[20240] in APO-L
Re: Bylaws question (fwd)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (John Grossi)
Tue Mar 2 09:28:15 1999
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 14:13:14 -0500
Reply-To: jgrossi@bbnplanet.com
From: John Grossi <jgrossi@BBNPLANET.COM>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
> One of the issues we need to deal with, and I'm sure that other chapters
> have had to deal with this, would be our proximity to the Canadian border.
> Less than 30 minutes away the legal drinking age drops from 21 to 19. We
> also now have to factor in that we're in another country (or the 51st
> state as we joke sometimes) and things like "obey local provincial,
> territorial, etc laws" will be included in our local RMP. I invite John
> Grossi's comments on this especially because his section (94) has several
> chapters along the Canadian border also, and parts of it has 18 as the
> legal drinking age.
My comments on Risk Management are prefaced by explaining my definition
of Risk Management. Risk Management is preperation and fore thought,
it's KNOWING what your doing, and the possible things that can go wrong,
as well as there consequences. Think before you do.
In Section 94 we've got two chapters within a stone throw of Canada,
UVM, a hour south of the border, and the University of Maine at Machias,
which is 35 minutes beyond the border. In the past we've had brothers
living in Canada and commuting to school in the United States. We also
have a petitioning group at McGill University in downtown Montrial. Last
summer our Sectional Summer gathering was in the Province of Quibec,
needless to say before we moved forward we performed a Risk Management
Analysis to ensure we had all our ducks in line.
Risk Management Issues In Canada break down into several facets.
Alcohol, particularly in the Province of Quibec, where the drinkage is
18, and fairly lax in enforcement. I've yet to see someone kicked out of
a bar in Quibec for underage unless they were like 14, or being really
really stupid. Show up in Montrial's medium priced hotels on a Friday
night and
you can see youth from Labrador City to Hartford CT, and all points in
between... a LARGE part of Montrial's tourist trade is catering to
people who want to drink. Lots of issues... far beyond what could be
discussed in one email, if anything it adds a higher level of
complication to RMP's. Any Canadian chapter's RMP's will also have to
take into account the much more liberal beliefs of people in Canada.
Canadians have never had a temperance movement, and have no interest in
going near one.
It is also very clearly stated in our membership policies alcohol shall
not be part of "membership events". Does this mean that if the chapter
goes out to a restraunt you can't have a glass of wine with your dinner
(provided you take appropriate precautions with your transporation
home)?
Of course it doesn't. I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to try
and enforce that. It's a little more complex than that yet again beyond
the scope of an e-mail... suffice to say if it's not something you'd do
in front of your grand-parents it's probably not something you should be
doing with your pledges. That's my belief, especially when I'm the
responsible one in a province where the drinking age is 18, and not
really enforced. I don't take a temperance stand, BUT I do require
alcohol not be anywhere near pledging events, and I expect adult and
mature behavior from everyone.
As to customs and travel issues I've compiled my take on it at:
http://alum.wpi.edu/~jgrossi/canada.html
yes there a little bit heavy recommendations, but again, I'd rather err
on the side of caution.
Hope that helps Joe...
-John Grossi
