Constitution and By-Laws
Constitution and By-Laws
Article I. Name and Object
Sec. 1. Name: The name of this organization shall be the UMass Republican Club.
Sec. 2. Object: The object of the UMass Republican Club (here-after to be called the Club) shall be:To bring college students into the Republican Party, and to provide an opportunity for them to find political expression and recognition. To train college students as effective political workers and give them an opportunity to meet the candidates of the Republican Party and work for their election. To promote the ideals of the Republican Party.
To collect, analyze, discuss, and disseminate information concerning political affairs.
To further conservative and related thought
Per Majority Vote on 29 January 08, the UMass Republican Club seceded from the Massachusetts Alliance of College Republicans (MACR) and no longer recognizes any affiliation with the aforementioned Alliance.
Article II. Membership
Sec. 1. Active membership shall be limited to students presently enrolled at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Sec. 2. Membership in this Club shall be classified only as Active. Active members shall be those who have attended at least two meetings, and if dues are imposed, have paid their dues.
Article III. Officers
Sec. 1. The officers of this Club shall be President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Membership Director, College Republicans/5 College Representative, and the Publicity Director
Sec. 2. The duties of the officers shall be presented and prescribed in the By-Laws.
Sec. 3. An officer’s term shall last one (1) academic year, and no officer shall be eligible for more than two (2) full consecutive terms in the same office.
Article IV. Executive Board
Sec. 1. The Executive Board shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Membership Director, Five-College Representative, and the Publicity Director.
Sec. 2. The Executive Board shall be responsible for the transaction of any business of the Club between regular meetings. It shall also create any committees as it may deem necessary.
Sec. 3. The Executive Board shall meet at the call of the President, or at the call of three members of the executive board. When a special meeting is called, the purpose thereof shall be stated in the notice of said meeting. There must be 24 hours advance notice of any Executive Board meeting.
Article V. Nomination and election of officers
Sec. 1. Three weeks prior to the annual meeting, the President, or an Executive Board member designated by the President, shall request from the membership nominations for all Executive Board positions to be submitted to the President by mail. With this request, the President shall send out a description of each Executive Board position to be filled.
Sec. 2. Only Active club Members may be qualified to nominate.
Sec. 3. In the event that two (2) weeks after a nomination by mail, an Executive Board position shall not yet been filled, the Executive Board will meet and nominate at least one candidate for each position not filled. If all positions have been filled the Board shall not meet.
Sec. 4. At the annual meeting nominations may be received from the floor after all nominations received by mail have been announced.
Sec. 5. Elections: A majority of all votes cast shall be necessary for an election. In the event that any ballot does not show a Majority for any nominee for any office, there shall be further ballots, with the nominee having the lowest vote being dropped form the second and succeeding balloting until a nominee shall have received a majority of all votes cast. Where there is only one candidate balloting may be a voice vote. The President shall only vote in the case of a tie.
Article VI. Vacancies
Sec. 1. The membership will be given notice of any vacancy and a meeting will be called.
Sec. 2. Prior to the meeting in which the vacancy is to be filled, the President may appoint a temporary officer to serve for no more than a month. Upon the third week of the temporary officer’s service, nominations for the office shall be held, with elections held the week after.
Sec. 3. In the event that a vacancy occurs while the University is not in session, the President may appoint a temporary officer, must announce the appointment to entire active membership by the most practical means available, the time limits of section 2 shall start to toll when the University re-opens.
By-Laws
ArticleI. Duties of the Officers
Sec. 1. President: The President shall preside at all meetings and be Chief Executive Officer of the Club and of the Executive Board. The President shall have general supervision over the development of its entire program. The President shall make all committee appointments subject to the approval of the Executive Board. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all appointed committees. The President is to have Signatory Responsibility in order to have control over club funding. If the President is unable to attain Signatory Responsibility within three weeks of the final training session for gaining said title, (s)he will be put on temporary suspension as an officer. If the President is unable to attain Signatory Responsibility within two weeks of the beginning of the suspension period, the President will be impeached on grounds of neglect.
Sec. 2. Vice-President: The Vice-President shall work closely with the President as well as with the rest of the Executive Board. The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President in the President's absence. In the event that the President is impeached, resigns, or if the position becomes otherwise vacant, the Vice President will also serve as acting President and must attain Signatory Responsibility following similar guidelines to that presented to the President.
Sec. 3. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall keep all the financial records of the Club. The Treasurer shall also be responsible for the collection of dues as well as specifying in what form dues will be collected. The Treasurer is to have Signatory Responsibility in order to have control over club funding. If the Treasurer is unable to attain Signatory Responsibility within three weeks of the final training session for gaining said title, (s)he will be put on temporary suspension as an officer. If the Treasurer is unable to attain Signatory Responsibility within two weeks of the beginning of the suspension period, the Treasurer will be impeached on grounds of neglect.
