Chess Club Constitution

Article I: Name and Purpose

Section 1: Name
The name of this club shall be Chess Club, henceforth referred to as Chess Club or the Club.

Section 2: Purpose/Mission
The mission of Chess Club is to create a safe environment where students of the CSB/SJU community who want to play chess, regardless of experience or identity, can meet for two purposes:

-      To play exhibition games of classical and blitz chess and introduce new players to the game.

-      To formulate discussions led by more experienced players, covering topics including but not limited to opening theory, strategy, and tactics.

Section 3: Affiliation
No regional or national affiliation.

Article II: Membership

Section 1: Eligibility for Membership
All current CSB/SJU students who wish to play chess are eligible to be a member of the Chess Club. Non-students are allowed to participate in games but cannot vote in club decisions and elections. 

Section 2: Voting Member Criteria
A student should attend at least 33.3% of meetings to be a voting member. Club officers are elected democratically each year. Each member has the right to nominate themselves for a club officer position. A voting member can submit one vote per officer position.

Section 3: Removal of Members
A member will not be at risk of being removed unless they directly violate the mission of the Club or consistently express dishonesty through cheating. If the advisor and club officers conclude after conversation with the offender that the mission has been violated, the offender will be asked to resign from the Club. If the member signs a formal statement apologizing and promising to fix disruptive behavior, they will be permitted to return to meetings.

Article III: Officers

Section 1: Officer Qualifications
An officer shall have no necessary qualifications, except that he or she is a CSB/SJU student and attends at least 75% of Club meetings.

Section 2: Elected Officers
The officers of this club shall be President, Vice President, and Treasurer. These officers will be elected in accordance with the provisions of the article below. Also clearly identify the Co-Funding Board (CFB) and Joint Club Board (JCB) contacts.

Section 3: Duties of Officers

President: preside at meetings, organize club meetings and call special meetings, primary contact with the institutions (library), runs the election process, advertises Chess Club to student body, manages club equipment*.

Vice-President: assume President’s duties in his/her absence, schedule meeting/practice rooms/facilities, primary contact with the JCB, plans member/officer training programs, other

Treasurer: keeps all financial records, submits monthly audit statements to CFB contact, notifies club of financial issues, prepares budget/allocation requests, allocates funds to purchase new equipment when necessary.

The length of term of office for all club officers shall be one academic year, April 1-March 31.

*Club equipment will be stored in the media section of the library. The President must place a hold for meeting days to make sure the equipment is available for meetings.

Section 4: Vacancy in Office
If a vacancy should occur in the President's position, the vice president will take over the duties of the president until a special election is held.  If a vacancy should occur in the position of treasurer, the Vice President will take over the duties of the treasurer until a special election is held. If the position of Vice President becomes void, the treasurer will take over duties of the Vice President until a special election can be held. Refer to the special election section of Article IV for more information.

Section 5: Removal of Officers
A petition to remove any officer in the club must be submitted to one of the other two officers. This petition must contain 60% of the clubs voting members. Once received, the officer will call a meeting to determine if the officer in question should be removed or not.

Grounds for removal are then presented during a regular club meeting or during a special meeting by the officer in charge of these meetings. If the president is on trial for removal, responsibility of leading the discussion shall be the Vice President. The officer in question will be allowed to present a defense in either person or by writing that would be read aloud. A quorum shall be present and a vote of 2/3 would be required for removal of the officer in question. A special election shall take place no earlier than two weeks after removal in order to give the removed officer a chance of appeal. See section 6 below. 

Section 6: Appeal of Removal of Officers
Any removed officer has the right to appeal the club's decision of removal before the club holds a special election to replace his position. A written appeal must be written and submitted to the club's officers and the club's advisor. This appeal must state why the officer was wrongly removed, or state how this person can do better or has changed. The current officers and the advisor would then have a meeting to consider this appeal, and then make a decision. They will either allow the removed officer to give a live appeal to the club at a regular or special meeting, or they will end the appeal process right there. If the appeal comes back to the club as a whole, it would require a 2/3 vote to put the person back as an officer.

