www/about/constitution.xml

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<cscpage title="Constitution of the Computer Science Club of the University of Waterloo">

<header />

<section title="1. Name" anchor="name">
  <ol>
    <li> The name of this organization shall be the "Computer Science Club of
      the University of Waterloo".</li>
  </ol>
</section>
<section title="2. Purpose" anchor="purpose">
  <ol>
    <li>The Club is organized and will be operated exclusively for educational
      and scientific purposes in furtherance of:
      <ol>
        <li>promoting an increased knowledge of computer science and its
          applications;</li>
        <li>promoting a greater interest in computer science and its
          applications; and</li>
        <li>providing a means of communication between persons having interest
          in computer science.</li>
      </ol>
    </li>

    <li> 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, the maintenance of a library of materials
      related to computer science, the maintenance of an office containing the
      library as an aid to aim (<a href="#comm">1.3</a>) above, and such other
      means as decided by the club membership.</li>
</ol>
</section>

<section title="3. Membership" anchor="membership">
  <ol>
    <li> In compliance with MathSoc regulations and in recognition of the club
      being primarily targeted at undergraduate students, full membership is
      open to all Social Members of the Mathematics Society and restricted to
      the same.</li>

    <li> Affiliate membership in this Club shall be open to all members of the
      University community, including alumni. Affiliate members shall have all
      the rights of full members except for the rights of voting and holding
      executive office.</li>

    <li> Membership shall be accounted for on a termly basis, where a term
      begins at the start of lectures in Winter or Spring, and at the start of
      Orientation Week in Fall. </li>

    <li> A person is not a member until he or she has paid the current
      membership fee and has been enrolled in the member database. The termly
      membership fee is set from time to time by the Executive. Under conditions
      approved by the Executive, a member who purchases a membership at the end
      of the current term may be given membership for both the current term and
      the next term. If the membership fee changes, then this does not affect
      the validity of any membership terms already paid for.</li>

    <li> The Club may grant access to its systems, either free of charge or for
      a fee, to members of the University community in order to offer them
      services. This does not constitute membership.</li>
  </ol>
</section>

<section title="4. Officers" anchor="officers">
  <ol>
    <li> The officers of the Club shall be:
      <ol>
        <li> President</li>
        <li> Vice-President</li>
        <li> Secretary</li>
        <li> Treasurer</li>
        <li> System Administrator</li>
      </ol>
    </li>

    <li> 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.</li>

    <li> The choice of officers shall be limited to full members of the
      Club.</li>

    <li> All officers, other than the System Administrator, shall be elected at
      a meeting to be held no later than two weeks after the start of lectures
      in each term.</li>

    <li> The election of officers shall be accomplished by the following
      procedure:

      <ol>
        <li> 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.</li>

        <li> 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.</li>

        <li> 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.</li>

        <li> 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.</li>

        <li> 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.</li>

        <li> 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.</li>

        <li>During each election, if the position has no nominees, the CRO
        will take nominations from the floor. Any present, eligible member
        can be nominated.</li>

        <li> 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.</li>

        <li> The CRO shall not vote except to break a tie.</li>

        <li> 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.</li>

        <li> 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.</li>
      </ol>
    </li>

    <li> 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 members at the meeting.  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.</li>

    <li> 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.</li>

    <li> 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.</li>

    <li> 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.</li>
  </ol>
</section>

<section title="5. Duties of Officers" anchor="duties">
  <ol>
    <li> The duties of the President shall be:
      <ol>
        <li> to call and preside at all general, special, and executive meetings
          of the Club, except during the election of officers;</li>
        <li> to appoint special committees of the Club and the membership and
          chairs of such committees, with the approval of the Executive
          Council; and</li>
        <li> to audit, or to appoint a representative to audit, the financial
          records of the club at the end of each academic term.</li>
        <li> with the approval of the Faculty Advisor, rule on any point of
          procedure under the constitution that arises outside of a meeting.</li>
      </ol>
    </li>

    <li> The duties of the Vice-President shall be:
      <ol>
        <li> to assume the duties of the President in the event of the
          President's absence;</li>
        <li> to chair the Programme Committee;</li>
        <li> to appoint members to and remove members from the Programme
          Committee;</li>
        <li> to ensure that Club events are held regularly; and</li>
        <li> to assume those duties of the President that are delegated to them
          by the President.</li>
      </ol>
    </li>

    <li> The duties of the Secretary shall be:
      <ol>
        <li> to keep minutes of all Club meetings;</li>
        <li> to care for all Club correspondence; and</li>
        <li> manage any persons appointed to internal positions by the
          Executive.</li>
      </ol>
    </li>

    <li> The duties of the Treasurer shall be:
      <ol>
        <li> to collect dues and maintain all financial and membership
          records;</li>
        <li> to produce a financial or membership statement when requested.</li>
      </ol>
    </li>

    <li> The duties of the System Administrator shall be:
      <ol>
        <li> to chair the Systems Committee;</li>
        <li> to appoint members to and remove members from the Systems
          Committee.</li>
        <li> to ensure that the duties of the Systems Committee are
          performed.</li>
      </ol>
    </li>
  </ol>
</section>
<section title="6. Executive Council" anchor="executive">
  <ol>
    <li> 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.</li>

    <li> The Executive Council may appoint people to various positions to help
      manage the Club.</li>

    <li> The Executive Council must obey any instructions given to it by the
      members at a meeting and can be overruled by them.</li>

    <li> The Executive Council can act by consensus achieved on their mailing
      list.</li>

