University of New Orleans Panhellenic Association Recruitment Rules

Recruitment Rules 2013

The purpose of these rules is to abide by the National Panhellenic Conference Rules and Guidelines and to address situations not specifically outlined in the University of New Orleans Panhellenic Association Bylaws. Any action or activity by any individual or chapter that in the opinion of the majority of the officers of the Panhellenic Association is contrary to the spirit and intent of those bylaws, these rules, or the University of New Orleans Panhellenic Association Code of Ethics shall be considered an infraction of such and shall be handled accordingly.

Membership Recruitment Procedures

Attendance at Recruitment events is limited to initiated and new members listed on the official chapter roster as submitted to the Director of Greek Life prior to the first day of Recruitment. In addition, a total of three (3) alumnae members and advisors may attend each event to provide support and assistance, but may not participate directly in recruitment activities with the potential members either individually or as a group. Alumnae members shall be permitted to address the potential new members as a group, provided that they are identified as alumnae. In cases where a chapter’s membership numbers are low, the Panhellenic Association may grant permission for additional alumnae or collegians from other campuses to recruit potential new members. Requests for this permission must be made in writing at least 14 days prior to the first day of Recruitment. Alumnae and visiting collegians must obey all silence restrictions and other membership recruitment regulations. Alumnae and visiting collegians must wear a nametag identifying them as such throughout all rounds of recruitment or anytime when interaction with a potential new member may occur.

Silence Periods are defined below. During all Silence Periods “entertaining” is defined as any form of socialization outside of academic settings. Meals, snacks, or any other gifts shall not be provided to potential members by any chapter member or alumna, other than during officially scheduled Panhellenic Recruitment promotion functions or university promotional events (i.e., New Student Orientation, Meet the Greeks, FreshFest) during any Silence Period. During all silence periods, chapter members are not allowed to sit at any UC table where there is a Potential New Member present. If a PNM sits down at a table (whether a random table you are at or a fraternity table), it is the chapter member’s responsibility to leave that table.

1. The Pre-Recruitment Silence period begins two days before the first New Student Orientation session and continues until Recruitment Silence begins. During this time, no chapter, chapter member, or advisor may recruit, bid, contact or entertain any potential member for their specific organization unless at an official UNO or Panhellenic event (i.e. Welcome Week, Welcome Back Luau), specific events will be recognized by email. High school students and potential UNO students are included in this group. All sorority women are required to set their Facebook profiles to private by the beginning of Pre-Recruitment Silence. By this date all sorority women, other than New Student Orientation Leaders and Coordinators, Krewe Leaders, Resident Assistants, Student Government Executive Board and Student Activities Council Executive Board must also enable Facebook privacy settings that will prevent potential new members from viewing any portion of their profile in searches or from sending them a friend request or message.
2. The Recruitment Silence period begins immediately following the first Open House Round and ends immediately following Preference events. No chapter member, alumna, or advisor may entertain an unaffiliated woman during this period. Contact between sorority women and potential new members shall be limited to communication necessary to convey common courtesy or to complete academic assignments (class work, group projects, etc.). This includes all types of communication, including verbal, written, printed, typed, or via web or texting. Tuesday Before Recruitment Rounds start at NOON on September 4, 2013 all Krewe Leaders, Orientation Leaders and Coordinators, and Resident Assistants, Student Government Executive Board, Student Activities Council Exectuive Board must now set their Facebook Profiles to Private.
3. Strict Silence is the period in which there will be no contact between potential members and chapter members, alumnae, or advisors. This includes all types of communication, including verbal, written, printed, typed, or via web or texting. Strict Silence will be observed between the end of a potential member’s final Preference event and the time when she reports to the sorority from which she has accepted a bid.

