Alternatives to fining for women who miss work week/recruitment?
 

Inevitably, there will be women who miss all or part of work week/recruitment due to various reasons. As our Fraternity does not allow fining, the Membership Adviser, Membership chair and I are trying to come up with creative ways of reprimanding those women.

We're thinking of two different types of reprimands -- one for those women who are "excused" (meaning their excuse is valid according to the chapter's Standing Rules) and one for those who are "unexcused" (their reason is not valid according to the chapter's Standing Rules).

Even though some women are excused, we feel they need to make up some sort of work for the day(s) they're missing. The women who are unexcused will meet with Standards, but they need something else.

The previous CCA before me was not very good at upholding the rules and was very inconsistent with what she said, so the chapter has gotten used to getting away with pretty much anything. I'm not going to allow that to happen anymore.

Any ideas would be appreciated!

Make them complete a set number of community service hours before semester's end (every hour of work/spirit week missed is an hour to make up doing a service project)

Assisting at new member education sessions and new member retreat

Give a membership workshop to the chapter on time management and prioritization

Organize study files and track study hours for the Academic Chairman

Social Probation. One day=one week. For every day of work week missed, they may not attend a week of social mixers. If they miss all of work week, they may not attend your fall date function.

If these sound harsh, that's your opinion. I understand many members have to miss work week, but you know what? I supported myself through undergrad working multiple part-time jobs (parents didn't provide any support financially) and still managed to be an active member of the sorority. I didn't miss spirit week because I told my employers ahead of time that I would need the time off. I worked as a waitress, at a retail clothing store, nanny, etc. It's all about being responsible and setting priorities.

Make sure to set deadlines and assign a penalty for failure to complete within the timeline. Put across in writing their penalty and get them to sign a contract which expresses they understand their assignment.

I do feel study abroad or those doing a summer internship should receive an exemption of sorts-- they are furthering their education and experience for their future career, whereas those who are waitressing know better and should get their requests into management months in advance. Or, if the management won't budge, see if they'll donate a meal to the chapter in exchange for a few of their wait-staff (your sisters) being allowed to work that week.

It may sound like I'm nuts, but retailers and restaurants in college towns know what recruitment is. They go through this every year with multiple time off requests and trying to fill the schedule. And they want to work with the Greeks-- we have money and frequent (or can boycott) their establishments... and a lot of times these owners are alumni or Greeks themselves.

i'll just say that i agree with all of the above! if they won't be there during week, have them work for something else or restrict social privileges.

I would caution you against restricting the social priviledges of people with excused absences. Sometimes people have immediate family members who are getting married, having a baby, being baptized, etc. Some families can't be flexible on these plans or they didn't consider that it was same time as recruitment. Members who have these kind of obligations who are socially punished just end up feeling resentful and pissed off because they had no choice -- often times people would rather do recruitment than family stuff! Recruitment is not a time to lower morale!

Members with unexcused absences are a different story. For every two days they miss, they probably shouldn't be able to go to a social event with alcohol. If they are gone during the day, they should have to stay in every night of spirit week and help out with cleaning, decorating, organizing, etc.

Depending on how many social functions your chapter holds and attends, I would caution you on using social probation as a punishment. If your chapter does not have many social functions, often girls will not look upon this as punishment. Attitudes might reflect something like this "oh well, who cares I only miss on function this month because that's all we have". Girls might not care if they have to miss a function and if that's all you have as punishment then it isn't ver effective.

However, if there are many social functions to attend, this could work and this would not apply to you.

Thanks for the ideas. Unfortunately, the only time we can restrict social privileges is when they are not up-to-date on financial payments.

We're thinking the women who are excused would be doing smaller duties -- like helping the Membership Chair organize references, put together Bid Day bags or clean out the Recruitment cupboards. Something that's pretty stress-free but still helps them make up the time they're going to be gone and shows the other chapter members there are consequences for missing required events. They may not be big, but there are still consequences.

It's the women who are unexcused that I'm most worried about. An invitation to Standards doesn't mean anything anymore; in fact, most people blow it off. It's something we're working on but without a strong Standards Adviser (currently it's me and I'm already filling two other advisory positions along with ABC, CCA and HB) and committee, it's difficult. Plus, most of them are Seniors and they already have the feeling that now that they're seniors, they don't have to do anything with the chapter anymore, especially since they're all living out-of-house.

now this is getting more to Chapter Operations than Recruitment...

What about some house work? or if you have chapter meals they get to help out w/serving and cleaning up? Maybe they have to miss a rotation and do kitchen duty..?

I would lean towards something that puts the work on the individual. If they get to plan an event, one person may do all the work and what consequence did the rest learn?

I would only focus on the women are unexcused. Women who are excused had a good reason or else they wouldn't be excused.

That said, I agree with the assignment of tasks. Depending on how frilly your recruitment is, there are usually tons of tasks that need to be done and which can be assigned. Although we allow fines in Alpha Gamma Delta, I've worked with some chapters who developed fine work-off policies, where they could do certain tasks in lieu of a fine. Things like pressing Initiation robes, picking up flowers, decorating, being in charge of clean up of an event, etc. You have to be careful that it wouldn't be part of their normal duties anyway, but it can be very effective and ultimately, it helps out the chapter (possibly more than a fine would).

