Constitution
CONSTITUTION OF THE COLLEGE REPUBLICANS AT THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
PREAMBLE
We, the College Republicans of The George Washington University, in order to promote liberty, freedom of speech and worship, equal justice and rights, and economic growth, and to provide fertile ground for the discussion of political ideas, do hereby establish this Constitution of the College Republicans at The George Washington University.
ARTICLE I
Name and Affiliation
Section 1. The Name of this organization shall be the College Republicans at The George Washington University, hereafter referred to as “the club.” This name shall be used only in conjunction with the official business and activities of the club.
Section 2. The club shall be affiliated with the District of Columbia Federation of College Republicans and the College Republican National Committee as the official College Republican organization at The George Washington University.
ARTICLE II
Purpose
The club shall coordinate Republican activity at The George Washington University; shall present the Republican philosophy and goals to the student body and faculty of The George Washington University; shall increase the political awareness and activity on campus; and shall represent the views of the student body and club to the Republican Party.
ARTICLE III
Membership and Dues
Section 1. The membership shall be restricted to members of The George Washington University, in accordance with University regulations.
Section 2. Eligibility for membership will be restricted by Section 1 and granted to men and women who believe and support the philosophy of the Republican Party. Persons who are in accordance with these rules, who have paid the levied dues and who have completed a membership form provided by the Executive Board will be full members with full voting privileges, subject to review by the Executive Board.
Subsection 1. All new members who join during the summer term will be granted full voting status when presented to the Executive Board by the membership director at the first official Executive Board meeting of the fall semester.
Section 3. No one shall be denied membership on the basis of race, sex, creed, religion, or natural origin.
Section 4. The Executive Board shall have the power to set the club’s annual dues.
Subsection 1. Annual dues shall remain equal to that of the previous year unless otherwise stipulated by the Executive Board.
Section 5. A current membership roster shall be maintained by the Director of Membership listing names, addresses, phone numbers, and University relationships of all members.
ARTICLE IV
Officers of the Executive Board
Section 1. The voting officers of this organization shall be the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Director of Political Affairs, Director of Membership, Director of Publications, Director of Public Relations, and the two Freshman Representatives.
Section 2. The nonvoting officer of the Executive Board shall be the Director of Operations and Administration.
Section 3. The term of each officer shall begin with the last regular Executive Board meeting of the spring semester, with the exception of the Freshman Representatives, who shall be elected from the Freshman class in the Fall.
Section 4. The duties of the officers are as follows:
Subsection 1. The Chairman is the executive officer of the club. He shall preside over all meetings of the Executive Board, serve as the official spokesman of the club and must approve all outgoing publicity or correspondence. He shall have the power to select all appointed officers, committee members, and Federation Representatives with Executive Board approval. He shall be an ex-officio member of all committees and shall call all meetings of the membership and Executive Board.
Subsection 2. The Vice-Chairman shall perform the duties of the Chairman in his absence, and serve on all standing and ad hoc committees of the club. He shall also supervise special events and assist in matters of budget and finance.
Subsection 3. The Secretary shall carry on all intraclub correspondence, keep minutes of all Executive Board and voting membership meetings, provide each Executive Board member with copies of these minutes, and maintain a permanent file of these minutes.
Subsection 4. The Treasurer shall collect dues, maintain accurate financial records of club transactions, present a monthly financial statement for the Executive Board’s approval, co-sign checks with the Chairman, and submit budget proposals to the George Washington University Student Association. He shall be responsible for recording and managing all income entering into the club’s account with the approval of the Chairman and the advice and consent of the Board, and shall be responsible for any other assigned duties.
Subsection 5. The Director of Political Affairs shall serve as chairman of the Political Affairs Committee which shall coordinate political activities (i.e. rallies, protests, debates, guest speakers).
Subsection 6. The Director of Membership shall serve as chairman of the Membership Committee which shall coordinate the recruitment and involvement of new members, and maintain a membership list as specified in Article III, Section 5.
Subsection 7. The Director of Public Relations shall serve as Chairman of the Public Relations Committee which coordinates the following: all press releases distributed to the Administration, student organizations, and non College Republican print; community service and relations; and club-related verbal correspondence and communication. He shall also be a member of the Information Committee.
Subsection 8. The Director of Publications shall be Editor-In-Chief of the CR newspaper, chairman of the Information Committee, and a member of the Public Relations Committee. The Information Committee is charged with creating and distributing all materials for mass awareness (i.e. posters, Hatchet ads, signs).
Subsection 9. The two Freshman Representatives shall represent the freshman students to the Executive Board. They shall be charged with holding monthly membership meetings with the freshman to facilitate interest and involvement in the club pursuant to Article II. They shall report on progress at all Executive Board meetings.
Subsection 10. The Director of Operations and Administration is a member of the Executive Board appointed by the Chairman and approved by the Executive Board. His main responsibilities entail serving as the administrative officer of the club and maintaining operational order. He shall coordinate the flow of reports and other materials from the Directors to the Chairman. He is an ex-officio member of all committees and has full voting privileges in them.
Section 5. All officers may appoint assistants and members of the committee they chair to serve at their discretion.
Section 6. Executive Board officers, as listed in Section 1 of this Article, shall each have one vote to cast on each vote of business in the Executive Board. The Chairman will break any tie votes that may arise during business.
Section 7. The Executive Board shall specify the number of office hours its members will keep. (minimum of 2 hours/week)
Section 8. The Chairman alone may create, at his discretion, non-standing committees and may appoint members, at his discretion, to any committee.
Subsection 1. All appointments not sitting on the Executive Board serve at the discretion of the Executive Board and may be dismissed by a simple majority of the Executive Board at any time. If a protest is filed with the Vice-Chairman before the next regular Executive Board meeting, then the individual shall have the right to address the Board, and ask for an appeal of the Board’s ruling. At that time, the Board may vote on the matter, or discuss it and vote the following week. A vote on an appeal must be held within three weeks of the complaint. A simple majority, plus one, is required to overturn the Board’s decision.
ARTICLE V
Meetings and Quorums
Section 1. The Executive Board shall meet once a week.
Subsection 1. A quorum of simple majority of the voting officers must be present to conduct Board business.
Subsection 2. A simple majority is required for approval of business, unless specified in this Constitution.
Subsection 3. Voting meetings of the Executive Board may not be called without twenty-four hours notice to Board members.
Subsection 4. All Executive Board meetings shall be called by the Chairman unless two-thirds of the Board petition to the Chairman for a meeting.
Subsection 5. The rules for proxy votes at the Executive Board are as follows: Proxies must be type-written, dated, and signed, and the meeting date for which the proxy is to be used specified. Proxies shall be superseded by attendance. The Executive Board shall have the power to decide how many proxies its members may use during the course of the academic year. The acceptance of a proxy’s validity is at the discretion of the Chairman.
Subsection 6. The Executive Board, with two-thirds approval and at the first regularly scheduled Board meeting of the Fall semester, shall determine the number of meetings Executive Board members are allowed to miss per year, after which they are deemed to have submitted their resignation to the Board. The Executive Board may in extreme circumstances waive this subsection with a unanimous approval of the Board.
Subsection 7. In addition, any Executive Board member who shall miss two consecutive membership and/or Executive Board meetings will have been deemed to have submitted his resignation and shall be notified by the Executive Board that unless, at the next Executive Board meeting, good cause is shown for this absence or behavior, the office shall be declared vacant. The Board may overrule this automatic resignation by a simple majority vote. A two-thirds vote is necessary to overrule the Chairman’s ruling on proxies or attendance at meetings.
Section 2. The general membership must meet once every month of the academic year.
Subsection 1. Twenty-five percent of the membership shall constitute a quorum necessary to transact official business.
ARTICLE VI
Vacancies
Section I. If the office of the Chairman shall be vacant for any reason, the Vice
Chairman shall assume the duties of the office and serve the remainder of the term. Elections of a new Vice-Chairman shall be held within one month of this transfer of power.
Section 2. If any other office becomes vacant, the Chairman shall appoint an Acting Officer and inform the Executive Board of the pending election. The election to fill the vacancy will occur no sooner than one week and no later than four weeks after the vacancy occurs. This vacancy, and the impending election, must be announced to the general membership at least a week before an election.
Subsection 1. Acting Officers shall not have a vote on the Executive Board.
Section 3. If a vacancy occurs in an appointed office, the Chairman shall have the sole right to name the replacement.
Section 4. Vacancies in elected positions occurring with less than one month left in the academic year shall be filled with the term carried out by an appointee of the Chairman with Executive Board approval.
ARTICLE VII
Impeachment
Section 1. Grounds for impeachment of an officer are as follows: 1) Failure to faithfully execute the required duties of his office, and/or 2) Failure to attend the required number of Executive Board and/or membership meetings, and/or 3) refusal to pay any debts owed to the club or pay any debts incurred on the club by said member, and/or 4) General embarrassment of the club to its purpose, as concerned with the member’s duties, and/or 5) Disclosure of any activities or discussion that takes place in Executive Session.
