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  UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ

 CONSTITUTION

COLLEGE GYMNASTICS CLUB

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6^TH, 2007

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ARTICLE I

Name of organization

 The name of this organization shall be The College Gymnastics Club at The University of California, Santa Cruz.

 The name of the university shall only ever be used as a geographical designation

ARTICLE II

Purpose of organization

 The purpose of this organization shall be to further the goals and interests of its members, to pursue the sport of gymnastics through skill development in regular practices and through competition with clubs and teams from other universities, and to provide a relaxed and social atmosphere in which members of any and all levels of gymnastics experience can improve their skills while enjoying the company of those sharing the same interest.

 This organization will emphasize all-around competition in both men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics.

ARTICLE III

affiliation

Should any conflict of policy arise, the rules, regulations and policies of the University of California and the Santa Cruz campus shall supersede the rules, regulations, policies and/or bylaws of any affiliated international, national, regional or local organizations.

ARTICLE IV

Membership practice

 Active membership of this student organization shall be chosen without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, color, disability, national origin, age, or marital status.

 All currently registered undergraduate and graduate students at UCSC, as well as faculty and staff, and who are in good standing with the University, are eligible for membership. Friends and community members are not eligible.

 The club at all times must maintain a membership of at least 75% undergraduate students. All persons who would otherwise be eligible, will loose eligibility if this quota would not be maintained.

 Anyone may join throughout the year by simply registering with the administrative officer and paying membership dues, and may terminate their membership at anytime with notice. Membership will otherwise last until the individual looses eligibility to continue as a member.

 The club, however, is under no obligation to grant membership to everyone who applies. And, in the event that it becomes necessary to limit membership, the club, through its bylaws, may restrict membership. Furthermore, the club, through its bylaws, may create and govern further requirements for membership.

 Active members are granted the right and privilege to vote at all general meetings, provided that they are current with their dues, and in good standing with the organizations policies and practices.

 Regular attendance in the organizations fundraisers, events, and meetings are the requirements of all members, and may otherwise be grounds for rescinding membership.

 Membership may be rescinded by a simple majority vote of the members present at a regularly scheduled meeting, so long as the issue of rescinding membership and the reasons be provided to the member prior to the date at which the vote is to occur, and that member has the opportunity to respond at the meeting in which the vote is to take place.

ARTICLE V

General Meetings

 The general membership shall meet at a minimum of at least once per quarter during the regular academic year, but not during the summer quarter. The general membership and its meetings is the highest decision making body within the organization.

 An agenda must be prepared by the club secretary, and made available before the scheduled meeting. The agenda should be as detailed as possible. Any member with current voting privileges may include an item on the agenda by providing notice to the club secretary. The agenda must be approved by simple majority vote, or modified until approved, before regular business can be conducted.

 Unless otherwise stated in the by-laws, the person elected as the club secretary shall preside over the general meetings, and is responsible for carrying out the agenda, and recording the minuets of the meeting.

 All club business, after allowing enough time for discussion, must be either approved, rejected, or tabled by a simple majority vote of those members who choose to vote, or may pass “without objection”. The decisions of these motions will be recorded in the meeting’s minutes by the presiding officer. All business is decided by a simple majority vote, unless explicitly stated otherwise in the constitution.

 The general membership also has the power to create by-laws, governing all aspects of the organization not otherwise covered by the constitution. The bylaws can be created and amended by a simple majority vote, at any time throughout the year. 

The general membership may schedule the date and time of its next meeting by adjourning to some future date. Otherwise, the next meeting will be scheduled by the club secretary.

 The date for a general meeting must be scheduled and announced at least one month in advance. In the event that this requirement cannot be met, a quorum of 50% of the club membership is required to conduct business. There will otherwise be no quorum requirement.

 In an emergency motion, any member may seek a vote by petition, which does not require a general meeting. The motion however will require a simple majority approval of the entire general membership.

ARTICLE VI

Committees and Officers

 In order to further facilitate the business of the organization, the general membership, through its bylaws, may create committees and positions of office, and further define their roles, requirements, and responsibilities therein. The committees and positions of office may be created at any time throughout the year.

 It is the responsibility of the officers and committees to carry out the instructions and the decisions of the general membership, as agreed upon at general meetings. And in order to perform this function, committees may meet on their own time, outside of the general meetings. Committees may write their own bylaws for their own governance if necessary. All committee meetings are open for all members to observe and voice an opinion, even if they are not voting members of the committee.

 All elected officers and committees are required to prepare a report to the general membership at general meetings, at least once per quarter. This report must be made available at least three weekdays before the regularly scheduled meeting in which they plan to report.

