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So your Son wants to join a Fraternity…..

Great, now what, more college expenses, drinking, partying, failing grades….Not True!

Joining a Fraternity has several benefits including but not limited to:

Mandatory study hours
Assistance with selecting classes from brothers who are in the same academic field
Minimum grade point average (GPA) requirements
Moral requirements
Community service/Philanthropy work
Leadership opportunities both on and off campus
Family support
Goal setting
Intramurals
Public speaking skills
Social maturity
Knowledge of Roberts Rules of Order
Building confident young men
Social event
Life long friends
Networking for jobs after college

Our fraternity is involved in enhancing every aspect of your son’s college experience. Pi Kappa Alpha (PKA) Zeta Rho Chapter’s four core values are: Scholarship, Leadership, Athletes and Gentlemen, which will assist your son in developing into one of tomorrow's leaders.

PKA gets you son involved, which helps him develop important social skills, it also allows your son unique opportunities to develop contacts with other students and over 500 active alumni who can assist with jobs during college and after graduation.

You will not find a feeling of family in the dorms like you do in a fraternity. The friendships made during these college years, will continue long after graduation and into adult hood.

The leadership opportunities that PKA provide your son will give him an opportunity to gain experience by holding one or more position in the house that pertain to the daily operations of the fraternity. From President to newly initiated member, each position offers your son a chance to gain more interpersonal and organizational skills. Leadership opportunities include but are not limited to:

President
Vice Presidents (Internal and External)
Treasurer
Rush/Recruitment Chair
Social Chair
Alumni Relations Chair
House Manager
Pledge Educator
Academic/Scholarship Chair
Risk Manager
Inter Fraternity Council Representative

Scholarship Benefits:

Nationally just over 50% of students graduate from college. However, U.S. Department of Education data shows the Greek members graduate at a rate in excess of 70%! PKA encourages each member to maintain high scholastic level by requiring each member to maintain at a minimum a 2.5 GPA to be a member in good standing with the fraternity. Scholarships based on GPA’s are also provided by the Zeta Rho Alumni Association.

Leadership Benefits:

Each event that is planned by the Chapter has an event chair. This individual is responsible of planning and execution of the event. Everyone in the family is a leader, weather it is a committee head, event planner, executive council member, judicial board member or chair. Your son will learn to manage a budget, motivate over 50 other young men and how to run an effective meeting while gain public speaking skills.

Athletic Benefits:

PKA brothers have been involved or are currently involved in varsity sports such as; Football, Basketball, Track, Swim team and Cheerleading. Brothers are also actively involved in intramural sports. Athletics are an important part of the college experience and help to provide healthy balance in life.

Gentlemen:

Community Service / Philanthropy service, one of the many advantages of being part of the Greek community. Philanthropies are projects and events organized by groups or individuals to benefit the local Grand Forks Community. The Zeta Rho Chapter of PKA has raised over $3,000 for the ALTRU Breast Cancer Unit during the 2004 -2005 school year.

Career Networking Benefit:

Using the resources of Greek members like alumni, your son may find just the job he is looking for. Now a days, having a degree is just the beginning in your job search. Over 30% of new jobs are filled by referrals and never even make it to the newspaper. If the position does make it to the newspaper, an average of 100 applicants apply. It’s who you know that will help you son to find his dream job. . Joining the Greek system is an investment in your son’s feature.

Some Famous PKA’s:

Ted Koppel - ABC's Nightline Anchor
Jon Stewart - Anchor of The Daily Show
Tim McGraw - Country Music Star
Scott Van Pelt - ESPN Anchor
Robert L. Ward - Senior Vice President and Creative Director, Universal Studios
Rick Dees - Radio Personality
Nolan Bushnell - Founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater
S. Truett Cathy - Founder/CEO, Chick-Fil-A
Dr. Stephen R. Covey - Chairman, Covey Leadership Center
Bobby Bowden - Head Football Coach, Florida State
Pat Bowlen - Owner, Denver Broncos
Fred Hoiberg - Pro Basketball Player, Minnesota Timberwolves
Lance Alworth - Pro Football Hall of Fame
Bill McCartney - Former Head Football Coach, University of Colorado; Founder & CEO of Promise Keepers
Jeff Taylor - Founder and CEO, Monster.com
J. Strom Thurmond - Former United States Senator, South Carolina
Dick Armey - Former United States Representative, Texas
Thad Cochran - United States Senator, Mississippi
James van Hoften - Space Shuttle Astronaut
General Louis Wilson (Retired) - Marine Corps Commandant, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Jon Kyl - U.S. Senator [R-AZ]
Nicholas Lampson - U.S. Congressman [D-TX]
Pete Sessions - U.S. Congressman [R-TX]

Crest of Pi Kappa Alpha Crest of Zeta Rho Alumni Association

Greek Terminology

Soon your son will start using terms that are specific to the greek community.

Below is a list of the most commonly used terms.

Active - An initiated member of a fraternity or sorority currently in college.

Alumni - Members of a fraternity who have graduated. (Singular is alumnus)

Badge - Also known as a pin, it is an item of jewelry given to members upon initiation.

Bid - An invitation to join a fraternity.

Big Brother - A mentor assigned to a new member.

