Drama Club Constitution

College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University

Article I: Name and Purpose

 

Section 1: Name

 

Drama Club will be the official name. Hereafter in the constitution it shall be abbreviated as DC.

 

Section 2: Purpose/Mission

 

2A: The mission of DC is to promote knowledge of theater practices through involvement in various events,, to provide additional opportunities for students to participate in the performing arts, and to support the CSB/SJU theater department. We seek to involve the entire CSB/SJU community in immersion and enjoyment of various forms of theater art, used both as for entertainment and for education. Activities, events, and performances of the club include, but are not limited to:

• Holding at least one all member meeting per semester
• Conducting and hosting theater and performance-related workshops
• Producing student-directed performances and monologues for the CSB/SJU community and the surrounding area
• Providing opportunities for students to attend and discuss theater performances and touring the performance spaces

 

2B: We commit to following the missions of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University as Catholic, Benedictine institutions and will respect its policies and guidelines.

 

Section 3: Affiliation:

 

At this time DC is not affiliated with any regional/national organizations.

 

Article II: Relationship with On-Campus Performance groups

           

DC is affiliated with on-campus the performance group “Attention-Starved Children,” hereafter in the constitution abbreviated as ASC and DC may include or take on other performance groups. The relationship will include, but not be limited, by:

• ASC members will be active DC members.
• DC will acquire funding for ASC within at least one (1) months’ notice, in order to rent performance space
• An elected and approved representative from each performance group, holding the office of “Deputy of [Group],” will be included among the DC Council. Their duties are described herein.
• Representatives will be held responsible in the event that their group’s members or Deputies are not compliant with DC membership policies, which may result in withdrawal of funding as determined by JCB.
• In the event of reprehensible action taken by ASC, Drama Club maintains the right to suspend funding for a designated period of time by a majority vote of the voting members.

 

 

Article III: Membership

 

Section 1: Eligibility for Membership

 

DC is open to any student registered at CSB or SJU. Membership is decided once a student has attended 3 DC events.

 

Section 2: Voting Member Criteria

 

A student becomes a voting member upon joining the club and attending two or more DC Council meetings. To keep voting rights, the member must take an active part in the club by attending and/or participating in at least 50% of meetings/activities/events sponsored by the club during the school year. This will be based upon attendance taken at the meetings/activities/events, by the Secretary. There must be a majority of voting members not involved in the subgroups. In order to vote on any motion there must be an odd number of voting members voting and a majority of the voters must be not involved in the subgroups.

 

Section 3: Removal of Members

 

The process to remove any member who is not in good standing with the club is as follows: the student whose membership is in question will receive an email notification from the club secretary (or the Deputy of their performance group, if applicable) two weeks prior to the meeting which has on its agenda the vote for removal. If the student would like to remain in the club, he/she may notify the club secretary or their deputy representative who will bring this request to the club officers for consideration. The club officers may then request the member’s attendance at the next meeting, where the matter will be considered. If, after the meeting, the member continues to be non-compliant, the DC President, and the deputy representative, if applicable, will notify the member of their removal from DC.

 

Section 4: Termination of Affiliation

 

In the event that ASC wishes to declare irreconcilable differences the Deputy will notify the DC council at regular meeting to inform the council to dissolve the affiliation. The dissolution will be effective immediately, or at the completion of a previous agreed upon event.

 

Article IV: Officers of DC Council

 

Section 1: Officer Qualifications

 

The qualifications of a student must have to be eligible to be an officer are as follows: willingness to commit themselves to the duties of his or her position, and must have some knowledge and a love of theater. All officers must remain in good standing and regular correspondence with the other Council members. All officers must be current CSB/SJU students and must comply with Joint Club Board policies and procedures. See Article V for Election procedures.   

 

Section 2: Elected Officers

 

The positions for DC Council hierarchical structure are President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary.

