Constitution of the Computer Science Club of the University of Waterloo

# 1. Name

1. The name of this organization shall be the ``Computer Science Club of the University of Waterloo''.

# 2. Purpose

1. The Club is organized and will be operated exclusively for educational and scientific purposes in furtherance of:

- a) promoting an increased knowledge of computer science and its applications.
- b) promoting a greater interest in computer science and its applications; and
- c) providing a means of communication between persons having interest in computer science.

2. the above purposes will be fulfilled by the organization of discussions and lectures with professionals and academics in the field of computer science and related fields, co-operation with the Student Chapter of the ACM of the University of Waterloo, the maintenance of a library of materials related to computer science, the maintenance of an office containing the library as an aid to aim (1c) above, and such other means as decided by the club membership.

# 3. Membership

1. Recognizing that the Computer Science Club has, in the past, benefitted from the participation of individuals who were not undergraduates at the University of Waterloo, full membership in this organization shall be open to all members of the University of Waterloo community. This includes, but is not limited to, students, staff, and faculty, and anyone who has previously belonged to one of these categories. In the event of a dispute, the Executive shall decide whether an individual is eligible for full membership.
   At their discretion, the Executive may also allow individuals not satisfying the above description to obtain a full membership.
   In compliance with MathSoc regulations and in recognition of the club being primarily targeted at undergraduate students, full membership is open to all undergraduate students in the Faculty of Mathematics and restricted to the same.
2. Affiliate membership in this Club shall be open to all other persons. Affiliate members shall have all the rights of full members except for the rights of voting and holding executive office.
3. A person is not a member until he or she has paid the current membership fee and has been issued a membership card. Membership lasts until the end of the term in which it was issued. The membership card indicates, at least, a member's name, membership number, the term for which the membership is valid, and an indication that the member is an associate member, if indeed that is true. The membership fee is set from time to time by the Executive.

# 4. Officers

1. The officers of the Club shall be:

1. President
2. Vice-President
3. Secretary
4. Treasurer
5. System Administrator

2. The faculty advisor shall be an ex-officio member of the Club.
3. The choice of officers shall be limited to full members of the Club.
4. All officers, other than the System Administrator, shall be elected at a meeting to be held no later than three weeks after the start of each school term, such start defined as the beginning of lectures in the Winter and Spring terms, and as the beginning of Orientation Week in the Fall term.
5. The election of officers shall be accomplished by the following procedure:

1. The past executive shall choose a willing Chief Returning Officer, with duties defined below, set an election date, and set a date for the opening of nominations such that the nomination period (from the opening of nominations to 4:30 P.M. on the day preceding the elections) is at least one week.
2. Announcements of the election and the nomination procedure must be distributed to all members by one or more of electronic mail, Usenet, or posters in at least the Math and Computer building.
3. During the nomination period, the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) shall be available to receive nominations for the posts of officers of the club, either in person, by depositing nomination forms in the CSC's mailbox in the MathSoc office, or by writing the nomination in a place in the CSC office to be specified by the CRO.
4. A nomination shall consist of the nominee's name, and post(s) nominated for. Nominees must be full members of the Computer Science Club.
5. The election shall commence with the offering of memberships for sale. After a reasonable time, control of the meeting is given to the CRO who will manage the election of the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary, in that order. Each election shall be carried out by secret ballot, in a manner to be decided on by the CRO, with the approval of the memberdip. An accurate count of votes for each candidate for each position must be made and recorded by the CRO. A simple heads-down-hands-up method is considered acceptable. As soon as possible the CRO will announce the results of the election and the winner will be removed from subsequent contests. If this removal or lack of nominations results in a vacant post, elections for such posts may not be held at the election meeting, but elections for such posts may be held at a later date, in accordance with the election procedures. The membership decides whether or not to hold extra elections.

6. Following the elections, it is the responsibility of the new executive to select a System Administrator. The selection of System Administrator must then be ratified by the membership of the Club. If a suitable System Administrator is not available, then the executive may delay their selection until one becomes available. In this case the selection of System Administrator must be ratified at the next meeting of the Club.
7. The faculty advisor shall be appointed by the present executive council within three (3) weeks of each term's elections. The faculty advisor shall be a person having membership in the Association for Computing Machinery and having a genuine interest in the Club.
8. Any two offices may be held by a single person if the President deems this advisable, subject to the consent of the membership.
9. In the case of a resignation of an officer or officers, the membership may call elections to replace such officer(s). If they are called, they must follow the given election procedure. Such elections would be for all offices which are vacant.

# 5. Duties of Officers

1. The duties of the President shall be:

1. to call and preside at all general, special, and executive meetings of the Club;
2. to appoint all committees of the Club and the committee chairmen of such committees, except the chairman of the programmes committee; and
3. to audit, or to appoint a representative to audit, the financial records of the club at the end of each academic term.

2. The duties of the Vice-President shall be:

1. to assume the duties of the President in the event of the President's absence;
2. to act as chairman of the programmes committee; and
3. to assume those duties of the President that are delegated to him by the President.

