-------Constitution-------

Valdosta State University College Democrats



Article I

Name:

The name of this organization will be the Valdosta State University College Democrats (hereinafter referred to as “the organization”)

Article II

Purposes of the Organization:

Section I:         To advance the principles and ideas of the Democratic Party through involvement.

Section II:        To encourage the involvement in and the awareness of politics amongst the student body.

Section III:       To empower members of the organization through the development of leadership skills and an understanding of politics.

Section IV:       To encourage the growth of the organization.

Article III

Qualifications for Membership:

Section I:         Open to all Valdosta State University students regardless of race, color, creed, gender, religion, national origin.

Section II:        Open to any student whose beliefs reflect those of the Democratic Party.

Article IV

Dues:

Section I:         Dues shall be $5.00 U.S. per semester for each and every member.

Section II:        Dues must be received within three weeks of receipt of contact information.

Section III:       Any student who does not pay dues within the timeframe aforementioned will not be considered a member of the organization.

Article V

Officers and Leadership Structure:

Section I:         Officers will be responsible for the executive decisions of the organization.

Section II:        Executive decisions may be defined in general as the decisions governing the course of the organization.

Section III:       The offices to be held are President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.

Section IV:       The officers of the organization shall be the Executive Committee.

Article VI

Responsibilities of Officers:

Section I:         The following is a list of officer positions and their respective responsibilities;

          President
          The duties of the president shall be:
                        1)  to preside over each meeting of the organization,
                        2)  to develop programs that reflect the pursuit of the abovementioned purposes in Article I,
                        3)  to act as the official representative of the organization,
                        4)  to perform other such duties that the membership may assign.

          Vice President
          The duties of the vice president shall be:
                        1)  to assist the president in the performance of her/his duties,
                        2)  to act as president in the president’s absence,
                        3)  to perform other such duties that the president or membership may assign.

          Secretary
          The duties of the secretary shall be:
                        1)  to record and distribute minutes of all business meetings,
                        2)  to keep records of the organization,
                        3)  to perform other such duties that the president or membership may assign.

          Treasurer
          The duties of the treasurer shall be:
                        1)  to keep an accurate account of all money spent or received by the organization,
                        2)  to keep official list of dues paid members,
                        3)  to perform other such duties that the president or membership may assign.

Section II:        A vacancy in office, created by resignation, removal or death, shall be filled by a majority vote of the membership at the next regularly scheduled meeting. This newly elected officer shall occupy office for the remainder of the term.

Section III:       The president may, with approval of the membership, appoint other officers and/or committee chairpersons.

Section IV:       The president reserves the right to remove any appointed officer or committee chair without membership approval.

Article VII

Election of Officers:

Section I:         Officers shall be elected each semester on January and September.

Section II:        The spring and summer semesters shall be considered one electoral semester for the sake of simplification.

Section III:       The election will be decided by a simple majority vote of the membership.

Section IV:       After a specific office is occupied for two consecutive semesters by the same member, the incumbent cannot serve a third semester in the same office. She/he may occupy the previously held position only after the aforementioned office has been occupied by another member for at least one semester.

Article VIII

Meetings:

Section I:         The president shall call meetings to conduct chapter meetings on a regular basis and no less than once per month.

Section II:        Quorum to conduct business shall be five active members

Article IX

Impeachment:

Section I:         Any officer may be impeached based on a failure to perform her/his prescribed duties as set forth by Article VI, Section I.

Section II:        A decision for impeachment must be by an unanimous vote of the membership.

Article X

Amendments:

Amendments to this constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the membership, pending approval of the amendment by the executive committee.

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Amendment I.

The organization shall have three committees. Each committee shall be composed of at least two members and a chair. The president shall appoint the chair of the Community Outreach and Communications committees. The chair of the Fundraising Committee shall be the acting Treasurer. It will be the responsibility of each chair to report activity to the organization on a bi-weekly basis (at minimum).


Amendment II.