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Constitution

Welcome to the living document of UAS. This new version was created in Spring 2003 by Roland Cheung and the Constitution Committee and passed by majority vote of attendees during the October 17, 2003 showing.

Preamble

The UMBC Anime Society will be subject to the jurisdiction of the UMBC Office of Student Life, UMBC Student Involvement Center and the UMBC Student Government Association in pursuance to the annotated code of Maryland.

Article I: Designation

The name of the organization is the UMBC Anime Society (UAS) and will also be known informally as the Anime Society.

Article II: Recognition

The UMBC Anime Society is an official UMBC organization recognized by SGA to promote student involvement at the university.

The President or Vice President of UAS is required to submit a registration renewal form at the end of each academic year to ensure that UAS will be recognized as an official organization for the following year.

Article III: Objective

The purpose of UAS is to promote Japanese animation and Japanese culture.

Article IV: Membership

No individual will be denied membership in UAS due to race, ethnicity, age, sex, nationality, religious or sexual orientation, physical or mental capacities, university status, or status as a veteran or disabled veteran so long as the individual is courteous, non-disruptive during events, and non-abusive toward fellow members.

General membership includes all voting members and all individuals who are registered on the UAS mailing list.

Voting members must meet the university standard of a 2.0 GPA and be undergraduate students at UMBC. Continued membership is pending accordance with club ratified procedural rules. While all individuals are welcome to all club activities regardless of membership status, only voting members will be permitted to vote, in accordance with standing SGA limitations.

Individuals who do not fall into either membership category are considered guests. The maximum number of guests permitted to be present will be based on university standards.

Article V: Structure

In addition to the officers, the overall welfare of the organization will be overseen by a required UMBC faculty or staff member.

UAS will consist mainly of showings and meetings. However, various events may be held for other purposes such as fundraising.

Showings consist of weekly anime showings and the 24-hour anime marathon which is held approximately once each semester. The President or Vice President must be present in order for an official showing to take place unless someone else is designated to lead the event by the President. The Vice President, with the help of the President, is responsible for determining the schedule of all showings.

The UMBC Anime Society will not schedule showings for the first 10 academic days of the semester, or whatever number of days deemed appropriate by current Office of Student Life scheduling policies, plus any additional days deemed necessary by the current officers to properly promote the event.

Meetings are primarily for officers and staff to address issues which have emerged from previous showings and to allow planning for future events. Only the President may declare official meetings although any officer or staff may propose, plan, and lead a meeting. Since various issues will affect the entire organization, individuals from the general membership may attend.

Other events may be planned by UAS alone or in collaboration with other organizations. These events will be open to the general membership and guests unless stated otherwise.

Article VI: Officers

  1. UAS officers shall consist of positions recognized by the SGA as officer positions which include: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary.
  2. Said officers will coordinate meetings, showings, and all UAS events and activities as dictated by the voting membership.
  3. Officers must attend any showings per request by the President, but must attend all meetings unless the individual is excused. If excused, the individual is still obligated to submit a report within 72 hours of the end of the meeting.
  4. The President, Vice-President, and Treasurer must be voting members. The Secretary position may be drawn from the general membership.

  5. Each officer shall fulfill the following objectives:
    1. The President shall:
      1. oversee and coordinate all activities of the club; ensuring that wishes of the membership are met.
      2. represent UAS to the Student Government Association, Office of Student Life, and other campus governing bodies, as well as to sister anime societies.
      3. ensure that meetings/showings are provided for, properly scheduled, and planned for.
      4. attend the mandatory SGA Treasurer's workshop, oversee the planning of the yearly budget, and apply for SGA funding.
      5. reserve the right to create or terminate staff positions.
      6. check the organization’s mailbox at least once each week.

    2. The Vice-President shall:
      1. support the President in the efforts to coordinate events and activities.
      2. represent UAS in the absence of the President.
      3. provide for actual setup and preparation for showings.
      4. ensure that meetings are properly planned.
      5. retain supervision over all committees
      6. collaborate with the Constitution committee to update the constitution every three years or when seen as necessary.
      7. assist the Advertising Coordinator as necessary.

    3. The Treasurer shall:
      1. keep records of all financial accounts and transactions.
      2. perform a monthly review of the budget.
      3. report an updated budget after every major event requiring the use of UAS funds.
      4. attend the mandatory SGA Treasurer's workshop, plan the yearly budget, and apply for SGA funding.
      5. plan all financial events (i.e. fund raisers and money-making components of events).

