Constitution For members of the Robotics Club at the University of Rochester We hereby declare the University of Rochester Robotics club, otherwise known as the UR Robotics Club or UR Robotics, under the jurisdiction of Student Activities and the oversight of the CS department. Article I. Statement of Purpose: Article II. Membership: Eligibility Definitions of membership: Article III. Events: Article IV. Officers and Qualifications Section A. Officer Positions Section B. Duties of Officers Section C. Nominations and Elections Section D. Vacancies, Resignations, and Removals Article V. Projects Article VI. Finances Section A. Section B. Funding Article VII. Competitions Article VIII. Classification Article VIII. Adoption of the Constitution Article IX. Amendments Article X. By-Laws Article XI. Hazing Article XII. Discrimination Policy Article I. Statement of Purpose: To coordinate and house a collection of independent projects the field of robotics, both competitive and noncompetitive, as well as the education of robotics concepts, skills, and applied engineering knowledge. In addition, any project in the greater scheme of embedded systems, computer aided mechanical solutions, and autonomous software are to be accepted under the purview of the robotics club and provided with housing, educational support, and resources as determined necessary by the leadership of the organization. Article II. Membership: Eligibility All Students Association members shall be eligible for membership. An SA Member is a
University of Rochester undergraduate of the College who has paid their SA activities fee. All University of Rochester faculty, staff, graduate students and Eastman students shall be eligible for associate membership. All members and associate members shall be listed on the organization s Campus Club Connection site. Definitions of membership: Associated Member: Members of the CCC roster page who have opted to receive the club newsletter and notifications. Associated members may join projects, apply for funds and laboratory card access, and use public club resources such as Arduinos, microcomputers, and servo motors. However, associated members do not have voting rights and are not eligible for Eboard positions. Active Member: A roster member who has attended 60% of Friday meetings, augmented by their attendance to public functions including talks, workshops and outreach events. Public function attendance is added directly to Friday meeting attendance for final tally calculation, to compensate for students who have occasional alternative obligations on Fridays. Active members have full voting rights at midyear elections and are eligible for eboard positions at that time. Eboard Member: A member who has been elected to a position during the midyear elections. Eboard members have obligations as defined by their position and are required to attend at least 80% of all meetings to retain their responsibilities, or face potential removal from the position. Article III. Events: Meetings are to be held by the eboard every Friday at a time decided upon as most convenient for club membership and attendance. This date may change if school policies on class scheduling change to increase the class load expected on Fridays. Meetings must be attended at least 80% of the time by eboard members, and have certain requirements as specified in the Meeting Requirements Document (attached). These regular events serve the following purposes: To introduce new and prospective members to club functions at a predefined weekly time that is easily attended. To perform eboard functions such as SA paperwork, event organization, and project oversight. To hold periodic functions to educate club members on critical robotics skills such as Arduino programming and 3D printing, or to hold collaborative projects to revive old robotics project and revamp existing ones. At least 7 of these functions must be held per semester.
External Public Functions are to be held periodically during the semester. These functions may vary as described below. Functions must be announced over CCC beforehand and require activities paperwork to be filled post-attendance. In addition, campus flyers and department mailing contacts may be used to increase attendance. At least 3 external functions should be held per semester, and may be attended by anyone in the greater UR student body. Types may include: Robotics Lectures, as held by members of the faculty with a background in robotics systems and an interest in cooperating with the robotics club. Workshops, to educate on robotics-oriented engineering practices such as microcontroller programming, 3d printing, circuit manufacture, and machining. Social functions, to brainstorm project ideas and promote a healthy and inclusive club atmosphere to newcomers. Public Outreach, to present robotics concepts to non-ur student bodies during exchange events and prospective applicant orientation functions. Article IV. Officers and Qualifications Section A. Officer Positions 1. List the titles of all officer positions and qualifications to hold their offices. 1. President (Grand Omnissiah) 2. Vice President (Executive Cat Herder) 3. Business Manager (Skynet Risk Assessment) 4. Secretary (BayMax) 5. Lab Coordinator 6. Resources Coordinator Note that Lab Coordinator and Resources Coordinator are non-essential positions that may be elected by the Eboard as necessary to provide additional support for lab functions. Section B. Duties of Officers 1. All officers shall be members of the Students' Association. 2. All officers shall promote active recruitment of new members. 3. All officers shall enforce this constitution. 4. All officers shall be responsible for knowing the sections of the Students' Association constitution and bylaws that apply to this organization. 5. The President, Vice President, Business Manager or Secretary shall preside over the meetings and shall maintain organization within the club, communicate with other officers and delegate duties to maintain a functioning club that fulfills the purposes set forth above. 6. The President shall see that the high level goals of the club are being pursued as well as be the primary leader of all club functions.