Article IV: Elections

Section 1: Nomination Process
Any member of the club may nominate themselves or another to run for a position as an officer in the club. They must state which position they are running for. If a member is nominated by another member, they must also accept the nomination, although they have the right to decide not to accept the position.

Section 2: Election                                                                                                                        The election for officer roles will be held in the spring of each year, and the term length for each officer role will last one school year long. A person can serve as many terms as they like, but they must be reelected for each term.

The election will be held during one of the club's regular meetings. The members nominated will be allowed to speak to the club briefly about why they believe they should be elected. After these brief speeches, each club member will be allowed to vote for one candidate for each position. This will be done privately written on a piece of paper. The votes will then be counted publicly, and the winners of the election will take over for the next school year.

In the case of a tie, all tied members be entered in a re-vote. The re-vote will repeat until there is a clear victor or no one was eliminated from the previous voting round. In this case the three current club officers will make the decision on who is the next officer for the role in question by 2/3 majority.

Section 3: Special Elections                                                                                                   Special elections will occur if an officer has been removed or has stepped down for any reason. The election will take place no earlier than two weeks after the removal or stepping down of the previous officer in order to allow for an appeal process. After this normal election processes will follow in order to decide the new officer for the position. The newly elect will take over for the remainder of the previous officer's term and must be reelected to continue after that. This special election must take place no later than 4 weeks after a vacancy in position occurs.

Article V: Advisor

Section 1: Selection
Any interested faculty/staff member of CSB/SJU is eligible. All club advisors must be an employee of CSB/SJU. If multiple candidates are interested, a simple majority vote by the student members will choose the advisor.

Section 2: Duties
The advisor should be interested in chess and participate in club meetings when he/she is able. The advisor shall collaborate with club officers when possible to strengthen meeting plans and further the educational goals of the club. The advisor must assist in the appeal process for removed officers.

Article VI: Meetings

Section 1: Regular Meeting/Club Activities
Address how often business meetings will occur, any regular club activities, etc., process to notify members of meetings/activities.

Chess club meetings will occur weekly in a time and place decided by the club as a whole through an online poll, exclusively answered by club members. Email messages will be sent weekly by the president to remind members of meetings and inform them of time changes.

The meeting plan will alternate each week between educational and game days. On educational meeting days, a member of the club will prepare a presentation on a certain aspect of chess theory (i.e. openings, endgame theory, tactics, famous games/players), after which club members will practice what they learned in a game setting. On game days, club members will play timed games (using club clocks or clock apps on their smartphones) mainly consisting of regular games but also including other modes, such as Bughouse and Chess960.

Section 2: Special Meetings
Special meetings may be called to plan tournaments, discuss officer removal, and hold elections. They will be conducted in the same manner as normal meetings.

Section 3: Parliamentary Authority
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the club in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the Chess Club may adopt.

Section 4: Quorum
2/3 of voting members must be present for official club business to reach valid conclusions.

Article VII: Finances

Section 1: Co-Funding Board
The Chess Club will apply for CFB monies when new equipment is needed. "If allocated resources, the Chess Club will follow all CFB and institutional regulations, and keep all club funds in on-campus accounts."

Section 2: Honorariums
No officers or members shall receive any honorarium or stipend from the organization for services provided.

Section 3: Dues

There shall be no fees assessed upon the members of the Chess Club.

Article IX: Amendments

Section 1: Ratification
Amendments can be proposed at any meeting by any member. The amendment shall be discussed and may be voted upon in the same meeting or may be postponed until a subsequent meeting. A quorum must be present and 2/3 of the present members must be in favor of the amendment in order for the amendment to be passed.

Section 2: Submittal to Department of Student Activities and Joint Club Board
Any changes made to this constitution must be submitted to the Department of Student Activities and the JCB.

Article X 

The Chess Club admits students without regard to their race, religion, color, sex, age, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and other activities, generally accorded or made available to members of the organization.

Article XI 

The Chess Club considers hazing to be a degrading and destructive activity which is inconsistent with the standards of this student organization. The Chess Club recognizes the dignity of every person and opposes all forms of hazing.

Article XII

The Chess Club agrees that it activities, mission statement and goals are consistent with the Benedictine Values.

Date of recognition/revision: