OK, I don't have to leave for Madison until the afternoon, so I'll weigh in again.
We COULD expand in the US. This and past Boards have chosen a path that limits our opportunity in 2 ways. We restrict the set of schools at which we will accept chapters, and we put little time & money into expansion.
We don't go looking for chapters in the US, we wait for them to come to us. In the past year, we were approached by groups from at least 6 schools. I was the Foundation ED, so there may have been more that I don't know of. Half of these were dismissed quickly as unsuitable schools.
We then expect the colonies to operate without help and largely without direction from the IHQ. Why? Because we spend our limited staff time and money elsewhere. Because so many chapters, especially in Canada, don't pay their IHQ fees, the problem is made much worse. We can't use Foundation money for expansion efforts.
It's my impression that the Board feels that this course reflects the wishes of the majority of the membership. If you think that Zeta Psi should either accept "lesser" schools, or redirect money from chapter visits, publications, etc. to colonizing efforts, the convention is the place to make it known.
It seems that we have this debate constantly, but how else can we define the path we choose between a) our claim to be one of the intellectually elite fraternities and our wish to expand our networking opportunities, and b) our desire to expand and our demand for chapter services from IHQ?
This turned out to be a very different post that the one I messed up yesterday. So, as to your direct questions:
-30 is the minimum for a new chapter. Oshawa just made it, Lethbridge fell short.
-A school should be ranked in the top 100 schools in the US to be eligible. (USNews generally accepted as the leading scholastic ranking organization:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/col...udoc_brief.php) But other factors, like a hostile administration, could also cause Zete to shy away.
-Canadian alumni are doing the expansion work up North, not IHQ staff. They are not the only ones up there recruiting, though. Zete used to be #1 in Canada. Now we're #3.
TKPhi
TK
