Intelligent Design and Evolution
Awareness (IDEA) Club at UT
-Bylaws-
REVISION 01 -
VERSION 01 | 8-16-04
Article 1.
Membership
Bylaw
1.1
To become a member of this organization, one must be a
registered student at UTDallas, and he or she must attend at least one club
meeting or event, per academic year.
Bylaw
1.2
Only enrolled students, for either the fall or spring term,
can become members of this organization.
Bylaw
1.3
This organization shall have two types of members, the
official member and the unofficial member.
Bylaw
1.4
In order for a student to become an official member of this
organization, he or she must fill out a membership application.
Bylaw
1.5
The membership application is to be drafted by the Executive Committee.
Bylaw
1.6
The official member shall be the individual that has
completed a membership application and has attended at least two club meetings
or events—on a semester by semester basis—prior to the last day of the third
month in each semester term (October 31st and March 31st).
Official members shall have special privileges as granted in the constitution
or specified in these bylaws.
Bylaw
1.7
The unofficial member shall be the individual that has not
met the requirements for official membership, as mentioned in Bylaw 1.6. Unless
specified otherwise, unofficial members don’t have the privileges set out in
the constitution or these bylaws (i.e., no privilege to vote, no privilege to
hold office, and no privilege to participate in functions being subsidized by
official members, to be determined by the Executive Committee).
Bylaw
1.8
Official members shall have the right to petition the club
officers for any known grievances. Moreover, official members shall have the
privilege of voting for club officers during the yearly election meeting, and
they shall have the right to candidacy for a chair in the Committee of
Constructive Criticism.
Bylaw
1.9
Members that engage in the following acts will be cited for
expulsion—for the current semester term—from this organization. These acts, and
not limited to the following, include: hazing, open hostility towards other
members, reckless behavior during a club function, excessive use of brash
language, defaming the character of other members, humiliating other members,
et cetera. Expulsion, upon a complaint to a club officer (i.e., the President, Vice President, or Secretary) or a citing by
a club officer, shall be agreed upon by the Executive Committee.
Bylaw
1.10 All members of
this organization shall have the right to intellectual freedom and a fair
presentation of their views.
Article 2.
Dues
Bylaw
2.1
Upon the authorization of a
membership fee by the Executive Committee, the following four bylaws shall take effect. As of date, this
organization does not collect dues.
Bylaw
2.2
A bi-semester (i.e., collected once in the fall, and
then, once again in the spring semester) membership fee of two dollars shall be
required of all official members.
Bylaw
2.3
This membership fee must be paid within one month of
notice, or official membership will be voided.
Bylaw
2.4
All fees shall only be used for the services,
activities, and events of this organization (e.g., newsletters, purchasing
videos, et cetera).
Bylaw
2.5
Unofficial members wishing to participate in an event
being subsidized by official members must pay a small fee, to be determined by
the Treasurer.
Article 3.
Administration & Committees
Bylaw
3.1
The following list contains the official designations of all
club officers and club personnel. The titles are as follows:
§
President (First Officer and Director of Scientific Affairs)
§
Vice President (Second Officer and Director of Philosophical
Issues)
§
Secretary (Third Officer and Director of Public Relations)
§
Historian (Fourth Officer)
§
Treasurer (Fifth Officer)
§
Webmaster (Sixth Officer)
§
Presidential Assistant
§
Vice Presidential Assistant
§
Secretarial Assistant
§
Special Events Coordinator
§
Colloquium Events Coordinator
§
Public Events Coordinator
§
Committee of Constructive Criticism (Chair 1-6)
Bylaw
3.2
The “club leadership” shall
constitute all the club officers and the club personnel.
Bylaw
3.3
The persons that shall form the “core group” of this
organization shall be the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, the Historian, the Treasurer, and the Webmaster.
Bylaw
3.4
Ideally,
no position of the “core group” should be vacant, so as to guarantee the
continued existence of the IDEA club.
Bylaw
3.5
This organization shall have two
types of club officers, the executive club officers and the auxiliary club officers.
Bylaw
3.6
The
executive
club officers are the
sole authority of the IDEA club, and they act to enforce the statement of
purpose of this organization.
Bylaw
3.7
The
executive
club officers shall
be the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary.
Bylaw
3.8
The
auxiliary
club officers shall
be adjunct officers and are considered indispensable insofar as sustaining the
existence of the IDEA club.
Bylaw
3.9
The
auxiliary
club officers shall
be the Historian, the Treasurer, and the Webmaster.
Bylaw
3.10 The administrative assistants shall help the executive club officers with their respective
responsibilities. There is one administrative assistant for each executive club officer.
Bylaw
3.11 Administrative
assistants may be
given the authority to exercise some, if not all, of the powers and duties of
the executive
club officers when
deemed necessary.
Bylaw
3.12 This organization
shall have three committees: The Executive Committee, the Planning Committee, and the Committee of
Constructive Criticism.
Bylaw
3.13 The Executive Committee shall be
composed of the executive club officers.
Bylaw
3.14 The Executive Committee shall have at
least one meeting per month. The primary meeting date for each month, per
semester, is to be agreed upon by the executive club officers.
Bylaw
3.15 The Planning Committee shall be
composed of the Special Events Coordinator, the Colloquium Events Coordinator, and the Public Events Coordinator.
Bylaw
3.16 The Planning Committee will work to organize activities
and events, according to the discretion of the Secretary or the Executive Committee.
Bylaw 3.17
The
Special
Events Coordinator
will serve to organize movie night events and guest lecturer meetings.
Bylaw
3.18 The Colloquium Events Coordinator will serve to organize debates,
seminars, and conferences.
