Beta Chi Theta was founded in 1999 at the University of California Los Angeles. They ventured to create the first South Asian Social Fraternity in California.

They firmly stand upon the beliefs of brotherhood, tradition, service to humanity, South Asian awareness, academic excellence and a unified national network.

To learn more about them, check out their website here: http://www.betachitheta.com

Their winning search engine: http://www.enginefarm.com/betachi

The second place winners are Zeta Kappa Epsilon (http://students.washington.edu/uwzke/home.html)

Third place winners are Sigma Psi Zeta (http://www.sigmapsizeta.org)

Winners of the contest were based on unique searches per engine.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this contest!

Please check out www.enginefarm.com/greekcontest which will give you everything you need to know about the contest.
Winner of the contest will be the one with the most searches on the search engine, and your organization will also be featured on Greekster.tv as well as greekopedia.com!

Why your organization should participate

1. Promotion – Get your name out! The more searches you have, the more it will show up on our frontpage
2. Pride in your organization – this is a good, friendly competition where you can show your spirit and love for your organization
3. Bragging rights –’nuff said.

For any questions, please feel free to reach out to greekcontest@enginefarm.com

However, there are a number of ways you can further use your Greek organization to your advantage. For example, there are a number of discounts out there that will give you more for your dollar. And no, I’m not just talking about Greek apparel and embroidery stores, I mean all sorts of financial benefits (Most of them extend to alumni too, so even if you graduated years ago you’re still eligible).

For example, Textbook Partners (http://textbookpartners.com/) is a company that sells textbooks at discounted prices to sorority and fraternity members and can even help you start fundraisers for your organization. If you’ve ever had to buy textbooks in school, then you know what it’s like to be robbed blind at the beginning of every semester. Why not save some cash and help your sorority or fraternity at the same time?

Also, don’t forget about scholarships! Most organizations have a special section on their websites especially dedicated to scholarships, grants, and other types of academic financial aid. But you can also seek out help not offered specifically through your organization. A good website to check out is: http://www.free-4u.com/fraterni.htm which has a number of non-affiliated scholarships every year for a certain amount of sororities and fraternities. Don’t forget that many individual chapters often have their own annual scholarships as well, so your alumni adviser is often your best resource. Your organization takes enough money from you every year, why not start trying to get some of it back?

There are many ways for Greek alumni to stay actively involved in their organizations through employment. Yes, that’s right. You can work for your organization. In fact, did you know some organizations don’t even require you to be a Greek alum in order to work for a Greek organization? Many people find it an extremely rewarding experience and say that it helps them feel less disconnected from their college experiences. So what kinds of jobs are available? That depends largely on your organization, since each one is unique and operates differently.

But here are some strategies to help you find out. A great way to start is by contacting the national headquarters of your sorority or fraternity. HQs are often looking for people who know the ins and outs of Greek life as well as how to effectively run an organization. So if you have either of those skills, you’re a pretty good candidate. If you have both of those skills, then you’re a great one. Belong to a local organization? Then your best bet is probably to ask your chapter’s current president or alumni adviser about any available opportunities. Also, your former college or university can be a useful tool, as they frequently need Greek representatives to be a part of staff administrative positions.

Don’t forget that your most valuable resource is yourself. There’s always a need for people with fresh new ideas and capabilities in any organization, so if there currently isn’t an opening for the type of job you want, market yourself and create it!

