[20028] in APO-L
The much-mailgned Summer Convention Theory
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Chris Scott)
Wed Jan 27 03:08:18 1999
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 00:08:10 PST
Reply-To: Chris Scott <mumuapo@HOTMAIL.COM>
From: Chris Scott <mumuapo@HOTMAIL.COM>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
To touch on one of REV's original points, there are many voices that
instantly cry no to summer conventions and/or social events; yet no one
can honestly say for sure whether or not it will work without a trial
event. There are a million and one reasons why somone can or cannot go
to a summer event. And yes; there are more of these reasons than are
present for the winter convention. I'll recap some of the more obvious
responses in hopes of advocating at least a trial run
1) Many students take summer courses - What must be remembered is that
many more, WAY many more do not. Each convention gathers 2000+ brothers,
alum, SCUM, etc... Isn't the exact number of people affiliated with APO
around 20,000? How far off am I? The point being, there are people that
can replace others.
2) Many have career conflicts, and must coordinate schedules. - I do
not really see the coordination problem. Initially, all who wish to
attend a summer convention will have a 2 1/2 year notice. Is that not
enough time to ask for a week off?
For both of these answers, REV also brought up the possibility of
rotating the time around the summer to allow more (and different)
brothers to attend as much as possible. Will some be blocked out of
coming? Yes. It happens every year, and is unavoidable. Rotating times
is the best answer to this
3) Travel costs (air and car) - Plane prices are cheaper in the summer
hands down; by alot. A plane ticket to Minn. from Philly was $188 on
Sept. 26th, almost a hundred dollars more three weeks later/ That is
ridiculous. Summer rates? $150 and down, especially for discount
airliners. As far as car goes, in the eyes of many students, rational
planning of cost does not seem to be high priority compared to the
aesthetic qualities of driving across the country in a jalopie. There is
even a sense of adventure and danger of mechanical failure. Certainly
some see this as a true, cost-effective alterative. But the argument
made seems to indicate that it may be more economical to go by air in
this situation anyway.
This is essentially how I view the situation. Yes, there are serious
concerns to having a summer convention. We can debate it until the cows
come home, go back out, and come home again - but the true measure can
only be assessed with a trial event. A good start may be to asses
participation in CPW's, or to hold Sectional and Regional conferences in
the Summer. All this can be valuable informatio gathering strategies.
Hope it helps, and I'd love feedback!
In LFS
Chris Scott
MuMu
Oglethorpe University
Atlanta, GA
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