High Rho vs. Alumni Association

[JonoBN41]

This is a little long, but please read it anyway.

The C&SC are not the only documents that could use revision. There are continual conflicts when it comes to undergraduate/alumni relations and responsibilities. Who plans Founder's Day? Who keeps alumni records? Who publishes the alumni newsletter? Here are some reasons why conflicts abound:

Founder's Day -

From Alumni Association Guidelines for Operations. "Sponsoring alumni events and activities. These events can be split into two categories: smaller types of events and major events. Examples of major Alumni Association events, and thus ones which require more planning include:
Homecoming Weekend
Founder's Day or other banquet"
"In the planning of alumni events, an Alumni Association should take the role of...overseeing the scheduling of the event and mailings."...but... "It should be noted that a chapter-alumni program which...hosts alumni events and organizes other alumni related programming is the primary responsibility of the undergraduate chapter. Therefore, an Alumni Association should not 'take over' the chapter's responsibilities, but instead, should assist and help monitor the chapter's alumni program through the High Rho."

From Code IV-25 Duties of the High Rho. (c) "Working with other elected or appointed officers of the Chapter/Colony, in contacting, planning, and preparing for alumni functions such as homecoming, alumni weekend, Founder's Day, and commencement."

[So the High Rho does the preparation and planning, but the AA oversees and monitors the scheduling. That's pretty dicey.]

Alumni Database -

From Alumni Association Guidelines for Operations. "Since the Alumni Association typically communicates on a regular basis with its alumni, it should also maintain the alumni address records. Secretary - Maintains and updates alumni records. Vice president - Assists in maintaining updated alumni records and other data."

From Code IV-25 Duties of the High Rho. (b) "Keeping an up-to-date address file of his Chapter's/Colony's alumni membership."

Alumni Newsletter -

From Alumni Association Guidelines for Operations. "Maintaining alumni communications and records via newsletters, mailings, directories, etc. The major content of the Alumni Association's newsletter should be of profiles of other alumni. It is important to note that any Alumni Association mailing or publication should not compete with the chapter-alumni newsletter, but instead the two should complement each other." "The general policy for chapter-alumni newsletters is 80% of the publication should be alumni oriented, while only 20% should be undergraduate oriented." [This is self-contradictory within the same document]

From Code IV-25 Duties of the High Rho. (a) Soliciting news notes from his Chapter's/Colony's alumni, to be given to his Chapter's/Colony's Editor and Correspondent for inclusion in the Chapter's/Colony's newsletters, and the Cross & Crescent.

It seems it's an ongoing situation that: the Rho doesn't plan FD so the AA has to, or the AA plans FD and the Rho feels his job is being undermined, or the Rho plans FD and alumni feel they have no input, or no one plans FD, or both try to plan FD and end up butting heads. Inevitably, someone ends up feeling slighted - because there is no clear policy.

Right now with my chapter, the alumni database is being kept by both the undergraduates and the alumni, but no one is really in charge of it - because there is no clear policy.

Who's supposed to tell the alumni about the chapter? In past years the AA was putting out newsletters primarily about alumni. Presently, the Rho puts out a newsletter primarily about alumni, and requesting more info on alumni. Why doesn't the Rho write more about the chapter, such as who the officers are, who the new initiates are, where everyone is living, when elections are held, what the chapter is doing, instead of telling us about us? He's following his job description - because there is no clear policy.

Active/alumni relations are tenuous enough as it is without additional conflicts. If I may make a suggestion, why not write a "High Rho/Alumni Association Manual", and distribute copies to both? Perhaps that would eliminate these, and other, misunderstandings and we can all be (literally) "on the same page" at all times. It might also encourage the creation of new alumni associations for those chapters that don't currently have one.

Something to think about.

In ZAX,
Jono