my chapter is terrible

[beta_guy_2600]

My chapter is just awful. There are only about 40 guys in the house even though our house has been around for about 150 years.

The guys in the house have the mentality that doing greek things is uncool and 'gay.' Due to this mentaility, we cannot attract new pledges (a total of about ten in the last year) and we have practically no one living in. The house is a mansion on campus and is empty, dirty, and poorly run.

I have tried taking leadership position, but got stuck with recording secretary cause no one wants to see change.

We have not gotten in trouble with nationals because we dont outright break rules. Like all beta houses, we drink (a lot) but there is practically nothing else that we do. We dont care about the rituals and are in clear violation of many recruitment standards.

I am writting all this because I cannot stand paying dues (which are about 900 a year) and get practically nothing out of them. The only thing i recieve in return for my dues is beer and a few (lame) parties.

What should I do?

Please do not ask which chapter I am from.

[Coramoor]

It all starts with recruitment.

1.Clean house! It's probably about the most painful thing a chapter can do besides get shut down-but if guys are lazy and don't want to do anything show them the door.

2.Find the brothers that do want things to work. Ally yourselves with them, discuss things you all could do to improve the situation. Even if none of you are on the Exec. Board you can still for a solid front to spear head the direction you want the chapter to follow.

3.Alumni. Reach out man! Talk to them and get them involved.

4.Recruitment. This is where you and they guys that agree with you need to shine. Recruit kids that want to be there, that are excited about being a part of a fraternity and participating in fraternity events.

[beta_guy_2600]

Coramoor,

I did not explain the gravity of the situation in enough detail perhaps.

I am about one of five brothers (of whom I know) that feel the house has no focus, is heading in the wrong direction, or should change in the slightest.

If there are any more who feel the same way, they are a VERY silent minority.

With in five years, my chapter will be in ruins with no members and no one living in. We are barely known on campus because we do not participate in Greek Week, homecoming, or anything else with the university. We do not have socials with other frats or sorotities, and we certainly do not have alumni who after graduating from our house would be willing to support it, seeing how useless of an organization it has become. In fact, I would feel guilty asking someone for money knowing that it would only go to support the sustained drinking of alcohol and nothing really productive.

It used to be a cheap place to live for beta members, but since we only have 13 living in a house with a capacity of upwards of 30 (for singles in every room) the rent has skyrocketed.

The house truly is a mess and I dont think cleaning house is the answer as that would truly CLEAN house (meaning around 70% of the house would be kicked out).

From what I read on this board and have learned about beta from the website and the conventions, our organization has a long, memorable, and unique history which is worth preserving. I am at a loss for ideas of what to do.

[EE-BO]

Hey man,

Your story really caught my interest because what you are talking about today at your chapter is just about a perfect representation of what happened at my chapter starting in a big way about 10 years ago.

I commend your thought process, since in your second post you have figured out many things that took me and others in my chapter a long time to really pinpoint and do something about. Your forward-looking vision speaks well of you, and I hope it will be an asset to your chapter.

I actually re-affiliated to the chapter I consider my "home chapter" these days, and when I came in the chapter was pretty good sized, but headed in the directions you mention. We had good parties and all that- but increasingly there was less effort to have well-planned mixers with sororities and things of that nature.

Our house was huge too- but fewer and fewer people lived there even though the cost was incredibly low and included pretty good full meal service.

At the time, I did not think much of it because it was a great bunch of guys and we did have a good time. Looking back, I do not think we really saw there was a problem because things had been moving in certain directions long enough that we did not see what needed to be done, nor did we have any idea how to fix things we wanted to fix. And we had no alumni help because we did not think to ask for it.

Trouble is, a couple of years later as I was leaving the last of the really large pledge classes graduated- a class that had many leaders and a lot of house residents. So we not only lost 30% of the head count that year, but we lost virtually all of the officers and about half of the guys living in the house.

Within 2 years, our house was sold- a house we had owned for decades. The chapter was upset. The alumni were furious- and not just at the actives but the advisors and housing corporation.

