November 23, 2020

BYLAWS OF THE EPSILON THETA CHAPTER OF DELTA ZETA SORORITY
CLARION UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
2020-2021

ARTICLE I: NAME AND PURPOSE
Section 1.

Name
The name of this college chapter of Delta Zeta Sorority, located at Clarion
University in Clarion, Pennsylvania, is Epsilon Theta.

Section 2.

Purpose

The purpose of this Sorority shall be to unite its members in the bonds of sincere and
lasting friendship, to stimulate one another in pursuit of knowledge, to promote the moral and social culture
of its members, and to develop plans for guidance and unity in action; objects worthy of the highest aim
and purpose of associated effort.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1.

Eligibility
1.
2.

3.

4.

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Refer to the Code of Regulations, the requirement for Delta Zeta is 2.7 for
membership status.
Dues. Refer to the Code of Regulations, also refer to the Standards Board Manual and
Treasurer’s Manual for fining procedures.
a. The National Pledge Fee shall be paid for at the time of formal pledging.
b. The Initiation Fee shall include all national and chapter dues and fees plus
the Badge and the Guard. The Initiation Fee shall be paid in full by the
scheduled initiation date.
c. New Members and Initiates pay for all national and chapter dues and fees,
as outlined by the Treasurer, each semester. Dues will be paid by the 10 th
day of each month set forth by the Treasurer.
d. The fiscal year shall begin on July 1st and continue until June 30th of the
following year.
Good standing is the fulfillment of all moral, scholastic, financial and other
mandatory obligations required of a Delta Zeta member or chapter.
a. There should be no alcohol consumption in Greek letters, jackets,
lavalieres, rings, or any type of Delta Zeta paraphernalia.
b. Members who are on financial or academic probation shall follow Delta
Zeta National Policy.
Insignia

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a.

5.

Refer to the Constitution, All Delta Zeta badges are the property of the
sorority. A badge shall be loaned to an initiated Delta Zeta for her own use
during her lifetime or until she shall be officially requested to forfeit it. Any
member loaning her badge or other insignia to those not entitled to wear it,
shall forfeit it.

New Members:
a. A Delta Zeta new member must meet the academic standard of 2.7/4.0 or its
equivalent in order to be pledged/initiated. Higher academic requirements
may be implemented with prior written approval of the National Academics
Chairman in consultation with the National New Member Education
Chairman and the National Vice President of Membership Development.
NCM 6/90, A 2/92, A 12/92, A 6/94, A 2/99, A 3/00
b. Women must have a minimum of 12 credit hours and have a cumulative
grade point average of 2.7 to be eligible for a bid.
c. Membership shall not be denied because of race, religion, national origin, or
disability status, sexual orientation, or for any reason inconsistent with
applicable law.

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6.

Affiliated Members: This status may be granted through the procedures established
by National Council to an initiated member in good standing who transfers to a
college or university where there is a chapter of Delta Zeta. She may become an
affiliated member upon invitation of the chapter. A written statement of good standing
must be received from National Headquarters. When she becomes an alumna, her
records show her as a member of the chapter into which she was initiated.

7.

Off Campus Collegiate Status: This status may be granted through the procedures
established by National Council to a member in good standing who is enrolled in an
off- campus academic program for less than one academic year affiliated with their
program of study and/or the university that prevents her from actively participating in
chapter meetings and activities due to geographical limitations. University verification
is required. In compliance with National Panhellenic Council’s Memorandum Of
Understanding, the member will remain on the chapter’s roster and be included in the
calculation of chapter total. At the completion of the program she shall assume full
active chapter status. If she graduates, she may assume alumna status only if she is in
good standing during the temporary absence. Women on this status shall pay the
national dues, building fund, furnishing fund and any additional amount prescribed by
the chapter for the duration. Women on this status may not hold chapter offices, may
not attend chapter meetings, may not have voice or vote in chapter function and are
not entitled to chapter social privileges.

8.

Undergraduate Fifth Year Members
a. An initiate granted a 5th year status by the National Status Committee, is
defined as (Code of Regulations, Section 6, Subsection c.); an
undergraduate member in good standing who has completed four years of
post-secondary education, regardless of class standing or credit hours
earned, has the option of remaining a college chapter member with all the
privileges and obligations pertaining thereto, or she may elect alumna status
two weeks prior to the beginning of the academic term.
b. All status change paperwork must be completed thoroughly and signed off
by the college chapter President, Treasurer, and the College Chapter
Director ONE MONTH PRIOR to your status change request. Once the
National Chairwoman approves the status change and documentation is
received by the College Chapter Director, ONLY THEN will the status
change be approved.

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ARTICLE III: CHAPTER MEETINGS
Section 1.

Meetings:
1.
2.

3.

4.
5.
6.
Section 2.

