PREAMBLE
We, the members of Model United Nations, to fully realize our purpose, do hereby adopt and establish this constitution as the guiding instrument of our organization.



ARTICLE I
Name
The purpose of Model United Nations shall be to involve interested students in debate about current issues that affect the international community, and educate them about the organization of the United Nations.



ARTICLE II
Membership
Section 1. Membership in Model United Nations shall be limited to persons officially connected with the University of South Carolina - Columbia as faculty, staff, or 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 summer membership.

Section 2. Membership in Model United Nations shall not be limited to persons based on their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or veteran status. It is the policy of the University that an individual's sexual orientation be treated in the same manner.

Section 3. Active membership in Model United Nations shall be conferred upon those members who, in addition to the above requirements, have paid dues before the established deadline, maintain a high level of attendance at scheduled meetings, and are actively involved in fund-raising activities.



ARTICLE III
Organization
Section 1. The officers of Model United Nations shall be elected by active members. Any student seeking to hold or holding office must maintain the cumulative GPR requirement for graduation and remain in good standing in their respective college.

Section 2. The elected officers of Model United Nations shall consist of a Secretary-General, Under-Secretary-General, Secretary, Treasurer, and Fund-Raising Chair, who shall serve as the Executive Committee.

Section 3. Elections:
A. All officers shall be elected on or before April 1 of each year, and shall serve one-year terms. Newly elected officers will take office at the end of each academic year.
i. Should there be any vacant offices, an election for only those offices will be held on or before October 1. Officers elected at this time will serve for the remainder of the academic year.
ii. In the event of the resignation or removal from office of an officer, other than the Secretary-General, the candidate with the second most votes from the most recent election shall take his place. Should this candidate decline to fill said office, or be otherwise unavailable, elections shall be held within two weeks of the original officer's resignation or removal from office.
B. All officers shall be elected by a simple majority of the votes cast. Only active members are eligible to vote. If no candidate for an office receives over one-half of the votes cast, then only the top two candidates will be placed on a second ballot for that office until a majority is reached.
i. At the discretion of the Secretary-General, the office of Fund-Raising Chair may be filled by two or more students. However, students must run for this office individually.
C. A quorum of one-half (1/2) of the active members shall be reached for all meetings where officer elections take place.
D. All elections shall be conducted by secret ballot. The ballots shall be tabulated by at least two members of the Executive Committee.
i. Write-in votes for active members shall be accepted and tallied. Write-in votes for anyone who does not meet the criteria for active membership shall be disregarded and discounted from the number of votes. Should this result in a failure to reach quorum, further votes shall be conducted until quorum is met.

Section 4. Officer Duties:
A. The Secretary-General shall preside at Model United Nations meetings and act as a spokesperson for the organization, and have the authority to appoint all committee chairpersons and to create new committees should the need for new committees arise.
B. The Under-Secretary-General shall attend all meetings, unless unable as a result of an unavoidable conflict in schedule, for the purpose of remaining informed about the current proceedings of the organization. The Under-Secretary-General shall preside at Model United Nations meetings in the event of the Secretary-General's absence. Should the Secretary-General resign before the completion of his term of office, the Under-Secretary-General shall serve as Secretary-General for the remainder of the academic year.
C. The Secretary shall be responsible for documenting all Model United Nations business and correspondence. Such responsibilities of the Secretary include, but are not limited to, recording minutes at all Model United Nations meetings and maintaining up-to-date files for all members, which will include meeting attendance, fund-raiser participation, conference performance, and adherence to deadlines.
D. The Treasurer shall handle all financial transactions of Model United Nations, including, but not limited to, the collection of dues, the payment of fees associated with attending conferences, the purchase of materials necessary for maintaining meeting efficiency. The Treasurer shall record all transactions both in a tangible logbook and an electronic document.
E. The Fund-Raising Chair shall be responsible for formulating plans to increase club revenue, and presenting these ideas, and those of others in the organization, to the members of Model United Nations. After fund-raising plans have been debated and approved by both the members and the Executive Council, it shall be the responsibility of the Fund-Raising Chair to oversee their effective implementation.

