The purpose of the Penn State College Republicans is to
foster and encourage the activities of the United States
Republican Party, assist in the election of Republican
candidates to local, state, and national office, and
formulate and administer programs aimed at involving
students in said Republican party.
On behalf of the club, welcome to
the Pennsylvania State University College Republican
Webpage. Please feel free to look around the site. The Penn
State College Republicans organization was founded in March
of 1983 by a group of conservative students. Their mission
for the club was to do exactly what was stated above, and it
reads so as the first paragraph in our club's constitution.
We, as the current members of the club, strive to live up to
and exude that mission in everyway possible. This webpage is
just one of the many steps we are taking to inform our
generation of the ideals of the Republican Party and lead
them into the Twenty-first Century
The Constitution
The Pennsylvania State University College Republicans March 1983
Revised November 2005
Revised September 2006
Article I. Purpose
A. Statement
1. The purpose of the Penn State College Republicans, henceforth referred
to as the “CRs” is to make known and promote the principles of the
Republican Party throughout the Penn State University campus and
community, to aid in the election of Republican candidates at all levels of
government, and to formulate and administer programs aimed at involving
students in the Republican Party.
Article II. Membership
A. The membership shall be divided into active and associate members.
1. Only currently employed faculty, staff, and currently registered students
shall be eligible for active membership. The majority of the active
members must be at least fifty percent plus one of currently registered
undergraduate students.
2. All others interested in furthering the purpose of the CRs shall be
admitted as associate members, by the approval of the officers. Associate
members may not hold office, vote, preside, officiate, or solicit funds on
behalf of the organization. Associate members may be present during
executive session with the approval of the officers.
B. Active Membership
1. Any member shall be considered active if they have paid dues and meet
the following criteria:
a. They have attended at least three regular meetings in one
semester.
b. If an individual is an active member the previous semester then
they retain their active membership for the first four consecutive
meetings of the next semester.
c. They are a verifiable member of the Republican Party, except
per the approval of the Chair.
d. They are a member of a standing committee and attend at least
one committee meeting per academic semester.
C. Membership Rights
1. All members, including but not limited to new members and recruits,
reserve the right to refrain from participation in any activities without
consequence, based upon personal/religious beliefs, personal values, or
moral reserve as defined by the member.
2. Active membership is required, but may not be the only requirement, to
run for office, to chair a committee and to vote in any election or decision.
3. Any and all interaction/activity between members and/or new members
will be limited to guidelines stated by university policy, as well as local,
state, and federal laws.
4. A definition of personal rights, and a copy of the University Hazing
policy, prescribed by Policies and Rules for Student Organizations will be
available for members.
D. Membership Removal
1. Any member can be expelled for cause.
a. Cause shall include but is not limited to actively working against
the interests and efforts of the CRs and displaying disloyalty to the
Republican party.
2. A motion for expulsion must be countersigned by an officer, who shall
in turn inform the club at the next regular club meeting. The member
against whom the motion for expulsion has been raised will have an
opportunity to defend themselves verbally or in writing at the next club
meeting. A motion for expulsion shall require a 2/3 vote among the active
membership to pass.
a. Expulsion is defined as a prohibition from participation in any
function of CRs, attendance at any meeting, or association with the
club. This sanction will last for a minimum of one year. Other
sanctions may be recommended and applied according to the
active membership body.
Article III. Officers
A. Eligibility for Officers
1. Only full-time undergraduate members shall be eligible to serve as
appointed or selected officers in the CRs. Any member that wishes to run
must attend at least five meetings during the current school year. The
Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are elected.
