Stony Brook Gospel Choir Constitution Preamble We, the members of the Stony Brook Gospel Choir, do hereby lay down the bylaws governing our organization. Article I We are an organization whose purpose is to unify Stony Brook University students for a common good, that goal being to promote the art of gospel music. In pursuit of this goal, the Stony Brook Gospel Choir hopes to achieve and strengthen the bond amongst ourselves as well as others. Membership in the Stony Brook Gospel Choir is open to all Stony Brook students. Article II 1. Three unexcused absences by any member or musician, will lead to a review of that person's membership by the Executive Board, that person may then be placed on probation or that person may be requested to leave the Choir. Such persons will be notified before any action is taken. *Note: Two unexcused lateness constitutes one absence. In order for a lateness or absence to be considered excused, the Secretary must have had prior notification. 2. Each member and musician is required to attend all meetings of our organization for rehearsals. No member will be allowed to sing at an engagement unless she/he attends two consecutive rehearsals prior to the engagement. Extenuating circumstances will be taken into consideration for any absence incurred. 3. All members and musicians must be present at the four rehearsals as well as the dress rehearsals prior to the concert. Extenuating circumstances will be taken into consideration. Dress rehearsals shall be as many as deemed necessary by the musicians/directors, but shall be no less than one, depending upon the availability of the concert site for the dress rehearsals. 4. If any member misses the deadline for the measuring/ordering of robes, she/he depending upon the availability, may not be able to sing in the concert. 5. If a member/musician is absent for the dress rehearsals prior to the concert, her/his position will be reviewed by the Executive Board for possible action. Article III - Parliamentary Procedures A. The Voting In of Officers 1. The President shall appoint the Sergeant of Arms and Committee Chairpersons. She/He will also handle the ballots for any elections. 2. Voting for officers for the next academic semester will take place the next to the last week in April and the last week in April, respectively. Extenuating circumstances, i.e., a change in the school calendar that would not permit this, may result in nominating and voting procedures being stepped up accordingly. 3. No member may hold more than one office per semester. B. Proxy 1. Members are allowed to vote by proxy provided the member notifies the Secretary and the President no later than one hour prior to the elections. 2. Nominations by proxy will not be accepted. 3. All proxies must be written and sealed.
4. All proxy votes must be given to the Chairperson of the Constitution Committee or another Board Member personally by the absentee member prior to the elections. 5. If the absentee appears at the elections, their proxy will be automatically invalidated. 6. All members of the Executive Board as well as all Committee Chairpersons are required to, in event that they resign, leave school, or are voted out of office or other-wise replaced, turn all records, materials and other data pertinent to their office and to the choir, to their successors. C. Acceptance/Rejection of Engagements 1. All engagements must be brought before the Choir in writing. Extenuating circumstances will be considered. 2. All engagements will be accepted/rejected by majority rule. Extenuating circumstances will be considered. D. Impeachment 1. All appointed and elected officers may be impeached. 2. In order for impeachment procedures to take place, a member/musician must first bring a complaint to the Executive Board. 3. No impeachment decision may be made prior to an investigation conducted by the Executive Board. 4. Members of the Executive Board will be permitted to participate in the investigation. 5. If the impeachment charge is leveled at the Committee Chairperson, she/he will not be permitted to be allowed to participate in the investigation/impeachment procedures. Article IV - Executive Board Members Duties A. Officers 1. President - It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all rehearsals. She/He shall appoint, with the approval of the Executive Board, all Committee Chairpersons as well as the Sergeant At Arms and/or Praise and Worship Team. a. She/He will function at all committee meetings as an ex-officio member. b. She/He will have the power to withdraw funds as the choir needs them, in the event that the Treasurer or Financial Secretary are not able to do so. 2. Vice President - It shall be the duty of the Vice President to act in the capacity of the President in the event of her/his inability to perform. a.. In the event that the President resigns, leaves school or is removed from office after elections have taken place, the Vice President shall be installed as President until the following Spring elections. b. Refer to (a.) in President. 3. Acting President - In the event that both the President and the Vice President resign, leave school or are removed from office after elections have taken place, an officer from the existing Executive Board shall assume the role of President. This person shall be elected by the Executive Board during their Executive Board meeting. *Note: In such circumstances, the office of the Vice President will be nullified. 4. Secretary - She/He is responsible for all written communication. a. She/He will take minutes for all meetings of the Executive Board as well as rehearsals.
