Constitution of the University of Minnesota Parliamentary
Debate Society
ARTICLE
I- GENERAL
Section 1: The
official name of this organization shall be the University of Minnesota Parliamentary Debate Society.
Section 2: The
club shall operate as a non-profit organization.
Section 3: The club shall abide by the applicable
rules and policies of the University of Minnesota pertaining
to
student organizations.
Section 4: This
organization shall exist for the following purposes:
·
Hold weekly on-campus debates
·
Sponsor public debates on topics of interest to the
greater University community
·
Promote intercollegiate debating against other colleges
and universities
·
Promote international debate
·
Acquire and maintain membership in the American
Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA)
·
Compete regularly in APDA sanctioned competitions.
ARTICLE II - MEMBERSHIP/IMPEACHMENT
Section 1: Voting
membership is open to all students, faculty and staff at the University of
Minnesota.
Section 2: No
more than 1/3 of the voting membership shall consist of non-students.
Section
3: Membership
is open to all students without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national
origin, disability, age, veteran status, creed, marital status, public
assistance status, or sexual orientation.
Section 4: To
become a member, one must fill out the membership application form and return
it to the Historian.
Section
5: Any
member/officer may be impeached for misconduct for failure to perform duties,
failure to attend weekly meetings regularly, misuse of funds, misconduct while
traveling or representing the team in competition. The member/officer shall be
given a seven day notice and an opportunity to defend him/herself. This impeachment vote shall require a 2/3
majority vote. The coach can only be removed by the Chair of the Department of
Speech Communication.
ARTICLE III - OFFICERS
Section 1: The
officers of this club shall consist of President, Vice-President of Novice
Training, Convenor, Historian, Publicist, and Coach (ex officio)
Section
2: All
officers must be currently enrolled students at the University of Minnesota and
registered for at least six credits.
Exceptions to the requirement are permitted for graduate students upon
receipt of a letter from the Director of Graduate Studies of the student's
department certifying that the student is actively pursuing a degree.
Section
3: Officers
shall be selected during the May meetings and shall serve for a period of one
year. Officers shall be elected by
plurality of the voting members present providing a quorum is present.
Section 4: The
duties of the officers are as follows:
a. President - Preside over all meetings
of the club and serve as Chairperson of the Executive Committee. Act as official representative of the club
at other meetings and events. The President is responsible for holding weekly
debate meetings, supervising and
assisting the other officers, assisting the coach, and administering UMPDS
travel and other activities. The
President is the UMPDS liaison to the Student Union Program and Activities (SUPA) board, the teams
fundraiser, and chief executive officer. The President is the UMPDS
representative to the American Parliamentary Debate Association.
b. Vice President for Novice Training - Preside at meetings of the
club and the Executive Committee in the absence of the president. Succeed the president if the president were
unable to complete his/her term of office. The VP Novice Training is
responsible for recruiting, educating, and offering support and guidance to new
debaters. The organization of novice tournaments and workshops (at least one
per semester) are required.
c. Historian - Record and produce minutes
of all meetings. Handle the club's
correspondence.
Collect and file all ballots from intercollegiate competition,
posters and photos
from on-campus debates, and documents related to the
activities of the
UMPDS. It shall be the responsibility of the historian to find and
maintain records
of past U of MN debates and debaters.
d. Coach- Handle
all financial transactions of the club.
Maintain thorough and accurate records of all transactions. Produce financial reports as required by the
club. The Coach is accountable to the UMPDS and responsible for offering
information about decisions affecting the UMPDS. In addition to advising the officers, the Coach is expected to
attend the weekly meeting, supervise practice rounds and workshops, and to
offer instruction on debate practice and theory. Although not required, the Coach should travel with the team to
some intercollegiate competitions. In
consultation with the team President and officers, the Coach schedules and
approves travel and financial arrangements for the UMPDS. The Coach, with
assistance from the Historian and other officers, is required to submit an
annual report itemizing UMPDS activity
and financial accounting. The Coach is the teams representative to University
departments and administrators.
e. Convener- responsible for organizing, publicizing, and selecting
topics for public debates. No fewer
than two public events per semester may be held.
f. Publicist-Promote weekly meetings and other UMPDS events; maintain
a current list of active debaters; maintain the UMPDS web page and links;
publicize weekly debate meetings, practice debates, public debates and other
related activities.
ARTICLE V MEETING
Section
1: A regular
meeting shall be held once each week during
the academic year. A special meeting
may be called by the Executive Committee or by a petition of ten percent of the
voting membership.
Section
2: A quorum
shall be present in order to conduct official business of the club. A quorum shall consist of 50% of the voting
membership plus one.
Section
3: Decisions
of the club shall be enacted by a majority vote of the voting membership plus
one.
ARTICLE VI - FINANCIAL MATTERS
Section
1: The club
shall not provide monetary gain, incidentally or otherwise to its directors or
membership. This does not restrict the
payment of wages, salaries or incentives by the club for services rendered.
Section
2: Unless
otherwise specified by the membership at the time of dissolution of the
organization, residual assets shall be distributed to the following
not-for-profit organizations according to the proportions below:
Department of Speech
Communication 100%
(To be disbursed proportionally
among other academic departments that contribute to the UMPDS budget at the
discretion of the Chair of the Department of Speech Communication.)
ARTICLE VII - BY-LAWS
Section
1: By-Laws may be proposed
by the membership and may be adopted by a majority vote of those present at the
meeting when a quorum is present.
Section 2: The
UMPDS is required to hold weekly meetings that are open to member of the
University
of
Minnesota community. With the exception
of meetings held for elections, and occasional
debate
instruction, each weekly meeting should feature an open debate. The UMPDS is
committed
to building a diverse membership and to maintaining a respectful and supportive
environment
for student discourse that is consistent with U of MN policy regarding hate
speech
and
harassment. The officers are required
to meet regularly to plan UMPDS events.
In
accordance
with the UMPDS statement of purpose, regular travel to APDA sanctioned
tournaments
is expected.
ARTICLE VIII AMENDMENTS
Section
1: Amendments to the
constitution may be proposed by any member of the club. Such proposals shall be submitted in writing
to the Executive Committee for a first reading to the membership at the regular
meeting prior to the meeting at which the proposed amendment is to be voted on.
Section
2: Duly proposed amendments shall
be submitted to a vote of the voting members providing a
quorum is present. A two-thirds majority vote in favor shall be required for
adoption of such
amendments.
Constitution
ratified: (month, day, year)___________________________________________________
Witnessed: President_____________________________________________________________
Officer
