Organization Name The Johns Hopkins University Model United Nations Team (HopMUN) Amended March 30, 2017 I. Purpose of the Organization The purpose of HopMUN is to train and adequately prepare its members for collegiate Model United Nations conferences while imparting upon them critical skills such as but not limited to public speaking, document writing, caucusing and quick thinking, as well as to unite these members through the common interest of global affairs and enhance their overall educational experience. II. Who is Eligible for Membership? Any Johns Hopkins undergraduate students. III. Is there a GPA requirement for membership? No IV. How does one join HopMUN? Members are admitted to HopMUN through an application process which consists of a written application and an interview. V. What is the organization's definition of an active member? An active member must attend at least one conference per academic year,** pay dues by the scheduled dates, and attend all training/general body meetings.* An active member must participate in the election for the executive board.* VI. Which members are eligible to vote? All active members are eligible to vote VII. What are the officer titles within the organization and what are the basic responsibilities? Executive Board: President, Vice-President & Treasurer Officer Board: Director of Internal Programming, Director of Training, Director of Communications, Director of Fundraising, Director of External Affairs, & Senior Advisor. President Responsible for the overall administration of HopMUN as an organization and responsible for the well-being of the organization and its members. This individual is to serve as the ambassador of HopMUN s external affairs, he/she is the main mediator between the club and the university administration. This individual is also responsible for the selection of conferences that HopMUN attends. Furthermore, he/she is responsible for assuring HopMUN s success at conferences, including the oversight of its training program. This individual is to work in conjunction with the vice-president in administering the team and is to work in conjunction with the treasurer in ensuring that the organization will remain financially solvent when attending conferences throughout the year. 1
Vice-President Responsible for assisting the president in the overall administration of HopMUN as an organization and ensuring the well-being of the organization and its members. This individual is responsible for ensuring the social cohesion of the team and the oversight of HopMUN s social development endeavors. This individual is to work in conjunction with the president in administering the team. This individual is also to assume the role of president in the absence of the president. Treasurer Responsible for all financial aspects of HopMUN. This individual s primary responsibilities are the creation of, maintenance of, and adherence to HopMUN s budget; the research, request, and payment for all conference transportation and accommodations; the administration and guarantee of financial aid for delegates who are in need of it; the collection of all conference dues and other fees from delegates; and the handling, approval, and repayment of all reimbursement requests. This individual and possibly their deputy, if applicable, are the only individuals authorized to handle HopMUN s finances. This individual serves as the primary contact between the office of student life for funding and budgetary matters. Directors of Training These individuals will work with the members to ensure that they have a working understanding of parliamentary procedure. They are responsible for training delegates and preparing them for conferences; this includes ensuring that delegates are adequately prepared with research and/or plans for any upcoming committee. Directors will be given specific roles depending on the constituency of the club. The directors of training are expected to have significant Model UN experience and an impeccable understanding of parliamentary procedure. There can be up to two training directors. Director of Internal Programming (Social) The director of social is primarily in charge of promoting social adhesion in the club by planning, coordinating and running social events throughout the year. They are responsible for booking rooms, the purchase and rental of supplies related to their events. He/she will assist in organizing events such as the lock-in, dinners/lunches/potlucks, off-campus social events and a formal. Director of Communications This individual is responsible for all matters regarding communication within HopMUN including provision of meeting minutes, management of social network pages, and other administrative responsibilities as they may arise. Furthermore, he/she is tasked with organizing both fall and spring recruitment. They are to plan and execute recruitment including but not limited to marketing on campus, registering for and running the Student Involvement Fair booth/station and organizing the interviews. This 2
person must continuously market HopMUN in an appropriate manner throughout the year in addition to their other duties. Director of Fundraising Responsible for planning and execution fundraising activities and events throughout the year. They must complete a minimum of one fundraising activity per semester. This includes but is not limited to applications for university and external grants, communication with relevant academic departments for sponsorship, and events marketed to the entire student body. Director of External Affairs The director of external affairs will serve as a liaison between HopMUN and other university organizations. They will work to foster connections with other organizations with similar interests. They are in charge of executing events including but not limited to hosting interorganizational mixers, fundraising events and speaker events. Senior Advisor The senior advisor is a position only extended to a previous executive board member excluding the treasurer. They will serve as an advisor to the current board by providing them with knowledge and feedback when needed. They will serve as head delegate to the conferences they attend and further facilitate HopMUN's relations with other universities. The officer positions and descriptions are amenable at the discretion of the executive board. VIII. What is the attendance policy for the organization? Members must attend every training session and general body meeting and one conference per academic year barring extenuating circumstances.