Constitution of Rose-Hulman Unity

Last Revised: September, 2012

 

Article I :  Name and Purpose

Section 1.   Description

Unity is the official Rose-Hulman gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender & straight alliance.

Section 2.   Purpose

The purpose of Unity is twofold; to provide a place where individuals can be themselves without fear of prejudice or hate, and to promote an environment on campus and throughout our community that is tolerant of all people.

Section 3.   Affiliation

This organization is not affiliated with any local, state, or national group with the exception of oSTEM (out in Science Technology Engineering and Math).

Section 4.   Beliefs

Unity does not, as a club, officially adopt or act upon any moral viewpoint or belief, other than the idea that intolerance and discrimination should be stopped wherever present.

Article II :  Membership

Section 1.   Non-discrimination Statement

Membership in this organization shall be without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, handicap, age, marital status, political belief or affiliation, or membership or non-membership in any other organization.

Section 2. Statement of Anonymity

The following statement should be read at the first Unity meeting of each academic school year. Thereafter, it should be read or mentioned at the beginning of each meeting.

No attendee of a Unity meeting shall discuss the attendance of another person outside of Unity. Any personal information discussed in a meeting should not be discussed outside of Unity without consent of any concerned parties. To support this cause, Unity keeps no public membership list.

Section 3.   Requirements for Membership

    1. Anyone may become a member who has attended three previous meetings, or two consecutive meetings within the current academic year. 
    2. Members who are not current students at Rose-Hulman cannot receive funding for activities.  
    3. Members who are not current students of Rose-Hulman cannot vote on matters dealing with:

1.   Election or removal of officers. 
2.   Removal of members. 
3.   Amendments to the constitution. 
4.   Financial matters.

Section 4.   Removal of Members

If a member of the group harms another member or threatens another member in such a way that they fear for their personal safety, or if a member is part of harassment or disruptive behavior, or if a member violates the anonymity statement, that member may be removed by the following process:

  1. A petition to remove the member in question must be submitted to an officer and must consist of a statement of motivation.  When the petition is received, the president shall call a meeting of the advisor, member in question, and the president to discuss the petition.
     
  2. If (A) fails to solve the problem, then the grounds for removal are to be presented at a meeting of the officers, mediated by the president and the advisor.
     
  3. The member in question shall be provided an opportunity to present a defense either in person or in writing.
     
  4. Voting on removal shall not occur sooner than one week after the presentation of grounds and defense has been made. The vote shall be by secret ballot. A unanimous vote of the officers present shall be required for removal.

Article III :  Officers

Section 1.   Constitutional Officers

The Officers of the organization shall be:

  1. President
  2. Vice President
  3. Secretary
  4. Treasurer
  5. Service Chair
  6. Webmaster
  7. Social Chair

Section 2.   Qualifications for Holding Office

In order to be eligible to hold an office, the candidate must be a student member of the organization with voting status and must plan to attend Rose-Hulman for the entirety of the elected term.  Any officer may hold up to two, but there must always be a different president than vice president.

Section 3.   Elections

    1. The officers of the organization shall be elected for a term of one academic year.
       
    2. Nominations will be held during the 6th week of the winter term, and elections will be held during the 7th week of the same term of the school year.
       
    3. Election shall be determined by a secret ballot vote. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes will win the election.
    4. In the event the two candidates with the highest number of votes receive the same number of votes, a revote will be cast between the two candidates.
       
    5. The newly elected officers will begin their terms of office at the beginning of the spring term following their election.
    6. After elections and before the beginning of the next term, each incoming officer and the outgoing officer of the same position will attend at least one individual meeting for the purpose of explaining responsibilities and duties. During this same time period, there should be at least one officer meeting, consisting of each old and new officer.

Section 4.   Duties of Officers

    1. Each officer shall have the following duties:
      1. To represent the group at Institute functions whenever possible.
      2. To perform duties as requested by the president.
    2. The President shall be the principal executive officer and shall have the following duties: 
       
        1. To preside at all meetings of the organization.
        2. To call special meetings when required.
        3. To handle public relations, including checking the unity school mailbox.
        4. Maintain contact with the club advisor.
        5. To create new committees as necessary.
           
    3. The Vice President shall have the following duties: 
       
        1. To preside in the absence of the president.
        2. To prepare quarterly Unity evaluation surveys.
        3. To prepare and file any reports required by the Institute.
           
