Cross Council Collaboration: Tools for a Productive and Successful Fraternal Community
ASK QUESTIONS As previously stated, don’t be ashamed to ask questions about certain things that you don’t understand. Whether it be recruitment or intake processes; hand signs or calls, it is always helpful to be aware of the culture of the groups that you work with. This is a great starting point in attempting to build a relationship that may not initially exist. The statement of “they don’t understand us and we don’t understand them” is no longer a valid excuse of further partnerships.
INVOLVE YOUR ADVISOR Asking your advisor for input with your efforts is not something that should be overlooked. He/she has the appropriate resources to tap into in order to see great change occur. This is another individual who you will want to keep informed of your vision and progress with strategic planning. The oversight that your advisor can offer is a pertinent part of the equation. Just think, he/she is doing these types of things for a living!
SUPPORT Levels of support between councils should extend beyond large community events such as Greek Week. Sponsored events like Unity Weeks, Panhellenic Badge Day, educational workshops, fundraisers and various other activities should be well attended by members of every council. By no means is one expected to attend a program every hour of the day, but showing a genuine and intentional effort of support is sure to reciprocate itself. Meetings of each respective council should also not be overlooked. These meetings are ideal general information sharing regarding council business and activities and are a great way to stay informed with what each council is doing. A strategy to help facilitate this is to develop liaison positions on each council. These positions will have the responsibility of attending peer council meetings and provide two way communication between governing councils.
REACH OUT TO OTHER INSTITUTIONS You may be able to attend a conference like MGCA or others similar to it once a year. Attendance at these conferences is the prime opportunity to utilize all of your resources at one time. Reach out to your peers at other institutions because many times they may be facing the same issues that you are. There are other times when student groups may have been in your shoes and have found ways to overcome the aforementioned obstacles and are functioning as a collaborative entity at their institutions. Whatever the case may be, peer to peer resource exchanges is a way to get the ball rolling!
OPEN ALL LINES It is important to keep all stakeholders in the community informed. Too often we find that strategies are implemented, ideas are shared and communication occurs without all councils being involved in the conversation, which in some ways may create dissonance among certain groups. In some circumstances, there may be things that are discussed that do not pertain to a particular group. While that may be the case, no one likes to be left out of the loop especially when the decisions being made affect the entire community directly or indirectly.
Veronica Hunter // Lehigh University Take a moment to reflect on this conceptual Greek community: There are 21 NIC fraternities, 10 NPC sororities, 6 NPHC organizations and 3 NALFO groups. The community has four different councils: IFC, PHA, NPHC and MGC. The community has oversight by one Greek Advisor, who is the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and two graduate students. Funding is low for the smaller councils, while the IFC and PHA councils have an abundance of monetary resources. As you walk down Fraternity/Sorority Row, you see beautiful fraternity and sorority houses that you gaze at from afar in admiration. This brief conceptualization is the make up of many of our fraternal communities across college campuses today. As you can see from the brief description given above, these organizations have their own characteristics that make them fairly different from each another. They range from various demographics including history, ethnicity, culture, memberships and many others that are namable. Because of these differences, it is often that one will suffer misunderstandings and disconnect among the leadership, which in return could causes a lack of cooperation among the councils that comprise the fraternal system. 006 // connections // 2008.spring
As one may be faced with these differences in their own fraternal community, some common questions and or themes that arise include: “where do they get all of their money and why don’t we have any?”, “why don’t they show up to events that we sponsor?”, why can’t they participate in Greek week like all of the other chapters, there are so few of them and so many of us and vice versa, and they don’t understand what we do or what we are about. While many of the above stated questions are thought provoking and serve some truth, we must not remain stagnant and let them consume the potential for great productivity in our fraternal community. Take a second and think back on a time when you may have been asking some of these questions. Be it that we usually ask ourselves these questions at the peak of frustration, do we take the time out to think about a possible resolution to the issue? Do we sit back and really dig deep in thought about the possible answers for inquiring minds to know? If not, here is your chance to do so. Many fraternity and sorority members on campus really do want to work together, but certain obstacles get in the way. The biggest and most apparent of these is cultural differences. While cultural barriers do exist, they should not be used or seen as a crutch in forming a relationship with your fraternal counterparts. One should not be afraid to ask those questions that may be seen as embarrassing. Truly understanding each other will only help in attempting to create a more cohesive, productive and influential community. While reading the above stated comment, one may say “Well that is easier said than done”. If that is the case, below you will find a few tools to help you along the way. While this list is not an exhaustive one, it is a start in helping students bridge the gap with council collaboration.
SET A VISION If you want to see your community evolve, it is important to create and set a vision. To reiterate the previous point, all constituents need to be involved. Now, let’s be mindful that this evolution will not happen overnight and quick fix methods should not be the end goal. Setting a vision for your community is not an easy task. Therefore, you will need devoted students to help out with this form of strategic planning, which brings on the next point. SWAP IDEAS In order to influence those in the community to do the work and make positive change, it is vital that the leadership is sharing the vision with peers. Creating space and opportunity for council leaders set the premise for a groundbreaking fraternal movement will allow those involved to set the tone and have a voice at the table. Change cannot occur with one sole mind. Whether it is a separate meeting created just for executive board members of the council or something more informal, bringing collective minds together is sure to put you ahead of the game. GAIN PEER BUY IN There is nothing more frustrating than a council with a great idea and affiliate organizations that are not interested in community improvement. This common scenario causes the planning and implementation of any big picture efforts to come to a halt. A vision is completely empty without the minds of the collective body. Utilizing chapter presidents as vehicles of inspiration among their respective chapter members and peers is a great way to get all constituents on board with what you are trying to accomplish as a community. However, let’s not assume that just because the leadership has shared their vision that it is definite everyone will approve of it. Part of getting buy in is also accepting the viewpoints and wishes of those who will be your change agents.
This article is not an end all be all, but is meant to inspire change among student leaders and those who advise them. Collaboration is sought after by student leaders on a regular basis. When you continuously add people to the equation, it has the potential to make things more difficult. The easy thing about collaboration among fraternities and sororities is that you all have similar purposes, values and missions that you all live by. You have the common bond of brotherhood and sisterhood that extends beyond your respective organizations into a community that upholds the “greater Greek good”. Who will step up and take on the challenge? Will it be you?
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Key Steps to Bridge the Gap: Ask questions. Support. Open ALL lines. Set a vision. Swap ideas. Gain peer buy in. Involve your Advisor. Reach out to other institutions.
veronica hunter