|
Mensa Acronyms & Terminology
|
Mensans are notorious for abbreviating
anything they can.
To help you wade through all the acronyms
in the Mensa publications, here's a list to get you started.
|
| ABM |
Annual Business Meeting - Annual meeting, typically held during
the Annual Gathering, where officers report on the state of Mensa and members can ask questions of the officers. |
| AC |
Area Coordinator - A volunteer who is willing to welcome new
members, receive calls and questions from members, and schedule events
within a limited geographic area in the local group. |
| AG |
Annual Gathering - The annual convention of Mensans, hosted
by one or more local groups of American Mensa, and usually held the first
week of July. |
| AMC |
American Mensa Committee - The governing body
of American Mensa. |
| AML |
American Mensa, Ltd. - The national Mensa organization
encompassing all local groups in the United States. |
| ASIE |
Actions Still in Effect - These are the multitudes of actions
passed by the American Mensa Committee currently in effect.
|
| Bylaws |
Bylaws are the official charter for a local group of
American Mensa. |
| CQ |
CultureQuest - an annual competition of cultural and trivia
knowledge, open to groups of Mensans. |
| EG |
Eternal Gathering - A phrase used to refer to groups of
Mensans who have passed away. |
| ElCom |
Election Committee - A group of people selected to oversee
local, regional, or national Mensa elections. |
| ExCom |
Executive Committee - The collection of voting officers
who run each local group. |
| FM |
Female Mensan |
| FSM |
Fold, Staple, Mutilate - The name many local groups use to
refer to their monthly newsletter collating party. |
| GC |
Gifted Child or Children |
| GCC |
Gifted Children Coordinator - Appointed representative who
provides helpful information to parents of gifted children. |
| IBD |
International Board of Directors - Elected representatives
from all national Mensas, which meets to solve problems of an international
nature. |
| IG |
International Gathering |
| IGC |
International General Council - The Chairmen of all national
Mensas, an advisory body that suggests ideas to the IBD for action.
|
| IJ |
International Journal |
| IM |
Isolated M - A Special Interest Group that functions
like a local group for Mensans who may not live in geographical
proximity to a local group. It is the local newsletter free for
those who have no local chapter. |
| Interloc |
Interloc is a Mensa publication that discusses ideas of
value to local groups, debates politics, and prints budgets and many
other of the inner workings of Mensa. It is automatically sent to many
local group officers, and is free to anyone else interested.
|
| LDW |
Leadership Development Workshop - This is a weekend-long
event to teach local group officers how to become better leaders and
improve their local groups or deal with problems. |
| LocSec |
Local Secretary - The chief officer (President) of the
local group. |
| LOTS |
Local Officer Training Session - Previous name for what is
now Leadership Development Workshop (LDW). |
| LYMP |
Little Yellow Map Pin - A pin with a yellow globe on the
top, previously sent to new members upon joining Mensa. |
| M / Ms |
Mensan / Mensans |
| Mensa Boutique |
The Mensa Boutique is the official vendor of Mensa
merchandise. |
| Mensa Bulletin |
The Mensa Bulletin is the monthly magazine published by
American Mensa, and sent to members each month. |
| MERF |
Mensa Education and Research Foundation - A separate
non-profit and tax deductible corporation linked with American Mensa that
administers our scholarship program, publishes the MERF Journal on
research into giftedness, and approves of all requests for research into
intelligence conducted using Mensa members. |
| MIL |
Mensa International, Ltd. - The parent organization of
American Mensa, Ltd., with chapters all over the world. |
| Mind Games |
Mind Games is an annual event where groups of Mensans get
together to play and evaluate dozens of new games. The top 5 games are
awarded the Mensa Select seal. |
| MM |
Male Mensan |
| NO |
National Office - The headquarters of American Mensa,
currently located in Arlington, Texas. |
| NomCom |
Nominating Committee - A group of people selected to find
suitable candidates to run for office in local, regional, or national
Mensa elections. |
| OG |
Outdoor Gathering |
| Ombudsman |
The Ombudsman is the official arbitrator of disputes between
Mensa members, or between a member and a Mensa chapter. |
| Penn Central |
The Penn Central is the monthly newsletter published by
Central Pennsylvania Mensa, and sent to our local members each month. |
| Proctor |
A proctor is a member trained and qualified to administer
the Mensa entrance exams. |
| Project Inkslinger |
Project Inkslinger encourages local groups to provide books,
magazines, and other reading material to local libraries and non-profit
organizations in need. |
| Region |
A subdivision of American Mensa. Currently there are 10
regions. |
| Region 2 |
Region 2 is the Mid-Atlantic region of American Mensa,
encompassing local groups in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland,
Virginia, and Washington DC. |
| RG |
Regional Gathering - A convention of Mensans, hosted
by a local group, typically lasting a weekend. RGs attract the majority
of members from local and nearby chapters. |
| RVC |
Regional Vice-Chair - A region's elected representative on
the American Mensa Committee. |
| SIG |
Special Interest Group - A group of people who share an
interest in a specific topic. |
| S.I.G.H.T. |
Service of Information, Guidance and Hospitality to
Travelers - Worldwide service to travelers, which provides information
on local activities and tries to provide short-term accommodations with
hosts from traveling Mensans. |
| UG |
Unofficial Gathering - A Mensa party usually run by invitation
only. |