B. Offices
1. The responsibilities of the Chair are:
a. To be familiar with the operations of the College Republicans
and Republican Party on the chapter, local, state, and national
levels.
b. To schedule, announce, preside, and maintain order and decorum
at all chapter meetings.
c. To enforce and promote enforcement of the constitution of the
CRs.
d. To assume such duties as may be imposed by official majority
vote of the active membership.
e. To disseminate all pertinent information received from the
College Republican National Committee and the Pennsylvania
Federation of College Republicans to the other officers and
membership.
f. To maintain close contact and communication with the other
elected officers and chapter advisor on a regular basis.
g. To act as a general representative of the CRs, except in cases
where authority is delegated to another officer or member.
h. To inform the membership and advisor of all actions taken.
i. To maintain an appropriate website that aids in the efforts of the
CRs.
j. To act as parliamentarian, unless discharged to the prescribed
elected officer.
2. The responsibilities of the Vice-Chairman are:
a. To be familiar with the operations of the College Republicans
and Republican Party on the chapter, local, state and national level.
b. To serve as an advisor to the Chair.
c. To assist the Chair in the oversight of all committees.
d. In the event of constitutional amendments being committed, to
chair the Constitution Committee and arrange for the handling of
all proposed amendments.
e. To preside over chapter meetings in the absence of the Chair.
f. To assume any duties per the request of the Chair.
3. The responsibilities of the Treasurer are:
a. To keep a balanced account of all CRs financial transactions.
b. To act as the ASA representative.
c. To collect dues as prescribed by the officers.
d. To chair the Finance committee.
e. To provide a report of all fiscal matters to the club as requested
by any active member.
f. To assume any duties per the request of the Chair.
g. To chair any meetings at which neither the Chair or Vice-Chair
is in attendance.
4. The responsibilities of the Secretary are:
a. To record minutes, which shall include attendance lists, at all
club meetings.
b. To coordinate the taking of minutes, which shall include
attendance lists, at all committee meetings.
c. To maintain records of minutes and attendance lists from all club
and committee meetings in a public area.
d. To verify that quorum is reached before any vote is taken in any
club meetings.
e. To maintain all attendance records and an accurate record of the
membership status of all members.
f. To make any pertinent information known and available to
active members before the next club meeting, preferably via
website or list-serve.
g. To assume any duties per the request of the Chair.
h. To chair any meeting at which the Chair, Vice-Chair and
Treasurer are absent.
C. Auxiliary Officers
1. The responsibilities of the Executive Director are:
a. To assist the Chair in any and all of his or her duties.
b. To assume any duties per the request of the Chair.
c. The Executive Director is appointed by the Chair and confirmed
by a simple majority of the active membership.
2. The responsibilities of the Parliamentarian are:
a. To act as the final interpretation of the Constitution and
Parliamentary law unless expressly contradicted by either of the
aforementioned texts and concurred by the Chair and the
Vice-Chair if the Chair has discharged his duties as
Parliamentarian.
b. To have a copy of the CRs Constitution and Roberts Rules of
Order, as stated in Article XIII, at every business meeting.
c. In case of absence, the Parliamentarian’s authority and
responsibilities are reserved for retroactive execution.
d. The Parliamentarian is appointed by the Chair and confirmed by
a simple majority of the active membership.
D. Terms
1. All officers serve a term of approximately one year, except those
officers elected to an unexpired term, whose term shall subsequently end
at the next annual scheduled election.
E. Filling unexpired vacancies:
1. Any officer wishing to vacate their position shall remain in office for no
less than two regular club meetings following submission of their intent to
resign. The Chair, or highest ranking officer, shall inform the membership
that a special election will be held. Nominations shall occur at the meeting
after notification. Elections to fill this unexpired term shall occur at the
following meeting.
2. All other procedures for these special elections shall be prescribed by
Articles V and X.
F. Executive accountability
1. The general membership may order the officers to take or to refrain
from a specific course of action relating to the business of the club by a
simple majority vote.
Article IV. Meetings
A. Meetings
1. The CRs shall meet weekly during Fall and Spring semesters unless
noted by the chairman, not including finals weeks. No official meetings
are to be scheduled for Summer or inter-session semesters.
2. Every reasonable effort must be made to notify the membership of the
location and time of regularly scheduled meetings and of any changes to a
meeting schedule.