    <li>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. 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.</li>
  </ol>
</section>
<section title="7. Committees" anchor="committees">
  <h3>1. Programme Committee</h3>
  <ol>
    <li> The Programme Committee shall be a standing committee chaired by the
      Vice-President.</li>
    <li> The Vice-President shall appoint and remove members to and from the
      Programme Committee as needed.</li>
    <li> The Programme Committee shall plan and arrange the events of the
      Club.</li>
    <li> The Programme committee shall be responsible to the Executive
      Council and to the Vice-President.</li>
  </ol>

  <h3><a id="sysduties">2. Systems Committee</a></h3>
  <ol>
    <li> The Systems Committee will be a standing committee, chaired by the
      Systems Administrator.</li>
    <li> The Systems Administrator shall appoint and remove members to and from
      the Systems Committee.</li>
    <li> Members should only be appointed to the Systems Committee if they show
      interest and some existing ability in systems administration.</li>
    <li> Members should only be removed from the Systems Committee with cause,
      or when they no longer show interest in systems administration.</li>
    <li> The Systems Committee will collectively, under the leadership of the
      Systems Administrator,
      <ol>
        <li> operate any and all equipment in the possession of the Club.</li>
        <li> maintain and upgrade the software on equipment that is operated by
          the Club.</li>
        <li> facilitate the use of equipment that is operated by the Club.</li>
      </ol>
    </li>
    <li> Members of the Systems Committee shall have root access to the machines
      operated by the Club.</li>
  </ol>

  <h3>3. Other Committees</h3>
  <ol>
    <li> The President, with approval of the executive council, may appoint such
      special committees as are deemed necessary.</li>
  </ol>
</section>

<section title="8. Meetings" anchor="meetings">
  <ol>
    <li> A regular meeting of the Club shall be held each term. This meeting
      shall be called by the CRO and shall be the election meeting for that
      term.</li>

    <li> Special meetings may be called at any time deemed necessary by the
      Executive Council, by the Faculty Advisor, or by any ten (10) members.</li>

    <li> All members shall be notified at least two days prior to a forthcoming
      meeting of the meeting and of the business to be considered at that
      meeting. A message to the members' mailing list will be considered
      sufficient notification, though other forms of notification are also
      encouraged.</li>

    <li> The Club shall hold meetings only in places that are open to all
      members of the Club.</li>

    <li> The Club membership cannot act except at a general meeting.</li>

    <li> A quorum necessary for the conduct of business is defined as fifteen
      (15) full members or 2/3 of the full membership, whichever is smaller. If
      an election meeting lacks quorum, then the inquorate meeting can set a
      date and time for the elections, and can choose to either run the new
      elections with the same nominations or with a new nomination period
      (which does not need to meet the usual minimum requirement).
    </li>

    <li> A motion to remove an officer, or to call new elections (except at an
      election meeting), requires a 2/3 vote and at least a week's notice. Any
      other motion requires a majority vote.</li>

    <li> If a motion is defeated, it cannot be brought again for sixty (60)
      days.</li>
  </ol>
</section>

<section title="9. Finances" anchor="finances">
  <ol>
    <li> The Treasurer shall, each term, present to the Executive a financial
      statement for the previous term. They shall, before the end of the current
      term, ensure that the records are in a good condition to make this task as
      easy as possible for the next Treasurer.</li>

    <li> The Treasurer shall prepare a budget each term, to be presented to
      MathSoc, and shall be responsible to ensure that the Club is represented
      at the MathSoc budget meeting.</li>

    <li> The signing officers shall be the Treasurer, and one of the President
      or Vice-President.</li>

    <li> At the end of each term, the President or his/her representative shall
      ensure that the financial records are complete and accurate.</li>
  </ol>
</section>

<section title="10. Amendments and Procedures" anchor="amendments">
  <ol>
    <li> A proposed constitutional amendment can be initiated by the Executive Council or
          any ten (10) members.</li>

    <li> The proposed amendment shall be announced to all members by email
      to the members' mailing list.</li>

    <li> The proposed amendment shall be made available for viewing by all
      members in the Computer Science Club office.</li>

    <li> 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.</li>

    <li> A constitutional amendment requires a 2/3 vote for adoption.</li>
  </ol>
</section>

<section title="11. Dissolution" anchor="dissolution">
  <ol>
    <li> 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.</li>
  </ol>
</section>

<section title="12. Code of Conduct" anchor="conduct">
  <ol>
    <li>
      The Club has a <a href="code-of-conduct">Code of Conduct</a>.
    </li>
    <li>
      The <a href="code-of-conduct#scope">scope of the Code of Conduct</a> is specified by the Code of Conduct.
    </li>
    <li>
      Changes to the Code of Conduct are governed by the same rules as changes
      to the Constitution.
    </li>
  </ol>
</section>

<section title="13. Use of Club Resources" anchor="resources">
  <ol>
    <li> All resources under control of the Club are to be used in accordance
      with the aims of the Club.</li>

    <li> The President and Vice-President are jointly responsible for the proper
      use of all Club resources, except as otherwise specified by the Executive
      or this Constitution.</li>

    <li> The Systems Administrator is responsible for the proper use of all
      administrative access to Club computing resources.</li>

    <li> The Executive, via the Systems Administrator and the Systems Committee,
      are responsible for the proper use of all Club computing resources.</li>
    
    <li> Permission to use a resource is automatically granted to someone
      responsible for that resource, and optionally as determined by 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.</li>
  </ol>
</section>

<section title="Revision" anchor="revision">
  <p>The constitution was last revised on 25 January 2018.</p>
</section>

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