The Proposal

[Corsulian]

Here are some selections from a document I put out originally about a year ago when I was active in my chapter to get things moving--it's little more than a big list of ideas and advice, but it really seemed to get people charged up about doing some big things. I cut out a lot that only pertains to GMU.


PART ONE: THE PROPOSALS

I. Executive Operations
1. General
a. During each winter/summer break, an officer’s summit shall be held. They will be totally prepared to create a full calendar and budget. VPAC should already have been chosen—or at least those major positions that require pre-semester work. A detailed calendar shall be sent out by exactly two weeks before the semester begins. By totally prepared, we mean that they should have full access to the internet, and have printed copies of the academic calendars. Documents needn’t be in their final form, only so complete that the membership can plan their semester accordingly.
b. There shall be written plans of action for the various scenarios such as losing the house, having a new member die from alcohol poisoning on big brother night, etc. The job of the membership is to prevent these incidents from happening; however there should be details on what to do if anything grossly unfortunate does happen. Many of these plans exist from the Grand Chapter, but should be more accessible to the chapter and the executive board should certainly be acquainted with these documents.
c. Set up some sort of judicial process more detailed than “the exec board will take care of it.” Brothers are advised to be suspended for any manner unbecoming of Phi Sigma Kappa and this may require more insight than the opinions of a few very busy members of the Executive Council.
d. At the beginning of the semester, pass around a paper for brothers to write their top three concerns, desires for the semester. Compile and publish the results.
e. There has always been a lot of argument over the existence of an official fraternity house. Assuming one were to come into existence, it might be prudent to draft a document regarding all house rules and agreements. “The House Accords” or something sounding equally grandiose would officially define the financial and legal relationship between the occupants and the chapter. Destruction of property and rules would also be in this document. It could exist as a document external of the Bylaws and the Standing Rules. It could be drafted by committee, then ratified by a ⅔ or ¾ vote depending on the will of the exec board. It could be amended by some proportion defined within the document.
f. While on the topic of governing documents, know that there is no true distinction between terms such as Constitution, Charter, Bylaws, and Standing Rules. This chapter has, however, set a precedent. We have a Charter and it is unchangeable and really just a symbol. Our bylaws are our supreme rules of operation. In a hierarchy, our standing rules exist below our bylaws. Coexisting, but separate and in the same rank as the standing rules are such proposed documents as the rules of order and the house accords.