3. Emergency meetings may be called by the Chair with at least 24 hours
notice.
a. Only the specified business may be discussed in an emergency
meeting.
b. Less than 24 hours notice may be given at the discretion of a
majority of officers. In the event the Chair cannot or is unwilling to
call an emergency meeting, a simple majority of officers can also
call an emergency meeting.
4. 2/3 of Active Members may submit a written petition to the Chair
requesting an emergency meeting. The Chair may not ignore such a
petition.
Article V. Voting
A. Requirements
1. Only active members, as defined in Article II, may vote.
2. Active members may vote by proxy for elections, constitutional
changes, main motions from a previous meeting which appear on the
current meeting’s agenda, and on pending main motions which appear on
the current meeting’s agenda.
a. Proxy votes must be placed on a sheet of paper that has the
office being voted on and the person being voted for or the main
motion upon which a vote is being held.
b. The proxy vote must then be placed in a sealed envelope that has
been signed by the active member voting by proxy and given to the
highest ranking eligible officer.
-Officers shall be ineligible if they are running for the
office upon which the proxy vote is placed or if their
impeachment or expulsion from the organization is to be
decided in the decision toward which the proxy is used.
c. All proxy votes will be opened in the presence of the
membership at the meeting in which the election takes place. Also,
all proxy votes must be kept separate from the remainder of cast
votes.
d. In the case of a tie vote count, the proxy votes must be counted
again as before in the run-off election. In the event that a person
who receives a vote by proxy is eliminated from the run-off
election, that proxy vote, for that eliminated person, is disregarded.
3. Amendments must be passed by a 2/3 vote.
Article VI. General Business Meetings
A. Meeting Business
1. The quorum needed to conduct official business is thirty-three percent
of active members. All motions shall pass based on those present and
voting.
Article VII. Finances
A. Funds
1. All funds are to be deposited and handled through the Associated
Student Activities (ASA) office in 240 HUB.
B. Dues
1. This organization shall collect dues that are not excessive.
2. Dues are a condition of active membership, the amount of which will be
decided at the discretion of the Chairman and subject to club review upon
request.
3. Dues may be paid at any time and collected only once per semester.
Article VIII. Committees
A. There shall be three standing committees:
1. College Republican Committee for Recruitment (CRCR) shall be
charged with the responsibility to seek and enlist active members.
a. The committee shall prescribe the means for election of their
officers.
b. The committee will be required to meet at least once per
academic semester not during regularly scheduled CR meetings.
c. A formal written report must be submitted from the committee to
the Chairman every semester regarding the activities of the
committee, which is to be presented to the club during a general
meeting.
d. The committee shall be required to retain, at minimum, twentyfive
percent of active members.
2. College Republican Committee on Finance (CRCF) shall be charged
with the responsibility to find and secure funding sources and compile a
budget.
a. The committee’s permanent presiding officer shall be the
Treasurer of the CR’s.
b. The committee will be required to meet at least once per
academic semester not during regularly scheduled CR meetings.
c. A formal written report must be submitted from the committee to
the Chairman every semester regarding the activities of the
committee, which is to be presented to the club during a general
meeting.
d. The committee shall be required to retain at minimum twentyfive
percent of active members.
3. College Republican Committee for Campaigns and Elections (CRCPE)
shall be charged with the responsibility coordinating efforts for
Republican candidates for office and gathering information concerning
candidates both seeking the Republican nomination and local, state, and
national office for the purpose of a formal club endorsement.
a. The committee’s permanent presiding officer shall be the
Chairman of CRs.
b. The committee will be required to meet at least once per
academic semester not during regularly scheduled CR meetings.
c. The committee will submit all finding on candidates in a written
report during a general meeting for consideration of endorsement.
d. The committee shall be required to retain at minimum twentyfive
percent of active members.
B. Ad Hoc Committees:
1. The Chairman shall have the authority to establish all committees or
working groups as necessary and proper.
2. The Chairman shall have the authority to appoint a presiding officer of
each ad hoc committees unless specified by motion.
