Constitution for Ethical Endeavor at Ohio State

Constitution for Ethical Endeavor at Ohio State

(also referred to as: The Ethical Endeavor: A Journal Considering the Ethical Implications of Scientific Advancement and Social Progression)

Article l - Name, Purpose, and Non-Discrimination Policy of the Organization

Section 1: Name: The Ethical Endeavor: A Journal Considering the Ethical Implications of Scientific Advancement and Social Progression (or The Ethical Endeavor for short).

Section 2: Purpose: The Ethical Endeavor is an undergraduate-based journal that serves as a conduit for discussing and presenting ethical implications resulting from scientific advancement and social progression.

Section 3: Non-discrimination Policy: This organization and 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 categories of membership

Section 1: Voting/Official Membership: One must be a full-time student at The Ohio State University and attend at least three (3) weekly meetings per academic semester.

Section 2: Promotional Membership: In order to run for the executive board, one must meet the voting membership criteria and either edit three (3) successfully published articles in the journal, submit one (1) article considered for publication, or contribute significantly to an event hosted by the organization.

Article III - Organization Leadership: Titles, terms of office, type of selection, and duties of the leaders

Section 1: Overview: The Ethical Endeavor will have six (6) executive board leadership positions, as well as dynamic secondary leadership positions to meet the additional needs of the organization. The positions, duties, and terms of office are elaborated on below.

Section 2: Executive Board

1) President: Is in charge of the overall organization and direction of The Ethical Endeavor. The president will help come up with weekly agenda for meetings, work closely with other E-board members to schedule events, and oversee general appropriateness of other leadership positions. Moreover, the president works closely with the editor-in-chief to review articles for submission; the president will deem the appropriateness of a given submission and head the ultimate acceptance or rejection of articles.

2) Vice President: Works closely with the president to fulfill general organization administrative duties. Furthermore, the vice president will help the president come up with discussion topics and oversee several papers that the Editor-In-Chief and the president read – ultimately, to help accept or reject them for publication.

3) Treasurer: Will be in charge of the group’s funds and expenses. The treasurer monitors the bank account and offers fiscal suggestions in tandem with event planning/coordination.

4) Editor-In-Chief: Works closely with the president and other editors in reviewing articles for their content/message delivery. The editor-in-chief is in charge of the various editors of The Ethical Endeavor and oversees the general architecture of the article review process. In addition, the editor-in-chief may discuss and attempt to override a president’s decision on whether to accept or reject a submission. If a consensus is not reached between the editor-in-chief and the president, the article may be voted upon with the editor-in-chief, the president and the vice-president. The advisor may be asked on his/her opinion regarding the submission as well.

5) Director of Networking: Has the primary focus of coordinating events, but has a more comparative emphasis on external event coordination rather than internal event coordination. The Director of Networking also manages the social media of the organization and helps to promote community awareness of the organization.

6) Secretary: Takes and keeps track of attendance at weekly meetings, reserves weekly meeting areas, as well as frequently checks for email updates. The secretary works in conjunction with the director of networking and president to reach out to other groups and institutions. Additionally, the secretary will help coordinate events and presentations in tandem with weekly meetings.

Section 3: Secondary Leadership

1) Webmaster(s): Will be in charge of developing the website and overseeing its growth/maintenance.

2) Managing editor(s): Works closely with the editor-in-chief to oversee the publication review process and review articles. Becoming a managing editor requires being an editor of five (5) successfully published articles and approval by the president and editor-in-chief.

3) Editor(s): Works closely with the managing editor(s) and occasionally the editor-in-chief to review articles. Becoming an editor requires being an editor of two (2) successfully published articles and approval by the editor-in-chief.

Article IV - Method of Selecting and/or Removing Officers and Members

Any student at The Ohio State University is eligible for membership. Regular members are expected to attend weekly meeting sessions and are encouraged to contribute to the organization through editing or writing in order to be able to run for executive board positions. Candidates will run at the end of the autumn academic semester. Terms last for one year and are available for re-election. Members who are eligible for voting may vote. In the case of an officer not fulfilling his/her roles, an impromptu election may be called to cast another member into the position.

Article V - Advisor(s) or Advisory Board: Qualification Criteria

Advisors of student organizations must be members of the University faculty or Administrative & Professional staff. Dr. Christopher Knoester will be the initial/standing advisor for The Ethical Endeavor. At the group’s discretion, an alternative advisor may be selected. The advisor should complete respective training modules every two years to maintain status of being an advisor. Additionally, the advisor may choose to leave at any time he/she wishes too; in this case, another faculty member must be chosen. The advisor to The Ethical Endeavor will serve to offer advice on directions for the organization to take and to help the group with questions that are not easily resolved.

Article VI - Meetings of the Organization: Required meetings and their frequency

Section 1: Weekly Meetings: Weekly meetings will encompass discussions/presentations of ethics-related topics, editing/writing sessions where members are given chances to edit work of their peers and/or revise their own writing with others’ suggestions, and other varieties of meetings as needed. In order to be a voting member, one must attend at least three (3) weekly meetings per academic semester.

Section 2: Additional Meetings: In tandem with weekly meetings, there will be coordinated events for discussion, presentation, and collaboration of the group with other groups, speakers, and various events.

Article VII - Method of Amending Constitution: Proposals, notice, and voting requirements

Any proposed changes/additions/deletions to amendments will require a written notice as well as a vote at a weekly meeting. Two-thirds of the group is needed to ratify and/or pass such proposals.

Article VIII - Method of Dissolution of Organization

If The Ethical Endeavor were to be terminated, organization assets may be used to support any lab group at The Ohio State University who needs additional funds for a project – preference will be given to labs under domains of sociology, life sciences, psychology, and philosophy.