College Democrats

College Democrats at The University of South Carolina Constitution

Ratified:

Preamble

In order to promote a better America, with equality, opportunity, and freedom within a just and strong society, we dedicate ourselves to organizing the participation of Democratic college students at University of South Carolina. In this mission, we call for full participation of all University of South Carolina students, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, physical handicap, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation.

 

Understanding the importance of participation in the Democratic Party to the preservation of our values and principles, we, Democratic college students, do hereby associate ourselves and adopt this Constitution as the University of South Carolina College Democrats.

 

Article I: Name and Purpose

 

A. Name: The name of this organization shall be the USC College Democrats, hereafter referred to in this document as the “College Democrats”.

 

B. Purpose: The College Democrats pledges itself to support the philosophy and candidates of the Democratic Party. Furthermore, the College Democrats declares its intention to support all efforts to increase the participation of college students in

Democratic affairs. To these ends, the College Democrats shall educate and train its members so that they may be better able to:

 

1. Educate students about the philosophy of the Democratic Party;

 

2. Assist in the election of local, state, and national Democratic candidates.

 

3. Affect political change on the local, state, and national level.

 

Article II: Membership

 

A. Members: Membership in the College Democrats shall be open to any college student currently enrolled in University of South Carolina who wishes to be known as a College Democrat and who has the best interests of the College Democrats and the Democratic Party at heart, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, physical handicap, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation.

 

B. Active membership in College Democrats shall be conferred upon those members who have paid membership dues and participated in an adequate number of meetings and activities.

 

C. Members will be required to update an information sheet each academic year. The information sheet will consist of basic contact information and interests. Information sheets will be used to contact members in case of absences, serious/related issues (ie. death, emergency meetings, special sessions, results, party registry, etc.), planning and implementation of policy and events.

 

D. Membership in College Democrats shall be open to all persons officially connected with the University of South Carolina-Columbia as faculty, staff, or full-time students.  Students enrolled in the spring semester under the above conditions who have pre-registered for the fall semester, as well as students enrolled in summer classes, are eligible for membership.

 

Article III: The Executive Board

 

A. Composition: The Executive Board shall be composed of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. All positions will be elected once yearly at the General Elections.

 

B. These officers will be assisted by two or more chair positions to be appointed by the Executive Board.

 

C. The Executive Board members are allowed to suggest other leadership positions as needed.  Full approval of the leadership position requires a majority vote from the Executive Board.

 

1. The number and actual roles of the committee members can be changed depending on the needs of the organization.

 

D. The Executive Board shall determine the agenda and policy of the College Democrats and coordinate all activities and events.

 

Article  IV: Duties of the Executive Board Positions

 

A. All Executive Board members must maintain active involvement in all of the College Democrats activities and endeavors.

 

B. Duties of the President. The President shall:

 

1. Be the Chief Executive Officer of the College Democrats;

 

2. Direct the agenda of the College Democrats during his or her tenure;

 

3. Act as the official representative of the College Democrats to other groups and the media;

 

4. Carry out the mandates, policies, and directives of the Executive Board;

 

5. Preside over all meetings of the College Democrats.

 

C. Duties of the Vice President. The Vice President shall:

 

1. Assist the President in the performance of his or her duties; including developing new initiatives and furthering the progress of the Executive Board and organization as a whole;

 

2. Act as President when the President is unable to perform his or her duties;

3. Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or her choosing;

 

4. Assume the position of President in the event the current President is permanently unable to perform his or her duties.

 

D. Duties of the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall:

 

1. Overseeing all Direct fundraising activities and prepare all grants;

 

2. Manage the bank account and budget;

 

3. Submit a budget proposal each semester for deliberation and approval by the Executive board;

 

4. Attend all USC Budget Meetings/Workshops;

 

4. Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or her choosing.

 

E.  Duties of the Secretary. The Secretary shall:

 

1. Keep an up to date record of all activities and meetings in the minutes.  If the                   Secretary is not present at the meeting, a member of the Executive board will take                   over the minutes. The Secretary must make every possible effort to notify the other                   members of the  Executive board if he or she will not be present.

 

2. Notify media of all events of the College Democrats in an attempt to ensure media coverage;

3. Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or her choosing.

 

4. Update all current forms of social media, such as but not limited to twitter and facebook;

5. Manage the upkeep of the College Democrats web site (www.web.sa.sc.edu/collegedemocrats), keeping it up to date, editing or replacing content when needed

Article V: Elections

 

A. Elections shall occur once a year at the last meeting of the Spring Semester.

 

B. Eligibility to run for a position and vote:

 

1. Be a member of good standing within College Democrats.

 

2. Be able to devote time and effort to their position.

C. Election Procedure:

 

1. Candidates are to be nominated at the meeting held directly before elections.

 

2. Before elections, all candidates will be given the option to give speeches stating their intent to run for office and why they are qualified for the position.  Each speech should last no more than 5 minutes.

 

3. Supporting members: Any member wishing to support a specific candidate may make a statement in support of the candidate after all candidate speeches have concluded. They are forbidden to make any derogatory statements about any candidate. Candidates are prohibited from the room during the time of supporting statements.

 

4. Vote counting and declaration of winner will occur directly after the election.  Ballots will be distributed, counted and collected by a member who is not running for office.

 

5. All voting is to be done by secret ballot.

 

Article VI: Removal

 

A. Cause for removal: Cause for removal shall be defined as malfeasance or nonfeasance of duties assigned by the Executive Board or delineated within this document, or as ineligibility for Executive Board membership pursuant to Article 2. Cause for removal shall also include grounds found by three-fourths members of the Executive Board to constitute good and sufficient cause.

 

B. Process for removal: To begin the process for removal, another member of the

Executive Board must charge the officer with the reasons for his or her removal publicly at a meeting of the Executive Board. The officer in question must be offered an opportunity to defend himself or herself at that meeting. After a period of two weeks the issue shall be put to a vote. Three-fourths members of the Executive Board must vote for removal for an officer to be removed.

 

Article VII: Vacancies

 

A. Declaration of vacancy: A vacancy shall be declared when a member of the Executive Board dies, resigns, or is removed from office. If the vacancy occurs in an Executive Board position other than the President, the Executive Board as a whole shall nominate a successor and the College Democrats organization shall vote on whether to accept it. If the vacancy is the President, then the Vice-President shall automatically be the replacement.

 

1. Special Election Voting: Voting in special elections will take place directly after the Executive Board nomination.

 

2. The nominated member must agree to accept the nomination.

 

3. Present members, excluding the Executive Board will vote yes or no to approve successor.

 

4. All voting is to be done by secret ballot.

 

5. The newly approved member will serve out the duration of the term of the formally elected officer.

 

Article VIII: Amendments

 

A. Procedure: The Constitution can be amended by a 2/3-majority vote of the Executive Board with 2/3-approval by the active membership.

 

B. After being ratified, the constitutional document in its entirety will be signed and filed with the College Democrats of America.