Brothers,
Several of our Chapters are fighting tooth and nail against Gremlins this semester.
If you've never seen the hit 1984 film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Steven Spielberg, I encourage you to rent it, pick up some movie-style popcorn at the grocery store, grab your favorite soft drink and treat yourself to something nice.
To give you a little teaser-description, picture the tiniest, cutest little Furbee-esque (Mogwai came first, but you'll get the reference this way) creature you've ever seen. Feed it after midnight and it morphs into an evil reptilian demon. Just add water, and you have a horde of horror on your hands.
What the heck does this have to do with Mu Beta Psi? you ask.
Brothers getting submissions in on the last day before they're due. Re-prioritizing Psi business somewhere lower on the chain to free up some 'me' time. Skipping out on a rush event because this one night out of the whole rush week they were invited to a party by some guys in a social.
Alone, each of these circumstantial excuses are fine. Once in a long while, they're not exactly a big deal. Harmless, even. But string them together, or spread them among several Brothers at a time, and we end up with a serious problem. Last-minute submissions leave no time for revisions on mistakes, and late submissions slow down the whole organization. If half the Brothers skip a rush event, it's not much of a rush event. Who's there for the potential pledges to meet? Putting off Psi business collectively means not doing anything, not fulfilling our purposes, not having a Brotherhood. Just add water, and our small excuse-powered indiscretions become major problems.
Don't get me wrong; we all need a break in our schedules, and Mu Beta Psi is absolutely an additional responsibility. However, it's one that has HUGE rewards for the work we put in. If we all commit to every rush event, we demonstrate and reinforce solidarity in our Brotherhood - and we have more fun there, anyway, knowing we've all made the same time for each other. If we get all of our submissions in early, not only will the National Office be better equipped to help us when we need it, but we'll totally get bragging rights as the most responsible Chapter (Oh, and did I mention I'm giving a prize at Convention for that this year? Yeah that's happening).
Some people think the most important reason for handling your elected or appointed positions well, for getting your requirements out of the way -- for takin' care of business, if you will (oh, it's gonna be stuck in your head all day now. I'm not sorry.) -- is that sense of accomplishment, that knowledge that our Fraternity is continuing on the right track and we're getting stuff done. Sure, that's a valuable feeling and a vital *result*. But I really believe the most important reason for living up to our fraternal responsibilities is exactly that - they are *fraternal* responsibilities - obligations to our Brothers. When I take on a position, a project, even a small task in this organization, I take it seriously not just because I'm an upstanding citizen with a conscientious attitude (though I am that, and modest, too ;-D) but because I treat each new accepted responsibility as a promise to my Brothers. They're counting on me to do what I've taken on and to do it well, and I refuse to let them down. That's what Brotherhood is based on, after all - our trust in one another, the fact that we can count on each other to be there. What better way to demonstrate trustworthiness than to make good on promises, even those that are only implicit?
I'm not going to pull any preachy rhetorical stunt by returning to my Gremlins parallel - I think you got the point. If you love your Brothers, do your job better than you ever expected to be able to. They will love you back for it, and you'll avert disaster. Two gremlins, one stone...
In Brotherhood always,
Garrett Cooperman
NVPCM
Friday, September 30, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Running for office
Brothers,
As Convention draws nearer, I am disposed to offer what I feel is a necessary insight into the ups and downs of serving as a National Officer. I haven't heard much in the way of responses to a call for letters of intent to run for office, and thus have come to believe that not enough of you are considering it strongly. Truly, it is a worthwhile endeavor and a HUGE help to the Fraternity.
I'll get the downers out of the way first. Like any office, being a National Officer (NO) is a time commitment. You need to devote a small chunk of each week to maintaining the important duties of your office and developing the projects you're working on. You need to continually keep contact with other officers, Chapter officers, and Brothers in general.
It can be draining to be a National Officer. You might find yourself disappointed in responses to your inquiries, disappointed in the frequency of incoming communication, or eventually just burned out from spending your Psi-energy on business all the time. There are times when I need to refresh myself by calling up some Brothers and going out for lunch or drinks to remind me why this is so important and for whom I'm doing the work I do. I love my Brothers, and that's why I chose to take on a National office.
