Membership Education Chair’s Wisdom
The Membership Educator is to oversee the assimilation of the associate members into the chapter. This includes education on the national fraternity's historical background, the chapter's historical background, and the national fraternity's Greek culture, the internal operations of the house, and any other topics that concern an associate member's potential as an active member of the fraternity.
The Membership Educator need to make sure he has: 1 Quest per associate member and 1 notebook per associate member. It is the responsibility of the Rush Chair to make sure there are associate member shields and jock shirts for each associate member but many times this job is delegated to the Membership Educator because the Membership educator will need to contact the same person to obtain Quests that needs to be contacted regarding the pins. Also, during the semester and the Membership Educator will be the individual dealing with the company regarding Greek paraphernalia.
**Quests and Associate Member Shields (Pins)**Order these by contacting Ms. Amy Collins at Theta Xi headquarters. Her email is amy@thetaxi.org. These need to be ordered at least three weeks before Bid week.Jock ShirtsOrder these by contacting Mr. Sam Fischer. He is the Greek paraphernalia supplier to the MIT fraternities. His email is proresco@att.net. The shirts must be ordered at least a month and a half in advance. Also note that Mr. Fischer makes stops at the house about twice a semester. It has become the Membership Educator's responsibility for working with him and notifying the other brothers about his presence at the house.NotebooksThe notebooks are meant to be small pocket notebooks. They are to be used for brother interviews. The associate members may also use their laptops if they choose to. Purchase them at Staples or something.
There should be one meeting every week during the semester. The purposes of the meetings are to: (1) Educate the associate members on topics concerning the national fraternity and the chapter; (2) Bring the associate members to the house.
In the fall 2011 semester the major topics covered were:
• The Brothers of the Delta Chapter • History of Theta Xi National Fraternity and Delta Chapter • Theta Xi's Greek Culture (i.e. Symbols, Seven Pillars, Shield, etc.) • Government of Theta Xi National Fraternity • Government Operations in the Delta Chapter • House Management • Risk Management Policy and Party Rules • Monetary Procedures • Chapter Operations and Life at the House
Each associate member is assigned a Big Brother (with some input from them), who is to be a mentor and go-to contact at the House. A Big Brother's responsibility includes not just guiding his Little Brother through life at Theta Xi, but through life at MIT as well.
The associate members should be supplied with the contact information of each active brother, along with a description of the big brother interview process at the first meeting. The interview process should span the period between the end of the first associate member's meeting and Friday before the Rush Hostess Formal (Fall Semester) or approximately two weeks (Spring Semester). A lot of emphasis should be placed on these interviews and their full completion. After the interviews are due, the membership educator should receive the preferences of the associate members (receiving the preferences of the active brothers will help in the decision making process). Note that all rankings are only to aid the Membership Educator in the decision making process and the Membership Educator has the final say in the big-little pairings. The pairings are to be revealed at the Rush Hostess Formal (Fall Semester) or at the most convenient formal setting (Spring Semester).
Fall 2011 Brother Contact Information
Quizzes are useful in gauging the associate members involvement in the membership education program. One or two quizzes should be administered during the semester. The general results of the quiz and the progress of the associate members should be shared with the brothers.