ALPHA THETA CHAPTER OF SIGMA CHI FRATERNITY, INC. Alpha Theta Chapter M.I.T. founded 1882 founded 1861 April 23, 2000 Minutes of the meeting of the Corporate Board, held March 2, 2000. The meeting was called to order at 7:08 PM in the Chapter House Library. Present: Mark Curtiss (Board), Herb Mower (Board), P. K. Hadley, Ben Hellweg (Board), Richard Yeh (Consul, Board), Pete Warren, Rich Obert, Jonathan Coe (Work Week Mgr.), Nick Cohen (Spring Board Rep.), Paul Shay, Tom Faust (Board), Dan Craig (House Mgr., Board), Ian Sigalow (Pro Consul), Josh Littlefield (Board). Absent: Criswell Choi (Quaestor), Sam Towell (G.Z.), Dusty DeQuine (Fall Board Rep), Karl Buttner, Jay Krone. Minutes of the November 18, 1999, meeting were accepted with corrections. REPORTS Consul Report - Richard Yeh 1. The house recently held a "Pimps & Hos" party. The party was very successful, but drew a complaint from Emmanuel College, who notified the general fraternity. An apology is in the works. 2. Harvard is holding a Derby Days event this Spring. 3. The Chapter held a successful initiation. 4. An alumni weekend is scheduled for the last weekend in April. 5. The new dormitory will not be ready until 2002, delaying plans to house freshmen on campus. 6. A Spring rush is scheduled for April 21-23, as a pilot program. The house will participate. 7. Kappa Sig and ATO are having licensing problems in Cambridge, which may result in a prohibition of in-house rush this Fall. KS had trouble at a party, where Cambridge police estimated the attendance to be 500-700 people. At ATO, an active's new year's party was the source of problems. This is a sign that Cambridge is no more of a haven than Boston for fraternities. 8. Neil Dorow is having an architect survey houses to get occupancy numbers for party licensing. 9. The Chapter was advised to call Kurt Gerstner or Mike Ursillo if any legal issues arise. They were also advised to always call MIT Campus Police rather than Boston Police in the event of a non-life-threatening emergency. 10. The Chapter has sought an appeal of the recent hazing charges. The "hazing sign" punishment has already been dropped, but they do have to hold a hazing seminar and do community service. Quaestor Report - Richard Yeh (representing) 1. The Chapter is doing well financially. The Quaestor was absent due to an exam. 2. The Chapter was fined $1000 for dumpster trash problems. They are seeking an appeal of the fines and are waiting for a court date. They received multiple $300 fines over a few days. These fines were high due to an assumed commercial status, whereas residential fines are $30. The Chapter will contact Neil Dorow for some help, and also contact a fraternity-friendly City Councilor. 3. Boston Edison is still occasionally estimating the electric bill, so the bill fluctuates dramatically. 4. There have been a series of heating and plumbing problems recently, involving the boilers and the water heater. The Corporation will reimburse the Chapter for these repair expenses. Treasurer Report - Tom Faust 1. The Corporation seems to have not paid the house for 1998 Work Week (about $4800). 2. The Board approved a motion to set aside 1999 operating profits in an account designated for educational purposes. This motion included an amendment to split the cost of the hazing seminar with the Chapter, using funds from this educational account. Fundraising - Herb Mower 1. The fundraising letter has gone out. We have received about $10K at this point. 2. Stewart-Howe is sending a follow-up letter to those who did not respond to the first letter. BUSINESS Work Week Planning - Jonathan Coe 1. Jonathan circulated a preliminary budget and list of potential projects for Work Week. Jon's father is a contractor, and helped with some of the estimates. His focus is on immediate needs, rather than major things, in anticipation of the renovation. 2. Paul Shay requested that the house phone ringer be fixed. He used his cell phone to prove that the phone does not ring. No one at the house seemed to be aware that it was broken. Building Needs Committee - Mark Curtiss 1. The first meeting of the committee was held on 2/8. Mark Curtiss, Herb Mower, P. K. Hadley, Pete Warren, Karl Buttner, Paul Shay, Ben Hellweg, Danny Craig, Ian Sigalow, Sam Towell, and Jason Poff attended. They discussed schedule for the next few months. 2. They have a goal of having a preliminary plan by June. In the meantime, they need to hire an architect, find an undergraduate renovation coordinator to manage day to day issues, and schedule site visits to other fraternities and dormitories. 3. The next meeting of the committee will be March 16. At this meeting they will meet with architects. They are looking for an architect with project management capabilities. 4. Mark will appoint a committee chair. 5. The committee is considering the choice of house expansion vs. occupancy reduction, and leaning to the former. Ours is one of the most crowded houses, and changes to rush will make it harder to entice sophomores to move into quads. 6. The Phi Kaps raised $800K from alumni, and the rest ($1M) from the IRDF. They arranged for a portion of donations to be tax deductible. 7. The Board approved a motion to create a paid position for an undergraduate renovation coordinator at $15/hour with a cap of $5000 (subject to later amendment). This will cover costs of this position through the end of the summer, but the position is expected to continue through the year and into next summer. It will involve a few weeks of full time work, then part time work for the remainder. It should be about 80 hours during the Spring term, and 120-160 hours during the summer. Hours will be reported through timesheets, with frequent project status reports. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 25. The meeting adjourned at 8:48 PM. Respectfully submitted, Joshua B. Littlefield Corporate Clerk