[19929] in APO-L
Re: convention review
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Richard Quodomine)
Sat Jan 23 09:15:52 1999
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 09:05:13 -0500
Reply-To: ric@frontiernet.net
From: Richard Quodomine <ric@FRONTIERNET.NET>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
Brothers all,
*please forgive length of post and unsnipped email*
> I do not think that requiring people to arrive at convention on the 26th is
> a good idea. The time of year when we have convention is right in the midst
> of multiple holidays, and taking people away from their families, when they
> have already been away for the semester, is not a great idea. More often
> then not, the two reasons most often mentioned for not going to convention
> are "not enough money" and " I need/want to be at home with my family for
> the holidays." Having the 26th as and excursion day for sightseeing and the
> like is great, but starting "work" anytime before mid afternoon on the 27th
> is unfair to people who want to be with their family.
Issue #1: While I believe that statement to be correct, most people who "wish to
be with their family" during the holidays who do not travel on the 26th are just
as likely to not travel on the 27th for the convention. Besides, we would only
be asking Voting Delegates to clear some late-hour time on the 26th for
meet-and-greet, and possibly to set an agenda for their issues. This sort of
work in a relxed environment can solve a lot of stress early. Many business
conventions (United States Power Squadron, among others) will often have
standing commitees "informally" meet a day early to hash out agendas and such.
As it is, our time is cramped there. Voting Delegates are most often the most
dedicated members of their chapters, and I believe that most would be willing to
spend a late afternoon sorting out agendas and such early if it meant saving
their sanity later on...
Issue #2: money. Since many of us stay past the 30th and often to the new year,
excursions at that time are possible. Not enough money is most often a reference
to plane flight and food (which always total more money). Food after the 30th
can often be had at someplace relatively inexpensive (No need for paying Hotel
Restaurant prices/Room Service). The cost of a split hotel room with however
many brothers we cram in there is often (not always) the least of financial
concerns. Many of those who cannot afford the money do not go in the first
place. Further, I would suggest that all chapters should find a way to support
delegates financially during this time. At one point, we had a fund rasier set
aside for our nationals delegates at Epsilon Sigma. It worked quite well.
> Limiting the number of proposals is not a bad idea in my mind. Let the alum
> and staff find undergraduate sponsors for their ideas,
*snip*
Good call. I think finding a chapter or undergrad to sponsor a legislation
(Considering that much of it came from Sectional or Regional Staff) piece would
not be a bad idea. that guarantees (in theory) that at least some active has
read and understood each piece of legislation and can refer to it themselves.
Respectfully submitted,
Richard Quodomine
P.S. Since I was secretary, Regional Voting Delegate, and chaired several
service projects while a grad student, I second the "Student Fraternity"
sentiment ...
