Simple Setup for Meetings
If for any reason the president and/or the VP are A)unable to attend meeting B) lack the necessary items to run club Here are the general ways to keep club running: 1) Necessary Items
With that said its fairly simple,
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GMU Anime Club Constitution
As Revised and Amended on November 13th, 2009 Preamble Japanese Animation, known to its fans as Anime, is a particular type of animation (some would call it an art form) that is produced in Japan. This genre, due to its engaging storylines, riveting action and character depth, has attracted a sizable following among American teenagers and adults, especially college students. While the American entertainment industry is also beginning to realize the potential of this exciting medium, it still remains a niche interest. Also, the popular conception in America is that animation is exclusively for children. This being the case, Anime fans are less vocal about their interest lest it be misconstrued to be childish, and thus it is harder for fan to locate and identify with one another. Besides being a legitimate medium in which to take interest, Anime provides a natural link between American and Japanese culture that should be explored. Therefore, we, the Amine fans attending George Mason University, hereby establish the George Mason University Anime Club – an organization with the goal of allowing fans of Anime to develop a community and enjoy their common hobby in the company of one another, as well as promoting awareness of Japanese Culture. Article I: Purpose The central purpose of the George Mason University Anime Club (GMUAC) is to bring attending Anime fans together as a community and to enable the use of Anime as a common recreation; in the course of doing so, we will also hope to spread understanding of the Japanese and their culture. Various methods will be utilized in the attaining of these goals. Primarily: The club will strive to make more people aware of Anime and it’s merits; the club will hold regular screenings of Anime for entertainment and community purposes; and the club will attempt to make Anime more readily available to fans. In addition, the club may explore similar career-related areas and activities of both a recreative and productive value, such as amateur voice-acting, amateur subtitling and audiovisual production. Article II: Officers The GMUAC has a set of five standard officers; the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Umbrella Representative. These officers are nominated from, and elected by, the body of club members. Also, these officers MUST be enrolled George Mason University students, because George Mason University itself requires that all the main five officers that go on their paperwork be enrolled students. A term as an officer is one school year in length, from May after the conclusion of the prior Spring Semester (including final exams) to the next May at the end of Spring Semester. Elections occur each May (at the second to last regular meeting), and newly elected officers take their offices in May as described above (see Section VI for more information). An incumbent officer IS allowed to run again, but only retains their office if successfully re-elected and still an enrolled student. As for other officers or staff members meant to serve other purposes, such as coordinators of particular events, the five standard officers can officially appoint GMUAC members to such sub-offices by collective majority agreement (at least three officers in favor) between themselves. Examples of such offices include but are not limited to coordinators for special specific events, tasks, or projects that GMUAC members collaborate in together. A sub-office term is for the duration of the semester in which it is appointed. For a sub-office to be retained over more than just one semester, the five standing officers must decide by a majority agreement between themselves (at least three officers in favor) to retain the sub-office, either retaining the existing sub-officer or appointing a new one as necessary. Sub-office terms last for only a semester because most sub-offices are for a specific event or project during a semester. Sub-officers need not be enrolled George Mason University students, they only need to be club members. Please see Section VIII for more information about sub-offices that is not detailed here. Official duties of the five standard officers are detailed below. Section I: Duties of the President The GMUAC President’s responsibilities include presiding over club meetings, planning club events with other officers (or aiding in the official designation of other sub-officers to do so), and attending the President’s Roundtable each month. The President also confers with the Secretary as to scheduling normal meetings (see Article III).The President may delegate any and all of these duties to any other willing officer. Section II: Duties of the Vice-President The Vice-President’s primary responsibility is to serve in the President’s place at any time that the President is unable to. If the President is not available for the serving of their duties, such duties then fall on the Vice-President by default. As such, the Vice-President’s duties include the option of looking into interesting possibilities for the club that the President may not have time to pursue. Section III: Duties of the Secretary The Secretary is charged with keeping a record of the club’s non-monetary resources, as well as any reasonable tasks that the President assigns. The Secretary is also involved (in conference with the President) in the scheduling of normal meetings (see Article III). This includes scheduling with George Mason University itself to have meeting times, and the actual content of said meetings; what Anime is scheduled to be shown, or what activity is to be engaged in. Before the beginning of March, the Secretary also schedules the election date to be held in March (see Article VI). In terms of hierarchy, the Secretary will act on behalf of the President and Vice-President if neither is present in