Constitution changes from Fall 2023 (#643)

- Publicize nominations
- Modify constitutional amendment procedure into informal discussion period and grace period
- Make Assistant Vice-President precede Treasurer
- Keep information up-to-date
- Some rewording

Reviewed-on: #643
Reviewed-by: Amy Wang <a258wang@csclub.uwaterloo.ca>
Co-authored-by: Laura Nguyen <l69nguye@csclub.uwaterloo.ca>
Co-committed-by: Laura Nguyen <l69nguye@csclub.uwaterloo.ca>

content/about/constitution/amendments-and-procedures.md

@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 title: Amendments and Procedures
 ---
 
-1. A proposed constitutional amendment can be initiated by the Executive Council or any thirty (30) members.
-2. The proposed amendment shall be announced to all members by email to the members' mailing list.
-3. The proposed amendment shall be made available for viewing by all members in the Computer Science Club office.
-4. A general meeting shall be held to consider the amendment at least seven (7) days after the announcement and no more than thirty (30) days after, which may be the regular meeting for the term, or a special meeting.
+1. A constitutional amendment can be initiated by the Executive Council or any thirty (30) members. The initiation shall involve making the amendment available for viewing, including in the CSC office.
+2. There shall be at least twenty-eight (28) days between the amendment's initiation and announcement of the finalized version. Members shall be provided an avenue to discuss the amendment throughout this time period.
+3. The finalized version of the amendment shall be announced to all members, taking place through email to the members' mailing list.
+4. A general meeting shall be held to consider the finalized version of the amendment at least seven (7) and no more than thirty (30) days after its announcement, which may be the regular meeting for the term, or a special meeting.
 5. A constitutional amendment requires a 2/3 vote for adoption.

content/about/constitution/duties-of-officers.md

@@ -1,27 +1,27 @@
----
-title: 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, except during the election of officers;
-    1. to appoint special committees of the Club and the membership and chairs of such committees, with the approval of the Executive Council;
-    1. to audit, or to appoint a representative to audit, the financial records of the club at the end of each academic term; and
-    1. with the approval of the Faculty Advisor, rule on any point of procedure under the constitution that arises outside of a meeting.
-1. The duties of the Vice-President shall be:
-    1. to assume the duties of the President in the event of the President's absence;
-    1. to chair the Programme Committee;
-    1. to appoint members to and remove members from the Programme Committee;
-    1. to ensure that Club events are held regularly; and
-    1. to assume those duties of the President that are delegated to them by the President.
-1. The duties of the Treasurer shall be:
-    1. to collect dues and maintain all financial and membership records; and
-    1. to produce a financial or membership statement when requested.
-1. The duties of the Assistant Vice-President shall be:
-    1. to keep minutes of all Club meetings;
-    1. to care for all Club correspondence; and
-    1. to manage any persons appointed to internal positions by the Executive.
-1. The duties of the System Administrator shall be:
-    1. to chair the Systems Committee;
-    1. to appoint members to and remove members from the Systems Committee;
-    1. to ensure that the duties of the Systems Committee are performed; and
-    1. to act as a liaison for the CSC with CSCF, IST, and similar organizations.
+---
+title: 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, except during the election of officers;
+    1. to appoint special committees of the Club and the membership and chairs of such committees, with the approval of the Executive Council;
+    1. to audit, or to appoint a representative to audit, the financial records of the club at the end of each academic term; and
+    1. with the approval of the Faculty Advisor, rule on any point of procedure under the constitution that arises outside of a meeting.
+1. The duties of the Vice-President shall be:
+    1. to assume the duties of the President in the event of the President's absence;
+    1. to chair the Programme Committee;
+    1. to appoint members to and remove members from the Programme Committee;
+    1. to ensure that Club events are held regularly; and
+    1. to assume those duties of the President that are delegated to them by the President.
+1. The duties of the Assistant Vice-President shall be:
+    1. to keep minutes of all Club meetings;
+    1. to care for all Club correspondence; and
+    1. to manage any persons appointed to internal positions by the Executive.
+1. The duties of the Treasurer shall be:
+    1. to collect dues and maintain all financial and membership records; and
+    1. to produce a financial or membership statement when requested.
+1. The duties of the System Administrator shall be:
+    1. to chair the Systems Committee;
+    1. to appoint members to and remove members from the Systems Committee;
+    1. to ensure that the duties of the Systems Committee are performed; and
+    1. to act as a liaison for the CSC with CSCF, IST, and similar organizations.