b. She/He will keep accurate records of the absence and attendance of all members/musicians, and records of late arrivals (due to class, etc.) 5. Treasurer - It will be the duty of the Treasurer to keep the Executive Board and all members of the Choir informed of its financial status. a. She/He will attend all Polity meetings pertaining to the pronouncement of funds for the Choir. b. She/He will deliver a verbal financial report to the Choir at least once a month, or as deemed necessary. c. She/He will give a financial report prior to, during, and after each concert and fund-raising event. These reports must be in writing. d. She/He will submit in writing, a financial report at the end of each semester to the Executive Board and Choir members. 6. Corresponding Secretary It will be the duty of the Corresponding Secretary to ensure that all members of the choir are reminded of all engagements, times of events, and the wardrobe to be worn at each respective even a. She/He will send out phone mail messages to all choir members and email to off. campus choir members if applicable 7. Financial Secretary - It will be the duty of the Financial Secretary to keep a written, accurate record of all financial transactions. a. She/He shall be responsible for obtaining a copy of each receipt from the treasurer for all financial transactions. b. She/He will perform a bi-annual audit to be presented in writing to the Executive Board at the end of each semester. 7. Praise and Worship Team - Shall be responsible for leading the choir in spiritual uplifting at the beginning and at the end of all rehearsals. She/He shall lead the Choir in spiritual uplifting prior to all singing engagements on and off campus. There shall be two or more Praise and Worship leaders each semester. Praise and Worship leaders may also hold this position along with another position on the Executive Board in any given year. 8. Minority Planning Board Representative (M.P.B. Rep) - Shall be responsible for attending all M.P.B. meetings on behalf of the Gospel Choir, and shall report all information pertinent, to the choir. There shall be two M.P.B. Representatives each semester. 9. Uniti Cultural Center Representative - Shall be responsible for attending all Uniti Cultural Center meetings and reporting information to the Choir concerning usage and events held in the Uniti Cultural Center. 10. Historian - Shall be responsible for keeping a written and accurate record of all events that take place throughout the semester. This information should be kept year after year in the possession of the Historian. The Historian will also be responsible for taking pictures of all events and contacting alumni. Once a month, the Historian will submit a short report of events and occurrences to the choir s Faculty Advisors. 11. Concert Committee Chairpersons - Shall be responsible for setting up the Concert Committee and presiding over each meeting of the Concert Committee as Chairperson. The Chairperson shall distribute the workload pertaining to the concert
including flyers, tickets, programs, annual theme, etc. (refer to Concert Committee Article V ) to the members of the Concert Committee. The Concert Committee Chairperson shall report her/his findings to the Executive Board at each Board meeting. 12. Musical Coordinator - Shall work in conjunction with the Pianist to set up rehearsal times for all musicians. The Musical Coordinator may also decide if extra rehearsal time is needed. She/He should have had musical training and/or play an instrument/s. She/He may implement any instrumental music into a performance with the approval of the Pianist and the Executive Board. Article V - Committees and Appointed Personnel 1. Fund - Raising Committee - This committee will be responsible for any arrangements pertaining to the raising and collecting of additional funds for the Choir. 2. Concert Committee - This committee will be responsible for formulating and implementing all activities pertaining to the Fall and Spring Concerts, i.e., sacrament of guests, Personnel for prayer, ushering, scripture reading, mistress/master of ceremonies, concert site, printing of programs, distribution and collection of tickets and ticket sales, distribution and placement of advertising for the concerts. 3. Sergeant at Arms - Shall be appointed as deemed necessary and shall be responsible for keeping order during all rehearsals. If she/he reprimands a member for continually disturbing the rehearsals, the Executive Board shall review that person s membership. Article VI - Musicians 1. Directress/Director - May be any member of the Choir who has the ability and desire to direct the choir. Final consideration for the acceptance of persons seeking this position shall be determined by the pianist in conjunction with the choir as a whole. 