The first step in going Greek is the rush process, a form of courtship between the fraternities or sororities and prospective members. During the rush process the Greek organizations host parties, dinners and other activities and invite freshmen and transfer students. The members and prospective members mingle with one another other during such events. Active members in the Greek organizations later discuss and vote on which candidates they feel should be offered a bid, or pledgeship, into their Greek organization.
A person who accepts a Greek organization's bid has made the next step toward going Greek. After accepting a bid, one goes through the pledgeship period. A pledge is usually given a pledge manual that highlights the history of the fraternity or sorority. Activities during the pledgeship period focus on the active members, commonly called actives, and pledges getting to know each other. Parties and mixers with other Greek organizations' pledge classes may also occur.
After successfully completing pledgeship, a pledge is initiated into the Greek organization and becomes an active member. At that time they may wear shirts or other items that are adorned with the organization's Greek letters. As a member of the fraternity or sorority the member must maintain a minimum GPA in order to remain active. The Greek organizations host parties, mixers, formals and tailgates at sporting events in addition to sponsoring and promoting community service projects.
After obtaining bachelor's degrees, active members of Greek organizations then become alumni and are still recognized as being associated with the organization. Greek alumni are ambassadors to their particular Greek organization and to Greek life as a whole in the professional world. Many organizations hold networking dinners and events and host tents at football games to enable alumni to mingle and stay in contact.
Hazing and binge drinking are a problem that threatens to undermine the self-respect of Greek organizations. The rush process is governed by each school's interfraternity council, which publishes a rush guide that includes the contact information of a representative to deal with the issues of hazing and binge drinking. Not only do schools have strict guidelines regarding these behaviors, but most states also have criminal laws in place to deal with such felonious actions. Hazing is not just a concern for rushees and active members but for alumni as well. If a chapter is punished for hazing, its charter may be revoked, which stains the integrity of the organization and hurts its networking capability.