Spectrum
Constitution
Constitution of Spectrum at the
Article I: Name of the Organization
The name of
this group shall be Spectrum. We represent the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,
Transgendered, Transexed, Queer, Questioning,
Intersexed, and Ally community.
Article II: Purpose of the Organization
The purpose
of Spectrum is to create a positive, supportive environment for all gay,
lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, transexed, queer, questioning, intersexed,
and ally students at the University of Alabama; to promote awareness through
social and political activism of the contributions of all queer people locally,
nationally, and internationally; and to encourage campus and community
acceptance through educational outreach.
Article III: Membership
Section 1: There are two levels of membership
in Spectrum.
Clause 1: The first is a full
member, which consists of and full and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. Full members will be granted active
status after attending three (3) consecutive meetings. Active status gives full
members voting privileges and the ability to hold a position as an officer or
committee chair. Full members who have been absent from three (3) consecutive
meetings will attain inactive status. Inactive status revokes the voting
privileges of full members and denies them nomination to an office or committee
chair. Full members with inactive status can regain active status by attending
three (3) consecutive meetings.
Clause 2: The second is associate
member, which consists of faculty, staff, and community members. Associate
members have all the same privileges of full members except associate members
will have no privilege or right to hold office.
Section 2: All members must fill out a
registration form and agree to uphold this constitution. A clause must be
included on the registration form stating that it is an agreement to uphold the
constitution.
Section 3: A member may be removed from the
membership for disruptive behavior that threatens the well-being of Spectrum by
a vote of two-thirds of the quorum at any business meeting or by executive
override.
Section 4: To remove oneself from the group’s
roster, a member must submit a written request to the Secretary of Spectrum.
Section 5: Membership in Spectrum will not be
denied to an individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age,
national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, veteran’s
status, or the presence of a disability.
Article IV: Officers
Section 1: There will be five officers:
President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Webmaster.
Section 2: The President’s duties are to run
all meetings, be in contact with Spectrum’s advisors, be a contact for the
Section 3: The Vice President’s duties are to
oversee social activities and political activism, contact speakers for the
group, coordinate panel training and arrange scheduling for panels and other
speaking engagements, supervise community outreach, and fill in for the
President as needed.
Section 4: The Secretary’s duties are to keep
minutes of all Spectrum meetings, create and distribute the agenda for the
business meetings to all members, distribute the minutes of all business
meetings to all members, keep the agendas and minutes on file in the office,
run the historical and publication archives, oversee correspondence, keep
updated membership lists, record attendance at all meetings, and jointly
oversee ordering of office supplies and materials with the Treasurer.
Section 5: The Treasurer’s duties are to attend
finance meetings, submit each year’s budget, oversee the upkeep of budget and
accounts, and jointly oversee ordering of office supplies and materials with
the Secretary.
Section 6: The Webmaster’s duties are to
maintain an up-to-date and informative website publicizing meetings and meeting
minutes, upcoming events, a current copy of the constitution, and other
pertinent information.
Section 7
Clause 1. Officers are elected for varying
amounts of time depending on which office for which they run.
Subclause 1. The President shall be elected to
serve a term of four (4) semesters.
Subclause 2. The Vice President shall be
elected to serve a term of three (3) semesters.
Subclause 3. The Secretary shall be elected to
serve a term of two (2) semesters.
Subclause 4. The Treasurer shall be elected to
serve a term of two (2) semesters.
Subclause 5. Dependent on skill level, the
Webmaster shall serve a term to be determined by the President.
Clause 2.
To be nomination to run for office, a member must be classified as a full
member with active status. In the event that there are not enough full active
members willing to fill all positions, full inactive members shall be allowed
to run for any positions not contested by full active members, but under no
circumstances shall members who are not students at the
Clause 3.
Officers shall be elected by secret ballot, except in cases where a member is
running unchallenged, in which case the option to elect the member by
acclamation is left to the discretion of the President.
Section 8:
Clause 1. Any member can bring up the removal
of an officer at any business meeting. A vote of two-thirds of the quorum and
approval of the President is required to remove an officer. If said officer is
the President, then the rest of the Executive Board must approve the request.
If an officer chooses to resign, he or she must submit a written statement to
the Spectrum officers. If an officer is removed from office or resigns, the
President will appoint a suitable replacement.
Clause 2. In the event that any officer other
than the President resigns, the President shall appoint a suitable replacement
to fulfill the duties of that office. In the event that the President resigns,
the Vice President will act as Interim President, unless the Vice President
resigns as well, in which case the longest-tenured officer shall act as Interim
President; if multiple officers have the longest tenure in such a case, the
President will choose which officer is to serve as Interim President. Any
officer or member may refuse an interim appointment for any reason.
