Senior Apathy?

[violetpretty]

My chapter changed from school year elections to calendar year elections when I was a collegiate member. I joined in Spring 2004, and we had elections in April for an exec board for Fall 2004, and then elections in February for the 2005 calendar year. Since then, we've held elections in November for the next calendar year.

Pros of Calendar Year Elections:
1. Most seniors are still around to provide guidance if need be for a full semester (spring).
2. No spring graduating seniors (the majority) will have to juggle an executive position with job/grad school/etc related responsibilities.
3. Officer reports are due to our HQ in December, and it's easier to write a report based only on things that you did, rather than try to integrate stuff that the person before you did, especially if they graduated.
4. It works well for schools with a fall formal recruitment, since the VP Recruitment has all of spring semester and the summer to plan for formal recruitment and subsequent COB plans after FMR if need be.
5. It encourages generally the most enthusiastic members (ie younger ones) to hold exec positions, which can be good if there are problems with burnout or if there need to be changes made that the younger members support (i.e. getting rid of hazing, putting more effort into formal recruitment, etc)

Cons of Calendar Year Elections:
1. The housing situation becomes a royal pain in the ass. If you want to be on exec, you have to either live in the house for two full years, or bank on there being space (in the form of sisters going abroad, December-graduating seniors, sisters that want to move out for whatever reason) if you live out of house and decide to run for a position. Also, in my chapter's house, there are two singles, one for the President and the other for the Executive Vice President. They live in the singles during their term, so they have to shuffle stuff mid-year.
2. It inherently says "we expect less of spring-graduating seniors" by not allowing any of them to serve on exec. Some can handle it, some can't, but that should be to the discretion of the member when she decides to run.
3. Calendar year elections are particularly a huge pain for the VP Recruitment at schools with a spring formal recruitment. Because a VP Recruitment elected in November can't be expected to pick up and run recruitment alone, the incoming VP Recruitment shadows the outgoing VP recruitment, and then runs the following recruitment as the outgoing VP Recruitment. Because the VP Recruitment has to be available for 2 formal recruitments, sometimes very qualified sisters have to choose between running for that position or going abroad.
4. There are fewer opportunities for a sister to hold a position if formal recruitment is deferred (and I am the second-biggest deferred recruitment cheerleader, 33girl being first). A member who joins as a freshman in the spring would be able to hold two positions (second semester sophomore year-first semester junior year and second semester junior year-first semester senior year). Members who join as a sophomore in the spring can only hold one executive position. (This of course, assumes the member graduates in exactly 4 years.)