About Us: Our Constitution
Preamble
We, the College Democrats of the University of Missouri- Columbia, stand united in our determination that all Americans become involved in the political process. In order to promote a better America, with equality, opportunity, and freedom within a just and strong society, we dedicate ourselves to organizing the participation of Democratic college students at MU. In this mission, we call for full participation of all MU students, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, physical or mental ability, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation.
Understanding the importance of participation in the Democratic Party to the preservation of our values and principles, we, Democratic college students, do hereby associate ourselves and adopt this Constitution as the University of Missouri- Columbia College Democrats
Article I. Name and Purpose
Section 1. Name
1) The official name of this organization shall be the University of Missouri- Columbia College Democrats
a. Acceptable references include MU College Democrats and Mizzou College Democrats
Section 2. Purpose
1) The College Democrats pledges itself to support the philosophy and candidates of the Democratic Party. Furthermore, the College Democrats declares its intention to support all efforts to increase the participation of college students in Democratic affairs. To these ends, the College Democrats shall educate and train its members so that they may be better able to:
a. Educate students about the philosophy of the Democratic Party
b. Assist in the election of local, state, and national Democratic candidates
c. Affect political change on the local, state, and national level
Article II. Organization
Section 1. Executive Council
1) The Executive Council shall consist of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Membership Coordinator, Publicity Coordinator, Philanthropy Coordinator, and Campaign Coordinator
a. Committee chairs shall be considered non-voting members
2) All Executive Council decisions shall be made by majority vote, and a quorum shall consist of the President or Acting President and four other officers.
3) The Executive Council shall make all decisions mandated in the Constitution as well as all other decisions necessary to insure the efficient functioning of the organization.
4) The Executive Council shall meet no less than two times each month during the Fall and Winter semesters and as often as desired at other times or as called by the President, and shall also attend all general meetings unless excused by the President.
Section 2. Officers
1) President: The President shall:
a. Preside at all Executive Council meetings and general meetings
b. Serve as the chief executive and administrative officer
c. Aid in the preparation of the ORG budget with the Treasurer
d. Acts as the official representative of the College Democrats to all groups and the media
e. Serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member of all committees
2) Vice President: The Vice President shall:
a. Preside at all Executive Council meetings and general meetings in the absence of the President.
b. Aid the President with all administrative work
c. Shall coordinate all committees and serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member of all committees
d. Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or her choosing
3) Treasurer: The Treasurer shall:
a. Keep all financial records in order
b. Spend money as needed for efficient functioning
c. Prepare ORG budget, with the input of the President
d. Serve as chair of the fundraising committee
e. Report the current state of the organizations finances at every general meeting.
f. Preside at all Executive Council and general meetings in the absence of the President and Vice President
g. Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or her choosing
4) Secretary: The Secretary shall:
a. Keep and post all the minutes of all meetings
b. Keep the AO22 allocated office space in order
c. Maintain an updated collection and documentation of organizational activities
d. Prepare and send thank you cards when deemed necessary
e. Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or her choosing
5) Political Coordinator: The Political Coordinator shall:
a. Organizes and coordinates student involvement in national, state and local campaigns
b. Act as the liaison between the State Party, Boone County Central committee, local campaign offices, and the campus chapter. Update membership on the progress of the candidates
c. Responsible for coordinating volunteers (recruiting, organizing, scheduling volunteers for phone banks, tables, etc)
d. Serve as chair for the campaign/political committee
e. Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or her choosing
6) Membership Coordinator: The Membership Coordinator shall:
a. Be responsible for increasing the organization's membership
b. Gather member information of record keeping
c. Collect dues and keep and organize a list of official members
d. Organize organizational social events
e. Serve as chair of the membership committee
f. Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or her choosing
7) Publicity Coordinator: The Publicity Coordinator shall:
a. Be responsible for all organizational advertising and table displays
b. Organizing educational activities for the organization
c. Maintain the organizations website (collegedemocrats.missouri.edu)
d. Serve as spokesperson for the organization when asked by the President
e. Serve as chair of the publicity committee
f. Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or her choosing
8) Philanthropy Coordinator: The Philanthropy Coordinator shall:
a. Plan and coordinate philanthropic activities for the organization.
b. Assist the Membership and Publicity Coordinator in organizing social and educational activities.
c. Serve as chair of the philanthropy committee.
d. Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or her choosing.
