The University of Notre Dame College Republicans

ARTICLE I

Official Club Name

Section One. The name of this organization shall be The University of Notre Dame College Republicans.

ARTICLE II

Club Purpose

Section One. The purpose of this organization shall be to make known and promote the principles of the Republican Party among the students at the University of Notre Dame, to recruit Notre Dame students as members of this organization and as members of the Republican Party, to aid in the election of Republican candidates at all levels of government, to assist the state and national federations of College Republicans to achieve their aims and objective and to develop political awareness and leadership abilities among Republicans students as preparation for future service by them to party and to the community.

ARTICLE III

Club Membership

Section One. Membership in this organization is open to any undergraduate or graduate student who attends the University of Notre Dame or Saint Mary's College who identifies himself or herself as a Republican.

Section Two. Faculty and staff who may join do not have voting rights.

Section Three. A member will be said to be in good standing with the club provided that he or she has attended at least half of the club's functions in that academic year, and that he or she has paid the required membership fee.

ARTICLE IV

Club Dues

Section One. Dues will be set by the officers of the executive board by the first club meeting of the academic year.

Section Two. Due to the expense of events which this group will coordinate, the attendance fee will be determined by the club’s officers.

ARTICLE V

Officers of the Executive Committee and Club Advisor

Section One. The Executive Committee shall consist of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Director of Political Affairs, a Director of Social Activities, and a Freshman Representative. Only Notre Dame undergraduate students may serve on the Executive Committee.

Section Two. The President shall preside over all club meetings and Executive Committee meetings and shall represent the club in an official manner. The President shall have the task of appointing club members as heads of any ad-hoc committees which he or she sees fit to run the club efficiently. In addition, the President shall serve as an ex-officio member of all committees. The President shall also be the contact person for all official correspondence of the club, namely with contacts outside the University. If any elected positions are unfilled after the Spring Elections, the President shall have the authority to appoint these positions.

Section Three. The Vice President shall preside over all club meetings and Executive Committee meetings in the absence of the President, and in such an event, the Vice President shall assume all duties of the President at such a meeting. The Vice President shall assist the President in coordinating club affairs and shall aid in matters of budget and finance. Additionally, the Vice President shall have the authority to call emergency meetings.

Section Four. The Treasurer shall keep an accurate account of the income and expenditures of the group and shall report to the club at each meeting the current status of the club treasury when called upon to do so by the Executive Committee. The Treasurer shall also collect and deposit dues, reimburse club expenses in a timely manner, and create and submit the club budget for the following academic year with the assistance of the Executive Committee. It shall also be the duty of the Treasurer to inform the club advisor of the status of the treasury.

Section Five. The Secretary shall assist the President with the group's intraorganization correspondence, manage the club e-mail account, and manage member information along with the listserv. The Secretary shall take notes at club meetings and report them to members via e-mail. The Secretary shall also assist in club organization.

Section Six. The Director of Political Affairs shall serve as Chair of the Political Affairs Committee. The Director of Political Affairs shall be charged with keeping members politically informed and active. This includes, but is not limited to, coordinating campaign activities, rallies, and debate watches. In addition, the Director of Political Affairs shall coordinate all policy information efforts including, but not limited to, general meeting current affairs updates, creation of a regular newsletter, documentary screenings, and panel discussions on relevant issues. .

Section Seven. The Director of Social Activities shall serve as Chair of the Social Activities Committee. The Director of Social Activities shall be charged with promoting non-political gatherings and service endeavors. This includes, but is not limited to, directing all Lincoln Day Dinner planning and coordination efforts and organizing other social events such as club dinners and trips to political events. In addition, the Director of Social Activities shall coordinate all service events and charity fundraisers.

Section Eight. The Freshman Representative shall represent the freshmen students to the Executive Committee. The Freshman Representative shall be charged with recruiting freshmen members and facilitate their interest and involvement in the club. The Freshman Representative shall also assist in coordination of events and information to members, particularly freshmen. This position shall be elected by the end of September of the Fall Semester.

Section Nine. It shall be the joint duty of the President and Vice President to select a faculty member as advisor of the club. This person must be a full-time member of the faculty or administrative staff of the University of Notre Dame.

Section Ten. The term of all officers shall be from May 1 to April 30, one academic year, except in the event of impeachment.

Subsection One. The faculty advisor shall be selected with the criteria that he or she is knowledgeable in the subject of politics and is willing to put forth the effort necessary to help educate the members of the group in this subject, with the aid of the Executive Committee.

Subsection Two. The duties of the faculty advisor shall be first to advise the Executive Committee on group activities and how to achieve the goals of the organization, which have been listed in Article II. Second, the advisor shall have a record of the group's annual budget and, along with the Treasurer, shall remain informed of the status of the group's treasury.

Subsection Three. The advisor shall be an ex-officio member of the club and shall not have voting rights.

ARTICLE VI

Club Elections and Impeachment Procedures

Section One. The Election Committee shall oversee all elections procedures. The Election Committee shall be a temporary standing committee made up of officers graduating or not seeking reelection. The Election Committee members shall not have voting rights. .

Section Two. The election of officers shall take place before the SAO Club Registration Deadline in the Spring Semester, and the members of the club shall be notified of the election date at least two weeks prior to the election.

Section Three. Candidates for elected positions must declare their intent to run within 48 hours of the elections. In order to win an officer position, candidates must receive a majority of the votes from dues-paying members present at the elections meeting. In the event that no one candidate receives the majority of votes, there shall be a run-off between the top two candidates.

Section Four. Further election procedures shall be decided upon by the Elections Committee and shall be made aware to members at least two weeks prior to elections.

Section Five. The process of impeachment shall be as follows:

Subsection 1. Any elected officer of the Executive Board may be impeached for the following offenses:

1) Failure to fulfill the duties of office as stated in this Constitution.

2) Failure to repay any debts owed to the organization within one month.

3) Bringing any serious scandal and/or embarrassment to the organization.

a. This shall be defined as, but not limited to:

– Forgery or falsification of membership lists.

– Forgery or falsification of treasury documents.

Subsection 2. A charge must be made at a meeting and 2/3 of the dues-paying members present must vote to impeach the officer. Immediately following the impeachment, the election of a new officer to finish the impeached officer’s term shall take place by the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VII

Club Meetings

Section One. The Executive Committee shall determine when, where, and for what purpose meetings shall take place.

Section Two. Notification for meetings shall be given no less than three days in advance by the Executive Officers to all members of the club. In the case of special meetings, it shall be the duty of the officers to notify the members within one day of that meeting. .

ARTICLE VIII

Club Funds

Section One. When the time arises where the club needs to disburse funds for any reason, the following procedure shall be followed:

Subsection 1. Each member of the Executive Committee should have knowledge of the expenditure.

Subsection 2. The Treasurer shall have a receipt, if possible, of the expenditure and shall subsequently record the expenditure in the club's records.

ARTICLE IX

Club Constitution Amendments

Section One. Amendments to this Constitution shall be added in the following manner: .

Subsection 1. The proposed change must be presented at a club meeting.

Subsection 2. The Executive Committee shall notify members prior to said meeting of the proposed constitutional change(s).

Subsection 3. Ratification of the proposed amendment shall require a 2/3 vote of the members of the club in good standing who are present at the meeting.

Section Two. All changes to this Constitution shall then be submitted to the Student Activities Office for the purpose of updating the University's copy of this Constitution. .

ARTICLE X

Section One. The policies of the University of Notre Dame shall supersede policies of the state and national federations of College Republicans in the event of a conflict of interest.