[2212] in APO News
Minutes of Chapter Meeting (October 22, 1996)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jeffrey Scott Poore)
Wed Nov 6 17:09:18 1996
To: apo-minutes@MIT.EDU
From: Jeffrey Scott Poore <jeffreypu@MIT.EDU>
Date: Wed, 06 Nov 1996 17:07:44 EST
Minutes of Chapter Meeting (October 22, 1996)
Administrative notes:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Start: 7:47 pm; End: 10:28 pm. Present: Alexis, Emily, Grant, Jill,
Richard, Rachel, Hannah, Ellen Kranzer, Cathy, Junko, Lizzie, Car-
olyn, Glenn, Oscar, Ari, Charley, Yale, Joe Kay, Gilbert, Melissa
Officers' reports:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SVP (Alexis): George's Island is this weekend. Sign up, go, wear a
costume. UMOC is next week, and Chapter Weekend II is also
coming up soon. RecycleComm will meet sometime next week.
AVP (Jeffrey): (Report read in absentia:) Hi there. I am not in
the meeting right now because I am at the ASA meeting. I am
pretty sure that it is rather unexciting, but if I don't go then
we will have to move lots of heavy stuff out of the APO Office
so that the office can be reallocated to someone else. I think
we would rather avoid this. I am having Michael take minutes
again (thanks Michael) and I would like him to hand around
an address list that I would like people to make corrections on.
YiLFS, Jeffrey
FC (Ingrid): (Report read in absentia:) Hi. I'm also at the ASA
meeting. Have a ball, guys. :) Steak Fry is happening _ BE
THERE!!! Eat and bid on cool stuff. :) David and Jonna's
study break is soon, too. (Tomorrow or next Wednesday...) Go
and hang out with pledges and brothers and other hungry peo-
ple. SFF is on the way, so stay tuned for more.
FC (Ingrid): I'd like to continue the Nice Thing Thing if people want
to do it, so if someone would run that I'd be happy. Please stick
my name in and then keep someone's name for my person.
Treasurer (John): (Report read in absentia:)
1. Pay your debts.
2. What does the chapter want to do with $4000 taken for 60th?
Alexis: I think we took $4500 from account 10847, and spent $500. I
recommend that we not spend the remainder.
Charley: Couple of things.
o We can dump it into the endowment, where it will generate
money, but it will be in MIT's hands.
o We can put it into a private checking account.
o We can put it back into 10847, which would be a waste.
o We can keep it as petty cash, which would invite theft.
Alexis: We could also buy an elephant.
Cathy: Could we get an interest-bearing account outside of MIT?
Glenn: It may be best if we find who's interested and decide at
FinComm.
MVP (Ari): Pledge Meeting 3A happened. There will be a Mem-
Comm meeting, doubling as a Big Brother meeting, tomorrow
at 7 pm. APOlympics happened. We're down to 5:5 dowel rods.
APOcEd (Hannah): We had this poetry contest thing, so pick up a
packet and help to determine a winner. I didn't want to decide
this myself, so I'd like you to all vote. There is also a request
for a performance by Carolyn.
(Carolyn performs.)
APOcEd (Hannah): There are unclaimed APOcs in the office _ if
you ought to get one, then do so. PCs should submit project
reports.
ASC (Lizzie): Those ugly disgusting mailboxes are being made pret-
tier (per suggestion of Oscar) by means of paint.
Ari: Woo-hoo. I'm Lizzie. Can I bite you?
1. Steak Fry is this weekend. Get your stuff out of the office if you
want to see it again.
2. Donate your junk so that you won't see it again.
3. The comic books are being cycled out of the office.
Richard: So, if no one buys them, will they be thrown out?
Ari: I will buy them to throw them out.
Alexis: If stuff explodes off your desk, will it be moved?
Ari: Not if we like you.
PubDir (Carolyn): I have restocked on paint. If we run short, leave
me a note or email. The basement of Pearl is flooded, so 3
gallons of red and blue will not arrive until next week. As for
the IC Board, I have a group interested in helping me. The
planned overhaul date is November 1 or 2.
