(amended 13 Feb. 2003)
The name of this organization shall be ECO-OSU
The education of the University community in:
a. environmental issues and concerns effecting the local, national, and
international environment.
b. conservation of natural resources.
The active participation of Members in:
a. education of the university community.
b. conservation of natural resources.
Membership shall be open to Oklahoma State University students who meet the minimum standards as required in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Governing Student Behavior.
A “member” is someone meets the above requirements, and has paid current dues. A member is entitled to a voice in decision-making processes.
The officers of this organization shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Outreach Coordinator. Additional officers for additional positions will be elected at the regular election time, if deemed necessary by the existing officers.
All officers must attend at least three-fourths of all meetings during his/her term. The exception to this rule shall be for documented emergency situations, such as a doctor's visit for illness or family funeral. Terms shall not be for more than one school year in length. No one may assume more than one office at a time, unless there are not enough people eligible and willing to be officers. No one may be reelected to the same office, unless there are not enough people eligible and willing to be officers. There is no limit to the number of terms a member may serve provided that they are reelected properly. Officer terms shall become effective immediately after election, unless otherwise noted by the current President.
Officers must retain a GPA of at least 2.5 and be enrolled in a full course of study (as defined by in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Governing Student Behavior) to maintain their position.
The President shall preside at business and regular meetings, create and dissolve ad hoc committees as required, prepare meeting agendas, call special meetings, mediate, delegate work to committees or group members as necessary, and provide equal opportunity for members to express their opinions. The President is also responsible for reviewing group budgets created by the Treasurer, and assisting the Treasurer with budgets as necessary.
The Vice President shall assist the President in all that is required by the President to properly conduct meetings and act for the President if the President is unable to attend meetings or unable to perform the duties of the office of President. The Vice President will also update/maintain the scrapbook, and update/maintain the written group history. The Vice President is responsible for filing any paperwork for the group with the Student Government Association (except the budget), Campus Life office, and other centers on and off campus (such as the City of Stillwater, Post Office, etc.). The Vice President will take on the Outreach Coordinator duties if that office is vacant.
The Secretary shall record the minutes at all regular meetings, keep a copy of those minutes, and publish a copy of those minutes on the group web site. The Secretary shall also assist the President in maintaining order during meetings, and assume the Vice President's role if he/she is absent or unable to fulfill his/her duties of office. The Secretary will also help the President develop meeting agendas as necessary.
The Treasurer shall maintain an accurate record of all expenditures and income by the group. The Treasurer shall receive monies for the group, and keep records of business and fundraising activities. The Treasurer will make available the financial books and other group financial records for audit upon request by other officers or upon request by the majority of group memberships present to vote on the matter. The Treasurer shall give financial reports at each group business meeting, unless there was no change in group financial status since the previous report by the Treasurer. The Treasurer is also responsible for developing a budget proposal to present to the group each semester by the second regular group meeting. The Treasurer shall also appeal to the Student Government Association for any monies the group shall need for its semester budgets. Suggested changes in the budget can be made by any group member. If there is any serious dispute on how group money should be spent, the matter shall be resolved by a majority vote of the officers, with the President breaking any ties.
The Outreach Coordinator will keep a current record of all addresses and telephone numbers of all members, and will also handle correspondence for the group (including media relations, unless a Media Relations officer is designated). The Outreach Coordinator will be in charge of generating, preparing, and organizing programs. This officer is also responsible for maintaining the group web site or overseeing the group member they designate to work on the group web site. The Outreach Coordinator will assume the duties of Treasurer when the Treasurer is absent from meetings and events, or when the Treasurer is unable to perform his/her duties.
Business meetings and regular meetings will take place at a day, time and location designated by the majority of the officers in a vote. Changes in the day and time of the meeting can be changed as deemed necessary by the majority of officers, particularly to help boost attendance by regular members. A change in meeting location can be made by the President as deemed necessary. Business meetings and regular meetings can be canceled as deemed necessary by the majority of officers.
Regular meetings will not take place during designated university holidays and/or breaks (fall, spring, summer), unless otherwise decided by a majority of the officers.
