The Bradley University Science Fiction Club
We, the members of the Science Fiction Club at
Bradley University, in an effort
to promote science fiction on the Bradley campus, to seek out new
forms of science fiction, and to share our knowledge of existing
science fiction genres, including, but not limited to, Star
Trek and its spin-offs, do hereby pledge to uphold this
Constitution and to boldly go where no one on this campus has gone
before.
ARTICLES
The Science Fiction Club is governed by a body of "Senior Officers"
consisting of a
"Captain" (president),
"First Officer" (vice-president),
"Communications Officer" (secretary),
"Grand Nagus" (treasurer), and
"Chief of Operations" (activities chairperson).
The "Chain of Command" and succession of these officers is as
follows: Captain, First Officer, Grand Nagus, Chief of Operations,
and Communications Officer.
Each meeting and function of the Science Fiction Club shall be
presided over by a "Commanding Officer." The Commanding Officer is,
by default, the Captain or a Senior Officer designated by the
Captain. In the event that the Captain is absent and has not
designated a Commanding Officer, the next officer in the Chain of
Command shall become the Commanding Officer for that meeting or
function.
III. Membership
There shall be four classes of membership: prospective, active,
honorary, and alumni.
Any student of Bradley University shall be eligible to become a
prospective member by expressing an interest in joining Psi Phi to an
active member.
Any prospective member may become an active member by signing the Psi
Phi Log stating that they have read the Constitution and Bylaws of Psi Phi and agree to uphold them.
Honorary membership may be bestowed upon anyone deemed deserving of it
via the unanimous approval of the Senior Officers.
Any active member who graduates, transfers, or otherwise chooses to
leave Bradley University becomes an alumni member.
Prospective membership lasts as long as the member continues to express
interest in Psi Phi.
Active membership lasts as long as the member remains a student at
Bradley University, upholds the Constitution and Bylaws, and maintains
good financial standing with Psi Phi.
The duration of honorary and alumni membership is life.
Any membership may be ended by the member informing a Senior Officer of
his or her desire to terminate membership.
If any member's conduct or attitude is found not to be in keeping with
Psi Phi's purpose, Constitution, or Bylaws, his or her membership
status may be revoked by a unanimous vote of all active members except
the one whose membership is in question. If at all possible, the
person whose membership is in question must be given an audience before
all active members prior to the vote.
Senior Officers shall be elected before the last meeting of the
semester. The exact time and place of the first meeting shall be set
by the highest ranking Senior Officer available from the previous
semester. Active members may run for any number of Senior Officer
positions but may only serve in one office per term, provided the
active membership is at least equal to the number of Senior Officer
positions. Vacant offices shall be filled by the standard election
procedures at the next meeting. Each position shall be decided by a
simple majority of secret ballots. In the event that no candidate for
a position achieves a majority, the two candidates for that position
with the highest number of votes shall participate in a secondary
election, again decided by a simple majority of secret ballots. Upon
being elected, Senior Officers shall assume their positions
immediately.
A budget must be put into effect each semester. The Grand Nagus shall draw up the budget
and submit it to the Senior Officers for approval by a four-fifths
majority. If rejected, the Grand Nagus must revise the budget until it
achieves a four-fifths majority approval by the Senior Officers.
Amendments to this Constitution may be submitted by any active
member of the Science Fiction Club to the Senior Officers for
approval by a four-fifths majority. Once approved, the amendment
shall be put to a vote at the next scheduled meeting of the Science
Fiction Club that achieves quorum (i.e. at least two thirds of the
active membership is present). In order to be ratified, an
amendment to the Constitution must achieve a two-thirds majority of
active membership present at the aforementioned meeting.
Bylaws for the Science Fiction Club may be
submitted by any active member of the Science Fiction Club to the
Senior Officers for approval by a simple majority. Once approved, the
bylaw shall be put to a vote at the next scheduled meeting of the
Science Fiction Club that achieves quorum. In order to be enacted, a
bylaw must achieve a simple majority of active membership present
at the aforementioned meeting.
We, the founding Senior Officers of the Science Fiction Club
do hereby enact this Constitution on this day, Tuesday, September
the Thirteenth, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Four.
[Christina McVety] [Robert T. Ray] [Joseph A. Grabowski]
Captain First Officer Grand Nagus
Christina M. McVety Robert T. Ray Joseph A. Grabowski
[David Henderson] [Robert F. Schmanski]
Chief of Operations Communications Officer
David A. Henderson Robert F. Schmanski
AMENDMENT I
Section 1: New Officer
1. The office of "Constable" is hereby created.
2. The Constable shall be given Senior Officer status.
3. The Chain of Command and succession of officers is amended as follows: Captain, First Officer, Grand Nagus, Chief of Operations, Constable, Communications Officer.
4. All sections of the Constitution and Bylaws requiring a "four-fifths" majority approval by the Senior Officers with regard to the passing of a motion, bylaw, amendment, or other procedure are hereby amended to require a "two-thirds" majority approval (four of six officers).
Section 2: Election of Constable
1. The first Constable shall be elected during the session in which this Amendment is ratified, immediately following ratification, according to procedures stated in Article IV of the Constitution. The winning candidate shall assume the office immediately upon election.
2. Future Constables shall be elected before the last meeting of the semester preceding their term, as provided for in Article IV.
Section 3: Powers of Constable
1. The following are powers delegated to the Constable:
a. The Constable shall have the authority to remove overly disruptive members from a meeting, whenever necessary and appropriate, with a simple majority approval of present members.
b. The Constable shall have the authority to remove disruptive members from a TV/movie viewing, whenever necessary and appropriate, with a simple majority approval of present members, for such disruptions delineated in Section 1, Article 1 of the Bylaws.
c. The Constable shall have the authority to relieve the Captain or Commanding Officer of duty, whenever appropriate and with a five-sixths majority approval of the Senior Officers.
Section 4: Duties of Constable
1. The following are duties entrusted to the Constable:
a. An "armory" shall be created to hold futuristic, sci-fi related weapons (ones allowed on Bradley's campus) that the club obtains, such as lasers and phasers. The Constable shall maintain the armory and all weapons therein contained, and issue equipment to authorized members.
b. The Constable shall assist the Captain or Commanding Officer in procuring and securing meeting rooms or TV rooms, whenever necessary and appropriate.
c. The Constable shall be required to sing the "Letters" song from The Late Show with David Letterman immediately preceding the Captain's report on the status of incoming mail. (The "Letters" song is sung as follows (with apologies to Worldwide Pants or whoever has the copyright; please don't sue us): "Letters, we get letters; we get sacks and sacks of letters. Letters!")
d. The Constable shall act as the official enforcer of the Captain's orders, using an official Psi Phi "bapper," a broken foam bat in the office wrapped in a copy of this Constitution, with which to bap people.
e. The Constable shall assist the Grand Nagus in guarding the Treasury whenever necessary and appropriate.
f. The Constable shall present a report regarding security matters at each meeting during the Officers' Reports.
"My own very adequate memory not being good enough for Starfleet, I am pleased to put my voice to this official record of this day. Everything's under control. End log." - Odo, "Necessary Evil"
[Amendment approved by the Senior Officers, 5-0, on February 21, 2001; approved and ratified by active membership, 15-0, on February 28, 2001.]
