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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Greek Affairs

Sorority PHA Bylaws

By-Laws of University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Panhellenic Association

SECTION 1 - ORGANIZATION RULES

A. For all Panhellenic purposes every woman initiated on a given campus shall be counted as an active member.

B. Annual Panhellenic dues for each sorority shall be used to maintain the operations of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhellenic Association. The dues shall be $25.00 per member per semester to be assessed each semester.

C. Assessments for special events may be levied to each fraternity upon approval of the Panhellenic Council.

SECTION 2 - RULES ABOUT PLEDGING

A. Eligibility
a. No woman may be a new member to a fraternity until she is matriculated.
b. To be a new member, a woman must meet the following requirements;
i. Be enrolled as a new student registered (freshman) for a minimum of twelve credit hours.
ii. Be enrolled as a regular undergraduate student continuing work at the University by carrying a minimum of twelve (12) credit hours and having a "satisfactorily completed" shall mean earning an average of 2.5 or better in all hours carried during that previous semester and showing no unresolved failures or incompletes or,
iii. Be registered for graduate work. Graduate students may be new members free of restriction.
c. To be pledged to a fraternity a woman must have received and accepted from that fraternity a formal invitation to become a member of the fraternity and she in turn must have signed a dated written statement of her pledge, witnessed by a member of the chapter pledging her, or having signed the official preference card following formal Recruitment.
d. Any woman whose pledge to one fraternity is broken may not be joined to another until the expiration of one academic year from the date of pledging. However, that same fraternity may repledge her any time during that calendar year.
e. New members whose chapters withdraw from campus shall be eligible on that campus for repledging immediately.
B. Duration of a New Member
a. The signing of a preference card under the system of preferential bidding is considered binding as a new member.
b. A pledge holds good for one academic year no matter which campus a woman may be enrolled, the one on which she is pledged or one of her transfer choice.
c. A pledge automatically expires at the end of the academic year, if the woman has not fulfilled the requirements for initiation at that time.
d. A new member shall be considered a member of the chapter to which she is pledged until one academic year has expired and she is subject to the same rules as initiated members.
e. When a pledge is broken, the fraternity shall notify the Director of Greek affairs within three (3) days of the decision. It is unlawful to send notices of broken pledges to other fraternities.
C. Repledging
a. If a fraternity wishes, it may repledge a woman at the time of her first pledge expiration.
b. A woman's name to repledge must be submitted to the Director of Greek Affairs for approval.
c. After approval has been granted to a chapter, the woman in question should be sent to the Panhellenic Office to sign the regular "repledge" card. This continues her name on the membership list of the chapter in question.
d. The repledge period shall be for one additional semester. If at the end of that time a woman has not met the qualifications for initiation, her pledge shall be automatically terminated.

SECTION 3 - RULES ABOUT INITIATION

A. Initiation shall be held following the new member program with the following criteria used for eligibility:
a. Applicant shall be properly registered as an undergraduate student carrying a minimum of twelve (12) hours at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
b. Applicant shall be registered as a graduate student or a faculty member in which case there are no conditions that must be met beyond the approval of the initiating chapter
c. Any peculiar or unusual cases shall be referred to the Director of Greek Affairs for consideration a minimum of two (2) weeks previous to the set date for initiation. A Panhellenic Advisory Board Committee reviews these cases.

SECTION 4 - PROCEDURE FOR ADMISSION OF NEW MEMBER GROUPS ON CAMPUS

A. The procedure for an investigation shall proceed in accordance with the expansion policy for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhellenic association.

SECTION 5 - POLICY AGREED UPON FOR DETERMINING EACH YEAR'S QUOT OR NUMBER OF CHAPTER MEMBERS

A. The chapter planning system shall be in effect on this campus.
B. Chapter Planning Committee
a. This committee is to be composed of the Panhellenic Advisor and /or Panhellenic President, the Panhellenic Overall Recruitment Chair, and the Panhellenic Alumnae Recruitment Chairwoman.
b. It shall be the duty of this committee to convene just prior to the beginning of membership week and to determine in accordance with the policies of chapter planning as prescribed in Part C of this section a fair and just quota for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Recruitment Week that year.
c. It shall further be the duty of this committee to meet with representatives of each fraternity before the beginning of membership week and apply the over-all quota in working out a suitable plan of membership for that chapter on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.
C. The number shall be determined by the Chapter Planning Committee taking into consideration the following factors:
a. The total number for chapter size shall be determined by considering:
1. The number of women expressing an interest in pledging in a given year,
2. The number of sorority members returning to school and
3. Welfare of chapters in relation to size and number as established by National Panhellenic Conference.
b. Chapters will be permitted to pledge only a sufficient number of women to fill their chapter houses according to the actual approved architectural capacity of their respective chapter houses.
c. The number of dorm women shall be determined in relation to vacancies expected in the chapter house for the next year in order that chapter houses may be kept full whenever possible.
d. The number of Lincoln women shall be determined as may best meet the needs of each chapter in relation to their best interests in a chapter plan with the limits of the overall quota.

SECTION 6 - ALUMNAE ADVISORY BOARD

A. The membership of the committee shall be composed of one representative from the alumnae chapters of each national fraternity represented on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. These representatives are to be chosen by their respective alumnae groups. The chairmanship of this committee shall be by election.
B. It shall be the duty of this committee to act in an advisory capacity and to make suggestions to the Council for the betterment of Panhellenic standards on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus and to foster alumnae groups, national officers, Director of Greek Affairs, and all others who are at liberty to present fraternity problems.

SECTION 7 - JUNIOR PANHELLENIC DELEGATES

A. The name of this organization shall the Junior Panhellenic Council of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
B. The purpose of this organization will be:
1. To expose the meaning and purposes of Panhellenic to new Pledges:
2. To develop interaction between pledge classes:
3. To promote friendship, scholarship, and activities on the UNL campus.
C. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Junior Panhellenic Council shall consist of at least one member from each pledge class of the National Panhellenic Conference fraternities authorized to have chapters on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.