Current demographic trends predict that the United States of America shall be faced with a severe shortage of scientists and engineers, and this shortage is predicted to be most severe in the Biological Sciences. Therefore, we, the undersigned students, hereby do form the Columbia Biology Club to promote interest in the Biological Sciences and to aid those students currently interested in said sciences.

Article I

Section 1. This organization shall hereby be known as the Columbia Biology Club and shall hereafter be referred to as the C.B.C.

Section 2. The officers of said organization shall hereby form the Executive Board and shall be to hereafter as the "Board."

Article II

Section 1. The Columbia Biology Club shall be formed for two purposes. One, the C.B.C. shall attempt to promote interest in the Biological Sciences among the general student body. Two, the C.B.C. shall attempt to aid those students currently interested in the aforementioned sciences.

Section 2. The Board shall provide the leadership and guidance necessary to allow the C.B.C to fulfill its aforementioned goals.

Article III

Section 1. To become a member of the C.B.C. one must be or have been enrolled as a student in Columbia University or its affiliated schools. No other qualifications shall be required for membership.

Section 2. Suffrage shall be granted to any member of the C.B.C. regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. However, only students attending Barnard College, Columbia College, or the School of Engineering and Applied Science may hold office.

Section 3. All members of the C.B.C. shall be granted the right to attend any C.B.C function or to participate in any special program organized by the C.B.C.

Section 4. Membership shall be revoked by the President with consent of three-quarters of the Executive Board if a member is found to be involved in activities that are detrimental to the best interests of the C.B.C.

Article IV

Section 1. The general membership of the C.B.C. shall meet bimonthly. Additional meetings shall be convened at the behest of the President if deemed necessary.

Section 2. All policy decisions shall be made by a majority vote of the Board. Each Board member has the ability to propose legislation for debate before the Board. Each proposal shall be seconded by another Board member and is then open to debate. The debate shall continue until the President wishes to stop it and to commence a vote by calling the roll. If the President believes the current topic to be a sensitive issue then the President shall call for a secret ballot in place of calling the roll.

Article V

Section 1. The C.B.C. shall elect the following officers:

1. President
2. Vice-President
3. Treasurer
4. Secretary
5. Publicity Chairperson

These officers shall be elected by the general membership in elections held each mid-December. Each candidate must be nominated for election by one member and have the nomination seconded by a second member other than him or herself. To gain election, each candidate requires a plurality of the total number of votes cast. As previously mentioned, only students at Barnard College, Columbia College, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science may seek election to any Board position except President. Presidential candidates must have attended at least three C.B.C. activities each of the previous two semesters, and they must be Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, or Biopsychology majors.

Section 2. The President shall be responsible for all of the day-to-day operations of the club and may delegate the necessary authority to ensure that all tasks are properly performed. The Vice-President shall be responsible for aiding the President in running the day-to-day operations of the club and shall also take over the duties of President in the event that the President becomes ill or takes a leave of absence. The Treasurer shall be responsible for allocating funds for the various activities sponsored by the C.B.C., for ensuring that the funds are properly used, and for compiling a list of all funds spent. The Secretary shall be responsible for arranging and organizing lectures and trips, calling the general membership to inform them of upcoming events, keeping the minutes of each Board meeting, and for updating the C.B.C. bulletin board. The Publicity Chairperson shall be responsible for designing and posting signs which announce upcoming events as well as placing notices in the Columbia University publications.

Section 3. Each elected officer shall remain in his or her position for the course of two semesters. Officers may be re-elected for as long as they remain students at the aforementioned schools.

Article VI

Section 1. Additional officers shall be appointed as deemed necessary by the elected officer of the Executive Board.

Section 2. Officers of the Executive Board shall be impeached for either of the following reasons: (l) if an officer does not attend three quarters of the scheduled C.B.C activities without providing a valid excuse the President shall initiate impeachment procedures; (2) if an officer is found to be involved in activities that are detrimental to the best interests of the C.B.C the President shall initiate impeachment procedures. Once the President initiates impeachment procedures, he or she must immediately convene a meeting of the Executive Board to consider the evidence both for and against impeachment. The accused officer shall be granted a chance for rebuttal after all of the evidence has been presented. After the accused officer completes his or her rebuttal, the Board shall vote upon the officer's guilt or innocence. If three-quarters of the Board favors impeachment, all of the evidence shall be presented to the general membership at an emergency meeting. A two-thirds vote in favor of impeachment shall be required to remove the accused officer.

Section 3. If a mid-term vacancy occurs among the elected officers, the President shall appoint a qualified member to the vacant position, and the appointee shall be confirmed by a majority vote of the Board. If the Presidency becomes vacant, the Vice-President shall fill this vacancy as stated in Article V, Section 2. If the Vice-Presidency becomes vacant, then a three-quarters vote of the Executive Board shall be required to confirm the Presidential appointee.

Article VII

Section 1. There shall be two standing committees of the C.B.C. The first shall be the Publicity Committee and the second shall be the Activities Committee.

Section 2. The Publicity Committee shall aid the designing, printing, and posting of the various advertisements for the C.B.C. -The Activities Committee shall be responsible for all of the necessary preparations for each event.

Section 3. Committee members shall be both selected and removed by the officers who head their respective committees.

Section 4. Additional Committees shall be formed by the officers of the Board if deemed necessary. The Board need not approve the establishment or abolishment of committees not included in Section 1.

Article VIII

Section 1. By-laws of the C.B.C. and the Executive Board shall be established through precedent and shall be altered through majority vote of the general membership and Executive Board, respectively.

Article IX

Section 1. Amendments may be proposed by any member of the C.B.C. at any general or Board meeting. The amendment shall be passed by either a three-quarters vote of the Executive Board or a two-thirds vote of the general membership.

Article X

Section 1. This Constitution shall be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Columbia Biology Club.