Here we’ve listed some of the famous or celebrity members of many popular sororities, women who started just as any other sister and rose to become great authors, singers, politicians, authors or artists:

Alpha Chi Omega

Trista Rehn – Bachelorette

Alpha Delta Pi

Nancy Grace – CNN Journalist

Alpha Phi

Jeri Ryan – Actress
Kimberly Williams – Actress

Chi Omega

Lucy Liu – Actress

Alpha Kappa Alpha

Jada Pinkett Smith – Actress
Alicia Keys – Singer

Delta Gamma

Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Actress
Patricia Heaton – Actress

Delta Phi Epsilon

Bette Midler – Singer, Actress

Delta Sigma Theta

Aretha Franklin – Singer
Natalie Cole – Singer

Delta Zeta

Joy Behar – The View

Delta Delta Delta

Katie Couric – CBS Anchor
Molly Sims – Actress, Model
Hoda Kotb – Today Show
Sara Blakely – Spanx Creator

Gamma Phi Beta

Kristin Chenoweth – Actress

Kappa Alpha Theta

Holly Hunter – Actress
Sheryl Crow – Singer

Kappa Delta

Ali Landry – Former Miss USA, Actress
Georgia O’Keefe – Artist

Kappa Kappa Gamma

Ashley Judd – Actress
Kate Spade – Designer

Zeta Tau Alpha

Erin Andrews – ESPN Reporter

Chi Psi
• Bill Belichick – NFL Coach

Delta Chi
• Ashton Kutcher – Actor
• Kevin Costner – Actor

Delta Kappa Epsilon
• George H. W. Bush – Former President
• George W. Bush – Former President
• J.P. Morgan – Entrepreneur
• Dick Clark – Entertainer


Delta Tau Delta
• Drew Carey – Entertainer
• Matthew McConaughey – Actor
• Will Ferrell – Actor


Delta Upsilon
• Tommy Hilfiger – Designer

Kappa Sigma
• Edward R. Murrow – Journalist
• Jimmy Buffett – Singer
• Robert Redford – Actor
• Ted Turner – Entrepreneur

Lambda Chi Alpha
• Benjamin Bratt – Actor
• Kenny Chesney – Singer
• Will Forte – Actor

Pi Kappa Alpha
• Colonel Sanders – Founder KFC
• Bobby Bowden – College Football Coach
• Tim McGraw – Singer
• Jeremy Piven – Actor

Phi Gamma Delta
• Jack Nicklaus – Professional Golfer
• Donald Trump – Entrepreneur
• Matthew Fox – Actor
• Johnny Carson – Entertainer

Phi Kappa Tau
• Paul Newman – Actor, Entrepreneur
• Bob Hope, Entertainer

Psi Upsilon
• Bud Wilkenson – College Football Coach

Sigma Alpha Epsilon
• David Spade – Actor
• Fred Savage – Actor
• Nick Lachey – Singer
• Troy Aikman – Former Pro Football Player

Sigma Chi
• Brad Pitt – Actor
• Andy Rooney – Journalist
• David Letterman – Entertainer
• Mike Ditka – Former Pro Football Player
• Tom Selleck – Actor
• Warren Beatty – Actor
• Matt Groening- Simpson’s Creator

Sigma Nu
• Eli Manning – Pro Football Player
• Paul Rudd – Actor

Sigma Phi Epsilon
• Dave Thomas – Founder of Wendy’s
• Dr. Seuss – Author
• James Naismith – Creator of Basketball

Tau Kappa Epsilon
• Elvis Presley – Singer
• Les Paul – Musician
• Willie Nelson – Singer
• Ronald Reagan – Former President

It is an unfortunate reality that from time to time a serious injury, loss of life, major property loss, or criminal activity will occur in a chapter.

Strong preventive measures will prevent most losses.  Safety inspections, fire drills, the elimination of improper and illegal activities, and liability and risk management seminars are all essential to control risk.

Should any event of a disastrous nature occur, however, the chapter must be prepared to respond quickly and appropriately.

MAINTAINING CONTROL

Be certain that everyone in your chapter knows the president is in command of every emergency situation.  In the absence of the president, you should have a rank ordering of officers (chain of command):

l.  President

2.  _____________________________

3.  _____________________________

If a crisis has occurred at the chapter house, close the house at once.  You cannot give instructions if your members are leaving and strangers are entering.   Permit only members and appropriate officials to enter.   Halt all incoming and outgoing telephone calls, except those of an emergency nature.