It has been a long road back, but the guys of today are doing more and working harder than we ever did- and with a smaller house- and they are achieving a great deal. While I am sorry we had that bad patch, in some ways it had to get that bad before there was a real desire to make it better.

Here is what I would suggest in the hopes you can help be part of the process that either turns this around- or in a few years time be the guy who helps get things back on track after they get worse. And they may have to get worse before people wake up and realize how bad things have become- actives and alumni.

1. Make a list of every active member and when they graduate. Figure out how many people are graduating each semester for the next 4 years. This will give you advance warning if you have a big pledge class about to graduate so that can be dealt with.

2. Get to know the alumni running your housing corporation and managing the house. Get a feel for their sentiments and their current level of involvement. This would be a good way for you to let them know that there are guys in the chapter who want to turn things around, and hopefully they can step in as alumni, bring in other alumni to get involved, and offer support. By support I mean hosting a dinner during rush, or coming around the house more often- things like that.

When a chapter starts to have trouble- especially with housing- the alumni have a job to do as well as the chapter. Housing Board members have a very important duty to the chapter and its well being. So if they are not involved, now is the time for them to get involved. But they need to know that you guys need help and that there are at least some people around who care about the long term and about Beta being more than a place to drink.

Getting to know them and inviting them around etc. is a good way to slowly get them back in the mix without making it look like you are trying to start some kind of internal revolution.

3. Coramoor does raise a good point- and you yourself have hit on a hard reality that I know all too well. While some of my best friends are guys who were active when I was in the chapter, their experience in the house was not to a level that has inspired most of them to get involved as alumni. We are in the process of recharging our connections with alumni now, but there is a very noticeable absence of alumni interest in the mid to late 1990s era which I would attribute to how the chapter was operating at the time.

Point being, you may have to reach back and bit and call alumni from eras past you have never met. A good way to do this is to see if the chapter would do an alumni dinner- say charge $10 a head so the chapter is not out any money- and have a BBQ catered in or something.

4. On the rush point- I believe a fraternity is only as good as its most recent pledge class. And when chapters stumble a bit, I have seen more than once new initiates step in and do a great job in many offices and turn things in a good direction pretty fast. You might not be able to change how the chapter recruits, but the best you can do with those others guys who share your view is to target individual rushees you know can make a difference and try to get them to pledge. Get a few guys like that, and you are on the way.

5. Overall the real danger here I see is how change is presented. During my last semester as an active, we had a group of 5 new initiates who saw that change was needed. They were elected into high office, and unfortunately they made some very immediate decisions that were highly personally judgmental in nature of a few actives- and when the dust settled 2 of them deactivated and quit, and the rest just faded away.

It is very hard to find that balance of making good long term change without trying to tell people what to do or how to live. I think the best way to avoid crossing the line is to make sure your goals and visions for the chapter include every one of the active brothers. Most people in life are happy to go down any of a number of paths as long as they do not feel threatened or treated as second class citizens. And so the key I think is for leaders to make sure that changes are effected which benefit the chapter AND also do not rock the boat for current actives.

A good example of what not to do is to try and get people to leave because you think they drink too much etc. 99% of a chapter could be really frustrated with a guy who cannot control his drinking, but if a few people try to kick him out publicly- 80% of that 99% chapter will react harshly to the idea of kicking a brother when he is down like that. There are other ways to deal with it.

6. In terms of keeping the Greek connection alive- philanthropy is a good way to do that. It is what I did as an active to try and keep our ties going with the sororities.

It only takes a few guys to donate their time/money to participate in a sorority or Greek-wide philanthropy event. So just a few dedicated actives can do a great deal to keep the entire chapter's reputation in a good position in this way.

Same for IFC positions, Greek intramurals sports or any other activity where- unlike with socials- you do not need everyone to participate or give money.


This has been a lot of info, but I sincerely hope it helps. I feel that many of my efforts as an active were not rewarded with results, and when I graduated I never really looked back.

By chance this past fall I came around to check things out and suddenly I am an advisor, Housing Board member and finding a whole new level of enjoyment watching a chapter with the right mentality build things back to where they were. So even if you are not successful in the here and now, come back some day and see how things are looking.