Budget planning meetings will take place as deemed necessary by the Treasurer. The Treasurer, President, and any other members with items for the budget should attend.
There will be an AFAP planning meeting no later than two weeks prior to finals week of the fall semester. This is to collect the necessary documents in order to file the next fiscal year’s AFAP request by the last Friday of January at 5:00 pm. There will also be an AFAP meeting no later than the Wednesday preceding the due date in order to review the application.
Special meetings are called under any circumstances deemed appropriate by the President and/or Vice President.
Quorum shall be three-fifths of the current membership. Quorum of all members is required for all elections and judicial matters (including such matters decided over e-mail). Quorum of all officers is determined dependent on the number of officers currently holding office at the time of the Quorum, reflecting at least a simple majority (one-half of the officers plus one) required for all voting matters in a business meeting.
Officer elections shall take place at the second to last
regular meeting of the school year for the following year, or by e-mail.
Additional elections to fill vacated or newly created offices may be
held as necessary at regular or special meetings or by e-mail.
All members may seek nomination or have other members nominate them.
Each member is entitled to one vote, by secret ballot for officer elections.
A Quorum of membership is required for impeachment of any officer or member or the faculty advisor.
A call of impeachment is made only during a regular meeting. A vote of four- fifths of the Quorum is required for impeachment, but such vote can only take place after the member under impeachment procedures has been allowed a reasonable chance for defense.
A call for impeachment can be made in any case where the officer or faculty advisor is accused of dereliction of duty, or where any officer or member is accused of discrimination, theft, or any other act deemed inappropriate by the majority of officers or members.
Bylaws may be created or amended at regular meetings by a majority vote.
Constitutional amendments, which must also be voted on at regular meetings, require a two-thirds majority vote for passage.
Constitutional and bylaw amendments must be proposed in writing as agenda items at regular group meetings. Copies of the proposed amendments must be distributed to all attending members. The Secretary will record the proposed amendment(s) in the minutes. Discussion on separate amendments should not last more than fifteen minutes. After discussion time has expired, amendments must be voted on.
Standing committees will meet as the committee chair deems necessary for the proper conduct of the committee's business. Each committee shall have a committee chair and a designated secretary to keep the minutes of separate committee meetings. These minutes will be posted to the group web site, in a timely matter, after committee meetings. A budget request, if needed, will be submitted to the Treasurer expediently so that the Treasurer will have sufficient time to request these funds from the Student Government Association or other groups that may be sources of funding.
Ad hoc committees are created and dissolved by the President as needed. Ad hoc committees will follow all of the rules of standing committees while active.
This group shall not deny membership to anyone on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, citizenship status, political beliefs or political group affiliation, age, disability, gender or gender identification, marital status, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, or church membership. The exception to this shall be that the students on probation with Oklahoma State University or with a cumulative GPA below 2.0 will not be allowed to participate in the group until their probation has been lifted, and/or their cumulative GPA rises to 2.0 or hither.
Advisor(s) to the group shall be selected from among full time faculty or staff of Oklahoma State University.
Any member may nominate an eligible faculty member for faculty advisor.
Terms shall not be for more than one school year in length, but may be renewed by an election. There is no limit to the number of terms a faculty adviser may serve provided that they are reelected properly. Faculty adviser terms shall become effective immediately after election, unless otherwise noted by the current faculty advisor. The faculty advisor will be elected at the same time as officers.
At the beginning of the fall semester the group shall report the name of its officers and advisors to the Department of Campus Life, 060 Student Union, and shall promptly report any changes that occur during the school year.
At the beginning of the fall semester the group will file with the Department of Campus Life a signed "Affirmation of Compliance."
The group will keep all funds in a University banking service account and these will be audited yearly, preferably at the time a new treasurer is installed.
It is understood that failure to submit such materials, either through continued negligence or willful omission, may result in the suspension of the charter of this organization by the Committee on Student Organizations.
Dues are to be approved in a vote by the majority of the members no later than the second regular meeting of each semester. The amount of the dues must be determined in this vote.
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