7. The Vice President shall assist the president and stand in for the president at club functions in their absence. 8. The Business Manager will be responsible for maintaining all finances and keep detailed records of all transactions. All funding approval shall go through the Business Manager along with associated departmental advisors. 9. The Secretary shall handle all club paperwork, SA paperwork, event advertising, and other club communications. 10. The Lab Coordinator and Resource Coordinator shall be brought on as necessary to assist in the management and repurposing of old laboratory projects and purchased laboratory resources, respectively. However, these positions may be taken up as additional peripheral duties by the remainder of the eboard should a dedicated position be considered extraneous. Section C. Nominations and Elections 1. Nomination and Elections Procedure: Nominations may be made by any active member in the month before elections begin, and active members may self nominate. Nominations must be from the pool of active members (60% attendance or higher), and associate members are not eligible. In the event a race is uncontested, an automatic victory will be assigned. However, eboard members may elect to veto an automatic victory in extraordinary circumstances, provided this veto is supported by a majority of active members. In this case, the eboard position will be left vacant until such a time as a valid applicant becomes available. 2. Term of Office A term of office will consist of one year from the date of elections. Officers may seek second or third terms if they wish to do so. An officer may not nominate themselves if they are unable to complete a full term (ie, seniors in their final spring). 3. Timing of Elections- Elections will be conducted mid year in January before the first spring semester general interest meeting. Section D. Vacancies, Resignations, and Removals 1. At the valid meeting following a vacancy of an office, the position is to be filled by the same manner described in the Nominations and Elections Procedure. 2. A vote of no confidence is a vote to remove an officer. Such a vote shall require a 2/3 majority of the active membership to pass the motion. 3. If a vote of no confidence on any officer is to take place, it must be given an official meeting notice. Any member of an organization can call for a vote of no confidence. 4. An office shall be declared vacant as the result of a vote of no confidence.
Section E. Provisions of Advisor(s) Advisors are provided by a department of the Hajim School of Engineering or the UR Computer Science Department, and will provide educational support as they feel is necessary. Article V. Projects A project shall be defined as a group of students all working towards a common goal. Any associated, active, or eboard student members may propose a project. Projects may seek funding from departments, faculty, member investment, or from competitions to which they have applied. SA funding will not be used for individual projects. Article VI. Finances Section A. Students' Association members shall receive priority at SA-funded events conducted by this organization. Section B. Funding UR Robotics shall be eligible for SA funding. SA provided funding shall be used for public club activities and resources including but not limited to microcontrollers, 3D printing filament, food, event entertainment, and lab expenses. However, SA funds shall not be used for independent project funding, as described above in Article V. Article VII. Competitions The Robotics Club shall maintain a publicly accessible record of robotics competitions and intercollegiate events for the use and application of members and member groups, along with associated costs for application and travel. However, initial capital for fees, project resources, and team travel is not guaranteed and must be applied for through the eboard and departmental advisors, which may approve or not approve for any reason as determined by existing budgetary constraints, member qualifications, and project feasibility. Article VIII. Classification The University of Rochester Robotics Club will be classified as an Intercollegiate Competition group; ie) this organization shall be any SA-recognized organization that travels to other universities to compete or who themselves host competitive events at the University of Rochester.)
Article VIII. Adoption of the Constitution Section A. Two-thirds of the active membership, or more if the organization decides, must approve the constitution. Section B. This constitution will be ratified upon approval of the Senate and the signature of the Speaker. Section C. This constitution shall not conflict with the Students' Association constitution or by-laws. Article IX. Amendments Section A. Adoption and ratification of amendments to this constitution shall follow the same procedure as adoption of the entire constitution. Article X. By-Laws Section A. At least a 2/3 majority of the active membership must approve the by-laws and any amendments. Section B. By-laws should not conflict with this constitution or the SA constitution or bylaws. Article XI. Hazing Hazing, defined as the harassment of one individual by another individual or organization, is not permitted by the University of Rochester Robotics Society. Behavior prohibited under this rule includes actions threatening substantial risk of physical or mental injury; actions exposing the individual to distressing, repulsive, or alarming situations or sensations; forced consumption of alcohol or drugs; actions in the form of social pressure which might cause harm to an individual. Article XII. Discrimination Policy The University of Rochester Robotics Society of the University of Rochester does not discriminate against any individual or organization of individuals on the basis of age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or political affiliation. Article XIII. Overthrow Policy In the event of a robot uprising, users should report to their nearest eboard representative, who will provide the requisite supplies for post-singularity survival. Such supplies may include but are not limited to; water, canned meat substitute, electro-magnetic defensive measures, antiterminator industrial presses, AI paradox lists, and furbies.
Signature of Officer Date Submitting Constitution Signature of SA Speaker Date Granting Recognition