i Have a Choice Planning

Delta Zeta's i Have a Choice planning webinar is available for viewing online. We are also posting the webinar script below for our members who may not find it possible to view the recording.

Webinar recording

Fall 2012 i Have a Choice Planning Webinar

Introduction

Welcome to Delta Zeta’s i Have a Choice Planning Webinar. On tonight’s call we will be reviewing Delta Zeta’s signature program, i Have a Choice, which supports National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, provide ideas and resources for your chapter’s campaign, share tips from award winning chapters, and provide time to ask questions and provide suggestions of your own.

Webinar Instructions - Go to Webinar Slide

Before we begin, I would like to go over a few logistics regarding the audio and web-based features of today’s program. During this program, the only person you will be able to hear is me, as the presenter. When we open for questions at the end of the program, you may ask them via the comments section on the Go To Webinar control panel and I will answer them as I can. Our program will be about an hour long.

All of you will view the presentation through the Go To Webinar viewing pane on your screen.

The Go To Webinar control panel contains panes that can be expanded or collapsed by clicking the +/- on the left side of each pane. To ask a question, you can type it into the questions pane.

We have given you a choice in how to join the audio portion of the Webinar: you can switch between using VoIP (to listen through your computer speakers) or your telephone during the Webinar session. The telephone number to call in is found in the Audio portion of your navigation pane. In the Audio pane, select either Use Telephone or Use Mic & Speakers. If joining via telephone, be sure to enter the Audio PIN noted in your Control Panel. If using VoIP, you must have your speakers on to hear the webinar.

If you need additional help using Go To Webinar during the call their help line is (800) 263-6317.

During tonight’s call, we will also utilize social media to start spreading the word about the i Have a Choice campaign. Follow @DeltaZetaNatl on Twitter with the hashtag #iHaveAChoice and tweet your own thoughts or questions for fellow participants during tonight’s call.

What is i Have a Choice?

Delta Zeta’s initiative to support National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week (NCAAW) is the i Have a Choice campaign. Collegiate chapters undertake campaigns in their local communities and on campus to educate about the dangers of alcohol abuse. The i Have a Choice campaign helps reinforce the idea that everyone has a choice when it comes to alcohol use. Each year approximately 1700 college aged students die as a result of an alcohol-related injury. It is just as important now, as it was six years ago with Delta Zeta started this campaign, to educate our members and communities about the healthy choices we can make regarding alcohol.

So let’s review the who, what, when and where of the i Have a Choice campaign.

• Who – Delta Zeta collegiate chapters

• What – a chance to educate our communities on the dangers of alcohol abuse

• When – October 14- 20, 2012

• Where – locally on campuses where Delta Zeta chapters are located and online via the national website and social network feeds

Why is this campaign important? Coordinates with NCAAW

Since 2006, Delta Zeta collegiate chapters have been educating their communities on the dangers of alcohol abuse. Delta Zeta partners with The Coalition of Higher Education Associations for Substance Abuse Prevention (CoHEASAP) during the annual National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week (NCAAW) to educate and inspire college-age students to examine their lifestyles and make informed decisions regarding the use of alcohol.

Delta Zeta’s i Have a Choice campaign is a chance for our chapters to support education, inspiration and informed decisions about alcohol. Think about the impact that our member’s participation in alcohol education can have? With 161 collegiate chapters and over 12,000 collegiate members, Delta Zeta is in the perfect position to raise awareness, and help change behavior, not only in our Sorority, but in your communities.

Margaret Wheatley is a writer, author, consultant and speaker who has written books on how people are the answer, not the problem, for creating change. In a chapter to her book, Turn to One Another, found on her website, www.margaretwheatley.com, she says, “The process that creates change in the world is quite straightforward. We notice something that needs to be changed. We keep noticing it. The problem keeps getting our attention, even though most people don’t notice that there’s even a problem. We start to act, we try something.” She shared the following story that illustrates this incremental change.

“In 2004, Wangari Maatai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in organizing The Greenbelt Movement which had planted over thirty million trees in Kenya and east Africa. Wangari was a biology professor at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. In a meeting with other Kenyan women, she learned that the fertile and forested land of her youth had been devastated. All the trees had been cut down for coffee and tea plantations. Local women now had to walk miles for firewood, and the water had become polluted with chemicals and runoffs from the plantations. She knew that the solution to the plight of these women was to plant trees, to reforest the land. So she and a few women decided to begin immediately. They went to a large park in Nairobi and planted seven trees. However, five of these trees died. (The two that survived are still there today.) Their initial success rate was 28.5%, discouraging by anybody’s standards. But they didn’t give up. They learned from that experience and the women carried their learnings back to their villages. Gradually, they became skilled at planting trees. Other villages saw what they were doing and, over time, a large network of villages became engaged in tree planting. In less than 30 years, thirty million trees were flourishing in 600 communities, in 20 nations. Villages now have clean water, shade and local firewood, improved health and community vitality.

What if they had given up when the first five trees died? What if they had walked away and left it to the government or the U.N. to plant trees? And yet, how is it possible to go from two trees to 30 million trees in just 27 years?”

Maatai didn’t plant 30 million trees on her own. She relied on others and the relationships in her community to create change.

Why is this program important? Allows us to partner with others.

You should invite others on campus to your event, but more importantly, involve them in i Have a Choice and National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, if at all possible. The more support you can generate, the more allies you find and the better chance you have of creating real campus and community change.

Many people are not aware of the cost—physically, financially and emotionally—that alcohol abuse causes on campus. Send a brief update to the groups and people listed below, directing them to the i Have a Choice press release on the Delta Zeta website. Use the i Have a Choice campaign to remind people that most students are making healthy decisions.

