The prism Constitution of
Article I:
Name, Purpose, and
Section 1: The
name of this organization is prism,
and it is
Section 2: Our purpose is to provide a safe
and welcoming social environment for all persons who have an interest in
addressing topics related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender
expression in a supportive and respectful manner.
Section 3: Our missions are to educate the
Section 4:
Article II:
Membership
Section 1: Membership
in prism is open to any
Section 2: In
order to be a voting member of prism one must be a student attend at least five meetings per
semester.
Subsection 2.1: Confidential
attendance will be taken at weekly meetings. The attendance will be taken by
the Secretary and will only be viewed by the Secretary for review of voting privileges.
Subsection 2.2: Members
must use ONE name for attendance purposes and each member has the right to use
any name as long as it remains consistent.
Section 3: No
individual will be denied participation in prism
events on the basis of race, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender
identity, gender expression, age, religion, nationality, ethnicity, or
disability.
Section 4: Membership
in prism in no way implies the
sexual orientation, gender expression, or gender identity of any member.
Section 5: Members
of the larger queer community in
Article III:
Advisor
Section 1: The
advisor for prism for the 2004-2005
academic year is Greg Tomso.
Section 2: The
advisor’s responsibilities entail that he/she must be active in the guiding,
planning, and governing of the executive board of prism.
Section 3: The
advisor will guide prism in a
non-biased manner.
Section 4: The
advisor will be available as a resource to the entire prism membership.
Section 5: The
advisor must be present at large prism
events. The advisor is encouraged to
attend general assembly meetings.
Section 6: The
advisor will be responsible for checking the judicial standing for all
prospective candidates for the executive board.
Article IV:
Executive Board
Section 1: prism will have seven executive board
members. The members of the executive
board will be voted into position by a simple majority of the general assembly.
The positions to be filled include two Co-Presidents, one Treasurer, one
Secretary, one Events Committee Chair, one Education Committee Chair, and one
Campus-Community Outreach Committee Chair.
Subsection 1.1: Officers
must attend all board meetings, except under extenuating circumstances and per
contact with the Co-Presidents 48-hours prior to the meeting. Officers must
also attend all general assembly meetings, or follow the previously stated
procedure. Ideally, officers will attend every prism sponsored event, but officers must attend at least 50% of all
prism sponsored events.
Subsection 1.2: Officers
must be available as resources to the entire membership.
Subsection 1.3: Officers
must represent prism in a
professional manner.
Subsection 1.4: Officers
must volunteer at least two hours per week in the LGBT resource center. The
time can be scheduled between the LGBT coordinator and the officer.
Subsection 1.5: An
executive board member must give two weeks notice before resigning from their
position on the board. During these two weeks the officer must still perform
all required duties.
Subsection 1.6: Every
executive board member is in charge of maintaining a binder that describes his/her
duties and contains important information for his/her successor.
Subsection 1.7: Every
executive board member must meet with his/her successor at least once before
leaving the board to ensure smooth leadership transition.
Section 2: The
seven members of the executive board will share responsibility for the
effectiveness of prism.
Subsection 2.1: The
Webmaster Co-president shall:
·
Serve for a term
of one year beginning in the fall semester
·
Maintain the prism website (if the co-president has
no prior experience, there are resources to educate him/her)
·
Maintain a
relationship with the advisor
·
Confirm all
decisions (especially financial) with the remainder of the executive board
·
Maintain contact
with the SGA
·
Facilitate
general assembly meetings or appropriately delegate that responsibility
·
Keep up-to-date
with current events through active research
·
Maintain constant
professionalism in general assembly and board meetings
·
Be active in
promoting positive advancement of the club
·
Be a role model
·
Oversee the board
·
Work in close
partnership with the board members and their endeavors.
The
Leadership Co-president shall:
·
Serve for a term
of one year starting in the fall semester
·
Coordinate
leadership opportunities for the executive board. This work entails ensuring strong leadership
and professional communication among e-board members and between the board and
the general assembly.