3. The Chairman shall have the authority to remove any member from a
standing or ad hoc committees.
Article IX. Advisor
A. Eligibility
1. This organization may retain an advisor who is a member of the
university community, a verifiable member of the Republican Party, and
who shall be retained annually by a vote of the active membership.
2. In the event of a vacancy in the advisor position, it is the duty of the
Chairman to nominate a replacement. The club will then confirm the
nomination by a majority vote.
3. The advisor shall not be considered an active membership, but shall
retain the right to be present on the floor during executive session.
B. Rights
1. The Advisor has the right to make a statement at the call to order and
before the adjournment of all general meetings.
2. The advisor shall have the right to be recognized to speak after
the motion to move the previous on all main motions. Otherwise,
the advisor may not address the membership during debate.
3. The Advisor must be informed of all general and committee meeting
times.
4. For the purposes of removing an advisor, the steps to impeach an officer
must be followed.
Article X. Elections
A. Elections
1. Nominations for officer elections will be opened the first regularly
schedule meeting after the spring semester break, except in the case of
filling an unexpired vacancy.
2. Nominations shall be closed at the next regular meeting and elections
shall be held at that meeting.
B. Election Code
1. A simple majority is needed to elect.
2. Any active member may nominate another active member, who meets
the requirements of the office, by recognition of the presiding official. The
nomination must be seconded. The nominee must accept the nomination to
be placed on the ballot. A mandatory presentation period is required of
every candidate before the vote, not to exceed five minutes but to be used
at the discretion of each candidate. Finally, the active members shall cast
secret, written ballots for the candidates of their choice. Proxy votes shall
be opened, separately counted, and tabulated at this time. Each active
member shall have one vote per office.
3. If a simple majority cannot be obtained, the candidate with the fewest
votes shall be dropped from the ballot, and the active members shall vote
again. Proxy votes for persons dropped from the ballot shall be
disregarded and cannot be changed.
4. The ballots must be counted by the highest ranking officer who is not
seeking election and advisor. The results must be made public
immediately after counting.
5. Before entering office, all officers shall take the following oath with
their respective witness: “I, (officer’s name) do solemnly swear to
faithfully execute the office to which I have been duly elected, so help me
God.
6. Officers shall take office the next regularly scheduled meeting
following the election.
Article XI. Amendments
A. Procedure
1. Amendments to this constitution may be introduced at the conclusion of
any meeting. Voting shall occur at the meeting following its introduction
and be considered pending business upon the call to order.
2. Amendments made by a constitutional committee may be voted on at
the meeting they are introduced.
Article XII. Removal of an Officer
A. Procedure
1. An elected officer may be impeached for cause at a general business
meeting by a 2/3 vote of active members present, at which time an officer
retaining the confidence of the club will notify all active members.
2. Cause shall include, but is not limited to, actively working
against the interests and efforts of the CRs, displaying disloyalty to
the Republican Party, or failure to discharge the responsibilities of
their office.
3. Following the impeachment, the impeached officer shall have at least
one week, or until the next general business meeting to prepare a defense
before a vote is taken by the general membership to confirm or reject the
impeachment. During this week the officer(s) impeached will be
considered relieved of all club duties and stripped of title until the final
vote.
4. The majority to confirm an impeachment is 2/3 of all active members
present. If an impeachment is confirmed, the officer in question is only
relieved from the duties of their former office, and is still considered an
active member.
5. All other procedures not specified here for the voting on confirmation of
impeachment shall be governed by Article V and X.
6. Votes shall be conducted by secret, written ballot, without exception.
Article XIII. Parliamentary Authority
A. Governing Authority
1. The most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, by Sarah Corbin
Roberts, shall be used in all cases not covered by this constitution.
Article XIV. Copies of Constitution
A. Location
1. Copies of this constitution shall be on file and made available to anyone
upon request by going to the Center for Student Engagement.
2. Copies will also be available upon request to the vice-chairman.
