Notes from the Fall 2006 Greek Housing Meeting

October 6, 2006 -- Minutes

1. Champaign Sprinkler deadline is November 2, 2009
   If not fully sprinklered:
   • Code violations = Legal action, possibly eviction.
   • Housing and Dean of Students office will decertify those not sprinklered. This means no freshman may live in your facility and you are not allowed to participate in the Reciprocal Agreement.
2. Urbana Sprinkler deadline is not set though 2011 seems to be the target deadline.
   • It is a good idea for the Urbana facilities to plan in advance, look for grants and plan fundraising events.
3. Cooperative Buying
   Definition: Participating Greek facilities on the University of Illinois campus working together as a group to reduce costs on large projects.
   • There will be no donations from the University of Illinois.
   • University of Minnesota has a successful co-op.
   • University of Iowa has a successful co-op.
   • Vendors will get paid immediately.
   • 6,400 Greeks = buying power.
   • Co-op members might get discounts for services when done in bulk.
   • Facilities that do not pay their "dues" to the co-op are simply out of the co-op.
   • Volunteers have limited time, might be a good idea to hire an advocate for the Greeks. This person would get some type of compensation and hiring someone would be a foundation for the co-op.
   • Most volunteers at this time are not local; it is hard for them to be active in a physical capacity though communication is happening via e-mail and telephone.
   • Donna Redmond is setting up a website for facilities to use as a sharing tool. This is an opportunity to share feedback on vendors who do good work and their credibility. It was mentioned that unfavorable vendors just not be listed as a preferred vendor instead of being negative about them.
   • Would it be advantageous to hire an attorney to see if we can get and extension on the Champaign Sprinkler deadline of November 2, 2006?
     • No, there is a higher liability factor
     • No, we can't argue discrimination due to the lack of organization.
4. Society of Preservation of Greek Housing
   • The society works with facilities to refurbish the existing structure to its glory. You are not allowed to tear down and start over.
   • The society works to get your facility placed on the national registry of historic buildings.
   • The society has 501c3 status and can accept tax deductible donations and then give chapters "grants" for improvement projects.
   • Sprinklers are part of the refurbishment plan.
5. Question by an undergraduate: What can the undergraduate chapter do to improve and excel?
   • Fund raising
   • Communicating with their students and alumni about positive and negative things. Keeping the line of communication open is imperative.
   • Get involved before your inspection and work promptly to correct any violations found on your inspection.
   • Attend the PCH meetings.
   • Pay all bills on time.
   • Greeks should strive to have their GPA above the campus average.

Open Discussion

1. False Alarms seem to be an issue from the Champaign Fire Department.
   • How many are allowed?
     Tim Wild says 5, Mike King says 2
   • How do they determine if they charge the facility or not?
     Sometimes they charge and it is $500 per false alarm after the allowable number.
   • What was the cause of the false alarm?
     • The firemen themselves do not communicate with the facility what caused a false alarm when they are out.
     • The invoice from the fire department does not explain what the cause of the false alarm was. There is not a detailed billing method.
2. Tornado Drills
• We need to have better Tornado Awareness since we are in the Midwest.
• We need to have an action plan and procedures set up for each facility.
• Does Housing need to require a Tornado Drill self evaluation form be turned in?
  We require a fire drill self evaluation and a kitchen evaluation at this time.
3. What is the liability of a chapter advisor?
   • Ashley Dye seems to think since this is a volunteer position you are covered by the chapters insurance ("Director's and Officers Insurance") and adds it is best to check with National Headquarters for your chapter.
4. Alumni need to get involved!
   • Students should communicate with alumni about good and bad things. Perhaps create a newsletter, send letters via mail, and use new technology such as e-vites, found at www.evite.com.
5. What does the University of Minnesota and University of Iowa cooperative website look like?
   • Does it list job duties of their advocate?
     We need to create a list of job duties an advocate could help on.
   • What does their advocate do for them?
6. Talk of "The Book"
   • Some current officers seem to be unclear of their duties as an officer. There is no "book" to explain all of this.
   • There needs to be better communication within the chapter itself.
   • Several Fraternity Presidents have contacted Jamie in Housing to ask very good questions about the paperwork Housing needs. They also said "no one told me about this" so in my opinion it might be worth looking at "the book" with a list of responsibilities and duties. Housing gives out a "Greek Timeline Due Date" at the Fall Workshop to help the chapters out. The better training this person has the more successful the chapter can be.

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