Breakfast: Give each department breakfast of pastries, croissants, and orange juice.

Faculty Appreciation Week: Washing car windows, sponsoring a lunch, and delivering candy or doughnuts to departments.

Faculty Appreciation Dinner: Members personally invite their favorite professors to an appreciation dinner and discuss existing academic programs and how they can be improved; can also be a luncheon, ice cream social, etc.

Pay Day: Send Pay Day candy bars to all faculty and staff with the message, “You deserve an extra pay day! Thanks for all you do!”

Thank You Cards: Have chapter members write thank you notes and cards of appreciation to faculty and staff members in their major department.

Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Omicron Pi
Phi Mu
Sigma Kappa
Pi Beta Phi

Not long after the announcement, voters freely expressed either their approval or disappointment in the sororities chosen. Many began to question whether their votes had even mattered, pointing to Lilly Pulitzer’s disclaimer that it “reserves the right to determine the (3) final sororities to receive custom prints and has sole discretion over the final determination.”

Above all sororities still awaiting a print with Lilly, my heart breaks the most for Zeta Tau Alpha who fell into a false sense of security after they were acknowledged as the leading contender on the Lilly Pulitzer Facebook page.

It would be unsurprising to find the “2012 Print Class” winners were chosen strategically to include a mix of both large and medium sized sororities. Keeping major players in the game ensures the Lilly Pulitzer sorority prints will continue to be a coveted and promoted opportunity each year.

For those still waiting, Lilly Pulizer has announced that it will once again expand its sorority print collection in 2013.

Someone has told the leadership that they should have goals. So they have them. But instead of coming up with a single, inspirational focus for the chapter, they come up with a list of goals scattered between officers – reaching quota, collecting dues on time, maintaining a high GPA.

As the year goes on, these “chapter” goals become personal goals for the officers, who each believe that the one relevant to their position is of the highest priority. A surplus of mandatory events pop up – academic workshops, service events, sisterhood events – that overwhelm the chapter and cause some members to check out mentally or resign entirely.

The first step to creating a revolutionary goal is to provide every member with the opportunity to define it. It should generate from the changes your members would like to see made in the chapter and can passionately support, not ones inspired by chapter evaluation standards or other criteria. Next, identify steps to help you achieve that goal and ways for members to contribute individually. How will you measure your chapter’s progress throughout the year? What accomplishments will you be able to celebrate?

For example, if your chapter’s goal was to improve its image on campus, it may host more events on campus (i.e. outreach, service, sisterhood), explore social media outlets, and support the events of other organizations.

It is the responsibility of the leadership to make sure the chapter’s goals aren’t just a routine exercise at the beginning of each new term, but are communicated to the chapter all throughout the year. Celebrate and acknowledge your chapter’s progress throughout the year as milestones are met!

Unfortunately, many chapters take shortcuts to find brotherhood and sisterhood – hazing new members, celebrating with alcohol, and making all chapter events mandatory instead of catering events to its members. Change within any organization is never easy. Executive officers need to be committed to overcoming barriers to reach this level of excellence and inspire chapter members to renew their commitment in your organization. The Fraternal Revolution begins in the hearts of chapter members determined to bring their chapter to a higher standard and come together as one.