Senators and Congress men and women do this all the time, it's called "filibustering." However, in my experience, most members carry on and bring up moot points because of a lack of structure in meetings and their level of knowledge of parliamentary procedure. Here are some ideas on how you may be able to add some structure: 1) Review with your chapter officers and members Robert's Rules of Order. Understanding and following Robert’s Rules will help the chapter lay down a framework of decorum and professionalism in meetings. 2) Establish a clear and concise agenda and stick to it. This will let members know exactly when it is appropriate to speak about certain items. 3) If a member is not adhering to the subject or continues to ramble on, the chair (that’s usually the president) may call the speaker to order and choose to no longer recognize that speaker. For more information on parliamentary procedure and how to run effective meetings, consult 21st Century Robert's Rules of Order by Dr. Laurie E. Rozakis, Ph.D., Philip Lief Publishing, 1995.

When my sorority sister drinks, she becomes very mean, hostile and uncooperative. I am sick of baby-sitting her when we go out. She can drink all of us under the table and when she does drink, she sulks, insults her friends, and ruins everyone's good time. She even tries to pick fights with strangers at the bar and argues with everyone over the silliest things. It's like she becomes a totally different person when she drinks. Otherwise, she's the nicest person when she's sober. I've tried to talk to her about it, but she gets defensive and denies anything is wrong. What can we do to get her to change her behavior?

I get this question a lot. For many people, the affects of alcohol remove inhibitions and make them act in a manner that is not consistent with their everyday behavior. Be very up front with this person. Use what many psychologists call "I messages." For example, "Marcia, when we go out drinking, sometimes I feel embarrassed by your behavior. " However, it is not your responsibility to change her behavior. Let her know that if she wants to go out with you, she needs to act in a manner that doesn't embarrass you or your friends.

Our local sorority wants to participate in the Greek Week activities on our campus. The Panhellenic says we can't because we don't have liability insurance. How does a local sorority get liability insurance and what kind of cost is involved?

Liability is the main idea here. Since local fraternities/sororities often have little experience with risk management and insurance issues, many IFC/NPC/NPhC sponsored Greek councils shy away from including them in their activities. From their standpoint, it is a sound business decision and from a risk management standpoint, I agree. In the early 1980s, an insurance group called Fraternity Insurance Purchasing Group (FIPG) began insuring individual members of Greek organizations. This allowed members to purchase liability insurance in the case that they were injured or killed in a fraternity- or sorority-sponsored event. I remember paying as much as $125.00 per year for a $150,000 term policy. Companies that specialize in risk management policies like Conseco or Prudential may offer the same coverage to local organizations; they may be found on the WWW. However, many universities and colleges offer some type of coverage for every student under their associated student body fees. Check out the breadth of this coverage and see if it meets the requirements for participation in IFC/NPC/NPhC sponsored activities. Otherwise, start your own Greek "Locals" council, invite other locals to participate and be very, very careful.