my chapter is terrible

[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.

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

Well, figuring recruitment on your campus and exactly how to do it will take a while. That is the main thing all new colonies struggle with, and its really hard to figure out how to do that properly on your campus. So, ya'll should be working on it, but dont get too stressed if it takes a while to get into the niche of recruitment.