It is especially important that you take the time to inform the following allies such as:

• College/University President

• Student Government/Class Officers

• Health Education, Health Centers and Counseling Centers

• Athletic Coaches/Captains/Teams

• Interested Faculty

• Campus Activities

• Campus Judicial Offices

• Fraternities and Sororities

• Residence Life Staff

• Campus Police and Safety

Why is this program important? Supports Delta Zeta RM Initiatives

Delta Zeta was one of the first national sororities to support alcohol-free housing and events initiatives. Per a resolution by National Council in 1998, Delta Zeta chapters co-sponsor functions at fraternity houses, dorms or lodges only if those functions are alcohol-free.

Delta Zeta has also been commended by university administrators for our support of substance-free social events. Our national Alcohol Procedures, which are found in our National Standing Rules and Policies, are based upon the standard set by FIPG, the Fraternal Information and Programming Group, which provides risk management and policy education for 47 greek-letter men’s and women’s groups.

There are so many ways that alcohol misuse affects member’s lives beyond potential injury or death. For instance, 97,000 students aged 18-24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. And 25% of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including receiving lower grades. Look for more information during i Have a Choice week on Delta Zeta’s social network feeds.

i Have a Choice is a great way to educate our members on all of our risk management policies and practices regarding alcohol.

Remember that our National Policy Statements are to be signed by active members by November 10 and returned to National Headquarters – new members sign in the EU new member program first session.

You can find our Risk Management policies on Metro – Chapter officer resources – Collegiate resources

How does my chapter/colony support i Have a Choice?

Plan a program about alcohol awareness to occur between Oct 14-20th.

The chapter’s VP of Programs implements the i Have a Choice campaign in her chapter with the help of other chapter officers. For instance, the Risk Management, Public Relations and LAMP chairmen can help with coordination and publicity of the campaign.

Chapter presidents should be aware in each phase of the campaign.

After the event, the VP of Programs reports on it in Chapter Inc.

How do I plan an event for i Have a Choice? Characteristics of a good event

Effective I Have a Choice events share a set of common characteristics. First and foremost, they fulfill the purpose of I Have a Choice – they educate Delta Zeta members and the community about the dangers of alcohol abuse. Second, they are well-planned and executed. And finally, they are well publicized before and after to help again fulfill the purpose of I Have a Choice and NCAAW. Let’s talk a little more about resources to help with planning and public relations.

How do I plan an event for i Have a Choice? Resources 

The 2012 i Have a Choice Campaign resources are located on Delta Zeta’s private social network, Metro, in the Chapter Officer Resources Container – Collegiate Resources link – in the i Have a Choice folder.

There you will find:

• A best practices document

• The 2012 i Have a Choice Logo

• Example press releases

• 2012 Campaign Timeline


How do I plan an event for i Have a Choice? Incorporating public relations 

The types of PR you do for the i Have a Choice campaign can impact its success. Let’s review some of the different ways you can incorporate PR into your event.

Use the Media Contacts Table to keep track of your sorority/campus contacts.

Use your campus media to promote your events.

Get your campus newspaper, radio and television stations involved. Keep an up-to-date record of all media contacts by using the Media Contacts Table, which will give you a place to compile names and contact information for those to whom you will be publicizing your event.

Use technology in your program efforts

Electronic media is attention getting and free. If your campus has an online newsletter, bulletin board or chat room, make use of them for your i Have a Choice event. Be sure to post information about i Have a Choice to your chapter’s website and Facebook pages, too. User the i Have a Choice hashtag #iHaveaChoice when posting updates to Twitter.

Publicity using radio

Radio stations are sometimes effective news sources for Greek activities, but less so than newspapers. Newscasts are short. Stations are looking for campus news of strong general importance.

Some stations carry “calendars of events” or “bulletin boards,” announcing meetings and events. If your local station does so, this is a good news plug source for your chapter's i Have a Choice event during the weeks leading up to NCAAW.

Most campuses have their own radio stations. Because many depend upon part-time student staffing, they may be seeking news and feature items. Here, again, is the opportunity for your chapter to obtain recognition with radio listeners.

Publicity using television

Your local TV station or campus information office might provide camera coverage. Contact them well ahead of time of the event. If they are present, a chapter member should be assigned to work with them to provide information, names, etc.

Lets hear from some of our award winning chapters

We asked some Delta Zeta chapters who have been recognized as having excellent i Have a Choice campaigns to share some of their best practices.

Play audio clips- Epsilon Xi, Omicron Alpha, and Beta Gamma


If those weren’t enough ideas let’s review some more –

• Place ads in the newspaper supporting the campus-wide prevention events, or social norms promoting positive behaviors.

• Use your chapter’s social media accounts to retweet and repost Delta Zeta’s #iHaveAChoice messages.

• Ask an attorney to run a mock trial for a DUI case using students as the defendants, witnesses, and jury.

• Have a 5K or 10K run to raise awareness about student health and/or raise money for a local prevention agency.

• Sponsor a health and safety message banner contest between organizations.

• Sponsor a mocktail contest between groups.

• Host the “ideal” party with theme (alcohol free with proceeds going to prevention agencies).

• Bring together all groups and sponsor a “Day of Dialogue” that would involve many representatives from the campus community and focus on improving behaviors surrounding misuse of alcohol.

Key Dates to Keep in Mind

September 14, 2012 - National Headquarters releases national press release and proclamation to publicize NCAAW kick-off and the i Have a Choice campaign.

September to October 13 – Local chapter publicity and planning

October 14-20 – NCAAW and local chapters hold events

October 21 (or immediately after your local events) – Chapters submit reports via Chapter Inc.

Questions? Please email us at DZS@dzshq.com