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" Even though I&amp;#039;m wrapping up a full year as a &amp;quot;sorority girl,&amp;quot; I&amp;#039;ll be the first to admit that there are a lot of Greek terms I still don&amp;#039;t quite understand. One challenge for me has been keeping all of the different types of events straight, which is pretty important since there&amp;#039;s a new event just about every week!  Here&amp;#039;s a quick guide to some of the most common events in the world of Greek life. FORMAL/SEMI-FORMAL: In my opinion, the ultimate sorority event is a formal. It&amp;#039;s like Homecoming, but without the inherent awkwardness of high school. Ours this year was Oscars-themed, so it really felt like we were heading out to a red-carpet event. And, of course, I love any excuse to buy a new dress! There are also more casual formals and semiformals; one chapter last week spent the day at Typhoon Lagoon, which I thought was an awesome idea. PHILANTHROPY: The purpose of a philanthropy event is to raise money or awareness for a certain charity. Usually one or two chapters organize and host the event while the rest of the Greek community participates in it. This year we&amp;#039;ve had cheerleading competitions, pancake dinners, 5k runs, cupcake battles... you name it! We&amp;#039;ve also been able to volunteer with children&amp;#039;s charities and work directly with the kids, which is an incredible experience. Whatever it may include, the point of any philanthropy event is to benefit a good cause. SOCIAL: Every school does socials a little bit differently, but the name is pretty straightforward! Your chapter might join up with a fraternity to have a social with a certain theme, like &amp;quot;Hawaiian Luau&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;Cowboys and Indians.&amp;quot; There are also grab-a-dates, where instead of hanging out with a specific fraternity, you can bring whoever you want as your date. My personal favorite this year was a grab-a-date themed &amp;quot;Mathletes vs. Athletes&amp;quot; because, as a mathlete, I could rock my glasses instead of suffering through a night of wearing contacts. SISTERHOOD: A sisterhood retreat is an event solely for you and your sisters\u2014no other sororities or fraternities are involved. We usually have one or two sisterhood events each semester, like a sleepover or a trip to an amusement park. CHAPTER: This one&amp;#039;s pretty simple. &amp;quot;Chapter&amp;quot; just refers to your weekly sorority meeting, during which you&amp;#039;ll plan upcoming events and discuss any issues within the chapter. Remember to always, always bring a pen and calendar/planner to chapter, because there are definitely going to be dates and notes you need to know! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/life/school/advice/a20728/jen-sorority-event-guide/>