Historian (Charley): We got back photographs from Seattle Film-
works. It took 2 weeks with the two day express deal, which is
no significant improvement. Clark Colorlabs stuff is not back
yet, which is disturbing. Archives of minutes and the APOc are
now up to date. Pictures just came back, so they're not archived
yet. Brothers beware; the camera still has film.
Advisory Comm. Chair (Joe): Not present.
President (Emily): I have sign up sheets here. We will vote on
Conclave voting delegates today. More M's must become Y's
or N's. I have made a new column in the Nationals sign-up
sheet, indicating interest in legislation. You don't have to go to
Nationals to be interested. Voting delegates for Nationals will
be determined next week.
Emily: Some people have selected officer hours. Officers should all
choose hours. Random brothers can do it too. Gilbert is cur-
rently Ride Board Chair. If anyone is interested in the position,
talk to him or me.
Gilbert: It is a job that you can do without knowing it. It is mostly
stocking cards and such.
Emily: NomComm meets tomorrow at 8 pm in the office.
Committee reports:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book Exchange (Carolyn): We're working on the letter to send to
people receiving checks by mail. Unclaimed books go to Rosie's Place
next week.
Book Exchange (Lizzie): Deadline for picking up books was just
before this meeting. The official turndown line is "I'm sorry, we don't
have it anymore."
UMOC (Jill): We met yesterday. There is now a UMOC fellowship
event; Friday night at 6:45 pm we will eat pizza ($1 per slice) and go to
see Kevin in Two Gentlemen of Verona. ($4--$5 per person) I need
a PC for this. We have 3 candidates. Sign up for booth hours. It is a
week away.
Robert's Rules Comm (Ari): (Ari gives a short presentation on
Robert's Rules.)
Old Business:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ArchCommComm (Charley): Now I would like to discuss my
amendments to the bylaws.
Amendments related to the formation of the Archives
Committee
Amendment 1
Move to amend Article III, Paragraph 10 by appending the words -
He shall serve as chairman of the Archives Committee.
to the current text, such that it shall read
x10. Chapter Historian. The Chapter Historian shall keep historical
records by archiving photographs, keeping scrapbooks, and archiving
the Chapter newsletter. He shall serve as chairman of the Archives
Committee.
Amendment 2
Move to amend Article VI, Paragraph 1 to add the Archives Committee
as a standing committee. This Paragraph shall now read
x1. Standing Committees. The standing committees of this Chap-
ter shall be the Service Committee, the Membership Committee, the Fi-
nancial Committee, the Fellowship Committee, and the Archives Com-
mittee. The chairman of each committee shall be responsible for seeing
that its duties are fulfilled.
Amendment 3
Move to Amend Article VI to add the following definition of the Archives
Committee as a new Paragraph 6.
x6. Archives Committee. The Historian shall serve as chairman of
the Archives Committee. The duties of this committee shall be
1. To establish standards for the archiving of historical materials.
2. To maintain archives of minutes, newsletters, event reports, pho-
tographs, and other historical materials.
3. To maintain the scrapbooks and the picture board.
4. To ensure that adequate supplies of film and other archival ma-
terials are maintained in the Historian's supplies.
5. To make a full report to the succeeding committee which shall
include both reports on the individual policies and procedures
and an evaluation of the entire term's accomplishments.
Rationale
As currently implemented in the Chapter, the duties for which the His-
torian is in practice responsible are beyond the abilities of an individual
to accomplish. These duties are, however, necessary to the successful
function of the Chapter, and, therefore, can not simply be ignored. The
fact that these duties are most closely associated with the upkeep of
the historical record for our Chapter has motivated me to propose the
formation of a standing committee to assist the Historian in the accom-
plishment of his de facto duties as well as those currently prescribed by
our Bylaws.
