Be involved in the life of a student Greek leader. Take a phone call at midnight. Visit the Mountain and attend a chapter meeting or a community service event or a party (or all three). Come to Shake Day and help keep the day meaningful. Listen. College students have a great deal to say.
Specifically, most chapter advisors serve in a mutually beneficial, multi-faceted role that includes advising on the following topics:
- fiscal responsibility
- risk management
- recruitment
- leadership training and development
- communication with national offices (if applicable) and University administration
- ritual
- dispelling tension within the organization
Chapter advisors help maintain stability within a chapter, look for problem areas and commit to maintaining high standards. In return, advisors often develop lifelong relationships with undergraduates, rekindle old friendships and reconnect with their alma mater.
Fraternities and sororities with genuinely interested alumni are strong organizations.
Our students need your help. They need your time, talent and treasure. You can be the genuinely interested friend, mentor and advisor that every college student needs. Their parents love them, their teachers educate them and their administrators guide them, but you can influence them.
We need to improve our framework for working with our Greek organizations, and you have the training in risk management, conflict resolution and facility management to make this happen. Supporting a chapter at Sewanee means more than being involved in your alma mater. It means being involved in the personal development of the next generation of leaders.
Won't you join us?
By the end of the weekend, each organization will have developed a strategic plan that addresses problems in the Greek system (listed here) and supports our vision for the model Greek system (listed here). We will have a comprehensive list of what is working well, what is hindering our progress, and a timeline for implementing everything. We're here to facilitate so that you can engage in meaningful conversation that leads to the development of specific plans for the upcoming year.
The Summit will help us create a framework under which our Greek system will thrive.
We understand that you are busy people with families and lives separate from the Mountain. While the specific outcomes of the Greek Alumni Summit will be determined by you and your chapters, we promise you that your time will be used practically. We will facilitate the Summit so that the following are accomplished:
1. You will have a clear understanding of how to be an Alumni Advisor and how to recruit others to join you.
2. You will know where we are with the Greek system and where we hope to be. We will articulate what is helping and hindering our progress as a Greek system.
3. You and your chapters will establish concrete plans for addressing critical issues. These plans will support our vision for the model Greek system at Sewanee.
4. We will plan future summits and establish an Alumni Board and reporting structure.
Why is running a Greek system so difficult and why do Sewanee's students need your help? Because eighteen to twenty-two year-olds are managing a facility (without much support), hosting parties for their peers (without much support), and keeping their peers safe in a social college environment (without much support) while also trying to learn, make the grade, prepare for the world beyond the "Sewanee Bubble" and still have a good time in college. And sometimes the enthusiasm of a single member can sway the group towards questionable behavior. However, well-directed individuals may also enthusiastically sway a group.
As our alumni, you can be the group of well-directed individuals who help our chapters stay on track.
With this in mind, we think these are the most pressing issues:
- Pledgeship/New member education
- Houses and trash
- Alumni involvement in chapters and the system as a whole
- Social host guidelines and parties
- Student and faculty interaction
- Positive leadership within each chapter
- Risk management
- Academic achievement
- Developing a permanent alumni advisory council
- Recruitment and Shake Day
- Accountability
Of the many things colleges do quite well, using acronyms in everyday vernacular certainly tops the list. Ask for directions from any friendly college student on any welcoming campus in America, and they may make you feel like the victim of a bad inside joke. A single conversation may contain several abbreviations for organizations and policies apparently important enough for a student to mention them. The only problem is, you have no idea what they are talking about. On our own campus, a co-ed could easily leave his IFC meeting and walk past the SOP on the way to the SPO to SPO (yes, also a verb) invitations to a BYOB event where BACCHUS will be providing sober-rides home. Of course, the same co-ed could attend an event held by the AAA or SPECE instead. And of course, after parties, Sewanee kids love to head to the Pub (not a typo, just a three-letter word) for a Granger, a sandwich so well known that its name describes its creator and not its contents. We're just as guilty of excessive acronym use as our peers and that's probably alright. However, this shabby rundown of the most important acronyms related to Greek life on the Mountain might prove helpful.