2. Pianist - Any member of the Choir who has the ability and the desire to play for the Choir. Final consideration for acceptance of persons seeking this position shall be determined by the Executive Board. 3. Drummer - Final consideration for acceptance of persons seeking this position shall be determined by the Pianist in conjunction with the Executive Board. Article VII - Advisor A full time member of the University faculty shall be designated to act as an advisor. The Executive Board in conjunction with the Committee Chairpersons shall appoint this faculty member. He/She may also be subject to approval by the members of the Choir. Duties of Faculty Advisor 1. She/He will keep the Choir informed and up to date as to the rules and regulations of SUNY Stony Brook that would affect the Choirs function and progress. 2. She/He will encourage higher ideals. 3. She/He will, when necessary, lend her/himself to whatever endeavors the choir undertakes to help insure their success. Article VIII - Amendments/Deletions This constitution may be amended, repealed, and/or altered in whole or part by a majority vote of the membership, provided that the proposed legislation has been
circulated and read at a scheduled meeting preceding the meeting at which the proposed change(s) is/are to be voted upon. Amendment I The Executive Board, as a whole, may fill any vacant position on the Board until an emergency election can be held. Amendment II Any person holding the position of Chaplain on the Executive Board may also hold one other position on the Board. Amendment III Concert Committee Chairperson shall become an elected office and a member of the Executive Board. Amendment IV Musical Coordinator shall become an elected office and a member of the Executive Board. Amendment V As a member of our organization, we fully understand that we are not authorized to enter into any contractual agreements. We are a club/organization that is part of the Student Polity Association, and therefore, the Student Polity Association's designees (executive director and treasurer) are authorized to assign and execute a contract. Amendment VI The Financial Secretary shall now be known as the Assistant Treasurer. Amendment VII From this time forward, there will be two Secretaries. One will be called the Corresponding Secretary, the other will be called the Recording Secretary. Amendment VIII From this time forward, there will be two Concert Committee Chairpersons. Each called Co-Chairpersons, both will take care of the financial aspect, as well as taking care of the guests, programming, flyers, etc. (refer to Concert-Committee - Article V). Amendment IX If in any given case that the Musical Coordinator feels that she/he cannot handle the job by her/himself, the President can open the floor for a position that has equal power as the Musical Coordinator, which will be called the Directress/Director. Amendment X The vice- president shall appoint a robe committee to organize, maintain, and distribute the robes before and after every concert. Amendment XI The vice-president shall appoint an advertising committee which would be responsible for all aspects of advertising for the choir s concerts, fundraisers, co sponsorships, and any other events the vice-president deems necessary. Amendment XII The president, to one graduate student will appoint the position of Graduate Advisor, if seen fit. If there is more than one candidate for the position, a formal vote is to be taken by the members of the Executive Board. The president will decide the duties of the Graduate Advisor, which would be subject to amendment by the Executive Board. It is the Graduate Advisor s duty to keep the Board aware of campus activities that may be relevant and/or beneficial to the choir. The person appointed to this position
should be experienced in and familiar with the Student Polity Association, Inc. Amendment XIII Choir engagements will be decided upon by the Executive board, and all engagements will be Accepted/rejected by majority rule Amendment XIV The corresponding secretary will be responsible for submitting the requisition form to motor All necessary signature are obtained. Amendment XV From this time forward there will be a Musical Coordinator position and a Musical Coordinator Assistant position. Amendment XVI We are an organization whose purpose is to unify Stony Brook University students for a common good, that goal being to promote the art of gospel music. In pursuit of this goal, the Stony Brook Gospel Choir hopes to achieve and strengthen the bond amongst ourselves as well as others. Membership in the Stony Brook Gospel Choir is open to all Undergraduate Stony Brook students who pays the Student Activity Fee. Amendment XVII From this time forward, the Stony Brook Gospel Choir meets twice weekly; on Thursdays and Sundays. Amendment XVIII In the event of the dissolution of this group, all accrued funds and assets shall revert to the Undergraduate Student Government. -