Section 9.
Clause 1. The balloting shall be conducted by
the President or the President’s designate. No one running for office in an
election shall be allowed to conduct that election.
Clause 2. Active members
who are unable to attend the meeting in which voting takes place may vote
absentee. Completed ballots must be sealed and returned to Spectrum’s
Secretary or the Secretary’s designate. Absentee ballots shall be opened and
counted along with regular ballots at the voting meeting. Any member who votes
absentee shall be ineligible to vote in person at the voting meeting.
Section 10.
No member shall be
permitted to hold more than one office at a time.
Section 11.
Officers are
encouraged to attend all meeting and functions of Spectrum. Officers are
expected to attend all of the business meetings for the year. Any officer who
is absent from consecutive business meetings is subject to removal from office
in accordance with Article IV, Section 8 of this constitution.
Article V: Boards.
Section 1.
Spectrum shall be
governed by two boards: the Executive Board and the Board of Directors.
Section 2.
The Executive Board
shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Webmaster,
and Advisor.
Section 3.
The Board of
Directors shall consist of the Executive Board, selected faculty, and any
committee chairs.
Article VI: Meetings.
Section 1.
Clause 1. Meetings will be held twice a month
during the
Clause 2.
Business meetings will be held during the first week of the month during the
academic year.
Clause 3.
The annual business meeting will take place during the final business meeting
of the spring semester. After the annual business meeting, officers are
expected to assist officers-elect in learning their new duties, and if possible
the officers-elect should be permitted to run at least one meeting between the
annual business meeting and the end of the spring semester.
Section 2.
Clause 1.
The President, with 24 hours notice, or any other officer, with one week’s
notice, may call an emergency business meeting by posting notice available to
all members in the office, in an e-mail message, on the website, and on the
Facebook group.
Clause 2. A
full member with active status who wants to call an emergency business meeting
must submit a request containing the signatures of four full members with
active status to any officer with one week’s notice. Any officer who is
presented such a request must make the appropriate notifications within 24
hours of receiving the request.
Section 3.
Clause 1. A
quorum consists of one-half plus one of the full members with active status.
For purposes of calculating quorum, any fractional number of members will be
rounded up to the next whole number.
Clause 2.
The President may not vote except in the case of a tie, at which time the
President will serve as a tiebreaker. However, the President has the right to
overturn any decision he or she feels may negatively impact the group.
Article VII: Advisor.
Spectrum
will maintain contact with sympathetic faculty and staff advisors who are
invited to attend all meetings and functions. Spectrum shall call on these
advisors for support and guidance as necessary.
Article VIII: Standing Committees
Section 1: Committees can include any member,
but shall be chaired by a full active member appointed by the Spectrum
officers. Members may join committees at any time by giving notice to the
Secretary of Spectrum.
Section 2:
Clause 1.
The membership and retention committee will actively work to retain members by
keeping frequent contact and presenting the concerns of members to the Spectrum
officers. A new member representative will be appointed to this committee each
semester or as necessary. The new member representative will serve as a liaison
between the general membership and any new members.
Clause 2.
The outreach and publicity committee will actively work to develop and maintain
all flyers and advertisements, to compile a distribution plan for all flyers
and advertising at the beginning of each semester, to keep information and
contact on local community and media outlets, as well as work with them on
Spectrum projects, and to promote the image and messages of Spectrum to the
campus and community.
Clause 3.
The social and recreational committee will actively work to create and provide
social and recreational opportunities outside of scheduled meetings.
Section 3: Other committees may be formed
throughout the year with notice given at the meeting the week before the
committee is formed.
Article IX: Parliamentary Authority.
The rules
contained in Robert’s Rules of Order
Revised shall govern this organization in all cases to which they are
applicable unless they are inconsistent with the constitution and special rules
of Spectrum.
Article X: Amendment of the Constitution.
This
constitution may be amended at any business meeting. The proposed changes must
be read and distributed in an e-mail message the week before and read again at
the meeting during which the vote on the changes occurs. A vote of voice will
be taken and three-fourths of the quorum must approve the changes for them to
be implemented.
Article XI: Bylaws to the Constitution.
Bylaws of
this constitution may be added at any business meeting. The proposed bylaws
must be read and distributed in an e-mail message the week before and read
again at the meeting during which the vote on the bylaws occurs. A vote of
voice will be taken and three-fourths of the quorum must approve the bylaws for
them to be implemented.
Article XII: Ratification.
Once signed
by the officers below, this constitution of Spectrum will be adopted and take
effect.
______________________________ ______________________________
President Vice President
______________________________ ______________________________
Secretary Treasurer
______________________________ ______________________________
Webmaster Advisor