Constitution of Campus Greens                   

Article I          Name of Organization

Section 1               The organization will be known officially as Campus Greens.

Article II         Statement of Purpose

Section 1               The purpose of this organization shall be to provide supportive, social, educational, outreach, and community events, activities, and opportunities for students at the University of Arkansas who identify as progressive, independent, liberal or ‘Green’.

Section 2               The Campus Greens mission is to facilitate UNIFYING efforts through discourse to bring together as many as possible in discovering our similarities through acknowledging & accepting our differences.  We strive to achieve this through public lectures, debates, forums, open sharing about social & political issues and any other event programming that will further this effort.

Section 3               The goal of Campus Greens is to develop a vehicle through which to create a more supportive and inclusive climate that affords success to all regardless of gender; ethnicity; age; sexual orientation; physical ability; citizenship; marital or parental status; or party affiliation (or lack thereof).

Section 4               Campus Greens is a community of members who will focus on issues facing individuals on campus, in the community, and in society, and who believe in supporting aforementioned efforts.

Article III       Membership

Section 1               Membership in Campus Greens shall be open to anyone.  Involvement with Campus Greens or attendance at its meetings does not imply or necessitate any political party affiliation.

Section 2               Faculty or Staff of the University of Arkansas may participate in an advisory capacity.

                                Persons not affiliated with the University may not vote, but are still welcome to participate.

Section 3               Faculty or Staff advisors will be selected by the President.

A)            Advisors will not have voting rights.

B)            The duties of advisors shall be as follows:

01)          To advise Campus Greens in accordance with University Policy

02)          To represent Campus Greens to the University System when needed

03)          To act as a moderator of questions concerning the interpretation and implementation of this constitution

04)          To advise Campus Greens in any additional manner as requested

05)          To act as an Election Commissioner if needed

Section 4               Voting privileges will be extended to all registered members who have paid dues (if set).

Section 5               Removal of members

A)            A member may be removed if his/her behavior is criminal or for other behavior that might incur legal prosecution of (or liability on the part of) Campus Greens.

B)            A member may be removed for:

01)          willful misrepresentation of status as an officer, or

02)          willful misrepresentation of stances of the Campus Greens as a group.

C)            Removal may only be effected by the President – and only after consultation with the Office for Student Mediation about the offending behavior(s).

Article IV        Executive Board

Section 1               The Executive Board will consist of four (4) voting execs who will:

                                                                A)            Represent the Campus Greens

                                                                B)            Coordinate, direct, and approve all official functions

                                                                C)            Set administrative policies and procedures

                                        D)            Develop a cohesive agenda for the academic year in order to fulfill the purpose and goals

                                                        of the organization

Section 2               The four (4) execs of the Executive Board shall be defined as:

                                                A)            President

The duties and powers of the President are as follows:

01)          Handles all administrative matters of Campus Greens

02)          Responsible for scheduling of meetings

03)          Responsible for reserving meeting space; VP may also be delegated this duty.

04)          Serves as official representative of and spokesperson for Campus Greens.

05)          Responsible for registering the organization with the appropriate University office and making sure accounts and paperwork are in order.

06)          May delegate additional duties to other members of the Executive Board.

07)          Responsible for scheduling and convening of meetings.

08)          Responsible for implementing programming ideas.

                                                B)            Vice President

The duties and powers of the Vice President are as follows:

01)          Serve as assistant to the President, with specific duties set by President.               

02)          Serve as Office Manager

i)     Manage all documents in (and maintain) the office.

ii)    Responsible for making & posting a schedule of office hours, and orienting members with office hours

iii)   Responsible for the posting of information and materials in the office in accordance with University policies.

iv)    Serve as librarian:  maintenance of videos, DVDs, media, and books belonging to the organization.

                                                C)            Treasurer

The duties and powers of the Treasurer are as follows:

01)          Handle all money matters of Campus Greens.

02)          Responsible for knowing and keeping the organization in compliance with University policies concerning finances of a Registered Student Organization.

03)          Must know how to use University system of requesting and returning checks.

04)          Keeps up to date records of all of Campus Greens finances:

                                ASG-allocated funds, donations and University Checking Account.

05)          Draft a proposed budget for ASG fund allocations.

06)          Coordinate fundraising efforts and ensure approval by appropriate office.

                                D)            Secretary

The duties and powers of the Secretary are as follows:

01)          Acts as Media and PR coordinator

02)          Takes minutes at meetings

03)          Manages correspondence as delegated by President:  regular mail and email.

04)          Coordinate publicity for meetings and events.

05)          Coordinate design of promotional materials, brochures, flyers, etc...

06)          Responsible for the maintenance of website: act as Webmaster, if applicable.

07)          Responsible for noting revisions to the constitution and keeping the document up to date and available to members.

08)          Maintains membership records and is responsible for the confidentiality of these records. 

09)          Runs nomination meeting and presents description of offices at meeting.

Section 3               There may also be 2 optional chair positions to aid planning & effect better attendance at events.  These positions are not on the Executive Board, and therefore, are open to any interested member.