2. Office of the President
a. Each semester, the President should give a “State of the Chapter” address during a formal meeting. It might help if this is given somewhat early in the semester. The speech should probably not last longer than twenty minutes. This idea is modeled, of course, on the idea of the State of the Union Address given annually by the President of the United States of America. As all fraternities were founded to uphold the ideals of this great country, it seems fitting to include such a simple and effective tradition. Many fraternities have national State of the Fraternity addresses given at conventions. Basically, the speech will outline what has occurred over the previous semester and speak optimistically about upcoming programs or ideas for the next semester. As far as applause, standing or otherwise, we’ll just have to see how that works out.
b. An agenda should be set for each meeting and be visible to the chapter during the meeting and preferably sent out beforehand. All officer reports, guest speakers, and any prescheduled new business should be in the agenda (if the contents are sensitive to the new members, just call it “new business item A, B, etc.”).
c. The President should, in business terms, be in charge of defining the chapter’s mission statement and facilitating whatever programs and decisions are necessary to achieve our goals. That having been said, there are several important tasks suited to the position of President. The President can have as many ideas as he wants, but his greatest strength is in delegation of responsibility and duties—he should not be the one to head these projects but he can work with the Vice President and other vertical leaders [SEE APPENDIX C] to see what needs to be done. The President should, at all times, know what projects the fraternity is working on from planning the founder’s day ball, to planning a mixer, to planning on helping another chapter with rush. The President should spend the bulk of his time with the membership. He should have met with each member for at least twenty minutes every two weeks. That adds up to ten hours a week, or roughly an hour and a half a day—devoted to just speaking one-on-one with brothers. One-on-ones are very important. These meetings ought to consist of around 70% personal business and 30% fraternity business (often they are the same thing). The goal here is to keep the President informed of every problem, while being very approachable. The President is most liable for every member—so he should understand each member fully. Nothing should come as a surprise to a President.
d. Never forget the President’s power to suspend a member for unbrotherly-like conduct. Many brothers who would act in such a manner act as if they are suspended anyway (they don’t show up to anything, but they’re still required to pay dues).
3. Office of the Vice President
a. Every chair should have a binder with a relatively detailed log of activities. These should all be the same basic format. The Vice President shall be in charge of collecting these at the end of each semester and making sure they are prepared for whoever is taking the new position. Binders are very cheap to obtain from Wal-Mart, and this proposal contains formats for how they might be organized [SEE APPENDIX C].
b. The Vice President shall have a public list of expected duties for each chairman. Here’s a scenario: Alpha Phi has it’s annual Hoops for Hearts. It’s a sorority sports philanthropy. Who takes care of organizing our team? The Philanthropy Chairman? The Sports Chairman? The Public Relations Chairman? Some brother who dates an Alpha Phi and likes basketball? When duties are defined, people are more likely to do what they’re supposed to do.
d. Perhaps with the help of a chairman, we should do more than just have awards during the Founder’s Day Ball. A scholarship award is given to a brother and nobody is surprised about that. A character award is given. A new brother of the year award is given. And a brother of the year award is given. Consider creating a brother of the month award—nominated during the first meeting of each month.
4. Office of the Secretary
a. Create a universal format for all chapter documents. If we wish to be taken seriously and be more organized, then far fewer chapter documents should be scrawled on the back of some torn loose leaf paper. [SEE APPENDIX B].
b. There will be several chapter rosters kept always updated and on file. One will cover primarily contact information. One will cover the status of members according to our chapter, the Grand Chapter, and the University since each has different ways of defining members.
c. Minutes must include who made each motion, who seconded, who amended, and so forth. Brothers should be held accountable for their decisions.
5. Office of the Treasurer
a. A ledger should be sent to the chapter each week, or at least every other week, with fully visible transactions both in income and expenses. Something more detailed than “$27 into the Miscellaneous Fund.” That way, we will all know who has paid how much and when, and where all that money is going. There is a push to make the process of dues more formalized and respected but that requires that we formalize the process itself.
b. All members must submit a payment contract by the second meeting of each semester. The contract will have been handed out to all members during the first meeting and emailed out over the listserv or posted on the forum as a backup. Whatever dues are, there will be an incentive to pay in full within those first two or three weeks, and then a lesser incentive to pay by the halfway point of the semester. A suggested percentage using $400 as a dues standard: 100% ($400) after the halfway point, 95% ($380) between halfway and beginning, and perhaps 90% ($360) for payment before the semester even begins (helps with rush). It is possible that member might be wealthy enough to pay all his dues (say, six semesters) all at the beginning. This would, in the long term, cause a loss of around $240. It is up to the treasurer to decide if this loss is worth it for that amount up front.
c. The budget should not allow for very many brothers who don’t pay dues. The existing bylaws take care of this. We may have only limited recourse on taking legal action to collect dues from members who don’t respect the fraternity. However, it’s relatively simple to remove their membership. Anyone willing to put their membership in jeopardy lacks the mindset and character to be trusted with anything that this chapter does.
d. The Treasurer, or a suitable substitute on VPAC, must absolutely be in charge of the Student Funding Board packet year. There are workshops to attend and a lot of writing to do, but the rewards are great.
6. Office of the Sentinel
a. If you are found to be taking any ritual without an appropriate level of seriousness, you will be asked to leave. We have a sentinel for a reason. Rituals are designed to bring brothers back to their roots and remind them why we are here in the first place. “To this end I dedicate My Life to the maintenance of this Faith.” All members have pledged this.
b. The sentinel has the authority to remove disruptive members from meetings. This is seldom done because it might “cause a scene.” Sometimes people need a scene to remind them of what they’re doing.
c. Many Presidents and Sentinels seem not to want to eject a member from a meeting because it is unbrotherly or might be seen as overstepping powers. It is unbrotherly to cause a disruption in the first place, so this worry is unwarranted. The Sentinel is fully entitled to motion to expel a member from a meeting. That should rid the second concern.
d. It is reasonable to call for a vote to expel a member from a meeting, and therefore lift the weight of the duty somewhat off of the Sentinel and onto the Brotherhood as a whole.
