The "Optional Meeting" concept was designed in Fall 2014 as a way to break up our large membership into smaller, more productive chunks. This policy change occurred because members observed the theater meetings were unproductive and usually involved listening more than doing. While it is true that the smaller, optional meetings have potential, the concept still needs work.
Take the March 17 "Optional Meeting", for example. It was well attended, with nearly 80 students showing up to participate. Members who were working on Week of Service activities found plenty to do, and the room was abuzz with activity. However, an informal poll revealed that nearly 2/3 of the students there were in attendance simply because they had to be for attendance. That's terrible. That's not why we have meetings.
Meetings are recommended as a way to plan events, practice our leadership skills, and to stay in communication with one another. They are not supposed to separate the students who can get to school early in the morning from the students who can't. They are not supposed to be a chore.
Thus, NHS will be piloting an
Independent Meeting Program for the remainder of the year to see if it can effectively replace our current system. In order to test it authentically, any meeting submitted via this program will count. There are lots of opportunities left to use this idea this year.
Here's how it works:
Students can plan and attend their own meetings, provided the purpose of the meeting is clearly stated, matches with NHS goals, and is of an appropriate length and
quorum (number of members present). Meeting-goers must record meeting minutes, and submit to the adviser for approval. This flowchart explains the process in detail:
Incidentally, all of our processes now have flowcharts that
can be reviewed here or found under the new "Stay Active" sidebar.
The
Meeting Minutes Form has been added to the NHS member links. Let's see what happens!