As we navigate College Panhellenic recruitment processes, one concept appears over and over again: Accountability. It is often difficult to confront our peers when our procedures are violated and it can be very hard to propose and agree upon sanctions that serve as a reminder to the offending organization while restoring harmony within the community. Often, because it is one of the first things to come to mind, it seems that a fine would suffice. People may even assume the sanction for every offense can be dealt with by paying a fine, even asking before breaking a rule, “What’s the fine if we do X?” However, the NPC Unanimous Agreement regarding the judicial procedure has some very specific instructions:
In short,
fines should be used sparingly and only in certain conditions. Here are some
key takeaways and deeper explanation for understanding:
Fines are for very limited use.
As women
of good character, we should use violations as opportunities to develop and
improve our actions. Simply fining one another does not accomplish this. Because
fines are so prescriptive, they can lead to nit-picky rules that take more
effort to enforce than they are worth and can often overwhelm the spirit of
Positive Panhellenic Contact. The best sanctions give the offending
organization a clearer picture of what went wrong, an opportunity to correct
the mistake and a plan for improvement in the future. Additionally, some
chapters may choose to save up for fines, allowing a certain amount of
disregarding the rules, which defeats the purpose of having agreed-upon
standards. So, fines should be reserved for very specific violations and should
only be used in those circumstances.
Fines must be clearly stated in the College Panhellenic’s policies.
Here are
some examples of a rule that discusses a fine:
Not good: Chapters that submit their invitation list late will be
fined.
This
example leaves a lot to be desired. What if a list is late? Should the College Panhellenic charge the chapter $10,000? Certainly not. Should the College Panhellenic
charge $10 to one sorority and $500 to another? Again, no. The fine amount should
be included in the recruitment rules.
Better: Chapters that submit their invitation list late will be
fined $25.
This one
is closer to correct. The amount of the fine is included, but consider where
you want to stop. Is being 25 minutes late the same thing as being six hours
late? In this case, it probably isn’t.
Best: Chapters that submit their invitation list late will be
fined $25. For every hour they are late, another $25 will be added.
This rule
states the amount of the fine, when the period for the fine begins, and when/if
it compounds. There is no room for debate about how to apply this fine; it is
all set beforehand.
Because fines are measurable amounts, they must
be for measurable offenses.
For
example, if a College Panhellenic wants to have policies about whether or not flowers
will be permitted in a certain round of recruitment events, a fine would not be
an appropriate sanction for a sorority that violates that rule. That sorority
would need to participate in the College Panhellenic judicial process,
beginning with informal conversation and then moving forward with a mediation
if needed to determine what sanction would be appropriate. The best examples of
fineable offenses include timelines ($50 per day that the College Panhellenic dues
check is late) or the ability to accurately determine the number of times a specific violation occurs ($10 per time a chapter is not represented at a
scheduled College Panhellenic meeting). Digging deeper, many fineable offenses are
accidental or at least unintentional, such as missing deadlines. In the example
of the 'flower rule' above, rather than simply writing a check, the sorority
involved really should have to sit down and explain why they disregarded a clear
rule prohibiting flowers.
Fines must be voted on by the chapter delegates
in advance.
For a
fine to be enforceable, the fine must be clearly stated and it must be voted on
in advance by the chapters’ Panhellenic delegates. The College Panhellenic
cannot arbitrarily assign fines to organizations that violate policies and
those organizations should not accept arbitrary fines. For example, if a chapter
violates a policy, the College Panhellenic may not simply decide to fine them unless it
is already clearly stated in the rules. A fine that was not voted on by the
delegates beforehand is never an acceptable sanction.
Fines are not the same thing as restitution.
The
restrictions around fines do not mean that sororities cannot face sanctions
that cost money. For example, consider that Alpha Beta Gamma sorority painted
signs for an event and made a mess that damaged the property of Delta Epsilon
sorority next door. While a fine would not be an appropriate sanction, it would
be appropriate for Alpha Beta Gamma to take responsibility for the cost of
repairs at Delta Epsilon. Or, if Delta Epsilon’s members have used social media
to slander other sororities on campus, it is completely appropriate to ask that they fund and host a snack-supper and facilitator to meet with all of the
chapter presidents to discuss the social media issues on campus.
Fines should not be a part of your College Panhellenic budget.
When
fines are collected from sororities, they should be set aside and used for an
agreed-upon cause. The Panhellenic Council might consider giving the fines to a
charitable cause, a scholarship fund, or a one-time expense such as a new
computer for the office or contribution to an ongoing campus project. But, they
should never be included in the College Panhellenic’s plans and budgets. Expecting and
needing certain amounts of fines to make ends meet creates a goal for collected
fines, which is not healthy. The job of the College Panhellenic is to support
its chapters and enable their success, rather than look for opportunities to punish
them. Ideally, no one will violate and policies and no one will accrue any
fines.
Panhellenic judicial procedures still apply.
If a
sorority commits a fineable offense, the College Panhellenic should still complete a
notice of infraction form and send it to the sorority. The sorority can choose
to pay the fine, or they could still choose to have a mediation if they wish. For
example, if a sorority submits an invitation list late and receives a notice of
infraction form, they can still ask for mediation. Say the list was 45
minutes late and the sorority wants to ask the fine be excused or reduced
because they experienced a power outage during the time they were working on
the list. The College Panhellenic could choose to take that into consideration based
on any number of things (e.g., Was it a two-hour power outage or a 10-minute
power outage?), but the sorority has the right to ask for the mediation and
both sides have the right to appeal if they cannot agree, as they would in any
other proceeding.
How are
fines handled on you campus? How can your College Panhellenic help improve how fines are handled in your community? How can you utilize the judicial process better
to help create change? See Helpful Tips for
the College Panhellenic Judicial Process for more information.
