Constitution
Article I: Name
Section 1 – The name of this organization shall be Uhuru Magazine at Iowa State University. “Uhuru” alone shall also be sufficient for official communications.
Section 2 – “Board” shall refer to the Editor-in-Chief, Art Director, and senior officers approved by said members.
Section 3 – “Officers” shall refer to the Board and other persons in this organization who hold leadership positions. Such persons may include but are not limited to Photography Director, Treasurer, and Copy Editor.
Section 4 – “Adviser” shall refer to the faculty adviser appointed to this organization.
Article II: Purpose
Section 1 – Uhuru Magazine seeks to provide a fresh, intelligent, and sophisticated outlook on topics such as culture, politics, art, and others from a multicultural perspective. The intended result of this mission is to educate and promote positive social change.
Section 2 – Uhuru Magazine abides by and supports established Iowa State University policies, State, and Federal Laws.
Article III: Membership
Section 1 – Membership shall be open to all registered students at Iowa State University.
Section 2 – Membership shall be restricted to those who can attend mandatory staff meetings. Exceptions shall be made for those who have legitimate conflicts, provided alternate arrangements are made for such members to execute their duties.
Section 3 – Membership may be revoked for repeated breach of duty or gross misconduct, provided:
a. a formal warning is required prior to revocation
b. the first appeal must be submitted to the board in writing or e-mail within ten days
c. the Board must give the appeal a good faith review and stay the revocation unless and until the decision to revoke is affirmed
Article IV: Officers
Section 1 – The officers of this organization must meet the following requirements:
a) Have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) as stated below and meet that minimum cumulative GPA in the semester immediately prior to the election/appointment, the semester of election/appointment and semesters during the term of office. For undergraduate students, the minimum GPA is 2.00. In order for this provision to be met, at least six hours (half-time credits) must have been taken for the semester under consideration.
b) Be in good standing with the university and be enrolled: at least half time (six or more credit hours), if an undergraduate student (unless fewer credits are required to graduate in the spring and fall semesters) during the term of office, and at least half time (four or more credits), if a graduate level student (unless fewer credits are required in the final stages of their degree as defined by the Continuous Registration Requirement) during their term of office
c) Be ineligible to hold an office should the student fail to maintain the requirements as prescribed in (a) and (b)
Section 2 – Editor-in-Chief
a) The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the overall management of magazine.
i. The Editor-in-Chief shall work with Adviser and Board to ensure the longevity of Uhuru, determine the direction of each magazine issue, make final edits to articles, and maintain an official roster of members.
ii. The Editor-in-Chief may issue press releases, approve promotional events, solicit advertisements to be placed within the magazine, set guidelines generally for such advertisements, produce written content for magazine issues, recruit members, and perform or coordinate other actions consistent with this Constitution. These actions are delegable.
iii. The Editor-in-Chief shall, in conjunction with the Board, coordinate the planning, production, and distribution of each magazine issue, approve new members, and keep a physical or electronic record of official decisions.
b) The Editor-in-Chief shall be appointed by the Board at the end of spring semester and shall serve a one-year term. This position may be held for up to two terms.
Section 3 – Art Director
a) The Art Director is responsible of the artistic direction of the magazine.
i. The Art Director shall work with Adviser and Board to ensure the longevity of Uhuru, determine the artistic direction of each magazine issue, make final edits to page designs, compile the print-ready magazine prototypes, and conduct press checks.
ii. The Art Director may solicit advertisements to be placed within the magazine, set guidelines for the format of such advertisements, provide page designs for magazine issues, recruit members, and perform or coordinate other actions consistent with this Constitution. These actions are delegable.
iii. The Art Director shall, in conjunction with the Board, coordinate the planning, production, and distribution of each magazine issue, approve new members, and keep a physical or electronic record of official decisions.
b) The Art Director shall be appointed by the Board at the end of spring semester and shall serve a one-year term. This position may be held for up to two terms.