·
Maintain a
relationship with the advisor
·
Confirm all
decisions (especially financial) with the remainder of the executive board
·
Maintain contact
with the SGA
·
Facilitate
general assembly meetings or appropriately delegate that responsibility
·
Keep up-to-date
with current events through active research
·
Maintain constant
professionalism in general assembly and board meetings
·
Be active in
promoting positive advancement of the club
·
Be a role model
·
Oversee the board
·
Work in close
partnership with the board members and their endeavors.
Subsection 2.2: The
treasurer will serve for a term of one year starting in the fall semester. The
treasurer of the organization serves as the chief financial officer (CFO). The
treasurer will be in charge of maintaining the organization’s account c/o SGA
and will complete all financial reports on time or in a timely manner. The
treasurer will maintain a relationship with the Center for Student Leadership
and Involvement (CSLI) and SGA in regards to all financial matters within the
organization.
Subsection 2.3: The
secretary will serve for a term of one year starting in the fall semester. The
secretary will take notes during all meetings. E-mails containing meeting notes
will be sent out weekly within 24 hours of the meeting. E-mails containing
announcements will be sent out, if possible, 48 hours in advance. The secretary
will be responsible for checking and distributing the organization’s mail,
maintaining the organization’s filing cabinet, and moderating the listserve.
Subsection 2.4: The
Events Committee Chair will serve for a term of one semester. The Events
Committee Chair will be active in coming up with new events, and coordinating
educational events with the Education Committee Chair. They will also be
responsible for reserving rooms, advertising, and all other duties required in
putting on these events.
Subsection 2.5: The
Education Committee Chair will serve for a term of one semester. The Education Committee Chair is responsible
for managing the ZAP! Program. This includes
facilitation and planning of ZAP!s, which involves
advertising the program to professors, other student organizations, and residence
halls. This also includes managing all finances and paperwork relating the
program. The Education Committee Chair will also work with the Events Committee
Chair on educational events. The Education Committee Chair will plan
educational meetings and seek out educational opportunities for the
organization.
Subsection 2.6: The
Campus Community Outreach Committee Chair will serve for one semester. The Campus Community Outreach Committee Chair
will be responsible for coordinating volunteer opportunities for prism. They will also be responsible
for going to meetings and events for other organizations and departments as
determined by the general assembly. They will inform other organizations of prism events and gather information
about events put on by other organizations.
Article V:
Elections
Section 1: Regular
elections.
Subsection
1.1: For the positions of
co-presidents, treasurer, and secretary elections will be held in March of
every academic year.
Subsection
1.2: For all remaining board positions
elections will be held at the end of every semester.
Subsection
1.3 Regular elections will be
announced 3 weeks in advance.
Section 2: Emergency
elections.
Subsection
2.1: If any position becomes vacant
for any reason at any time, an emergency election will be held to fill the
position.
Subsection
2.2: Nominations to fill any vacant
position will be made at the first general assembly meeting following the
announcement of the vacancy.
Subsection
2.3: Voting to fill the vacancy will
be held at the general assembly following the meeting at which nominations were
held.
Subsection
2.4: In the event that an emergency
election must be held within the first five weeks of the semester, voting
privileges will be held over from the previous semester.
Subsection
2.5: Any person voted into a year-term
term position during an emergency election will finish up the term in
progress. Therefore he/she will be up
for re-election at the end of the academic year.
Section 3: All
voting members may vote for any candidate or they can vote no confidence for
any reason and must be informed that they can do so.
Section 4: When
a position is not filled in the previous semester’s election, an election will
be held for that position 6 weeks into the current semester. All voting member
requirements still apply.
Section 5: Any
voting member of prism can nominate
a member for a position on the executive board.
To be eligible to run, said member must be a student of
Section 6: Election
procedures and voting requirements will follow all Student Government
Association standards for clubs and organizations.
Section 7: A
contract will be signed by elected officers signifying that they have read and
they understand their duties, and that they will fulfill all of said duties.
Article VI: Amendment Procedure
Section 1: An
amendment must be submitted in writing to the executive board so that they may
put it on the agenda for the general assembly meeting two weeks afterwards.