Information
The current format of this amendment has been reviewed by the Ex-
ecutive Committee and is now open to the Chapter for petition. To
be considered for voting, this amendment must be submitted to Exec-
Comm as a petition signed by one-quarter (1_4) of the active member-
ship of the Chapter. After that stage, we can vote on it at a regularly
scheduled Chapter Meeting which falls no less than 14 days after the
upcoming (10-22-96) meeting.
It is my desire to see this considered as one question for the purposes
of voting, as no one of these amendments is reasonable without the
other two. This does not mean, however, that they can not be debated
separately, and individually amended. However, any amendment which
would be out of scope of the current proposal would require resubmit-
ting the proposal to the Executive Committee. For this reason, I ask
that anyone who finds any issue which they wish to correct (overlooked
necessary collateral amendments, spelling errors, etc.), please get in
touch with me as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary delays in the
amendment process.
Respectfully submitted,
Charles Hamilton
Chapter Historian, Fall 1996
Amendment 1
Glenn: On amendment 1: I made it for consistency in the bylaws. It
came from ExecComm.
Jeffrey: Fine to me
Cathy: I think we all agree.
Richard: It's cool; let's move on.
Amendment 2
Richard: It's cool; let's move on.
Amendment 3
Jeffrey: I like the idea of an ArchComm rather than AVP archiving
minutes.
Charley: This is not intended to relieve the AVP from producing an
archival form.
Richard: Move to friendly amend the amendment by deleting the word
"and" and inserting "and other historical materials."
Charley: Accepted.
Jeffrey: In your opinion, which items are most important?
Charley: Event reports, minutes, newsletters.
Richard: I'm not sure that I like the term "scrapbooks."
Charley: Yeah. I fished around for that one. It was the best term
that is both general and specific.
Richard: "whimsey-books?"
Charley: I think "scrapbooks" is more a word for the ages.
Richard: I think you should mention the camera more, but I'm not
sure how.
Ingrid: I don't think that the Historian needs help with the responsi-
bility of photographing.
Jeffrey: What is "the succeeding committee?"
Charley: The committee of next term.
Glenn: "Maintain" may imply "keep up to date," so it can be inter-
preted as including photography.
Charley: Flexibility is the soul of a bylaws amendment.
Glenn: All in all, I think it is a very good idea. These things I have
often considered unwritten duties.
Ari: Move to close discussion.
Charley: I have one thing to add. People often think a collateral effect
of the Junior Offices is a leadership building experience. Run-
ning a committee can provide such a thing. Also, with experi-
ence members, the committee can function even if the Historian
is a complete putz.
Charley: I will send official notification to all active brothers and advi-
sors. Three-fourths vote of one-half active members is required.
Ingrid: What is the deal with this signing thing?
Charley: I am putting this in the office on the discussion topics board
as a petition, since it must be sent to ExecComm as a peti-
tion. In my understanding, we are not in trouble in terms of the
requirements.
Alexis: An active member can be a brother or pledge, but an active
brother is not a pledge. Be sure that you know what you are
saying.
Emily: A correction to Charley's statement: bylaws require two-thirds
of one-half of the active members.
Charley: I will be picky and ask you to make a decision on this point,
now or sometime later, and publicize it.
Yale: Some relevant information: This definition of "active member"
is an ex post facto. National action redefined it to include pledges.
Charley: Since this amendment will endure after our time, we may
have incentive to include pledges.
Ari: It is unreasonable to redefine "members" halfway through a sen-
tence.
Charley: This would be a good subject for a bylaws amendment next
term.
Emily: The chair will make her determination offline.
John: Do bylaws define "active membership?"
Emily: Actually, yes ...
Active membership An active member shall be a student at the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology who has been initiated into member-
ship and has fulfilled all personal financial obligations to the Chapter.
Active members shall be able to vote and hold office. It shall be the
obligation of each active member to inform the Administrative Vice
President of his current mailing address.
Ari: Move to really close discussion.
New Business:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emily: We have two people signed up as going to Conclave. We need
two delegates.
