Math Society Club Constitution
College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Constitution
Math Society
Article I: Name and Purpose
Section 1: Name
The name of the club is the CSB/SJU Math Society.
Section 2: Purpose/Mission
The Math Society shall strive to expand the educational and social opportunities available to mathematics majors and minors and to all those interested in mathematics. The Math Society acknowledges that as liberal arts institutions, these schools should provide ample occasion for learning experiences outside of the traditional classroom setting. The Math Society shall therefore sponsor events which both formally and informally allow students to explore topics in mathematics not always covered in the traditional curriculum. This organization shall also sponsor speakers and panel discussions which bring the applications of mathematics in the "real world" to light which allow for the exploration of possible career avenues for students of mathematics. Socially the Math Society is responsible for increased informal, personal interaction of its members, hence fostering student and student-faculty relationships.
Section 3: Affiliation:
The Math Society is not affiliated with any national or state organizations.
Article II: Membership
Section 1: Eligibility for Membership
The Math Society is open to any CSB/SJU student with mathematical interests. Any CSB/SJU student can be a full member with full voting privileges. Non-students [e.g., faculty/staff] are not allowed to be full members, but they can be non-voting, affiliate members.
Section 2: Voting Member Criteria
A CSB/SJU student may become a voting member by attending 50% of the meetings and showing a genuine interest in Math Society events.
Section 3: Removal of Members
If a member does not attend 50% of the meetings or does not continue to show a genuine interest in Math Society events then the member will be notified that he or she is not remaining in good standing. The member then has 1 month to make significant changes. If nothing has changed the other members of Math Society can vote to remove the membership. If a majority votes to remove, then the member is removed.
Article III: Officers
Section 1: Officer Qualifications
All officers must be current CSB/SJU students. In order to be an officer the student must be a mathematics major with a genuine interest and excitement for mathematics.
Section 2: Elected Officers
Co-Funding Board Contact-Chris Beckstrand and Heath Stoll
Joint Club Board Contact-Dave Goblischer
Math Society President
Math Society Vice President
Math Society Treasurer
Section 3: Duties of Officers
All officers are employed for the academic school year.
Math Society President:
Preside at meetings, call special meetings, primary contact with the institutions, runs the election process, take and distributes minutes of all club meetings, records and keeps records, and notifies members of meetings, in charge of e-mails and mass-e-mails
Vice-President:
Assume President's duties in his/her absence, schedule meeting/practice rooms/facilities, primary contact with the JCB, plans member/officer training programs, in charge of posters and on campus publicity
Treasurer:
Keeps all financial records, submits monthly audit statements to CFB contact (this is a mandatory requirement if you receive CFB funds), notifies organization of financial issues, prepares budget/allocation requests
Section 4: Vacancy in Office
In the event a vacancy should occur (resignation or removal), officer succession will be in the order of the chain of command. The Vice-President will become President and the Treasurer will become Vice-President and then a special election will be held to appoint a new treasurer or replace the missing officer.
Section 5: Removal of Officers
A petition to remove the officer in question must be submitted to another officer. This petition must contain the signatures of 50% of voting members. When such petition is received, the officer shall call a meeting of the club to determine whether or not the officer should be removed. Grounds for removal are to presented by the officer in charge at a regular or special club meeting. The officer in question shall be provided an opportunity to present a defense either in person or in writing. A quorum shall be present, and a 50% vote of the voting members shall decide upon removal.
Section 6: Appeal of Removal of Officers
A removed officer can appeal within one month of his or her removal by writing to the club's other officers and asking permission. This will be discussed with the faulty advisor of the club and then the members will take a vote to the appeal.
Article IV: Elections
Section 1: Nomination Process
By April 1st the mathematics professors and club advisor will nominate students for next years officers. Officers can also be nominated by another member. Once there has been a nomination, there must be a second and then the member is allowed to be on the ballot.
Section 2: Election
On the last meeting before April 1st a vote of the nominations will take place. A quorum must be present and the vote will take place by a raise of hands. There is no limit to the number of terms an officer can serve. These elections must take place before April 1st. The majority nomination wins.
Section 3: Special Elections
Special Elections will take place at the next meeting possible. This requires a quorum to be present and nominations will be made at this time from the current members. This must occur within 2 weeks of the vacancy occurring.
Article V: Advisor
Section 1: Selection
The Math Society will choose an advisor that is an employee of CSB or SJU. This person shall be solicitated by incoming officers and the position should be filled by May 1. Incoming officers will draw up an ordered list of faculty members they would like to have as advisor, either by consensus or by voting. The faculty member at the top of the list should then be offered the position and so on until a faculty member agrees to take on the duties of advisor. At this point the chair of the Mathematics Department will be notified. The Chairperson may veto this decision when he/she feels that the department will suffer as a result of the particular faculty member taking on the extra duties of Math Society advisor. Outgoing officers have no role in soliciting and securing an advisor for the following year.
Section 2: Duties
The duties of the faculty advisor are to be a resource person for the officers, assist the president and vice-president in their duties, and to be the liaison between the mathematics department and the Math Society and between the administrations of St. John's and St. Ben's and the Math Society.
Article VI: Meetings
Section 1: Regular Meeting/Club Activities
Business meetings will be regularly scheduled monthly. These can be formal or informal and may have speakers present. The members will be notified by e-mail a week before each event. Special events will get multiple e-mails and members will know about them.
Section 2: Special Meetings
The President may call special meetings in the event that they deem necessary. This could be because a special speaker is coming to campus or extra planning needs to be done for upcoming events. Special meetings will be run in a similar manner to regular meetings.
Section 3: Parliamentary Authority
The meetings will be very informal. The president will set the agenda and those wishing to express a concern can raise their hand and wait to be called on by the president.
Section 4: Quorum*
A quorum is considered 2/3 of the membership and must occur in order for official club business.
Article VII: Committees
Section 1: Committee Structure
As of right now we do not have any committees. If the officers deemed a committee necessary they have the power to create any structure they deem necessary and pertinent for the situation.
Section 2: Special/Ad-Hoc Committees
The officers can also create special/ad-hoc committees if needed for special upcoming events or speakers.
Article VIII: Finances
Section 1: Co-Funding Board
The Math Society will apply for CFB monies and that if allocated resources, the Math Society will follow all CFB and institutional regulations.
Section 2: Honorariums
Officers or members will not be granted honorariums.
Section 3: Dues (optional)
Members of Math Society are not required to pay dues.
Article IX: Amendments
Section 1: Ratification
The constitution may be ratified or amended by a quorum vote of its members.
Section 2: Submittal to Department of Student Activities and Joint Club Board
Any changes made to this constitution must be submitted to the Department of Student Activities and the JCB.
Article X:
The following is a required statement for all organizations:
The Math Society 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 following is a required statement for all organizations:
The Math Society considers hazing to be a degrading and destructive activity which is inconsistent with the standards of this student organization. The Math Society recognizes the dignity of every person and opposes all forms of hazing.
Date of recognition/revision: March 25, 2008