Discussion of an amendment will be announced one week prior at the general
assembly meeting and through meeting notes via the list serve.
Section 2: Amendments
must be passed with a 75% majority. No percentage less than 75% may be
substituted (74.5% cannot be rounded up). The vote will take place at the
general assembly meeting immediately following the meeting in which the
amendment was discussed, three weeks after the submission to the executive
board.
Section 3: A
failed or revised amendment may only be submitted three times per semester,
regardless of the submitter.
Article VII:
Executive Board Procedure
Section 1: A
simple majority is required to pass any motion.
Section 2: Any
executive board member may request a secret ballot for a vote on any motion
without reason and that request must be honored.
Section 3: A
failed or revised motion may only be submitted three times per semester,
regardless of the submitter.
Article
VIII: Executive Board Impeachment Procedure
Section 1: Any
voting member of prism (including
board members) may submit a request to start the impeachment of an executive
board member. This request must be
written and submitted to the secretary and must include the charges against the
board member. If the secretary is the
board member under question, the request must be submitted to a co-president.
Subsection 1.1: The
person submitting the request may request to remain anonymous. This request
must be honored by the secretary (or the co-president to whom the request is
submitted).
Subsection 1.2: The
secretary (or co-president) must make copies of the request for impeachment
(enough for each board member). If
anonymity is requested the secretary (or co-president) must strike the name
from the copies.
Section 2: The
impeachment request must be discussed at the next executive board meeting. Each
board member will at this time receive a copy of the request for impeachment
proceedings.
Subsection 2.1: The
person accused shall be given the opportunity to speak on his/her/their own
behalf and/or in his/her/their defense.
Subsection 2.2: The
accused person may opt to resign at any time from the initial meeting
forward. If he/she/they choose to do so,
he/she/they must follow the normal resignation procedure.
Subsection 2.3: The
board members will be given one week (or the amount of time until the next
board meeting) to make their decision as to whether or not impeachment
proceedings should cease or continue.
During this time each board member should review the charges, review the
constitution, and consider what if any rules or responsibilities have been
neglected or broken by the accused. The
board members should be as objective as possible and not let personal
relationships affect their decision.
Section 3: At the next board meeting a
secret ballot will be taken by CEASE or
CONTINUE vote. No board member may abstain from voting.
Subsection 3.1: The
accused may speak in his/her/their defense before the vote if he/she/they so
choose.
Subsection 3.2: A
vote of CEASE signifies that a board member believes that the evidence
presented does not warrant any further proceedings. A vote of CEASE may also be accompanied with
a request that the accused remain under two weeks of review.
Subsection 3.3: A
vote of CONTINUE signifies that a board member believes that the evidence
presented warrants that the impeachment proceedings move forward.
Subsection 3.4: If
less than three board members vote CONTINUE the impeachment proceedings will
cease. If more than three board members
request review of that board member that board member will have to report to
the board for the next two meetings specific work and projects he or she is
working on and the progress of those projects.
Subsection 3.5: If
the proceedings cease after the vote is taken it will be the responsibility of
a co-president to announce to the general assembly that the request for
impeachment was made and that the board voted down the request. The co-president must include a summary of
the charges and the record of how the board voted on the issue. This will be done at the next general
assembly meeting following the board’s vote.
Subsection 3.6: If
three or more members of the board vote CONTINUE the impeachment proceedings
will be taken to the general assembly for a discussion and a vote.
Subsection 3.7: Unless
a special meeting, including speakers or a specific program is taking place the
next week, the discussion of the impeachment will take place at the next
general assembly meeting.
Subsection 3.8: The
secretary (or co-president) must inform the general assembly (via listserve) no
less than four days ahead of the discussion of and vote on the
impeachment. If notification cannot be
given four days in advance the impeachment proceedings will take place at the
following board meeting with the same exceptions as stated in 3.7. The notification should take place as soon as
the board knows at which meeting it will be discussed, the sooner, the better.
Section 4: A
thirty-five minute discussion on the impeachment will be held at the beginning
of the general assembly meeting.