Ari: Preferential balloting!
(Charley throws something.)
Emily: Are you going, Jeffrey?
Jeffrey: Yes.
Emily: OK, three people are going. We will take it by those who have
committed. Do any of you want to be voting delegates?
Cathy: Yes.
Harry: Eh.
Jeffrey: Don't know.
Yale: You can have a motion to elect by acclamation.
Ari: Also known as a "Tinkerbell vote."
Ingrid: So moved.
(Much clapping.)
Emily: Sparky, tell them what they've won.
Sparky: You can decide on future conclave bids, make decisions on
monetary problems that have occurred at previous conclaves, see our
illustrious chair, and see Cheryl, but that's another cool thing.
Ari: Is it too late to run?
Charley: Any word on the Wellesley petitioning group's status?
Ari: Girls call our office asking to go on projects. They don't show up.
Glenn: You're liable to serve on a regional representative committee.
Ari: Move to close babble.
Carnival Committee (Oscar): There is a Carnival ad in the Tech.
I'm here to ask for more money ... $100, in fact. As of now, the Carnival
Committee will have no income until after November. We need money
to operate. We have another mailing to do. $100 should cover our
butts.
Charley: Do you have a good idea where this $100 is going? Repeated
allocations are silly.
Oscar: $40 for the second mailing, $60 for the current operating deficit.
Cathy: When does the second mailing come before the chapter?
Oscar: First meeting of November.
Emily: Yeah, nominations meeting.
Ari: Will $40 cover the second mailing, if the first generated a deficit
of $60?
Oscar: Yes.
John: Can you guys write up your expenses?
Oscar: Sure.
John: Could you put together some sort of overall budget? I'd rather
not have the initial investment made over several weeks.
Oscar: A preliminary Carnival budget will appear at next Chapter
Meeting.
Lizzie: Who is CarnivalComm's treasurer?
Oscar: Falling.
Oscar: Move to appropriate $100 for the Carnival Committee.
Glenn: Friendly amend "appropriate" to "allocate."
Oscar: Accepted.
John: I'd rather vote for the additional money in a package with the
budget. Is it doable?
Oscar: I suppose. We want to avoid having to bring this to the chapter
each week.
Cathy: If the mailing is coming before the chapter, it's coming up next
week anyway. Will you guys need it in the next two weeks?
Jeffrey: The budget should have been considered before this point,
and when we do allocate $100, I'd like to know where it comes
from.
Oscar: This should be the last appropriation needed for Carnival.
Charley: In my experience, break-even operations take start-up cap-
ital until the end. Are the actual costs factored into startup
fees.
Oscar: It will be the last allocation for this term.
Junko: Move to postpone discussion.
John: Objection. Two issues: handling money overspent, and I have
not seen RFPs yet, but I would not be opposed to reimbursing
the committee.
Ari: This is an example of an off-topic discussion.
Charley: I believe he was talking about her motion.
Junko: I retract my motion.
Ari: When we budget break-even items, do we allocate the money to
pass through?
John: An example: Food. Expense: 900. Income: 900.
Ari: I think we should postpone discussion.
Cathy: Friendly amend 100 to 60.
(Negotiation)
Cathy: Friendly amend 100 to 70.
Oscar: Accepted.
Yale: We don't just need a budget. We need a cash-flow estimate.
We need to know what we do if there aren't enough registrations, if
there are money problems, when money should come in, when it goes
out, et cetera.
Charley: Call the question.
Motion passes. (12 - 0 - 1)
Emily: Congratulations. It's a boy.
Richard: Collateral
Move that it shall be the standing policy of the Alpha Chi chap-
ter of Alpha Phi Omega that no form of identification, including
the MIT Card or any driver's license, be held in collateral for
tools or supplies checked out from the Chapter; such identifi-
cation may be used, however, to verify an individual's contact
information.
Richard: I sent out email a few weeks ago listing my motivation for
this change to current policy.
