[22844] in APO-L
[APO-L] Thoughts about the future of APO
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Ken Hunter)
Wed Aug 7 13:20:11 2002
Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2002 12:20:04 -0500
Reply-To: Ken Hunter <kwh_apo@HOTMAIL.COM>
From: Ken Hunter <kwh_apo@HOTMAIL.COM>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
Brothers:
Below is some thoughts I have regarding our Fraternity's future. I present
them to raise thought and discussion:
The current climate regarding community service on college campuses, and its
relationship to our Fraternity, concerns me greatly.
More and more higher education institutions are providing support for
community service initiatives. The benefits for the institutions are
numerous: better relations with the surrounding community, an opportunity
to cast students in a positive light, etc. These initiatives center on
several concepts, notably “service learning” programs that are growing and
expanding to most of our nation’s campuses.
One can look at this expansion of campus resources towards community
involvement in a number of ways. Some will see it as a welcomed advancement
and indication that colleges and universities are committing themselves to
setting a better example. Others will argue that while the intentions are
noble, creating an internal bureaucracy to handle something that should be
left to volunteers working out of the “goodness of their heart” is the wrong
avenue of attacks.
Then there is the view as a Fraternity Brother. If a chapter happens to be
on a campus where such changes are taking place, what are they to do? Are
they even aware that administrators are taking actions that directly affect
their program and status on campus?
In other words, if a college commits resources (staff, offices, finances) to
start internal community service programs, designed to increase
participation by all students, what impact will this have on their APO
chapter? If they do not have a chapter, will it make rechartering less
likely or more likely?
This is a topic that has been look at on the edges, but has not received the
deep discussion and thought it deserves. The continued development of
campus-wide community service programs, often without the direct involvement
of our chapters, will have a significant impact on the future of this
fraternity. Our chapters are often unaware that these programs are being
developed, and even if they are, they are kept “out of the loop.”
As the leader in collegiate community service for the 20th and 21st
centuries, we have an obligation to develop a plan, strategy, and tactics
that address this continuing development. It is possible that growing
interest in community service on the part of campus administrators could
mean great things for our fraternity. It is also possible that such
programs could spell the end for dozens, if not hundreds, of our chapters.
With a new National Executive Director in place, and National Board
elections coming this December, I strongly urge that we begin an open
discussion of this topic. Here are some more issues within it:
How can we best present our diversified program of community service in an
environment where most successful service organizations stress a specialized
service program? Or, how do we sell four fields of service to someone only
interested in working on one project?
How do we respond to the “money problem?” That is, how can we help our
chapters compete against annual fundraisers by other campus groups that
raise tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars and create large
amounts of positive exposure for socials?
Is it ever possible for us to have a cohesive, understood public relations
strategy that improves our appearance of professionalism with regard to
recruitment, service projects, and other public interactions?
I might be echoing too many people’s thoughts with this message. Hopefully,
some of you will agree with its direction and see that the future of our
Fraternity depends on our response to these issues.
In Leadership, Friendship, and Service,
Kenneth Hunter
Alum, Tau Epsilon Chapter, Tennessee Technological University
Section 70 Secretary/Treasurer
President, Tuckessee Local Alumni Association
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