When the time is right and the chapter is ready, you will be a valuable asset.

Yours in ___ kai ___,

Tom.

[ZZ-kai-]

What chapter are you from? j/k

Don't reach out to the internet to hope for change, reach out to your chapter and DEMAND change.

Originally Posted by beta_guy_2600

My chapter is just awful. There are only about 40 guys in the house even though our house has been around for about 150 years............ Please do not ask which chapter I am from.

[beta_guy_2600]

Does anyone else out there find themselves in the same situation?

Is your chapter filled with resentment for nationals? Is the house defunct and failling apart? Do you have trouble collecting dues?

If so, how do/did you deal with the problems?

Thanks.

[Coramoor]

Oh man...lol.

Resentment toward the GF took on a whole new level at my chapter. House falling apart-check. Failing to collect dues-check.

The resentment thing is something I do not know how to help you with. The GF is making extremely poor decisions in my opinion and according to many thousands of alumni/brothers. My best advice is just to make them happy, but otherwise have as little interaction with the GF as possible. Also just know the risk management rules and fly under their radar.

Housing Concerns: What I did when I first moved into the my house was fix my room. I fixed everything that was broken from windows, to electrical outlets, the door/door frame, I sanded the floors and stained/polyurethaned them, painted the walls, etc.

After that I just did little projects around the house myself. Eventually other guys started doing the same thing. Not everyone, and not all the time, but once guys started seeing how nice things could be they stepped up. Mind you this was at my own expense, the chapter/housing corp didn't pay for it.

As far as collecting dues...we went from collecting about 60% to collecting 99% in about one semester. Our Treasurer was an asshole. If you didn't pay, you didn't do any of the fun stuff but had to go to all the mandatory things. No parties, no date parties, no formal, nothing.

Also if a guy got behind more than a semester, we gave him a choice. Pay up or sign your papers.

[ZZ-kai-]

Every chapter has guys who don't like the AO. Every chapter has problems with dues (somewhat), every house could use some work...etc.

Just by reading your posts, I would guess you come from an old chapter, 120 years +, with many wealthy alumni and a HC Board that has a ton of cash (I can tell that, as you're complaining they're not fixing your house), and your chapter is probably stuck in traditions that have been around your chapter for decades (which is why you don't like the AO). Am I close on any of this?

My chapter had a rush poster, that never made it to press - however, we lived by it: "Apathy Sucks, so do the Other Fraternities". Don't be apathetic. Make things happen. You are responsible for your own Beta experience, make of it what you will. Be happy you're a Beta and not a Sig Ep.

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by beta_guy_2600

Does anyone else out there find themselves in the same situation?

Is your chapter filled with resentment for nationals? Is the house defunct and failling apart? Do you have trouble collecting dues?

If so, how do/did you deal with the problems?

Thanks.

1. Resentment for nationals- there is always a bit of an adversarial relationship between nationals and chapters. That is a good thing to a certain extent. Nationals are not Mom and Dad, but even out on your own in a career you will have to follow someone's rules- be it your boss, your wife etc. Nationals fills that oversight role while you are an active.

2. House defunct and falling apart- this is a Housing Corporation issue and I have seen this before. This can be very tricky. If you have had that house a very long time, it is very likely your Housing Board is run by guys who were not the ones who originally bought the house- so their personal interest may not be all that great. And the work involved takes time, so if they do not have an accountant or maintenance man on staff to handle little issues- they may just not be dealing with them at all.

There is a time to replace a Housing Corp, but things have to be very bad- not just that the house is torn up because guys don't fix their own damages. And if guys are not being forced to pay for and fix what they damage- that is something to think about in conjunction with #3 below.

3. Collecting dues- always somewhat of an issue. When I was an active, we had 3 payment plans to accomodate guys who could not write a check up front. If you did not pay on time, your name and the amount was announced in chapter. In days past, an alumnus once told me that names were posted on the wall in the main dining room- and that those who did not pay were harassed until they did.