The DC Council will also include elected and approved representatives of the affiliated performance group ASC with positions of Deputy of [Group Name] who will hold voting rights.

The Department of Student Activities contact person is the President, the Co-Funding Board (CFB) contact is the Treasurer, and the Joint Club Board (JCB) contact is the Vice President.

 

Section 3: Duties of Officers

 

Terms of office will be preferably held the entire year, April 1 – March 31, unless there is knowledge of only being able to serve one semester, in which case a DC member will be elected for that position, one to serve in the summer/fall semester (April 1 – December 20) and one to serve the spring semester (December 20 – March 31).

 

The Duties of DC Council officers are as follows:

• President: presides at meetings, calls special meetings, primary contact with the institutions, runs the election process, and works with the Treasurer to prepare budget/allocation requests.
• Vice President: assumes President’s duties in his/her absence, schedules meeting/practice rooms/facilities, primary contact with the JCB, plans member/officer training programs, and is the primary overseer of all social media accounts related to DC.
• Secretary: takes and distributes minutes of all club meetings, takes attendance at all meetings/events, recorder keeper (current and past members, files minutes, etc.), serves as club historian, notifies all members of meetings and events, handles the official correspondence of the club, and oversees the email account.
• Treasurer: keeps all financial records, submits monthly audit statements to CFB representative, notifies club of financial issues, and prepares budget/allocation requests.
• Deputy of a Subgroup: regularly attends meetings and special meetings, acts as the primary contact between the subgroup members and DC Council, works with the Treasurer to prepare allocation requests related to the subgroup’s events in a timely manner, works with the VP to schedule subgroup performances and venues/facilities which cost, and notifies group members of meetings and events.

 

Section 4: Vacancy in Office

 

In the event a vacancy should occur (resignation or removal), provisions will be made to fill the vacancy.  In the event that the President leaves office, the Vice President will assume those duties until a special election is held. See the special election section of Article V.

 

Section 5: Removal of Officers

 

A petition to remove the officer in question must be submitted to another officer after consultation with the club advisor. This petition must contain the signatures of 50% of voting members. When such petition is received, the President (or Vice President if the student President is in question) shall call a meeting of the club to determine whether or not the officer should be removed. Grounds for removal are to be presented by the officer in charge at a regular or special club meeting. The officer in question shall be provided an opportunity to present a defense either in person or in writing. A quorum shall be present, and a simple majority vote of the voting members shall decide upon removal.

 

Section 6: Appeal of Removal of Officers

 

To appeal the club’s decision, a removed officer may petition for signatures of 50% of the voting members in order to be reinstated. When such a petition is received, the President shall call a meeting of the club officers and advisor to determine whether or not the former officer should be reinstated. The petition must be submitted to the DC counsel within 30 days of removal.

 

Article V: Elections

 

Section 1: Nomination Process

 

Officer candidates will be nominated by club members (or affiliated group members) or through self-nomination at the election meeting. A student may be nominated for a maximum of 3 positions.

 

Section 2: Elections

 

Elections are held at the designated election meeting to be once every spring before April 1. The Department of Student Activities will be notified of the new officers by the former President before April

2. Election procedures are as follows: nominated officer candidates will give a brief speech to the club as to their motivations and intentions to becoming a club officer, after all the candidates for a specific position speak, a vote by secret ballot shall be taken, the candidate with the most votes will become the officer for that position. This process will be repeated for each officer position. Only in the case that there are not enough nominations to fill all the positions, a student my hold up to two positions on the counsel. A quorum will be present at the elections meeting. A person may serve a maximum of two consecutive years in a particular position, unless otherwise voted upon.

 

Section 3: Special Elections

 

Within 4 weeks of vacancy occurring, a new officer must be elected. The same procedures from Section 2 are to be followed, with dates revised as appropriate.

 

Article VI: Advisor

 

Section 1: Selection

 

The club advisor shall be chosen by a majority vote. 

