Democrats at UC Merced
Preamble:
We, the members of the Democrats at UC Merced, established to provide students at the University of California, Merced the means for promoting Democratic policies and the general interests of the Democratic Party, do ordain and establish this constitution and subscribe to the regulations and policies of the University.
Article I - Name
Article II - Purpose
Article III - Membership
Article IV - Executive Officers
Article V - Committees
Article VI - Meetings
Article VII - Financial Records
Article VIII - Advisors
Article IX - Amendments
Preamble:
We, the members of the Democrats at UC Merced, established to provide students at the University of California, Merced the means for promoting Democratic policies and the general interests of the Democratic Party, do ordain and establish this constitution and subscribe to the regulations and policies of the University.
Article I - Name
- Section 1 - The name of this organization shall be the Democrats at UC Merced, hereinafter referred to as DUCM .
Article II - Purpose
- Section 2 - The Democrats at UC Merced pledges itself to support the philosophy and candidates of the Democratic Party. DUCM shall strive to provide students the means for promoting Democratic policies & and the general interests of the Democratic Party. DUCM shall also seek to promote voter awareness on campus, in an attempt to increase voter turnout among students.
Article III - Membership
- Section 1 - Active membership of the Democrats at UC Merced shall be chosen without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, color, political stance, disability, national origin, age, or marital status,
- Section 2 - There shall be three levels of membership in the DUCM: Team Member, Associate, and Alumni
- Team Members: shall be a students, faculty, and staff which have paid chapter dues in full, are registered with CYD and CCD as members, and have been officially given membership in the DUCM.
- Associate Members: shall be members which have supported club activities, but not paid dues.
- Alumni Members: former Team Members that are no longer students, faculty, or staff of UC Merced, but are still members of CYD.
- Section 3 - Membership Eligibility
- A person is eligible if they are in good standing with the University.
- Section 4 - Voting
- Only Team Members of the DUCM shall be allowed to motion and vote.
- Section 5 - Withdrawal/Removal of Members
- Cause for removal shall be defined as malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance of assigned duties, or upon other grounds found by all of the other members of the DUCM Executive Council to constitute good or sufficient cause.
- A Team Member must motion to remove a member and make a case as to why they should be removed. The accused member may respond to said allegations and a vote will be taken at the next meeting. A ⅔ rds vote is required to remove a member from the DUCM.
Article IV - Executive Officers
- Section 1 - Officer Prerequisites
- All Executive officers of DUCM shall be members of the Executive Council and must be Team Members.
- Section 2 - The Officers shall be:
- President
- Internal Vice President
- External Vice President
- Membership Director
- Treasurer
- Public Relations
- Recruitment
- Alumni Advisor
- Section 3 - General Duties of each Officer
- Specific officer duties are outlined in the DUCM Bylaws
- All officers, except for Alumni Advisor, must be Team Members in good academic standing, attend meetings on a regular basis, and follow the bylaws.
- Section A. The President
- As the leader of the DUCM, the role of the President is to provide long-term, visionary leadership. It should be the goal of a President to ensure officers are working with shared direction, and to help them achieve goals for their position, directing their ambition to achieve officer aspirations.The President runs official meetings, is the face of the Democrats organization, and the primary club representative.
- Section B. The Internal Vice President
- Directly under the President is the Internal Vice President. As a leader, the domain of the IVP is within the club, continually working on day to day operations and improving the opportunities for members. To this end, they help lead the Membership Director, Treasurer, and through them, many positions such as Social Chair, Alumni Chair, CYD Chair, and Secretary towards internal improvements.
- Section C. The External Vice President
- Whereas the IVP works within the club, the External Vice President performs a complementary role leading efforts to expand and develop outside of the organization. These include activities, programs, contacts, and campaigns in the community and the state at large. Surpassed only by the President, the EVP is the face of the Democrats club, and helps lead external officers such as Recruitment and Marketing. The EVP shall also appoint CYD, Alumni, and Labor chairs.
- Section D. Treasurer
- Managing the funds and transactions of the club, the Treasurer ensures all transactions are completed fairly and that the financial health of the club is maintained. It is the duty of the Treasurer to help with approved purchases, securing income, appointing an ICC Representative, and informing members about financial matters.
