Constitution
Article I - Name, Purpose, and Non-Discrimination Policy of the Organization.
I.a. Name: A STORY OF US PODCAST
I.b. Purpose: The mission of the A Story of Us podcast is to increase public understanding and access to the field of anthropology. We seek to identify who anthropologists are, what we study, and how we perform our research. We also seek to explain why anthropology is relevant to understanding diversity, our origins, human variation, and behavior. All episodes are produced in a way that is understandable to listeners who have little to no anthropology background. Our mission is primarily achieved through semester-long series which seek to identify the relationships among the anthropological subfields within the context of an overarching theme. Members include Department of Anthropology graduate students.
I.c. Non-Discrimination Policy: This organization does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, military status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, or any other bases under the law, in its activities, programs, admission, and employment. As a student organization at The Ohio State University, A Story of Us Podcast expects its members to conduct themselves in a manner that maintains an environment free from sexual misconduct. All members are responsible for adhering to University Policy 1.15, which can be found here: https://hr.osu.edu/public/documents/policy/policy115.pdf. If you or someone you know has been sexually harassed or assaulted, you may find the appropriate resources at http://titleIX.osu.edu or by contacting the Ohio State Title IX Coordinator at .
Article II - Membership: Qualifications and categories of membership.
II.a. As required by the Guidelines for Student Organizations, 90% of the membership of a student organization must include current Ohio State University students. Active members and Executive Committee are able to make decisions regarding the membership of community and other non-student members of an organization. Community or other non-student members may be temporarily suspended with a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
Article III – Methods for Removing Members and Executive Officers
III.a. If a member engages in behavior that is detrimental to advancing the purpose of this organization, violates the organization’s constitution or by-laws, or violates the Code of Student Conduct, university policy, or federal, state or local law, the member may be removed through a majority vote of the officers in consultation with the organization’s advisor.
III.b. Any elected officer of the chapter may be removed from their position for cause. Cause for removal includes, but is not limited to: violation of the constitution or by-laws, failure to perform duties, or any behavior that is detrimental to advancing the purpose of this organization, including violations of the Student Code of Conduct, university policy, or federal, state, or local laws. The Executive Committee may act for removal upon a two-thirds affirmative vote of the executive board in consultation with the organization’s advisor.
III.c. In the event that the reason for member removal is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) or cannot otherwise be shared with members (e.g., while an investigation is pending), the executive board, in consultation with the organization’s advisor, may vote to temporarily suspend a member or executive officer.
Article IV - Organization Leadership:
IV.a. President/Executive Manager – The Executive Manager holds a one year term, recommended by the executive committee, and elected by the general members. The Executive Manager is in charge of overseeing the Executive Committee to ensure that podcast episodes are planned, written, approved, and published on a timely schedule. The Executive Manager serves as point of contact to the department chair and faculty advisor. All executive committee members report directly to the Executive manager.
IV.b. Secondary Leader (Curriculum Manager) – The Curriculum Manager holds a one year term, recommended by the executive committee, and elected by the general members. The primary role of the Curriculum Manager is to plan and write episodes pertaining to each semester’s series theme. The Curriculum Manager oversees the Curriculum Committee and divides the writing tasks amongst the members.
IV.c. Treasurer - The Treasurer holds a one year term, recommended by the executive committee, and elected by the general members. The treasurer works with the Executive Manager to pay for the podcast hosting software and any small expenses that arise.
IV.d. Faculty Advisor – The Executive Manager holds a one year term and is chosen based on the recommendation of the Executive Committee.
Article V- Election / Selection of Organization Leadership
V.a. At the end of a term, an elected member of the Executive Committee has the option to either stay in the position or step down. If the officer decides to stay in his/her position, no action is needed.
V.b. If an officer chooses to step down, he/she is responsible for presenting the Executive Committee with up to three candidates for the position (all must be current members of the podcast team). The Executive Committee may choose to reject the candidates or offer others. Once the Executive Committee has identified the candidates, an balloted vote will take place at the next general meeting. A simple majority will determine the winner.
V.c. In the situation where a member of the Executive Committee is not fulfilling his/her duties, the other committee members may ask that officer to step down, but this requires a 2/3 majority vote of the Executive Committee members.
Article VI - Executive Committee: Size and composition of the Committee.
VI.a. The Executive Committee shall include the Executive Manager (the chair of the committee), the Faculty Advisor, Treasurer, Curriculum Manager, Ideas Manager, Quality Control manager, Social Media Supervisor, and Audio Supervisor. The Executive Committee represents the general membership, conducts business of the organization between general meetings, and reports its actions and decisions to the general membership.
Article VII - Standing Committees (if needed): Names, purposes, and composition.
VII.a. There are four standing committees: Curriculum Committee, Ideas Committee, Quality Control Committee, and the Tech/Social Committee. See the by-laws for details of each committee’s composition, goals, and responsibilities.
Article VIII – Advisor: Qualification Criteria.
VIII.a. The role of the faculty advisor shall be to,stay up to date on the activities of the club,act as a liaison between faculty and members of the club,attend regular meetings and executive board meetings as often as schedule allows, andexplain and clarify campus procedures that apply to the club. The faculty liaison is also the point of contact for the American Anthropological Association, which is working in collaboration with A Story of Us. Lastly, the faculty liaison works closely with the Executive Manager in communications with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Article IX – Meetings and events of the Organization: Required meetings and their frequency.
