PSU Chase Constitution

7/30/2019 PSU Chase Constitution

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The Pennsylvania State University Storm Chase Team(PSUChase)

Date of Origin: September, 2012

I. Purpose

A. To increase awareness and our knowledge of severe weather, notifyofficials and those in harms way, expand diversity within ourmeteorology department, and offer immediate relief if necessary.

B. A primary goal of PSUChase is to give active members the opportunityto participate in a storm chasing trip at the beginning of summerbreak.

II. Membership

A. At all times, the majority (50%+1) of all active members shall befull-time, officially registered undergraduate students at UniversityPark.

B. The membership shall be divided into active and associate members.1. Only currently registered undergraduate students in the

college of Earth and Mineral Sciences are eligible for activemembership. Preference will be given to meteorologystudents.i. In order to be considered an active member, a student

must attend at least two consecutive meetings.2. All others interested in furthering the purpose of PSUChase,including but not limited to, other currently registeredundergraduate students not in the college of Earth and MineralSciences, faculty, staff, and community members, shall beassociate members.

3. Only active members may hold office, vote, preside, officiate, orsolicit funds on behalf of the organization.

C. There shall be at least 10 active student members at all times.

D. The club reserves the right to expel a member who is not followingthe policies of the organization with a super majority vote ofattending members.1. If a member has reason to expel another member, that member

shall voice their concerns to the Executive Board. The boardwill then decide, by majority vote, whether or not to hold avote on the matter of expelling the member under concern.

2. Quorum for such a vote shall be 75% of active members.


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3. The super majority needed to expel a member shall be at leasta 2/3 majority, or 67%+1.

E. In the case of violations of constitutional policies and/or a conflictbetween members within the organization, the highest-ranking officer

that is not involved in the conflict, with the assistance from theadvisor (if applicable), will facilitate an informal mediation procedure.1. The mediator shall:

i. Arrange for a mediation meeting outside of the regularorganization meeting.

ii. Explain their role as the impartial party and theobjectives of the mediation.

iii. Set ground rulesiv. Allow each party to express their views.v. Collect any available resources that might assist in a

resolution (financial documents, emails, photos, etc.)

vi. As a third party, do notsuggest resolutions but ratherleave the responsibility for the resolution with theparties involved.

vii. Facilitate goal setting to a win-win resolution.

F. New Membership and Recruitment1. Any and all new members will be given full disclosure during

recruitment, including but not limited to the disclosure of:i. New Membership Manualii. Schedule of New Member Events and Activitiesiii. A list of responsibilities

iv. A copy of the University Hazing Policy2. All members, including but not limited to new members and

recruits, reserve the right to refrain from participating in anyactivities without consequence, based upon personal orreligious beliefs, personal values, or moral reserve as definedby the member.

3. Any and all interaction/activity between members and/or newmembers shall be limited to guidelines stated by universitypolicy, as well as local, state, and federal laws.

4. There shall be no application process for membership inPSUChase. If necessary, there may be an application process

for the clubs trip during summer break.


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III. Offices

A. Only full-time, officially registered active student members shall beeligible to serve as appointed or elected officers. Officers will servefrom the August after their election to the next August. No student

graduating before the trip may be an officer this includes seniorsgraduating in May of that years trip. Students graduating before thetrip maybe committee chairs.

B. Offices1. President Chief Officer

i. The President shall be ultimately responsible for theoverall operation of PSUChase.

ii. The President shall chair all Executive Board meetingsand General Assembly meetings.

iii. The President may, with the consent of the Executive

Board, call a mandatory or emergency meeting of eitherthe Executive Board or the General Assembly.

iv. The President, on no less than a monthly basis, shallinform the General Assembly of the state of PSUChase,detailing any problems, accomplishments, and newideas or policy changes occurring in the organization.

v. The President, along with the Vice President, willcoordinate guest speakers and arrange activities for themeetings.

2. Vice President Vice Officeri. The Vice President shall assist the President in

day-to-day operations.ii. The Vice President is responsible for forming and

maintaining good relations with sponsors or otherrelated groups.

iii. The Vice President, along with the President, willcoordinate guest speakers and arrange activities for themeetings.

3. Secretary Officer of Membershipi. The Secretary is responsible for keeping accurate,

up-to-date records of PSUChase and its members.ii. The Secretary is responsible for all PSUChase archiving.

iii. The Secretary is responsible for recording minutes fromExecutive Board and General Assembly meetings.

iv. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing theWebMaster committee chair, who will be responsiblefor updating the website as necessary.

