Convention Primer
Missed the Primer? We've got you covered. Watch the recording and download the slides here.
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Need to learn the basics of convention, or just want a refresher? Join us for a 1-hour online session where we'll review seating requirements, the schedule of business, and Roberts Rules of Order. The primer is highly recommended for convention delegates, candidates for convention office, and anyone who wishes to actively participate in discussion of the motions.
Need other resources?
Questions? Contact wgs@alpharhochi.org.
Additional Delegate Information
Delegate Credentials
Update: Credentialing remains open for organizations who have not yet established good standing. To submit information or ask questions, contact wgi@alpharhochi.org (chapters) or wgaa@alpharhochi.org (alumni associations).
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Chapters and Alumni Associations must submit credentials designating their delegate. This document will be emailed to each chapter and alumni in January 2023 and is due back no later than 10 days prior to the start of Convention.
Attendance
Delegates are expected to attend all business sessions. Failure to arrive on time may result in not being seated and forfeiture of the delegate’s vote.
Appropriate Dress
Business dress is required for all persons attending the business sessions, including the audience. Jeans, sweatshirts, and athletic wear, as well as torn or otherwise revealing articles, are not acceptable. Business dress is not to be confused with business casual. Ties and jackets are encouraged but not strictly required.
When in doubt, err on the side of formality and/or ask a Grand Council officer or appointee for case-specific guidance.
Order of Business
As outlined in Article I, Section 02 of the Alpha Rho Chi By-Laws, the following order of procedure and business, unless changed by resolution of the Convention, shall be observed at all Regular and Special Conventions:
The Convention will conduct this business across multiple business sessions, and may call for a recess as needed. Information specific to this year’s Convention business is outlined below.
Standing Rules of Convention
Each Convention adopts its set of standing rules at the beginning of the business session, to codify administrative details not outlined in the National By-Laws.
Elections
The following Convention Officer positions are up for election
(Nominations received in advance of the 2/19 deadline are listed below)
Once elected, the Convention President will then appoint two additional officers: a Sergeant-at-Arms and a Parliamentarian.
Note: Each of these Convention officer roles are historically held by collegiate members and young alumni, most of whom go on to hold to serve the Fraternity as national appointees and/or Grand Council officers.
The following Grand Council positions are up for election (3-year term)
(Nominations received in advance of the 2/19 deadline are listed below)
The duties and responsibilities of each Grand Council position are described in detail in the Alpha Rho Chi By-Laws.
Note: While all are eligible, neither the current WGAA, WGS, nor WGI will seek re-election in 2023.
Submit a Nomination
Nominations will be accepted from the floor of the Convention in advance of the election. Nominations for these roles were also accepted by the Nominations Committee in advance of the Convention until Sunday, February 19, 2023.
Questions? Email the Nominations Committee at nominations@alpharhochi.org.
Unfinished Business
Eight motions were received in advance of the 74th National Convention. As the Convention did not hear any business items (due to an inability to meet quoroum), the following will be considered as Unfinished Business:
M. President, I move that …
All references to “colonization” in the Constitution and By-Laws be replaced with the term “chartering”, and all references to “colony” and “colonist” be replaced with the term “charter”.
Explanation
The words “colony” and “colonization” have a complex history that does not align with the values and principles of Alpha Rho Chi. Replacing these terms with “charter” uses an already familiar fraternity term to help better describe the process and goals of fraternity expansion.
Submitted on January 24, 2022 by John Conway (Vitruvius Alumn).
Requires a second from a delegate.
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M. President, I move that …
By-Laws Article XV, Section 01 – Duties of the Regional Directors shall be replaced with the following: DUTIES OF NATIONAL APPOINTEES, National Appointees shall be designated to serve as the Grand Council liaisons specifically assigned to oversee Chapters, Alumni Associations, Chapters in formation, the membership at large, and/or special initiatives. Each National Appointee shall assist the Grand Council in the performance of its duties.
