German Club Constitution

Objectives:

  1. To provide a forum where students can converse in and improve their German.
  2. To stress the importance of language in the Humanities and familiarize students with the advantages of a bilingual education.
  3. To assist in the transition process of students returning from abroad so that they can share their experiences with colleagues and serve as a cross-cultural understanding.
  4. To assume responsibility for sponsoring events with emphasis on German, Austrian, and Swiss culture.
  5. To provide a forum for students interested in German, Austrian and Swiss culture, language, and civilization. Also to draw attention to the Germanic heritage of St. John’s, St. Benedict’s, and Stearns County.
  6. To allow students with no German background tea learn more about the culture and Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Meetings:

  1. Meetings will be held on a once, monthly basis, more if the need should arise. The Executive Board, consisting of the President, Vice—President, Treasurer, and Secretary will meet on a more frequent basis if necessary.

Members:

The club is open to all students at St. Ben’s and St. John’s.

  1. Members need not have knowledge of the German Language, but should have a desire to learn about the language, culture, and the people of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Amending Policy:

If a member feels that something in the constitution needs to be changed they must:

  1. Bring the matter up at a meeting and propose what change should be made.
  2. The matter must then be discussed in an orderly fashion and all input from all attending members must be considered.
  3. A vote will be taken at the next meeting consisting of all attending members of the voting club.
  4. For the amendment to pass, it must receive a majority vote from all attending members.

Officers:

  1. The officers consist of the President, Vice President, Treasurer and a Secretary (duties can also be handled by the other officers).
  2. They are voted in by the club in at the end of the spring semester.
  3. They will hold office for one academic year and will be responsible for any planning that should be necessary in the summer.
  4. If it is so deemed that an officer is not doing the job entrusted to them, the matter must be taken to the attending club members and a 2/3 majority must vote for the removal of the officer to have the officer removed from office. Good reason must be given before this is taken in front of the attending voting membership.
  5. Duties of the President:
    The President oversees all activities. The President is in charge of business meetings and events. The President has supreme authority and should lead and oversee all events and meetings.
  6. Duties of the Vice-President:
    The Vice-President assumes the position of absent officers if they are not able to attend a meeting or function. The Vice-President works with other officers in the planning of events.
  7. Duties of the Treasurer:
    The Treasurer handles all financial aspects of the club. The Treasurer applies for funding following Co-Funding Board guidelines and submits monthly audits.

Advisor:

A member of the CSB/SJU faculty should be selected to serve as the clubs advisor.

Article X:

The German Club admits students without regard to their race, religion, color, sex, age, sexual orientation or national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and other activities, generally accorded or made available to members of the organization.

Article XI:

The German Club considers hazing to be a degrading and destructive activity which is inconsistent with the standards of this student organization. The German Club recognizes the dignity of every person and opposes all forms of hazing.