Stonewall
QSA (Queer Straight Alliance)
New
Mexico State University
By-laws
17th
June, 2012
Article I: Name of Organization
1.
The name of the organization shall be
Stonewall QSA (Queer Straight Alliance)
a. This
name may be changed by a two-thirds majority vote of active
members
Article II: Purpose
1.
To provide
Queer, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Asexual individuals and their
Allies in all respects, a forum in which to meet and discuss issues of mutual
concern and
interest.
2.
To organize
and promote social and cultural events to heighten the awareness of the
New Mexico State University (NMSU)
community with regards to issues of Queer
concern and acceptance.
Article III: Members and Membership
1.
Active members will be any student of
NMSU or any of its affiliated schools that fulfill the following criteria:
A. Attend
at least three meetings per semester
B. Complete
at least four hours of community service per semester. Two being for Stonewall events and two being
any other community service event.
2.
Associate members will be any faculty,
staff, and alumni of NMSU and any of its affiliated schools.
3.
Only active members will have a vote in
matters requiring one.
4.
All attendees will be considered active
members during the first month of every semester. Upon the end of the first month active
membership will either be given or denied as per the guidelines stated in
Article III Section 1.
Article IV: Elections
1.
Officer nominations will be held exactly
three weeks prior to the last meeting of the Spring Semester. Elections will follow one week later at the
last meeting of the year.
2.
Quorum must be met in order to elect new
officers.
3.
All active members may make nominations
and vote during elections.
4.
After elections, all new officers will
be provided with a copy of the by-laws.
5.
Terms will be held for one academic year
6.
In the case of unsuccessful end of
semester elections, one of the current officers will assume the presidency
temporarily. Elections will then be held within the first month of the next academic
year.
7.
Individuals nominated may vote for the
position they’re nominated for
a. They
shall be allowed to vote for themselves in officer elections
Article
V: Officers
1.
The officers of this organization shall
be:
a. President
or Two Co-Presidents
b. Vice
President
c. Secretary
d. Treasurer
2.
A Historian may be voted in if all other
positions previously mentioned are filled
3.
A PR (Public Relations) position may be
voted in if all other positions besides Historian are filled
4.
Officers shall meet at least twice a
week (unless otherwise specified) for an Executive Board meeting
5.
All officer terms will be one academic year
6.
All officers must be full time students
attending NMSU’s main campus
7.
Each officer must take a meeting with
their successor before the term ends in order to pass on any knowledge they
have obtained while in their position
8.
A training manual will be given to all
officers by their predecessors
9.
Duties of the officers:
a. All
officers are required to attend any sponsored, co-sponsored, and special events
in which Stonewall is involved. Unless
written notification is given within 24 hours.
b. President
or Co-Presidents:
i.
Oversee Programming committee
ii.
Check mailbox and e-mail account twice
weekly
iii.
Preside over Stonewall QSA meetings
iv.
Conflict management
v.
Meet once weekly with committee heads
vi.
Go to all Arts & Sciences council
meetings
c. Vice
President
i.
Oversee Public Relations committee
ii.
Meet with President weekly
iii.
Go to all Arts & Sciences council
meetings
iv.
Duties as assigned by President
v.
Preside over Stonewall QSA meetings in
the absence of the President or both Co-Presidents
d. Secretary
i.
Agenda preparation
ii.
Send weekly minutes to the e-mail list
iii.
Take and keep minutes of all meetings,
including attendance
iv.
Maintain and update membership list
v.
Maintain and update phone list
vi.
Maintain and update e-mail list
vii.
Serve as webmaster, posting minutes and
meeting times on online media
viii.
Check e-mail list, but do not respond
without permission by President
ix.
Preside over Stonewall QSA meetings in
the absence of the President or both Co-Presidents and the Vice President
e. Treasurer
i.
Maintain all financial accounts
ii.
Coordinate purchases
iii.
Oversee Finances committee
iv.
Maintain financial records through the
use of an Excel or other computer generated spreadsheet
v.
Meet with President weekly
vi.
Preside over Stonewall QSA meetings in
the absence of the President or both Co-Presidents and the Vice President and
Secretary
f. Historian
i.
Take pictures at events and upload them
to online media
1. Hand
out and take up photo release forms
ii.
Keep and update a binder of event
information (pictures, video, write ups, etc.) to be turned into a “Yearbook”
at the end of the year
iii.
Preside over Stonewall QSA meetings in
the absence of the President or both Co-Presidents and the Vice President,
Secretary, and Treasurer
10.
Officers will maintain their position as
long as they:
a. Are
full time, main campus NMSU students
b. There
is no recall for elections
c. Maintain
a GPA of 3.0
d. They
attend at least 90% of Stonewall QSA meetings
e. They
attend all Executive Board meetings, unless given prior consent
i.