 

Section 2: Duties

 

The advisor duties are as follows: explain institutional policy/procedure to club officers, provide continuity for the club from year to year, act as a resource to the group, attend programs that may have liability/risk for the institutions, intervene when knowledge of illegal activity contrary to CSB/SJU policy occur, and attend some meetings/activities.

 

Section 3: Removal of Advisor

 

In the event of need to change academic advisors, a council member will propose the advisors removal to another council member. Those members are then responsible for identifying a new candidate who is willing to serve as the DC advisor. Once proposed, a special meeting will be held to vote on the decision. There must be a minimum of 3/4 votes for removal in order for the request to come to term.

 

Article VII: Meetings

 

Section 1: Regular Meeting/Club Activities

 

Regular club meetings will be held every two weeks or as availability allows.

All officers will be called to meetings which must have 50% or more of officers in attendance. Officers will notify and correspond with the Secretary if they cannot attend the scheduled meeting.

If the Deputy of either affiliated group cannot attend, they may appoint a representative to sit in on the meeting on their behalf after notifying the Secretary of their absence, but elected Deputies themselves must attend 50% of meetings called. There must be a deputy or representative in the event that the itinerary for a meeting includes material relevant to that deputy or representative’s group, or the material will be moved to the following meeting’s itinerary.

 

Section 2: Special Meetings

 

Special meetings may be called in order to accommodate specific activities, discuss certain club information, and as needed.  The process used to call these meetings will be by email or during a regularly scheduled meeting.  

 

Section 3: Parliamentary Authority

Robert’s Rules of Order will be the guide for meetings.

 

Section 4: Quorum

 

All officers and enough voting members not involved in the subgroups combining to an odd number of voting members constitute a quorum.

 

Article VIII: Committees

 

Section 1: Committee Structure

 

Committees will be formed as necessary to plan and organize club activities/events. A volunteer club member will become the committee chair. 

 

Article IX: Finances

 

Section 1: Co-Funding Board

 

The club will apply for CFB monies and allocated resources, the club will follow all CFB and institutional regulations.

 

Section 2: Honorariums

 

Officers or members will not receive an honorarium/stipend from the organization.

 

Article X: Amendments

 

Section 1: Ratification

 

The process to be used regarding proposed constitutional amendments: A petition for an amendment will be brought to the club officers who will add the proposed amendment to the agenda. Proposed amendments to the constitution will be sent to the membership in advance of the meeting where a vote on the amendment will take place. At a regularly scheduled meeting the vote on the amendment will take place. A quorum of voting members must be present and 80% of those in attendance must vote for the amendment.  If the amendment is passed, the change will take place as soon as the DSA and JCB approve the amendment.

 

Section 2: Submittal to Department of Student Activities and Joint Club Board

 

Any changes made to this constitution must be submitted to the DSA and the JCB.

 

Article XI: Auditions

 

            Section 1: Audition Process

Performance groups are permitted to hold auditions for their performance members on the conditions that an email is sent to the entire CSB/SJU student body and that an advisor approved Drama Club member, who is not involved in any performance group, attends the audition process and deliberation, ensuring a non-bias in the decision process, takes thorough notes, and adds them to the archives.

 

Section 2: Audition Frequency

ASC will hold auditions once a semester.

 

Article XII:

 

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

 

Article XIII:

 

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

Audition processes will not involve hazing, nor will they result in hazing. DC and ASC are subject to investigation and appropriate discipline (which may include revoking the funding) if reports of hazing are filed. Groups and clubs reserve the right to appeal the resulting decision and/or discipline to the DC Council, JCB, DSA, and/or CSB/SJU administration.

 

Article XIV:

 

            DC agrees that its activities, mission statement and goals are consistent with the Benedictine Values. 

Date of revision: August 2015 

Date of recognition: October 2, 2003. 

Date of revision: September 9, 2009

Date of revision: February 2, 2016

Date of revision: February 15, 2016 

Date of revision: March 1, 2016