BYO: Bring Your Own--A party designated as BYO is closed to the public because hard liquor will be served. ID checkers, police officers and bartenders must be present and the event cannot last longer than two hours. These parties are typically formals or dinners. Food and non-alcoholic beverages must be available. Each student brings his own bottle (fifth of liquor, bottle of wine or 6-pack) and places it in the care of the bartender who then serves the individual from his bottle.
BYOB: Bring Your Own Beverage--BYOB events can be open to the public and are typically band parties or simply large gatherings of people. Those of age may bring a 6-pack of beer cans. BYOB parties must still be registered with the school and have police on the premises.
Dry: Just like it sounds. No alcohol allowed.
IFC: Interfraternity Council--governing organization for fraternities consisting of IFC officers and fraternity presidents
ISC: Intersorority Council--governing organization for sororities consisting of ISC officers and sorority presidents.
BACCHUS: Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students--Sewanee's sober ride system that runs on Friday and Saturday nights.
Granger: I know, it's not an acronym, but a sandwich named after a man named Granger doesn't really tell you what's in it. Although I've actually never had one, I think it's a plain bagel, cream cheese, bacon and some kind of white cheese wrapped in plastic and then microwaved. A few people swear by them, but the microwave and plastic combination always got to me.
What would a better Greek system at Sewanee look like?
- Well-maintained facilities
- Yards without trash every Saturday and Sunday morning
- Parties where students are genuinely concerned for the safety of themselves and their peers
- A diverse and inclusive system
- Alumni involved in the chapter on a regular basis
- Chapters focused on leadership development for their members
- Greek Life as a positive feature of the Sewanee experience
- A school year with ZERO fraternities or sororities on probation
- Organizations that focus on bettering the University and the surrounding community through service
- Ritual, history and values are emphasized and applied in the life of the chapter
- A body of students who seek to eliminate the harms related to high risk drinking
There is ample work to be done, but we're ready to make Sewanee's Greek system the nation's model Greek system. Are you?
Please find the tentative agenda for the Greek Alumni Summit below. We think this structure will help everyone get the most out of the weekend, but we are still open to your suggestions. Leave a comment below or send an email to crtanner@sewanee.edu. Thank you!
Friday, August 26
Noon-4.30: Guests arrive on the Mountain
4.30: Keys to Being a Successful Advisor
6.30: Dinner and Opening Remarks with Dr. McCardell, Vice Chancellor
Saturday, August 27
8.00: Breakfast and Greek Life Overview with the Deans, IFC and ISC Presidents
9.30-11.30: Small Groups Engage in Planning on Key Success Items/Topics
11.30-1.30: Lunch and Small Group Presentation
2.00: Weekend Wrap-up and Next Steps
2.30: Conclusion
Welcome to the meeting place for Sewanee Greek Alumni! We hope you will use this blog to discuss your ideas with us and your fellow Alumni Advisers. You will also find information on the upcoming Greek Alumni Summit and updates from the Mountain.
We are busy planning the upcoming Alumni Summit, and we encourage you to begin thinking about what it means to be a meaningful Chapter Advisor at Sewanee. While we have a planned agenda, we want you, our advisers, to help determine the future of our Greek System. Please leave your questions and comments here or email crtanner@sewanee.edu.
If you know of anyone who might be interested in reconnecting with their Alma mater through their fraternity or sorority, we highly encourage them to take advantage of this opportunity.
We look forward to seeing all of you on the Mountain in less than a month. Until then, we'll be enjoying the Summer in our favorite place!
EQB,
Eric Hartman, Dean of Students
Karen Love, Assistant Dean for Student Organizations
Susan Askew, C'86 Executive Director for the Associated Alumni
Caroline Tanner, C'11, Vice-Chancellor Fellow