IX.a. Two general meetings and attendance at all or 50% of events hosted may be required for membership each academic term except for summer.
Article X – Attendees of Events of the Organization: Required events and their frequency.
X.a. The organization reserves the right to address member or event attendee behavior where the member or event attendee’s behavior is disruptive or otherwise not in alignment with the organization’s constitution.
Article XI – Method of Amending Constitution: Proposals, notice, and voting requirements.
XI.a. Any proposed amendments should be presented to the organization in writing and should not be acted upon when initially introduced. Upon initial introduction, the proposed amendments should be read in the general meeting, then read again at a specified number of subsequent general meetings and the general meeting in which the votes will be taken, and should either require a two-third or three-quarter majority of voting members (a quorum being present) or a majority or two-thirds of the entire voting membership of the organization, present or not. The constitution should not be amended easily or frequently.
Article XII – Method of Dissolution of Organization
XII.a. To dissolve the organization, the Executive Committee must bring it to a vote of the general membership. A 2/3 majority is required for the motion to pass. If passed, any assets should be donated to the Department of Anthropology. Upon the official dissolution of the organization, Student Activities staff must be contacted to remove organization information from website.
By-Laws
Article 1 – Parliamentary Authority
I.a. The rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the organization in all cases to which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the by-laws of this organization.
Article II- Membership
II.a. Any graduate student currently enrolled in the Department of Anthropology MA or PhD program is eligible to become a member. Any new member must email the Executive Manager and ask to join the podcast team. The Executive Manager may assign that member to any of the standing committees.
II.b. There are no annual dues.
Article III- Election / Appointment of Government Leadership
III.a. The Executive Committee may call for elections at any general meeting. Members will be notified via email that a vote will occur at the following general meeting. Ballots will be blank and the voting member must write the item/person of their choice. If a new manager is being elected, he/she may cast a vote, but must remain outside the room during counting.
Article IV- Executive Committee
IV.a. The Executive Committee serves as the first line of decision making for the podcast. It discusses any proposed changes to the mission, personnel, or operations prior to introducing the topic to the general membership. The Executive Committee approves candidates for elected positions.
Article V- Standing Committees (if needed)
V.a. Curriculum Committee: The Curriculum Manager works with other members of the Curriculum Committee to create episode concepts, outlines, and propose guests. The Curriculum Manager tasks committee members with writing the dialogue for content episodes and edits the dialogue before it is sent to the Quality Control Committee. The Curriculum Manager also calls committee meetings and sets deadlines for drafts of each episode and ideas for guests.
V.b. Ideas Committee: The role of the Ideas Committee is to generate new content for the podcast. This includes concepts for series themes, as well as proposals for individual episodes. These ideas are then vetted by the entire podcast team, and those that are selected for production are further developed by the Curriculum Committee. The manager of this committee presents ideas to the podcast team and manages a current database of faculty and graduate student research.
V.c. Quality Control Committee: The role of the quality control committee is to edit proposed episode scripts for accuracy, grammar, and overall quality. The quality control manager distributes episode scripts to committee members best qualified to review scripts covering specific topics and aids in the editing process, provides real-time quality checks during therecording process, and reviews episodes before they are released. The quality control committee serves works hand-in-hand with the rest of the committees toproduce and ensurehigh-quality content for the podcast.
V.d. Tech/Social Committee: The Tech/Social Committee includes the Audio Supervisor, Social Media Supervisor, and Website Supervisor. Each member reports directly to the Executive Manager.
V.d.i. Audio Supervisor: The audio manager of A Story of Us Podcast is responsible for consulting on aspects of the podcast and producing the final episodes. As a consultant, the audio manager will coordinate with the Executive officer, the curriculum committee, and the hosts of the podcast to ensure that everything pertaining to the recording of each episode is of the highest quality possible. This may include, but is not limited to, training the hosts in recording procedures, ensuring high-quality recording equipment and processing, and producing a final episode with as few mistakes and audio problems as possible. The audio manager should also act as a consultant on production of other media such as website, artwork, writing, and YouTube video creation to ensure highest possible quality for the final product. Regarding technical considerations, the audio manager is responsible for having or gaining the skills necessary to edit raw audio files into finished episodes for A Story of Us Podcast. The final product should be a high-fidelity .mp3 file that is submitted to the quality assurance committee for verification and subsequent posting on the website and Soundcloud.
V.d.ii. Social Media Supervisor: The Social Media Supervisor is tasked with keeping the podcast’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts active and up to date with announcements of new episodes. The supervisor is also in charge of working with the Department of Anthropology’s PR Manager to promote the podcast.
V.d.iii. Website Supervisor: The Website Supervisor posts the finalized podcast episodes to Soundcloud and the podcast website. The supervisor is in charge of keeping all of the web materials organized and up to date.
Article VIII - Method of Amending By-Laws
VIII.a. By-laws may be amended by proposing in writing and reading the change at a general meeting of the membership and then bring the proposed change up for a vote at the next meeting. A simple majority is needed to enact proposed changes.