In the event that an officer misses an
Executive Board meeting:
1. 1st
absence: Verbal Warning
2. 2nd
absence: Written Warning
3. 3rd
absence: Dismissal
11.
In the event an officer fails to perform
the required duties of an office, an officer recall may happen as follows
(after going through the steps outlined in Article VI, section 2):
a. A
motion for recall will be added to the following week’s agenda and nominations
for the position will be announced.
b. Elections
for the position will be held a week after the motion for a recall is
placed.
Article VI: Accountability
1.
Any incidence of slander by any active
member against another will be brought before the officers in a special
tribunal to meet within one week of the incident being brought to any officer’s
attention. If the offender is found
guilty of slander by a majority vote of active officers they may be asked not
to return to any future Stonewall meetings
2.
Any act of violence against any active
member against another will be decided in the same process as an act of slander
3.
In the case of theft against Stonewall
for any amount of money or property a special tribunal of the officers will be
called within two days of arousal of suspicion.
Law enforcement will be brought in by another officer, the advisor of
the organization, or the current director of the Sexual and Gender Diversity
Resource Center
4.
In the case of an officer misconduct or
an inability to perform their duties:
a. The
advisor shall be notified by another
officer of the indiscretion
b. The
advisor shall meet with the officer and speak with them about the issue to
determine cause
c. The
advisor shall meet with all other officers and determine the best course of
action
d. All
involved parties shall meet to determine the officer’s fate
e. In
the case of dismissal with a majority vote of officers excluding the individual
in question a recall election shall take place according to Article V, Section
11.
Article VII: University Advisor
1. The
advisor shall be a full-time faculty or staff member at the main campus of
NMSU.
2. The
advisor shall be nominated by a member and elected by a simple majority,
providing quorum is met.
3. The
advisor shall be elected each fall semester and serve for a period of one
year.
4. The
advisor may be re-elected.
5. The
advisor must attend at least two Stonewall QSA meetings a month and one
Executive Board meeting a month
6. Should
a vacancy occur, open nominations shall be held immediately, with elections
following one week later.
7. The
Advisor shall be a non-voting member (except when stated in the by-laws) and
shall have the right to attend all organizational meetings and events.
8. The
Faculty Advisor shall perform the duties outlined in the Office of Campus
Activities' Advisor Agreement form.
Article VIII: Committees
1.
An officer shall head each committee
2.
There shall be three set committees:
a. Programming
i.
Shall be headed by the President
ii.
Create programs for the Stonewall QSA
members
b. Finances
i.
Shall be headed by the Treasurer
ii.
Raises money through events,
fundraisers, etc. to pay for things needed by the organization
iii.
Works with the public and other groups
to raise money for organizations outside of Stonewall QSA
c. Public
Relations Committee
i.
Shall be headed by the Vice President
ii.
Coordinate outreach projects (minimum of
two per semester)
iii.
Advertise for Stonewall events
iv.
Coordinate projects with other groups
v.
Work with Treasurer to obtain funding
for all events
vi.
Work to spread good will among other
organizations and businesses within the NMSU and Las Cruces communities
Article IX: Meetings
1.
Regular meetings shall be held weekly.
2.
Special meetings shall be held at a time
and place to be designated upon the announcement of a special meeting.
Notification of a special meeting shall be by email at least 24 hours in
advance. Special meetings shall be held when either of the following criteria
are met along with a majority vote of all active officers:
a. Business during a meeting requires enough
attention as to merit its own meeting, or
b. An
active member sees fit to hold a meeting concerning a specific topic not addressed
during a regular meeting.
3.
Attendance will be open to anyone who
supports the purpose of the organization.
4.
Voting during regularly scheduled
meetings shall be done by paper ballot to be counted and agreed upon by members
of the Executive Board. All active
members may vote. The presiding officer
will cast a vote only if there’s a tie.
A simple majority passes all items voted upon, with the exception of
by-laws revisions (See Article
5.
Voting may not take place at special
meetings without the approval of a majority of the officers
Article X: Finances
1.
The Treasurer is ultimately responsible
for all financial transactions
2.
The amount of money kept in the checking
account shall not exceed $1,000 the rest of the money shall be held in a
savings account and will not have a cap.
3.
All withdrawals must be approved by the
Treasurer and any money must be withdrawn by an officer
4.
If the Treasurer is to withdraw funds
they must have the withdrawal approved by a fellow officer
Article
XI: Amendment of the By-laws
1.
By-laws of the organization may be
changed with a two-thirds majority vote of active members at a meeting in
which there is quorum.
2.
Any proposed change to the by-laws shall
be announced at least one week prior to the actual vote.
3.
Any change(s) in the by-laws shall
require the signature(s) of either the President or both Co-Presidents as well as the signature of the
Faculty Advisor.
_________________________________________________________Date:
___________________
President
___________________________________________________________Date:__________________
Advisor