1. It is ineffective.
2. It is an inconvenience.
3. It is a security risk.
4. It is a risk for us, in accountability for the card's integrity.
5. There is no reason to hold collateral. There exist easier ways to
steal than this ...
I know that ExecComm seems to disagree on this.
Jeffrey: Summary of ExecComm minutes
Discussion on collateral and alternative forms.
Check idea rejected. Cash collateral rejected.
General feeling: we shouldn't take the card, but a collateral form
other than cash or check is necessary.
Cathy: We usually have 1 - -2 MIT ID's left in the box per term.
Oscar: There is only 1 ID currently ... MIT ID's don't usually stay.
Cathy: Only useless items stay. Collateral is inconvenient, but that
is the point. Taking collateral works. I wish that taking down
information would work, but I have serious doubts. Even non-
malicious people may become delinquent. I do disagree with
taking MIT ID, but I feel strongly that some form of collateral
is needed.
Charley: to reiterate Cathy - MIT ID has many risks associated with
it, but on a no-collateral basis, I think we will only get paints
back from innately honest people and people who fear us. We
would need some way of verifying contact information. MIT ID
has only name and ID number. Physical means for contacting we
can only receive against a person's will by committing a crime.
I'd love to have faith in people. I trust the chapter because the
people it attracts. I don't know about the rest of MIT.
Oscar: Verifying contact information and student status is a problem.
Harry: Do we restrict rentals to students?
Oscar: We take MIT and Harvard students.
Ari: Three types of cards exist.
Alexis: MIT Cards now expire far in the future and don't say "Stu-
dent."
Yale: Could we get a reader?
Charley: Next House looked into it. Minimum cost is $500.
Ari: We've done better on getting things back by sending Oscar's
Letters of Doom. Not everyone uses MIT Cards. I have three
in my wallet, and I haven't used one in a month.
Jeffrey: Everyone take cards anyway.
Junko: I understand security concerns, but my only other collateral is
my passport.
Rachel: Address information online is notorious for being months out
of date. What is the hypothetical situation here, in which people go
out, paint on the fourth floor, and don't notice us leaving? I've seen
very few people painting on the other side of the fourth floor.
Ari: I've seen it six times this term. It's not hypothetical.
Glenn: Our tools can be borrowed with ID, although it is not so
advertised.
Ari: I thought we never gave out tools to non-brothers.
Charley: No policy exists. I only give out tools to people whom I can
get hard contact info from. In practice, we only give out tools
to those we know, since only those know we have tools.
Lizzie: I agree with Ari that the ID is not meaningful to everyone.
John: Let's say we know who a person is who is delinquent. If we go to
the administration with their MIT IS, they will hurt someone,
and it won't be that person.
Charley: I'm uncomfortable with actively restricting a form of ID. If it
is written "Thou shalt not require the MIT ID," then I honestly
think it is the individual's decision to fork over their ID, and,
as we can say, "this is all they had, and we felt we should take
something." But I don't see a win to the administration coming
down with both feet if we require one form of ID.
Ari: Move to limit debate to twenty minutes.
(Motion passes. (10 - 0 - 0)
Yale: Richard, have you discussed acceptable forms of collateral with
the administration?
Charley: $15 is the thirty foot poster cost. The high figure is $30 to
$35 materials cost on average.
Sparky: That's how much we have to lose.
Richard: That's how much they stand to gain.
Postulate 1 Given a choice, a person will give the least valuable form
of collateral.
Postulate 2 The least valuable form of collateral will almost always
be less valuable than the materials cost.
Theorem If the individual does not wish to return the stuff, you lose.
Collateral is worthless to us, in terms of direct value. The MIT Card is
a special case, in that it's a security issue. Also, the expiration
date and lack of "Student" make it utterly worthless. We need a
correct information method, as well as a means of enforcement.
If the Card Office find we're holding cards, they'll be upset and
issue a general statement. I'll be talking to ASA soon, and
making a similar motion. I'll be talking to the Card Office for
alternatives to taking the Card. They probably won't have any,
but will be shocked, and will bar activity use of the Card.
