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The Constitution of the Miami University College Libertarians

Article I: Organization Name

The name of the organization shall be the Miami University College Libertarians; also known as MUCL.

Article II: Membership

Section 1: Scope of membership

The organization's membership is open to all persons associated with Miami University, including faculty, staff and students of all Miami University campuses.

Section 2: Membership Dues

Membership dues in the amount of $5.00 must be collected to activate membership status.

Section 3: Voting Members

Only dues-paying undergraduate and graduate students may vote for officers on policy and constitutional changes.

Section 4: Non-Discrimination

The organization will not discriminate nor tolerate any discrimination, on the basis of race, religion (or lack thereof), gender, sexual orientation, age, handicap, or national origin and ethnicity.

Section 5: Membership Termination

A voting membership is terminated when: the member notifies the secretary that he or she is no longer a member, dues are more than 60 days in arrears, or the member has been expelled by a two-thirds vote.

Article III: Office of the President

Section 1: Powers and Duties

The president shall have these powers and responsibilities:

1. Preside over all organization meetings as chair.

2. Give a status report at the first general meeting each semester on the status of the organization.

3. Appoint a committee chairperson.

4. Oversee all non-officer selection/rejection votes.

Section 2: Term of Office

The president will serve as president for an entire academic year, through the end of summer session IV.

Article IV: Office of the Vice President

Section 1: Powers and Duties

The vice president shall have these powers and responsibilities:

1. Perform the duties of the president in the absence of the president.

2. Act as primary liaison to the University and other organizations.

Section 2: Term of Office

The vice president will serve as vice president for an entire academic year, through the end of summer session IV.

Article V: Office of the Treasurer

Section 1: Powers and Duties

The treasurer shall have these powers and responsibilities:

1. Collect dues and donations from organization members and others.

2. Maintain the financial records of the organizations.

3. Give a financial status report at the first general meeting of every semester.

4. Keep the president informed as to fiscal condition.

5. Other duties as delineated in The Student Handbook.

Section 2: Term of Office

The treasurer will serve as treasurer for an entire academic year, through the end of summer session IV.

Article VI: Office of the Secretary

Section 1: Powers and Duties

The secretary will have the following duties:

1. Keep a record of all votes at meetings.

2. Keep the official copy of the constitution.

3. Appoint a second if unable to perform these duties.

Section 2: Term of Office

The secretary will serve as secretary for an entire academic year, through the end of summer session IV.

Article VII: Elections

Section 1: How Chosen

The candidates for any office must be nominated and seconded at a general meeting by the last such meeting in the month of March. The election will be held during the first general meeting in April.  The officer must win by a majority vote among all votes cast by voting members.  If in the case of an n-way election where no one achieves a majority: The candidate with the least number of votes will be dropped from the ballot, and another voting round will commence until a majority vote is achieved.  No new nominees may be accepted in these subsequent ballots.

Section 2: Election oversight

The vice president, in conjunction with the faculty/staff adviser(s) will oversee the presidential election.

The president, in conjunction with the faculty/staff adviser(s) will oversee the all other elections.

Section 3: Eligibility

Only student, dues-paying members of the organization may hold any elected office.

Section 4: Recall

An officer may be recalled from the office by a three-quarters majority vote among all votes cast in a recall vote. In addition, the total vote count, for or against, must be greater than two-thirds of all eligible voting members before a recall is achieved.

Section 5: Mid-Year Graduation

In a situation where an officer graduates mid-way through the academic year, a new officer shall be elected in the month before that officer graduates. This new officer will serve the remainder of the academic year until the end of summer IV.

Article VIII: Committees and Committee Chairpersons

Section 1: Purpose, How Formed

Committees are formed to handle special events, needs, or problems of the organization. They may be formed by the president, treasurer or by general members upon notification of the president.

Section 2: Eligibility

Any member of the organization, including non-voting members, may serve as a committee chair.

Section 3: How Chosen, Recall

The president will appoint a committee chairperson. Any voting member may challenge this appointment at a general meeting.  If the challenge is seconded, it goes to immediate vote among the voting members present.  The committee chairperson is removed if a majority vote sides in favor of the challenge, unless the president does not assent.  The membership may still override this veto by a two-thirds majority vote.  The president must then appoint another chairperson.

Section 4: Duties

The Chairperson shall preside over all committee meetings, or appoint a second if unable to preside at a meeting.  The chairperson will report all findings and progress to the president, or to the general membership.  The chairperson also selects other members to serve on the committee.

Section 5: Termination of committees

Committees may be terminated by the committee chairperson’s, by the president, or by a majority vote among the votes cast by voting members.  If the president terminates a committee, a two-thirds majority vote among votes cast by voting members will override the termination.  The committee in question chairperson's decision to terminate the committee is final.

Article IX: Organizational Finance

Section 1: Fiscal Responsibility

The treasurer is the final arbiter of all financial matters of the organization.  The treasurer shall also be the person ultimately responsible for justification of the organization's fiscal condition.

Section 2: Dues

The treasurer will collect the dues at the beginning of each semester.  Only dues-paying student members are eligible to vote in organizational matters.  The amount of dues will be determined by the general membership at the beginning of the academic year.

Article X: Amendments and By-Laws

Section 1: Normal amendments to the constitution

This constitution may be amended by a three-quarters majority vote among all votes cast by voting members.  In addition, all votes, for or against, must comprise greater than two-thirds the eligible voters in the organization.

Section 2: Special amendments to the constitution

The president and/or the vice president, with the approval of the faculty/staff adviser, without a general membership vote, may amend the constitution only in the instance where a part of the constitution is at variance with the policies of Associated Student Government and/or Miami University.  Only the parts at variance with these policies may be changed in this manner.

Amendment 1: Publicity Chair

Section 1: Powers and Duties

The Publicity Chair will have the following duties:

1. Create and distribute advertisements for meetings and programs.

2. Form a publicity committee, if needed, upon notification of the president.

Section 2: Term of Office

The publicity chair will serve as publicity chair for an entire academic year, through the end of summer session IV

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© 2002 MUCL

Last updated 11-2001

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