Ultimate at Ohio State Constitution
Article I - Name, Purpose, and Non-Discrimination Policy
Section I: Ultimate at Ohio State is an undergraduate student organization focused on playing, teaching, and growing the sport of ultimate disc at Ohio State in a recreational and friendly environment that fosters and encourages fellowship between members.
Section II: Ultimate at Ohio State’s mission is to promote and teach the fundamentals of, and an appreciation for, the sport of ultimate disc and its guiding principle of the ‘Spirit of the Game’ while being tolerant and open to all undergraduates.
Section II (a): Ultimate disc has traditionally relied upon an unconditional spirit of sportsmanship, which places the responsibility for fair play on the players.
Section II (b): Highly competitive play is encouraged for all members, but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed upon rules of the game, or the basic joy of play.
Section III: Ultimate at Ohio State as an organization and all its members shall not discriminate against any individual(s) for reasons of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
Article II - Membership (Qualifications and Voting Rights) and Meetings
Section I: Qualifications for General Membership- Ultimate at Ohio State is an undergraduate student organization, therefore general membership is limited to currently enrolled Ohio State undergraduate students who have attended at least two consecutive regular meetings in a single active semester. All other interested persons (graduate students, faculty, alumni, etc.) are invited to participant in Ultimate at Ohio State events as welcomed guests.
Section I (a): An active semester is considered to be any academic semester in which Ultimate at Ohio State holds at least 8 events scheduled and advertised through the regular communication channels with at least 50% of the attendees being general members.
Section I (b): Members who have fulfilled the requirement for general membership in both the current semester and prior semester shall be eligible to obtain voting rights in the organization, per their request to the Vice President. After their request these members shall be considered Active Voting members.
Section I(c): They will remain Active Voting members during the first two regular meetings of the following active semester. Voting members who do not attend these first two meetings shall be considered inactive voting members with voting rights suspended until they attend two consecutive regular meetings. At this point their voting rights and status as Active Voting members will be automatically reinstated.
Section I (d): Voting members who have been considered inactive for three (3) active semesters shall forfeit their ability to reinstate voting privileges per Article II Section I(c). Those individuals can reestablish their voting rights per Article II Section I (b).
Section I (e): An inactive voting member, or a formerly general member, can be given Active Voting rights by the President under special circumstances related to scheduling conflicts if they have demonstrated their sincere and honest commitment to this organization by attending events on a significantly enough regular basis, as deemed appropriate by the President.
Section II: Meeting times shall be scheduled by the President after consulting with the general membership about their respective availabilities. The President shall attempt to schedule meetings weekly when possible with at least 8 meetings being held per active semester.
Article III –Officer Positions, Description, Term, and Creation
Section I: The Executive Committee shall be the primary governing body of Ultimate at Ohio State and shall be comprised of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Marketing and Public Relations officer. To be eligible for these leadership positions all interested persons must be an Active Voting member of the organization during the Spring semester prior to the academic year of the officer terms they shall hold.
Section I (a): President- His/Her duties and responsibilities: To work closely with the Vice President on daily operations; To oversee the Treasurer and Marketing and Public Relations officer; To communicate with the Faculty Advisor at least once an active semester about the state of Ultimate at Ohio State; To have the power of interpretation of this Constitution should it be necessary for the President to make spontaneous decisions during the summer or other periods when contact with the general membership is suspended or unreasonable; To authorize the Treasurer to spend organization funds. The President shall hold a term of a single year, being elected in Spring semester, and begin holding office the first day of Summer semester, provided that the candidate is university trained.
Section I (b): Vice President- His/Her duties and responsibilities: To assist the President in overseeing all officers; To serve as the primary Event Planner in coordinating all events for the organization; To maintain membership records that are easily readable and obtainable by the President. The Vice President shall hold a term of a single year, being elected in Spring semester, and begin holding office the first day of Summer session.
Section I(c): Treasurer- His/Her duties and responsibilities: To apply for all desired funds for Ultimate at Ohio State; To manage and correctly balance the yearly budget as to never incur debt for the organization; To oversee budget proposals for events and other organizational functions; To ensure all members are compensated for Organization expenses (to be deemed appropriate by the President). The Treasurer should hold a term of a single year, being elected in Spring semester, and begin holding office the first day of Summer semester, provided that the candidate is university trained.
Section I (d): Marketing and Public Relations officer- His/her duties and responsibilities: To create and oversee all public advertisements and marketing material for the organization; To be prepared to collect any and all contact information from interested persons; To oversee elections for new officers in the Spring; To handle any other Administrative duties deemed appropriate by the President. The Marketing/Public Relations officer should hold a term of a single year, being elected in Spring semester, and begin holding office the first day of Summer semester.
Section II: New positions may be proposed by any general member and may be officially created by a unanimous vote of the Executive Committee. This new position, having been created by the order of the Executive Committee, will be viewed as temporary and shall not receive voting rights on the Executive Committee and thus expire at the end of the Executive Committee’s term. An amendment may be proposed, after the new position has been filled by an Active Voting member for an active semester, formally introducing this position into the Constitution.
