BUSU ratified Club Constitution
CONSTITUTION FOR (INSERT YOUR CLUB NAME)
(insert logo here---if applicable)
Article 1 – Name
The club’s official name will be “(insert your club name here)”. No other name will be used in the advertisement or representation of the club.
This article is pretty self-explanatory. You must define the exact name of your club that will be used in all official capacities.
Article 2 – Purpose for the club’s existence
1.(Insert club purpose number one here).
2.(Insert club purpose number two here).
3.(Insert club purpose number three here).
(Insert further purpose statements here).
By no means are you limited to only three purpose statements, of course, but we would like a few points outlined describing the goals and planned purpose of your club. Try not to define your club too broadly or too narrowly. By this we mean that you should not simply say that: “We want to get students together to have a good time.” While this is no doubt a laudable goal, it is much too broad a mandate for us to ratify. Your club needs a more specific reason for existing, but try not to define your club with such focused precision that you leave no room for growth and different ideas to emerge. What we tend to recommend is that you give a good but more general outline of your club’s purpose here, and then really define your thoughts and ideas in the cover letter that you will be submitting to us on the Clubs Policy Committee. When it comes to your clubs’ purpose and mandate, we will hold you to, and sometimes constrain you to, what is written in your constitution, but we will not hold you to the contents of your cover letter.
Article 3 – Membership
1.Membership is open to everyone.
2.Only students at BrockUniversity are eligible to hold voting privileges and executive positions.
3.Associate non-voting members shall be allowed.
As it is defined by Item#1, club membership will be made open to everyone. No club may explicitly or implicitly seek to limit their membership in any way, shape or form without explicit consent from the Clubs Policy Committee. The CPC will not permit clubs to restrict their membership unless such a restriction is necessary such that the essence of the club would be otherwise undermined. The onus is on the club to demonstrate that such a restriction is required. As for Item#2, this is a University and not the community at large, and as such we require clubs to restrict executive privileges and voting rights to current BrockUniversity students only. Through, as per Item#3, a club is permitted to take in associate members from the community if they so desire.
Article 4 – Executive
1.The executive committee shall consist of:
a)President
b)Vice-President/Secretary
c)Treasurer
You are not restricted to an executive consisting of only these positions listed here, but these positions represent the minimum requirements. It is highly recommended to separate out the positions of secretary and Vice-President if you so desire. However, don’t add extra positions just for the sake of it. See what positions you can consolidate and merge. A small, efficient executive can get things done better than a large cumbersome bureaucracy.
Article 5 – Duties of the Executive
President
- Will oversee the other members of the executive in their duties
- Will chair all meetings
- Will have signing authority for the club
Vice-President
- Will assist the President in his/her duties
- Will assume all powers of the President in his/her absence
- Will be responsible for recording the minutes of all meetings
Treasurer
- Will be responsible for all financial dealings of the club
- Will keep complete records of all financial dealings of the club
- Will have signing authority for the club
The above duties represent the minimum duties required of each executive in order to see a club run smoothly. You may add duties as you see fit and of course if you have added further executive positions, you will have to define duties for each new position.
Article 6 – Finances
1.A membership fee will be set by the executive annually.
Don’t define how much you’ll charge in your constitution – it’ll limit you later when you simply want to raise the annual fee and have to go through a whole constitutional amendment process just to do so. Instead, just say that you’ll be collecting a fee, period, and this fee will be determined by the executive.
Article 7 – Meetings
1.At least three general meetings shall be held during the school year, including the Annual General Meeting.
2.Members will be informed of each of these meetings at least seven days in advance.
These are minimum requirements. Don’t bother to get more ambitious than this and say you’ll hold umpteen billion meetings per year, because then you’ll have to. Just give us the above-stated minimum that you’ll need to hold, and try to hold more as time and scheduling permits.
Article 8 – Elections
1.All election procedures will abide by the policies set out in Bylaw 2550 – The Clubs Bylaw.
This is all you need to say for your executive election procedures. If you want to know the current requirements for executive election procedures, please see The Clubs Bylaw (255). If you wish to do so, you may copy all elections procedures from that elections section of the bylaw into this section of your constitution.
Article 9 – Amendments
1.Amendments to the constitution must win a two-thirds majority vote of members present.
2.Amendments to the constitution must be approved by the Clubs Policy Committee, which must be presented with a typed copy of the proposed amendment as well as typed minutes from the meeting when the amendment was passed in order to prove that this amendment was adopted.
These are the precise requirements, so don’t modify them beyond what is stated above.
Article 10 – Impeachment
1.Any member of the club who commits an act negatively affecting the interests of the club and its members may be given notice of impeachment.
2.The impeached individual will have the right to defend his/her actions.
3.A two-thirds majority vote of members present will result in the removal of the impeached individual from the club and the loss of any privileges associated with the club.
It is best to include impeachment procedures such as those outlined above. You’ll probably never use the impeachment procedures, but should it become necessary to impeach, you’ll be glad you included this part in the constitution.
Article 11 – Agency Clause
1.The (insert your club name here) is not an agent of the University Students’ Council and its views and actions do not represent those of the University Students’ Council.
This is required exactly as stated above.