4. Treasurer Officer of Fundsi. The Treasurer is responsible for all organizational

funds.


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ii. The Treasurer shall oversee the Fundraisingcommittee chairs.

5/6. Officer of Trip Affairs (2)i. Both Officers of Trip Affairs are responsible for:

1) planning the trip. This includes daily itineraries,lodging, food, and possible tour options on days whenthere are no storms.

2) overseeing the safety and efficiency of the clubstransportation.

3) providing information necessary for drivers to safelyand efficiently transport club members.

4) all problems that arise regarding transportation.

5) overseeing the travel routes to determine the safestand most efficient method of chasing a storm.

6) ensuring that each vehicle is equipped with mapsrelevant to the area.

C. Executive Board1. All members holding office shall be part of the Executive Board.

Committee chairs are notpart of the Executive Board.2. All members of the executive board shall have a reserved spot

on the chase trip for the upcoming spring, but are not requiredto attend. The only officer that must attend the trip is at leastone of the Officers of Trip Affairs.

D. Filling unexpired vacancies1. Nominations are taken at the meeting following the vacancy.

Elections also occur at this meeting.2. When nominations are being taken to fill unexpired terms, any

member of the club may nominate another member by simplyraising his/her hand and indicating such when recognized.

3. If a majority (50%+1) is not obtained by any of the candidates,

the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes iseliminated, and the active members shall vote again.


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IV. Meeting

A. PSUChase will meet at least two times per semester.

B. Adequate advance notice must be given to all active members before a

meeting is held. This is the responsibility of the Secretary.

C. Members shall be notified of all meetings by email.

D. Meeting frequency may be changed by the President.

E. The President may call special meetings should he/she see fit.

V. Voting

A. Only active members may vote.

B. Quorum for all voting shall be a simple majority of active membership.

C. A simple majority (50%+1) shall be necessary for all voting. Thismajority shall be derived from the active members present.

VI. Finances

A. All organizational funds are to be deposited and handled exclusivelythrough the Associated Students Activities (ASA).

B. PSUChase will not have an off-campus account.

C. PSUChase shall collect dues that will not be excessive.

D. The Executive Board will determine the dues.

E. Dues shall be collected once per semester.

F. The officers of PSUChase may spend up to 20% of the organizationscurrent funds without the approval of the general membership. Thisdoes require the approval of the Executive Board by a simple majority

vote.


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VII. Elections

A. Nominations and elections shall take place during the month of April.

B. This meeting shall be publicized in the meetings preceding it. This is

the responsibility of the Secretary.

C. Election codes:

1. Any member may nominate an active member for any office byraising his/her hand at the appropriate time and beingrecognized by the presiding official. Next, the active membersshall cast secret, written ballots for the candidate of theirchoice. Each active member shall have one vote per office.

2. If 50%+1 majority cannot be obtained, the candidate with thelowest number of votes shall be dropped from consideration,

and the active members shall vote again.3. In the event of a tie, the ballot shall be recast.

D. All officers serve for a term of one year, beginning at the first generalmeeting in the fall semester and ending at the first general meeting ofnext fall semester.

E. The current Secretary will have the responsibility of counting theballots for all the offices except for the Secretary and determining thenext officers for those positions. For the position of Secretary, thecurrent President will have the responsibility of counting the ballots

and determining the next Secretary.

D. Voting for the next year (August August) will occur at a generalmeeting in the spring semester before the application process for thatsprings trip occurs. The newly-elected President and Vice Presidentare required to attend the trip that year. If potential candidates forthese two positions cannot attend the trip that year, they are noteligible for these positions.

VIII. Amendments to the Constitution

A. An amendment to this constitution may be proposed (in writing) byan active member to the Executive Board at any time.

B. After the amendment has been submitted in writing, the changes willbe displayed, debated, and voted upon (subject to quorum) at the nextmeeting of the General Assembly. Should the amendment pass, it willbe added to the Constitution under the heading List of Amendments.


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C. If the proposed amendment is rejected through the above-stated

process, it may not be proposed again until the following semester.

D. All amendments are subject to the approval of the Office of Student

Activities.

IX. Parliamentary Authority

A. Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised, by Sarah Corbin Roberts shallbe used in all cases not covered by this Constitution.

X. Accessibility of this Constitution

A. Copies of this constitution shall be made available to anyone uponrequest. The most recent copy shall also appear on the PSUChase

website.

