Phi Mu has been pretty progressive in its terminology and keeping rational in terms of being over the top with PCness.
Our members who have made a pledge but have not been initiated are referred to as "Provisional Members" or affectionately
as "Phi's". Their membership is "provisional", they are members to participate, but they have obligations to meet before they can be initiated and they are pretty much in the drivers seat for accomplishing that (ie, grades, understanding of GLO life, realizing they fit.) We refer to their education time between when they make a pledge and are initiated as their "Phi Program" and the sister in charge of the process is our "Phi Director"
We have Big and Little Sisters. There was a move to change that to "Carnation" Sisters to avoid the connotation of hierarchy. It didn't work. Everyone just said "my Big Carnation sister and my Little Carnation sister". SO...we went back to Big and Little
.
I think I prefer the term of Membership Recruitment over Rush. Phi Mu calls the "rush" Chair position the "Membership Director" office anyway. I think thinking of it as Membership Recruitment does two things....1) it allows the person who is going THROUGH the process to know that THEY are of interest to us. We are recruiting them, and 2) it is an important decision to make and should not be "rushed" through. I realize the whole process is pretty much a RUSH..time and energy ways. A better term would reflect the mutual selection process that actually occurs, say like, "Mutual Membership Festival"
(note the big smile!)
I don't even mind the "Potential New Member" to refer to Rushees. I think it adds a bit more dignity to how we think of them. We should think of each one as a potential new member, until they leave the process one way or another. The acronyms however are pretty silly
.