The Constitution of Carolina Otaku Uprising: the Japanese Animation Club
July 9, 2010

Article I: Name, Motto and Purpose

  1. The organization shall be known as Carolina Otaku Uprising, or COUp for short. And yes, the ‘p’ is lowercase.
  2. The motto of COUp shall be ****************
  3. The purpose of COUp shall be to promote personal enjoyment and cultural awareness through the viewing of Japanese animated films and whatnot. Members shall work towards the otakunization of the human race, and eventual global conquest.
  4. We are willing to start small, though.

Article II: Membership

  1. Membership shall be open anyone and everyone who attends a meeting. There is no application, nor is there any regard to race, age, color, gender, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, national origin, religion, personal history, criminal record, favorite color, or pizza topping.
  2. In short, membership is open to anyone that is willing to watch good, bad, or sometimes incomprehensible Japanese animation in good company. This may at times mean sitting through the shows of Ye Olden Days, but we shall be resilient.

Article III: Meetings

  1. Meetings shall be held on Tuesdays, in as regular a campus location as Events Planning allows.
  2. Meetings will be called into order by the Voice at as close to 7pm as possible.
  3. The general format of these meetings will be roughly 75 minutes of animation, split up amongst three shows, followed by a brief 15-ish minute break, concluded by another 75 minutes of animation for another 3 shows. The back half of each meeting will be designated for the ongoing shows that were voted for at the start of the semester.
  4. Members in attendance are also expected to respectfully remain quiet during the viewing of shows. If they choose not to do so, they will be called out during the break, and poked with the pointy stick of laughter.
  5. Meetings henceforth known as Not-COUp will be held whenever there is an official school holiday that would otherwise prevent a majority of the student members from attending. The meetings will not follow the regular structure, but will instead be composed of random forms of media that members bring and watch.

Article IV: The Anatomy of COUp

  1. The Councilshall consist of the 9 elected [or maybe not-so-elected, or maybe just assumed] positions, in accordance with the equi-lunar cycle. The Council will consist of two representatives from the Senior, Junior, and Sophomore classes, two recently graduated members, and one not-so recently graduated member.
  2. The Faceless Minions are the meat [or at least the potatoes] of COUp. Just because you don't know their names doesn't make them less important.

Article V: Council Member Roles

  1. Of the nine Sanctum Members, at least one person must fulfill each of the following roles:

a)The Voice - will be responsible for starting meetings, making any relevant announcements, and issuing a verbal smack down for etiquette offenders.

b)The Supplier – will be responsible for bringing a laptop, with all of the weeks shows on it, through which the week’s shows may be viewed.

c)The Collaborator – will be responsible for gathering various members’ opinions about which animes they’d like to watch for a given semester.

d)The Publicist – will be responsible for recruiting new members throughout the semester, and organizing events to do so.

e)The Techie – will be responsible for maintaining the COUp website, which will contain information about our shows, meeting times/places, and the COUp listserv.

f)The Planner – will be responsible for getting a regular meetings room, as well as sending out and organizing information about the various events.

  1. These positions must be filled at all times, but one position may have many fillers, and one member may have many positions.
  2. At least one of these titles will be assumed by the active President, who will also serve as primary contact.
  3. Councilstudent members are not expected to serve for their college lives. If they wish to resume their position, they need only get approval from the remainder of the Council. Note that if a member of the Sanctum will be moving up in grade level, this will involve bumping off, or notching up, another Sanctum member in the higher level.

Article VI: Council Duties

  1. The duties are more or less the same for each group of representatives. All members should be comfortable speaking with the Council about any club issues, and conversely the Council should be the voice of their respective group.
  2. Upon receiving all submissions for watchable show at the beginning of the semester, the Council will sit down to determine which of these shows will make it to the finalized ballot.
  3. Once all votes from the finalized ballot have been tallied, the Council will once again sit down and piece together as rational a schedule possible for the entire semester. This will include any Not-COUps that will be held as well.
  4. Other than determining when and what shows will be watched for the semester, Council members will also be responsible for brainstorming and acting on any events throughout semester.

ArticleVII: Determining the Shows

  1. At the start of each semester, a call for help will be sent out from the Collaborator, asking for members to submit ideas for shows to watch. Anyone may suggest any number of shows.
  2. Once submissions have stopped coming in, a finalized ballot will be put together by the Council, and sent out to the masses.
  3. A Planning Meeting, put together by the Planner, will take place where brief excerpts from the shows on the ballot will be watched, and voted on by whoever is in attendance.
  4. After votes have been tallied, the Council will put together a schedule that gives fair exposure to the higher rated shows, and enough variety amongst the suggested genres.

Article VIII: Events

  1. It is the Publicist’s job to see that effort shall be made at least once a semester to publicize COUp meetings. This includes printing posters and flyers, painting the cubes,acquiring table space at Fall Fest and in the pit, and anything else that seems like a good idea at the time.The Minions are also encouraged to help out in spreading the word whenever possible.
  2. At some point throughout the semester, COUp will uphold the tradition of having our Annual Halloween Costume Contest, Christmas Party and Spring Picnic. Other events may include, but are not limited to, Otaku no Bowling, Otaku no Zoo, Otaku no Putt-Putt, and Otaku no Beach Trip.

Article IX: Bad Things

  1. Here in these parts, we don't need none o' them o-TAku comin' around stirrin' up trouble with that there'n Japanimation.
  2. Any behavior deemed annoying and excessive, such as causing distraction during viewing or any behavior that makes another member feel uncomfortable shall first be met by condemning stares of the Council. Furtherinfractions shall be grounds for Punishment ranging from public mockery to being sacrificed to the grease dumpster. The Council enforces the laws printed herein, as well as maintains a code of conduct so that COUp is less likely to be ejected from their meeting rooms by University Police. If the situation demands, Punishment shall come quick and deadly from above, a la the combined forces of the Council. Death from above!

Article X: Affiliates

  1. Fun Tabletop Gaming Network (FTaGN)
  2. A brother organization of COUp composed by the gamers of COUp.
  3. Weekly meetings consisting of anythat we have enough people for will be held Saturday night into Sunday morning in a predetermined location.
  4. Many COUp members are also FTaGN members, thus it is encouraged that any non-converts give FTaGN at least one shot.
  5. UNC Japanese Club
  6. A sister organization that further encourages the exploration of Japanese culture in a welcoming environment.
  7. Meetings are non-weekly, but are composed of mainly of Japanese-themed parties, and Japanese oriented events, such as tea ceremonies.
  8. For more exposure to a broader range of Japanese topics, members are encouraged to check out Japanese Club at least once as well.
  9. Other groups COUp members are part of may be used as strategic allies as situations require.
  10. New affiliates may be created at any time by a group of interested COUp members.

Article XI: Legality of the Constitution

  1. This constitution shall become legal when I darned well say it's legal. Keep talking back and I'll wash your mouth out with soap, young man.

Article XII: Legacy

  1. We believe that children are our future. We must teach them well and let them lead the way. Towards that end, COUp shall leave a legacy for future potential otaku of UNC. This shall be in the form of a special collection of animation videos in the audio/visual section of the Undergraduate Library.

Article the Last: Future Interpretation & Etc.

  1. The contents of this constitution are binding law and should be followed to the letter. Sieg Heil!
  2. The above point is wrong. This entire work is tongue in cheek -- please use this as a basis for guidance if all else fails. Leave the governance squabbling for Di-Phi.
  3. Always remember: the world is love and peace! Your memories always make you smile. Let COUP light the fire to your heart -- something so big, it takes both hands. Allegiance or Death! Big Fire!
  4. [Not for Sale or Rent]