Section 3. Committees
1) Committees shall be created to allow for greater participation of the membership
2) The standing committees will be:
a. Membership
b. Fundraising
c. Campaign/Political
d. Publicity
e. Philanthropy
3) All other committees shall be formed at the discretion of the President, Vice President, or Executive Council
Section 4. Affiliation
1) The College Democrats are and shall be affiliated with the College Democrats of Missouri, Young Democrats of Missouri, College Democrats of America, and Young Democrats of America.
2) The affiliation in Article II, Section 4, subsection 1 shall in no way prohibit the organization from affiliating itself with any other person or organization except specified in Article II, Section 4, subsection 3.
3) The organization shall not endorse any candidate for any office prior to either a party primary or an official state/national party convention endorsement. This clause shall not prohibit the organization or any individual members for working on campaigns. Also, the College Democrats shall not affiliate itself with any organization that threatens to adversely effect the College Democrats, its membership, its purpose as an organization, or its charter with the College Democrats of American or the Young Democrats of America.
Article III. Membership
Section 1. Regular Members
1) Membership shall be open to any student, graduate or undergraduate, who supports the purposes of the organization and is currently enrolled in the University of Missouri- Columbia.
2) Active membership shall be retained by payment of annual dues ($5.00). Membership expires at the end of November.
3) Only paid members shall be eligible to vote in organization elections.
4) Only paid members shall be eligible to hold executive office.
Section 2. Honorary Members
1) All past officers shall be honorary members.
2) All Democratic Officeholders shall be honorary members.
3) Any persons designated by the Executive Council shall be honorary members.
Article IV. Elections and Vacancies
Section 1. Elections
1) Elections for all officers shall be at the last meeting of each fall semester
2) All positions shall be filled one by one in the order provided in Article II, Section 2.
3) All persons voting must be paid active members
4) All new officers shall take office at the first general meeting in January
Section 2. Vacancies
1) Upon the permanent absence of the President, the Vice President shall be first in line of succession with the Treasurer being second.
2) Upon the permanent absence of any other officer, the President shall appoint a replacement to hold office until such time as an election can be held to fill the vacancy.
Section 3. Removal of Officers
1) The President may be removed by a three-fourths (3/4) majority vote of paid regular members present at a general meeting.
a. The President must be notified of intentions of a removal attempt at least seven (7) days before the regular meeting in which the vote for removal will be held.
b. Time shall be allotted to both state grievances against the President and for the President to defend him/herself.
2) Any other officer may be removed by a vote of the Executive Council if a quorum of the Executive Council and a majority of its members present vote for such removal
a. Officers must be notified of a removal attempt at least three (3) days prior to removal vote
b. Time shall be allotted to both state grievances against the officer and for the officer to defend him/herself.
Article V. Activities
Section 1. The organization shall:
1) Hold at least one meeting each month during the Fall and Winter semester.
2) Participate in the fall and winter Activities Marts (usually in September and January).
3) Engage in at least one service activity per semester.
4) Write a platform and revise it annually.
5) Register students, and all others, to vote.
6) Help all Democrat candidates for office if they choose as limited by Article 2, Section 3, subsection 3.
7) Hold social events as recommended each semester by the Executive Council.
8) Sponsor speakers as decided by the Executive Council.
9) Educate members and the general public on the issues of the government and the Democratic Party.
10) Not sponsor any activity which would adversely affect the organization, its membership, its charter with the College Democrats of America or Young Democrats of America, or its standing with the University of Missouri- Columbia or system.
Article VI. Amending Process
Section 1. This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of regular voting members present at the general meeting at which the vote occurs.
Section 2. Proposed Constitutional amendments must be submitted to the Executive Council at least seven (7) days prior to the general meeting at which the vote shall occur.
Section 3. Proposed Constitutional amendments must be introduced to the full membership at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the general meeting at which the vote shall occur.
Article VII. Advisor
Section 1. At least one faculty or professional staff member (at least 0.75 FTE) shall be selected by a majority vote of the Executive Council to serve as advisor to the Executive Council and members of the organization.
Article VIII. Non-Discrimination
Section 1. This organization shall not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, disability, Vietnam Veteran Era status, or sexual orientation.
Article IX. Compliance
Section 1. This organization shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Additionally, it will work to follow all University of Missouri procedures as laid out in the M-Book.