Penn State SpeakOut

Constitution approved by general membership on April 17, 2006

1) Article I. Purpose

a) SpeakOut is a political action organization dedicated to protecting human dignity by advocating for fair and just treatment of all Penn State community members, inclusive of gender identiy, gender expression, and/or sexual/affectional orientation.

b) We believe all forms of bigotry—racism, homophobia, sexism, classism, heterosexism, anti-Semitism, ageism, ableism, religious/spiritual intolerance, etc.—function to the detriment of our society, and we will attempt to work with other groups to combat hate and intolerance in all its forms, while fostering dignity and affirmation for all people.

c) We recognize that not all discrimination is overt. Though institutionalized inequalities such as sexism, racism and heterosexism may often go unnoticed by large portions of our society, these and similar, interdependent social injustices exist and must be identified and eradicated. We acknowledge our duty to fight for social justice.

d) Our goal is to improve Penn State and move it closer to its mission of improving the lives of the people of Pennsylvania, the nation, and the world.

f) SpeakOut will not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, race, age, national origin, disability, religion, creed, veteran status or political affiliation.

2) Article II. Membership

a) Active membership in SpeakOut is restricted to currently registered undergraduate students of the Pennsylvania State University.

b) Active membership in SpeakOut is gained by paying a five-dollar fee per semester. If the fee cannot be paid by a potential member, the Treasurer and Secretary may waive it.

c) Geneal Membership:

(1) 50%+1 of the general membership must be currently registered undergraduate students.

(2) General membership will consist of all others interested in furthering the purposes of SpeakOut including undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, staff, and community members.

(3) General members may not hold office, vote, preside, officiate or solicit funds on behalf of SpeakOut.

3) Article III. Officers

a) Only active members are eligible to hold office.

b) The Executive Board shall consist of a president, a vice-president, a treasurer, a secretary, and the advisor(s).

c) General Officer Information:

(1) Officers shall attend all SpeakOut general and executive meetings unless extenuating circumstances exist. In such cases, another officer must be notified in advance and assume the absent officer's duties for the meeting that is missed.

(2) The absence of an executive board member from three executive meetings or two consecutive general meetings in a semester will result in the position held by that executive member being declared vacant and elections will be held according to Article IX.

(3) Officers are responsible for all specified duties contained within this constitution.

(4) Neglect of any or all duties may result in impeachment

(5) Impeachment:

(a) Any active member may initiate impeachment proceedings.

(b) An officer will be impeached by a 66% majority vote of the active members present.

(c) An impeached officer will be subject to a removal from office vote at the first general meeting following his/her impeachment.

(6) Removal from office:

(a) Only impeached officers will be subject to a removal from office vote.

(b) A quorum of 50% of the active members will be necessary for a removal from office vote.

(c) An impeached officer will be removed from office by a 66% majority vote of active members present.

d) Elected officers and their duties:

(1) President: Duties include, but are not limited to:

(a) Defining, with membership input, how the purposes of SpeakOut will be achieved.

(b) Finding and appointing a webmaster, who shall: Maintain the group webspace providing information on meeting times and locations, post minutes online, and post all event information.

(c) Identifying projects and goals that further the mission of SpeakOut.

(d) Acting as spokesperson for SpeakOut to the media, administration, and other organizations.

(2) Vice-President: Duties include, but are not limited to:

(a) Planning two retreats throughout the academic year. Shortly after elections, one retreat will be held for the executive board. A second mid-term retreat could be open to other active members at the discretion of the Vice President.

(b) Being responsible for internal development and retention.

(3) Treasurer: Duties include, but are not limited to:

(a) Keeping and maintaining all current financial records.

(b) Recording all financial transactions.

(c) Organizing and planning all fundraising activities.

(4) Secretary: Duties include, but are not limited to:

(a) Obtaining rooms and other venues for SpeakOut activities.

(b) Maintaining records of membership status.

(c) Keeping and maintaining all official records, excluding financial records.

(d) Recording and filing the minutes of all meetings.

(e) Recording attendance at all meetings.

(f) Distributing minutes and announcements to members via electronic mail.

(g) Send all necessary website updates to the webmaster.

e) The term of the office for all elected officials of SpeakOut will be one year beginning the week after office elections are conducted.

f) Officer elections shall follow the procedure outlines in Article IX.

g) In the event of a vacancy in any office, the procedure outlined in Article IX for nominations and elections will be followed. Until the position is filled, the remaining officers will take over duties of the vacant office. When the new officer is elected, s/he will serve out the term of the office.

4) Article IV. Advisor(s)

a) The advisor(s) will be elected by the procedure outlined in Article IX.

b) The advisor(s) must be a faculty or staff member of the Pennsylvania State University.

c) The advisor(s) will, by definition, be an ex-officio member of the Executive Board.

