Constitution for the Civil Liberties Union of Harvard (as amended February 16, 2002) Article I. Name 1. The name of the organization shall be the Civil Liberties Union of Harvard, herein also referred to as the .CLUH. or .the Organization.. Article II. Purpose 1. The Civil Liberties Union of Harvard is dedicated to upholding the civic values of a free and democratic society. The Organization.s chief objectives are (i) to promote discussion of civil liberties issues, (ii) to safeguard the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all persons, and (iii) to increase awareness of the importance of civil liberties. The CLUH is an independent and nonpartisan organization run entirely by undergraduates currently enrolled in Harvard College. Article III. Membership 1. Membership in this organization shall be open to all students in good standing currently enrolled in Harvard College, regardless of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, or physical disability. 2. Membership shall be retained until the student severs relations with the University whether by graduation or otherwise. Membership will be retained during the vacations and recesses of the University. 3. Any member may resign at any time by filing a written resignation with the secretary. 4. An active member shall be defined as one who has attended more than half of the regular meetings of the current semester and who has paid the dues as may be assessed by the Organization. Article IV. Officers 1. All officers shall be registered undergraduates in Harvard College and shall comprise the Executive Board of the Organization. No restriction other than active membership is required for election. 3. The Executive Board shall vote on any pressing decision facing the Organization in the event that it is not practical to call a special meeting of the entire group. In the case of a tied vote, the president shall break the tie. The question before the Executive Board and the result of the must be announced immediately thereafter. 4. The president shall be the chief executive officer of the group and shall shape the overall direction of the group.s activities and programs. 5. The executive director shall be responsible for the general supervision of the group.s events, committees, and programs and shall assist the president and assume his or her duties when the president is unable to serve. 6. The communications director shall facilitate communications between the organization and local, state, and national audiences through such means as appropriate. 7. The outreach coordinator shall increase the visibility of the organization and the issues that it considers important. 8. The treasurer shall have charge of the financial affairs of the group. He or she shall keep accurate records of these affairs, as well as coordinate fundraising activities. 9. The secretary shall keep a record of all meetings of the group and of all activities and programs. He or she will handle all formal correspondence between members and officers of the group. 10. Members-at-large to the Executive Board shall assist in the administration and leadership of the Organization and chair the standing committees created by the Executive Board. Members-at-large shall be selected by the members of the currently constituted Executive Board. Article V. Elections 1. Officers, except for members-at-large, shall be elected every semester by the members of the group. The organization can agree at any time to hold new election for these positions with a two-thirds vote. 2. Any active member of the group may be nominated for election or nominate others for election. Nominations shall be filed in writing with the secretary at least one week before the date appointed for elections. 3. The secretary shall be responsible for informing all members of the election date and candidates. 4. Elections will begin with the first position named in the Constitution. 5. Each candidate will speak for no more than three minutes before a vote takes place. Those who are not elected to a position may be considered for a remaining position if they desire to be so considered. 6. All active members shall be eligible to vote. The voting method shall be the Borda Count, although a simple plurality vote may be used instead if the unanimous consent of all members in attendance is obtained. 7. An active member who is unable to attend the election meeting but who is otherwise eligible to vote shall communicate his or her preferences to the secretary who will be authorized to act in proxy for the absent member. Ambiguous preferences will be discarded. 8. Candidates may be nominated at the election meeting itself if the unanimous consent of all members in attendance is obtained. Article VI. Meetings 1. Meetings of the group shall be held on a regular basis for the purpose of determining policy, activities, programs, and other business. Such meetings shall be held no less frequently than four meetings a semester. 2. Special meetings of the group may be called by the president or any five members of the organization. 3. Adequate advance notice of regular and special meetings shall be communicated to all members of the group by the secretary. 4. A simple majority of the active members of the group shall constitute a quorum. 5. All active members shall have one vote. A simple majority of the active members present at the meeting will be sufficient to transact ordinary business. 6. The president shall chair all meetings. In the president.s absence, the secretary shall chair and another member shall be appointed secretary for the duration of the meeting. 7. Regular meetings that lack a quorum shall not be counted as regular meetings for the purposes of determining membership status. Furthermore, such meetings do not satisfy the requirements of Article VI, Section 1. 8. The parliamentarian shall assume plenipotentiary responsibilities over the administration and conduct of all votes and elections. In the event of a disputed result, a committee comprised of the president, the secretary, and the parliamentarian shall examine the issue under contention and reach a binding conclusion before the end of the meeting. Article VII. Finances 1. The Civil Liberties Union of Harvard is a non-profit organization. 