A machine in the wall that disburses money...

I graduated college in 1988. Every Friday afternoon, my friends and I would drive out to the Kroger grocery store south of campus and stand in a very long line. You see, that was how we got money in those days. All the local townsfolk would have just gotten paid and would be spending cash on the weekend's groceries. We would stand in the line at the customer service counter writing meager checks to Kroger, taking the cash off their hands. Sometimes there would be 100 or more students waiting in line to cash checks so they'd have money for the weekend.

Looking back, it sounds crazy, but there was an up-side to this Friday ritual. While standing in line, you'd find out all the parties that were happening that night and throughout the weekend. You could show up at Kroger with nothing to do and leave with a full social calendar for the weekend. And you always made sure you looked good before you went to Kroger because it might impact your sex life for the weekend, too. Lots of hookups began in the line at Kroger.

Then, something remarkable changed our culture. Two banks in our town installed these machines that allowed you to withdraw cash 24/7 from your checking account. The idea of being able to get money anytime you needed it was mind blowing to us. The only bad thing was that you had to take out money in multiples of $20, and that was hard for some of us who were used to writing Kroger checks for $10.

Within weeks, the "Friday evenings at Kroger" died off. And, our campus social scene suffered. Suddenly, no one knew where any of the parties were happening. We didn't have cell phones, email or even voice mail back then, so we were screwed.

Here's my point. Never underestimate how technology or the arrival of a new convenience can disrupt the social fabric of your campus. I'm sure Facebook has affected some campuses in the same way the "machine in the wall" affected us. Something equally revolutionary will come along again soon. It always does.

How are students on your campus sharing news? Is anything about that process changing? Something simple like the opening of a new coffee shop or a temporary closing of your student center for renovation could throw things out of whack. What's changing in your campus community that affects how news is shared, priorities are set, and buzz is spread?

Mandatoryitis: A Greek Social Disease

When did we become so lazy as Greek leaders? It boggles my mind how many events the average chapter makes mandatory each semester. When I ask most sorority women, they say that there are almost 100 mandatory events each semester in their chapters, between regular meetings, recruitment, Panhellenic requirements, service events, and more. Frankly, it's gotten a bit out of hand. Many chapters now dependably budget for all the fines they levy against their members for missing mandatory events.

Hear me clearly: "Making dozens of events mandatory is an incredibly lazy thing to do." We do it because the alternative -- making our events things that our members would WANT to attend -- is much harder. Great leaders of amazing chapters don't need to make everything mandatory because their members actually WANT to come to things.

I realize the irony of me saying this. Often, as a speaker, attendance at my programs is mandatory. But, that doesn't mean I love it. More on that another time...

What if each executive officer were allowed to make only one event per semester mandatory -- for a total of 7-10, depending on how many exec's you have? Which 7-10 events would we prioritize? Which ones are really critical? (And, by the way, four nights of recruitment equals four, not one.)

Lead yourself through the process of the "what if?" Do it with your execs at the start of this school year. What would you have to do to make members attend the other 93 events? Or, might you scale back the number of events that you do in a semester?

You'd have to start making non-mandatory events fun, worthwhile, and relevant to your members. Kind of scary, huh?

Phi Delt, and the shirt...

Had a great visit to Phi Delta Theta's Emerging Leaders Institute. Great audience, great volunteers, great staff. Plus, it was in Oxford OH, and that's one seriously beautiful campus.

After the program, I'm talking to everyone, thanking them for having me in. This one Phi Delt alum says to me, "Loved the program, but I really hate that shirt you're wearing." I glanced down at my department store button-down.

"I kind of like it," I said. "I wear a lot of blue, and the stripes are a bit slimming."

"Yeah, until you turn sideways," he said as he laughed.

He was just giving me crap, but I had to gulp before I could smile! Oh well, the glorious life of a speaker, right? You never know what people are going to say to you.

But, Phi Delt: thanks for the invite. It was a great show. And, I'm throwing my shirt away.

The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem

Getting sick of your apathetic members? They come to meetings with a bad attitude, if they come at all. You have to fine them to get them to show up. Seems they don't want to do anything at all. No one steps up when things need to get done. You find yourself wondering if you're the only one who cares about the organization at all.

Yet, these apathetic members (usually) go to class. They have boyfriends, girlfriends, and friends they find time for. They listen to music, watch TV, play their favorite video games. They probably find time to drink and party. So, the fact is, they aren't REALLY apathetic. It's not that they don't care. It's that they don't care about the same things you care about.

This blog is for you. We're going to give you very practical tips on how to be a student leader who inspires others to care.

Bookmark it. Come back and visit from time to time. Comment and question.

For 20 years, I've been traveling and speaking to college students. I've sort of specialized in fraternity and sorority life, but I've had a good amount of experience with all kinds of students. This blog will be a splattering of ideas, advice, answers to questions you pose, and random bits from my travel.

Since I'm also the CEO of CAMPUSPEAK , I'll also share the occasional idea from another CAMPUSPEAK speaker who got me thinking.

But, generally, if you read this blog, you'll subject yourself to the random leadership musings of a guy who's spent the majority of his career thinking about student leadership and the college activities environment. Oh, and I like to push buttons, so please don't expect to like every idea. But, if you stop by regularly, I think you'll take away a few good ideas.

The first step in fighting apathy in your fellow students is realizing that being a leader isn't about managing the tasks of your chapter or your organization. It's about doing things that inspire your fellow students to create, to endorse, to support, to dream, to get fired up. If you figure out how to do that, you will spend less of your time worrying about the dumb stuff, and you'll get the student leadership experience you were hoping for. Oh, and you'll leave college a better leader than 90% of the bosses running this country's companies.

So, let's get started.