content/about/constitution/executive-council.md

@@ -4,6 +4,6 @@ title: Executive Council
 
 1. The Executive Council shall consist of the present officers of the Club and the Faculty Advisor (as a non-voting member) and has the power to run the affairs of this club within the limits of this constitution. This includes the power to overrule or issue directions to any officer.
 2. The Executive Council may appoint people to various positions to help manage the Club.
-3. The Executive Council must obey any instructions given to it by the members at a meeting and can be overruled by them.
+3. If members provide any points of feedback to the Executive Council at a meeting, then the Executive Council shall respond to them.
 4. The Executive Council can act by consensus achieved on their mailing list.
 5. Minutes of the Executive Council meetings shall be made available for inspection by any member of the Club and shall be filed with the Club records. On request, a member shall be shown the archive of any thread on the Executive Council mailing list which resulted in a decision being made.

content/about/constitution/officers.md

@@ -1,29 +1,31 @@
----
-title: Officers
----
-
-1. The officers of the Club shall be:
-    1. President
-    1. Vice-President
-    1. Treasurer
-    1. Assistant Vice-President
-    1. Systems Administrator
-1. There shall additionally be a Faculty Advisor, selected by the Executive from time to time from among the faculty of the School of Computer Science. The Faculty Advisor shall be an ex-officio affiliate member of the Club.
-1. The choice of officers shall be limited to full members of the Club.
-1. All officers, other than the Systems Administrator, shall be elected at a meeting to be held no later than two weeks after the start of lectures in each term.
-1. The election of officers shall be accomplished by the following procedure:
-    1. Before the end of the prior term, the then-Executive shall choose a willing Chief Returning Officer, who is responsible for carrying out elections according to this procedure.
-    1. The CRO shall set the date and time of the election meeting, and set the nomination period. The nomination shall be at least one week long and shall end at least 24 hours before the start of the election meeting.
-    1. Announcements of the election and the nomination procedure must be distributed to all members by the members' mailing list, and should also be advertised by posters in the MC building.
-    1. 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 email, 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.
-    1. A nomination shall consist of the nominee's userid, and post(s) nominated for. Nominees must be full members of the Computer Science Club. A member may decline a nomination at any point prior to the taking of the vote.
-    1. 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 preside over the election of the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary, in that order.
-    1. During each election, if the position has no nominees, the CRO will take nominations from the floor. Any present, eligible member can be nominated.
-    1. Each election shall be carried out by secret vote, in a manner to be decided on by the CRO, with the approval of the members at the meeting. A simple heads-down-hands-up method is considered acceptable.
-    1. The CRO shall not vote except to break a tie.
-    1. The CRO may, if feasible, accept absentee ballots from full members. No absentee vote from a member shall be counted if the member is present at the time the vote is taken. The CRO shall make a best effort to ensure that absentee ballots are compatible with the method of voting chosen; if this is not possible (for instance, if the CRO is overruled by the membership), then the absentee votes shall not be counted.
-    1. Immediately after the vote is taken, the CRO will announce the results of the election and the winner will be removed from subsequent contests. If, due to lack of candidates (because there were no nominations, or candidates withdrew or were eliminated), there is no one elected to an office, then the members at the meeting will decide whether or not to hold extra elections in accordance with the procedure for vacancies. If they choose not to, this does not prevent the Executive or a group of members from calling extra elections later in the term in accordance with the usual vacancy provisions.
-1. Following the elections, it is the responsibility of the new Executive to select a Systems Administrator. The selection of Systems Administrator must then be ratified by the members at the meeting. If a suitable Systems Administrator is not available, the duties of the Systems Administrator shall be carried out by the Systems Committee, with decisions made by consensus achieved on their mailing list.
-1. Any two offices may be held by a single person with the approval of the President (if any), and the explicit approval of the members.
-1. In the case of a resignation of an officer or officers, including the President, or if a vacancy occurs for any other reason, the Executive, members at a meeting, or any ten (10) members may call extra elections to replace such officer(s). If extra elections are held, they are held for all vacant offices.