Ari: What is our policy?
Oscar: We lend supplies to MIT ID people, or Harvard IDs.
Charley: This applies to fact, not just policy ... I've taken other
things, such as driver's licenses from people not directly affiliated
with MIT.
Ari: What is the policy?
Oscar: MIT ID is the collateral to be taken.
Ari: MIT ID, I understand, is a way to avoid going to the adminis-
tration to retrieve paints. I don't think it works well, but the
alternative I believe will be far worse.
Glenn: This will change Dexion lending practice, as well as tools, not
just paint. A lot of mold will provide licenses which do mean something
to them.
Rachel: Suppose I have APO paints. APO has my signature. APO
loses. Suppose I have APO paints. APO has my room key. It is a
major nuisance. Collateral should be a nuisance.
Ingrid: How do we force repayment on people? Also, if the Card Office
or other administration issues a statement, how do they enforce
it?
Jeffrey: It is a trust thing. People are not there to steal paints.
Charley: At no point did Richard imply the people in general would
desire to steal.
Ari: The pledges have learned the old policy.
Lizzie: Problems that people have with the ID card is that people
can't get it back when the office is closed, but officer hours is
something of a fix.
Michael: It may be reasonable to try a model program, in which some
groups get paints with a signature and no collateral, to see what
happens.
Oscar: A signatory program was once used, but it was inconvenient.
It was simpler and more effective to take the card.
Ari: We are way too incompetent to handle a trial program.
Michael: It really wouldn't be that hard. Only the person lending out
the paints, probably the PubDir, needs to know what is going
on. Also, she can write on the receipt "This person does not
need to get collateral back." It would not require any kind of
re-education.
Richard: The view I have is of the trapped painter. This should be a
service that we're providing.
Ari: I have seen six problems, but each of them was resolved. I haven't
seen anyone get locked out of their dorm.
Charley: That's what Dorm Patrol is for. It works.
(Time runs out. Motion fails. (1 - 8 - 1))
Ari: What should we be taking now?
Oscar: MIT ID.
Lizzie: What if they don't have it?
Oscar: Then other student ID. Then Driver's license.
Jeffrey: Can I be the Ride Board Chair?
Announcements:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hannah: Carolyn is the winner of the poetry contest. She gets Tosci's.
Charley: If you haven't signed up for George's Island, you will receive
a phone call at a very early hour.
Ingrid: Deadline for IAP activity forms is Friday.
Oscar: A Special Activities Director and Assistant to the Secretary
are needed by CarnivalComm.
Emily: Ah ... You want to be on top.
Rachel: For the record, SIPB does not owe APO anything. CokeComm
owes APO four cases of soda. If another person asks about this, I will
rip their head off and jam it down their throat.
Jeffrey: That was due to a mistake in the minutes that has been
corrected.
PFTGOTO:
~~~~~~~
Yale: Thanks to brothers stuffing envelopes for ESP.
Richard: Tea party, 4 o'clock on Sunday.
Ingrid: 1:03 really really sucks.
Sparky: Section 88 was really fun.
Ari: Bob Olympian says Hi.
Charley:
~~~~~~~
1. Ingrid: Chi Epsilon offers tutoring in 1:03
2. It's possible for non-ASA groups to get an Athena locker. I got
one three hours after I asked for it.
Richard: This is because I begged to months to get one for ASME.
Glenn: Now that we have a copy of the proposed national bylaws
amendments, I suggest you all read them. There are many things you
may object strenuously to.
Jeffrey
jeffreypu@mit.edu
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Jeffrey Scott Poore jefreypu@mit.edu Next House
http://web.mit.edu/jefreypu/www/ 500 Memorial Drive
Dept. of Elec. Eng. and Comp Sci Cambridge, MA 02139
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (617)225-8868
Brother and Administrative Vice President, Alpha Phi Omega
Member and Social Coordinator, MIT Concert Band
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