: An undergraduate sorority/ fraternity member who has been initiated.
Alumni: An initiated sorority/ fraternity member who is married, graduated, or has withdrawn from school.
Bid: A formal written invitation to join a chapter.
Chapter: The name applied to the local group of a national sorority or fraternity.
Fraternity: Formally, it is the name applied to all Greek-letter organizations. Informally, it is applied to men's groups.
Greek: The name applied to all fraternity and sorority members.
House Director: Person who is hired to oversee the day-to-day operations of a sorority house.
Initiate: A man or woman who has recently become an active member of his/ her chapter.
Initiation: The formal ceremony in which new members become full members of a chapter.
Interfraternit Council: The governing body for Drake's fraternities. Membership of IFC consists of one representative form each of the eight national fraternities under its jurisdiction.
Invitiational party: After visiting all chapters during the Open House parties, rushees recieve seperate invitations from the fraternities for each of the additional rush functions.
Legacy: A Woman whose mother, sister or grandmother is an alumni or active member of a sorority, or a man whose father, brother or grandfatehr is an alumni or active member of a fraternity. (Cousins ar not considered legacies) Because each person is considered on an individula basis, a chapter is not obligated to pledge a legacy; a legacy is plegded on his/ her own merits. Similarly, a rushee/ potential new member should choose the chapter with which he/ she feels most comfortable.
Panhellenic Council: When you pledge a sorority at Drake you become a member of an even larger association called the Panhellenic Council. This is the governing body for the sororities. Panhellenic members are dedicated to working together to further sorority ideals and to maintain communication and cooperation among each chapter.
Philanthropy:A charity/service project sponsored by an individual chapter.
Potential New Member: A man/woman who is registerd to participate in Recruitment.
New Member: A person who has accepted the bid of a chapter and has been taken into full membership, but has not yet been initiated.
Reccommendation (Rec): A letter or statement written by an alumni to a chapter recommending a person for membership. Recs are not required.
Recruitment: The process in which potential new members and sorority woment get aquainted with one another and mutually select each other. A formal recruitment period is held each fall.
Rush Week: The major, formal peroid set aside by Interfraternity Council for entertaining and selecting prospective members.
Sorority: A group of women joined in friendship for educational purposes. Each sorority enables individual members to express their own desires and achievements while working as a part of the chapter.