Mensa Acronyms & Terms
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. (Thanks to Region 2, whose website this was blatantly
stolen from).
|
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
