Seating Charts at meeting

[cheer04]

we are NPC and if you are on a probation you are not allowed to vote...you still have to come to meeting and are allowed to participate but are not allowed to actually vote.

Originally Posted by 33girl

I would definitely change it up from week to week rather than forcing people to sit next to the same people every week.

ETA for everyone who's saying their HQ has a chart for everyone, not just exec - what does it entail? Do you have to sit by pledge class or office or what? Ugh, I just can't imagine sitting next to the same person every single week of the year.

We sat in Initiation order per HQ's guidelines. To me, it wasn't that big of a deal because we didn't (and couldn't) really socialize during the official meeting anyway.

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by cheer04

we are NPC and if you are on a probation you are not allowed to vote...you still have to come to meeting and are allowed to participate but are not allowed to actually vote.

There should be a seating method in your organization's bylaws. Check with your advisers. Also, adopt this into your chapter bylaws, if you have not already done so.

If you have members on probation who aren't permitted to vote, I think it would make the most sense to announce their names just prior to your meeting and make them sit together so they don't mistakenly vote-- maybe put them within eyesight of whomever would keep track of voting? Again, I'm sure your nationals has some set seating order that you should follow.

ETA: Once you straighten this out, ease the chapter into it. Phase it out and it will go over more smoothly-- people just hate change (it is in our nature). "Hey everyone, we recently learned that the sorority has a preferred seating arrangement process. You can learn about it by reading the (name the appropriate operational manual or bylaws). We're going to institute this new arrangement, but we're going to do it gradually over the next month, or 4 chapter meetings. This will give everyone a chance to get used to it. I know everyone is used to sitting with their friends, and this may be disappointing, but we have to follow what is in our bylaws." Maybe you can also, with the approval of your advisers, do open seating when you hold membership workshops that aren't business meetings. Let the chapter know this-- so while you are "taking" something away, you are also giving something back.

Originally Posted by adpiucf

If you have members on probation who aren't permitted to vote, I think it would make the most sense to announce their names just prior to your meeting and make them sit together so they don't mistakenly vote-- maybe put them within eyesight of whomever would keep track of voting? Again, I'm sure your nationals has some set seating order that you should follow.

Off topic, but regarding members who weren't in good standing (as we called it) who weren't allowed to vote, those names were kept confidential and the only ones who were allowed to know who they were were the EC. Same with members on payment plans. Both were considered sensitive subjects.

[Stef the Pef]

Originally Posted by OTW

Off topic, but regarding members who weren't in good standing (as we called it) who weren't allowed to vote, those names were kept confidential and the only ones who were allowed to know who they were were the EC. Same with members on payment plans. Both were considered sensitive subjects.

Ding ding ding. And they should remain confidential unless the person chooses to let anybody else in the room know on their own. Those are both very sensitive subjects and if I was put in a corner of the room for being unable to vote (most likely because I couldn't afford the fines/dues at the time), darn skippy I'd be mad about that.

[Xidelt]

When I was a collegian in my local sorority, we had a problem with sisters talking during chapter meetings. It made chapter run longer than it needed to and nobody could hear the business that was being discussed because of all of the giggling/chitchat. Sisters tended to sit in in the same groups of friends each week. Our Parliamentarian (it was her job to keep order during meetings/observe Robert's Rules/etc) solved the problem with a seating chart. She put each sister's name on an index card and put the cards on seats prior to each chapter meeting. It kept everyone quiet because it broke up the groups of friends. The Parliamentarian kept the seating chart interesting by mixing it up each week.