In most crisis situations, you will want to call a mandatory chapter meeting, for actives and pledges/associates, as soon as possible.   Make sure your chapter advisor or other member of your alumni advisory board is present. At this meeting:

• Explain the situation and gather facts.
• Project a strong leadership image to let your members know everything is under control so they will remain calm.
• Clarify who is the spokesman (normally the chapter president).  No one else should make statements or answer questions about the situation.
• Instruct members not to discuss the incident with anyone, including boy/girlfriends and family members, until the situation has been resolved.  In the event of a fire or accident, members should, of course, be encouraged to notify their parents to let them know they are okay.

• Detail the plan for the next several days.

• Instruct your members to cooperate with campus or law enforcement officials investigating an incident.

INVESTIGATIONS

Make written notes of all details relating to any incident.  It will be especially important to get the names of all members present, the names and telephone numbers of any witnesses (in some cases you may want to get signed statements from the witnesses), and the names and telephone numbers of anyone injured (however slightly).  Some incidents may result in lawsuits, and if you are called to testify in court months after the incident, the notes will be invaluable.  Share the information you collect with your chapter advisor and any campus or law enforcement officials conducting an investigation. Itemize any property losses, and keep records of any expenses related to the situation.

MEDIA RELATIONS

Again, it is critical that the officially designated chapter spokesperson be the only person to speak with the media.  No exceptions!

Consult with your chapter advisor, the Greek Life Advisor, and your attorney (if applicable) so that they can help you prepare for any media contact.  They can also assist you in developing a prepared statement that can be read to the press.  Prior to the development of a statement the following standby statement should be used (avoid saying “no comment” — it sounds as if you are trying to hide something): “We can confirm that (describe the incident very briefly) occurred on (day) at (time) at (location). The chapter is cooperating with authorities and all interested parties.  Further information will be released when we have completed our investigation of all pertinent matters.”  Absolutely nothing else should be said.  The only response to other questions should be: “When we have completed our investigation, we will release more information.”

Instead of a press briefing, you may elect to simply prepare a statement and distribute it to the media.

When you are being interviewed, tell the truth.  Give only the facts.  If you don’t know an answer to a question, say so.  Don’t speculate or repeat hearsay.   Avoid exaggerations and inflammatory remarks.  Stress what positive action you are taking to resolve the situation.  If you are asked a question you feel is unfair, simply rephrase the question the way you would prefer to have it asked, then answer your question.  Never make “off the record” comments.

Consider your appearance.  Dress neatly (semi-formal).  Your members should also dress neatly even if they are casual (no beer T-shirts, etc.).  Clean up your house, being careful to remove trash, beer bottles, and anything else that may not look favorable in a photograph or on TV.  Consider holding a press briefing away from the chapter house, perhaps at a location on-campus.  Caution your members not to grandstand in the background during TV interviews.

Do not release any names until an investigation is complete and the timing is appropriate.

Don’t discuss the personal life of your members with reporters.

Keep your house locked.  Do not let television cameras or photographers into your house (unless you specifically want to invite them in for a press conference).

MEDICAL EMERGENCIES

Be sure your chapter has a complete first aid kit in an accessible place in your chapter room.  Take the kit with you at chapter retreats and other out-of-town functions.

Call the paramedics and give necessary information regarding the sickness/accident.

In the event of a serious illness or injury, do not notify the parents immediately.  The medical officials will notify parents and advise them of their physical situation.

MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

In the event of a mental health crisis, for example a suicide threat or attempt, call emergency services as appropriate.  If time permits, arrange for a professional counselor to provide you with assistance. While awaiting the counselor’s arrival, talk with the member involved and provide him reassurance.  Don’t play psychologist–just be a friend and make the person comfortable.

In the event of a mental health crisis, do not assemble your members.  Discuss with campus officials steps you should take to handle the situation.  Campus officials will determine if the parents need to be contacted.

