In High School Activity Programs, Rules are Essential

The question is often asked, “Why should we have rules?” It is usually asked in relation to meetings of student clubs, professional organizations and groups. The answer may best be answered in a line from Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, “We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages.”1

As a Registered Parliamentarian, that quote hits the mark. Rules are necessary for us to co-exist peacefully in any group of people. Let’s take a look at what rules do to prevent us from being savages.

First, rules protect the members. According to Robert’s Rules of Order (12th ed.), “rules are based on a regard for the rights: of the majority, of the minority…, of individual members, of absentees, and of all these together.”2 How can we not support rules that protect all members of a gathering?

Members of an assembly should feel free to address the assembly without being verbally attacked, all members should expect the right to speak within the guidelines of the rules, and all members should be sure that their votes will be counted. For meetings and organizations to run well, members must be protected by rules.

Second, rules help members know their responsibilities. According to Carl Nohr, PRP, “The most important contribution from members to good meeting control is self-control.”3 If a person wants their own way so badly that they lose self-control and abandon the rules of procedure, the meeting will cease to be effective. The Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) states that a member has the “right to attend meetings, to make motions, to speak in debate, and to vote.”4 Nowhere is a member given the right to have their own way, attack other members or to disrupt the meeting.

Finally, rules of an assembly help meetings to run efficiently. According to Demeter’s Manual of Parliamentary Law, “The purpose of rules is orderly procedure. Without it, the meeting would result in utter confusion, chaos and disorder – just as would be the case in a ball game or a card game if there were no rules to go by and each player did as he pleased.”5 Use of a good agenda or order of business will help the meeting stay on track. People with their own personal agenda will be stymied by the use of good rules. A good meeting is twofold. It must keep order and get business done. According to RONR, Newly Revised, In Brief, “A certain paradox appears. In order to preserve its freedom to act, the body must impose regulation.”

Therefore, it is imperative for every organization to adopt a set of rules by which it will run its organization. By default, a group may use Robert’s Rules of Order as its governing rules. In addition to these general rules, each group needs a set of bylaws. Bylaws are specific to an organization and are the highest level of rules in the organization. Bylaws cover things like the group’s purpose, officers, committees and meetings, as well as rules for competition, etc. Having these documents adopted and on file will contribute to the effective running of an organization. So, back to Lord of the Flies: “Which is better – to have laws and agree, or to hunt and kill?”

References

1. Lord of the Flies by William Golding, p. 42

2. RONR (12th ed.) xlix

3. “Formal Control and Penalties”, National Parliamentarian, Volume 82, No.2, Winter 2021, p22 by Carl Nohr PRP

4. RONR (12th ed.) 1:4

5. Demeter’s Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure, Blue Book Edition, by George Demeter, A.B., M.A., LL.B., p.6

6. Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Chapter 11, p. 162