Alpha Phi Omega Pi Rho Policies and Precedents

Alpha Phi Omega Pi Rho Be a Leader. Be a Friend. Be of Service.

Policies and Precedents (2018)1

1 This document provides an elaboration upon the constitution of Pi Rho given us by our chapter’s Bylaws and should be thought of as a manual for chapter-oriented standard operating procedure.

This Policies and Precedents d ocument is intended to provide future Brothers of Pi Rho with a set of best practices and “rules of thumb” to reference when in the course of common and uncommon chapter activity. In contrast to the B ylaws, this document is intended to be a living document, which is to say that while its contents have been carefully thought out, it welcomes necessary amendment and revision. This intention is employed in the pursuit of two objectives: first, to work toward a permanent version of the Bylaws and codify procedural stability and second, to give Pi Rho the freedom to reflect and grow at its own pace.

So long as Pi Rho enjoys this freedom, it will be able to contribute to the international mission it subscribes to, as outlined by Frank Reed Horton, the founder of Alpha Phi Omega. He reminds us that:

“Alpha Phi Omega can help bring about, through the future statesmen of the world, that standard of manhood and international understanding and friendship that will lead to a better, more peaceful world in which to live and in which to make a living and a life. ”

Last updated: 2018

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Alpha Phi Omega Pi Rho Chapter Policies

[Note: Any policy in italics has passed the Bylaws committee and will be offered to the Membership at the nearest convenient of the Sergeant-at-Arms or the President of the chapter]

Responsibilities of status (last updated Spring ‘18) 1. The following requirements correspond with the three types of Membership Status: Active, Associate, and Inactive; 2. Active brothers must make a $50 dues payment and complete a minimum of: a. 25 service hours, 10 of which must be brother hours; b. two fellowship events; c. one interchapter event; 3. [Note that Associate requirements are, in general, exactly half of Active requirements.] Associate brothers must make a $25 dues payment and complete a minimum of: a. 12.5 service hours, five of which must be brother hours; b. one fellowship event; 4. Inactive brothers have no explicit requirements, but are invited and encouraged to take every chapter opportunity they can.

Election procedure (See Robert’s Rules) 1. The procedure for any Chapter elections is as follows: 2. First, either the President or the Sergeant-at-Arms will announce to the chapter that nominations will be considered for position x; a. the announcement will include an explanation of the position and the responsibilities associated with it; b. any Active or Associate brother may nominate any Active brother for an elected position for five (5) business days following the announcement by voice or by email; i. nominated Brothers need not hold Active status at the time of the election, but must be Active once their term begins; c. brothers may acknowledge their nominations in three ways: i. “I Accept”; the nominated brother accepts his/her nomination and intends to participate in the election; ii. “I Respectfully Decline”; the nominated brother respectfully declines his/her nomination and does not intend to participate in the election; iii. “I’ll Consider It”; the nominated brother requests more time to consider his/her nomination but must confirm whether s/he Accepts or Respectfully Declines in five (5) business days; 3. Note that during the week between a nomination and an election, Members may send “Pros” and “Cons” by email or in writing to the Sergeant-at-Arms regarding a candidate’s eligibility for a given office; a. the Sergeant-at-Arms has discretion over all submissions; b. the Sergeant-at-Arms will present Pros and Cons during individual discussion period. Note that anonymity is ensured;

4. Next, the election is held at least one week following the announcement of the nomination during a regularly scheduled chapter meeting at which there is quorum. The procedure of election meetings is as follows: a. each candidate gives a short speech to the Membership; b. following each speech, candidates may be asked questions by any attending members: i. questions must pertain to the office the candidate is running for and the candidate’s ability to perform its duties; ii. following each candidate’s Q&A section the Chapter will have an opportunity to discuss the candidate. Once every candidate has gotten a chance to speak and do Q&A, the Chapter can discuss the full list of candidates; c. candidates are to wait outside of the meeting room for their turn to speak but will be ushered in by the Sergeant-at-Arms at the appropriate time and will be led back outside once they’ve answered any/all questions; d. members who are eligible to vote (i.e., active Brothers in good standing with the chapter) may only vote for those candidates whose speeches they have heard; i. additionally, this means that a candidate may only vote for themselves; e. no one is to enter or exit the room from the onset of the discussion to the close of voting: i. the Sergeant-at-Arms is responsible for maintaining this; f. all votes are to be counted by the Sergeant-at-Arms, and one of the Chapter advisors will provide oversight vis-a-vis quality control; i. in the event that no advisor is present, the President will appoint an Active, Associate, or Inactive Brother to aid the Sergeant. The appointment requires a vote by acclamation; g. in the event that no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the two candidates who received the highest number will enter into a run-off election; i. in the case of a tie for second place, all tying candidates will advance to the run-off election; ii. in the unlikely event that no narrowing of the candidate field is possible, a runoff election will not be held; iii. should no winner emerge from any given election, an election for the office in consideration will be postponed at the discretion of the Sergeant-at-Arms and the President; 1. postponed elections follow the same procedure as typical elections; 5. No two offices may be considered concurrently, i.e., only one office may be considered at a time; 6. Election results will be announced immediately after all votes are counted and must be included in the meeting minutes;