Explanation
The By-Laws currently do not describe the general duties of a national appointee. The Grand Council relies on a handful of national appointees to assist in various capacities and feel the By-Laws should define the duties of a National Appointee broadly to cover all national appointments. Therefore, I am proposing to modify this section of our By-Laws to cover all of our current national appointees as well as any future national appointment we may need, and instead outline each position and their duties in a separate document or location.
Submitted on January 24, 2022 by WGAA Bryan Perez (Pytheos Alumn).
Requires a second from a delegate.
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M. President, I move that …
“the following articles of the National By-Laws of the Alpha Rho Chi Fraternity be amended as follows:
Article XV: A new Section 02 under DUTIES OF THE ALUMNI DIRECTORS be added to read “Alumni Director(s) (AD) shall be appointed to serve as the Grand Council’s liaison to one or more Alumni Associations, potential Alumni Associations, and general alumni members. Each Alumni Director shall assist the Grand Council in the performance of its duties.
Article XV: Section 02 shall be changed to 03 as a result of this addition.”
Explanation
Alumni Directors have been working with the Grand Council and alumni for over 6 years and should be added to the By-Laws to reflect the current ways National Appointees operate.
Submitted on January 24, 2022 by Michele LeTourneur (Metagenes Alumn).
Seconded by the Metagenes Alumni Association Delegate.
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M. President, I move that …
“the following sentence in Article VII, Section 03 of the By-Laws of the Alpha Rho Chi Fraternity:
“The Grand Council may also, from time to time, formulate such rules and regulations, as it may deem expedient and necessary for the furtherance of the discharge of its duties and responsibilities, such rules and regulations to be subsequently ratified at the next Convention”
be amended to add
or by a vote of Chapters and Alumni Associations. Such rules and regulations may not be considered in effect until so ratified.””
Explanation
Currently, our By-Laws state that all rules and regulations must be ratified at the next Convention. The proposed change allows the Grand Council to have a vote prior to Convention should they need to for expediency. This change also modifies the wording so that the rules and regulations cannot be used until voted on.
Submitted on January 24, 2022 by Michele LeTourneur (Metagenes Alumn).
Seconded by the Senenmut Alumni Association Delegate.
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M. President, I move that …
the Grand Council compile all of our rules and regulations into a single document to be ratified at the next Convention.
Explanation
There are various rules and regulations [erroneously titled as Policies] that are being used to operate the fraternity and are enforced by the Grand Council and their appointees. However, most of these documents have not been ratified at Convention which is a clear violation of our By-Laws. While this may have been an oversight, if a document has not been ratified, it should be considered for suggestion only and is not enforceable.
Submitted on January 24, 2022 by Michele LeTourneur (Metagenes Alumn).
Seconded by the Senenmut Alumni Association Delegate.
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M. President, I move that …
Rules and Regulations to be published to presidents of Chapters and Alumni Associations annually or when revised due to ratification, whichever is first.
Explanation
Rules and Regulations should be sent annually to keep our Fraternity informed of requirements that are largely operating instructions for each organization [Colony, Chapter or Alumni Association]. Publishing can be via email similar to the information sent for Convention.
Submitted on January 24, 2022 by Michele LeTourneur (Metagenes Alumn).
Seconded by the Senenmut Alumni Association Delegate.
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M. President, I move that …
the Grand Council publish their meeting minutes within 3 months of the meeting date.
Explanation
Over the past decade, over several Worthy Grand Scribes, Grand Council meeting minutes have not been published on a regular schedule and meeting minutes can sometimes be published to the Fraternity’s website more than 6-8 months after the actual meeting. While industry-standard is typically a shorter turnaround, all Worthy Grand Scribes are volunteers, and a longer turnaround is suggested.
Submitted on January 24, 2022 by Michele LeTourneur (Metagenes Alumn).
Seconded by the Metagenes Alumni Association Delegate.
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M. President, I move that …
the Grand Council publish scheduled times of their regular meetings and make those meetings available for members to observe while they are held.