Section III: Student Advisor- He/she is a necessary and vital part to the organization. His/her duties and responsibilities: To make sure that Ultimate at Ohio State’s leadership transitions run smoothly; To advise the Executive Committee on all matters which concern the organization if they do so request it; To assist the Marketing and Public Relations officer with administrating the election of officers. The Student Advisor shall be a non-elected position held by the longest continual Active Voting member of the organization with no authority over the daily operations of the organization because this position is strictly an advisory role to assist the Executive Committee. If no clear candidate exists for the Student Advisor position, the President, with assistance from the Executive Committee, shall appoint the person deemed most qualified and committed to this organization. It shall be strongly recommended that the Student Advisor get both President and Treasurer trained to help facilitate their advisory role within this organization.
Article IV– Election of Officers
Section I: Elections shall be held at the earliest convenient time after the mid-point of Spring semester. Voting shall be by secret ballot administrated by the Marketing and Public Relations officer with assistance from the Student Advisor as necessary.
Section I (a): The voting shall take place at a special election meeting, adequately advertised to the general membership in a timely manner, at which time the interested parties should be given the opportunity to speak on their own behalf prior to voting.
Section II (b): A majority of Active Voting members must be present at the special election meeting for the election to be considered legitimate and a candidate shall be declared a winner if and only if he/she receive a majority of the votes.
Section II: In the Case of No Clear Winner:
Section II (a): In the event of a tied election with only two candidates for the position (excluding the President position) the current President will cast the deciding vote.
Section II (b): In the event of a tied election for the President position, another debate will take place followed by another vote.
Section II (c): In an election of greater than two candidates, the two candidates who emerge with the greatest number of votes will then face off in a second election. The candidate with the majority of the votes in this second election will be elected.
Article V– Method of Removing and Replacing Officers and Members
Section I: Removal of General Members- Membership may be revoked if, and only if, a member is found in violation of the tenets expressed in Article I or for grossly inappropriate conduct at any Ultimate at Ohio State sponsored event. An Active Voting member must file a complaint, written or oral, with the President within 3 academic days of the alleged event. The Executive Committee will hold a special private dismissal hearing within one academic week of the alleged event to be attended by the accused member in question and the member who filed the complaint. The Executive Committee will decide by three-fourths vote whether a member stands in violation of Article I. If found in violation the Executive Committee will determine the length of suspension from seeking membership again, ranging from at least a single active semester to no more than a full academic year.
Section II: Reinstatement of Membership Status- After at least a single active semester but no more than a full academic year since the person in question has be removed from the organization, as determined by the Executive Committee at the dismissal hearing, the person in question is eligible to seek to rejoin Ultimate at Ohio State. The Executive Committee shall meet and unanimously approve the individual’s reinstatement into this organization. The reinstated member will be considered in probation for the next two active semesters before voting rights shall be restored to them.
Section III: Replacement of a Non-President Officer for reasons besides Impeachment- An interim officer may be appointed if a member of the Executive Committee shall be absent from the university for a material period of time during the academic year. The appointee must be university trained if necessary prior to inheriting the role.
Section III (a): In the case that the absence is for a single semester the President shall appoint, with the approval of the Student Advisor, an Active Voting member to temporarily serve in the open officer position until the elected officer returns.
Section III (b): If the absence is significantly more than a single semester a special election shall be held at the earliest convenient time to elect a replacement officer who will serve out the remainder of the previous officer’s term.
Section IV: Replacement of President for reasons besides Impeachment- An interim President may be appointed if the President shall be absent from the university for a material period of time during the academic year. The appointee must be university trained prior to inheriting the role.
Section IV (a): When the President is absent from the university for a single semester the remaining Executive Committee shall appoint an Active Voting member, by a majority with the approval of the Student Advisor, an Interim President who will serve until the President returns.
Section IV (b): If the absence of the President is significantly more than a single semester, a special election shall be held at the earliest convenient time to elect an Active Voting member as a replacement President who will serve out the remainder of the term.
Section V: Removal of Non-President Officers- Officers may be removed if, and only if, they are found in violation of the tenets expressed in Article I or for grossly inappropriate conduct at any Ultimate at Ohio State sponsored event. An Active Voting member must file a complaint, written or oral, with the President within 3 academic days of the alleged event. The President and Student Advisor will meet with the accused officer and the member who filed the complaint privately within an academic week of the alleged event. After which point the President with assistance from the Student Advisor will make a ruling. In the case of the officer being found in violation, the President will appoint an Active Voting member, with the approval of the Student Advisor, to the open officer position for the remainder of the term. The appointee must be university trained if necessary prior to inheriting the role.
Section VI: Removal of President- The President may be removed if, and only if, he/she is found in violation of the tenets expressed in Article I or for grossly inappropriate conduct at any Ultimate at Ohio State sponsored event. An Active voting member must file a complaint, written or oral, with the Student Advisor within 3 academic days of the alleged event. The Student Advisor and Faculty Advisor will meet with the accused President and the member who filed the complaint privately within an academic week of the alleged event or at the soonest possible time. The Student Advisor, with the assistance of the Faculty Advisor, will make a ruling.
Section VI (a): In the case where the President is found in violation and a single semester or less remains, the Vice President will immediately assume the President’s duties, and shall obtain university training as soon as time permits.
Section VI (b): In the case where the President is found in violation and significantly more than a single semester remains, the Vice President will immediately assume the President’s duties until a special election can be held at the earliest convenient time to elect a replacement President who will serve out the remainder of the term. The elected person must be university trained prior to inheriting the role.