United States Constitution
Mizzou College Republicans Constitution
ARTICLE I
Name: This organization shall be known as the UMC College Republicans.
Statement of Purpose
The UMC College Republicans shall seek to improve and enlarge the political understanding and activity of students by:
(a) providing a forum for Republican officeholders and candidates to present their ideas and campaign proposals at UMC College Republicans meetings;
(b) providing students with the opportunity to participate in election campaigns and to develop campaign skills;
(c) providing members with opportunities to develop leadership and people skills to benefit those members, the UMC College Republicans, and political campaigns of Republican candidates; and,
(d) providing such other opportunities and activities, including social activities, as shall be deemed appropriate and consistent with the nature of UMC College Republicans.
Membership and Dues
Section 1. Any student currently enrolled at the University of Missouri - Columbia shall become a member of UMC College Republicans upon payment of dues and upon provision of such identifying and contact information as required by the Treasurer.
Section 2. The level of dues for an academic year shall be determined by the Cabinet prior to the first regular club meeting of that academic year. The Cabinet may also determine an appropriate dues level for members who wish to pay on a semester-by-semester basis, but to encourage year-long memberships, the dues level for two consecutive semesters shall be greater than the dues level for the full academic year.
The Cabinet
Section 1. The executive policymaking body of UMC College Republicans shall be a Cabinet consisting of the President and the heads of the departments organized under Article V of this Constitution. Members of the Cabinet shall be the "officers" of the organization. In addition, a faculty/staff advisor position shall be provided for in accordance with the Department of Student Life. Any faculty/staff advisor must be a 75% FTE. If not full time, a graduate assistant advisor is approved by the Coordinator for Student Organization. The advisor shall be an ex-officio member of the Cabinet.
Section 2. The Cabinet shall meet regularly to decide such questions as shall be necessary to the efficient and effective operation of the UMC College Republicans. The President or the Vice-President for Membership Retention and Development in the absence of the President shall preside over such meetings, as well as club membership meetings, and shall inquire of each Cabinet officer about what activities and proposals that officer has pursued in carrying out the Article V mandates of that officer's department. The Vice-President for Communications shall be responsible for taking minutes of Cabinet meetings and any other meetings at which club business is transacted.
Section 3. At the discretion of the Cabinet, decisions on contentious or divisive issues may be referred for decision by a majority vote of the general membership, Rules for the referendum shall be fixed by the Cabinet at the time such issue(s) are referred.
Cabinet Departments
Section 1. The Department of Membership Retention and Development shall be headed by the Vice-President for Membership Retention and Development. The Department shall seek to maintain and enhance involvement by the membership in UMC College Republican activities through appropriate policies, including, but not limited to,
(a) preventing loss of membership due to dislocations resulting from transitions from semester-to-semester and academic year-to-year;
(b) coordinating membership involvement in electoral campaigns; and,
(c) encouraging member interest in UMC College Republican officer positions and encouraging such interested members to attend political campaign training schools to enhance their preparedness for serving as club officers.
Section 2. The Department of Communications shall be headed by the Vice-President for Communications. The Department shall ensure the widest possible publicity for club meetings and activities through:
(a) contact with members and press outlets;
(b) posting of promotional fliers on bulletin boards and notices on campus chalkboards;
(c) staffing of promotional tables and the club office; and,
(d) other related activities.
Section 3(a). The Department of Social Affairs shall be headed by the Vice-President of Social Affairs. The Department shall work to maintain the interest and cohesion of the membership body within the UMC College Republicans through:
(1) Maintaining a healthy relationship with the Vice-President of Membership Retention and Development to better coordinate social events; and,
(2) Building community and loyalty within the said organization.
Section 3(b). The Vice-President of Social Affairs shall coordinate social events for UMC College Republicans members that comply with the University of Missouri regulations and exemplify a responsible attitude in coordinating such events so as not to seriously endanger the health, life, or limb of any one person of the membership, nor to serve as a tool to promote delinquent behavior among the membership body.