* IX. What is the majority number required to vote on all organizational matters? A simple majority. For votes within the officer board, a weighted voting system can be enacted at the discretion of the executive board. Under this weighted voting system, the president has two votes, the vice-president has 1.5, the treasurer has 1.5, and all others officers have one. At any point the executive board is not allowed to have more than 50% of the votes within the officer board. The weighted voting system does not apply for votes that are directly related to one of the members of the executive board (such as impeachment votes). For votes relating to adding new members, no weighted voting system can be in place. X. What are the procedures for electing officers? There are two categories of officer within HopMUN: 3
The executive board consists of three elected positions: President, Vice-President, and Treasurer. In order for a member to be eligible to run for an executive board position, they must have held an officer position in the previous academic year and must announce their intent to run for any number of the executive board positions to the officer board no less than two weeks before the election is scheduled to take place. One week prior to elections, the sitting president must notify all club members via e-mail of the candidates and the positions for which each intends to run. In the case where one or fewer of the officer or executive board members wants to run for either of the positions of the President, Vice-President or Treasurer then any active member of HopMUN will be able to submit a nomination for these positions through the following process: The member who wants to run for one of those positions needs to get the signatures of no less than 1/3 of the general body. In the beginning of the election process the president shall call out the names of the people who have signed and ask them to confirm their support for this candidate running for the specific position. Furthermore, for such a candidacy to be accepted half the officer board (50%) must vote in favor of allowing this candidate to run (not to be confused with actually supporting the candidate). If these requirements are fulfilled then the non-officer member will be eligible to run for these positions. In the case that two or more members of the executive or officer board want to run for the position of the president, vice-president, or treasurer then this process will not take place and non-officer members will not be eligible to run for these positions. In the case where such a process is necessary the sitting president has to notify the general body 2 weeks in advance of the election date. The election for president is to take place first. All parties who are running for the position must make a statement to the general body not to exceed three minutes. After each candidate has given their statement, a question and answer period will take place where all active general body members may ask questions of the candidates. Each candidate is allotted 12 minutes to answer questions. The time to ask a question will not be deducted from the 12 minutes nor exceed 30 seconds. Once the question and answer period has elapsed, voting procedure will begin. During voting procedure, no further campaigning will be permitted to take place under penalty of disqualification. Votes submitted by the members are to be written on pieces of paper and submitted anonymously. The votes will then be tallied by the incumbent president and one graduating senior. If a simple majority is not reached, the two candidates who received the highest and second highest number of votes will remain on the ballot for a re-vote with all other candidates being struck from the ballot. In the event of a tie, the two candidates may elect to serve as co-presidents. The election for vice-president is to occur once the newly elected president has been announced to the general body. The voting procedure for vice-president is the same as for the voting procedure for president. The votes will be tallied by the former president and one graduating senior. The election for treasurer is to occur once the newly elected vice-president has been announced to the general body. The voting procedure for treasurer is the same as for the voting procedure for president. The votes will be tallied by the incumbent president and one graduating senior. 4
If, for any reason, the integrity of the voting procedure is called into question, two new graduating seniors will be selected by a simple majority vote of the general body to count the votes and a re-vote for all executive board positions will take place. Members of the officer board are appointed by the newly elected executive board. Officer positions are open to all active members of the club through an application and interview process presided over by the newly elected executive board. Both the application and the interview process must be written and agreed upon each year by the newly elected members of the executive board. The officer positions are open to all active members of the club. If a member has been deemed inactive due to them studying abroad then they also are eligible to be appointed to an officer position the following year. XI. What is the "term of office" for your organization? The term of office for all executive board members begins the moment of their election. The term of office for all executive board members ends the moment their successor has been elected. However, the nature of an executive board position includes a trust that the individual will maintain interest in the well being of the organization and contribute to its benefit. The term of office for members of the officer board begins when they are notified via e-mail by the president of their appointment. The term of office for members of the officer