June 5, 2011
TO BE SHARED WITH ALL COLLEGIATE MEMBERS
Dear Tau Lambda Chapter Members,
The Constitution Interpretation and Revision Committee (CIRC) are in receipt of your petition dated May 11, 2011. Having met all of the requirements for appeal, CIRC undertook the review process as outlined in the Governing Documents of Alpha Omicron Pi. This involved reviewing the record and the opinion to determine the sufficiency of the procedures employed in reaching the determination and the correctness of the findings under AOII’s Constitution and Bylaws. This review is for procedure only and does not mean that CIRC agrees or disagrees with the panel’s decision.
During the review process, CIRC looked at your appeal point by point. While your points may have validity, CIRC determined that none of them had the merit to remand the panel’s decision under corrected procedures.
However, CIRC is remanding this back to the Panel for review and action. Part of the CIRC process is to review the record and the opinion to determine the sufficiency of the procedures. This includes the actions leading up to the closure and appeal. Part of that process is the notification of the chapter of their probation.
Under bylaws, Article XIII, Section 3. Notification. It states that the probation shall be delivered by hand or certified mail only when school is in regular session (not during summer school). The notice shall contain the reasons for probation, the terms and conditions of probation and notice of the chapter’s right of hearing and appeal. It appears that in April 2009 a notification of the probation and the probation terms were sent via e-mail, but a formal letter was never given to Tau Lambda in person or by certified mail.
Further under bylaws Article XIII, Section 6. Termination of Probation. Any change in status of probation shall be sent via certified mail. The first probation extension dated June 2010 was never formally done with a letter via certified mail (or otherwise), although new probation terms were presented during Leadership Institute 2010.
And finally, the second probation extension dated January 2011 was not delivered via certified mail even though it was in written format. As such, because the notifications were improper, the chapter is not on any probation with Alpha Omicron Pi at this time.
As a result of the above, the Constitution Interpretation and Revision Committee remand the opinion under corrected procedures back to the Panel. As Tau Lambda is not on any probation with Alpha Omicron Pi at this time, the panel should find that the chapter charter cannot be withdrawn and held in trust for failure to meet the terms of probation. The chapter may be placed on probation when classes start in the fall.
The status of the withdrawal of your charter is now back in the hands of the panel and you should expect another opinion from them I a timely manner.
If you have any questions regarding this decision or its consequences, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.
Sincerely,
On behalf of CIRC
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1 comment:
YAY! Coleen, I am so proud of you and the other women who participated in the call and helped to work on the letter. I hope that this fall, we will have an organized schedule of alum who are willing to sit in on chapter meetings at least twice a month.
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