But it's entirely worth it. I get to give back to the Brotherhood that gave me so much. I get to help manage the organization that gave me the best friends I could ever dream up -- people who would stand by me in a heartbeat, give me a ride to the car shop and a loan to get it fixed so I can make my student-teaching in the morning; people who would invite me to spend a weekend at their place just so I could meet the rest of their Chapter and get a breather from being lonely in a state I'm not used to... I get to help give stability and direction to the organization that gave me a stronger purpose in college, a better appreciation for the music I've always loved, and a TON of awesome people to share it with.
It's also got some pretty good perks. I have a much easier time staying in touch with Brothers, new and old, because I'm a NO. People generally know who I am and how to get in touch with me when they want to, which helps me organize get-togethers and trips. I find that it's easier to get out of work for things like Convention and installations, etc., because I've got a role to play in Executive Committee. Oh, and it certainly doesn't hurt the old resume to have "National [Officer], Mu Beta Psi" on there.
And even the business side of my office can be fun. Despite the stress involved, I really love planning Convention. I enjoy scheduling things outside of the usual meetings, like workshops and luncheons. I like getting to know more about schools I didn't attend as a student, too. Most of all, I love reconnecting with Brothers on a Chapter level as we work together to plan our yearly gathering of the Brotherhood. Beyond Convention, I thoroughly enjoy the NEC. I have some awesome Brothers working as MALs and NOs in there. In all, being a NO ensures that I stay connected to my Fraternity in an incomparable way.
So consider whether you might want to give back to Mu Beta Psi by running for a National Office. If you have any questions about it, ask any of us. We'd be happy to help you learn more about how each office or the NEC as a whole works, and help you prepare to run for office.
In Brotherhood,
Garrett Cooperman
National President
As Convention draws nearer, I am disposed to offer what I feel is a necessary insight into the ups and downs of serving as a National Officer. I haven't heard much in the way of responses to a call for letters of intent to run for office, and thus have come to believe that not enough of you are considering it strongly. Truly, it is a worthwhile endeavor and a HUGE help to the Fraternity.
I'll get the downers out of the way first. Like any office, being a National Officer (NO) is a time commitment. You need to devote a small chunk of each week to maintaining the important duties of your office and developing the projects you're working on. You need to continually keep contact with other officers, Chapter officers, and Brothers in general.
It can be draining to be a National Officer. You might find yourself disappointed in responses to your inquiries, disappointed in the frequency of incoming communication, or eventually just burned out from spending your Psi-energy on business all the time. There are times when I need to refresh myself by calling up some Brothers and going out for lunch or drinks to remind me why this is so important and for whom I'm doing the work I do. I love my Brothers, and that's why I chose to take on a National office.
But it's entirely worth it. I get to give back to the Brotherhood that gave me so much. I get to help manage the organization that gave me the best friends I could ever dream up -- people who would stand by me in a heartbeat, give me a ride to the car shop and a loan to get it fixed so I can make my student-teaching in the morning; people who would invite me to spend a weekend at their place just so I could meet the rest of their Chapter and get a breather from being lonely in a state I'm not used to... I get to help give stability and direction to the organization that gave me a stronger purpose in college, a better appreciation for the music I've always loved, and a TON of awesome people to share it with.
It's also got some pretty good perks. I have a much easier time staying in touch with Brothers, new and old, because I'm a NO. People generally know who I am and how to get in touch with me when they want to, which helps me organize get-togethers and trips. I find that it's easier to get out of work for things like Convention and installations, etc., because I've got a role to play in Executive Committee. Oh, and it certainly doesn't hurt the old resume to have "National [Officer], Mu Beta Psi" on there.
And even the business side of my office can be fun. Despite the stress involved, I really love planning Convention. I enjoy scheduling things outside of the usual meetings, like workshops and luncheons. I like getting to know more about schools I didn't attend as a student, too. Most of all, I love reconnecting with Brothers on a Chapter level as we work together to plan our yearly gathering of the Brotherhood. Beyond Convention, I thoroughly enjoy the NEC. I have some awesome Brothers working as MALs and NOs in there. In all, being a NO ensures that I stay connected to my Fraternity in an incomparable way.
So consider whether you might want to give back to Mu Beta Psi by running for a National Office. If you have any questions about it, ask any of us. We'd be happy to help you learn more about how each office or the NEC as a whole works, and help you prepare to run for office.
In Brotherhood,
Garrett Cooperman
National President
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