risk management help!
 

hi all,

i'm risk management chair for my sorority. we aren't NPC (yet), but we are associate members of the panhellenic on our campus, so we are held to the same standards and rules as the NPC sororities.

we are a relatively young sorority, and so we don't have an official risk management policy, or set consequences for girls who break rules. i know that other sororities have rules when it comes to things like throwing up from alcohol at unofficial sorority events, or for wearing letters when you're not supposed to, etc. they have things like standards boards, also.

i'm trying to make an official risk management policy so that we know how to react to problems that occur. if you have any suggestions at all, or can tell me how risk management in your chapter runs, that would be amazing and greatly appreciated. thank you so much!

The "throwing up at parties" and "wearing letters when you're not supposed to" are not risk management issues. You are talking about two different things. Standards and Risk Management often work hand in hand but are completely different. Your Risk Management policy should discuss what to do to avoid risks, manage events when they occur and the chain of command in such instances. You can read about AOII's policy at http://www.alphaomicronpi.org/AM/Tem...CONTENTID=9052 though it doesn't discuss details, it describes what topics are discussed.
Things you should include: rules for parties, underage drinking, hazing, sober sisters, security, drugs, fire inspections/drills/precautions (if you have a house), chain of command in case of an emergency. I'm sure others can think up more. You may also ask your insurance company what things they think are important to include. Good luck. This is a very important part of an organization and care should be taken to make sure that your sisters are protected. Trust me, I've seen huge emergencies effect chapters. The chapters who had a competent risk management system handled them much better!

Do you have liability insurance?

If you do, they'll generally prescribe certain risk reduction things to happen as a condition of being eligible for coverage.

sorry, i meant that i'm forming a standards board. thanks for the clarification about the difference, also. our standards board is under the jurisdiction of the risk management chair, so even though they're different, they're kind of in the same ballpark for us. like i said, we are a relatively new sorority so we're still trying to figure all this stuff out. but what i am asking about is the standards board, just to clarify. thanks for the link, i will definitely check it out! if you could provide help with the standards board, that would be great. thanks!

Since you're associate members at the campus level, I would look at the other groups local standards, and try to fall in line (within reason). I realize you're a local but if all the other sororities on campus (and I mean ALL) have certain standards or risk management rules, especially pertaining to alcohol and fraternities, it would be a lot easier to fall in line with that since you plan to become NPC, and not have to overhaul later.

That's just my opinion though. I'd also say check wit your school and insurance, but Kevin mentioned that.

Assuming you have your Risk Managment policies already outlined (liability is a HUGE issue these days...and a more immediate problem than standards if policies aren't in place), standards for your chapter should be similar to those of the other sororities on campus. Campus culture is different from school to school, but basics include:

-Guidelines on what not to do in letters (no smoking, drinking, cursing, etc. are common in many sororities)
-Guidelines on how to behave whether in letters or not (members should understand that students on campus will recognize them as an XYZ even if they are not wearing it on their t-shirt and will, when gossiping, be more likely to say "I saw an XYZ hooking up with a frat guy on the pool table" than "I saw Susie Slutterton hooking up...")
-Guidelines on drugs/alcohol/illegal activity...address drugs (none, ever, period), alcohol (don't drink underage or, if you choose to be realistic, do it in the privacy of apartments and houses), legal issues (don't get arrested, for instance)
-Guidelines on academics...maintaining a certain GPA, going to class, etc...obvious things
-Guidelines on living up to the sorority's requirements such as a points system for activities, scholarship requirements, financial requirements, etc.

There should be a method for submitting a standards issue to your standards board or executive council, like a form that a sister can fill out if need be. (Though they should be encouraged to address a potential problem with the sister in question first, and if the issue isn't resolved, then take it to the powers that be). The officer in charge of standards should conference with the girl in question to find out if the accusations against her are true and to hear her side of the story to avoid a member being falsley accused or to avoid punishing her when she needs help instead. If the conference does not resolve the issue she should be called (and duly informed) to the standards board. There the officers in charge can decide if the member deserves a punishment, a warning, or needs help (for instance, if alcohol is a problem, she might need to attend AA meetings in order to keep her membership or if she is doing badly academically she might need to attend tutoring sessions). On my campus it is rare for a member to be expelled unless the offense is extreme (dealing drugs, for example) or has been repeated over and over again. Social probation, extra community service hours, or fines are all examples of "punishments" for various offenses. This stuff if all basic because many sororities have similarly structed systems regarding standards. Try asking the standards officers of the other sororities on campus what they suggest. They do not have to provide you with any specifics or secrets to give you a general idea and framework. The most important thing is to remember that sisters are sisters and should be treated with respect and patience unless they abuse your generosity. Give them the benefit of the doubt whenever possible and try to find penalties that also help the sister (tutoring, AA meetings, community service, etc) instead of just punish.

As someone in the Social Sciences with a background in substance abuse and addiction, DO NOT REQUIRE PEOPLE TO GO TO AA AS A PENALTY OR AS A WAY TO GET OUT OF PUNISHMENT.

Use a campus counseling center as a resource, but sending someone who has an alcohol incident to AA is not what AA is for. The only membership requirement for AA is a want to stop drinking, and that choice is a very personal one an individual needs to make, and shouldn't be forced by a college social group.

I highly encourage anyone who wants to help someone to read the pamphlet on their website http://www.aa.org/lang/en/catalog.cf...=198&product=4 and then think long and hard about using AA in their standards.

Agreed! I'm sure the members of AA would be really thrilled to be spilling their guts in front of a petulant sorority girl forced to attend so she wouldn't get a fine for puking on the pool table.:rolleyes:

Cool. I'd still make sure to have these topics as two separate entities. As for standards, the rules for behavior are meant to uphold your groups ideals. I don't think any GLO has hooking up and getting trashed at a party as ideals in their ritual. As an offshoot, the rules are also meant to keep the entire group from looking bad because of the actions of one (or a few) sisters. My chapter had a rule that you couldn't smoke in public (not just in letters) or hold a drink while dancing. These were holdovers from the 50s when we were chartered, but every group on campus had similar rules. I remember that Sigma Kappa's could only smoke sitting down with their legs crossed. They were chartered in 1986, so I'm sure they had the rule since the other three on campus had similar rules. These kind of rules are not important unless by not having them, your chapter is ridiculed by the rest of the greek community. (I'd hope not!)

I think the most important part of standards, however, is having a sister who is willing to actually enforce the rules. You will also need to add to your bylaws standard procedures for probation and suspension (i.e. kicked out) from your group. You want to make sure that you are impartial and fair when you get to this unfortunate point so a sister can't claim that she didn't know she could be kicked out for not paying dues! Things that can get you suspended are left purposefully vague since girls have a way of inventing new ways to be crude, but actions (or inactions) such as nonpayment of dues, failure to keep secret the rituals/practices of the group, non-participation and failure to maintain grades (after a reasonable time working with the sister to make grades) can be pretty cut and dry.