- Section E. Membership Director
- With a focus on supporting club members, the Membership chair organizes and presents internship, scholarship, and volunteer opportunities to members. Additionally, they shall develop opportunities for internal improvement by appointing a Historian and Social chair.
- Section F. Public Relations
- The Public Relations officer focuses upon marketing the club, creating positive press, and being creative in branding the organization to the outside community. The position is in charge of appointing members for Tabling Chair, Webmaster, and Multimedia Chair.
- Section G. The Recruitment Director
- Tasked with expanding the club’s membership, the Recruitment director plays a key role in supporting future activities by finding qualified students, helping them join, and encouraging future leaders. This position includes doing recruitment activities and transitioning new members to be successful in the club.
Article V - Committees
- Section 1 - Ad hoc
- Committees may be created at any time by any member of the Executive Council.
- The Officer who creates the committee is responsible for designating all duties of the committee.
- The committee must have a single individual in charge of reporting to the founding Executive Council Officer.
Article VI - Meetings
- Section 1 - Meetings shall consist of three types:
- General - Weekly meeting open to all members of DUCM and the public.
- Shall take place on campus exclusively.
- Executive Council- Executive officer meetings closed to the public held on a weekly basis.
- Special Meetings - emergency meetings called by the President with at least 24 hours written notice to all members.
- These meetings may not be used to replace a normally scheduled meeting.
- Voting on any proposals may not take place during these meetings.
- Section 2 - Meeting time and location shall be the first item on the agenda until finalized and shall be established at least by the third General meeting of the semester.
- Section 3 - Quorum
- Shall consist of one half of the total Team Members, plus one.
- If quorum is not reached, a meeting will still be held but no voting can occur and nothing may be proposed.
- Section 4 - Robert’s Rules of Order shall be the basis of meetings, at the discretion of the President.
- The President may be overruled by a ⅔ vote of the Team members.
- Section 5 - Meeting minutes and records shall be taken at every meeting by the Secretary, shall be stored by the Secretary, and shall be distributed via email twenty-four hours after the meeting.
- Section 6 - Change of meeting location or time needs to be approved by the membership at the previous meeting. General meetings may change rooms on campus with 48 hours notice.
Article VII - Financial Records
- Section 1 - Dues
- The dues for membership to the Democrats at UC Merced shall be five dollars per semester. They shall be accepted until the third to last meeting before the end of each semester.
- Section 2 - Reporting
- All money collected from fundraising, dues, or other forms of income shall be deposited with the OSL within one week.
- The Treasurer shall be in charge of collecting and monitoring all fees and maintaining an up to date ledger of accounts.
- Expenditures are to be discussed and approved on an as needed basis.
Article VIII - Advisors
- Section 1 - Alumni Advisor
- As a former member of the club, the Alumni advisor is meant to help guide the club and organize alumni support. Though not a voting member, their experience and knowledge should help officers learn from the past, and develop close ties with alumni for future support.
- Section 2 - Faculty/Staff Advisor
- A Faculty or Staff advisor is a person selected by the organization to provide guidance and advice in the operations of the organization and mediate disputes. Advisors have a variety of advisory roles within the organization including being a mentor, teacher, and leader.
- Advisors shall have the final power to interpret specific bylaws or Constitutional provisions, in the event that any Team Member shows that any member of the Executive board or club is not following the rules set by the Constitution and Bylaws.
- Section 3 - Provisions
- An advisor shall be selected or reaffirmed on a yearly basis by the third meeting of the Executive Council.
- An advisor serves a one-year term, with no limitation on the number of terms served.
- Advisors shall not have Team Membership, and as such do not have voting privilege.
Article IX - Amendments
- Section 1 - Proposing Amendments
- Any Team Member may propose an amendment to the constitution.
- Amendments to the constitution shall be approved by a ¾ vote of the total Team Members.
- Section 2 - Provisions
- An amendment can be proposed only at normal meetings
- Discussion shall occur after the member proposes the amendment and before it is voted upon at the next meeting.
- Voting shall take place at the next meeting, and requires ¾ of Team Members to pass according to quorum.
- A signed copy of amendment(s) shall be filed at the Office of Student Life within one week after adoption by the Secretary. All amendments shall be in agreement with University regulations and and policies and are not approved until reviewed and signed by a Student Life Official.