Chapter Newsletter

"The Right Way & The Wrong Way" At A Glance

The Right Way

• Emphasize alumni - relocations, job changes, promotions, children, weddings, travels, awards, achievements, other personal and professional news. A good ration for an alumni newsletter is 70% alumni news, 20% chapter news and 10% campus news.
• Contain one report from the chapter president. Call the section something like "From the Undergraduate President" or "State of the Chapter".
• Contain good quality photographs, depicting a variety of activities, including philanthropic projects, guest nights, and other special events.
• Prepare a foundation for alumni contributions to the chapter by explaining the need for specific improvements or items, outlining long range projects, providing financial data and including that a special mailing will be sent for contributions at a later time.
• Refer to the chapter as "the chapter".
• Utilize articles by alumni, especially by members of the alumni or house corporation board.
• Provide information regarding Mid-Year Leadership Challenges, Chapter Leadership Conferences, School of Fraternity Practices and National Conventions, and note undergraduate and alumni who attended these events.
• Give an honest assessment of the chapter through the chapter president's article. The assessment includes strengths and achievements, and also addresses problems and challenges such as hazing, risk management, and changes in the chapter. A balanced perspective increases the credibility of the chapter.
• Provides information on all chapter activities. Rather than emphasizing the cosmetic aspects of fraternity life, the newsletter provides information on philanthropic projects, changes in operations, scholarship programs, interfraternity council leadership and involvement in campus organizations by brothers.
• If a wife or other family member or friend of the alumnus picks up the newsletter and reads, he or she is pleasantly surprised and impressed. "I thought fraternities were all about parties and that type of thing," they remark. "You must be very proud of your chapter."
• Contain humor, used tastefully and in a manner that everyone can understand and appreciate.
• Are edited, checked, and screened for spelling errors, grammar, punctuation, syntax, context. In particular, names of alumni are doubled-checked for spelling, title and class year.Message: We care enough to carefully check our product.
• Are sent out at least three times a year.
• Are carefully timed so that alumni have plenty of advance notice for special events, with ample time for arrangements and planning. Undergraduates tend to think in terms of weeks for advance planning. Alumni tend to think in terms of months.
• Include plenty of names, telephone numbers and addresses for questions and information. Leave the alumnus with the sense that the chapter is in good hands and that his career and personal information are of interest to the undergraduates.
• Contain a calendar of events for chapter events, national events and campus events. Also includes the name and phone number of brother(s) alumni can call for additional information and the phone number for the campus' Alumni Affairs Office.
• Contain a complete listing of all alumni who made a financial contribution or contribution of time to the undergraduate chapter.
• Are printed on high quality paper from high quality originals.
• Are prepared by brothers who understand the difference between alumnus and alumni, and use the terms properly.

The Wrong Way

• Emphasize undergraduate activities, especially social and sports. This is an easy way to fill up four pages. No effort is made to solicit alumni news, rush referrals, or other assistance.
• Contain reports from every officer from president to house manager. Each report is filled with references to the "strength" of the "house" and is characterized by sweeping generalizations reflecting the quality of life in Theta Chi.
• Contain party shots of twelve intoxicated members hoisting beers or drinks to the camera, reinforcing every negative stereotype of fraternities and fraternity life that are used to criticize us today.
• Beg for dollars with generalized emotional appeals to "brotherhood" and vague references to "projects".
• Refer to the chapter as "the house".
• Utilize articles written by undergraduates-alumni are never asked to contribute their thoughts.
• Ignore national and regional events and activities which might draw alumni attendance with proper notice and information.
• Are replete with "we're #1" characterizations. Problems which all chapters face are avoided or dismisses as minor events. Most alumni are never aware that their chapter is on probation status or that problems exist. When they inadvertently discover this, they are angered that they were never informed so they could offer assistance.
•  Take the editorial stance that all alumni were partying maniacs and that this is the only aspect of Theta Chi that an alumnus would like to read about. The rest of the alumni newsletter ignores individual and group achievements by brothers outside the chapter. Campus and interfraternity leadership are considered a drain on the chapter talent.
• A wife, family member or friend of the Theta Chi alumnus, upon reading the newsletter, would say, "This is exactly what I thought fraternities were all about - no wonder college administrators and faculty members want to get rid of fraternities."
• Humor is restricted to inside jokes, often in the content of alcohol-inspired escapades.
• Are sloppy, poorly edited, if at all, and contain errors in every conceivable category - spelling, punctuation, grammar, context, syntax. Names of alumni are invariably spelled incorrectly. No effort is made to identify the proper title and class year for the alumnus member.  Message: We don't care enough about you to get it right.
• Are sent out when those responsible for the newsletter are threatened.
• Usually arrive two or three days before a major events; in some cases arrives after the event.
• Tell alumni to "stop by the house" or "give us a call".
• Contain no information for upcoming events and no names and phone number for chapter and campus contacts.
• Contain no listing, or worse an incomplete listing, of brothers who donated time and money to the chapter.
• Printed on standard 20# copy paper from poor originals.
• Use alumnus and alumni interchangeable and almost always incorrectly.  Alumnus is singular. Alumni is plural. An "alumni" can't stop by to visit, but an alumnus can.