Section 4 – Business Manager
a) The Business Manager is the Treasurer of the magazine
i. The Business Manager shall advise the Board regarding the feasibility and wisdom of financial decisions, sign vouchers and other necessary documents, and keep record of income and expenses.
ii. The Business Manager may be required by the Board to appear before Government of the Student Body (GSB) to request funding for the next fiscal year.
b) The Business Manager shall be appointed by the Board at any time and may continue to serve at the pleasure of the Board for up to four semesters. The Board should seek to appoint the Business Manager at the end of spring semester to serve a one-year term.
Section 5 – Advisor
a) The Advisor shall maintain communication and meet with officer(s) regularly and approve of financial expenditures.
b) The Advisor shall ensure that the organization is operating in conformity with the standards set forth by Iowa State University and Student Activities Center
c) The Advisor shall be appointed by the Board at any time and may continue to serve at the pleasure of the Board. The Board should seek to appoint the Advisor at the end of spring semester to serve a one-year term.
Section 6 – Other positions
a) The Board may approve other Officers including, but not limited to, Copy Editor, Photography Director, Advertising Director, Editorial Assistant, and Assistant Editors and Directors.
b) The Officers under this section shall be appointed by the Board at any time and may continue to serve at the pleasure of the Board, other provisions of this Constitution notwithstanding.
Section 7 – Removal and Replacement
a) All Officers may be removed from office by a one-half vote of the other officers and a three-fourths vote of the general membership if actions are deemed inappropriate by the membership. The officer has the right to speak before the Board and the general membership about the charges made concerning his/her performance. The officer is not permitted to participate in the deliberation of the Board regarding the charges.
b) Replacements may be made when necessary in accordance with the other provisions of this constitution. The term limits prescribed above should not be exceeded without compelling circumstances.
Section 8 – Leadership
a) Generally: final decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief.
b) Exceptions: final design decisions are made by the Art Director.
c) In all cases, the Editor-in-Chief, Art Director, and Officers under this article are to take recommendations made by another such officer in good faith. This section shall be construed to support collaboration more than rigid hierarchy as much as possible.
d) The Editor-in-Chief position may be divided into two co-editorial positions, with responsibilities divided between no more than two persons.
e) The Art Director position may be divided into two co-art directorial positions, with responsibilities divided between no more than two persons.
f) All officers may have titles other than those described in this Constitution, provided the title reasonably reflects such officer’s position.
Section 9 – Current Officers
a) Co-Editor/President
b) Co-Editor
c) Adviser
d) Art Director
e) Treasurer
f) Secretary
Article V: Finances
Section 1 – All monies belonging to this organization shall be deposited and disbursed through a bank account established for this organization at the Campus Organizations Accounting Office (COA) and/or approved institution/office (must receive authorization via Campus Organizations Accounting Office). All funds must be deposited within 24 hours after collection. The Adviser to this organization must approve and sign each expense before payment
Section 2 – Due to the scope of Uhuru’s activities, membership dues are not collected.
Section 3 – Dissolution of this organization requires both a simple majority of all members and a two-thirds majority of the Board, including an affirmative vote by the Faculty Adviser. Upon an affirmative dissolution decision, funds may be directed to other student organizations for appropriate causes, or returned to the Government of the Student Body. Official documents should be left with GSB, COA, or another competent body in case that the magazine is reconstituted at a later date.
Article VI: Ethics
Section 1 – No Member shall knowingly put forth an article in exchange for money from an outside party. However, the Board may agree to publicize an event or organization for some form of consideration, provided that such agreement is not offensive to journalistic practice.
Section 2 – No Member shall represent any work as his/her own when such member knows or has reason to believe the work was not done by him/her.
Section 3 – Members are to name sources used in their work; however, authors must honor a human source’s wish to remain anonymous.
Section 4 – Violation of this section are grounds for disciplinary action, including revocation of membership.
Article VII: Amendments and Ratification
Section 1 – Ratification of this constitution and subsequent amendments require both a two-thirds majority of all members and a two-thirds majority of the Board.
Section 2 – This constitution shall be made available to all members of this organization. The Editor-in-Chief is required to have a physical copy of this constitution with the signatures of the other Board members.