a. in the event that the advisor determines an election inauthentic before or after the results are announced, the election will be postponed to the next regularly scheduled Chapter meeting at which there is quorum.

Dues 1. Every Active and Associate Brother and every New Member pays annual dues. Balances may be settled in a lump sum or in two installments. 2. If a Brother or New Member can not pay the full amount or installments of dues on the date selected by the Treasurer, they may work out a payment plan. The terms of the plan are to be set on a case by case basis and are a confidential agreement between the Brother/New Member and the Executive Board. 3. The current dues total $50 (Active), $25 (Associate), $75 (Pledging semester).

Hours

Fellowship 1. Attend two (2) fellowship meetings per semester. 2. Fellowships must be made aware to the General Body at least 48 hours in advance. 3. There must be five (5) Brothers/New Members present for it to count as a Fellowship. This is at the discretion of the Fellowship VP.

Appointed Positions 1. There are several semester-long “Appointed Positions” which Active Brothers may apply for. 2. Applications will be created and distributed by the Executive Board following a description by the President and a “suggestion period” (akin to the “nominations period” for elected positions). 3. Applicants will be deliberated on and selected by the Executive Board. 4. The Appointed Positions are as follows: Assistant New Member Educator(s) (2), Sunshine Chair (1), Public Relations Chair (1), and Corresponding Secretary (1).

New Member Alcohol and Substance Abuse 1. Alpha Phi Omega Pi Rho directs the new membership’s attention to: a. Rider University’s Student Code of Social Conduct, Section 5.4, which outlines the University’s drug and alcohol policy, as well as the, b. Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity Bylaws, Alcohol and Drugs (Substance Abuse) Policy; 2. Additionally, New Members may not under any circumstances associate with Brothers in a situation where alcohol, drugs, or related substances are present; a. If evidence of a new member(s) in the aforementioned scenario is discovered, it should be brought to the attention of the Review Board. In this case, the Board

may consider the evidence during its determination of the New Member’s acceptance; b. If evidence of a Brother(s) in the aforementioned scenario is discovered, it should be brought to the attention of the Standards Board. c. In the absence of an active Standards Board, the aforementioned evidence should be referred to the Executive Board.

Transfer Brother Assimilation process 1. Brothers transferring into Rider University looking to join our Chapter must fulfill the requirements of the transfer brother assimilation process; 2. Brothers may not start the Transfer Brother Assimilation process after the 3rd Sunday after the current semester’s New Member Induction ceremony; 3. The transfer brother assimilation process includes: a. Maintenance of the attendance record required of Active Brothers, b. Maintenance of the service record required of Brothers who qualify to be a “Big”, c. Achievement of passing scores on the Transfer Brother Assimilation quiz, d. Completion of interviews for 75% of Brothers included in the Brother Book; 4. The Transfer Brother Assimilation process concludes on the same day as the Review Board hearing of the current semester; 5. The Transfer Brother Assimilation process concludes with a meeting between the transferring brother, the Membership Vice President, and the President; 6. Oversight of the Transfer Brother Assimilation process is the responsibility of the Membership Vice President.

Cords 1. Active Brothers can receive cords courtesy of the chapter or the credit equivalent of cords’ value towards the purchase of stoles. 2. Associate and Inactive Brothers are encouraged to order cords/stoles, however their orders are not covered by the chapter budget. 3. Only a Brother’s membership status during their final undergraduate semester will be considered for this policy.