    4. The Secretary shall:
      1. maintain all related documentation and materials.
      2. shall manage the club library and keep an accurate inventory.
      3. maintain roster of membership and attendance.
      4. maintain a record of meetings and showings and any minutes.
      5. maintain all correspondence to and from UAS.

Article VII: Staff

  1. Staff members are positions not recognized by the SGA and include: Advertising Coordinator (formerly known as Publicity Liaison), Historian, and Webmaster.
  2. The President may create temporary staff positions at any time. These positions will be dissolved at the end of the academic year.
  3. All staff is required to assist Officers with club activities if requested and must attend any meetings and showings per request by the President unless the individual is excused. If excused, the individual is still obligated to submit a report within 72 hours of the end of the meeting.
  4. All staff positions may be filled by members from the general membership.
  5. Each staff member must fulfill the following objectives specific to their position:

    1. The Advertising Coordinator shall:
      1. be familiar with posting policies on campus.
      2. provide for advertising of meetings, showings, and other events. All forms of advertising are subject to approval by the President before release to the public.
      3. moderate UMBC.ORG.ANIME newsgroup and all associated newsgroups at UMBC.
      4. coordinate with all other clubs and departments to promote UAS.
      5. consult the Vice President with issues regarding advertising.

    2. The Historian shall:
      1. create visuals to promote UAS events.
      2. collaborate with the Webmaster to update the member photo gallery.
      3. record, using visual equipment, various UAS events.

    3. The Webmaster shall:
      1. update the UAS website after each meeting or showing
      2. collaborate with the Historian and Secretary to keep the website updated with relevant information

Article VIII: Committees

  1. Committees are specific to the organization and are formed to reflect specific interests of organization members and to address various club issues.
  2. A minimum of three members are required to constitute a committee; committees become temporarily inactive if there are fewer than three members.
  3. Committee seats may be filled by members from the general membership.
  4. The structure and objectives of committees are as follows:
    1. Standing Committees
      1. Interclub Materials committee shall:
        1. work with the Secretary and Advertising Coordinator to contact sister clubs to obtain materials for meetings and showings.
        2. contact various anime-related companies to disseminate information about UAS and to acquire up-to-date information about Japanese animation
        3. obtain and distribute, or provide for distribution of information from sister clubs and societies around the world.
      2. Constitution Committee shall:
        1. meet every three years to perform a general update of the constitution
        2. review the constitution toward the end of each academic year and amend the constitution as necessary
      3. Ad Hoc Committees shall:
        1. be formed upon the stated interests of at least 3 voting members.
        2. be formed to address emergency or special issues
        3. elect and designate a Chair to interface with the standing officers.
        4. be dissolved at the end of the academic year.

Article IX: Elections

  1. Terms shall run for one year starting on the first day of the Fall semester.
  2. To be eligible for an elected position, an individual must have been a member for the past semester and must have been to at least two showings or meetings. Individuals may submit a petition to run for an elected position if they do not meet these requirements. The standing president will make the decision to accept or reject the petition.
  3. There is no limit on the number of terms an individual may hold in a particular position.
  4. An individual may only hold one position unless the President states otherwise.
  5. Only voting members may participate in the officer portion of the election. The general membership may participate in the election of staff members. Selection for committee members are not subject to a formal election process.
  6. Elections shall be held at the last showing in April.
    1. Two weeks notice shall be given on the newsgroup or mailing list about the upcoming election and a reminder must be announced at the showing prior to the election.
    2. Individuals must be present during nominations, during the election event, and must also be present at any required meetings designated by the president.
    3. Voting will be done by ballot and the results of the election will be announced before the end of the showing.
    4. Individuals selected for the position will be based on a majority vote.
    5. When possible, ballots will be counted by two non-member volunteers separately. Otherwise, ballots will be counted by the current Secretary and Vice President.
    6. In the event of a tie, standing officers who are not running for the tied position must vote amongst themselves to make the final decision.