It has to apply to everyone. If a couple of guys are allowed to skate by and not pay- then others will do the same. Happened in my day- we had 2 guys live in the house and not pay dues OR rent OR board for a whole semester. It was an issue in every chapter meeting and that semester a few other guys decided they would also pay when they felt like it. Let one get away with it- and it becomes a contagious disease (and for good reason.)

Also, social and rush expenses are variable- they depend on what is in the bank. Paying utilities, national dues, maintenance and other expenses are fixed.

Let's say a chapter has a $40,000 budget.

Let's say $20,000 is for national dues, utilities and other things you have to pay for on time no matter what.

That leaves $20,000 for social and rush expenses.

Well, if only 75% of the guys pay dues- then you only collect $30,000.

But you have to pay those $20,000 in fixed costs.

So now you just have $10,000 left for rush and social.

25% of guys did not pay their dues, and the result is that your budget for the stuff everyone looks forward to is cut in half.

If a Treasurer explains this to the chapter every year, and then makes public those who are not paying dues- that should solve it for the most part (meaning 95-98% collections is a good goal.) If not, then suspend that member and do not let him come to social events until he is paid up (we do that as well, but it rarely has to happen.)

And if a pledge does not pay his dues in full before initiation, ball him- or give him a semester as a holdover provided he pays up and pays for dues in that second semester.

It has been my experience that most guys who repeatedly don't pay were like that from the start. If they never get initiated in the first place, you avoid a lot of trouble.

[ECUJacob]

Is our chapter willed with resentment for nationals? Well, I wouldn't say we resent them, because we honeslty haven't had that much interaction with them. The GF's officers and staff members don't make it a point to frequently visit our state or the 3 chapters in it. The Leadership Consultants are the only ones who visit, and that's because they're required to. However, our chapter (and state for that matter) seems to have a revolving door regarding LC's. We've gone through quite a few in the last few years and that forces the chapter(s) to recreate a relationship with the new guy.

We have a small chapter of less than 20 actives. We don't have house, so those situations are foreign to my guys. I have heard several people propose that the condition of a house reflects the condition of the organization. If the house is in disrepair and lacking residents, then obviously the chapter's commitments aren't where they should be.

We've struggled with the collection of dues since just before I graduated. Having a passive-aggressive, non-communicative Treasurer gave several brothers the opportunity to fall between the cracks. It eventually forced the chapter to relinquish that task to Omega Financial. This has helped the chapter in that it allows them to pay with different tenders (cash, check, credit card, etc). However, it also forces our Treasurer to be the bad guy when he has to add on late fees or send someone to collections.

I can definitely relate to the absence of alumni involvement. The majority of our alumni (1980-1994) were bitter when our chapter was closed in 1994. When the new colony was restarted in 2002, it became very obvious that they had no intention of becoming involved again. Therefore, it has fallen on the shoulders of the new alumni (classes of 2003 and forward) to step into those roles. However, even those alumni are few and far between due to moving away for jobs, starting families, etc.

[a.e.B.O.T.]

Ok, i know there is a whole anti-AO trip... but this is where they come in handy. If you really think the chapter is out of control, and beyond repair, call you AO go personally. Get his ass out there, and hell, discuss reorganizing if needed. Talk to your chapter Advisor, get them involved. If a majority of these guys arent living the principles with no will to change, well, then they need to ship out, end of story.

[beta_guy_2600]

thanks to everyone who has given me some sound advice.

when the next semester starts up i will suggest switching to a company to collect due payments as that seems more efficient.

on the subject of shipping out members, i would put the number of actives that fall into that category around 40 - 65%. this seems like an awfully high number of people to 'show the door' and truthfully i don't think it would ever pass in a chapter meeting.

i would love to read more suggestions....

[a.e.B.O.T.]

Originally Posted by beta_guy_2600

thanks to everyone who has given me some sound advice.

when the next semester starts up i will suggest switching to a company to collect due payments as that seems more efficient.

on the subject of shipping out members, i would put the number of actives that fall into that category around 40 - 65%. this seems like an awfully high number of people to 'show the door' and truthfully i don't think it would ever pass in a chapter meeting.

i would love to read more suggestions....