a situation otherwise requiring their attention. Section IV: Duties of the Treasurer The Treasurer manages the finances of the GMUAC, and may be called upon to research the monetary implications of a proposed activity or project. The Treasurer is also the first contact point for any financial matters the club deals in with outside entities. The Treasurer may call executive meeting to discuss financial matters (see Article III). In terms of the hierarchy, the Treasurer will act on behalf of the President, Vice-President, and Secretary if none are present in a situation otherwise requiring their attention. Section V: Duties of the Umbrella Representative The Umbrella Representative is the GMUAC’s liaison to the Umbrella; any dealings with the Umbrella will be handled by this person. This is in addition to the implied and actual duties detailed at the beginning of this particular Article of the Constitution. In terms of hierarchy, the Umbrella Representative will act on behalf of the other standard officers if none are present in a situation requiring their attention. Section VI: Elections Election of officers will take place in May. At the second to last meeting of the GMUAC, nomination of any candidates from the club membership body for the five standard offices will be invited. Elections are then announced by the Secretary via available electronic methods so that all members may have occasion to participate, even those often unable to attend meetings. The actual method of voting shall be by secret ballot to be counted by the Secretary by the end of that same meeting. The term for elected officers, and when they take office, is as detailed above in this particular Article of the Constitution. When a newly elected officer is elected, that new officer shall shadow the incumbent officer until he steps down in order to ease the process of transition. The Office of the President and Treasurer are restricted for voting by grade level. The Vice President must be at least a 3rd year/Junior status at George Mason University with a minimum 2.0 GPA. The President must be at least a 4th year/Senior status at George Mason University with a minimum 2.0 GPA. All other officers and sub-officers must be a student at George Mason University, with at least a 2.0 GPA. Graduate Students are eligible for lower responsibility office or sub-office positions. They cannot run for the positions of President and Treasurer due to the pressures of those offices. As detailed above, should the office of President be vacated, the Vice-President will become the new President. In such a situation, a new Vice-President shall be elected. If any other office be vacated, a special election will be held to fill it. Also, the hierarchy described below will be in effect for any such absences of officers: The line of authority goes from President, to Vice-President, to Secretary, to Treasurer, to Umbrella Representative. Section VII: Removal Should a motion be presented by anyone in the club membership body, any of the five standing officers, or any sub-officer to remove a particular officer or sub-officer (see Section VIII for sub-officer information) from their post, the procedure to follow will be as detailed below: First, there will be a vote regarding whether the motion is justified and the desire for possible removal is shared by more than just the first to present the motion. If two thirds of the members of the club who vote (including the standing five officers and sub- officers) are in favor of such a motion being considered, then there will be an appointed amount of time (at least a week) in which the officer or sub-officer in question can present their defense, and a vote will be taken (again, including the officers, sub-officers, and members) as to whether the officer will actually be removed. The vote on actually removing the officer or sub-officer will also require a two thirds majority of votes in favor of removal of the officer as opposed to against. If the original motion does not receive this two thirds majority vote, the issue of removal of the officer or sub-officer will be dropped. Likewise, if the motion goes forward but the ultimate vote is not in two thirds majority favor of the removal, the issue of the removal of the officer or sub-officer will again be dropped. While these removals will be handled on a case-by-case basis, the most likely format for the voting shall be in the same manner as that of election and other votes we conduct (see Section VI), that is, by secret ballot. A designated officer, other than the one who is being considered for removal, shall be the one to receive said ballots. The Secretary shall designate which officer (including potentially themselves) this will be, except in situations where the Secretary is the one being considered for removal, in which case the President shall be the one to designate an officer (including potentially themselves) to receive these ballots. Removed officers will be replaced by special election (see Section VI for format of election), and removed sub-officers will be replaced by appointment of a replacement by five standing officers (see Section VIII). Section VIII: Creation of Sub-Offices The procedure for the creation and use of sub-offices is as detailed above in this particular Article of the Constitution, as well as Section I of this Article. This section reiterates the previously stated information but also provides other necessary details. For the purpose of sub-offices, such as coordinators of particular events, the five standard officers can officially appoint GMUAC members to such sub-officers by collective majority agreement (at least three officers in favor) between themselves. Examples of such offices include but are not limited to coordinators for special specific events, tasks, or projects that GMUAC members collaborate in together. A sub-office term is for the duration of the semester in which it is appointed. For a sub-office to be retained over more than one semester, the five standing officers must decide by a majority agreement between themselves (again, at least three officers in favor) to