Subsection 4.1: One
co-president will act as a moderator for the discussion and will not take part
in the discussion. He/she/they must act
in a partial manner and follow the rules set forward by the following
subsections. The president is
responsible for making sure the discussion is held in a respectful manner. He or she has the liberty to warn people for
bad behavior. If a person has to be
warned twice the president has the liberty to ask that person to leave.
Subsection 4.2: One
other board member must serve as a co-moderator. Board members may volunteer, if more than one
board member volunteers, a name will be drawn out of a hat. If no board member volunteers, a name will be
drawn out of a hat. This person is
responsible for keeping order and watching for the order in which hands are
raised.
Subsection 4.3: The
order of the discussion will be determined by coin toss, whom
ever wins may choose to go first or second.
Once the order is determined the order will remain consistent during the
whole discussion, each side will take alternating turns for each section of the
discussion.
Subsection 4.4: Opening
Statements. The accused and the accuser will be allotted 5 minutes for opening
statements. Each reserves the right to
not give an opening statement. In the
case of anonymity, the accuser forfeits the right to an opening statement. He/she/they may however allow someone to
speak on his/her/their behalf. If this
is done, the accuser must inform the secretary (or co-president) at least 48
hours before the meeting takes place.
Subsection 4.4: Open
discussion. 10 minutes will be allotted
to each side to speak in favor of its position and or to rebut any claims made
in the opening statements. Any person
may speak for either or both sides but must speak for the side whose turn it is
at that moment.
Subsection 4.5: No
one person may speak for more than two minutes during this twenty-minute open
discussion. A person may request an
additional minute if no other person wishes to speak and there is time left
over. The president must grant this
request. So, in theory a person may speak for no more than four minutes, if the
above situation arises.
Subsection 4.6: At
the end of the 20 minute discussion, a two minute break will be taken. During this time each side may choose a
person to make a closing statement, if a person is not already chosen.
Subsection 4.7: At
the end of the two-minute break each side will be given two and a half minutes
to make a closing statement or any closing remarks.
Subsection 4.8: At
this time a five-minute break will be taken.
Subsection 4.9: After
the five minutes is up a GUILTY/NOT GUILTY vote will be taken by secret ballot.
At this time the members present must be counted.
Subsection 4.10: Once
the votes are tabulated a two-thirds majority GUILTY vote is required to
convict the board member.
Subsection 4.11: If
a two-thirds majority GUILTY vote is not reached the board member is not
convicted and continues as an active board member.
Subsection 4.12 If
a two-thirds majority GUILTY vote is reached the board member is officially
removed.
Section 5: In
the case that the board member is removed, one week will be allotted for
nominations for that position to be filled.
Elections will be held two weeks later.
Article IX: Dues and Fees
Section 1: There
will be no dues or fees to become or remain a member of prism.
Article
X: Meetings
Section 1: General
assembly meetings will be held once a week, at a time determined by the
executive board, at the beginning of each semester. At least half of the executive board members
must be present to conduct business.
During the meetings, any member may make suggestions concerning events
and activities. The members present will
vote by a show of hands; majority winning.
Section 2: Any
special meetings will be called and announces by the executive board.
Section 3: Members
of the executive board will be required to attend all meetings, except with
prior notification or under extenuating circumstances.
Section 4: The
Presidents will run the executive board meetings which will be held on a weekly
basis at a designated time other than the general assembly meetings.
Subsection 4.1: Executive
board meetings will not be held in the LGBT resource center, except as a last
resort.
Article
XI: ZAP! Program
Section 1: As
part of prism’s goal to educate the
Section 2: These
panels will consist of people of varying sexual orientations, gender
identities, and gender expressions.
Section 3: It
is not necessary to be a member of prism
to be in a ZAP! panel.
Section 4: To
participate in a ZAP! Panel, a member of prism
must have undergone training (to be determined by the current Education
Committee Chair).
Section 5: Scheduling
of ZAP! Panels and participants will be the responsibility of the Education
Committee Chair.
Section 6: The
Education Committee Chair has the responsibility for maintaining the quality of
the ZAP! Program.