LOL, it probs wouldnt fly in a chapter meeting, as they probs never have... but you go to the AO with it, and they will be there to make an "assessment" in a heartbeat

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by beta_guy_2600

thanks to everyone who has given me some sound advice.

when the next semester starts up i will suggest switching to a company to collect due payments as that seems more efficient.

on the subject of shipping out members, i would put the number of actives that fall into that category around 40 - 65%. this seems like an awfully high number of people to 'show the door' and truthfully i don't think it would ever pass in a chapter meeting.

i would love to read more suggestions....

On a company to collect dues- I would just suggest you carefully look at the services offered. The cheapest options tend to include billing- but little direct action to collect on past due balances. So if you are having trouble collecting dues on time, using the cheap option may well cost you money without providing the desired outcome.

On your other point with removing 65% of the chapter- I have wanted to take time to respond so I could really think this through and be succinct.

Please check out the Alpha Chapter Woes thread to get a vision of just how messy it was for a chapter to remove- with the majority wishes of the chapter- a handful of members.

Removing a single member for specific behavior is difficult enough- as well it should be. Any brotherhood of men will have a contingent who will never want to kick someone out for any reason. And most of the rest will need to see evidence that the person to be removed is behaving well outside the standard accepted behavior of chapter members.

Opinions vary, but I think removing a member should only be considered when a guy refuses to pay dues/rent and is fully capable of doing so, or is behaving in a manner that puts the chapter in immediate danger of a serious risk management violation. By that- just to give some examples- I mean a guy who gets drunk and starts fights or forces himself on female guests, a guy who does or deals hard drugs in the house, a guy who engages in hazing practices that are in clear violation of the law etc.

Any chapter of any fraternity is just like any organization in life. The vast majority of the members want to pay their dues and get their own personal enjoyment in return without taking on leadership roles or doing more than they think is necessary.

What a person thinks is necessary to be a good member starts with them taking their bid.

For example, if the majority of your chapter does not respect the condition of the house- that is something that can be traced to the actives they learned from as pledges and also to what the Housing Corporation tolerates from residents.

Changing cultural differences is not an overnight process. It happens, as Coramoor stated, with guys who have a given vision taking an active part in rush and making sure future pledges share that vision.

And in very extreme cases, it happens a bit more quickly with the assistance of chapter advisors and General Fraternity doing a house cleaning.

But whichever way you go, there has to be a certain spirit in the chapter for such a process to take place over time.

If you have a vision for the chapter and are in the minority view with that vision- it does not mean you are wrong. But it does mean that faster results are less likely, and that your actions to execute that vision need to be very well documented and explained to any party- be it alumni or General Fraternity- that you seek to assist you in your goal.

Giving specific advice on this point is impossible. You are talking about doing something that is rarely needed or justified- but may well be a good idea given your specific circumstances.

PM me if you like- or any regular poster on this forum- for more specific guidance. I think you can rely on confidential assistance, and I will certainly offer what guidance I can in a confidential manner.

But again- the key question I would suggest you ask yourself in relation to the list of men you wish to remove is whether or not they are acting in a way that is both inconsistent with the general tone of the chapter AND creates a serious degree of risk to the chapter's future- both in a way that could bring down the chapter before guys like you have time to rush and initiate men who can bring a new direction over time.

The question is not just whether there needs to be a shift of focus, but whether you really believe things are so close to the edge that such a shift cannot be a grass roots rush effort that brings eventual improvement.

[beta_guy_2600]

Originally Posted by EE-BO

But again- the key question I would suggest you ask yourself in relation to the list of men you wish to remove is whether or not they are acting in a way that is both inconsistent with the general tone of the chapter AND creates a serious degree of risk to the chapter's future- both in a way that could bring down the chapter before guys like you have time to rush and initiate men who can bring a new direction over time.

I do not think they are doing things that are inconsistent with the chapter tone. More likely it is what they are NOT doing that will result in the future failing of my chapter: they are not planning social events, not getting invovled in the greek community, and they are not recruiting.