Brother - Term that fraternity members call each other.

Chapter House - A house on campus where some members of the organization live.

Chapter Meeting - A weekly meeting held to discuss fraternity business.

Charter - Permission from the national organization to have a chapter.

Crest - Insignia used by fraternity members. Most Greek organizations reserve the crest for initiated members only. Each crest has hidden, secret meanings behind it. Also known as a coat or arms or shield.

Dirty Rushing - When one organization will attempt to influence a potential new member through gifts, bad mouthing other organizations etc. Forbidden by all Pan-Hellenic Councils.

Dry - A fraternity which does not permit alcohol on their house premises, and in many cases, does not allow the organization to host a party involving alcohol. Many fraternities are going dry and all sororities have different levels of "dry"...

Dues - Charge of joining a fraternity or sorority. Cover costs of operation, formal events, activities and other events.

Family - Multiple generations of big brothers or sisters, brought together to form a family line.

Founders Day - An event celebrated by fraternities and sororities to highlight the founding of their organization and celebrates its history.

Frat - A nickname for fraternity that is generally offensive and should not be used.

Fraternity - A Greek organization for men. Also refers to co-ed organizations and many sororities are official named fraternities.

Greek - Means a member of a fraternity or sorority.

Greek Week - An organized week of activities including games, competitions and sing-songs.

Hazing - Any act performed by a member of any fraternity that is likely to cause harm, danger, causes public embarrassment or shame, compromise's a persons dignity, causes the person to be the object of ridicule, cause psychological harm, or is illegal. Hazing is against the law in all states, and is against the principles of all sororities and fraternities.

House Corporation - The entity that holds the title to property that a chapter lives or meets in. This is usually an alumni group like an advisory board.

Inter Fraternity Council (IFC) - Is the governing body of the fraternities on campus. Sorority equivalent is Pan-Hellenic Council.

Independent - Term for a student that isn't a member of a Greek House.

Initiate - A brother who has recently learned the ritual of a fraternity and is a full member.

Initiation - A ceremony where a new member becomes a full member of the organization. Initiation ceremonies are private and different for all organizations.

International/Headquarters - A fraternity's national headquarters.

Legacy - A potential new member who has a sibling who is currently a collegian in the organization. The son, daughter or brother or sister of an initiated or alum member. Some organizations also include grandchildren or step children.

Letters - The first Greek letter of each Greek word that makes up the name of the fraternity or sorority are often displayed on clothing.

Little Bro - Nickname for a Big Brother's new member that they mentor.

Mixer/Exchange - A party between a sorority and fraternity, often involving themes or games

New Member/Pledge – Someone who has received and accepted a Bid.

New Member Pin/Pledge Pin - A distinctive badge worn on the chest designating a new member of a particular fraternity or sorority for the period of time between bid acceptance and initiation.

New Member Class/Pledge Class - The group of new members that will be going through the New Member Program and Initiation together.

New Member Educator - The liaison between the new members and the chapter, they are responsible for implementing and monitoring the new member program and preparing the new members for initiation.

New Member Program - The time period where the new member learns about their new sorority and fraternity before initiation. Lasts from Bids day until Initiation.

Order of Omega - An honor society for Greek members who demonstrate outstanding leadership and academic achievement.

Philanthropy - A charity or fundraiser that the fraternity or sorority supports. Can be national or local or both.

Pinning - Term for a fraternity member giving his pin or a sweetheart pin to his girlfriend. Often a precursor to an engagement.

Retreat - a trip or sometimes just a sleep over at the sorority house, where the members bond and get to know each other.

Ritual - A secret ceremony of a greek organization. Ritual elements are sacred to each sorority and fraternity and have been handed down through the generations. Only initiate members may be privy to rituals.

Rush - A fraternity recruitment event in which no alcohol is served/offered to perspectives. All Rush events are dry at the University of North Dakota. All sorority recruitment events are dry.

Rushee - A male who is interested in joining a Greek letter organization and who will participate in rush, intake, or recruitment.

Sister - Term that sorority members call each other.

Sorority - A Greek organization for women. Many of the 26 NPC sororities are actually called Fraternities, as many were created before the word sorority was coined.

Special Initiate - Process where someone who did not join a sorority in college is initiated as an alum member and has the full benefits of membership as an alum.

Spring Rush - Recruitment which starts during the winter/spring instead of the fall (Aug/Sep).

Sweetheart - Sorority member chosen to serve as Sweetheart of a fraternity, usually chosen because of work she's done with the fraternity.

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Fast Facts:

Nationally, there are 123 Fraternities and Sororities
Nationally, there are over 9 million Greeks (over 750,000 undergraduate members)
There are more than 12,000 chapters, on more than 800 campuses in USA and Canada
Nationally, Greeks provide the largest network of volunteers in the United States
Greeks contributed 10 million hours of volunteer service each year
Every US President, except 3 were members of a Fraternal Organization of those Presidents, 48% have been members of the Greek Community
42% of all United States Senators are Greek
40% of all United States Supreme Court Justices have been Greek
30% of Fortune 500 Executives are Greek
10% of all listed in Who's Who are Greek
Greek Life provides the most successful leadership development program for college students
Greeks are the largest and most visible values based organizations on campus