Bylaw
3.19 The Public Events Coordinator will serve to organize events
assessable to the public (e.g. field trips).
Bylaw
3.20 The Committee of Constructive Criticism shall serve to bolster the
intellectual vigor of the IDEA club during discussion meetings and the like.
Bylaw
3.21 There shall be a total of six
chairs in the Committee of Constructive Criticism. The students in this committee may be elected by
official members, or they may be appointed by the Executive Committee.
Bylaw
3.22 The Committee of
Constructive Criticism shall be implemented once this club attains at least 24
official members.
Bylaw
3.23 In the event that
the IDEA club falls under 24 official members, the Committee of
Constructive Criticism shall not be dismantled, until the election meeting.
Bylaw
3.24 Members of the Committee of
Constructive Criticism are allowed only one absence from any club event or meeting,
per semester.
Article 4.
Executive Powers
Bylaw 4.1
The primary authority of this organization shall be the Executive Committee. The executive club officers shall preside at
all club functions.
Bylaw 4.2
The Executive Committee shall have the power to call club meetings, and set
the club agenda.
Bylaw
4.3
The President shall have the power to fill in any of the organization’s
vacant positions (i.e., if membership approval isn’t obligatory). The President is more than
welcome to receive recommendations by any club member.
Bylaw
4.4
All other powers and duties of the executive club officers are as listed in
the club constitution and arising out of custom.
Article 5.
Meetings
Bylaw
5.1
The Executive Committee shall set the semester agenda of this organization within
two weeks before the first meeting of the semester.
Bylaw
5.2
This organization shall have at least one meeting each month
of the academic year, with an exception being allowed for the first month of
each semester term. If possible, a day and time for all club meetings and
events—to remain the same for one semester—shall be agreed upon by the Executive Committee, at the start of each semester.
Article 6.
Elections
Bylaw
6.1
All
elections for this organization shall occur during the election meeting, which
is to be held during the first week of April.
Bylaw
6.2
Elections are not to be held until this organization has
attained at least 24 official members.
Bylaw 6.3
A tally of the number of official members shall be conducted before
the election meeting, to determine whether or not an election can proceed and
whether or not the Committee of Constructive Criticism should be temporarily relieved—if
currently active—at the start of the next school year.
Bylaw 6.4
If the IDEA club is not projected to have at least 24 of its
official members by the start of the next school year, this shall be grounds
for temporary closure of the Committee of Constructive Criticism.
Bylaw
6.5
Elections
may only be held for a position as an executive or auxiliary club officer and for a chair in the Committee of
Constructive Criticism.
Bylaw
6.6
Only official members may vote.
Bylaw 6.7
All candidates must complete an application for candidacy.
This application shall be drafted by the Executive Committee.
Bylaw
6.8
The purpose of the application shall be to
assess the candidate’s eligibility (i.e., student status, membership status,
willingness, et cetera) to hold a position.
Bylaw
6.9
Candidates for a position as an executive club officer must be willing to uphold this organization’s statement of
purpose and the club constitution.
Bylaw
6.10 Candidates for a
position as an executive club officer must be
interviewed by the Executive Committee. This shall be done in order to protect this
organization from persons who put on a pretense of agreeing with the statement of
purpose, and risk jeopardizing this organization’s affiliation with the
Bylaw 6.11 If there are no
qualified candidates, no election will be held.
Bylaw 6.12 The results of an
election will only be accepted if the quorum has been satisfied.
Bylaw 6.13 In the event that
there are no qualified candidates and/or the quorum is not satisfied, the
current executive
club officer shall have the right to stay in office, or he/she may
voluntarily appoint (the President shall have the final decision) a successor that adheres to
the club’s statement of purpose. In addition, the Executive Committee may appoint
persons to the Committee of Constructive Criticism, or current chair holders may
hold their position.
Bylaw
6.14 Upon the
voluntary or involuntary termination
of a club officer he/she is required to give a report to the new club officer
with regards to his/her experience in office. Also, all transfer of club
material and possessions (i.e., transfer of website ownership, finances, etc.) must occur.
Article 7.
Quorum
Bylaw
7.1
The quorum for any election shall be 2/3 of all official
members.
Article 8.
Amendments
Bylaw
8.1
The Executive Committee shall have the task judicial review, and the task of
amending or revising the constitution or these bylaws.
Bylaw
8.2
Unless directed by the
Bylaw
8.3
The only amendments that can be added to the bylaws or
constitution are the ones that strive to improve the goals and functionality of
this organization and/or the ones that implement new administrative duties or
powers.
Bylaw
8.4
All amendments directly affecting the status of official
membership must be approved by a quorum of the official membership body.
Bylaw
8.5
All amendments to the bylaws and constitution must be
highlighted and provided with a raison d'être for their placement.
Bylaw
8.6
Should the effect of an amendment be to annul a specific text
of the original constitution or the original bylaws, then, the annulled text
shall be denoted with a strikethrough.
Bylaw
8.7
Should an amendment be voided, it can be removed as though it
were not originally part of the bylaws or the constitution.
Bylaw
8.8
The Historian shall keep on file a revision of the constitution or bylaws
whenever it is revised or amended. Grammatical corrections and minor
modifications shall constitute a revision, and amendment(s) that substantially
change the constitution or bylaws shall constitute a new version.
Bylaw
8.9
For every three amendments—not revisions—to the bylaws or the
constitution, that shall constitute a new version of the respective document.
Bylaw
8.10 Amendments shall
go into effect during the next club meeting.
Article 9.
Club Dissolution
Bylaw
9.1
Temporary dissolution of this organization shall come upon
failure of President to reregister
this club with the University, as required every semester, or permanent
dissolution of this organization shall be presumed with a lack of any activity,
and no correspondence with the