Section 2. The procedure for impeachment shall be as follows: The individual shall be presented with a written copy of the charges against him and the names of those persons filing the charges at least one week before the Board is to vote on the matter. The individual concerned shall have the opportunity to speak to the Executive Board in an official capacity before the said vote is taken. The Executive Board shall vote to request that the individual concerned submit his resignation. If the individual refuses to resign, he shall be informed that the impeachment proceedings shall begin. The Board will vote on the impeachment, and the impeachment must be passed by a two-thirds vote of the Board.
Section 3. In the event that the impeachment motion is charged against a sitting Chairman then the charges, after the Board has asked for the resignation by a two-thirds vote, must be sent to the general membership for consideration. In this case, the Board must notify the general membership at least one week before the meeting at which the accused will meeting front of a quorum of the paid members to present his case. Twenty-five percent of the membership must be present to vote, and the impeachment must pass by a vote of simple majority of that quorum.
ARTICLE VIII
Elections
Section 1. The election for Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Director of Political Affairs, Director of Membership, Director of Publications, and director of Public Relations shall be held no sooner than twelve weeks before the last day of the Spring semester classes, and no later than two weeks before the last day of Spring semester.
Subsection 1. Persons who have not paid members of the College Republicans at GW for at least 28 days before the election may not vote in that election. The Executive Board, after reviewing the current membership list, shall determine the number of eligible voters.
Subsection 2. Only members in good standing who have served more than one full academic year of service to the GW College Republicans are eligible to run for the offices of Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the club. The validity of candidacy will be judged by the Fair Elections Committee.
Section 2. The date of election, once decided by the Executive Board, must be announced to the general membership at least thirty days in advance.
Section 3. The two Freshman Representatives shall be elected no more than six weeks after the first day of fall semester classes. The two Freshman Representatives shall be elected to represent freshman students and each shall have a vote on the Executive Board. They shall take office and the Oath of Office, as detailed in Article XII, Section 1, at the commencement of the regularly scheduled Executive Board meeting immediately proceeding their election.
Section 4. The Fair Elections Committee will be appointed by the Chairman, subject to Executive Board approval. The Fair Elections Committee shall include at least one general member and no one running for office shall sit on the Fair Elections Committee overseeing that election. This committee is responsible for distributing, collecting, and approving petitions to run for office, supplying all candidates with the official membership list, and overseeing the election proceedings. Their decisions are final on all election matters.
Section 5. Elections will be conducted as specified in Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, unless the modifications are desired and implemented by the Fair Elections Committee.
ARTICLE IX
Procedure
Section 1. The rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised shall be the governing rules of all meetings, unless otherwise specified within this Constitution or by two-thirds vote of the vote of the persons eligible to vote at that specified meeting. The College Republican ByLaws are the only document that may supersede this constitution.
Section 2. In the event that a circumstance arises in which this Constitution must be superseded temporarily, the Executive Board must vote, upon the approval of the Chairman, with a two-thirds vote of confidence. After this vote and the action(s) occur(s), any repercussions must be explained and can be overruled by a simple majority vote of the Board.
ARTICLE X
Amendments
Section 1. Amendments to this Constitution may be passed in the following manner: 1) Any member of the club may propose an amendment to the Executive Board for its consideration, 2) If the proposed amendment is approved by a simple majority of the Executive Board, the proposal shall go before the membership at the next scheduled general membership meeting, the proposed amendment shall take effect immediately pending at two-thirds vote of approval by a quorum of the general membership.
Section 2. Any proposed amendment defeated by the Executive Board or the general membership may be re-proposed at any later meeting.
ARTICLE XI
Ratification
Section 1. This Constitution shall take effect immediately upon two-thirds approval by the general membership at a regularly scheduled membership meeting.
Section 2. All officers elected under a previous Constitution and serving at the time this Constitution is ratified shall be allowed to serve the remainder of their term. No one shall lose his office due to changes in this Constitution (meaning the elimination of a position, not for impeachable acts). This, however, applies only to those grandfathered at the time of this Constitution’s approval and who serve the entire length of their term.
ARTICLE XII
Oath of Office
Section I. All officers shall be required to take the following Oath of Office at the commencement of the next regularly scheduled or special Executive Board Meeting: “I, (state your name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the College Republicans at The George Washington University and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to these Constitutions; that I take this obligation freely, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter, so help me God.”
