FIU College Republicans Constitution
We the Students of Florida International University, in order to provide and promote fertile ground for the discussion of ideas, facilitate youths inclusion into our political system, increase and sustain communal solidarity, and preserve and protect our inalienable freedoms, subscribing to the regulations and policies of Florida International University, do hereby establish this Constitution for the FIU College Republicans. Article. I. Section. I. The name of this organization shall be College Republicans @ FIU also referred to in this document as FIU College Republicans. Article. II. Section. I. Members are encouraged to show interest in the ideals and values characterizing the Grand Old Party, but are not obligated to its allegiance. Members are not required to be registered Republican voters, nor must they fully embody the party s agenda in order to be considered, and safely remain as an active member of this organization. Section. II. Members will have the distinct opportunity to network amongst one another and also non-student affiliates. Section. III. Membership may be resigned if one feels she or he can no longer fulfill responsibilities to the best of their person, serves a conflict of interest, or simply provides the President and her or his Cabinet with a reasonable and timely resignation. Article. III. Section. I. The Office of the President shall include, but shall not be limited solely to the following enumerated powers: Calling meetings to order and presiding over them; arranging agendas for general, special, and Executive Board meetings; appointing Executive Board members, also referred to in this document as
Cabinet members, only when a vacancy occurs; performing special duties when needed. Section. II. The Office of the Vice-President shall include the following powers: First in the line of succession for the Presidency should a vacancy occur before the April elections; presiding as Chairman in meetings where the President is absent; adopting all powers of the President if he or she is physically incapable of governing from campus for more than seventy-two hours, at which point the acting President may appoint a Cabinet Pro Tempore; performing special duties as needed by the President. Section. III. The Office of the Chief Financial Officer, also referred to as CFO or Treasurer, shall include the following powers: Second in the line of succession for the Presidency should a vacancy occur before the April elections; second-in-command of the organization s entire budget; under this section is directly allowed to make a budgetary decision without the President s consent but only if and when a response has been sought and is not received within seventy-two hours; is director of all fundraising initiatives; performs special duties as needed by the President. Section. IV. The Office of the Chief of Staff shall include the following powers: Third in the line of succession for the liaison between campaign managers and the FIU College Republicans; advisor to the President; oversees general operations and acts as a facilitator as needed by the President. Section. V. The Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff shall include the following powers: Fourth in the line of succession for the assists the Chief of Staff with any and all assignments unless otherwise noted by the President; liaison between domestic clubs and organizations at FIU and the FIU College Republicans; oversees general operations and acts as a facilitator as needed by
the President. Section. VI. The Office of the Council for Student Organizations Representative shall include the following powers: Fifth in the line of succession for the Presidency should a vacancy occur before the April elections; ensuring that the FIU College Republicans are in good standing with the Council for Student Organizations; keeping the President up-to-date about deadlines for mandatory forms; securing appropriate funding for the FIU College Republicans every semester. Section. VII. The Office of the Scheduler shall include the following powers: Sixth in the line of succession for the maintaining an accurate roster of all members and their contact information; during campaign season, assuring that each member is accountable for their attendance, or lack thereof, in weekend campaigning; may invite guest speakers to scheduled meetings, with the approval of the President; records minutes during every meeting; retains the right to schedule emergency meetings for the entire Executive Board; works closely with the Recruitment Coordinator, Public Relations Coordinator, and works directly with the President. Section. VIII. The Office of the Public Relations Coordinator shall include the following powers: Seventh in the line of succession for the concerned with every communications aspect of the organization; constructs rhetoric on flyers, banners, shirts, pins, etc. with the approval of the President; reserves full control of posting on all social media; works closely with the Recruitment Coordinator, Scheduler, and works directly with the President. Section. VIII. The Office of the Recruitment Coordinator shall include the following powers: Eighth in the line of succession for the
directing and assisting in passing out flyers for meetings during school hours; coordinating tabling at orientations, job fairs, and any other possible opportunity; assigned responsibility of the chapter box; works closely with the Scheduler, Public Relations Coordinator, and directly with the President. Section. X. The Office of the Event Coordinator shall include the following powers: Ninth in the line of succession for the informing the President about events both on and off campus that may benefit the organization; informing the club about other conservative meetings they may attend; secondary authority, only to the President, over any domestic event the organization is hosting; suggests discussion topics for meetings to the President; works closely with the Scheduler and directly with the President. Article. IV. Section. I. Officers must maintain at least a 2.5 GPA to remain eligible for their position. Section. II. Provisions for impeachment of an officer shall be any act of misconduct such as, but not limited to: An act of violence against a member; lack of leadership; misuse of the position they hold; any conduct deemed unethical or inappropriate by two-thirds of the Executive Board. Article. V. Section. I. The only two Executive Board members up for yearly re-election are the Offices of the President and Vice-President; all other members receive lifetime appointments unless they resign, are impeached, or graduate. Section. II. Elections for President and Vice-President offices shall be held annually at a special meeting on the first Tuesday of every April. Candidates must demonstrate they possess good leadership
skills and have been a member for at least one academic semester. Section. III. Members must be informed of elections at least fourteen days in advance. Section. IV. The procedures for voting will take place only if a quorum is present on the first Tuesday of April, if not, the President will fix the time to which to adjourn and organize a second special meeting, before the end of the spring semester, where a majority of members may be present. Section. V. The President-Elect and Vice-President-Elect do not take office until the end of the spring semester in which they were elected. Cabinet members immediately take office upon appointment. Section. VI. Should a vacancy occur within the Executive Board, the sitting President reserves the right to hold interviews for the position. While she or he may take suggestions from other E-Board members, the President, and only the President, may solely appoint any member into a given Cabinet position. Section. VII. Should a vacancy occur during the President s absence, the acting President may elect a Cabinet member protempore whom, upon the President s return, may be removed from office at the President s discretion. Article. VI. Section. I. Regular meetings of this organization shall be held weekly during campaign season and biweekly during off-season. Section. II. A quorum for regular and special meetings shall be 50% of all officially recognized members. Section. III. General, special, and Executive Board meetings proceed with, but are not limited to, the following format at the discretion of the President or the majority vote of the club
membership: Call to order by the President, approval of agenda (majority vote), acceptance of minutes (majority vote), officer reports, advisor reports, committee reports, informational items, action items (new business), action items (old business), open forum (political discussion), announcements, adjournment (majority vote). Article. VII. Section. I. There shall be at least one full time faculty/staff advisor at all times in the organization. Section. II. The advisor may agree to preside over meetings alongside the President to help maintain order and she or he shall guide and direct the College Republicans along predetermined lines and within the rules of FIU. Section. III. The advisor serves as an honorary member of the Executive Board, but remains a non-voting member. Article. VIII. Section. I. All amendments to the bylaws and constitution shall be forwarded to the Office of the President before the next general meeting. During the new business section of the general meeting, the Executive Board will consider and vote on the new amendments. Section. II. A two-thirds vote (at least 7) is required before the amendment can be proposed to the College Republican membership. Once on the floor, three-fourths of the membership must vote in favor of the motion in order to ratify the amendment.