Section 4. The Department of Finance and Budget shall be headed by the Vice-President for Finance and Budget. The Department shall be in charge of UMC College Republican bank account(s) and shall collect dues from the membership. The Department shall also carry out club fundraising activities and collect such information and file such forms as shall be necessary and convenient to comply with the Missouri Campaign Finance Disclosure Law
(Chapter 130, Revised Statutes of Missouri, as amended) and other applicable election laws. The Department shall also prepare such budget documents and account records as shall facilitate the efficient, effective, and lawful operations of UMC College Republicans.
Section 5. The President may create one additional department, to be headed by the President, to carry out such functions as the President shall designate.
Section 6. For the purposes of state law and University regulations, the Vice-President for Communications may be known as the Secretary, and the Vice-President for Finance and Budget may be known as the Treasurer.
Administrative Procedure
Section 1. The head of each Cabinet department shall have exclusive authority to organize his or her department and appoint such assistance as deemed appropriate, in the manner set forth in this Article.
Section 2. The head of each department shall prepare written instruments setting forth the specific policies and regulations for that department, subdivided into sections and grouping together related provisions for ease of reference. Similar written instruments shall be prepared for appointment of assistants, thereby creating a permanent record of such appointments, but such instruments shall be kept separate from regulatory documents of general applicability.
Section 3. Copies of written instruments prepared under Section 2 shall be provided to the President and shall take immediate effect upon signing by the President. At the discretion of the President, the President may withhold his or her approval until after discussion of the proposal at the next Cabinet meeting. If the Cabinet does not disapprove the proposal(s) at the next meeting, the proposal(s) shall take effect even without the President's approval.
Additional copies of written instruments shall be provided to the compliance officer appointed under Section 5.
Section 4. All regulations and appointments made under this Article shall be binding until repealed or amended by future written instrument approved in the same manner.
Section 5. Each department shall have an assistant responsible for ensuring compliance with regulations in effect.
Should the compliance officer find instance of non-compliance, the officer shall bring information about such non-compliance to the immediate attention of the department head. If the department head is responsible for the non-compliance, the compliance officer shall bring this allegation to the attention of the Cabinet and may move for the impeachment of that department head, but shall not be entitled to vote in the impeachment motion.
Ad Hoc Committees
The President may appoint such additional committees for such purposes as shall be necessary and convenient for the efficient and effective operation of the UMC College Republicans. Such committees shall not be part of the Cabinet and shall not encroach on the responsibilities of Cabinet departments without the consent of the affected department head. Committees, especially temporary committees, need not operate with written instruments described in Article VI.
Elections
Section 1. The President and heads of Article V departments shall be elected officers and shall take office the day following the election meeting. Regular officer elections shall occur at a regularly scheduled club meeting between March 1 and April 30 of each year.
Section 2. Members who have paid dues not later than one week prior to an election meeting shall be entitled to nominate candidates for office, run for office themselves, and vote in officer elections. Only dues-paying members shall be entitled to vote in the election and shall be gathered separately from non-dues payers in attendance.
Section 3. The President shall open nominations for each office by first inquiring of the incumbent officeholder whether the incumbent wishes to nominate a candidate. The incumbent may nominate any person(s) who have served effectively in the incumbent's department and shall note such service as a qualification of the nominee(s) for elective office. The incumbent may also seek re-election.
Section 4. Upon the closing of nominations for each office, each nominee shall be entitled to make such comments as the nominee shall deem appropriate in support of the nominee's candidacy. After all such statements have been made, the nominees shall leave the meeting room to permit free debate on the election as well as the actual vote. A vote shall be entered on behalf of each nominee, as if the nominees had remained in the meeting room to vote.
Section 5. If more than two nominees are running for an office, the two nominees receiving the most votes on the first balloting shall be the candidates in a second balloting. The candidate receiving more votes in the second balloting shall be declared the winner.
Impeachments, Vacancies, and No-Confidence Motions
Section 1. The Cabinet may declare a vacancy in an elective office:
(a) if the incumbent officeholder has failed to carry out the mandate of this Constitution;
(b) if the incumbent has willfully broken any applicable election laws;
(c) if the Article VI Section5 compliance officer has moved for dismissal of the incumbent for non-compliance with regulations in force and if the Cabinet believes the violation warrants such impeachment;
(d) if the incumbent has resigned from the position; or,
(e) if the incumbent has withdrawn from school or is otherwise prohibited by University regulations from serving in office.
