What we do is if you are unexcused you are not allowed to meet PNMs during recruitment. Basically, you chose to miss work week or a day of recruitment for no valid reason. We will not work with you to make that time up that you lost. You are still required to be at membership selection and you can talk about women you know, but you have no vote on the new members. If women don't care enough to come to work week knowing the consequence is no say in the future pledge classes of the chapter, then I don't want them out there during recruitment anyway!

We had the same issue as you are having a few years back when I first came to advise. As soon as we started being strict about what was excused and the consequence for unexcused absences things really turned around. We haven't had any unexcused absences for a couple of years now :)

I do think whatever policy you decide if you are implementing it for a fall recruitment then you should let the women in your chapter know ASAP. You don't want the new policy to seem unfair and people to resent the system. If it's all out there now then you can say we informed you of the policy well before the time you decided to skip work week or parts of recruitment.

Unexcused: tar and feather..............Just kidding (sort of)
Of course I come from a chapter that was less than half the size of the other chapters on campus and we had to double rush during recruitment so if ANYONE was missing, it was 100 times harder on us. NOTHING was excused (well, unless someone in your family died in the middle of recruitment, or right before, but that's really it).

I think having them help out with a few extra duties during the time that won't be missing is perfectly acceptable. i.e. If typically you break it into groups to take turns with tear down or do set up, maybe these members could be assigned two shifts or something. That way it wouldn't be too much of a punishment and yet they would still be helping out the cause.

I probably wouldn't be so concerned about the excused absences but then again, I'm not our chapter's Recruitment Advisor or Advisory Board Chair.

What about being an RA? Usually, RA training is at the beginning of the semester--right around the time that most chapters have their workweeks. When most RAs sign their contract, they commit to not missing their training, and it's implied--if not stated outright--that being an RA will be their top priority after being a student.

We had a point system, and it was used to determine who had first choice at housing and certain tasks at house clean-up. It worked well for us--because we only had a few social events each semester.

My RCD said that we will not be excused for any of RA training under any circumstances. She said they are trying to work things out with the greek life office because a lot of RAs are in sororities, but it is expected that RA training will be our first priority. I was actually supposed to be my chapter's recruitment chair, but it obviously would not have worked since winter RA training and formal rush overlap. (I resigned from exec)

Being an RA would be excused because it's technically considered a school obligation (and stated as such in their Standing Rules), but no one has applied to be an RA in 5-10 years, I'd guess.

Working shifts at the GAP or Chilis where you have a bit more flexibility with your schedule, especially when you KNOW the recruitment schedule 6 months in advance is not excused. I don't care how much you overspent while you were studying abroad. :rolleyes: (can you tell the types of "excuses" we're hearing?)

I *think* they're supposed to have a more definitive points system but, as with most of the rules in the chapter, it's fallen by the wayside. As it stands now, points are only used in determining room preference and only apply to those living in the house -- usually sophomores and juniors. And since I was an active at a different chapter, I don't know how it was or how it's supposed to be. What we need to do is sit down with the Chapter Council and really figure some of these things out.

At Baylor, RAs are not allowed to be a part of recruitment, they act almost as Rho Chis in the dorms.

I understand that recruitment & work week schedules are posted way in advance, but what about situations where work schedules aren't accomodating? Most of the people I know have been in jobs where they couldn't get a shift covered.

I worked in college at a vehemently anti-Greek job, and I still managed to get shifts covered, because I'd come in at the beginning of the semester and say "I need off X,Y,Z for recruitment, P,Q,H for new member stuff and initiation, and A for banquet." I've never worked a job where a shift won't get covered as long as you ask off in advance.

I think it's really great that your org. doesn't allow fining for missing events but instead uses other duties to take the place of it.

I never liked fines as a punishment, because you will always have people who will miss just because they would rather pay the fine and fining is very negative.

I think using things like extra community service, or having to take care of duties around the house (like polishing the silver for example... for some reason no one liked doing that.. hahaha) don't have such a negative connotation that fining has.