Students Fostering Conservative Thought Constitution

Article I. Name and Purpose.

 

 A. Name. The name of this club will be Students Fostering Conservative Thought

 

B. Purpose.

 

 1. To program events on-campus which will develop conservative ideas.

2. Advocate for progressive conservative policies and ideas within the

 community.

3. Serve as a source for students wanting to better understand conservative

 political ideologies.

4. Represent the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University and

 promote Benedictine values through a conservative ideological viewpoint to

 the student body and the community at large.

 

Article II. Membership.

 

 A. Eligibility.

 

 1. Full Members.

 

 a. A full member must be a student of the College of Saint Benedict or

 Saint John’s University wishing to advance conservative ideas and beliefs.

b. A full member must sign a letter of membership and maintain an

 acceptable record of attendance which is to be set by the Executive

 Board in the club by-laws.

 

 2. Non-voting Members.

 

 a. A non-voting member can be any non-student member of the

 community wishing to advance conservative ideas and beliefs.

 

 B. Voting Criteria.

 

 1. Voter must be a Full Member of the club.

 2. Voter must have attended the preceding club meeting.

 

 C. Removal of Members.

 

 1. A member wanting to remove a fellow member must give a written statement

  as to why another member should be removed to the CEO.

 2. The CEO will then notify the student there has been a request for his/her

 removal one week prior to the meeting in which the issue will be discussed.

 3. The accused will be given an opportunity to defend his/her position at this

 meeting.

 4. A 2/3 majority of Full Members must vote to remove another member.

 

Article III. Officers.

 

 A. Elected Officers.

 

 1. Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

 2. Senior Executive Officer (SEO)

 3. Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

 4. Minister of Propaganda (MOP)

 

B. The Executive Board.

 

1. The Executive Board will be comprised of the CEO, SEO, CFO and MOP.

 2. The Executive Board shall meet every so often on its own accord to discuss

 the direction of the club.

3. The Executive Board is responsible for defining and structuring the by-laws of

 the club.

4. Each member of the Executive Board will Co-Chair a sub-committee

 responsible for a programming aspect of the club with another non-officer

 member. These committees will be defined within the by-laws of the club.

5. The Executive Board is responsible for bringing to vote amendments and

 additions to the by-laws.

 

a. A simple majority vote is necessary to amend and/or add clauses to

 the by-laws.

 

C. Duties of Officers.

 

 1. CEO

 

 a. The CEO must serve as the official representative of the club to the

 College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University as well as the

 community at large.

 b. Preside at all meetings where in attendance.

 c. Responsible for scheduling and calling all meetings.

 d. Responsible for delegating responsibilities to other members.

 e. Official interpreter of constitution.

 f. Shall oversee all elections and special elections.

 

2. SEO

 

 a. Assume CEO’s duties in their absence.

 b. Primary contact to Joint Club Board, Student Activities, and

 Leadership Development.

 c. Responsible for club’s status with Student Activities and Leadership

 Development.

 

3. CFO

 

 a. Responsible for all financial matters for the club.

 b. Responsible for initiating budget process with executive board every

 semester.

 c. Responsible for auditing on a regular basis.

 

4. MOP

 

 a. Responsible for taking minutes at all meetings.

 b. Responsible for all Public Relations on and off campus.

 c. Responsible for initiating discussions with officers about yearly public

 relation campaign and slogan.

 

 D. Vacancy in Office.

 

1. In the event a vacancy should occur in the position of the CEO, the SEO shall assume the vacancy of the CEO.

 2. Any vacancy in another position will result in a special election (see Article III.,

 F.).

 

 E.  Removal of Officer.

 

 1. A petition to remove an officer in question must be submitted to another

 officer one week prior to vote on removal. This petition must contain the

 signatures of 2/3 of voting members. When such a petition is

 received, the officer shall call a meeting of the club to determine whether or

 not the officer in question 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 2/3 vote of the voting

 members shall decide upon removal.

F. Elections.

1. Nominations.

a. Any full member can nominate themselves or another full member for

candidacy to officer positions.

2. Election.

a. The annual officer election will be held four weeks from the

conclusion of the academic year.

b. All candidates must officially state candidacy with the CEO one week

prior to elections.

c. There shall be no term limits on any position.

d. Voting will be by secret ballot.

3. Special Election.

a. The CEO must call a special election within two weeks of a vacancy

occurring when 5 weeks remain until the regular election.

b. When less than 5 weeks remain until the regular election, the vacancy

will be filled during the regular election.

c. Candidates must officially state candidacy with the CEO four days

prior to the special election.

Article IV. Advisor.

A. Selection.

1. The Executive Board will be responsible for selecting the advisor.

B. Duties.

1. Be a conservative that will receive personal fulfillment from aiding the

development of conservative members of our community.

2. Participate in the development of the yearly goals for the club.

3. Aid in any mediation with Student Activities, Leadership Development and the

College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.

4. Serve as an advocate for the club to the faculty and administration.

Article V. Meetings.

A. Regular Meetings.

1. Meetings will occur at a minimum of twice monthly and will be called by the

CEO

B. Special Meetings.

1. Special Meetings will be called by the CEO

2. CEO must e-mail all full members at least 24 hours before special meeting is to begin.

C. Authority.

1. The President chairs all meetings and will run meetings based off the Robert’s

Rules of Order.

D. Quorum.

1. A minimum of 2/3 of eligible voting members must be present to take any

votes.

Article VI. Finances.

A. Co-Funding Board.

1. The club will apply each semester for funding from the Co-Funding Board (CFB) and

will abide by all CFB regulations.

Article VII. Amendments.

A. Ratification.

1. Proposed amendments to this constitution must be presented to the CEO.

2. Upon receiving an amendment, the CEO will inform all Full Members one

week prior to meeting about the proposed constitutional amendments.

3. A minimum of 2/3 of members present must support the amendment.

B. Submittal to Administration.

1. All changes to this constitution must be reported to the office of Student

Activities, Leadership Development and the Joint Club Board.

Article VIII. Students Fostering Conservative Thought 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 IV. Hazing

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