The regular meeting shall be held weekly on a day agreed upon by the Executive
Board before the beginning of each semester.
All meetings of the chapter will be formal, except one meeting per month. This
meeting will be an informal meeting to be chosen by the chapter president, unless the
meeting falls on a nomination/election, ritual event, or emergency voting meeting
where a formal chapter meeting is called to order.
Special meetings may be called by the President or upon written request of any five
members of the chapter. Only business for which the meeting was called may be
transacted.
The regular meeting shall be conducted according to the agenda adopted by the
chapter and included in the Standing Rules.
Two-Thirds of the members in good standing shall constitute a quorum at any of the
meetings of the chapter.
Refer to Standing Rules to see how the agenda should be run for the meeting.

Badge Attire and Etiquette:
1.

2.

3.
4.

Members shall wear badges and badge attire to formal chapter meetings. The Delta
Zeta Badge is the property of Delta Zeta and is on loan for those in good standing, it
is correctly worn over the heart and it shall not be altered in any way. The Delta
Zeta badge must be returned upon leaving the sorority.
Badge attire is considered any dress, skirts, or dress slacks with a blouse (business
attire). Those not appropriately dressed will not be admitted and asked to leave to
change or fined for missing a chapter meeting. Inappropriate badge attire shall
consist of, but is not limited to: jeans, capris, stretch pants, leggings, sweatpants, tshirts, letters, skirts higher than the tip of your middle finger, and dresses where a bra
cannot be worn or excessively provocative in nature. Members wearing flip-flops,
sneakers, rain boots, or no-shoes will not be admitted into a formal chapter meeting.
No member may wear the Delta Zeta Badge while consuming alcohol.
Ribbons of Rose and Green may only be worn during the following occasions;
ribbon pinning at Bid Day ceremonies, new member ceremony, Founders Day,
installation of a new chapter, chapter anniversary, and in memory of a deceased
sorority or chapter member. If a badge is to be worn, the ribbons are to be worn
below the Delta Zeta Badge or New Member Pin (badge attire is to be worn with
ribbons as well).

ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS AND THEIR ELECTIONS
Section 1:

Offices
1.
2.

3.

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Refer to the Constitution, Article XII, Section 4,5,6
The Chapter shall elect the nominating committee that will interview for the
following Executive Board positions; President, Vice President of
Membership, Vice President of New Member Education, Vice President of
Programs, Vice President of Philanthropy, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Anyone running for an Executive Board position must have a 2.7 GPA or
higher to run and maintain a 2.7 GPA during their terms in office.

November 23, 2020
4.

Duties of Officers. Refer to Constitution, Article XII, Sections 4, 5, 6.
These duties include others, as chapter deems necessary. Also, as stated in
the Constitution and Code of Regulations, the President must attend
National Convention or the Leadership Conference during her year of office
(unless the conventions are cancelled), or she will be forced to resign her
office. The position will then be filled by the CCD in consultation with the
Executive Board, or the RCD in consultation with the Executive Board
should the CCD role be vacant.
5. The President, Vice President of Membership, Vice President of New
Member Education, and Vice President of Programs must be a member of
the sorority for a least one year, under normal circumstances, and hold an
overall GPA of 2.7 or higher.
6. A member may serve as President of her chapter only if she has been an
initiated member for at least one college year at the time of the installation
of officers, except with special permission of the College Chapter Director.
7. The following chair-ships must be elected and must be a member of the
sorority for a least one semester: Courtesy, Greek Week, Founder’s Day,
Historian, Homecoming Float, Jr. Panhellenic Delegate, LAMP Editor,
Alumnae Relations, Public Relations, Ritual/Chaplain Chair, Sisterhood,
Social Chair, Junior Recruitment, Date Party, Formal, and Emily Schena
Scholarship chair.
8. Bacchus Gamma chair will be expected to work with other Greek
organizations and report back to Delta Zeta.
9. These positions must be appointed by Executive Board: Inner Guard, Outer
Guard, Parliamentarian, Judiciary Board (Chair and one member from each
class), and Song Leader.
10. Chair Positions:
a. Each member of the chapter may only hold a maximum of 3 chair
positions.
b. Executive Board members may not hold any other chair within the
sorority.
c. All chairs who have a report for the regular weekly meetings must
notify the Vice President of Programs prior to the meeting. The
deadline for this notification will be determined by the Vice
President of Programs and failure to comply more than twice will
result in a forced resignation of chair-ship.
11. Positions will run from elections in the spring to elections the following
spring.
12. Each member will hold at least one position, but can only hold up to three.

ARTICLE V: OFFICERS
For specific descriptions of Chapter Officers and Duties, see Delta Zeta Code of Regulations, Regulation
XI, the Officer Training Manual, or the handout provided to your outlining your specific position.
Section 1.