5) Article V. Standing Committees

a) The following standing committees will exist:

i) Publicity, responsible for:

(1) Creating public awareness in the community and university of issues relating to SpeakOut’s goals.

(2) Establishing a media presence and contacts.

(3) Advertising for events and meetings.

ii) Community Outreach, responsible for:

(1) Creating connections and allies within the community and the university.

(2) Networking with progressive organizations both on and off campus.

(3) Obtaining information on other progressive events.

(4) Networking with other campuses/universities.

(5) Reaching out to allies and those who are currently apathetic toward issues relevant to SpeakOut.

iii) Expansion, responsible for:

(1) Developing rewards and incentives—within the university structure and within SpeakOut for being progressive.

(2) Educating the membership on political activism and campus activities.

(3) Researching community and university issues and reporting possible areas for improvement to organization.

b) Standing Committee Heads:

i) Must be active members.

ii) Cannot also serve as President, Vice President, Treasurer, or Secretary.

iii) Will serve as voting members of the Executive Board

iv) Will be appointed by the Executive Board, in an effort to ensure that all committee work aligns with the missions of the SpeakOut as outlined by the elected executive board.

v) Will attend all general meetings and all executive meetings.

vi) The absence of a committee head from three executive meetings or two consecutive general meetings in a semester will result in the position held by that committee head being declared vacant and an election will be held according to Article IX.

vii) Will coordinate activities of the committee.

viii) Will be coordinated by the President and Vice-President as outlined in Article III, section E.

c) If committees have only an active committee head, then the responsibilities of the committee fall solely to that committee head.

d) Impeachment:

i) Any active member may initiate impeachment proceedings.

ii) An standing committee head will be impeached by a 66% majority vote of the active members present.

iii) An impeached standing committee head will be subject to a removal from office vote at the first general meeting following his/her impeachment.

e) Removal from office:

i) Only impeached standing committee heads will be subject to a removal from office vote.

ii) A quorum of 50% of the active members will be necessary for a removal from office vote.

iii) An impeached standing committee heads will be removed from office by a 66% majority vote of active members present.

6) Article VI. Committees - Ad Hoc

a) Committees will be established by the Executive Board and will remain in existence until their appointed task is completed, at which point they will dissolve.

b) Committee Heads:

i) Cannot also be officers.

ii) Must be active members.

iii) Will be appointed by the Executive Board.

iv) Will coordinate all activities of the committee.

v) Will be supervised by an Executive Board member.

c) The number of committees will depend upon the needs of the organization and the number of members.

d) If committees have only an active committee head, then the responsibilities of the committee fall solely to that committee head.

7) Article VII. Meetings

a) At least six (6) general meetings must be held each semester.

b) General meetings will be held weekly unless cancelled by the Executive Board.

c) An Executive Board meeting will occur within seven (7) days prior to each general meeting unless cancelled by the Executive Board.

d) Adequate advance notice of meetings and cancellations must be given to membership.

8) Article VIII. Voting and General Business

a) A general vote is defined as any that deals with routine business.

b) A quorum of 33% of the active membership will be required for a general vote.

c) A simple majority (50% + 1) of the active members eligible to vote who are present will be necessary to pass any motion.

9) Article IX. Elections

a) Nominations of officers and standing committee heads for the following year will be held during a general meeting during the month of March, as chosen by the Executive Board. In the event of a vacancy in any office, nominations will be held immediately.

b) Elections will be held at the first general meeting following nominations.

c) Election codes:

i) The quorum to conduct nominations and elections shall be 50% of the active membership.

ii) A simple majority of the members eligible to vote will be necessary to elect, even if there is only one nominee for an office.

iii) The presiding officer shall not nominate individuals and shall vote only in a tie-breaking situation.

iv) Any member may nominate an active member for any office or standing committee head position. The active members shall cast secret, written ballots for the candidate of their choice, which shall be counted by the advisor. Each active member shall have one vote per office.

v) If a simple majority is not obtained, the candidate with the lowest number of votes shall be dropped from consideration, and the active members shall vote again.

10) Article X. Finances

a) All funds are deposited and handled through the Associated Student Activities office.

b) Dues are not a consideration of general membership.

11) Article XI. Amendments

a) Any active member may propose an amendment to the constitution.

b) A quorum of 50% of the active membership must be present to vote on the amendment.

c) A 66% majority of the active members present will be required for the passage of an amendment.

d) The vote on an amendment must take place at the first general meeting after the amendment was proposed.

e) All amendments are subject to the approval of the USG Supreme Court.

12) Article XII. Parliamentary Authority

a) The newest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall be used in all cases not covered by this constitution.

13) Article XIII. Copies of this Constitution

a) Copies of this constitution shall be made available to anyone upon request.