Emotion Constitution Mission Statement Emotion is a club at Elizabethtown College that provides a creative outlet for students interested in dance and in physical well-being. Emotion also strives to promote an understanding and awareness of dance, and enhance the cultural life of the college community. Article I - Name The name of this organization shall be Emotion. Article II - Purpose 1. To introduce, teach, and develop different forms of dance to interested students 2. To make available master classes to bring in outside sources to promote dance and stimulate the club to a higher level 3. To rehearse for and perform for the college community and surrounding areas Article III Membership Requirements 1. All students of Elizabethtown College with an interest in dance shall be eligible for membership. 2. Attendance a. Dancers must attend all practices at their scheduled time unless previously discussed with the choreographer. b. If more than three practices are missed, the choreographer has the right to remove a dancer from the dance. c. If a dancer is more than twenty minutes late to dance practice, and has not previously notified the choreographer, it will be considered an absence. 3. A member must drop a dance within the first three dance practices (not including auditions) or as a consequence of violating Elizabethtown College Policy, the number of allowed dances will be reduced for the following semester. The number of dances will be reduced by one for each dance that is dropped after the allowed drop period. 4. If a choreographer(s) is selected after the audition process, and decides that they no longer would like to choreograph for that semester, they must notify Emotion cabinet before the showing. Any choreographer(s) that decides to no longer choreograph after the showing has occurred will not be able to choreograph the following semester. 5. All members are not obligated to perform; however, those that make a commitment to perform must attend all scheduled rehearsals unless there is a good excuse to be absent. All excuses will be decided upon by each, individual choreographer. 6. All members must exert an enthusiasm for dance and have respect for and cooperate with teachers and choreographers. 7. All members must try to attend all scheduled meetings. 8. All members are entitled to vote in all elections. Every person voting has to be a member who has paid dues and performed service for that academic year. 9. All members are required to pay dues set forth by the officers at that time. 10. All members are required to perform a half hour of service for Emotion (i.e. - fundraisers, Homecoming, etc.). 11. All choreographers must sign the Choreographer Contract before auditioning their piece each semester. This will ensure that all choreographers are up to date on the policies of Emotion, and that they will follow the rules of the club.
Article IV - Officers 1. The Cabinet shall be composed of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, Fundraisers, Public Relations person, Costumer, and Club Representative. a. The Executive Cabinet will consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Historian. b. The Cabinet will consist of the Executive Cabinet plus the Fundraisers, Public Relations Representative, Costumer, and Club Representative. 2. The members of the club shall nominate candidates, or a member may volunteer himself or herself, for officer positions for the coming year. 3. Elections of officers will be held before the end of the academic year, by ballot, which will be counted by the outgoing President and at least one the Advisor(s). If the President is not a senior, then it is to be an out-going senior, Executive Cabinet member and the Advisor who will count the ballots. a. In the event of a tie in electing new officers, there will be a revote. If the office is down to two or three people that tied for the position, all others are taken off the ballot and people may only vote on those that tied. 4. The member running for office with the majority of votes will be the officer for the following academic year. 5. Members running for any Cabinet position must shadow/meet with the current cabinet members that hold the position to learn the responsibilities and duties associated with the position. 6. Members may only run for the positions of President and Vice President if they have been on Cabinet previously unless the current cabinet votes to revoke this said rule and open both positions up to the club regardless of previously being on cabinet. 7. If an officer resigns or withdraws, an election shall be held to elect a new officer to that position. If no one is elected, then the cabinet takes on responsibilities of that position. a. In the event that an Executive Cabinet position is available, someone must be elected. The Executive Cabinet can appoint a member to fulfill a position if an election is held and no member is elected. b. Cabinet positions can be taken on by the entire Cabinet if no one is appointed. If this situation occurs, all Cabinet members will split the assigned roles of that position. The President will lead the discussion on this topic, and make sure that all roles are assigned equally. If there is no President elected then the Vice President will lead this discussion. 8. When running for the position of Fundraisers, two members of the club must run as a pair together. This will ensure that the Fundraisers can work together as a team. 9. When running to be a member on cabinet, you may only run for one position. 10. There shall be no conflict of interest when running for an officer position i.e being an officer of any performing arts club on campus ( Sock & Buskin, Mad Cow, Dance Team and so on). Members of any performing arts club who chose to run as officer may only be represented by 2 members max on the current Emotion Cabinet. If more than 2 members are elected for a Cabinet Position, a revote will be made to choose only 2. If there still remains to be a tie, the current Cabinet members will chose the 2 new officers for the candidates. ** Article V- Duties 1. President