XI. Advisor

A. PSUChase must retain an advisor at all times. The advisor will be afull-time Faculty or Staff member of The Pennsylvania StateUniversity, University Park campus, and will be chosen by theorganization.

B. The Executive Board will choose an advisor through a simple majorityvote.

XII. Impeachment

A. An elected officer of PSUChase may be impeached for intentionalgross violations of the PSUChase constitution.

B. If a motion for impeachment is brought forward to and approved bytwo-thirds of the Executive Board, an emergency mandatory meetingof the General Assembly shall be called. The incriminator must makethe motion in person at one of the Executive Board meetings.

C. The impeachment charges shall be tried by a quorum of the GeneralAssembly. The tried officer and the incriminator may present theircases in person before the vote is taken.

D. If two-thirds of the General Assembly members present find the triedofficer guilty, the officer is stripped of his/her office, removed fromactive status for the semester, and prohibited from holding electedoffice in PSUChase thereafter.


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XIII. By-laws

A. PSUChase, through due process, may create by-laws, within thebounds of the constitution, to govern itself in an efficient, responsible,and respectable manner.

B. A by-law may be proposed by any member of the organization and bepresented, in writing, to the Executive Council.

C. Time shall be set aside for the proposal to be read and debated at thenext regularly scheduled meeting of the Executive Council. Theproposal shall be voted on. If approved by a two-thirds majority of theExecutive Council present, the proposal shall become a by-law of theorganization. The Executive Council reserves the right to amend theproposal.

D. The constitutionality of a proposal or by-law shall be determinedabsolutely by the Executive Council. If a majority of Executive Councilmembers find evidence of the unconstitutionality of a proposal or by-law, the proposal or by-law is immediately voided.

XIV. Safety Considerations

A. Regarding vehicles:

i. If a member wishes to use his/her parents car for the stormchasing trip, that member and his/her parents must complete a

waiver that gives the member clear consent to borrow the car.ii. The driver is responsible for his/her vehicle.iii. All drivers must have a valid drivers license from a U.S. state

or a province of Canada. Anyone who has more than onespeeding ticket and/or serious violations cannot be a driver.

iv. All drivers must have previously completed a self-procuredMVR check from the state in which their license is issued.

v. It is highly recommended that all vehicles being used have aninsurance policy covering $100,000 per person and $300,000per vehicle in the case of an accident.

vi. All vehicles must consciously maintain a distance of at least 1

mile from any storm while chasing. See Section XV forthe actions we will take in the event of an extreme situation.

B. Regarding trip members:

i. Only active members are eligible to go on the trip.


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ii. Depending on the amount of funding, interest in the trip, andhow much money members are willing to pay out of their ownpocket, not all active members may be able to go.

iii. If this occurs, there will be an application process to determinewho can go on the trip.

iv. All students selected to go on the trip must complete a formrecognizing (at a minimum) that the student is responsible forhis/her own safety. If any injury occurs, The PennsylvaniaState University is not held responsible.

v. Students who graduated during the previous semester mayaccompany the team on the chase trip but will be responsiblefor their own safety and will not be funded by the Universityor PSUChase.

C. There will be at least one general meeting at the end of the springsemester to discuss the upcoming trip. At this meeting, the Executive

Board will stress caution and safety and will discuss hazards to avoid.

XV. Safety Precautions for Extreme Situations

A. It is not in the interest of PSUChase members to intercept any storm atany time. If a vehicle comes within an unsafe distance (closer thanone mile) to a storm, then the following precautions will be made.

i. Given any severe weather condition, everybody will staywithin the vehicle until the danger passes.

ii. Drivers will respect road conditions and attempt to navigate

everyone out of harms way.iii. All vehicles will stay together for the duration of any chase and

will continue to stay together in the case of an extremesituation.

iv. Should someone be injured, we will immediately cease chasingand contact emergency personnel in the area.


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This constitution has been ratified by the Executive Board and has taken effect as ofApril 15, 2013.

______________________________________ ________________________________________Matt Flournoy Jacob DeFlitchPresident Vice President

______________________________________ ________________________________________Secretary TreasurerBrian Adams Matt Brothers

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______________________________________ ________________________________________Web Team Committee Chair Fundraising Committee ChairsDevin Boyer Rob Englund

Ben Reppert

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________________________________________Officers of Trip AffairsLexie HerdtJohn Paul Nicola

Documents

PSU Chase Constitution