Convention 08
 

Anyone off to Dallas in August? I will be, hopeful we will get our charter *crosses fingers*

I will absolutely be there... That is one expensive flight, though. Combined with the cost of the Greiner Leadership College I burned away my summer paychecks completely... but I'd say it should be worth it!

I wish you the best of luck- Can't wait until Convention '09 when we submit our petition for chartering...

Any other Brothers on here attending? It would be wonderful to meet you all in person.

I've gotta count this one as another miss. Third damn year in a row. 2nd due to being in iraq! Haha. Maybe next year.

I might come, but it will be a last minute decision and then just for the big dinner and maybe an event or two. Hard to break away from work right now even though it is just a 3 hour drive away.

Good luck a.e.B.O.T. with your charter application. Is anyone else applying this time around? I am not really up to date on the colonies.

I know Alpha Beta has applied.

Gamma Tau (USC) is also petitioning for re-chartering this year. Our LC sent out their petition as an example for us to follow next year.

What are the big issues being decided on this year?

I usually get an email concerning that...

Well, ours is a "Re-"charter as well. LOL, hopefully Lugar being their will make it a definite. I am not sure how many get rejected, but we do not have any marks against us.

I'll be facilitating at Leadership College again this year.

I think they normally do send out an email, although I can't recall when. I'm hoping they'll be discussing the changes to ritual that were published last Fall. Also, I'm sure they'll be discussing finances, charters, and the other usual stuff.

Bill Cook, Northwestern '53 will receive the Oxford Cup this year.

Legislation:
In addition to electing General Fraternity officers (including a president and two vice presidents) and reviewing several chapters and colonies, this year's Convention delegates will consider a variety of legislative proposals.

Proposed modifications to The Code of Beta Theta Pi include an academic standards proposal, the establishment of a historical/archiving award and a Trial by Chapter voting proposal.

Delegates will also review recommendations on Ritual changes and trial ceremonies.

Chartering:
Seven colonies will petition for their charters: California-Irvine, Central Michigan, Denison, Hampden-Sydney, Iowa, Miami (Fla.) and Southern California.

Does anyone know the awards that were won at Convention this year, and by what chapter/colony/individual people? Thanks

__kai__

I am currently at Convention as a member of the Peter F. Greiner Leadership College. They've announced them all at the Banquet, but I obviously don't remember them all.

Forty chapters were given the Sisson Award- a record for chapters since the award was created. One chapter has even won the award for twenty-three consecutive years. (I do not remember which)

One I do remember, however, is my colony- We were given the Charles Henry Hardin Leadership Development award for the number of undergraduates who went to Leadership Development Workshops this year. Other chapters were given this award as well.

On a Legislative note, I know that all the colonies applying for their charters were granted. The legislation also ordered one chapter to undergo a re-orginization. (I am not sure which chapter this was though I am told it was a chapter in Florida. I will post again once I have a copy of the legislative minutes).

Yes, I just got back today... being a founding father SUCKS, but it was worth, and we finally got our charter. it is a good feeling. There are several several awards given out, so reciting them all here is rather difficult... Quite a few got the Knox award, like 7 or 8. 40 got the Sisson, etc... Oklahoma won Wichita, I remember that... but a lot of chapter got awards, etc.

What I do know is that the motion to make the minimum GPA a 2.5 failed, AGAIN. Very disappointing for some

so then what is the minimum GPA? I thought it was a 2.7, that's what we have at our colony

also, does anyone have a copy of the minutes to post exactly who won what awards? I know it'd be a long post, but it'd be interesting to see who won the awards considering AO won't have that on the website for a while.

No, you must have a culm of a 2.3 on a 4.0 scale. As far as awards, I am sure it will be posted from the beta website very soon (who won what was not listed on any agenda, schedule, or minutes that were provided to us, it was in a paper point during the Thursday and Saturday night dinners).

I think the minutes are going to be emailed out later this week (Our LC was selected as the Convention Secretary, so I'll ask him to make sure)

There were Ritual decisions discussed however, so I will not post them here- I will PM you when I have them, or will remove the Ritual related information and post it.

a.e.B.O.T. Congratulations on receiving your charter! I am sure Senator Lugar's presence could have helped you.

And to close out this post I'd like you all to save room in your calendar for:

170th General Convention
July 20th-August 2nd, 2009
Biltmore Resort & Spa
Phoenix, AZ

Lugar was awesome, but it was the CHAPTER brothers that did it...

It was interesting though to see Senator Lugar cry. It made it extra emotional.

a.e.B.O.T. congratulations on getting your charter! That is awesome.

On the GPA issue, I am personally glad that did not pass. It is critical that we push for strong GPAs at all chapters, but to codify it with consequences brings- I think- a great deal of instability. If it is a hard and fast rule, it can only take 2-3 guys screwing up bad to bring a chapter down- especially at a smaller chapter. At more academically competitive schools, or schools where most Betas tend to be in Engineering or other tracks where GPAs tend to be lower- this creates an undue burden.

I personally think a 2.5 overall GPA is a reasonable expectation- more than reasonable- but a brother's study habits and decisions are a hard thing for a social organization to police to the extent that would justify putting an entire chapter on the line.

Does anyone know if they got 1,000 attendees at the Saturday banquet? I got the email last week that they were close.

they did, almost exactly

That was a whirlwind week/weekend. I love facilitating, but it does tend to wear us out by Sunday.

I believe that was Georgia Tech or Auburn.

I thought our national GPA was already a 2.7 and they were attempting to make it a 2.8 or higher. My chapter operates with a 2.8 standard and it's really not that difficult. If you can't manage a 2.5 in college, I believe it's time to reevaluate priorities and abilities. That's just my honest opinion.

In regards to ritual, I believe they voted to keep the updated/changed version in trial mode again for the next year.

Nope, Def. 2.3. I watched the proposal and some of the discussion. I also went to the microphone myself. When it was proposed to be 2.5 and the floor was open, a ridiculous amount of people rushed to the mic to speak against the proposal. Sort of side really. One thing you have to consider is, obtaining a certain GPA is different from school to school as the schools are vastly different. However, I think a 2.5 is more than reasonable.

Although I don't disagree with that, I think we can all agree that no matter what school/university you attend, you should not strive for a grade of 75-80.

I'm not usually one to try and split hairs, but I want to make sure that we have the right information. I guess it's the advisor in me and the need to make sure that undergraduates know what they're required to do. The GPA requirement is mentioned in several places.

According to http://www.betathetapi.org:

According to The Son of Stars, and our Code:

Chapter XIII Scholarship, Section 2

Chapter XIII, Section 3:

Ok, so I went back at the code and read that, and your right about the 2.5... and there is nothing there about a 2.3. So, now I am confused about what the debate was about at the discussion, because everyone was profusely talking about how a 2.5 is too drastic.