Need Risk Management Ideas

[astalpha]

Hey I'm from Alpha Sigma Tau and I'm running for the Risk Management position in my chapter. We've always done the same things as far as workshops go. I just need some new ideas for workshops and events that have nothing to do with Alcohol awareness and Self Defense.

Any Ideas?

[naraht]

These are just off the top of my head and may not be "large" enough for workshops at the same level as Alcohol and Personal Defense...

1) Drugs other than Alcohol
2) Candles/other flames/etc. at Rituals
3) Driving (to and from service projects, etc.)
4) Pregnancy/Venereal Disease
5) Financial Control (has to be a better term out there), such as two signatures on the account, keeping good records, good budgetting, etc.
6) General Fire prevention/Fire Drills.
7) Property Theft (encouraging sisters to get electronics marked with student id number,etc)

[HQWest]

Originally Posted by naraht

These are just off the top of my head and may not be "large" enough for workshops at the same level as Alcohol and Personal Defense...

1) Drugs other than Alcohol
2) Candles/other flames/etc. at Rituals
3) Driving (to and from service projects, etc.)
4) Pregnancy/Venereal Disease
5) Financial Control (has to be a better term out there), such as two signatures on the account, keeping good records, good budgetting, etc.
6) General Fire prevention/Fire Drills.
7) Property Theft (encouraging sisters to get electronics marked with student id number,etc)

8) Preventing Identity theft? Something college students don't often think about when you are being asked to sign paperwork with your life story on it all the time.

9) Credit fraud or controlling your credit - don't fall prey to the folks giving away credit cards on the quad.

10) Personal awareness - Not really self defense where you are already being attacked by someone, but safety tips about your surroundings so that you are aware of your surroundings, aware of someone that might be stalking you, or staying out of situations or places in which you could be at increased risk. For example, not walking at night in dark alley ways or not jogging alone while plugged into headphones.

11)Prescription medications? Don't borrow someone else's Ritalin to help cram or migraine medication to help with a big performance or presentation

12) Cheating - the Honor policies on your campus and the consequences.

[HQWest]

13) Risk Management - not just the alcohol policy of your chapter but the why you have some of the rules that you do. This could be accompanied by news stories of problems that have occurred.

[astalpha]

Thanks Everyone these are great ideas!

[GeorgiaGreek]

We had a woman from the Health Center give a talk about STIs and pregnancy prevention. It was not only informative, but she knew how to keep the mood light for most of it, making the program entertaining enough for everyone to stay engaged. If you go to a large school, your health center probably has someone who does speaking engagements like this, so you might want to look into it.
It's important for risk management programs, if they involve someone outside the sorority, to be conducted by someone who is used to running this kind of program and knows how to give the information while keeping the group engaged. For example, we had a woman from the local sexual assault center come to speak. She was one of the therapists there, but it was clear that she was not used to speaking to large groups, and it was not a good result. She was awkward and quiet, kept repeating the same thing, and after about 20 minutes, most people were staring off into space, if not playing with their phones or talking to their neighbors. It wasn't because the subject matter wasn't important, but the person speaking was just...not very good at it, to say the least.
Try to find out programs that other sororities/fraternities in your area have done, and if you can have the same people or organization do a program for you.
For a fire safety program, maybe you could have a local fireman/firewoman (fireperson?) come to speak. A good-looking guy would probably keep most of the chapter interested, and a woman would also be pretty cool to hear speak, because, at least where I'm from, female firefighters aren't terribly common, so that would be a good role model to listen to. The same could be said for a police officer.

Another useful program my sorority has had (my high school did this too, both times were great) was having a defense attorney come in to speak about knowing your rights, especially regarding underage drinking, house parties, etc. Most college students do drink before age 21, and it's important to know what to do if you're ever stopped by a cop and you've been drinking, or if you're at a party with alcohol and a cop knocks on the door. So many underage students end up in trouble that they could have avoided, or at least reduced, because they didn't know their rights or how to handle a situation, and the last thing any sorority needs is having members arrested (and, if your school newspaper is like mine, having their name AND their Greek affiliation printed in the crime section of the newspaper. Yes, they have actually done this). A big portion of risk management is not just preventing risky behavior from happening, but preventing trouble/a bad reputation that can come after the risky behavior. A local attorney will probably be willing to do this because he/she can hand out business cards and get their firm's name out there in case anyone does end up in need of a lawyer.

[naraht]

Originally Posted by HQWest

13) Risk Management - not just the alcohol policy of your chapter but the why you have some of the rules that you do. This could be accompanied by news stories of problems that have occurred.

Perhaps even following this up, roleplay what to do if one of these situations *does* happen. Risk Management can include post event PR... Though that may turn into something where the answer every time is "Call the National Headquarters immediately, and don't talk to the Press".

[shirley1929]

One thing I would also do is ask your friends in other groups what they've done recently.
Maybe they can hook you up with a great speaker that they've recently had (ala the person from the health center or whatever) and can tell you if the person was an effective speaker. Also ask your advisors - we had one advisor who's husband was a gastroenterologist and did a great presentation on eating disorders.

I know that when I was in college I wouldn't have known who to go to for this stuff, so it's nice to use the people around you to come up with good ideas.

[naraht]

Suggestions from my wife

14) OSHA rules (like for using tools at service projects)
15) Food Safety (like making hot dogs for a large group)
16) Internet Safety (what is posted on the net is out there forever! & FB Privacy)
17) How to act around animals (more appropriate for more rural campuses)

[astalpha]

Thank You!