Attire 1. Brothers should wear one of the following: their service pin, letters, or a jersey to the Chapter meetings. New Members should wear their New Member pins: a. There is no direct punishment for not obeying this request; it is essentially a suggestion in order to show respect for Alpha Phi Omega;

2. Additionally, out of respect for the organization, Brothers and New Members are not permitted to wear items representing other Greek organizations to Chapter and Executive Board meetings. Brothers who fail to do so will be asked to change or leave said meeting: a. This is subject to discretion of the Membership Vice President and the President; 3. Brothers of Alpha Phi Omega should wear letters in some form at all events that present the Chapter to the campus and/or community. Examples of this include, but are not limited to: a. Relay for Life, b. bi-annual Blood Drive, c. any off campus service event, d. tabling, e. all philanthropy related events, f. Rush events, g. There is no direct punishment for not obeying this request; it is essentially a suggestion in order to show respect for Alpha Phi Omega; 4. Brothers of Alpha Phi Omega should wear letters in some form at all events that present the Chapter to the Fraternity. Examples of this include, but are not limited to: a. Sectionals, b. Regionals, c. Nationals, d. Interchapter events; e. There is no direct punishment for not obeying this request; it is essentially a suggestion in order to show respect for Alpha Phi Omega; 5. Brothers should dress in business casual attire and wear Service pins at all Ceremonies.

Standards Board cases 1. The following is intended to provide guidance to the Sergeant-at-Arms, the Executive Board, and the Membership at large regarding what situations constitute a case that the Standards Board should attend to; 2. Consequently, a situation that should attract the attention of the Standards Board would be one that damages the image, reputation, or stability of the organization, but is not so serious that Rider University or any local/state/federal police offices need be involved; 3. Instances of situations that may damage the image, reputation, or stability of the organization include, but are not limited to: a. minor infractions of chapter and/or national policies; b. blatant inappropriate treatment of a New Member; c. blatant inappropriate treatment of a Brother; d. explicit conduct unbecoming of a Brother; e. mismanagement of responsibilities that a Brother has been elected or appointed to perform; f. a Brother’s letters being worn by individuals unaffiliated with Alpha Phi Omega;

g. a Brother drinking, at any age, while wearing letters or other Alpha Phi Omega apparel; h. any instances of potential designation of “bad standing”; 4. Any Pi Rho Brother (Active, Associate, Inactive, Alumni) in good standing can initiate a Standards Board case by contacting the Sergeant-at-Arms via email: a. the Sergeant-at-Arms is required to meet with any Pi Rho Brother who initiates contact regarding a Standards Board case; b. any Brother of the Chapter may be the subject of a Standards Board case; 5. The President has access to all Standards Board cases that occur during their elected term; 6. The Statute of Limitations for a Standards Board case is twelve school weeks: a. This does not include Finals week; b. The Sergeant-at-Arms has discretion over any timeline disputes; 7. In the event that a Brother seeks to initiate a Standards Board case that regards the Sergeant-at-Arms personally, that Brother should contact the President, who will follow standard protocol; 8. Additionally, in the event that a Brother seeks to initiate a Standards Board case that regards a member of the Standards Board itself, the Sergeant-at-Arms will formally request that Board member’s recusal from the case;

Review Board Meeting Procedure 1. At least two weeks prior to the Review Board (the Board) meeting, the Sergeant-at-Arms will hold a mock Review Board meeting to introduce members of the Board to the procedure; 2. That said, the Review Board meeting procedure is as follows: a. Review Board will sit for its meeting during the weekend of New Member Initiation(sometime between Thursday and Saturday), i.e., the end of the New Member process; b. before the meeting, the Review Board prepares general and specific questions for every New Member and determines which Board Member(s) will ask which questions; c. during the meeting, the Sergeant-at-Arms brings New Members one-by-one into the meeting room; i. the Board proceeds to ask questions of the New Member; ii. the Sergeant-at-Arms is responsible for maintaining an appropriate atmosphere during the meeting; 1. this includes discretion over any non-scripted and/or follow-up questions; 2. additionally, this includes the supervision of all procedural and substantive discussion. The Sergeant-at-Arms reserves the right to end any discussion s/he determines inappropriate, tangential, or otherwise obstructive;

