Purple Legionnaire Monthly Update

 - Check in with your Section Chief. Does he have current BCA / HC / Chapter Officer rosters and contact information?
 - Attend a chapter and/or cabinet meeting.
 - All IHQ forms due are completed and sent (see last week's Friday Letter)
 - Confirm the Chapter's roster is updated with college/university/IFC and IHQ (deadline is 9/14 for fall membership dues billing).
 - Work with Chapter Officers to identify/refine fall goals and create/refine fall calendar.
 - If the Chapter is planning a spring Pig Dinner, will there be another graduate or Homecoming event in the fall? Or a parents’ event?
 - Meet with Pledge Educator/Officers to review fall Pledge Education Program. Is the written program set? Have Purple Pilgrims and Pledge Pins been ordered?
 - Confirm all pledges are/will be registered and fees paid within 15 days of formal pledging.
 - Attend a recruitment event. Attend a pledge education meeting.
 - Has the chapter budgeted for appropriate fraternity and campus expenses for the academic year?
 - Is documentation being maintained for chapter activities this fall? These items may be of use as exhibits next spring when developing the year’s awards packet.
 - Confirm that an itinerary has been established for the fall Field Secretary visit. Refer to previous FS reports to check chapter follow-up.
 - Is the Chapter President getting important time with campus officials, including academic advisors?
 - Make a courtesy call to the university/college Greek Advisor.
 - Keep BCA, house corporation informed.
 - Re-evaluate chapter calendar, adjust as necessary. 

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With recruitment winding down and Pledge Education beginning on many campuses, now is an opportune time for you to discuss with your chapter/colony the Fraternity’s and your expectations regarding pledge education – specifically the prohibition of hazing and use of alcohol.

You could/should incorporate the following key points:

- Introduce/remind the undergraduate men of the Pledge’s Bill of Rights. This provides, in a common-sense approach, some guidelines for the proper treatment of our future brothers.

- Providing alcohol at any time, or involving alcohol in the pledge education program in any way, will not be tolerated. It has closed many chapters and has brought too many young lives to a tragic end.

 - Connect the contradiction of hazing to the Fraternity’s values. Can anyone make the case that hazing enhances Friendship, Knowledge, Service, Morality or Excellence? That hazing enhances a pledge’s ability to learn about the history, values and customs of our Fraternity?

 - The Fraternity’s Bylaws prohibit hazing and, among a variety of other things, speak to activities which involve physical exhaustion or abuse, interfere with a person’s ability to perform college work or reflect unfavorably upon the chapter or the Fraternity. Beyond activities, hazing begins with an attitude that engenders a subservient relationship of pledges to brothers.

- Educate the officers and the chapter on the Fraternity’s amnesty process. This process allows an undergraduate chapter to acknowledge previous hazing, commit to implementing the Fraternity’s Pledge Education program moving forward, and avoid discipline to make changes in the chapter’s Pledge Education activities in a positive and productive way.

- We encourage you to reference and utilize the pledge education / anti-hazing resources available to you and/or to reach out to your Section Chief or the Headquarters staff with questions.

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In a message sent on August 22, we outlined the major items your chapter or colony should plan for when budgeting this year. Below is a quick reminder for you as you work with your Treasurers this year:
 - WITHIN 15 DAYS OF PLEDGING: Pledges must be registered at www.phigam.org/newpledge and pay their $70 pledge fee (paid by the pledge upon registering).
 - WITHIN 30 DAYS OF INITIATION: New Initiates must be reported and their $252.50 initiation fee / first year dues are due (billed to the chapter upon reporting Initiates).
 - SEPTEMBER: Annual Dues are billed ($105 per man). Rosters must be updated by Friday, September 14.
 - OCTOBER/NOVEMBER: Academy registration fees are billed for 3 delegates (budget $1,425, or $475 per delegate - this is subject to change). The chapter should also consider budgeting for attendee travel to St. Louis.
 - JANUARY: Liability insurance is billed (budget $175 per man).

Follow this link for a full listing of mandatory forms and fees.

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Chapter Officers or other brothers may be contacted by reporters/media at any point during the school year - whether in response to a chapter incident, a positive story that the chapter is promoting, or other reasons.

As a Purple Legionnaire, the chapter should be, and will be, looking to you for guidance in these situations. We suggest you review our tips for handling media inquiries and review these with your cabinet.

By working with headquarters staff, Purple Legionnaires, Chapter Presidents and chapters can more easily navigate the potentially challenging media waters. For additional information, reference the Fraternity's Undergraduate Chapter Emergency Response Tips.

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The Fraternity staff is here to help you. Here is a reminder of some of the key staff members you may need to contact:

Bill Martin, Executive Director, is your key contact for chapter emergencies.

Bryan Hartzell, Director of Chapter Services, is your key contact for most chapter-related matters, including Field Secretary visits. He also remains your key contact for most colony-related matters.

Todd Rotgers, Senior Director of Undergraduate Services, is your key contact for our educational programming, risk management and discipline concerns, as well as alcohol-free housing exemption questions.

Rob Caudill, Senior Director of Graduate Development & Operations, is your key contact for questions related to volunteer training, recruitment and support, as well as graduate event (Pig Dinner) planning and questions regarding the Fiji Academy and Ekklesia.

Amy Watson, Membership & Financial Records Coordinator, is your contact regarding membership records, forms, fees, chapter accounts and billing.

A full staff listing is available here, and all staff members may be reached at 859-255-1848.

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In February 2017, the Archons passed a policy stating: “Consistent with Section 19.3 of the Bylaws, all undergraduate chapters and colonies are to join with other fraternities on their campus in an interfraternity council (IFC) and shall support the IFC’s affiliation with the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC)."

Please advise your chapters appropriately and contact Bill Martin with questions.

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Thank you for the important work you do to advise our chapters and colonies. If you have questions, or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Perge!