Explanation
Members should be allowed to attend the monthly Grand Council meetings to promote transparency and advance our professionalism within the fraternity. Attendees would not participate in any way but be silent attendees only.
Should any sensitive issue or a specific person be discussed, there are several ways to ensure privacy:
1) the livestream can be paused, 2) if not live-streamed, non-Grand Council attendees can be put into a separate “room” during the videoconference or 3) sensitive issues can be discussed at an executive session, or 4) sensitive issues can be discussed before or after the general meeting.
Submitted on January 24, 2022 by Michele LeTourneur (Metagenes Alumn).
Seconded by the Metagenes Alumni Association Delegate.
New Business
To submit a motion for consideration during New Business in advance of the Convention, please use the Convention Motion Form.
Motions that don’t increase fees and don’t amend the Constitution, By-Laws, or Ritual may be made at any time, including from the floor of Convention.
However, per the Alpha Rho Chi Constitution and By-Laws, members must have at least 45 days to review all motions that increase fees or amend the Constitution, Bylaws, or Ritual. Therefore, the deadline to submit motions to the 75th National Convention that require 45 days notice was Tuesday, January 10, 2023.
Motions will be posted below as they are received. The order in which motions are considered will be determined by the Resolutions Committee on the floor of the Convention.
Motions submitted to amend the Constitution, By-Laws, Ritual and/or fees
M. President, I move to …
Replace the final sentence of Article I, Section 01 of the National By-laws of the Alpha Rho Chi Fraternity with the following:
“The Convention shall be considered duly assembled to transact business provided that properly credentialed delegates are present representing a majority of the total of Chapters and Alumni Associations in good standing. Once the Convention is in session, a quorum shall be constituted by a majority of delegates.”
This amendment to the By-laws would be effective following the adjournment of this Convention.
Explanation
This amendment is offered to clarify the interpretation of the quorum requirement for the Convention. This amendment is intended to preserve the rights of our Chapters and Alumni Associations in good standing that are entitled to be represented in Convention per Article V, Section 06. Our Chapters and Alumni Associations in good standing should not denied the ability to hold a Convention because other organizations are not considered in good standing.
This amendment does not change Article V, Section 06 of the APX Constitution. That section defines which Chapters and Alumni Associations are entitled a delegate at Convention and provision of a three-fourths majority to accept additional delegates on “special consideration.” This amendment to the By-laws would never require the Convention to accept a delegate on special consideration in order to have enough delegates to meet in Convention.
Submitted on January 1, 2023 by Rick Jenkins (Metagenes Alumn).
Requires a second from a delegate.
Other motions submitted for consideration during new business
M. President, I move that …
Alpha Rho Chi evaluate the purpose and value of awarding the Alpha Rho Chi bronze medal at schools that do not have APX chapters.
Explanation
The fraternity makes the APX bronze medal available for award to all qualifying schools. This motion is to request that an evaluation be conducted and reported back to the next Alpha Rho Chi convention. The evaluation should inform the fraternity of the benefit we receive as a result of the cost of the program.
The reason for this motion is the supposition that Alpha Rho Chi gains little to no benefit from awarding the medal to schools without APX chapters. The medal does not seem to lead to the establishment of new chapters, nor does it seem to lead to significant, if any, donations or other benefits to the fraternity from the thousands of recipients and 100+ schools who award it. This leads to questions including: Can the program be improved to better benefit the fraternity? Should the program be continued without changes?
The National Constitution, Article 1, Section 07, requires only that the bronze medal "be awarded to a graduating senior student in an accredited and/or approved architectural program for recognition of leadership, service, and promise of professional merit." Therefore, this motion does not propose to amend the constitution.
Submitted on January 10, 2023 by Phil Buckberg (Metagenes Alumn).
Requires a second from a delegate.
Convention Reports and Petition Packages
Received reports and petitions will be linked below as they become available.
Petition Packages
N/A
National Reports
APX Foundation Report
Nominations Committee Report
Audit Committee (submitted at the Convention) Report