    4. The Secretary shall have the following duties: 
       
        1. To keep minutes of each meeting of the organization.
        2. To notify all members of meetings.
        3. To handle all official correspondence with members as needed.
        4. To maintain contact with the Unity Alumni Association, and keep a record of its membership.
        5. To maintain the confidential Unity membership list.
        6. Help the vice president collect data from Unity evaluation and event evaluation surveys and present the data at the second meeting of each quarter.
        7. If there is no webmaster, update the unity website as necessary.
           
    5. The Treasurer shall have the following duties: 
       
        1. To keep all financial records of the organization.
        2. To prepare and submit financial reports to the members.
        3. To prepare the annual budget and all budget requests for funds.
        4. To present at the second meeting of each quarter the budget the events of the previous quarter, and the projected budget of all events of the current quarter.
           
    6. The Service Chair shall have the following duties:
       
      1. To organize service events both on and off campus for the organization.
      2. There should be at least one club service event per quarter.
         
    7. The Webmaster shall have the following duties: 
        1. To update the Unity website as needed

 

    1. The Social Chair shall have the following duties: 
        1. To organize social events both on and off campus for the organization.
        2. To ensure there is at least one social event each quarter of the school year.
        3. Act as liaison between Unity and similar groups in the area.
        4. Be responsible for publicity of events.
        5. To ensure the display box in the Commons is updated on a regular basis.

 

Section 5.   Vacancy of an Office

A.   In the event of a vacancy in the office of the president before the expiration of a full term, the vice president shall assume all duties until a special election can be held within two weeks to fill the vacancy.

B.   In the event of a vacancy in any office other than the President before the expiration of a full term, a special election shall be called by the president within two weeks to fill the vacancy.

Section 6.   Removal of Officers

An officer may be removed by the following process:

A.   A petition to remove the officer in question must be submitted to the advisor and must consist of a statement of motivation.  When the petition is received, the advisor will call a meeting of all the officers. 

B.   If (A) fails to solve the problem, then the grounds for removal are to be presented at the meeting by another officer. 

C.   The officer in question shall be provided an opportunity to present a defense either in person or in writing. 

D.   Voting on removal shall not occur sooner than one week after the presentation of grounds and defense have been made and will be by secret ballot. A majority vote of the members present shall be required.

Article IV :  Advisor

Section 1.   Selection of Advisor

The Advisor to this organization must be a member of the RHIT faculty or staff. In the event of the need to select a new Advisor the following process should be followed:

A.    Possible Advisors should be discussed at a regular meeting of the organization.
 

B.     Each candidate should be contacted before the next meeting to see if he or she is willing to hold the position.
 

C.     Willing candidates will each be voted on by secret ballot at the next meeting. The candidate who receives the majority vote of the present members will become the acting Advisor on a date selected by the organization.

Section 2.   Role of the Advisor

A.   The Advisor shall assist the officers and members in accomplishing the purpose of the organization. 

B.   The Advisor shall be contacted with petitions regarding removal of officers or members. 

C.   The Advisor shall be present in meetings regarding removal of members between the president and member in question.

Article V :  Amendements

Section 1.   Ratification

A.   A proposed amendment to this constitution shall be presented to the membership at least one meeting prior to the meeting at which the vote is to be held. 
B.   Ratification of an amendment to this constitution requires 2/3 vote of the members present at a scheduled meeting.

Article VI: oSTEM

Section 1. Definition

A.    oSTEM refers to our Rose-Hulman chapter of out in Science Technology Engineering and Math.

B.     This oSTEM will act as a sub-committee of Rose-Hulman Unity.

C.     By being an oSTEM chapter we are given opportunities for professional development through conferences and other resources.

D.    The goal of oSTEM is educating and fostering leadership for LGBTQA communities in the STEM fields

Section 2. Attendance

A.    All oSTEM members must be on a published membership list that is kept separate from the anonymous Unity membership list.

B.     No members of Unity are obligated to be on the public membership list.

Section 3. Officers

A.    All officers of oSTEM are concurrent with officers of Unity.

B.     An officer will be placed in charge of oSTEM as appointed by the President. Their duties will entail:

1.      Ensuring we maintain our oSTEM chapter affiliation.

2.      Organizing oSTEM specific events on campus.

3.      Leading oSTEM specific discussions.