SERIOUS ILLNESS

There are several procedures and precautions that group members should take in the event one of your fellow members develops what appears to be a serious illness (including substance addiction or eating disorder).  An ill member may ignore his or her condition and may not take the initiative to seek proper medical attention.  As responsible adults, you must be sensitive to your members’ physical and psychological welfare.  If you become aware of a member who is suffering from a serious illness, take immediate action by following these guidelines and contacting appropriate people who can help:

• Initially bring your concern to the attention of the member.  Tell the member you are aware of his/her condition and that you are concerned.
• Determine what kind of medical or psychological counseling attention the member has sought.  What kind of care has been described?
• If the ailing individual continues to ignore his/her physical or psychological condition, contact your chapter advisor.  Information about the situation should be brought to the advisor’s attention, and consult the campus counseling center for guidance on establishing a specific plan of action to help the member.

It is extremely important that members be understanding and sensitive in dealing with cases of serious illness.  There may be some cases when a ailing person will not want your assistance and will strongly object to any contact with his parents.  It is important to respect the wishes of the person; however, you may find yourself in a situation where respecting a person’s wishes may not be medically wise or sound.  The realities of the situation should not be ignored.

DEATH

In the event of a death, do not notify the parents; this will be done by emergency or campus officials.

Do not announce the death until your chapter advisor has arrived to help.  You may also want to have a campus counselor present when you make the announcement to help your members deal with the shock.

Be very careful that the death is not announced until all members of the immediate family have been notified.

If the member lived in the house, do not remove any of the deceased student’s personal possessions.  If the member had a roommate, the roommate should be moved temporarily to another room.  You should call the family to offer sympathy on behalf of the chapter, and ask what their wishes are in regard to the possessions.  You may offer to pack them in boxes, but chances are the parents will prefer to do this themselves.  Before they arrive, be sure all borrowed items are returned to the deceased’s room and if possible, lock it.   When they do arrive, you may want to have empty boxes available and offer to help.  This is an emotional trauma for parents and they may not want privacy.

It is of course proper to send sympathy cards and notes, flowers, etc.   If the funeral is nearby, it will mean a great deal to the parents for members to attend.  Offer to make a statement on behalf of the fraternity at the memorial service.

If the funeral will be out-of-town, you probably will want to arrange a local memorial service.  You can contact the campus ministries for assistance in making arrangements.  Check to see if your ritual contains a ceremony for memorial services.

For some of your members, this may be their first experience in dealing with the death of someone close to them.  Keep an eye out for members who appear to be having difficulty coping with the situation and encourage them to talk with a counselor.

Student affairs officials will take care of notifying the deceased student’s instructors and other  campus offices of the death.

When someone close to you dies, it is difficult to accept the loss, and you and your members may find yourselves consumed by pain, fear, and grief.  Grief is a normal response to losing someone who was important to you.  Grief hurts, but it is necessary.  When a death tears your world apart, grieving is the process that puts it back together.

Grief runs thorough stages, although not everyone experiences every stage, and your members will pass through the stages at their own rate.  That is why it is important to understand the stages of grief:

• Denial – This response is nature’s way of protecting you and insulating you from what happened.
• Anger – You may feel angry toward the doctors and nurses who couldn’t save the life of the deceased.  You might even feel angry at the deceased for leaving you.  These feelings of anger may lead you to feel guilty.
• Guilt – You may feel guilty for simply being alive when someone else has died.  You might feel guilty about not saying goodbye, or you may remember a fight you had with the deceased.
• Depression – Even you are normally a committed, caring person, you may find that you don’t care about anything or anyone.  This is a common feeling as are the others.
• Acceptance – Hopefully, the grieving process will accept the death eventually.  That does not mean you have to forget the deceased.  It just means it is time to go on living.

