[6646] in APO-L
Why service requirement?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Marc Boffardi)
Thu Sep 9 12:36:49 1993
Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1993 12:26:32 EST
Reply-To: Marc Boffardi <BOFFAR83%SNYNEWVM.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
From: Marc Boffardi <BOFFAR83%SNYNEWVM.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L%PURCCVM.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
Hmm... this service requirement thing has always been a thorn in every-
one's side. There is an "up" side to it, but also a "down" side.
When I was VPS at the University of Buffalo (a long time ago), I didn't
have a service hour requirement. My aim was to make the srvice projects
enjoyable enough that I wouldn't have to FORCE brothers (and pledges) to
participate. I also made sure that there were enough projects (I had one
almost every weekend) so that EVERYBODY would get a chance to get some
service hours.
While the above seemed like a great idea, it had its drawbacks (as the
President at the time pointed out to me). First, because there was no
service hour requirements, he believed that we were sending a sort of
unspoken message that said "You don't have to show up." This was, in
part, true. My personal feeling was that I did not want to force people
to do service. They wouldn't have joined APO if they didn't want to
do it. The second problem with my policy was that, at the time, our
chapter was down to about 10 active brothers. So, if somebody didn't
show up at a service project, it made a difference in our performance.
So... to sum it all up: Having no requirement for service hours WILL WORK
with a large chapter (where you have plenty of manpower). It will also
work with chapters that have many service projects (so even if you HAD a
requirement, it would be fufilled). This policy will not work too well,
however, if your chapter is small and service projects are few and far
between.
I hope this helps.
Fraternally,
Marc Boffardi
Former brother of Epsilon Sigma (University of Buffalo)
(now residing at SUNY New Paltz)