board ends when a new president is elected. To be a period of approximately one year per term. The term of the executive board members is completely limited to one year. In the case of the sitting President it is made clear that he/she cannot run for re-election for the position of the president after that one year timeline has elapsed. XII. What are the procedures for impeaching officers? If an officer is for any reason deemed unfit to serve the remainder of their term of office, they may be impeached at the discretion of the executive board. The process for the impeachment of a member of the officer board is as follows: If one member of the executive board feels that an officer is deserving of impeachment, they must call a meeting of the executive board, the sole purpose of which is to discuss the impeachment of the officer in question. At the conclusion of the aforementioned meeting, a vote must take place. In order for an officer to be impeached, the executive board must vote unanimously for impeachment. If a vote of two-thirds for impeachment is reached, the officer will receive a warning. If an officer receives two warnings for the same offense, or three warnings in total, they will be impeached. A meeting must be scheduled at the earliest possible convenience of all three members of the executive board and the officer in question to inform him/her of the disciplinary action being taken against him/her and explain the reasons for the disciplinary action. All three members of the executive board must be present at the meeting with the officer in question. If an officer feels that their impeachment or warning is without merit or would like to contest the disciplinary action for any other reason, they must lodge a formal complaint via e-mail to the members of 5
the executive board within one week of the disciplinary meeting. The executive board and the officer in question will then meet at their earliest possible convenience. The purpose of this meeting is for the officer in question to explain why they are not deserving of the disciplinary action taken against them. Once the meeting has concluded, the executive board must meet at a separate time with the expressed purpose of deliberating over the disciplinary action taken against the officer in question. At the conclusion of the executive board's meeting, a vote must take place. In the case of a warning, a two-thirds majority must vote to repeal the warning. In the case of impeachment, a unanimous vote must take place to repeal the impeachment ruling. If the impeachment ruling is overturned, the officer will be instead given a warning, which may in turn be appealed by the process outlined above. From the time of the original impeachment finding until the end of the review process, the officer in question is to be considered suspended from duty. They are not to take place in any outlined officer duties, but still must perform the duties expected of a member at large. It is important to bear in mind that impeachment from an officer position in no way should be mistaken as removal from the club. During the review process, neither the members of the executive board, nor the officer board member in question are permitted to discuss impeachment proceedings with any other member of the club. If any of the aforementioned parties is found to have breached this part of the contract, they will be issued a warning. The process for the impeachment of a member of the executive board is as follows: If a member of the officer board feels that a member of the executive board is deserving of impeachment for any reason, they may anonymously submit a complaint to any member of the executive board. The member of the executive board with whom the complaint was lodged, must then call a meeting of the officer board with the expressed purpose of discussing the impeachment of the executive board member against whom the complaint was lodged. If any member of the executive board is found to have betrayed the anonymity of the complaint will immediately be issued a warning. If, for whatever reason, a member of the officer board feels uncomfortable with approaching a member of the executive board with a complaint that may lead to an impeachment hearing, they may circulate a petition to among the other members of the officer board. If the petition receives signatures from over half of the officer board, it will be brought before the president at the earliest possible convenience, at which point the president must call a meeting of the officer board with the expressed purpose of discussing the impeachment of the executive board member in question. At the impeachment hearing of the member of the executive board, the member of the executive board to whom the complaint was made will read the complaint to the rest of the officer board. In the case of a hearing by petition, the president will read the complaint to the officer board. After the reading of the complaint, the body will debate the merit of the complaint and whether impeachment, a warning, or no action should be taken. The debate will begin with a statement from the president and will then proceed in a clockwise direction with each member of the body making a statement. Once every member of the body has had the opportunity to speak twice, a vote will take place to move into voting procedure. In order to move into voting procedure, a simple majority must be reached in favor of moving to voting procedure. Once in voting procedure, members of the body will place their anonymous, written ballots in a central location where they will then be shuffled by the president and opened face up for the entire body to tally. The first vote will be for impeachment. If the vote for impeachment earns a two-thirds majority, the 6
