[24047] in APO-L
Re: [APO-L] Intrachapter dating
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (scelliot)
Mon Dec 8 00:13:50 2003
Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2003 00:12:38 -0500
Reply-To: scelliot <scelliot@netzero.net>
From: scelliot <scelliot@netzero.net>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
Just from my own observation of an incident that occurred with another
fraternity I am an alumnus of...
Situation was fairly similar to the one you have described. A newly
installed chapter. The girlfriend of the incoming chapter president decided
to pledge. Early in the semester they became engaged. No known problems or
issues occurred during the pledge period. At the final review, she was not
voted in. No reasons for rejection were cited at any point. Needless to
say, the president (and one other officer) immediately resigned, and a
handful of other brothers left the chapter and did not return.
Based on that experience, I would suggest the following (some of which has
been stated before):
1. The avoidance of conflicts of interest is essential to ensure the
integrity of the pledge process. The VP-Membership should have limited
interaction with the pledge program. If this is not feasible, then an
intermediary (another officer, whether elected or appointed) should be
assigned those responsibilities. If that step is not possible, then the
VP-M should step down. If, heaven forbid, the couple splits up, this would
offer both some protection within the chapter's operations.
2. The chapter, if it has not already done so, needs to set up specific
ground rules for the brotherhood regarding criteria for review of the pledge
class that does not permit a negative vote on any pledge without cause.
3. As part of Risk Management, the chapter should explore language to cover
various scenarios involving relationships between brothers and between
brothers and pledges.
Hope this helps!
Elliot Echlov