iii. the Board will discuss each meeting either once all New Members have met with the Board or during a lengthy free period; 1. the Sergeant-at-Arms has discretion over when substantive discussions take place; a. “substantive discussions” are those which end in a decision regarding whether the New Member shall/shan’t cross into brotherhood; b. the result of every substantive discussion will be written up as an official statement by a member of the Review Board, selected by the Sergeant-at-Arms. The statement must be signed by the Sergeant-at-Arms, the President, the New Member Educator, and a Chapter Advisor; iv. if at any time the Board could be assisted by a statement from or meeting with a Brother(s) or other affiliated person(s), the Sergeant-at-Arms may request such a statement or meeting. Note that whomever the Sergeant-at-Arms requests a statement or meeting from reserves the right to (a) decline the request, (b) retract a provided statement, and/or (c) leave an invited meeting at any time; v. any Board member may request that the results of the Chapter’s vote on a New Member’s admission be shared with the Board during its meeting; d. following the substantive discussion of all New Members, the Sergeant-at-Arms will invite the President into the meeting room to authenticate all decisions; i. at this point, the President reserves the right to request clarification on a decision; ii. additionally, the President reserves the right to reopen a New Member’s case; 1. in this event, the President will motion to open discussion on a New Member. Once seconded, the President will start the conversation outlining his/her reasoning for reopening the case; a. after opening the discussion, the President may only participate in discussion in order to clarify reasoning and may not contribute substantively to the discussion; 2. once discussion is closed, the Review Board votes on the New Member’s admission into the Chapter again. The President may not vote; 3. the result of a reopened vote is the final say of the Review Board; a. New Members who do not cross into the chapter may direct an appeal to the National Organization; e. An Advisor/ Section Chair/ Chapter Liaison additionally oversees the process by providing damage control (e.g. ensuring votes are counted correctly) i. Advisors may request clarification of the Board’s decisions from the Sergeant-at-Arms;

f. Once authenticated by the President, the results will be shared first with the New Member Educator, then with the New Member’s Sponsors, and then with the New Members. 3. The Membership is expected to recognize the significance of the Review Board process and in doing so to refrain from any and all behavior that may be construed as obstructing the procedure outlined in this policy. That said, a. the Review Board meeting’s content is strictly confidential. Therefore members of the Board are prohibited from sharing any substantive information with any person who does not sit on the current Review Board (this is at the discretion of the Sergeant so as to allow for extenuating circumstances). Additionally, past Review Board members are strongly discouraged from discussing substantive information from Board meetings at any time; b. Brothers are expected to uphold the cardinal principles of Leadership, Friendship, and Service when in or around the Review Board’s meeting room. Failure to do so will be met with a warning from the Sergeant-at-Arms. In the event that inappropriate behavior is not curbed, the Sergeant-at-Arms will immediately transmit the case to the Standards Board; c. examples of such behavior include but are not limited to: i. physical disruption of the Board meeting; ii. any attempt to contrive information from the Board meeting or share substantive information from the meeting.

Position passdowns 1. Executive Board members are required to pass the following information to Brothers elected to succeed them: a. A comprehensive description of the responsibilities and duties of the position; b. The contact information of administrators, advisors, faculty advisors, Alpha Phi Omega staff members, chapter partners, and other relevant persons; c. List of all programs and events organized by the Board member and a description of how they are typically run; d. Physical or virtual reference materials (e.g. guides, manuals, etc.) that could be gainfully utilized by the position holder; e. Personal contact information of outgoing Board member; 2. Note that the language used should be clear and concise. Additionally, any provided materials should be easily understandable or thoroughly explained.

Jersey Policy 1. Historically, Pi Rho has provided jerseys for brothers of the chapter at no cost or at discount; 2. Jersey orders shall be managed by the Sunshine Chair with financing overseen by the Treasurer; 3. Jerseys should follow the same style for every class to maintain consistency and a uniform image (unless extenuating circumstances arise);

4. Brothers may only have their official nicknames on the back of their jerseys unless otherwise approved by the executive board; 5. Jerseys for each Rush class shall be ordered in the semester following their initiation into the chapter: a. The chapter shall cover the full cost of jerseys for members of each rush class given that, in the semester the order is placed, they are: i. Active, ii. in good standing with the chapter; b. The chapter shall cover half the cost of jerseys for members of each rush class given that, in the semester the order is placed, they are: i. Associate, ii. in good standing with the chapter.

Links 1. A link is someone who is interested in joining the fraternity at some point in the future, but not during the semester they become a link; 2. One can become a link by contacting the Membership Vice President and expressing interest in doing so; a. Each link is assigned a Brother who acts as their Sponsor; 3. Links only need to attend one rush event in order to receive a bid during the semester they choose to rush; 4. Links can come to any open fellowship, service, and chapter meetings and events. They also may attend banquet as guests of Brothers;

Senior Sunrise 1. Senior Sunrise is a special event where Brothers graduating from the chapter get the chance to make a farewell speech to the chapter and pass down various things they’ve accumulated during their time; 2. The Fellowship Vice President has discretion over the date.

Blood Drive 1. As of Spring 2017, Pi Rho became responsible for bi-annual campus Blood Drives; 2. Brothers, New Members, and Potential New Members volunteer for various administrative tasks including managing sign-in tables, giving out snacks/drinks, and act as go-betweens for Rider University, blood donors, and blood donation organizations; 3. Volunteering for the Blood Drive is an opportunity for service hours.