|
Ferris Reel Society
Constitution Preamble This constitution is meant to clearly define the purpose and specific rules and procedures of the Ferris Reel Film Society. Article I - Name Section 1. The name of this organization shall be Ferris Reel Film Society, hereafter referred to as Ferris Reel. Section 2. The officers of Ferris Reel shall make up the Executive Board of Ferris Reel, hereafter referred to as the 'Board'. Article II - Purpose Section 1. The purpose of this organization shall be to show films to the student population of Columbia University at a low admission price. Section 2. The Executive Board shall perform general tasks and make basic decisions necessary for the operation of Ferris Reel. These tasks and decisions are more formally defined in Article V. Article III - Membership Section 1. The requirements of membership are as follows:
Section 2. Only members who are undergraduate students in Barnard College, Columbia College, or the School of Engineering and Applied Science may vote or hold office.. Section 3. The privileges of membership are free admittance to each film showing and the opportunity to vote on which films will be shown during the following semester. Section 4. Membership may be revoked by the Board for not fulfilling the requirements of membership defined in Section 1 above. Article IV - Meetings and Procedures Section 1. Films should be shown approximately once a week. Additional show dates may be added depending on budget and availability concerns. Section 2. One mandatory meeting will be held at the beginning of each semester, and at this meeting postering areas will be assigned. Other meetings can be scheduled depending on need, and at the discretion of the Board. Section 3. A meeting will be held at the end of each semester to decide upon films for the following semester. At this meeting any film suggested by any member, unless it has been shown in the previous 3 years, will be added to a list. After all suggestions have been made, each member of the club will vote on each film, and the films with the most votes shall be shown the following semester. If this meeting is in the spring semester, officers for the following academic year shall also be elected in accordance with the procedures defined in Article V. Section 4. Non-trivial policy decisions will be decided upon by a one half majority vote of the members. Trivial policy decisions will be made by the Board, and the triviality of such decisions will be at the Board's discretion. Article V - Officers Section 1. The organization shall have the following officers: Chair, Vice-Chair, and Treasurer. The term of office for each officer shall be the span of one academic year, and no officer is limited to any number of terms. Section 2. Officers shall be elected in the last meeting of each spring semester. Any member eligible to hold office (see Article III, Section 2) may announce their candidacy or be nominated by another member. In the case of nomination, the consent of the candidate must be acquired before voting. After all candidates are established, they are given the opportunity to speak briefly about why they should be elected, and then voting begins. During voting, all candidates are excused from the room, and the candidate with the most votes shall hold the office for the next year. Section 3. The duties of each officer are as follows: Chair-Treasurer: conducts meetings, decides upon the film schedule, orders and returns films, forwards phone messages to members, and all other general tasks that arise. Vice-Chair: makes the posters for each film, makes copies of the posters for each film, makes the film calendar at the beginning of each semester, makes copies of the film calendar. deals with all financial aspects of the club (including but not limited to arranging for bill payment and keeping financial records). In addition, all officers are responsible for conducting each film showing and arranging for members to take tickets, clean the auditorium between showings, and make announcements before each film. Article VI - Officer Removal or Resignation Section 1. The members of the Board may be impeached and removed by the membership for failing to meet their responsibilities defined above. Such impeachment requires a majority vote of the members. Section 2. Any officer may resign at any time if he or she feels that he or she is no longer to effectively able to meet their responsibilities. Section 3. In the event of a mid-term vacancy of an elected officer, a special meeting shall be called, and the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with the election procedure defined in Article V. Article VII - Amendments to this Constitution An amendment may be proposed by any member by submitting such a proposal to the Chair. In order to be accepted, this proposal must be voted for by two-thirds of the voting membership in a vote to be taken the next meeting. Article VIII - Ratification This constitution shall be established by a vote of a three-fourths majority of the membership of the organization. |