Membership Recruitment Structure and Policies

By midnight of June 20, each chapter must submit a Wish List of all items they plan to use during each round of Recruitment and room layouts of each round for approval by the Panhellenic Recruitment Coordinator. This list must be itemized by round and must include a breakdown of the cost or fair market value of each item. Items that will be utilized in more than one round (i.e. tablecloths, helium tanks, etc.) should be listed for each round of use with a notation that they are repeats. Items that are owned or borrowed by a chapter or its members must also be included. The following items do not have to be included in the budget breakdown, but they must still be listed: wooden “yard letters,” laptop computers, projectors and screens, framed chapter composites, chapter scrapbooks, members’ personal paraphernalia (jerseys, picture frames, keychains, etc.), chapter awards, and lattice work. Lattice work will be limited to the amount necessary to cover one wall (whichever is shortest) of the chapter’s recruitment room. Panhellenic advisors and the Executive Board have the right to refuse any item listed on a wish list.

Each chapter must attend a mandatory wish list meeting with the recruitment chair. In attendance will be the Panhellenic recruitment chair, the Panhellenic advisor(s), and chapter recruitment chair. Chapter presidents have the option of attending their chapter’s wish list meeting.

A chapter roster must be turned in to the recruitment chair on the first of every month beginning in June and continuing through September.

In keeping with the low-frills recruitment process, there shall be no skits or costumes during any round, and only minimal decorations should be used. Panhellenic will provide refreshments to the potential new members, so chapters may not provide additional food or drinks. Potential new members will be allowed to bring water provided by Panhellenic into and out of the chapters’ Recruitment events.

During all rounds of Recruitment noise should be kept to a reasonable volume so as not to disturb other chapters’ events. Chanting, cheering, etc. is allowed during all rounds of recruitment.

There shall be no outside decorations at any Recruitment events. All decorations shall be limited to the inside of the room where the event will occur.

Potential members may not leave Recruitment events with any favor, note, gift, or souvenir.

Chapters are responsible for cleaning up and rearranging the areas/rooms they use each night. The rooms should be left in the condition in which they were found (trash picked up and disposed of, furniture in the same arrangement, etc.). The Panhellenic Recruitment Team will inspect each chapter’s space after each night’s events.

Chapters must follow all university policies regarding usage of rooms. These policies shall be distributed in writing and reviewed with Recruitment Chairs prior to Recruitment.

Chapters may not rent items from outside vendors for use during Recruitment events. This is to include chairs, tables, tablecloths, plants, etc. All tables and chairs to be used for Recruitment events will be provided by the Panhellenic Association.

Invitations to events shall be supplied by the Panhellenic Association; invitations for membership shall be supplied by individual sororities.

Continuous Open Bidding will begin at noon a week after Bid Day and will be continuous throughout the regular academic year including semester break. Continuous Open Bidding ends the day final exams begin for the Spring Semester.

Recruitment Rounds and Schedule

The Recruitment Schedule will be as follows:

Sunday 9/1	Monday 9/2	Tuesday 9/3	Wednesday 9/4	Thursday 9/5	Friday 9/6	Saturday 9/7	Sunday 9/8
				Sisterhood (evening)	Philanthropy Round (afternoon)	Preference Round (evening)	Bid Day (morning)

Times for Recruitment Events will be determined over the summer based upon the facilities Panhellenic can secure.

Finances and Budgeting

The Recruitment budget for each chapter shall be $600.00. Each chapter shall have the discretion to determine how the money will be allocated.

The Recruitment budget shall include all items, including,but not limited to, decorations, supplies, flowers and donated items. Panhellenic strongly urges every sorority to use sound judgment, discretion, common sense, and maturity in planning and maintaining a realistic and financially sound budget during Recruitment.

Membership Recruitment Guidelines for Potential Members

1. In order to attend Preference events, Potential Members must attend all previous recruitment rounds.
2. Potential Members unable to attend events must contact a Recruitment Counselor, the Panhellenic Recruitment Coordinator, or the Director of Greek Life. The Panhellenic Recruitment Coordinator will be responsible for determining excused and unexcused absences of a potential member. Any PNM who does not attend all of the events allowed without a valid excuse will be released from Recruitment.
3. The Panhellenic Association will furnish potential member nametags and potential members must wear them at all membership recruitment functions. The potential members shall wear no other nametags.
4. A potential member shall not give a promise, verbal or written, to join a certain fraternity before formal bids are issued through the Panhellenic Council.
5. Potential members shall fill out a Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement (MRABA) immediately after the final Preference Round events. Once a potential member signs her MRABA, no changes may be made.
6. Potential new members shall be bound by the provisions of the University of New Orleans Panhellenic Association Code of Ethics.