-1. Whenever extra elections are held, they shall follow the usual election procedure. If they are held after elections failed to elect an officer, then the nomination period may be shortened to less than a week in order to allow the extra elections to take place at the same date and time in the following week. The Executive (or the ten (10) members who called the election) may appoint a replacement CRO if the previous CRO is unwilling or unable to fulfill their duties.
+---
+title: Officers
+---
+
+1. The officers of the Club shall be:
+    1. President
+    1. Vice-President
+    1. Assistant Vice-President
+    1. Treasurer
+    1. Systems Administrator
+1. There shall additionally be a Faculty Advisor, selected by the Executive from time to time from among the faculty of the School of Computer Science. The Faculty Advisor shall be an ex-officio affiliate member of the Club.
+1. The choice of officers shall be limited to full members of the Club.
+1. All officers, other than the Systems Administrator, shall be elected at a meeting to be held no later than two weeks after the start of lectures in each term.
+1. The election of officers shall be accomplished by the following procedure:
+    1. Before the end of the prior term, the then-Executive shall choose a willing Chief Returning Officer, who is responsible for carrying out elections according to this procedure.
+    1. The CRO shall set the date and time of the election meeting, and set the nomination period. The nomination shall be at least one week long and shall end at least 24 hours before the start of the election meeting.
+    1. Announcements of the election and the nomination procedure must be distributed to all members by the members' mailing list.
+    1. 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 email, or by writing the nomination in a place in the CSC office to be specified by the CRO.
+    1. A nomination shall consist of the nominee's userid, and post(s) nominated for. Nominees must be full members of the Computer Science Club. A member may decline a nomination at any point prior to the taking of the vote.
+    1. Within 24 hours of the CRO receiving a nomination, the CRO must publicize the nomination, such as by writing it on the CSC office whiteboard.
+    1. Each nominee shall make a platform and submit it to the CRO. Within 24 hours of the CRO receiving a platform from a nominee, the CRO must publicize the platform. Each nominee is also encouraged to publicize their platform on their own.
+    1. 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 preside over the election of the President, Vice-President, Assistant Vice-President, and Treasurer, in that order.
+    1. All nominees shall present their platforms. If a position has no nominees, then the CRO shall take nominations from the floor. Any present, eligible member can be nominated.
+    1. Voting shall be by secret ballot, in a manner that is to be decided on by the CRO and agreed upon by the members at the meeting. A simple heads-down-hands-up method is considered acceptable.
+    1. The CRO shall not vote except to break a tie.
+    1. The CRO may, if feasible, accept absentee ballots from full members. No absentee vote from a member shall be counted if the member is present at the time the vote is taken. The CRO shall make a best effort to ensure that absentee ballots are compatible with the method of voting chosen; if this is not possible (for instance, if the CRO is overruled by the membership), then the absentee votes shall not be counted.
+    1. Immediately after the vote is taken, the CRO will announce the results of the election and the winner will be removed from subsequent contests. If, due to a lack of candidates (because there were no nominations, or candidates withdrew or were eliminated), there is no one elected to an office, then the members at the meeting will decide whether or not to hold extra elections in accordance with the procedure for vacancies. If they choose not to, this does not prevent the Executive or a group of members from calling extra elections later in the term in accordance with the usual vacancy provisions.
+1. Following the elections, it is the responsibility of the new Executive to select a Systems Administrator. The selection of Systems Administrator must then be ratified by the members at the meeting. If a suitable Systems Administrator is not available, the duties of the Systems Administrator shall be carried out by the Systems Committee, with decisions made by consensus achieved on their mailing list.
+1. Any two offices may be held by a single person with the approval of the President (if any), and the explicit approval of the members.
+1. In the case of a resignation of an officer or officers, including the President, or if a vacancy occurs for any other reason, the Executive, members at a meeting, or any ten (10) members may call extra elections to replace such officer(s). If extra elections are held, they are held for all vacant offices.
+1. Whenever extra elections are held, they shall follow the usual election procedure. If they are held after elections failed to elect an officer, then the nomination period may be shortened to less than a week in order to allow the extra elections to take place at the same date and time in the following week. The Executive (or the ten (10) members who called the election) may appoint a replacement CRO if the previous CRO is unwilling or unable to fulfill their duties.

content/about/constitution/revision.md

@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@
 title: Revision
 ---
 
-The latest revision of the constitution is effective May 10, 2023.
+The latest revision of the constitution is effective January 11, 2024.