Section 5. The Faculty / Staff Advisor shall be nominated by the Secretary-General and approved by a majority vote of all officers. The Faculty / Staff Advisor must be selected from full-time faculty or administrative staff members at the University. The Advisor, along with the Executive Council, shall serve as a liaison between Model United Nations and the University of South Carolina administration. The Advisor shall also aid in the transition between officers. The Advisor will be invited to and notified of all Model United Nations meetings and activities, though attendance is not mandatory.



ARTICLE IV
Dues and Finance
Section 1. The Executive Committee will establish the dues for Model United Nations within the first month of the fall semester. The Treasurer must receive payment of dues within two months of the first day of the fall semester in order for a student to be an active member of Model United Nations. The Secretary shall maintain a record of students who have paid dues before this deadline.

Section 2. Model United Nations will finance its activities through membership dues, fund-raising projects, and may apply for funds from the Senate Finance Committee after it has been registered for one year and has become eligible for such funding.

Section 3. Should dues and fund-raising not sufficiently cover the fees required to attend a conference, members planning to participate in the conference may be asked to provide additional funding later in the year.



ARTICLE V
Meetings
Section 1. The first meeting of the fall semester shall be held within two weeks after classes start.

Section 2. Regular meetings shall be held at least twice per month during the school year at a time set by the Executive Council and agreed upon by the active members.

Section 3. The basic agenda at regular meetings shall be as follows:
A. Call to Order
B. Roll Call / Attendance Sign-In
C. Executive Council / Committee Reports
D. Old Business
E. New Business
F. Announcements
G. Mock Conference Session / Committee Meetings
H. Adjournment

Section 4. Action on any business, old or new, requires a quorum of one-half (1/2) of the active members of the organization.



ARTICLE VI
Removal from Office
Section 1. Any Model United Nations officer whose dereliction of duty adversely affects the operations of the organization shall be subject to disciplinary action or removal from office.

Section 2. A written request stating the reasons for dismissal and signed by at least one-tenth (1/10) of the active members of the organization must be submitted to the Secretary-General or the Under-Secretary-General before the Call to Order at a regular meeting. After the Adjournment of that meeting, the Executive Council, minus the officer whose removal is being deliberated, shall vote upon the validity of the request. A simple majority is required to accept or reject the request for dismissal.
i. Upon the rejection of a request for dismissal of an officer, no subsequent requests, pertaining to the same officer, will be accepted for two weeks.
ii. Upon the acceptance of a request for dismissal of an officer, a copy of the request must be submitted within two days to the Faculty / Staff Advisor.

Section 3. At least three days before the date of the next regularly scheduled meeting, written notification of the request and reasons for dismissal must be given to the offending officer, who should come to the next meeting prepared to defend his dereliction of duty.
i. The offending officer will be given at least ten minutes before the meeting to present his case before the Executive Council.
ii. All Executive Council members must be present for the offending officer's hearing, and the Secretary shall be responsible for accurately and objectively recording the defense presented by the offending officer.
iii. After said hearing, the Executive Council shall present to all members the written request for dismissal and a summary of the hearing. The offending officer will then be given no more than five minutes to present his case to the members present at the meeting.

Section 4. A one-half (1/2) vote of the Executive Council, a one-half vote (1/2) of all present members, and the approval of the Faculty / Staff Advisor is required to remove the officer from office.



ARTICLE VII
Constitutional Amendments
Section 1. The Constitution is binding to all members of Model United Nations but is not binding unto itself.

Section 2. Amendments to the Constitution may be submitted in writing by any active member of Model United Nations before any regular meeting.
i. Proposed amendments must be accepted by a simple majority of the Executive Council and approved by the Faculty Staff / Advisor.
ii. Following the approval of an amendment, all active members will be notified of its submission and asked to attend the next regularly scheduled meeting.

Section 3. A proposed amendment shall be presented at the first meeting after its submission at which two-thirds (2/3) of the active members are present.

Section 4. A proposed amendment will become effective after receiving a three-fourths (3/4) majority vote at a meeting at which at least two-thirds (2/3) of the active members are present. Such a vote cannot take place under at least five days after the presentation of the amendment.



ARTICLE VIII
Ratification
The undersigned student(s) of the University of South Carolina, after a three-fourths (3/4) affirmative vote of active members, do hereby agree to follow the guidelines of this Constitution

Signed: ____________________       Date: ____________________