Central Michigan University

CONSTITUTION of
Society of Physics Students

January 14, 2008

Preamble

The mission of this chapter of the Society of Physics Students is to promote physics as a course of study and career option at the Central Michigan University campus and surrounding area.
This organization will be known as the Society of Physics Students (“SPS”).

 

Article I: Membership

Section A.      Membership
The Society of Physics Students at Central Michigan University ("SPS") is to be comprised of a general membership and an elected board of executive officers, and is to retain an advisor from the faculty of the Department of Physics at Central Michigan University.

Section B.      Membership Qualifications

1. Membership in the Society of Physics Students shall not be denied because of age, color, disability, gender, familial status, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status or weight.
2. No academic or social prerequisites, such as the completion of specific courses or an initiation ceremony, shall be required of any person seeking to become a general member (“GM”) of SPS.

Section C.      Membership Entrance

1. A person may join the organization at any time.
2. No vote shall be taken to approve any person for membership.
3. No membership fees will be directly levied by this chapter of the Society of Physics Students.

Section D.      Membership Privileges and Responsibilities

1. A GM may vote on any matter presented for vote at a general meeting of the organization.
2. A GM is entitled to membership in the national Society of Physics Students, and to all benefits thereof.
3. A GM may participate in any membership event sponsored by the SPS.
4. A GM may be a candidate for any open office of the SPS executive board.
5. All members, present at meetings in which an issue or office is put to vote, are allowed exactly one vote per issue or office.
6. No absentee ballots will be accepted.
7. The faculty advisor shall not vote on any issue or office.

Section E.      Termination of Membership

1. A GM may terminate his/her membership at any time. No notice of said termination need be given.
2. A GM may have his/her membership revoked if he/she consistently acts contrary to the goals of the organization or deliberately works to tarnish the reputation of the organization.

Article III: Executive Board

Section A.      Elected Officers

The SPS executive board (“e-board”) shall have a minimum of three elected positions. These positions are President, Secretary, and Treasurer. A fourth position, Vice President, shall be filled when possible. Other additional e-board positions may exist on a contingent basis, but these are non-constitutional offices. All e-board officers, constitutional and otherwise, must be elected by the general membership. Officers comprising the e-board will be considered GM's. The term of office for each e-board officer, constitutional and otherwise, shall start in the spring semester after the elections at the end of fall semester and shall have a duration of one year.
The President is the chief executive officer of the SPS. The President bears the highest responsibility in ensuring that all accounting, membership service, and administrative functions are executed in a timely and fitting manner. Furthermore, the President is to call, conduct, and adjourn all meetings of the general membership of the SPS and of the SPS e-board.
The Vice President acts as a deputy to the chief executive officer of the SPS. The Vice President shares in the responsibilities of the President.
The Secretary is to keep minutes of all general membership and e-board meetings, and is to place copies of these minutes in the archives and make them available upon request. Moreover, the role of public relations officer is also delegated upon the Secretary. All formal written correspondence with units and officials of Central Michigan University, with the national Society of Physics Students organization, and with other student organizations should be conducted by the Secretary, subject to the approval of the e-board and appropriate signatories The Secretary, in the capacity of public relations officer, is also responsible for the proper posting of signage indicating general meetings and special events of the SPS.
The Treasurer is to manage any bank accounts, assets, and financial records of the SPS. Furthermore; the Treasurer is to make copies of financial records and to place then into the archives. The Treasurer is also to discreetly present, upon request, relevant portions of these financial records to units and officials having jurisdiction over the SPS. Additionally, the Treasurer is to be responsible for any revenue generation activities of the SPS, including the attendance of funding meetings.

Section B.      Qualifications For Holding Office

1. Any person seeking election to the e-board must be a GM.
2. Existing members of the e-board may seek election to a new office on the e-board.

Section C.      Executive Board Dynamics

1. If the office of Treasurer should become vacant or the Treasurer is unable to continue in office, then the President temporarily assumes the additional office of Treasurer, as Acting Treasurer, and must immediately call a special election to fill any vacant offices on the SPS e-board. Upon the election of a Treasurer, the President shall no longer be Acting Treasurer.
2. The Vice President vacates office and takes on the office of President should the President vacate office or be unable to continue in office.
3. The Vice President vacates office and takes on the office of Secretary should the Secretary vacate office or be unable to continue in office.
4. The Secretary temporarily assumes the additional office of President, as Acting President, should the office of Vice President be vacant and the President vacates office or is unable to continue in office. Upon becoming Acting President, the Secretary shall immediately call a special election to fill any vacant offices on the SPS e-board. Upon the election of a new President, the Secretary shall no longer be Acting President.
5. In the event that the Secretary vacates office or is unable to continue in office, and the office of Vice President is vacant, the Treasurer shall temporarily assume the additional office of Secretary, as Acting Secretary. A special election shall be called to fill any vacant offices on the SPS e-board. Upon the election of a new Secretary, the Treasurer shall no longer be Acting Secretary.
6. In the case where an e-board is left with only one officer or no officers, and special elections are unable to fill the vacant positions, the e-board is considered dissolved.
7. In the absence of the President at a meeting of the general membership, the Vice President shall call, conduct, and adjourn that meeting.
8. In the absence of the President and Vice President at a meeting of the general membership, the Treasurer shall call, conduct, and adjourn that meeting.
9. In the absence of the President, Vice President, and Treasurer at a meeting of the general membership, the Secretary shall call, conduct, and adjourn that meeting.
10. In a meeting of the SPS e-board, the Vice President may call, conduct, and adjourn that meeting, if the President is aware of the meeting but not in attendance.
11. If neither the President nor Vice President are in attendance or a quorum of two constitutional officers (with one being either the President or Vice President) are not present at a meeting of the e-board, the meeting is considered informal and may not set the official agenda for general meetings and may not conduct any official business of the SPS.

