The Registered Student Organization herein defined shall be termed the Historical European Martial Arts Club, and recognized under the acronym HEMAC.
The Historical European Martial Arts Club is an organization of persons wishing to promote and practice the study of historical martial arts. Its members shall aim to duplicate the methods and techniques practiced by combatants of past ages, namely those of the Middle Ages and Renaissance and those involving the sword, principally of military (non-civilian) forms. HEMAC members will conduct academic research into period fighting manuals, other historical documents, and modern-day publications to better understand those techniques. The Club will meet regularly to facilitate physical training consisting of various drills and partnered exercises. It will also make contact with similarly-oriented national and international "Western Martial Arts" groups to encourage the free-flow of ideas and to arrange joint training events. It will also attempt to foster an appreciation for western martial arts in academia and the public.
Membership in HEMAC is open to all Five-College undergraduates, graduates, faculty, staff-members and alumni, as well as the general public. Any Club dues, to be established by the officers, must be paid at the beginning of the semester by all members, including officers, to the Secretary.
The Historical European Martial Arts Club prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, place of origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, and any other legally protected characteristic. No one will be denied membership, voting rights, the right to run for an election, nor any other right, on such a basis.
Any voting member who is also a full-time student and a member of the Student Government Association is eligble to become an officer. The president must also have been a member for at least one semester prior to the election (with the exception of the Club's first semester post activation or re-activation).
The President is the chief administrative officer and is responsible for the general organization of Club activities. He will schedule general meetings and procure meeting rooms if necessary, conduct meeting business, organize events, and communicate with other academic and Western Martial Arts groups. He will be responsible for informing members of all HEMAC activities. He will hold signatory power.
The Vice President is the secondary administrative officer. He will aid the President in all his duties, and will also call for and preside over meetings in the event that the President is absent, ill, or otherwise indisposed.
The Secretary is responsible for finances and record-keeping. He will take minutes of any meeting where official HEMAC business is conducted, collect dues, and keep the membership roster up to date. He will also hold signatory power.
General meetings may be called for by the President or Vice-president, and/or held at regularly scheduled meeting-times. At least one officer must be present for any Club business to be conducted. Unofficial meetings may be convened by other members as they see fit.
Official meetings shall begin or end, by preference of the presiding officer, with a call for any business. Any business conducted should be recorded by the Secretary or if he is not present, by any other officer. The remainder of the meeting shall be used for discussion, training, or any other appropriate activity.
Training is to consist of whatever kinds of drills and exercises the members see fit to engage in. Footwork, weapon drills, athletic exercise, and partnered practice are to be considered normal elements of training. Any member is always free to elect not to participate in any kind of exercise. Training which involves contact is to be performed with whatever safety equipment is deemed necessary by the officers or participating members, and only engaged in by members who freely acknowledge the dangers of such training, and who agree not to hold the Historical European Martial Arts Club or the University of Massachusetts responsible for any injury they may receive by participating in it.
While all members who engage in partnered practice acknowledge the inherent dangers of such an activity, HEMAC places safety of its members above all else. All members must, before participating, acknowledge a shared responsibility for safety. All members are expected not to participate in physical practice if, for whatever reason, they feel uncomfortable doing so, or if they feel incapable of participating in a safe manner.
If an officer witnesses what he deems to be unsafe behavior he should immediately inform the offending individual. If the problem persists, or the instance of behavior is severe, the officer should inform the person and then confer with whatever other officers are present. If there is a consensus, they may ban him from partnered training for an indefinite period of time. This decision can be overturned by a normal majority vote.
Elections are to be held during the last month of classes during the Fall semester of each year, either at a general meeting or a meeting convened for that purpose, and not during the finals period. The election should be announced no less than two weeks prior to its occurrence. A quorum of at least two thirds HEMAC's voting members must be present for a vote to take place.
At the election, any person wishing to run for office will announce their intention to do so. Any person may run for any number of offices. Any voting member may also choose to nominate a qualified person for any position. The voting body will then cast secret ballots, indicating their choice for each office. The Secretary will collect and record the results, and announce them as expediently as possible. In the event of a tie, the incumbent will retain the position or, if there is none, the President will cast a deciding vote.
The current group of officers will retain their positions through winter break until the first day of classes of the following Spring semester, at which time they will be succeeded by the newly elected officers. New officers will immediately assume the all rights and responsibilities of their positions.
Any HEMAC member who has paid his dues, who is also a fee-paying member of the SGA, and who has attended at least three meetings is eligible to vote. A quorum for normal, non-election business, shall consist of at least one half of the Club's voting members, plus one. For any motion to pass it must receive a majority of votes (fifty percent plus one) from the attending electorate, with the exception of amendments and impeachment.
An impeachment vote may be called for by any voting member of HEMAC. For it to pass it must receive a two-thirds majority vote. After an officer is impeached, the presiding officer will announce an election for a replacement officer, to be held as soon as possible.
Amendments to this Charter or to its by-laws must also receive a two-thirds majority vote from the quorum in order to pass. Once they have passed, they must be approved by the Secretary of the Registry of the SGA.