The Constitution
Article I - Name
Article II - Purpose
Article III - Membership
Article IV - Meetings
Article V - Officers
Article VI - Committees
Article VII - Elections
Article VIII - Removal
Article IX - University Registration/Recognition
Article X - Amendments
The Student Pagan Association Constitution
Article I—Name
The name of this organization shall be the Student Pagan Association (S.P.A.) of Sam Houston State University.
Article II—Purpose
Section 1. To provide support for students, faculty and staff whose religious beliefs do not fall in the mainstream
Section 2. To provide a safe place for people of minority religions to come and discuss their issues and lives with other people of like minds.
Section 3. To supply information about alternative religions to the SHSU campus.
Section 4. To act as a voice for the Pagan community on campus.
Article III—Membership
Section 1. Membership is open to any Sam Houston current students, SHSU Alumni, spouses and immediate family of students, faculty and staff who show a genuine and legitimate interest in alternative religions and cross-cultural diversity. All other people are welcome to attend meetings but cannot hold offices or vote. Advisor(s) are automatically voting members.
Section 2. Any member who has attended three or more meetings in the current semester and has paid dues for the semester is considered a voting member.
Section 3. The Student Pagan Association reserves the right to freedom of choice in the selection of members, provided there is no discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, gender, or sexual orientation.
Section 4. Dues
A. The amount of dues to be paid for a semester will be decided upon at the last meeting of the previous semester by majority vote.
B. Dues must be paid to the Treasurer on or before the third meeting attended
Article IV—Meetings
Section 1. Meetings shall occur on a weekly basis, to be scheduled at the last meeting of the spring semester.
Section 2. All business during meetings shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order, newly revised, in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order.
Section 3. One voting member and 2 officers, or 50% of the voting members shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of conducting the organization's business.
Section 4. Officers meetings.
A. The time for the officers meetings shall be specified at least 2 (two) weeks before the first officer meeting.
B. The officer meetings shall be held in the Student Workrooms (Room 328 of the LSC) during the regularly scheduled hours of operation (Monday-Friday, 8-5).
C. If an officer misses more than 2 officer meetings, it shall constitute the removal of the officer.
D. If an officer must miss an officer meeting, notification must be made to all other officers, and special arrangements will be made for the officer's report to be sent by email and read during the officer meeting.
Article V—Officers
Section 1. President
A. The President shall arrange and conduct organizational meetings and events; act as the representative of the organization with the university administration; maintain order of the meetings and organizational activities; preside over all meeting proceedings. The President is the Chair of the Officer Team. The President shall attend weekly officer meetings to be held with the other officers, shall not miss in excess of 3 regular meetings, and shall not miss in excess of 2 officer meetings.
B. To be eligible for the office of President, the candidate must have been a member in good standing for at least one year, and must have been an officer in the S.P.A. before. The candidate must have a current g.p.a. of 2.0 or better, be a junior in good standing, and be able to fulfill the duties and responsibilities that are expected.
Section 2. Vice President
A. The duties of the Vice President shall include the obligation to fulfill the role of the President as seen fit in absence of the President. The Vice President is in charge of filling out forms that need to be filled out during the semester to Student Activities. The Vice President shall be a co-chair with the President. She or he is also in charge of emailing the membership about upcoming meetings and events, weekly. The Vice President will be the Social Director of the S.P.A., and will arrange no less than 3 social events during each semester. The Vice President may choose to use this office as training for the office of President. The Vice President shall attend weekly officer meetings to be held with the other officers, shall not miss in excess of 3 regular meetings, and shall not miss in excess of 2 officer meetings.
B. To be eligible for the office of the Vice President, the candidate must have been a member in good standing for at least one year, have a current g.p.a of 2.0 or better and be able to fulfill the duties and responsibilities that are expected.
Section 3. Secretary
A. The duties of the Secretary shall include the obligation to fulfill the role as President as seen fit in absence of the President and the Vice President. The secretary shall keep minutes of the meetings, keep an updated record of all members, and take and record the roll for each meeting. The secretary will give a report on the minutes from the previous meeting each meeting, as well as a report on attendance at the last meeting. The Secretary shall gather contact information from all new members, at the first meeting they attend. The secretary shall attend weekly officer meetings to be held with the other officers, shall not miss in excess of 3 regular meetings, and shall not miss in excess of 2 officers meetings.
B. To be eligible for the office of the Secretary, the candidate must have been a member in good standing for at least one year, have a current g.p.a of 2.0 or better and be able to fulfill the duties and responsibilities that are expected.
Section 4. Treasurer
A. The duties of the Treasurer shall include the obligation to fulfill the role as President as seen fit in the absence of the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary. The Treasurer shall keep and accurate account of all receipts and expenditures and receive and hold funds of the organization, as well as a record of members in good standing. The Treasurer shall complete all non-profit organization forms and all forms affiliated with these, and will file taxes for the organization. She or he shall also be in charge of all fundraisers, and will organize fundraisers whenever the funds become low. The Treasurer will give an updated report on the financial status of the organization each meeting, as well as a report on how many members there are in good standing. The Treasurer shall notify all new members of the amount of dues, and the due date for them. The Treasurer shall attend weekly officer meetings to be held with the other officers, shall not miss in excess of 3 regular meetings, and shall not miss in excess of 2 officers meetings.
B. To be eligible for the office of Treasurer, the candidate must have been a member in good standing for at least one year, have a current g.p.a. of 2.0 or better and be able to fulfill the duties and responsibilities that are expected.