 All voting members are eligible to hold positions of office. Individuals may nominate themselves for the position, but all officers must be approved by a simple majority vote of the general membership at any regularly scheduled meeting. In the event that more than two individuals are nominated for the same position of office, run-off elections must take place until one person receives a majority vote. All voting done for the election of officers is by secret ballot.

 Each officer shall ordinarily serve until the end of the academic year in which they were elected too, unless re-elected or removed. Officers may be removed by a simple majority vote of the general membership. Officers may also step down from office at any time. In the event that an office is vacated, their position and duties will then immediately be assumed by the executive committee until the general membership can elect a new person into the position. The executive committee can assign an individual pro tempore if needed.

 There must be at all times a minimum of four officers, who form the executive committee, sign the Application for Registration of the Student Organization, and take responsibility for the organization. They shall be the Administrative Officer, the Financial Officer, the Communications Officer, and the Club Secretary, and their duties are defined as follows:

 Administrative Officer—Governs aspects of membership. Maintains the club roster, member’s information, and student schedules. Files required registration forms. In the event that the club secretary is unable to perform their duties, it is the administrative officer who will temporarily assume that position.

 Financial Officer—Collects dues, keeps a record of all income and expenses, makes a report of the account balance at each meeting, and expends funds at the direction of the membership. At the end of the academic year, prepares and proposes a budget for the following year.

 Communications Officer—Informs members of scheduled meetings. Organizes publicity, club outreach, and recruitment events.

 Club Secretary— Prepares the agenda for the general meetings.. Presides over the meetings, runs the meeting agenda, and writes and records the minutes. In the event that any vote should result in a tie, the club secretary must abstain from that vote in order to break the tie.

 The elections for the officers in the executive committee are to be held in the spring quarter, and are elected to office for the following year. The method of selection, removal, and replacement shall be the same for the officer on the executive committee as that of all other officers, and as defined previously.

ARTICLE VII

Dues and Finances

 The University, club advisors, or any elected officer of the club, shall have the right to audit the financial records of this organization, at any time, and it will be the responsibility of the financial officer to provide the records and the documents required in a timely manner.

 At the beginning of the academic year, the financial officer shall propose a budget, outlining all foreseeable sources of revenue and expenses. The budget must then be approved, or amended until approved, by a simple majority vote. The budget authorizes the financial officer to expense the club’s funds according to their line item descriptions. At no time, however, may the financial officer run an account deficit. The budget may be amended, as needed, by majority vote, at any time throughout the school year.

 In order to finance the budget, the organization shall have the power to charge and collect membership dues, sell merchandise, fundraise, and collect donations. The portion of the budget’s expenses not covered by fundraising, donations, or other revenues, will be financed entirely by its membership, and it will be the responsibility of every member to cover an equal share of the costs incurred by the organization, as expensed according to the approved budget, during the period for which they are a member.

 Members are responsible for being current with all membership dues. Current members have one month to pay before they loose their right to vote and participate in club activities. New members must immediately be current with dues before they may become an active member. Failure to pay membership dues may be grounds for rescinding membership.

 In order to facilitate fundraising, recruitment, charitable works, and the collection of external funds, the organization may also require service hours from its members. Those members who do not provide those required service hours may be assessed a fee for each missing hour, not to exceed the total amount fundraised divided by the total number of man-hours contributed towards fundraising projects.

ARTICLE VIII

Club Advisors

There should be at least two advisors for the club. At least one of the club advisors will be a faculty or staff member at UCSC. The other advisor should be an expert in the sport of gymnastics.

 Advisors may not hold office, nor vote in club business. They may, however, attend and observe club meetings or events. The advisors are in no way responsible for the organization or its finances.

 Advisors are approved by simple majority vote of the general membership, and are appointed to the position until replaced.

ARTICLE IX

Amendments

 The general membership has the right to create and amend by-laws of the organization. Policy and practice not defined by the constitution are reserved for the by-laws. The bylaws may be created and amended by the general membership by a simple majority vote.

 The constitution shall supersede the bylaws at all times. The constitution may be amended by the general membership by a 2/3 vote, so long as the issue is raised at a previous regularly scheduled meeting, and it is included on the agenda before the scheduled meeting in which the vote is to take place, and a quorum of at least 50% of the general membership eligible to vote is present.

ARTICLE X

Dissolution

The club shall be dissolved when any “signer” of this Constitution either resigns or is removed from office, unless replaced by the general membership.

 The general membership may also dissolve the club according to the same rules set forth for an amendment.

ARTICLE X

Ratification

 This constitution shall otherwise be ratified by the four authorized signers of the Application for Registration of a Student Organization, who may not amend the constitution, expect through proper procedure as defined in Article IX.