2. An accurate record of all income and expenses shall be maintained at all times. Receipts shall be written for all contributions and expenses. Such receipts should be deposited with the treasurer as soon as practical, although in no case should this time period exceed one week. 3. The financial records of the Organization shall be subject to audit by the Executive Board at any time. Article VIII. Amendments, Applicability, and Severability 1. Any five active members of the group may propose an amendment to this document. Proposals shall be filed in writing with the secretary at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which action will be taken on the amendment and notice shall be provided to the members of the group at least one week prior to the meeting at which action will be taken on the amendment. 2. Amendments may only be offered at regular meetings of the group. A successful amendment requires at least a two-thirds majority of the active members of the group present at the meeting. 3. No action of the Executive Board or any committee of the CLUH shall hold force if it is in contravention with this document. In case of disagreement about the interpretation of any part of this document, the parliamentarian.s ruling shall be dispositive. 4. In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained herein shall, for any reason, be held to be invalid or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect any other provisions of this document. 5. A complete revision history of the constitution shall be kept. The constitution shall be posted in a publicly accessible portion of the Organization.s website. 6. Amendments to the constitution that are inconsistent with the overall mandate or spirit of the organization as expressed in Article II are not valid. At any regular meeting of the organization with at least two-thirds of the active members in attendance, any active member may submit a motion to investigate the validity of any amendment with respect to this provision. Such a motion is always in order. If such a motion is offered, passes by a simple majority of the active members present, and is accompanied by a written document describing the precise claims against the amendment, the Executive Board must appoint a committee of three active members of the organization to present a report at the next regular meeting on the merits of the proposed motion. A motion to invalidate the amendment following the presentation of this report requires a two-thirds majority of active members in attendance to pass. 7. The provisions in Normative Corrigenda A below are to be taken as guidance where the constitution is unclear or ambiguous. It would be desirable for Normative Corrigenda A to be reconciled with the constitution as a whole and the Executive Board shall appoint a committee to present a unified constitution for ratification with the improvements embodied in Normative Corrigenda A within one year of this date (October 14, 2002). Normative Corrigenda A [see Article VIII, Section 7] Article I. Membership and Decision Processes. 1. Good Standing and Quorum: A member is considered an active member, or one in good standing, if they satisfy the requirements of Article III, Section 4 or if they are present at the current meeting and the previous regular one and have notified the secretary in writing and in a timely fashion why their presence at other meetings was not possible despite a good-faith effort to attend. The secretary shall have discretion in determining whether the latter conditions are satisfied. 2. The active members in attendance will (a) mark their name to indicate their presence or (b) sign in their name at the beginning of a meeting. From this number it shall be determined if a quorum is reached. 3. By default, all meetings will be run on consensus. If the appropriate motion is made and seconded, the meeting will run according to the provisions of Article VI. Article II. Meeting roles and mechanics. 1. Agenda Planning. This person shall be determined at the end of the previous meeting, and will be generate agenda items from (a) old business, (b) reports or proposals from committees, (c) suggestions from membership, either delivered prior or proposed and seconded in the beginning of the meeting. In addition, the standard agenda structure should consist of agenda review (and approval), review of notes, announcements, and a decision review and meeting evaluation at the end of the meeting. 2. In the construction of this agenda, the planner shall assign a proposed time limit for discussion on each item, and (if time allows) a presenter for each agenda item. The agenda shall be presented before the meeting, and if approved, shall be kept to strictly by the facilitator of the meeting. 3. Facilitation. One person shall be selected to neutrally execute the approved agenda within the time limits. The facilitator may also be the Agenda Planner. The role of the facilitator is to keep the conversation moving, while ensuring that discussion occurs in an orderly manner, and no viewpoints are excluded. If there is objection to the way a facilitator is handling the situation (and objection and a seconding) then the facilitator will then step down, without further discussion, and another one will be selected. If no other facilitator can be selected, by default the President and Vice President must facilitate for the remainder of the meeting. The facilitation process occurs thusly: (a) Present Proposal/Issue, and subsequently accept clarifying questions and comments. (b) Open Group Discussion (c) List all concerns, then group together related issues. (d) Discuss all issues sequentially, until all have been discussed and resolved. If all issues are resolved then the proposal is passed. 4. Mediation. Persons may be appointed to mediate discussions if it is determined necessary by the group. Such persons have the right, like that of a facilitator, to keep control of the flow of debate when necessary. Such roles include Peacekeepers, for regulation of discussion, and Advocates, to help represent minority opinions as necessary. 5. Other roles may be created by the Facilitator or group decision to aid in the facilitation process. 6. Meetings shall be run thusly: determination of decision process, selection of facilitator, agenda approval, implementation of agenda, selection of agenda-planner/facilitator for next meeting.