executive board member in question will be impeached. If the vote for impeachment fails to reach a two-thirds majority, a secondary vote will take place to issue a warning. If the vote to issue a warning fails to reach a two-thirds majority, no action will be taken. From the time of the original impeachment finding until the end of the review process, the officer in question is to be considered suspended from duty. They are not to take place in any outlined officer duties, but still must perform the duties expected of a member at large. It is important to bear in mind that impeachment from an officer position in no way should be mistaken as removal from the club. From the time that the original complaint is filed, neither the members of the executive board, nor the officer board are permitted to discuss impeachment proceedings with any other member of the club. If any of the aforementioned parties is found to have breached this part of the contract, they will be issued a warning. If a general body member wishes to impeach a member of the executive board or the officer board, they may inform a member of the executive board of their complaint and the impeachment process will proceed as outlined above. If, for whatever reason, a general body member feels uncomfortable approaching a member of the executive board they may approach a member of the officer board with their complaint, or lodge an anonymous complaint online at the website given in the membership contracts. XIII. If applicable, what are the procedures for removing members from the organization? Every member will have their membership status reviewed at the end of every semester by the executive and officer board. If they have failed to meet the membership requirements*** outlined above, they will be informed via e-mail of their dismissal from the club. If a member commits an act that requires immediate attention, the executive board will call a meeting of the officer board at their earliest convenience to discuss the dismissal of the member in question. If, after debate, a two-thirds majority is reached in favor of dismissal, the member will be informed of their dismissal via e-mail from the president. If the body fails to reach a two-thirds majority, but a simple majority is reached, the member will be issued a warning. The member will be informed of their warning via e-mail from the president. If a member receives two warnings for the same infraction or three warnings in total, they will be dismissed from the club. If a member wishes to contest their dismissal or warning, they must lodge a formal protest in the form of an e-mail to the HopMUN e-mail account within a week of their dismissal e-mail's sent time. This formal protest must outline their reason for disputing the finding of the officer board and any reason why such a finding is not merited. Within a week of the sent time of the dispute e-mail, the officer board must meet again to debate the disciplinary action taken against the member in question. At the end of this meeting, the officers must vote to repeal the disciplinary action. A two-thirds majority is required to repeal a dismissal and a simple majority is required to repeal a warning. The member in question must be informed of the board's finding immediately after the conclusion of the meeting via e-mail from the president. 7
If any member of the executive or officer board is found to have disclosed any information discussed regarding the potential dismissal of a member of the club, they will automatically be issued a warning and upon the discretion of the executive or officer board will be impeached. XIV. What is the process for amending the organization's Constitution? In order to amend the organization's constitution, a two-thirds majority of the officer board must be reached in favor of the amendment. Changes in voting procedures concerning the appointment or election of any officers will only come into effect the academic year after they are ratified by the officer board. Any modification made to the process by which the elected officials are chosen requires a unanimous vote by the officer board.**** In order to ratify the constitution, there must be a two-thirds majority in favor of ratification. XV. Member misconduct For an instance in which a member of the club is in any way involved with criminal misconduct; the issue must be reported to the appropriate authority within the university immediately. * Unless otherwise approved by the responsible members of the officer board with sufficient notice as defined by the membership contract. ** A special exemption can be made in the case of members who are studying abroad if approved by the members of the executive board. *** Unless they have an approved exemption from the officer and executive board. Date ratified: 8/27/2015 First Amendment In the event that an officer position is vacated, the executive board may either appoint another officer to the vacant position, move an officer from their current position to the vacant position (upon the approval of the officer in question), or choose to leave the position vacant if it is deemed unnecessary for the remainder for the year. In the event that the role of treasurer is vacated, the president and vice-president may absorb the role on an emergency basis to ensure that HopMUN continues to function. If it is deemed necessary, the president and vice-president may nominate a treasurer from the officer board (or another qualified candidate from the general body) and the nomination must be confirmed by a 2/3 vote of the officer board. 8
In the event that the vice-president role is vacated, the treasurer will assume the position of vice-president and the procedure for filling the role of treasurer will proceed as outlined above. In the event that the treasurer does not want to fill the role of vice-president, general elections will be held for the position. In the event that the president role is vacated, the vice-president will assume the position of president, the treasurer will assume the position of vice-president, and the procedure for filling the role of treasurer will proceed as outlined above. In the event that the vice-president does not want to fill the role of president, the treasurer will assume the position. If neither the vice-president nor the treasurer want to assume the role of president, general elections will be held as soon as possible as described in the constitution. Second Amendment No club member is permitted to hold an executive board position or officer board position if they are abroad for any part of the academic year during which they would hold the leadership position. 9