Preamble

In order to promote a better America, with equality, opportunity, and freedom within a just and strong society, we dedicate ourselves to organizing the participation of Democratic College Students at Middle Tennessee State University. In this mission, we call for full participation of all MTSU students, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, physical handicap, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation.

Understanding the importance of participation in the Democratic Party to the preservation of our values and principles, we, Democratic College Students, do hereby associate ourselves and adopt this constitution as the MTSU College Democrats

Article 1: Name and Purpose

A: The name of the organization shall be the MTSU College Democrats, hereafter referred to as the “College Democrats”.

B: Purpose: The College Democrats shall be a member organization that pledges itself to support the philosophy and candidates of the Democratic Party. Furthermore, the College Democrats declares its intention to support all efforts to increase participation of college students in Democratic affairs. To these ends, the College Democrats shall educate and train its member so that they may be better able to:

1. Educate students about the philosophy of the Democratic Party.
2. Assist in the election of Democrats at the local, state, and federal level.
3. Affect political change on the local, state, and federal level.

Article 2: Membership

A: Membership shall be open to any student enrolled at MTSU.
B: Membership dues may be required and shall be set by majority vote at any meeting of the College Democrats.

Article 3: The Executive Board

A: Composition: A: Composition: The executive board shall be composed of a President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, Communications Director, and Legal Counsel.

Article 4: Duties of the executive board

A: All executive board members must maintain active involvement in all College Democrats activities and endeavors.

B: Duties of the President. The President Shall:

1. Be Chief Executive Officer of the College Democrats;
2. Define the agenda of the College Democrats during his or her tenure.
3. Act as the official representative of the College Democrats to other groups and the media
4. Preside over all meetings of the College Democrats
5. Carry out all policies agreed to by the membership
6. Direct Fundraising
7. Manage the budget of the College Democrats

C: Duties of the Vice-President

1. Assist the President in the performance of his or her duties
2. Act as President when the President is unable to perform his or her duties
3. Assume the office of Presidency upon the President’s death, resignation, removal, or inability to perform duties
4. Take on projects of his or her choosing

D: Duties of Secretary-Treasurer (as amended by membership consensus)

1. Record minutes and all votes at meetings.
2. Perform duties assigned by the President and take on projects of his or her choosing
3. The keeping of the chapter’s financial ledger and the maintenance of the account
4. Responsibly maintaining all receipts, paperwork for financial requests, and membership dues
5. Upon request, he/she must promptly furnish the chapter’s membership and leadership (specifically the Chapter Legal Counsel, President, and Faculty Advisor) with regular reports on the chapter’s financial state of affairs.

E. Duties of Communications Director

1. Communicate with members and relay concerns to the Executive Board
2. Develop Directory of membership
3. Notify media of all events of College Democrats
4. Serve as liaison between officers and other members
5. Communicate with other campus groups

F. Duties of Legal Counsel:

1. advises the chapter’s executive board where matters of propriety, image, and/or group harmony are concerned
2. in ex officio capacity, he/she represents the chapter in impeachment proceedings and initiates charges against the officer/officers being impeached
3. upon request of Chapter President or Faculty Advisor(s), furnishes State of the Chapter reports
4. Perform duties as the president may assign and take on projects of his/her choosing.
5. To discharge and vigorously defend the principles, liberties, and tenets defined within this document.

G. With a 2/3rd approval of membership, and only if necessary, additional offices and/or ad hoc positions may be created.

Article 5: Elections

A: Elections shall occur annually. Elections shall occur in the spring at least two weeks before final exams. New officers shall assume duty the day after the last day of exams.

B: Any active member is eligible to run.

C: Secretive ballots: One vote per person per election. Candidates cannot vote in their own election.

D: Procedure: Candidates will be nominated directly before an election.

1. Speeches: Each candidate shall be allowed to give a speech before the election. Speech length shall be Pres- 4 min. V.P.- 3 min. Others- 2 min.
2. After all the candidates have given speeches there shall be time for members to ask questions. Pres-7 min. Others- 5 min.
3. Each candidate will then be allowed to present supporting speakers. Each speaker shall have 45 seconds to speak. The number of speaker shall be limited to Pres-5; Other-3. Derogatory statements about other candidates are forbidden.
4. Election order will follow the order of officers listed in the constitution. Each one shall be voted on separately. Members may run for more than one office, but may not serve in more than one office.
5. Votes shall be counted and the winner declared directly after an election.
6. The winner shall be the person that receives the majority vote of present members. If no person receives a majority of the vote, a runoff between the top two vote getters shall occur. In the event of a tie for second, a runoff shall be done to determine who shall advance to the runoff election with the first place vote getter. If more than two people tie for first, all will be entered in the runoff election. If none in this case receive a majority of the vote, the top two vote getters will advance to a runoff. These rules shall continue until a winner is declared in a runoff election with a majority of the vote.

Article 6: Vacancies

In the event of a vacancy in any office except the President, the President may appoint a member to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the semester. At the beginning of the next semester, a special election shall be held to fill the vacant office permanently.

Article 7: Removal

A: Causes for removal: Causes for removal shall be defined as malfeasance of duties or nonfeasance of duties assigned by the President or this document, or ineligibility for membership pursuant to Article 2

B: Process for removal: An investigation can be proposed by any member and secured by majority vote of attending members of any meeting. An officer can be charged by any member for impeachment and other membership must confer through a vote of their consent to the officer’s impeachment. After two weeks, the officer must respond to the charges either in affirmation or denial in written form to the chapter Legal Counsel. If the officer responds in affirmative to the accusations, he/she must express the desire to relinquish office (or stand hearing) to the Faculty Advisor, Legal Counsel, and membership (respectively); however, despite any acquiescence or denial, all accused are entitled to a hearing in which the Faculty Advisor(s) must be present. Failure to respond during the two week period is not considered a denial but acquiescence and will result in the immediate vacancy of that officer’s position. The hearing will be chaired by the President (unless he/she stands accused or is believed to be compromised) in which case they must automatically recuse themselves to avoid any suggestion or appearance of impropriety. At the Hearing, the Legal Counsel will present charges alleged by the membership to the committee members and the chair. The accused officer may present one character witness or may waive this right. If found responsible, the officer is considered impeached pending membership vote and must relinquish any and all chapter possessions. If found guilty by 2/3 members in attendance at the next meeting, he/she will officially removed from office.

Article 8: Amendments

Any member may propose amendments to the constitution. Amendments must be approved by a 2/3 majority of members in attendance at any meeting. Calls for amendments must be made one week in advance of voting on the amendement.