e. Any accusation of revealing secrets, ritual or otherwise, should be fully investigated. The punishment is permanent expulsion from the fraternity and therefore we may interpret this violation to be quite serious and worthy of attention.
f. Rituals should not be skipped unless there is an especially good reason. Laziness on the part of on exec board member, or a couple new members not having an allowable schedule, are not good reasons for large numbers of brothers to not experience what they are meant to. Ritual of Association and Initiation cannot be skipped. They can be made up, but never skipped. Other rituals are Chapter Rituals and should be dealt with on an individual basis.
7. Office of the Inductor
a. New members will be given certain handouts, including a detailed chapter/national history since education covers very little. An outline of the Rules of Order and a list of all those things required by active members will be also be distributed.
b. Education times, in the past, have focused on new members taking tests and then copying information from the board. The tests are important, yes, but there is no need to copy information. Study guides have been created and they may simply be handed out. The rest of time during education should be devoted to an important topic such as scholarship, risk management, time management and scheduling, ways to be a gentleman, parliamentary procedure, money management, or just some fun stories about being an active member of a fraternity.
c. Understand that there is little value in learning many items verbatim (unless strictly specified by our nationals). Be flexible and teach assistants to also be flexible. Failing a new member because he describes the duties of the Vice President differently than you did, while remaining correct, teaches the new member that we do not actually care about this knowledge and we are simply hazing them.
d. Do not be afraid to modify the exams. In some cases, answers change and so they literally must be modified.
e. New member officers need job descriptions. Many have remarked this is unnecessary because the positions exist only to see who steps up for leadership. However, new members don’t know what to do and we shouldn’t pretend like they have some inherent idea about how an organization like a new member class is supposed to run. They should not have to scramble to find out contact information or what is going on in the fraternity.
f. New members should be highly encouraged to attend chapter meetings. They find out details about what is occurring within the chapter and they get to see how things are set up and who is in charge of what.
g. It would be wise to follow the Passages program, outlined by the Grand Chapter
h. New members should be instructed on a wide variety of topics concerning not only Phi Sigma Kappa, but all of Greek Life and conducting themselves as gentlemen in general. For instance, Kappa Alpha Order instructs new members on tying a tie, table manners, and simple rules of etiquette. We should also teach them how to dance. It’s important. Very important.
Chapter Operations
1. General
c. Future housing should be a low-income option to campus housing. Rooms should be comparable to dorms—at a greatly reduced price. This provides a nice trade-off to living with parties and the smell of stale beer. Room too small? Bunkbeds are the solution.
2006 Dorm Prices for Comparison
Room Monthly Price
Park/DUCC/TAP Single $575
Park/DUCC Double $428
TAP Double $530
Liberty/Potomac Single $692
Liberty/Potomac Double $609
Prices are per person, and include utilities
d. Members should be encouraged to bring a planner, and at least a pen to each meeting. Most members show up in gym clothes while holding food and are expected to act formally.
2. VPAC
a. The setup of VPAC
i. A great problem is that larger chapters have so many members that do not have positions of official responsibility. Unfortunately, it often takes having a position for a member to truly perform actively. With that in mind, a revised list of proposed chairs is available [SEE APPENDIX A]. Otherwise, suggestions listed below are for VPAC as it stands currently.
ii. As our chapter has grown, we have continued to add more and more positions under the Vice President while assuming that operations will remain efficient. A model has been created involving all exec board members and positions using common business lines of communication. Note the term “lines of communication” and not “chains of command.” The POC’s listed in this chart are assistants to the executive officer in charge of that vertical. They are effectively apprenticing for that role. They may certainly hold other positions.[SEE APPENDIX C]
iii. A brother can hold more than one position. In fact, that’s how small chapters survive.
b. Brotherhood Chairman
i. A special program shall be created for exemplary members. Points will be tallied and strict records kept. This will be the duty of the Brotherhood Chairman.
ii. Recall that the most successful brotherhood chairmen did not revolve solely around huge events. A popular movie, a GMU sporting event, or just ½ Price Burger night at Brion’s Grille are all good reasons for the brotherhood to meet. It is not expected that sixty brothers attend every event. Five brothers at an event who don’t usually hang out is still a productive activity.
iii. It’s not a bad idea to have awards based on the six founders of Phi Sigma Kappa. [SEE APPENDIX D]
iv. At least one event each semester will be devoted strictly to building brotherhood. Participation will be strictly limited to members and new members. This event shall not be substituted by Greek Week, any event aimed at meeting with the alumni, or any parties.
c. Scholarship Chairman
i. The Scholarship Chairman will keep an accurate list of active member’s majors. The career center will be contacted to set up counselors for those interested, and things such as résumé workshops will be offered to brothers as well.
ii. As it stands, the only real academic advice to the fraternity comes from Sean Shingler reminding brothers to focus, toward the end of the semester, on classes they’re borderline in. Scott Wagner once spoke to new members for ten minutes regarding class attendance. Consider some valuable tips and ways to improve scholarship. If nothing comes to mind or you don’t know how to teach it, you may not be suitable for the position of Scholarship Chairman.
iv. An idea pioneered on some campuses is to have some sort of social event which involves inviting faculty to mingle with brothers. A location would be reserved on campus, brothers would express their favorite professors, and invite them (using formal invitations) to some type of mocktail. Better yet, just have refreshments or, as the campus that started this idea did, have milk and cookies. Team up with a sorority for greater exposure and mixing. The event needn’t be formal, but not totally casual either. We’re here to project the image of academically conscious students and speaking with professors outside of the classroom is a good way to do it.
v. If your GPA falls below an embarrassingly low point, the fraternity will provide an attendance form to be signed by each professor that the brother has. This form will be signed each class and reviewed by the Scholarship chair. It might seem demeaning, but it is actually helpful and it also shows our commitment to scholarship to the professors themselves. [SEE APPENDIX E]
vi. The attendance form should be considered for new members. It says to faculty, “Hi, we’re Phi Sig, and this guy is pledging us, and we want him to do well in your class.”
vii. Consider bringing in alumni members who are expert on certain matters, or have jobs compatible with popular majors within the fraternity.
d. Fundraising Chairman
