By: Loretta Williams Student Activities Office

1. By: Loretta Williams Student Activities Office Making The Connection With Your Advisor

2. The Advisor’s Role The role of the advisor is to serve as a support base to your organization. When a problem arise, your advisor can assist you in reflecting and assessing your next step of action. Your advisors should encourage, support and be a resource for you and your organization.

3. The Advisor’s Role An advisor can serves as: • Support Base • Educator • Mentor • Historian • Sounding Board Advisors should not run meetings, control your budget, or only be contacted when something goes wrong.

4. Establishing a relationship with your advisor should be something that is done on both the advisor and your part. Establishing A Relationship • Discuss your group’s history, traditions, major accomplishments, fundraisers, and programs with your advisor. • Negotiate a role you both agree on and clarify any other expectations at this time. • Meet with your advisor often to talk about recent updates and changes.

5. Establishing A Relationship • Consult the advisor before any changes in the structure of the group or policies of the organization are made • Continue to dialogue, give feedback, and bring up any problems or concerns.

6. LEGAL POLICIES AREAS YOUR ADVISOR CAN HELP YOU WITH

7. If you are planning an event, and using segregated fees to pay a speaker or performer, your organization must arrange a meeting with the Student Activities Program Advisor. Contracts and Segregated Fees • Please schedule the meeting 6-8 weeks in advance. If you would like, you and your advisor can attend this meeting. • Remember, student organizations and student organization’s advisors are not authorized to sign contracts or make verbal commitments when using segregated fees

8. Hazing Wisconsin State Statue 948.51 on Hazing (1) In this section “forced activity” means any activity which is a condition of initiation or admission into or affiliation with an organization, regardless of a student’s willingness to participate in the activity. (2) No person may intentionally or recklessly engage in acts which endanger the physical health or safety of a student for the purpose of initiation or admission into or affiliation with any organization operating in connection with a school, college or university. Under those circumstances, prohibited acts may include any brutality of a physical nature, such as whipping, beating, branding, forced consumption of any food, liquor, drug or other substance,forced confinement or any other forced activity which endangers the physical health or safety of the student. (3) Whoever violates sub. (2) is guilty of: (a) A Class A misdemeanor if the act results in or is likely to result in bodily harm to another.(b) A Class H felony if the act results in great bodily harm to another.(c) A Class G felony if the act results in the death of another.History: 1983 a. 356; 1987 a. 332 s. 32; Stats. 1987 s. 948.51; 2001 a. 109.

9. Hazing Alternatives Set up a "big brother/big sister" mentoring program. Assign the mentor responsibility for teaching about the values of the organization and monitoring the new member's participation and academic performance (to ensure minimal expectations are met). Serve meals once a week to homeless community members. Require new members to perform a set amount of community service hours in support of community agencies. Have the new members appoint leaders within their group develop a plan through Have new members learn about the history underlying values of the organization. Divide them into groups and have them prepare a PowerPoint presentations about the organization. Invite alumni to attend. There are alternatives to hazing. Your advisor can help you find team building exercises to orientation new members.

10. Appropriate Role of your Advisor • To be a resource • To share specific knowledge in the development and implementation of programs • To attend programs of the organization

11. Inappropriate Roles of your Advisor • To run the student organization meetings • To take care of last-minute program details • To have veto power over decisions • To help clean up after programs • To respond only when asked by members • To be ultimately responsible for the group’s organization and decisions • To recruit new members for the organization •To be ultimately responsible for program problems or failures

12. References University of Michigan. (2006). Strategies for Successful Advising Relationships. Retrieved October 13, 2008 from http://www.lso.umich.edu/advisor/handbook.html#strategies Rutgers Student Life. (2008). Student Organization & Advisor Handbook . Retrieved October 13, 2008 from http://getinvolved.rutgers.edu/documents/organizations/student-organization-and-advisor-handbook-fall08%20.pdf UW-System. (2007). Part 10 Student Risk Management Issues Subject: Student Organizations and Risk Management . Retrieved October 6, 2008. from http://www.uwsa.edu/oslp/rm/manual/part_10/stdtorgs.htm Wright State University.(2006). Student Organization Advisor Manual . Retrieved October 6. 2008. from http://www.wright.edu/studentactivities/studentorgs/advisormanual2.html University of Wisconsin-Platteville. (2008). Policies Governing Student Life http://www.uwplatt.edu/university/documents/student_policies/sanctions.html#hazing Cornell University. (2006). What Organizations Can Do Alternatives: What Else Could Be Done? Retrieved November 17, 2008 from http://www.hazing.cornell.edu/organizations/ideas.html