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Delegate Reporting Methods for Assembly

All Class, Club and G&P delegates have a constituency which they represent at Assembly, and delegates use a variety of methods to report to these constituencies. At-Large delegates may have an affiliation to a special interest alumni group to which they choose to make a report. No delegate is required to use any particular way of making a report, but delegates who represent specific constituencies should make a report by some method. Various methods are listed here in order to provide you with some notion of the possibilities.

Class Delegates

Class delegates may report verbally to their Class Councils, but most often use a written communication. One common method is a submission to the Class Notes section of the Yale Alumni Magazine. These submissions must be short to fit the available space, but Class Secretaries are often happy to devote half or more of a column to an Assembly report. Because most classes are operating e-mail 'listservs' and many have Web pages, class delegates should also post their reports electronically when the option is available. Finally, Class delegates may enclose a report with the annual fall Class Dues mailing, mail the report with a reunion promotion, or have the AYA staff produce a special mailing for at least the Class officers, Council and Alumni Fund volunteers.

Graduate & Professional School Delegates

Each graduate and professional school has an active group of alumni volunteers or an organized alumni association specific to that school, and reports should go out to at least the core leadership. Also, most of the Graduate and Professional schools have an alumni magazine or newsletter. G&P delegates may contact the editors of these publications to check their schedules and to request space for their Assembly reports. Finally, most of the G&P schools have a Web site, on which space might be set aside for putting up a report. Most also have e-mail 'listservs,' to which delegates can post reports. Individual delegates should contact the alumni relations offices of their respective schools to obtain access to these electronic communications resources.

Club Delegates

Club delegates usually have the opportunity to make verbal reports, written reports or both. Verbal reports might be delivered at Board meetings or as part of the program at a major club event such as an annual dinner. Written reports might be distributed to the Board and Committees, published in the Club's newsletter, posted to a Club Web site, sent out as an enclosure in a regular Club mailing, sent out as special Club mailing, or posted via e-mail. For Clubs that send more than one delegate to Assembly, the delegates may want to collaborate on a report using one of the above methods, or they may want to submit completely separate reports. Club delegates usually confer with their Club Presidents or other officers to determine which methods make sense for their particular Clubs.

A Further Note on Communication

Part of the delegates' role is to bring concerns of the constituency to the next Assembly. You could, for example, let your constituency know about the theme of the Fall Assembly. You could contact your constituency either now or in the early spring when you have the preliminary program for Assembly LIX. Your listserv is an excellent and easy way to reach many alumni. You could ask about what concerns your fellow alumni have about Yale's role in this area and then report back on your findings. For further information on Yale listservs, see http://www.aya.yale.edu/lists/.