a. The President will direct all regular meetings of the club and cabinet. b. The President will be responsible for calling all cabinet meetings. c. The President will be responsible for creating the choreographer Power Point slideshow that is used during the Showcase. 2. Vice-President a. The Vice-President will assist the president with her duties and club matters. b. The Vice-President will be in charge of supplying a DVD for each showcase. c. The Vice-President will update the contract and the constitution. 3. Secretary a. The Secretary will keep a record of all business conducted at both regular and Cabinet meetings. b. The Secretary will be responsible for informing club members about scheduled meetings, events, and minutes from the previous meeting. c. The Secretary will be the one who does all of the correspondence with the club. Any email sent to the Cabinet from club members or from the Cabinet to the club members will occur through the secretary. 4. Treasurer a. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the budget as allocated by the Student Senate and any other additional funds collected by the club (i.e. - dues and fundraisers). b. The Treasurer is responsible for keeping the webpage up to date (pictures, dates of events, and cabinet members/positions) c. Treasurer is responsible for making ticket projections and budget projections for each academic semester in order to determine the appropriate budget for the costumer to buy costumes for the academic semester. d. Treasurer is responsible for the excel spreadsheet that will be used to make projections and to inform the current cabinet members of said projections 5. Historian a. The historian will keep a record of the events that the club is involved with throughout the year by compiling a scrapbook which will include taking pictures and collecting memorabilia from the events. b. The historian will be in charge of organizing Homecoming (including: Emotion s float, Midway Sales, etc.). 6. Fundraisers a. The Fundraisers will be represented by two people on the Cabinet. b. The Fundraisers will run and organize all fundraising events and be responsible for brainstorming new ideas to raise money. c. The Fundraisers have the responsibility to think of new apparel and/or merchandise that can be sold to represent the club. d. The Fundraisers will be helped by the rest of the cabinet in carrying out all fundraisers. 7. Public Relations
a. The Public Relations Representative will be responsible for designing and producing any advertisements relating to the show and other events (i.e. - fundraisers) such as programs, banners, flyers, and tickets. 8. Costumer a. The Costumer will be responsible for distribution and collection of costumes in the costume closet and keeping the closet organized. b. The Costumer will keep inventory of what the club owns (including the number of each item, sizes, colors, etc.). c. The Costumer will assist the choreographers with different ideas for their dances as well as being their contact person on the Cabinet. 10. Club Representative a. The Club Representative will attend all club council meetings and relay information to the rest of the cabinet at cabinet meetings. b. The Club Representative will work with the historian in organizing Homecoming (including: Emotion s float, Midway Sales, etc.). 11. Cabinet a. The cabinet have final say in all club matters and if necessary, assistance from club advisors can be made. b. The cabinet members must attend all meetings unless prior notice is given to the President or Vice President. c. The cabinet will have the power to transact any necessary business that must be accomplished outside general meetings. This business shall be reported to the other members of the cabinet. d. Failure to meet (consecutive) cabinet meetings, duties, and responsibilities will result in removal from the cabinet if voted on by all other Cabinet members. The member of Cabinet will be notified before the vote. This will be to tell them that they are being reviewed and voted on by the other Cabinet members. This must be a unanimous vote by Emotion Cabinet, other than the Cabinet member in question. If the member is removed, then a new election will be held to fill the position. Look at Article IV for further instructions on this process. e. See Article IX for further duties Article VI Advisor(s) 1. The advisor(s) is expected to counsel and donate time to the club accordingly. 2. The advisor(s) is to be present at the choreographer auditions, full showing, and for at least one show for the events entirety for each semester. Article VII - Meetings 1. The acting officers shall hold the regular meetings of the club when necessary. 2. The cabinet must give an update to the club at least once a month via meetings or email about upcoming events and activities. 3. Whenever the president finds it necessary, he/she may call a meeting of the cabinet. 4. The general meetings are for all club members to attend. These meetings will be listed on the schedule, received by all club members at the beginning of each semester. At these meetings information about auditions, member responsibilities, and attendance will be