Sec. 4. Secretary: The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meeting and perform any clerical tasks as deemed necessary by the President and membership. In the event that the Treasurer is impeached, resigns, or if the position becomes otherwise vacant, the Secretary will also serve as acting Treasurer and must attain Signatory Responsibility following similar guidelines to that presented to the Treasurer. The Secretary shall generally disseminate Club communication as directed by the President.
Sec. 5. Membership Director: The Membership Director shall be in charge of all communications with the Club membership for general meetings and special events. The membership director shall additionally be overall responsible for recruitment and retention initiatives and associated events, as deemed necessary by the President, to specifically include tabling and Club outreach efforts.
Sec. 6. Five-College Representative: The Five-College Representative shall be the general Club liaison with all other College Republican organizations and is responsible for the establishment and maintaining of ties with local, state, and national College Republican organizations. The Five-College Representative shall also ensure that the Club is not in conflict in its actions with the rules or regulations of any state or national College Republican group of which it is a member, namely the College Republican National Committee (CRNC). The Five-College Representative shall report any said violations to the President, Executive Board or the Membership, whichever he deems appropriate. The Five College-Representative shall also serve as the Club’s general representative to any Five-College or state College Republican activities as directed reasonably by and/or in the absence of the President.
Sec. 7. Publicity Director: The Publicity Director shall be in charge of organizing the publicity of all club events both on and off campus. The Publicity Director will also serve as the contact person for all official press releases and other contacts of the club that are directed toward media sources. During times in which there are not yet events to publicize, the Publicity Director shall serve as club historian and organize information about the club and its history for the Membership Director to use when tabling and in any other case in which it may be deemed necessary. Per majority vote on 10/30/07, the Publicity Director shall simultaneously hold another officer position if properly nominated and elected to that position consistent with the applicable sections of Articles V and VI.
Sec. 8. It shall be the duty of the President to assume the duties of any of the aforementioned officers in the event that the position is vacant and there is neither an interim officer appointed, nor (in the case of the Treasurer) a clear assignment of the duties.
Article II.
Sec. 1. Twenty-five (25%) of the members of the Club shall constitute a quorum to transact business for a club meeting.
Sec. 2. A majority of the members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum to transact business for an Executive Board Meeting
Article III. Dues
Sec. 1. Dues shall be collected either in the form of commitment through club involvement or through financial donation, as may be deemed necessary by the Treasurer.
Sec. 2. Dues must include that a prospective member must first fill out a membership form and attend at least two (2) meetings before receiving Active member status.
Article IV. Committees.
Sec. 1. Committees may be created as deemed necessary, at the direction of the Executive Board. Appointments to the Committees shall be made by the President, subject to the approval of the Executive Board.
Per Unanimous Vote on 2/12/08, The UMass Republican Club shall henceforth recognize the Conservative Women's Committee, hereinafter to be referred to as the "CWC" or "Committee". All female and male members of the Club shall be eligible for Presidential appointment to the Committee. All current active female members of the Club are henceforth recognized as members of the CWC. The CWC shall collectively report directly to the Club President and recognizes no formal rank structure within the Committee, however it may informally designate a Committee spokesperson for the purpose of efficiently reporting to the Club President and the Club.
Article V. Parliamentary Authority.
Sec. 1. All Business meetings of this Club shall be governed in an informal manner unless otherwise suspended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote. In such a case, parliamentary procedure shall be used as authorized in Robert's Rules of Order.
Sec. 2 Only active members may speak at a meeting. Non-Active members may not speak unless they are recognized to speak by the President, or the Present ranking or presiding officer at the meeting.
Sec. 3. At the beginning of each meeting there will be a Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag. It shall be the duty of the President (or designee) to insure that there always is at least one properly displayed American flag present at all club meetings and events.
Article VI. Amendments.
Sec. 1. The by-laws of this club may be amended by a majority vote of the members present at a regularly called meeting, or by unanimous vote of the Executive Board at a meeting called for the purpose.
Article VII. Proxy Voting.
Sec. 1. Proxy voting will be allowed only at the annual meeting.
Sec. 2. Those wishing to Proxy vote must have a signed consent form from the Active member for whom they are voting.
Article VIII. Impeachment of Officers
Sec. 1. An officer may be impeached from the office in the light of credible evidence of neglect, misuse, or abuse of position; or other provisions explicitly stated in this document.
Sec. 2. It will take a 2/3 vote of the active members to impeach a standing officer.
Sec. 3. The impeachment is active for 1 year and does not disallow an individual from running for another office.