                                E)            Social Chair

The duties and powers of the Social Chair are as follows:

01)          Acts as welcome committee to new members

02)          Responsible for coordinating programming for ‘Social Issues’ events

03)          Responsible for membership recruitment and retention.

04)          Coordinate publicity for ‘Social Issues’ meetings and events.

                                                F)            Environmental Chair

The duties and powers of the Environmental Chair are as follows:

01)          Responsible for coordinating programming for ‘Environmental Issues’ events

02)          Coordinate publicity for ‘Environmental Issues’ meetings and events.

Section 4               All Executive Board members must meet the University of Arkansas Eligibility for co-curricular participation as per the current University of Arkansas Student Handbook at time of nomination for office and through the entire term of office. When a board member no longer meets those requirements, s/he will be asked to step down by the appropriate University office or department.

Section 5               Any board member may call for a special meeting of the board as long as a logical reason for meeting is apparent and sufficient notice is given to all board members.

Section 6               Replacement of Executive Board members

A)            Vacancies

01)          If the President resigns or is removed, the Vice President will assume all duties of the President.

02)          If vacancy occurs in any other executive positions, they will be filled by appointment of the Executive Board until a vacancy election is possible.

B)            Removal of Chair Persons

01)          If a chair has not met the expectations of the Executive Board or of the general membership of Campus Greens, s/he may be removed.

02)          In order to remove an executive, the Executive Board must reach a consensus, or three-fourths (3/4) majority of members in attendance at the next meeting must vote in the affirmative.

Article V         Committees

                Section 1               The Executive Board may create committees as needed.

                Section 2               A committee shall be defined as Standing or Select.

A)            A Standing committee shall be defined as a committee that is chaired by an Executive Board member.  

B)            A Select committee shall be defined as a committee created for a special purpose, and chaired by an appointee of the President.

Article VI        Meetings

Section 1               Meetings of Campus Greens shall be held at least monthly during the fall and spring semesters. The Secretary will make reasonably sufficient advance announcement of meetings.

Section 2               Meetings will include information and activities that are of:  general interest, business matters, social nature, or speaker or topical discussions or event programming.

Section 3               Any other functions deemed necessary and appropriate by the Executive Board will be considered activities of Campus Greens.

Article VII      Finances

Section 1               Dues will be set by the Executive Board.  Dues will be collected on a yearly basis (Fall – Spring), but may be accepted by the Treasurer at any time during the academic calendar.  

Section 2               Campus Greens shall maintain an account with the University in accordance with its guidelines.

Section 3               The Executive Board will decide how best to spend non-allocated funds.

Article VIII     Elections

Section 1               The last meeting before the election will be deemed the nominations meeting.

A)            The Secretary (or Election Commissioner) will run this meeting and open nominations.

B)            Nominations may be accepted at the nominations meeting; by e-mail sent directly to the official Campus Greens e-mail account; or in person during office hours.

C)            The nomination period will end immediately before the election meeting begins. Once nominations are closed, candidates will be announced and at this time they may decline.

Section 2               Candidates for membership on the Executive Board must:

A)            Accept nomination.

B)            Be a registered member of Campus Greens.

C)            Meet eligibility as defined by Articles III and IV.

Section 3               To be eligible to vote, one must:

A)            Be a member of Campus Greens as defined by Article III.

B)            Have voting privileges as defined by Article III.

C)            Be present at the election meeting.  If a member is unable to attend the election meeting, early voting will be allowed by the Secretary (or Election Commissioner).

Section 4               Regular election will take place at the end of each Spring semester to elect the board for the next academic year.

Section 5               Election meetings shall be run by the Secretary (or Election Commissioner).

A)            Candidates have the opportunity to present a statement or have a proxy present one for them.

B)            Voting shall occur via secret ballot to be tallied by the Secretary (or Election Commissioner) and witnessed by at least one (1) non-nominated voting member.

C)            In case of a tie, voting will be reopened to all members present at the election meeting.

Article IX        Amendments to the Constitution

Section 1               At a meeting, any member may petition the membership to address a perceived deficiency within the Constitution.

Section 2               Upon simple majority, a Select committee may be formed by and consist of the members to draft any proposed amendment(s).

Section 3               Any proposed amendment(s) may be ratified by a three-fourths (3/4) majority at a subsequent meeting as set by the President.  Sufficient notice must be given prior to this meeting.

Section 4               Newly ratified amendments will take effect upon vote certification and President’s notification.

Section 5               Newly ratified amendments will be incorporated into the Constitution as soon as the President (or Secretary) has been given notice, and can do so.

Section 6               Any procedural issue not explicitly covered above will be deferred to Robert’s Rules of Order – unless there is 100% consensus (of members with voting rights) to settle the matter differently.  Upon attaining said consensus, the matter will be decided by the method agreed upon.

Article X         Affiliations

Section 1               Campus Greens are NOT officially affiliated with any other organization, but ARE unofficially affiliated with:

A)            Washington County Green Party

B)            Green Party of Arkansas

C)            Green Party of United States

Section 2               The relationship of affiliates to Campus Greens is primarily of information-sharing and advisory role at their respective levels of governmental policymaking.