One of the best ways to begin working through grief is to attend the funeral or memorial service.  A funeral confirms the reality of death and serves as a focus for expressing feelings of loss.   You begin to help the family of the deceased, and yourself, by attending the funeral.  Being there demonstrates that although someone has died, friends like you remain, and it demonstrates that you care.  Both before and after the funeral, it is important that you express your feelings.  Crying is both healthy and normal.  It may also help to hold a discussion to help members with accepting the loss.

1. Participate in Ropes Course
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2. Teambuilding Activities (can be facilitated by campus professional – there are hundreds of these activities that you could use)
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3. Participate in and/or plan a Community Service project
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4. New Member Surprise Party hosted by members
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5. Have a Resume Writing Workshop presented by Career Services
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6. Attend Educational Speaker of new member’s choice and discuss as a chapter
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7. Leadership Book-of-the-Month/Semester Club facilitated by new members
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8. Invite Faculty Advisor to lunch with new members
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9. Have a discussion about the relevance of your organization’s Principles and Obligations today
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10. Study Skills Workshop presented by the Learning Center
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11. Successful Alumni Speaker to talk about how the organization gave him/her the skills to succeed
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12. Develop arts and crafts as a community service project
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13. Participate in a Recruitment Workshop
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14. Invite IFC/PHC/MGC/DGC/NPHC Officers to Speak about Community Governance
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15. Invite a Student Activities representative to speak about membership privileges and benefits
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16. Dinner and a Movie
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17. Shadow an Officer and assist in planning of a program/event
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18. Create a vision and goals for the organization
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19. Plan a fundraiser to pay for initiation fees
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20. Include new members in chapter meetings
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21. Include new members in regularly scheduled chapter activities
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22. Discuss fraternal values and how they apply (or don’t apply)
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23. Plan and present a speaker on a health/wellness topic
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24. Require active membership in at least one organization outside the group
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25. Evaluate the process during and after new member education
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26. Host a Parents Weekend activity
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27. Have consultant or national visitor talk about national programs
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28. Discuss what the General Fraternity does for the chapter with dues money
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29. Attend a Panhellenic or Interfraternity Council meeting
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30. Participate in all-Greek events
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31. Review parliamentary procedure and its purpose
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32. Ask leadership experts to discuss issues such as motivation and group dynamics
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33. Have new members take the Meyers-Briggs Personality Type Inventory or StrengthsQuest and discuss
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34. Ask a faculty member to discuss ethical decision making
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35. Ask a faculty member to facilitate a conversation on diversity in organizations
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36. Ask campus health educator to do a presentation on eating disorders or depression, etc.
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37. Ask Department of Public Safety to discuss the prevention of violence against women
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38. Ask a Student Activities representative to describe what the college offers student organizations
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39. Plan a philanthropy project for a local charity
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40. Have a contest for who can recruit the most new members to join and reward the winner with a fully-paid membership badge or initiation fee
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41. Members and new members make “secret sisters/brothers” gifts for each other
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42. Discuss risk management and liability with the University’s Office of General Counsel
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43. Brainstorm ways to recruit new members to present to chapter
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44. Have an all-campus or all-organization community “Meet Our New Members” Picnic
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45. Have new members play on the organization intramural teams
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46. Plant a new member class tree in the community
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47. Sponsor a big/little academic challenge with free textbooks to the winner
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48. Have a candlelight/pass the gavel ceremony about “what membership means to me”
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49. Have a senior Student Life administrator talk about history of student organizations at the University
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50. Brainstorm ways to improve scholarship (other than study hours)
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51. Attend theatrical production or athletic event of the new members’ choosing