i. Fundraisers held off-campus are great, but a benefit of on-campus activities is exposure. Many members attempt to think of one enormous fundraiser to solve all of our problems. Unfortunately, any huge event raising huge amounts of money actually looks bad for us because we’re supposed to focus on community service and philanthropy. Simple attention to the annual Student Funding Board packet should solve many financial problems. These funds also cover nearly anything we ever do on campus.
ii. Pledge for a Day! This should be an annual fundraiser for brothers only. If new members want to participate, they can organize themselves and help with the setup, and keep the money they earn toward their required new member class fundraiser.
iii. Work with the new member class to set up their required fundraiser. Remember, they don’t know how these things work.
e. Philanthropy Chairman
ii. Often it may seem that brothers are not interested in participating in events. Find events they would like to do—and if that fails, call upon other organizations. The NPHC and MGC, while small in numbers, spend much time doing philanthropy and service. If the Greeks are not helpful, GMU Student Activities has entire Service Umbrella of organizations. At least twenty organizations on campus are devoted entirely to performing service and raising money for charity.
iii. Do a dance with multiple themes to participate in such as jazz, swing, country or hip-hop and have it so that couples can sign up and we can encourage people to dress for their particular niche of music. It would make everything more fun. We have the most diverse campus in the country, so let’s utilize that. There’s no need to even stop there: belly dancing, break dancing, a competition to see who can do the best “robot.”
iv. ZTA does a Big Man On Campus…let’s have a Ms. Phi Sig. We’re not talking swimsuit competition because that’s…not a good idea. We can save that part for Beach Week. But talent, formal, etc—it’s a great philanthropy or fundraiser (girls have their organizations sponsor them). Girls love to brag about winning this sort of thing and their organizations would love to say that a member won this competition. Figure out if they’d be interested in participating first, and then plan it. Organizations are not limited to only one participant and it’s not necessary to have only sororities participating.
f. Service Chairman
i. This position has historically been tied with Philanthropy, although it should exist separately. To reiterate, philanthropy is fundraising for charity while service is actually performing a charitable activity. Hours served always looks superior to dollars raised and is generally much more fun and rewarding in the long run. Also, it generally requires no initial investment.
ii. We have already established relationships with organizations such as the Special Olympics, homeless shelters in DC, and other local efforts. New members can be required to perform in adopt-the-highway projects and it is nationally and university recognized as not being hazing.
g. Historian
i. The job of the historian is much more than taking pictures. We’re building a legacy here, and one day people will want to know how we did it.
ii. We have a huge amount of chapter history that should be kept: family letters, family drinks, brotherhood trees, archives of rush shirts, and archives of our awards and composites. Don’t let these things die out.
iii. A detailed log of chapter history shall be kept. [SEE ONLINE]
h. Rush Chairman
i. When giving the first bid we shall record each candidate’s full legal name, G-Number, and email address. The reason is simple: at that moment, they are associate members of this organization and so they are on our insurance.
ii. Special rush shirts for ladies are a great idea and advertisement tool (and many ladies are willing to buy them). They need to be preordered, however, with a deposit or full payment in hand with documentation. This would be a good time to get familiar with receipts, which are availably cheaply at Office Depot or Wal-Mart.
iii. Broomball should not be first event of rush week. It provides the least interaction and is the most overwhelming.
iv. Dodgeball and the GMU Game Room are both relatively lame events. It would be better to rent out Bridges for billiards and whatever else we can do there (darts, hookah, etc.). Dodgeball should simply be replaced with something much better. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to incorporate some type of service or philanthropy into rush week in place of dodgeball. This should show who is willing to do philanthropy, and it gives off a much better impression than a mostly empty gymnasium.
v. Wine & Cheese cannot officially be advertised on campus because the word “wine” refers to alcohol. Some rush chairmen have simply referred to it on fliers vaguely as a “Social Event.”
i. Alumni Relations Chairman
i. Our Chapter should definitely have an alumni newsletter. It doesn’t need to be too fancy or even come out too often: annually or twice a year will probably suffice. An excellent online example can be found on the Sigma Triton website
ii. Many alumni remain in the area around GMU. Seek them out for advice. See what they’re up to, what they’d like the chapter to do, etc.
iii. The Grand Chapter, ideally, would like each chapter to have as its alumni groups a Housing Corporation and an Alumni Club—separate organizations. As of 2006, Xi Septaton has no official Alumni Club and the Housing Corporation exists primarily just in name. Stay in communication with alumni to make sure they get organized. Xi Septaton is no longer a new chapter and so no longer has an excuse to be disorganized.
j. Parliamentarian
i. This position must be very knowledgeable on our operating Rules of Order. The Parliamentarian should distribute the Rules of Order each semester and entertain any clarifying questions before things begin. The Parliamentarian should also be knowledgeable in the history of amendments and revisions to the Bylaws and Standing Rules so that future classes will understand the dangers of reverting to practices that have historically proven themselves faulty.
k. Greek Sing
i. Don’t forget to make sure Greek Sing practices are included on the chapter calendar.
ii. Understand that your job is like teaching twenty-five third graders to perform Hamlet.
iii. Be sure that brothers can commit to a certain percentage of practices.
iv. Greek Sing may be superseded by an exceptional performance of the GMU basketball team. However, do not cancel anything until the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life has spoken on the subject.
l. Composite Coordinator
i. Many years ago, the majority of Greek Life at GMU was tricked into signing long contracts with Fraternal Composite Services, Inc. This is an evil company with high costs, terrible organization, and very bad ideas. Pay off our debt to them as soon as possible and sign up with Greek Yearbook (www.greekyearbook.com).
ii. On that note, and because it does not otherwise fit in this document, use www.greekpaddles.com for new member class paddles. It is far cheaper than using The Rho.
m. Social Chairman/Mixer Chairman
i. Note that sororities cannot legally participate in anything called a mixer (even though they still do), and often cannot sponsor activities with alcohol. Events that happen to take place at bars or clubs, however, are generally possible.
ii. The sororities on campus hold the same basic stereotypes year after year despite an average of around fifty-sixty new ladies entering each organization each year. Don’t be afraid to mix with a sorority we don’t know very well. That’s the point of a mixer.
iii. Your job is not to get underage brothers drunk. Your job is to set up activities where brothers and guests have a good time. Work with other chairs to create new events (such as a freestyle rap battle between our chapter and a few other fraternities—get creative).
iv. Work closely with risk management. Your life depends on it.