Section D.      Elections

Regular elections to determine e-board officers for the next year must be scheduled for and carried out during the fall semester sometime before the final exams week. Regular elections result in an e-board of officers elect. An officer elect does not hold his/her new office until the start of the spring semester.
Special elections shall only be called as mandated by the contingencies specified within this constitution. A person who fills an e-board office as a result of a special election shall only hold that office until the end of the term, unless that person is officer elect to the same office for the next term.
All elections are to be conducted using a private balloting method that provides an accurate and reproducible record of the election results. The method must be such that a vote cannot reasonably be identified with the voter who cast it. The Secretary is entrusted with archiving the cast ballots and tallies of the election results. The task of handling and tallying the ballots shall be given to a trusted party who abstained from casting ballots in the election. The designated faculty advisor is allowed to be such a party.           

Section E.      Recall of Officers

If an officer is found to be negligent or careless in his/her constitutional duties, the other members of the e-board may, after appropriate and fair warning, put him/her to a vote of no confidence. The vote of no confidence will take place at the next meeting of the general membership with each GM being given the option to abstain, cast a vote of no confidence, or to cast a vote of confidence. The vote of no confidence shall be conducted under the balloting rules for elections as described in this constitution.

 

Article IV: Advisors

Section A.      Faculty Advisor
A designated faculty advisor ("FA") shall be affiliated with SPS at all times. The role of the advisor is to advise the members on operational, recruitment, political, and logistics issues that the organization may encounter. Furthermore, the FA is entrusted with helping the SPS maintain continuity of operations during transitions or during periods of dormancy.
The FA is to be steward of the SPS archives and assets during any periods of dormancy or disfunctionality that the organization may experience. The FA is responsible for restarting the organization and calling for e-board elections should the organization again seem viable after a lapse.
The FA is encouraged to attend all meetings of the general membership.
The FA is allowed to attend any meeting of the e-board that he/she deems necessary.
The FA may be changed or reaffirmed by the general membership; the e-board may put the question of this designation before the general membership as the officers see fit. The FA shall only be chosen from among the faculty of the Department of Physics at Central Michigan University. A vote on a FA shall be conducted under the balloting rules for elections as described in this constitution.
The Faculty Advisor is not considered a GM of the SPS, and hence is not an officer of the SPS e-board either.

Article V: Meetings

Section A.      Frequency of Meetings
The SPS shall hold regular meetings for the general membership of the organization. Meetings will be held at times and locations voted upon by the general membership.
The SPS e-board shall decide the time and place of the first meeting of the general membership for each year.
The SPS e-board shall have board meetings as often as necessary to set general meeting agenda and to handle administrative tasks that require the input of the entire e-board.

Section B.      Purpose of Meetings
The SPS shall hold regular meetings for the general membership of the organization. Regular meetings are considered times to provide membership services and to plan and discuss events that the organization may participate in.

Section C.      Duration of Meetings

No regular meeting shall last more than fifty minutes without the consent of all the GM's present.

Section D.      Conduct of Meetings
All meetings shall be conducted in a courteous and fair manner. The presiding officer at the meeting ("Presiding Officer") shall keep the discussions relevant and efficient. The Presiding Officer shall allow only one speaker to speak at a time. The Presiding Officer shall show no preference to any one speaker and shall allow all speakers to finish their thoughts. The Presiding Officer is not exempt from the above rules. Any GM (including any e-board officer) who consistently violates these rules may be asked to leave the meeting or may have cloiture invoked upon him/her.
Any other procedural questions may be referred to Robert’s Rules of Order or consensus of the general membership.

Article VI: Funds

Section A.      Disbursement of Funds in the Event of Dissolution
Should the Society of Physics Students dissolve for any reason, any remaining funds will be used to repay any outstanding debts the organization has derived through regular business transactions or commitments.  The remaining university sponsored money shall be returned to the Physics Department of Central Michigan University, account number 21149, within two weeks of the organization’s dissolution.

Article VII: Amendments

Section A.      Amendments and Revisions
Any member, at any general meeting, may propose a written amendment to the constitution, on which final action will be delayed until the next general meeting at which all e-board officers are present. An affirmative vote of three-quarters of the membership shall be required for adoption of an amendment.