Article X: Removal from Positions, Resignations and Vacancies

  1. In the event of a vacancy in any non-officer position due to an eviction, resignation, or an unfilled position, the officers shall select a Pro Tempore replacement at the first meeting or showing following the vacancy. If the officers are unable to select a replacement, the position will be temporarily filled by one of the officers until a replacement is available.
  2. Should an individual be unwilling or unable to fulfill the objectives of the designated position or if the individual is hindering the progress of the organization, the following procedure will be followed for official release from the position:
    1. In the event of a resignation, the individual resigning must submit a written resignation request two weeks prior to the anticipated official release from the position.
    2. If a proposal for eviction is submitted, the procedures must be followed as outlined below. An officer may propose to evict any individual holding any position regardless of rank. However, staff can only propose to evict other staff and committee members can only propose to evict members in the same committee. If an officer is the subject of eviction, a staff member, selected by the remaining officers, will act in place of the officer in question only for purposes of the trial procedures. The officer in question is not permitted to vote in their own trial.
      1. The individual making the proposal, hereby addressed as the plaintiff, must draft a formal document, as outlined by Amendment I, detailing reasons for the eviction of the individual in question, hereby addressed as the defendant.
      2. A copy of the proposal will be provided to each officer to determine whether the document meets formal documentation requirements. The proposal will be returned to the plaintiff until all requirements are met.
      3. Upon approval, a copy of the proposal will be presented to the defendant.
      4. The defendant will be given one full week to review the proposal. After this time, the defendant may choose to resign or argue a case.
      5. If the defendant chooses to resign, the defendant will be immediately released from the position and is not subject to the formal requirements for resignation.
      6. If the defendant elects to argue a case, the defendant must notify the officers of this decision before the end of the review period. If the defendant fails to make the notification, the defendant forfeits the right to present a case.
      7. Upon receiving notification from the defendant, the officers will call the plaintiff to present an argument to the general membership at the next weekly showing. The defendant may not be present at the plaintiff’s hearing.
      8. The defendant must present his case immediately following the plaintiff’s hearing to the general membership. The plaintiff may not be present during this time. The defendant forfeits his right to a hearing if he fails to be present.
      9. Immediately following the defendant’s hearing, both the defendant and plaintiff will be called before the general membership for a final discussion and closing statements. Everyone may participate including guests.
      10. The plaintiff and defendant will then be asked to leave the room.
      11. A vote by secret ballot will be taken among the general membership. The verdict will be the decision by the general membership that receives the majority vote. Everyone may vote except for the plaintiff, defendant and guests.
      12. When a verdict is rendered, the verdict will be presented by the officers to both the plaintiff and defendant using appropriate means.
      13. If the defendant is found guilty, an immediate release from position will be imposed after the defendant has received the verdict.
      14. If the defendant is found innocent, the defendant will resume his position.
      15. Neither the defendant nor the plaintiff may file an appeal under any circumstance.
      16. Neither the plaintiff nor any other individual may propose another eviction on the same defendant using the same or similar arguments for the remainder of the semester.

Article XI: Finance and Budgetary Policies

UAS will be supported by funds from SGA and from fundraising events. Acquired funds will be placed into two separate money accounts depending on the source of the funds. The SGA account is the money allocated to UAS by SGA based on the budget proposal and hearing for the given year. Requests for the use of funds from the SGA account must abide by any limitations set on the account by SGA. The organization’s personal account, which will be addressed as the slush account, contains funds not allocated by SGA. Requests for the use of funds from this account are not subject to most limitations of SGA, but may be subject to other restrictions.

Requests for the use of funds for services or purchases, requests for additional allocations from SGA, and requests for reallocations of funds require submission of the proper paperwork by the Treasurer. All requests must be reviewed by the President before submission.

At the end of each academic year, the Treasurer must follow all procedures outlined by SGA in order to obtain funding from SGA for the subsequent year. This includes submitting a completed budget proposal packet to SGA and registering for a budget hearing.

Article XII: Amendments

Amendments may be proposed by any member of UAS. Only officers may approve legislation to be submitted for voting. Any amendments not approved for voting may not be resubmitted for thirty days. Resubmissions must not be identical to the original submission and must have relevant modifications.

A three-fourths vote of the voting membership is required for passing. Amendments are effective immediately upon passing.

Amendment I – Documentation

  1. Documentation may take any form such as hardcopy written material, websites, visuals, etc. and may be laid out in any format including spreadsheets, databases, bulleted lists, etc.
  2. All documentation deemed vital to the prosperity of the organization shall be given to the Secretary to be kept in a permanent file of official UAS documentation.
  3. To be considered an official UAS document, the following must be included:
    1. date of submission for approval
    2. name of author(s)
    3. title or heading
    4. content

Amendment II – Parliamentary Procedure

  1. Robert’s Rules of Order, Tenth Edition, shall be followed by the organization in all cases involving parliamentary procedure when it does not conflict with the UAS Constitution.
  2. The rules may be suspended by a two-thirds vote of the present general membership.

Article XIII: Ratification

This constitution must be ratified by a two-thirds vote of those present at the showing during which the voting for ratification is to occur.

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