MenTally - The Newsletter of Tallahassee Area Mensa
RVC Columns
By Mel Dahl, RVC10
rvc10@us.mensa.org
At the September AMC meeting, the AMC voted to take the first of several steps to do away with local group testing. For years, most of our new members sat for the Mensa Admission Test under the proctorship of a local group, who then sent the tests to our national office for scoring. If the candidate passed, the national office would then invite him or her to join American Mensa. It was a great system because it ensured that a candidate's first contact with Mensa would be a human face that could tell them about Mensa and answer any questions they may have. I myself was tested by the late great Maggie Truelove, who did a phenomenal job of making me feel wanted.
Unfortunately, all of that is about to go the way of rotary dial phones and manual typewriters. I for one mourn its passing but it needs to be done, for several reasons.
First, there are large geographic areas where we simply don't have proctors. It's one thing if a candidate lives in Manhattan; it's another thing entirely if the candidate lives in Montana. And the number of proctors has been steadily declining. When I was RVC ten years ago, every local group in Florida had at least one proctor. Now, four do. Some of our local groups scramble to find a proctor when they have a candidate. We've probably had prospective members who didn't join because of the difficulty in testing. We need a system that allows everyone, regardless of where they live, access to testing. And that system will be a national testing center that will be able to serve a much larger share of the population.
Second, there are legal concerns about the large number of proctors who have confidential testing materials. These tests are very expensive to develop, and Mensa could potentially be on the hook for a lot of money if a proctor negligently or intentionally allowed the test to be widely disseminated. This takes that potential liability off the table.
Third, it will save us money. A national testing center with whom we contract can do the test more cheaply and efficiently than our proctor corps can.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to faithful proctors who have administered tests and helped with our recruitment efforts for decades. I'm sorry to see them go, and I thank every one of you for your service.
By Mel Dahl, RVC10
rvc10@us.mensa.org
As this is being written, I am preparing to attend the AMC's quarterly meeting in Hurst, Texas the last weekend in September. We have a very full plate and I expect to have a lot to talk about in my next column. For now, though, it's time to start thinking about who will be the next RVC-10. We have national elections in the Spring of 2027 and I do not expect to be a candidate for re-election. We have some amazing local leaders in Region 10 and I can think of several who would make great RVCs. So, please consider running.
Ideally, I would like to spend the next several months getting my successor ready to hit the ground running. I'd like to take him/her with me to visit local groups, do some of the administrative stuff that I do, discuss in detail what is going on at the national level so that person will have no surprises when they attend their first AMC meeting, introduce them around to the people they'll be working with. In other words, I want them to be ready for national leadership from Day 1. And if ten people run, the more the merrier; there's no harm in having more than one person ready for the job.
But that requires planning ahead, so I would urge you to come forward now rather than later. If you are thinking about it but still undecided, reach out to me. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Mensa is, I believe, currently in a state of flux, and I mean that in a good way. This is a very exciting time to step into leadership. Be the person who does it.
By Mel Dahl, RVC10
rvc10@us.mensa.org
I'm getting back from my trip August 15 and will start visiting local groups again after that. One of the things I want to discuss with the membership is a bylaws proposal which I'm currently petitioning. I need to get 250 signatures by October 5 and I hope those of you who have not already signed will do so. The petition may be found here:
https://www.us.mensa.org/lead/amc/election/referendum-petitions/?election=2&petition=5
My proposal would change the presumption from confidentiality to transparency with our hearings committees. Currently when someone is brought up on charges, most of the process is confidential. This proposal would require that when charges are sustained and a member is sanctioned, a report be made to the membership with enough detail that they know what the charges were, the factual basis for them, and the sanction imposed. This way, the members can have confidence in the process, and spreading false information will be more difficult.
The impetus for this proposal is the situation regarding 10 former board members who lost their seats following a hearing committee decision that they had violated the bylaws. Much false information was spread and Mensa was unable to respond because of our confidentiality rules. This proposal would guarantee that that never happens again.
Of course there are some things that need to remain confidential. If for example a complaint involves sexual harassment, those details needn't and shouldn't be made public. But we need to get enough accurate information out to ensure that people know what has happened and why.
So please sign my petition and support my proposal. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to me. Thanks, and I look forward to seeing many of you again soon.
See our new proposed by-laws (PDF format).
See our current local by-laws (PDF format), and the
national minimum standards for bylaws (PDF format).
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