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52. Ask the library to give a lecture on effective research methods
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53. Attend a program or event another organization is sponsoring
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54. Have a discussion about membership standards and expectations
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55. Have a chapter goal-setting retreat
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56. Ask new members to accompany members to regional leadership conferences
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57. Attend Student Organization Leadership Development workshops
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58. Deconstruct past hazing activity to determine intent and brainstorm alternatives
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59. Write a “letter to the founders” to thank them for the opportunity (not to be shared)
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60. Attend an Executive Board meeting
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61. Have new members help Executive Board develop an icebreaker for each meeting
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62. Develop a leadership “wish list” or time line of chapter and campus activities
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63. Invite the Chapter Accreditation Program Coordinator to speak about the rationale and benefits of the program
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64. Invite the Learning Center or Career Services to explain their services
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65. Develop a faculty advisor appreciation gesture
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66. Collaborate on a campus improvement project
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67. Develop an event with another organization that requires new members to ask Student Congress for additional funds from the Student Life Fund a campus event or activity
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68. Have new members develop a list of ways to end chapter motivation issues
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69. Ask the Mayor to discuss city issues and how the group can help
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70. Ask the Elections Commissioner to discuss politics in the city/county/nation
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71. Require members to register to vote. Give an incentive to those who do
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72. Require members below a 3.0 to attend a study skills program
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73. Develop a program that allows you to begin calling them “new members” rather than “pledges”
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74. Discuss the founding of the group and how the organization has evolved over time while maintaining the vision. If it hasn’t, how can the group return to its’ roots?
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75. Host a cross-organization mixer with a sister or brother organization
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76. Review the history of hazing, the evolution of new member education and the direction organization recruitment is headed
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77. Discuss the “old way” of pledging versus the “new way” with a panel of alumni, administrators and council officers
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78. Attend a Theatre production as a group
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79. Have a Student Life professional discuss the “Millennial Generation” and how groups can better recruit based on this research
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80. Offer a discount or reimbursement of part of the initiation fee if a new member completes Alternative Winter or Spring Break Extra money if completes Greek Alternative Spring Break
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81. Give highest new member GPA recipient a plaque or $25 gift certificate to nice restaurant
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82. New member who develops best recruitment plan (or scholarship plan) gets a free _____________
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83. Ask alumni to speak about lessons learned while in the organization
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84. Do a chapter fundraiser to send a new member to a professional or national conference
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85. Have a discussion about wearing pins
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86. Attend New Member Education and Hazing Awareness workshop hosted by Student Activities
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87. Select a book as a group and read it during a pledge period with occasional discussions
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88. Allow new members time for themselves to do and be what they want–Don’t monopolize their time
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89. Have a weekly forum for the new members to discuss their feelings
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90. Invite another group to develop a program to benefit the entire student organization community
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91. Invite a Campus Fitness Specialist or Dietician to discuss dietary fads – pros and cons
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92. Ask each member to list the offices/chairs they would be interested in. Have them list five things they would do differently about each. Compile results without names attached and have a constructive conversation
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93. Develop one memento of the new member class to present to the campus
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94. Eliminate the creation of pledge class “paddles”, no matter their use. They’re symbolic of hazing. Come up with an alternative
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95. Ask a professor to do a workshop on etiquette
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96. Have lunch together once a week in a dining hall with the entire organization
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97. Invite faculty advisor to new member meetings
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98. Visit the national headquarters
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99. Support Athletic programs by attending events as a group
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100. Question each activity and evaluate the program each semester with the help of the advisor and a Student Activities representative