discussed. 5. During Cabinet meetings, all Cabinet members are required to attend. During these meetings, Cabinet members will discuss upcoming projects, fundraising, rehearsals, and general meetings. Cabinet members will be given enough notice to ensure that all members can attend. Each member will also be notified by the President, about what information they need to have prepared for that meeting. 6. A choreographer meeting will be held at the beginning of each semester. It is required that all choreographers attend this meeting. At this meeting music, attendance policies, and choreographer responsibilities will be discussed. Article VIII - Show participation 1. Each dancer is allowed to be involved in a maximum of three group numbers (this includes small group/solo numbers). The only exception to this rule is the senior number or company number (when offered) in which one of these can count as a fourth dance. 2. Dancers must perform in both of the end of semester shows unless previously coordinated with the choreographer and a member of cabinet. Failure to do so will result in a reduction in the allowed number of dances for the following semester. 3. Dancers must arrive an hour and a half before show time and stay until the ending bow unless previously coordinated with a member of cabinet. 4. Anyone is allowed to choreograph; however, first time choreographers will be limited to choreographing one dance. 5. All choreographers must pass through the audition process conducted by the Cabinet and advisor(s). 6. Choreographers must have one semester of experience in the club, where they must participate in at least one group number. 7. All choreographers must sign and submit the Choreographer Contract to Cabinet. The contract must be submitted no later than choreographer auditions in order to choreograph that semester. 8. All choreographers must accept a minimum of 10 dancers into their dance if at least 10 dancers audition for their piece. 9. No outside dance groups will be permitted to dance in the show. This includes any group or individual that is not a current Elizabethtown College student. Article IX - Costumes 1. The cabinet will create a costume budget at the beginning of each semester, never to exceed 1000 dollars (amount given to charity). 2. Costume ideas/requests must be submitted to the cabinet and approved by the officers at the time. 3. It is mandatory that all choreographers are present at the costume meetings, ran by the costumer. If unable to attend, the costumer must be aware of this prior to the beginning of the meeting. a. Choreographers must come prepared with their first choice as well as at least one backup selection. At least one of their backup selections must come from the costume closet in the event that their costume cannot be purchased. b. If a choreographer has not contacted Emotion cabinet, stating that they cannot make the costume meeting, any of their purchase ideas will not be considered.
4. Each request must be approved by the president, treasurer, and costumer based on budget, current costume selection, and other requests. 5. The cabinet will use the following criteria when considering requests for purchase. a. reasonably priced items, the chance of reuse of the item in the future, the item will not go out of style (i.e. - a timeless piece/look), flattering to most body types. b. If necessary, extra sizes should be purchased to ensure the items use in the future. c. Purchases will not include props, cosmetics, accessories and homemade items (i.e. - pieces of fabric) 6. The cabinet has the final say on whether an item is acceptable for purchase. 7. All purchases must go through the treasurer. Either the treasurer orders the items online directly through the business office, or the purchaser must give receipts to the treasurer for reimbursement. 8. It is the job of the choreographers to find items that are reasonably priced, regardless of who is paying for the item (whether it is the club or the dancers themselves). Emotion is a club and cost of costumes should not deter dancers from participating in the club. 9. Dancers must return all costumes owned by Emotion to the costumer by 12:00 noon the Tuesday following the show. If a costume is not returned during the allotted time, the dancer will be charged for the cost of the costume. 10. Dancers must take care of borrowed costumes. If a costume is returned damaged, the dancer may be charged the cost of the costume. Article X - Music 1. The Cabinet will review the lyrics to all songs and holds the right to veto the use of songs due to questionable content. a. Any music used containing inappropriate language will either need to be edited or the edited version must be used. b. The content of the lyrics will also be considered (songs must be family friendly). The Cabinet must receive the song that choreographers want to choreograph to before choreographer auditions. Once the song is received Cabinet will review all lyrics to make sure that they are appropriate for the show. 2. Four semesters, or two years, must pass before a song can be reused. If a choreographer would like to use a remix or a different version of the song, they may only use it after that same two year period. 3. In the event that two choreographers wish to use the same song, the cabinet will encourage the choreographers to work it out themselves. If a compromise cannot be reached, the cabinet will intervene in the following manner. a. If one of the choreographers is using the song for a large group dance and one is using it for a small group (6 people or less), then the person choreographing for a large group will be the one allowed to use the song. b. If both choreographers are choreographing for larger groups, then there will be a drawing to decide who gets to use the song. The numbers 1-10 will placed in the hat and each choreographer will draw a number. The person with the higher number will get to use the song. NOTE: If two choreographers are working together, they only get one pull. Therefore, there is only one pick for each dance.
4. All dances, no matter the number of dancers, will use music that is a maximum of three minutes and thirty seconds. This excludes the company number (this time however must be approved by cabinet). Article XI Amendments to this constitution may be presented to the Cabinet or the faculty advisors at any time. The amendments will be voted on by existing members. In the event of a tie, the faculty advisor will make the final decision on the amendment. Amendments to the Emotion Constitution shall be communicated to the Student Senate Judicial Committee at least through email at senate@etown.edu. Notes: ** Said rule will be in effect from Fall 2016 to Fall 2018 and voted upon by current Emotion Cabinet as to if it will stand for further years.