Recruitment Counselors

1. Sorority Recruitment Counselors shall disaffiliate from their sororities for Recruitment. Disaffiliation shall start when Pre-Recruitment Silence begins (two days before the first summer orientation) and last until the end of Strict Silence. They may not participate in their own chapter’s Recruitment events (other than in their capacity as representatives of Panhellenic) or in the membership selection process. They may not communicate with new members via their normal facebook; they must make a special facebook account for the purpose of communicating with PNMs. They may not wear or display their organization’s insignia (letters, flip flops, jewelry, license plate covers, etc.) while disaffiliated. They may not attend regular chapter meetings. If the Sorority Recruitment Counselor holds a position in her own sorority, then she will be allowed to attend chairmen/e-board meetings when necessary, but is not allowed to be around for recruitment discussions.
2. Each chapter shall be responsible for removing from flyers, web sites, photo albums, etc. all references to their members who are disaffiliated. This shall be done no later than the first New Student Orientation session of the summer.
3. Sorority Recruitment Counselors shall be responsible for removing from their profiles on facebook.com, myspace.com, etc. all references to their affiliation. This shall be done no later than two days prior to the first New Student Orientation session of the summer.
4. Panhellenic Officers will be given the choice of either disaffiliating from Panhellenic or their individual sororities. Disaffiliating from Panhellenic means the officer may not associate themselves with anything Panhellenic and may not attend meetings regarding the recruitment process. Rules for disaffiliation follow those for Sorority Recruitment Counselors if choosing to remove from individual sororities or those for chapter members if choosing to remove from Panhellenic.

Promotion for Recruitment

1. All chapters shall be responsible for participating in the Panhellenic Association summer functions to promote registration for Recruitment. Pre-Recruitment Silence rules shall be in effect at such functions. Dates for these functions will be provided by the Panhellenic Recruitment Team by May 15.
2. Each chapter will be responsible for providing a designated amount of volunteers for the marketing and promotion of Recruitment to potential members. A chapter will be fined $20.00 for each member not in attendance.
3. Each sorority chapter must provide a minimum of five (5) and a maximum of ten (10) girls at each summer orientation fest to promote sorority recruitment. Flyers and other small items, such as baked goods, may be given to potential new members at these events but are limited to non-extravagant items based on the discretion of the Panhellenic recruitment chair. No sorority women are to promote their own chapter directly but must promote greek life and sorority recruitment as a whole. Table decorations and balloons are allowed for each sorority.

Recruitment Infractions

1. In accordance with the NPC Unanimous Agreements regarding penalties for infractions, the following penalties shall be in place for measurable infractions:
• Each 0-15 minutes lists/invitations are entered late into ICS – $75.00 fine
• Late wish list - $75.00
• Each chapter member whose Facebook profile is not set to private by the deadline – $25.00 fine
• Each minor item (favor, note, gift, or souvenir) given to a potential member outside of the guidelines established in rule #2 – $75.00 fine
• Each violation of the noise provisions in rule #5 – $75.00 fine
• Each item with sorority insignia (new member pin, badge, etc.) removed from a Recruitment event by a potential member – $100.00 fine
• Each instance of a Sorority Recruitment Counselor shown in a picture, video, slide show, web site, etc. once disaffiliation begins – $100.00 fine
• Break in silence of any form from chapter members, Sorority Recruitment Counselors, or anyone recruiting from any chapter – $100.00
2. All other infractions will be handled by the Panhellenic Judicial Committee in accordance with the National Panhellenic Conference Judicial Procedures as outlined in the NPC Manual of Information, 14^th Edition.
3. Any chapter that receives three penalties for infractions listed in rule #32 (excluding 32a) will lose their eligibility to win awards from the university for the remainder of the academic year. The Panhellenic Judicial Committee will also have the authority to assign this penalty for other infractions if they deem it appropriate.
4. Any infraction for which a penalty is assigned will be announced at the next regularly-scheduled meeting of the Panhellenic Association.