retain the sub-office, either retaining the existing sub-officer or appointing a new one as necessary. Sub-office terms last for only a semester because most sub-offices are for a specific event or project during a semester. Sub-officers need not be enrolled George Mason University students; they only need be GMUAC members. The name for a sub-office may be chosen by the officer holding the position. This office’s appointed individual does not, however, count in any of the votes or majorities between the standing five officers that are detailed in various Sections and Articles of this Constitution. For voting purposes, the sub-officer counts as a normal member of the GMUAC. Article III: Meetings Section I: Normal Meetings The GMUAC will attempt to hold weekly meetings. As first mentioned in Article II, Sections I and III, the Secretary and the President will confer to schedule these normal meetings collaboratively. This includes scheduling with the University itself to have meeting times, and the actual content of said meetings- what aspect of anime to be discussed, anime series/movie to watch, or activity is to be engaged in. They will schedule these meetings with the University for the whole semester near the start of said semester, or near the end of the prior semester. The schedule for these meetings, once available, will be made public via the club’s website (currently at web address http://gmuanimeclub.weebly.com) and whatever other electronic sources most easily available to the members at large of GMUAC. Should previously scheduled meetings need to be canceled, either due to inclement weather or other reasonable cause as decided collectively by the five standing club officers, then such cancellation notice is to be posted on the previously mentioned club website as well as being announced on whatever other electronic sources are most easily available to the members at large of GMUAC. Revisions to the schedule of the content necessitated by such cancellations shall be decided by the Secretary and President in conference. These changes shall be made on the GMUAC website either by the secretary or any other officer designated by the Secretary in their stead. Section II: Emergency Meetings Should an event or situation arise that requires immediate attention, any two of the five standing officers in tandem may call for an emergency meeting. The officers calling the meeting must make as much of an attempt as possible to inform the entire membership and allow enough advance warning for everyone to show up. Section III: Executive Meetings At least once a month, the five standing club officers should meet for a general planning session and discuss long-term club affairs. These meetings will be rather informal, and can be conducted by whatever means the officers choose. The time and place of these meetings also may be decided on by general consensus among the officers. However, the Treasurer may call a mandatory executive meeting if financial matters are pressing. Section IV: Event, task, and/or project meetings In the event that a sub-officer (see Article II, Section VIII) requires meeting(s) to be held for the purpose of whatever event, task or other project they are administrating (such as a meeting for the purpose of an event such as a karaoke contest, or multiple meetings for the purpose of a GMUAC collaborative project, for practical examples), they have the authority to independently act to schedule such a meeting or meetings with the George Mason University or whatever other authorities are necessary, and to preside over the meeting(s) in question. They are encouraged to utilize the assistance of the standing club officers and any other GMUAC members who work with them in doing so, and to announce these meetings by the GMUAC website, and any other means that they feel are appropriate. Section V: Unofficial Meetings The GMUAC has provision for unofficial meetings. Unofficial meetings are those designated by the general consensus among the standing five club officers to not fall into any of the categories described in the previous Sections of this Article. Unofficial meetings technically need not be presided over, but if any standing club officers are present they may do so. Article IV: Membership and Dues Section I: Membership Members of the GMUAC must be George Mason University students, staff, faculty, or alumni, except in cases where a member is a previously standing member or knows at least two other members of the club who are George Mason University students, staff, faculty, or alumni. Members are encouraged to fill out a membership form, as this provides the officers with information about you likes, dislikes, interests, favorite and/or least favorite Anime, all of which is information which the officers can bring into consideration in trying to decide the content of meetings and the execution of other events or projects. Filling out a membership form is also useful for the officers in helping them report membership numbers to George Mason University, which can help in the provision of finances. Membership forms can be requested from one of the five standing officers, or found on the club website. Section II: Dues Dues are a completely optional part of the GMUAC. Any member of the may give the club these optional dues if they so wish. The minimal amount for optional dues is $1.00. All dues should me provided to the club Treasurer, though other standing officers can temporarily accept dues on behalf of the Treasurer if the treasurer is unavailable, and then give them to the Treasurer later. Article V: Amendment or Revision Amendments to this Constitution may be presented by any of the standing five officers or any sub-officers. The President will lead a discussion of the Amendment, after which a majority vote of the club membership body in favor (as opposed to votes against) will be required to approve the Amendment. Votes will be conducted a in the same manner as any votes mentioned in other Sections and Articles of this Constitution. Revision as opposed to Amendment, of this Constitution will be governed in the same manner. |