Executive Board
A. The Executive Board shall be comprised of the President, Vice President of
Membership, Vice President of New Member Education, Vice President of
Programs, Vice President of Philanthropy, Secretary, Treasurer and the College
Chapter Director.
B. The duties of the Executive Board shall be:
a. Transact any urgent business between regular meetings and present
recommendations for chapter action.

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November 23, 2020
b.

Meet at least thirty minutes to an hour before the start of the regular weekly
meetings, unless extenuating circumstances arise.
c. Refer to Code of Regulations, Article XI, Section 2
C. Late Reports
a. If an officer is fined for a late annual report due to their own negligence,
they are responsible for paying the fine.

ARTICLE VI: PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
1.

2.
3.

Those bylaws may be amended by any regular meeting by two-thirds vote, providing the proposed
amendment has been submitted in writing, read at the previous meeting, and has been approved by
the National Constitution Committee. Amendments will not be enforced until so approved.
The Bylaws will be thoroughly reviewed and updated every year. Copies will be provided to each
member of the Epsilon Theta Chapter.
Formal Chapter meetings will follow Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised and shall govern this
chapter in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these
Bylaws, the Bylaws or the Code of Regulations of the Delta Zeta Sorority. Roberts Rules of Order
must be used for formal conduct, voting

ARTICLE VII: HOUSING OCCUPANCY
1.

Unrestricted

Housing Occupancy:
a. Executive board members are required to reside in the Delta Zeta chapter
housing unless campus circumstances dictate otherwise, meaning students
must live in campus housing for the first 2 years of their career at Clarion
University, or with the prior approval of the College Chapter Director and
the Regional Collegiate Director.
b. Every sister is expected to live in the house for one school year.
c. No sister can sign an off campus lease until the house is full and the house
lease is signed.
d. If for any reason the house is not occupied by 10 members, the sister with
the most credits and has not lived in the house yet, will have to live in the
house.
e. The process will continue from the sister with the most credits and has not
lived in the house, to the least amount of credits until the house is filled.
f. If all attempts to fill vacancies fail, all ACTIVE/OFF CAMPUS
COLLEGIATE members who have not previously lived in the house and
are not living in the house that current year will divide the remainder of the
rent that is due (The “empty bed fee”).
g. Members signing the lease for the full year have preference over those who
are signing for a semester.
h. Active initiates wishing to live in the house have preference over alumnae.
i. Preference for filling rooms will be as follows. Previous sisters that have
lived in the house, Executive Board beginning by pledge class then class
standing in that pledge class; then by oldest pledge class by class standing,
and finally Newest New Member Class by class standing.
j. Preference for cars at the house will be as follows: active sisters who have
previously lived in the house, then by pledge class, then by class standing,
unless extenuating circumstances arise.
k. At the New Member Ceremony, New Members will be informed that they
will be expected to live in the house for a least one year.
l. A House Manager will be elected by the occupants for the house.
m. All Executive Board members must live in the house at least one semester
out of two in which they are in office.

November 23, 2020
ARTICLE VIII: HOUSE MEMBER CHORE POLICY
Each person living in the Delta Zeta house (at 1054 E Wood Street Clarion PA 16214) must
complete each chore they are assigned by the House Manager during the semester/year they live in the
house.
When a chore is uncompleted, or completed very obviously lazily/halfheartedly:
1. A warning will be given to whomever was assigned said chore that week.
2. After a warning is given and another chore is left uncompleted, whoever was assigned said
chore will receive a $5 fine.
3. This will continue each time person continues to leave their chore uncompleted.

ARTICLE IX: FINING POLICY
1.

2.

If a member fails to attend mandatory events without turning in a valid excuse, the fine will
start at $5 and will increase $5 each at a cap of $30 (excluding rituals and chapter which is
already a $50 fine).
If a member fails to attend chapter retreat without turning in a valid excuse, the fine will be
$15.

ARTICLE X: Philanthropy
1.

2.

3.

The chapter will sponsor one sister’s airfare to the Painted Turtle Camp. The sister will buy
her ticket upfront and be reimbursed by the chapter. The cost of the airfare will be divided
evenly amongst active sisters.
The position of community service chair will assist the VP of Philanthropy with duties such
as organizing community service and uploading community service hours onto Chapter Inc.
This position will be included with the other chairs during elections.
Sisters who do not complete the required 36 hours of community service will be put on a
modified social probation determined by Executive Board and CCD.

During the 2020-21 academic year or any part thereof, policies in the chapter
bylaws and/or standing rules may be suspended, at the discretion of the CCD and
chapter Executive Board, in consultation with the RCD or national representative,
when such policies conflict with university, local, or state requirements instituted
because of the COVID-19 virus. Suspended policies must be documented in the
chapter minutes.

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