Section 5. Sergeant at Arms
A. The duties of the Sergeant at Arms shall include the obligation to fulfill the role as President as seen fit in the absence of all 4 of the other officers. The Sergeant at Arms shall maintain peace at all meetings and events. She or he shall be the parliamentarian, and will ensure that all business is conducted in the official manner, according to Robert's Rules, newly revised. The Sergeant at Arms shall attend the weekly officer meetings, and shall not miss in excess of 3 regular meetings.
B. To be eligible for the office of Sergeant at Arms, the candidate must have been a member in good standing for at least one year, have a current g.p.a. of 2.0 or better and be able to fulfill the duties and responsibilities that are expected.
C. The Sergeant at Arms is an appointed position. This position shall be appointed by the President no later than the 3rd (third) meeting of the Fall Semester. If the Sergeant at Arms should leave, resign, or be removed, the President has 3 weeks to appoint a new Sergeant at Arms.
Section 6. Auxiliary Positions may be held in addition to another office, as long as the officer has sufficient time available to fulfill all duties and responsibilities that are expected of both positions.
A. Web Coordinator
1. The duties of Web Coordinator shall be to keep the organizational website updated on a regular basis; to announce to the membership all new updates on the website; and to insure that all members know how to surf the website to obtain the most information from it as necessary.
2. To be eligible for the office of Web Coordinator, the candidate must be a current member in good standing, have a current g.p.a. of 2.0 or better, and be able to complete the duties and responsibilities that are expected.
A. Historian
1. The duties of the Historian shall be to keep a scrapbook of all publicity, events, outings, and socials for the S.P.A. The Historian shall check with all members before she or he photographs them, and shall check with all people in all photos before posting/scrap booking the pictures.
2. To be eligible for the office of Historian, the candidate must be a current member in good standing, have a current g.p.a. of 2.0 or better, and be able to complete the duties and responsibilities that are expected.
Article VI—Committees
The following standing committees shall exist:
Section 1. Publicity - Chaired by Vice President
Section 2. Programming - Chaired by President
Section 3. Fund-raising - Chaired by Treasurer
Section 4. Bylaws- Chaired by President, Sergeant at Arms; includes advisor(s).
Article VII—Elections
Section 1. The term for office for all positions is one year.
Section 2. Elections will be held the week of the last meeting of the Spring Semester each year.
Section 3. Letters of Intent
A. Letters of Intent shall include name, office applied for, experience, available time, and reasoning why the candidate would be best for the office.
B. Letters of Intent to run for office shall be sent to the organization's email account by attachment, no later than one week (7 days) before the meeting in which elections will be held.
C. These letters shall be read by an impartial party during elections, while applicants are outside the room. The letters are read alphabetically, with the current officer's letter read last. There will then be a timed 5 minute discussion of the candidates after the reading of the letters.
Section 4. Nominations may be made during elections only in the event that no one has submitted a letter of intent for an office. Nominations shall be made for one office at once. Nominees will each be allowed to speak for 1 minute.
Section 5. Voting for all positions will consist of secret ballot with the results tallied by an impartial party. A majority vote will be required for the election of new officers. The new officer team shall be announced at the last meeting of the year, or at the last social event if it is scheduled after the last meeting.
Section 6. If an officer graduates, is removed, resigns, or cannot otherwise complete his or her office before his or her term is up, the next officer in line shall fill his or her office. Any remaining offices shall be voted upon at that time, and their term will end at the regular interval (August 31st). If an officer wants to keep her/his position and not move up, she or he may choose to do so.
Section 7. Elections shall take place in a top down fashion, beginning with the President and ending with the Historian.
Section 8. If a person wishes to step down from his or her office, possibly to run for another office, he or she must resign before the elections begin. A person cannot hold two offices at once.
Section 9. Voting by proxy will proceed as follows.
A. The person who is voting by proxy (who is not present) can allow their vote to be submitted for them, by a person whom they trust to cast their vote in the appropriate manner.
B. The person who is chosen to cast the vote of the proxy voter (the person who is not present) must have a written signed statement, stating that she or he is allowed to cast a vote by proxy. The person casting the votes will receive 2 (two) ballots.
C. A person cannot cast proxy votes for more than one person.
Section 10. Special elections, if they need to be held, shall be held no more than one week after the officer has moved, resigned, or been removed.
Article VIII—Removal
Section 1. An officer may be asked to resign or be removed from office if he or she has violated University policies, has failed grievously to fulfill the obligations of his or her position or does not follow the purpose of the organization. Written notification must be made to the officer and all membership of the request. There would need to be 75% of the voting membership present, with a 2/3 vote of the voting members to constitute a removal from office. If asked to resign from office, he or she may still be a voting member if the requirements are met.
Section 2. A member (voting or otherwise) may be asked to resign or be removed if he or she has violated University policies or does not meet the purpose of the organization in a sincere fashion.
Article IX—University Registration/Recognition
At the beginning of each Fall and Spring semester, this organization shall submit an update report with the names and addresses of its officers and advisor(s). This report shall be submitted to the Student Activities Office (suite 316 of the Lowman Student Center) no later than the twelfth class day. Changes in officers that occur during the semester shall be reported promptly. If this organization fails to abide by this policy, this organization must resubmit the "Student Organization Registration Application" to the Student Activities Office and subsequently go before the Student Organization’s Board for consideration to once again become an officially recognized student organization.
Article X—Amendments
Section 1. This constitution shall be amended be a 2/3 vote of the voting membership. A motion may be made at any time to amend the constitution.
Section 2. A copy of all constitutional changes and amendments will be submitted to the Student Activities Office as described
Section 3. There will be a scheduled meeting, at least 2 weeks before elections occur, for constitutional amendments; the constitution shall be amended before elections have occurred, so that the officer team will know before-hand the duties that will be expected of them.