Regarding house work, our local policy at my chapter was that you couldn't require kitchen duty, etc., of any of the members because it could be construed as hazing, even if they were being paid.

I know... I know...

We did all-chapter "Diamond Dustings" where prides would be assigned to tidy specific areas of the house, and there were house rules about picking up after yourself and not leaving trash or food out, etc.

If a woman is unexcused, too, another good idea is to work off a case-by-case basis. The same blanket penalty won't work for everyone. Talk to her in her Standards meeting about what would be a fair assignment in light of her missing a very important event with the chapter.

The only thing I get wary of with Recruitment is getting too many women to help process applications. Something almost always gets screwed up there. Maybe they can assemble name tags in the evening, or run errands for recruitment, etc.

Again, the purpose isn't to make them resentful of the chapter-- it's to get something positive for them and the chapter out of their missing a mandatory for an unexcused absence. A chapter I used to work with got into the bad habit of making members give membership education workshops-- which those giving the workshop not really taking it seriously.

I'm not knocking those who have to work to pay for college. As I said, I had to do it, too. But it's all about learning where your priorities are and the chapter being consistent in communicating important dates well in advance and holding members accountable.

I couldn't agree more. What's the point of allowing excuses if you're still going to punish them?

I think this is a good one. I know at my undergrad chapter, as soon as an event was over it was a race to get home and finish that paper, eat dinner, whatever. Getting sisters to sign up for cleanup duty was like pulling teeth. This would definitely be effective as an alternative punishment.

I know a lot of our "punishments" were cleaning out our storage units that held all of our Alpha Chi stuff, setting up for initiation, requiring help with philantropic events (i.e. volunteering at the domestic abuse shelter, helping at the thrift store that supports the domestic abuse shelter, baking/buying candy for any awareness tables we had set up), etc. Basically they just did things that were necessary to the functioning of our chapter that a lot of people don't volunteer to do.

And I agree about not punishing the excused absences. Like it was said above, what's the point of having excused and unexcused if they're both punished? Just be strict in what is excused (weddings, births, deaths) and what isn't.

I don't want to punish the girls who are excused necessarily, but I would like to have them make up some of the work they'll be missing while being gone. Most of the girls who are excused are missing only a day or two or the weekend right before Recruitment. I guess I see it kind of like a class--you may have to miss a class for family reasons, but you're still expected to make up all your assignments.

So it would be like: "Okay Susie, you're going to be gone tomorrow, so could you please help Kathy make nametags tonight and see if Becky has anything else she wants to you do before you go."

"Okay Janie, you're going to be gone this next weekend so could you please work with Sally (who's also going to be gone) organize the bottom half of the Recruitment cupboards and then check with Becky to see if she has anything else she wants you to do."

Okay Alice, I know you have Varsity athletics. Can you please help out as your athletic schedule allows and possibly be available to run errands for Becky if she needs something?" We would work with the girls and give them tasks appropriate to the amount of time they're going to be gone.

Work is never excused. According to the chapter Standing rules, unexcused absences from work week/recruitment result in a Standards meeting and a loss of all required points. The points only related to room choice, so that has no affect on the Seniors. Each girl living in is assigned Hostess (clean-up) duty once a semester, so having them clean normal things wouldn't really do anything (and again, doesn't affect the Seniors). They will have a specialized punishment via their Standards meeting, but we need something that will be effective and not just blown off as most Standards punishments have been in the past. Standards is not a threat in this chapter, it's a joke. I'm working hard to change that, but it's going to be a long, slow process.

The girls know who's going to be gone and why and they'll say "Oh Sally had a family reunion that weekend and nothing happened to her. I'll just say I have one next year and I'll be fine."
So many things have fallen lax at this chapter and girls have not been held accountable for their actions for so long, it's the expectation that they can pretty much do whatever they want. I really want to start following the rules as we're supposed to and hold these girls accountable. And I want to be consistent in how we do so.

I'm not really sure what a "work week" entails, but anytime there is an unexcused absence in our chapter, we fine. But it sucks for the girls that are already broke because they can't work due to events, so they miss because they need to work to pay off fines and dues they accumulate. So rather than making the girls pay these large fees, we say, if you can show up early to help set up for an event... or if you show up to a non-mandatory event... or if you help clean up after an event... or whatever, the girls can work off their fines. (Each half hour is like $5 off or something.)

It's kinda like what everyone above is saying. I know you can't fine... but putting them on different projects throughout the semester may be another alternative instead of focusing all their energy on recruitment. Granted that rush is super important as well, but it gives them the option to spread out their punishment.

Hmm.. on that note, what is considered "excused" for your chapter? I know people in my chapter are excused without punishment for study abroad, etc.

I'm going to be an RA and winter RA training conflicts with part of rush. I'm pretty sure that I'll be excused from those days of rush (since I will not be excused from RA training under any circumstances) and I'm not sure about the rest of rush.

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.