3. The duties of the Secretary shall be:

1. to keep minutes of all Club meetings;
2. to prepare the annual Club report for approval by the executive council;
3. to care for all Club correspondence;

4. The duties of the Treasurer shall be:

1. to collect dues and maintain all financial and membership records;
2. to produce a financial or membership statement when requested;

5. The duties of the System Administrator shall be:

1. to chair the Systems Committee
2. to perform in conjunction with the Systems Committee, the duties listed in 7.2.

# 6. Executive Council

1. The executive council shall consist of the present officers of the Club and the faculty advisor. The new executive council shall take effect immediately following the installation of new officers or a new faculty advisor.
2. The executive council has the power of a general assembly, though an actual general assembly may overrule its decisions. Minutes of the executive council meetings shall be available for inspection by any member of the Club and shall be filed with the Club records. Further, all recent executive council decisions shall be announced at the next regular meeting of the club.

# 7. Committees

### 1. Programme Committee

1. The programme committee shall be a standing committee.
2. The programme committee shall plan and arrange meetings of the Club in accordance with apparent membership interests and the aims of the Club as set forth in Section 2.
3. The programme committee shall be responsible to the executive council.

### 2. Systems Committee

1. The Systems Committee will be a standing committee, chaired by the Systems Administrator.
2. The Executive Council shall appoint members to the Systems Committee. Such members should show interest and ability in Systems Administration.
3. The Systems Committee will collectively, under the leadership of the Systems Administrator,

1. to operate any and all equipment in the possession of the Club.
2. to maintain and upgrade the software on equipment that is operated by the Club.
3. to facilitate the use of equipment that is operated by the Club.

### 3. Library Committee

1. The library committee will be a standing committee, headed by the Librarian of the Computer Science Club.
2. The Librarian shall be selected by the Executive Council.
3. Either the Executive Council or the Librarian may appoint members to the library committee.
4. The library committee will be responsible for

1. purchasing new materials to be added to the Computer Science Club library, with a target amount of money to spend indicated by the Treasurer;
2. keeping the library in some semblance of order;
3. in conjunction with the Systems Committee, maintaining an up-to-date, online record of the materials in the library.

### 4. Other Committees

1. The President, with approval of the executive council, may appoint such temporary committees as is deemed necessary.

# 8. Meetings

1. General meetings of the Club shall be called at times designated by the executive council, at the recommendations of the programme committee.
2. Special meetings may be called at any time deemed necessary by the executive council or by the faculty advisor.
3. All members shall be notified at least two days prior to a forthcoming meeting. Electronic mail and/or posting to Usenet will be considered sufficient notification, though other forms of notification are also encouraged.
4. The Club shall hold meetings only in places that are open to all members of the Club.

# 9. Finances

1. The Treasurer shall present to the Club, before the end of each accademic term, a complete financial statement of the past period, and a tentative budget for the following academic term.
2. The Treasurer shall present, as part of the tentative budget, a recommended fee to be levied on the members in the following academic period.
3. The signing officers shall be the Treasurer, and one of the President or Vice-President.
4. At the end of each term, the President or his/her representative shall ensure that the financial records are complete and accurate.

# 10. Amendments and Procedures

1. Amendments to the constitution shall be made in the following manner:

1. the proposed amendment shall be announced to all members via one or more of

1. a general meeting
2. electronic mail
3. Usenet

2. the proposed amendment shall be made available for viewing by all members in the Computer Science Club office;
3. A business meeting shall be held at least seven (7) days after the announcement and no more than thirty (30) days after;
4. At this business meeting, the amendment shall be read again and voted upon. Two thirds of those present and voting shall be required to carry the amendment;

2. A quorum necessary for the conduct of business is defined as fifteen (15) members or 2/3 of the membership, whichever is smaller.
3. Rulings on any point of procedure not included in this constitution shall be made by the President with approval of the faculty advisor.
4. The executive council must bring before the members, within three (3) weeks, any motions with the signatures of ten (10) members affixed to it.
5. For a normal motion to pass, a simple majority is required. For motions of impeachment and motions calling for new elections, a 2/3 majority is required, as is seven (7) days notice of voting on such a motion. In addition, if such a motion is defeated, it cannot be brought before the Club again within sixty (60) days.

# 11. Dissolution

1. In the event of dissolution of the Club, all assets of the Club shall be transferred to the Mathematics Society of the University of Waterloo.

# 12. Use of Club Resources

1. All resources under control of the Club are to be used in accordance with the aims of the Club.
2. The President and Vice-President are jointly responsible for the proper use of all Club resources, except that the entire executive is responsible for the main Club account on the main Math Faculty Computing Facility computer. Permission to use a resource is automatically granted to someone responsible for that resource, and optionally as determined by unanimous vote of those responsible for a resource. Granting permission to someone to use a resource does not make that person responsible for the proper use of the resource, although the user is, of course, responsible to the person granting permission.