PART TWO: THE AMENDMENTS


3. Article V, Section 2 of the Bylaws
a. Original: Section 2. Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of all meetings, except when explicitly in conflict with the laws of the chapter or the Grand Chapter.
b. Revised: Section 2. The Xi Septaton Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of all meetings, to be superceded only by the Chapter Bylaws and the Grand Chapter Bylaws.


4. Article X, Section 1 of the Bylaws
a. Original: Section 1. Amendments to the bylaws require a two-thirds vote of a legal quorum at a legal meeting.
b. Revised: Section 1. Amendments to the bylaws require a three-forths vote of a legal quorum at a legal meeting. The Standing Rules and all other governing documents of lower rank may be amended with a two-thirds vote of a legal quorum at a legal meeting.


Appendix C
This seemed to be the most interesting one to post online--tables don't repost in this forum, so work with me on this:

The President sits at the top, and then there are five "verticles" (business term)--each run by one of the remaining five exec members.

Internal Events Vertical
Vice President
IEV POC
Brotherhood
Athletics
(Beach Week)
(Spring Break)
(Winter Break)
(Founder’s Day Ball)
Elections Coordinator
Alumni Relations

Information Vertical
Secretary
IV POC
Webmaster
Newsletter
Photographer
Clerk
Parliamentarian
Historian
Room Reservations

Financial Vertical
Treasurer
FV POC
Fundraising – Campus
Fundraising – Venue
Composite Coordinator
SFB Coordinator

External Events Vertical
Sentinel
EEV POC
Social – Parties
Social – Mixers
Service
Philanthropy
Promotions
Public Relations
Sorority Relations
Risk Management
(Greek Sing)
(Greek Week)
Citizen Involvement
Campus Involvement

Membership Vertical
Inductor
MV POC
Rush
Scholarship
Orientation Coordinator
Standards
IFC Delegate
House Cleanup Coor.
House Property Coor.
Health/Wellness
Song