Orientation Committee Decision Under a Room-Booking Deadline
You are the student chair of a four-person orientation committee at a mid-sized Canadian university. The committee has one 45-minute meeting before the room-booking deadline to choose a welcome event for 180 new international students. Proposal A is a 90-minute panel with six faculty speakers in the largest auditorium; it costs $150 for interpreters and can accommodate everyone, but the auditorium has fixed seating and no breakout space. Proposal B is a 2-hour drop-in fair in a smaller hall with 12 student-service tables; it costs $200 for signage and refreshments, fits only 120 people at once, and requires volunteers to staff tables. Two committee members support A because it is cheaper and easier to schedule; one member supports B because it lets students ask personal questions. The committee must also decide how to handle a member who has not read either proposal and wants to postpone the vote. In a simulated meeting, you must lead the group to a decision within the time limit and respond to the postponement request.
1. Lead the committee to a decision. State what you would propose, how you would handle the cost and capacity trade-offs, and what you would do about the unprepared member.
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I would propose a split format rather than choosing A or B outright: a 30-minute faculty panel in the auditorium, live-streamed to an overflow room, followed by a 60-minute drop-in fair in the smaller hall with 12 tables. This uses A's $150 interpreter budget and 180-person capacity for the part everyone needs, while preserving B's personal-contact advantage for students who can attend the fair. The fair's $200 cost is still within a $350 combined budget, but it only fits 120 at once, so I would cap continuous entry and post the fair schedule online. I would assign one member to confirm four volunteers in the first 10 minutes; if not confirmed, we fall back to A plus a 20-minute Q&A. On the unprepared member, I would not postpone: the room deadline is fixed. I would ask that member to read the two one-page summaries during the first five minutes and then name one risk in each proposal. That keeps the vote on time and uses the member's concerns rather than silencing them. The meeting ends with a recorded decision and named owners for volunteers, overflow room, and accessibility check.
2. A committee member says, 'If we choose the fair, we are excluding 60 students, so it is unfair.' How would you respond in the meeting?
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I would separate fairness from identical treatment. The fair's 120-person limit does exclude 60 students at any one moment, but the panel reaches all 180, so the core welcome information is not rationed. The fair adds optional personal contact, not a prerequisite. To reduce unfairness, I would rotate entry every 20 minutes, put the 12 tables' most-requested services near the door, and reserve the first 30 minutes for students with accessibility needs. If demand exceeds capacity, I would collect questions at the door and have staff answer them in a follow-up email within 48 hours. I would also note the cost: A is cheaper, but B's $200 is still small against the risk that 60 students leave without asking about permits or health insurance. The fair is not fair because everyone gets the same room; it is fair if no one is denied essential information and the extra service is distributed by clear rules.