Are there a hundred different things you wish you could do with your life someday — anything from exercising to meditation or yoga to writing that novel you always wished you could write to reading more to relaxing and watching the sunrise?

But perhaps you never have the time, like most people.

The truth is, we all have the same amount of time, and it’s finite and in great demand. But some of us have made the time for doing the things we love doing, and others have allowed the constant demands and pressures and responsibilities of life to dictate their days.

It’s time to move from the second group back into the first. Reclaim your time. Create the life you want and make the most of the free time you lay claim to.

It’s not hard, though it does take a little bit of effort and diligence.

Reclaiming that free time

Take my life, for example: there was a time, not too long ago, when my day was packed from morning to night, when I had meetings and long to-do lists and worked long hours and the rest of my time was filled up with social engagements and meetings for civic responsibilities. I had little time for my family, which ate me up, and little time to do the things I’ve always wanted to do.

I’ve always wanted to write, but never had the time. I’ve always wanted to exercise, but was too busy. I always wanted to travel, but who can get away? I’ve always wanted to spend time with my kids, but work comes first, right?

Wrong. I finally got smart and decided that my life is my own, to do with as I wished, and so I took a time out to decide what I really wanted my life to be like. Then I designed my life, and made a series of decisions and steps to get my life to what I wanted it to be.

Today, I wake early and exercise or spend some quiet time reading and writing. I’ve written a novel and a non-fiction book. I write this blog. I run and have finally run a marathon (two actually) and completed a triathlon. I spend afternoons and evenings and all weekends with my kids and wife.

My life is what I’ve always wanted it to be, because I designed it to be that way and worked to make that design come true.

It can be that way for you, to the extent that you’re willing to make changes. Even if you just want to free up a little time for a hobby or for doing something relaxing, you can do that.

20 Ways to Find More Free Time

Not all of these will be applicable to your life — choose the ones you can apply and give them a try:

1. Take a time out. Freeing up your time starts with taking a step back to take a good look at your life. You need to block off at least an hour. Several hours or half a day is better. A whole day would be awesome. A weekend would be even more ideal, though not necessary practical for many folks. With this block of time, take a look at your life with some perspective. Is it what you’ve always wanted? How would you get to where you’ve always wanted to be? What do you enjoy doing, but don’t have enough time to do? What things actually fill up your day? Are there things you could drop or minimize to make more time? We’ll look at some of these things in the following items, but it starts with taking a time out to think and plan.
2. Find your essentials. What is it that you love to do? Make a short list of 4-5 things. These are the things you want to make room for.
3. Find your time-wasters. What do you spend a lot of your time on that isn’t on your essential list? Take a close look at these things and really think about whether they’re necessary, or if there are ways to reduce, minimize or eliminate these things. Sometimes you do things because you assume they’re necessary, but if you give it some thought you can find ways to drop them from your life. Figure out what you do simply to waste time — maybe surfing certain sites, watching TV, talking a lot at the water cooler, etc. You’re going to want to minimize these time-wasters to make room for the more important stuff, the stuff that makes you happy and that you love to do.
4. Schedule the time. As you sit down and think about your life and what you want to do, versus what you actually do, you will be looking at ways to free up time. It’s crucial that you take a blank weekly schedule (you can just write it out on a piece of paper, or use your calendar) and assign blocks for the things you love — the stuff on your essentials list. If you want to exercise, for example, when will you do it? Put the blocks of time on your schedule, and make these blocks the most important appointments of your week. Schedule the rest of your life around these blocks.
5. Consolidate. There are many things you do, scattered throughout your day or your week, that you might be able to consolidate in order to save time. A good example is errands — instead of running one or two a day, do them all in one day to save time and gas. Another example is email, or any kind of communication — batch process your email instead of checking and reading and responding throughout the day. Same thing with meetings, paperwork, anything that you do regularly.
6. Cut out meetings. This isn’t possible for everyone, but in my experience meetings take up a lot of time to get across a little information, or to make easy decisions that could be made via email or phone. As much as you can, minimize the number of meetings you hold and attend. In some cases this might mean talking to your boss and telling her that you have other priorities, and asking to be excused. In other cases this might mean asking the people holding the meeting if you can get the info in other ways. If so, you’ve saved yourself an hour or so per meeting (sometimes more).
7. Declutter your schedule. If you have a heavily packed schedule, full of meetings and errands and tasks and projects and appointments, you’re going to want to weed it out so that it’s not so jam-packed. Find the stuff that’s not so essential and cancel them. Postpone other stuff. Leave big blank spaces in your schedule.
8. Re-think your routine. Often we get stuck in a routine that’s anything but what we really want our days to be like. Is there a better way of doing things? You’re the creator of your life — make a new routine that’s more pleasant, more optimal, more filled with things you love.
9. Cut back on email. I mentioned email in an earlier point above, regarding consolidating, but it’s such a major part of most people’s lives that it deserves special attention. How often do you check email? How much time do you spend composing emails? If you spend a major part of your work day on email, as many people do (and as I once did), you can free up a lot of time by reducing the time you spend in email. Now, this won’t work for everyone, but it can work for many people: choose 2-3 key times during the day to process your inbox to empty, and keep your responses to 5 sentences. (Read more.)
10. Learn to say no. If you say “yes” to every request, you will never have any free time. Get super protective about your time, and say “no” to everything but the essential requests. Here’s how.
11. Keep your list to 3. When you make out your daily to-do list, just list the three Most Important Tasks you want to accomplish today. Don’t make a laundry list of tasks, or you’ll fill up all your free time. By keeping your task list small, but populated only by important tasks, you ensure that you are getting the important stuff done but not overloading yourself.
12. Do your Biggest Rock first. Of the three Most Important Tasks you choose for the day, pick the biggest one, or the one you’re dreading most, and do that first. Otherwise you’ll put that off as much as possible and fill your day with less important things. Don’t allow yourself to check email until that Big Rock is taken care of. It starts your day with a sense of major accomplishment, and leaves you with a lot of free time the rest of the day, because the most important thing is already done.
13. Delegate. If you have subordinates or coworkers who can do a task or project, try to delegate it. Don’t feel like you need to do everything yourself. If necessary, spend a little time training the person to whom you’re delegating the task, but that little time spent training will pay off in a lot of time saved later. Delegating allows you to focus on the core tasks and projects you should be focusing on.
14. Cut out distractions. What is there around your workspace that distracts you from the task at hand? Sometimes it’s visual clutter, or papers lying around that call for your attention and action, or email or IM notifiers on your computer that pop up at the wrong time, or the phone, or coworkers. See if you can eliminate as many of these as possible — the more you can focus, the more effective you’ll be and the less time you’ll waste. That equals time saved for the good stuff.
15. Disconnect. The biggest of distractions, for most people, is the Internet. My most productive times are when I’m disconnected from the grid. Now, I’m not saying you need to be disconnected all the time, but if you really want to be able to effectively complete tasks, disconnect your Internet so you can really focus. Set certain times of the day for connectivity, and only connect during those periods.
16. Outsource. If you can’t delegate, see if you can outsource. With the Internet, we can connect with people from all over the world. I’ve outsourced many things, from small tasks to checking email to legal work to design and editing work and more. That allows me to focus on the things I’m best at, the things I love doing, and saves me a lot of time.
17. Make use of your mornings. I find that mornings are the absolute best times to schedule the things I really want to do. I run, read and write in the mornings — three of the four things on my Essentials List (spending time with family is the other thing on the list). Mornings are great because your day hasn’t been filled with a bunch of unscheduled, demanding, last-minute tasks that will push back those Essentials. For example, if you schedule something for late afternoon, by the time late afternoon rolls around, you might have a dozen other things newly added to your to-do list, and you’ll put off that late-afternoon Essential. Instead, schedule it for the morning, and it’ll rarely (if ever) get pushed back.
18. The Golden Right-after-work Time. Other than mornings, I find the time just after work to be an incredible time for doing Essential things. Exercise, for example, is great in the 5-o’clock hour, as is spending time with family, or doing anything else relaxing.
19. Your evenings. The time before you go to bed is also golden, as it exists every single day, and it’s usually completely yours to schedule. What do you want to do with this time? Read? Spend time with your kids? Work on a hobby you’re passionate about? Take advantage of this time.
20. Lunch breaks. If the three golden times mentioned above don’t work for you, lunch breaks are another good opportunity to schedule things. Some people like to exercise, or to take quiet times, during their lunch breaks. Others use this time to work on an important personal goal or project.

“The real problem of leisure time is how to keep others from using yours.” – Arthur Lacey