Section 2. A three-fifths vote of the Cabinet shall be required to declare a vacancy under subsections(a), (b), or (c) of Section 1.
Section 3. The President shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy, subject to the approval of the general membership at the next regular meeting. The membership may either ratify the President's appointee or open nominations for an election to fill the vacancy, at which election the removed incumbent may seek election to the office, the same as any other dues-paying member.
Section 4. Upon a written petition signed by twenty percent of the dues-paying membership, a motions hall be presented at the next general membership meeting to declare that the membership has lost confidence in the Cabinet, to dissolve the Cabinet, and to hold new elections. If the no-confidence motion is passed by a majority of the members present at the meeting, the Cabinet shall continue in office only until the next regularly scheduled general membership meeting, at which meeting new elections shall be held. Each of the outgoing Cabinet officers may seek election at that time, the same as any other dues-paying members. The officers elected at the special election shall serve for the remainder of the terms of the outgoing Cabinet officers.
Parliamentary Authority
Robert's Rules of Order shall govern in all decision-making by the Cabinet or the general membership, except where inconsistent with this Constitution, University regulations, or applicable election laws.
Discriminatory Practices Prohibited
Section 1. As used in this Article,
--- "policy" means any motion, resolution, rule, regulation, order or ritual; and,
--- "protected class" means race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, disability, Vietnam Era veteran status, and sexual orientation.
Section 2(a). Neither the Cabinet nor the general membership shall adopt any policy which shall
(1) deny membership in UMC College Republicans to any person on grounds of that person's membership or non-membership in a protected class;
(2) establish different dues rates or any other conditions on membership for any person on grounds of that person's membership or non-membership in a protected class;
(3) restrict or discourage attendance or participation at any UMC College Republicans meeting, activity, or function on the basis of a person's membership or non-membership in a protected class;
(4) will fully fail to notify members or non-members of a protected class of a scheduled UMC College Republicans meeting, activity, or function due to those persons' membership or non-membership in a protected class;
(5) disqualify a person from elected officer or appointed position because of that person's membership of non-membership in a protected class; or,
(6) collect or compile statistical or biographical profiles of any member, group of members, or the membership as a whole for the purposes of discovering, publishing, or releasing information about membership or non-membership in a protected class or for carrying out any act prohibited under this Article.
Section 2(b). Any such policy which may be found to have been adopted prior to the adoption of this Articles hereby declared to be null, void, and of no force or effect whatsoever. Any information collected in furtherance of any such policy, of the sort prohibited under subsection (a) (6) of this Section, shall be destroyed.
Section 2(c). Whoever, while an elected or appointed official of UMC College Republicans, shall willfully implement or willfully attempt to implement any policy adopted in violation of this Section, shall be deemed to have forfeited such elected or appointed position, and the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with applicable provisions of this Constitution.
Section 3. Nothing in this Article shall be construed to punish any person for holding or expressing any opinion on any subject whatsoever, although the Cabinet may disavow such opinion or declare that such opinion represents solely the view of its holder or speaker.
Section 4. UMC College Republicans shall comply with all federal, state and local laws, as well as all University policies, subject to applicable punishment.
Amendments
Section 1. Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by any dues-paying member, provided a written copy of the proposed amendment is provided to the Cabinet. At the next Cabinet meeting, the Cabinet may proposed alternative amendment(s)or may declare its support or opposition to the proposed amendment.
Section 2. At the next regularly scheduled general membership meeting, the proposed amendment, any alternative Cabinet proposals, and statements of Cabinet position shall be presented for examination by the membership. The membership shall decide among alternative proposals by majority vote. The final form of the proposed amendment shall be adopted upon a two-thirds favorable vote of the membership.
Section 3. Before taking effect, an amendment shall be presented to the Committee on Student Organizations, Governments, and Activities (SOGA).
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