Holyoke Community College

“Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it’s something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles.” – Abbie Hoffman

Constitution Of Democracy Matters, Holyoke Community College

Founding Date: October 2004

Article I: Name

The name of this organization shall be Democracy Matters Chapter of Holyoke Community College.

Article II: Purposes

The purpose of this organization will be to actively engage the political involvement of the students of Holyoke Community College. Our primary aims are to remove the corruption of private money in government and to increase voting participation. Democracy Matters is a NON-partisan, NON-profit organization established to promote American political well being and to educate people about American democracy. This includes, but not limited to, the pursuit of political awareness, the importance of voting, educating the public about corrupt political finances (such as lobbying, “soft money,” and other forms of governmental fiscal fallacies), and the better performances we can expect from politicians on a publicly funded campaign system. The organization shall invest in the slogans of Democracy Matters, “Change Elections, Change America” and “Taking Money Out of Politics and Putting People Back In.” Most importantly this organization will rely on Democracy Matters members, supporters, and the American People to find solutions to the problems facing the democratic world of today and tomorrow.

Article III: Membership

The membership of this organization is open to ANY and ALL Holyoke Community College students, faculty, and staff. There is and never shall be any discrimination of race, gender, ethnicity, faith, age, veteran status, sexual preference, political affiliation or disabilities in regards to any criteria of membership. The beauty of democracy is it allows every one to be involved.

Article IV: Advisor

Section 1 – Advisor Selection Guidelines

The organization’s members will democratically elect a member of the Holyoke Community College faculty or staff to serve as Advisor to the organization. The position can and will be held as long as the Advisor wishes, so long as He/She follows the proceeding guidelines. However, should these responsibilities be unfulfilled, the Advisor can be removed by an Impeachment. In an Impeachment process, a group of six active members is needed to propose the Impeachment to their fellow members. The Advisor shall be able to defend His/Herself once the Prosecution has stated their case. The members will then participate in a decision, which shall be conducted by no less than the specified Quorum, with the agreement of two-thirds of that vote. In the instance of a vacancy, the members can immediately vote upon a new Advisor as soon as needed.

Section 2 – Advisor Responsibilities

The Advisor is an essential part of the organization. He/She will act as a liaison between Democracy Matters and other Holyoke Community College faculty; The Advisor will conduct monthly reviews of organization finances and (at the minimum) meet monthly with the Executive Core Officers to ensure positive working relationships; To supervise officer elections, transition, and training; To attend meetings on a regular basis; To assist officers in general operations, procedures, and upholding of this Constitution.

Article V: Officers

Section 1 – Executive Core Officers

Within the officers’ positions there will be a group of Executive Core Officers consisting of seven (7) initial Executive Core Officers, each with unique responsibilities vital to the success of the organization. For this reason, the Executive Core is responsible for attending all meetings, minus certain extenuating circumstances that can be excused by the Campus Coordinator, Campus Director, or Advisor. The Executive Core, as a Unit, will be responsible for campaign formation and administration. A simple majority vote will pass a proposal at any Executive Core meeting. Each Executive Core Officer will have one, equal vote except in the instance of a tie, whereby the Campus Coordinator will break the tie. For transition purposes, each of the officers will be required to compile a comprehensive manual for His/Her respected position, which will be passed down to the succeeding officer. The Executive Core positions are, as follows:

Section 1a – Campus Coordinator

Section 1b – Campus Director

Section 1c – Treasurer

Section 1d – Campus Communications Coordinator

Section 1e – Secretary

Section 1f – Coalition Coordinator

Section 1g – Outreach Coordinator

Article VI: Duties of Officers

Section 1 – Executive Core Officers

Section 1a – Campus Coordinator

Responsibilities include the following: To act as the official liaison between the National Organization, other Democracy Matters Chapters, and the Holyoke Community College Chapter; To direct the meetings; To work closely and intensely with the Campus Director on daily Chapter operations; To oversee the Treasurer and Campus Communications Coordinator; To appoint and oversee a Director of Underclassmen Development or to be responsible for these duties directly if He/She chooses; To keep the Advisor informed of all upcoming events; To have the power of interpretation of this Constitution should it be necessary for the Campus Coordinator to make organizational related decisions during the summer or periods when contact with the Executive Core is suspended; To encourage the members to achieve their goals; To recognize the accomplishments of His/Her fellow members.

Section 1b – Campus Director

Responsibilities: To assume Campus Coordinator’s Responsibilities in His/Her absence; To oversee all officers in the Chapter not overseen by the Campus Coordinator; To serve as Event Planner in coordinating all events with all other officers of the Core; To prepare the Agenda for Executive Core meetings; To monitor all committees and also be responsible for the appointing of these committees, its committee chairpersons (with the exception of Fundraising Committees, which will be headed by the Treasurer), and assist these chairpersons when necessary.
Section 1c – Treasurer

Responsibilities: To devise semesterly budget proposals; To work with Democracy Matters (National) and with Holyoke Community College in securing funding; To oversee budget proposals for events and other organizational functions; To be the chairperson in all fundraising committees; To regulate all treasury reports in a well kept Ledger, including, but not limited to, all bank accounts, statements, incomes, debts, deposits, and withdrawals; To ensure all Members are compensated for organization expenses and all debts are paid (all to be deemed appropriate by the Campus Coordinator).

Section 1d – Campus Communications Coordinator

Responsibilities: To promote and publicize for Democracy Matters all events, membership and recruitment efforts, and campaigns; To propose a strategy for such promotion and publicity complete with a budget proposal to be submitted to the Treasurer at the beginning of each semester; To oversee all public relations matters involving campus, local, and national media; To appoint and oversee the Web Site Director and the News Letter Director or to be responsible for these duties directly if He/She chooses; To form and update a List Serve for the purpose of communicating with all members of Democracy Matters of Holyoke Community College; To be in charge of setting up and running a promotional table and providing the décor wherever the Chapter’s office is located.

Section 1e – Secretary

Responsibilities: To prepare a sign-in sheet for meetings; To take accurate and complete Minutes at all meetings; To develop a spread sheet of members with their appropriate contact information; To reserve meeting rooms and tables; To update Registration with Holyoke Community College; To appoint the Media Director or be responsible for these duties directly if He/She so chooses; To record and have on file all historical events of the organization and information regarding its members, including the documentation of this Constitution and Amendments to it; To handle any other administrative duties deemed appropriate by the Campus Director.

Section 1f – Coalition Coordinator

Responsibilities: To form relationships with other campus organizations and to initiate and organize co-sponsored events; To represent Democracy Matters at the meetings of other organizations (namely other HCC clubs); To stress how the importance of engaged student involvement and campaign corruption relates to their causes; To form positive relationships with local Holyoke organizations; To assist the Campus Coordinator in maintaining relationships with other chapters of Democracy Matters and to organize co-sponsored events.

Section 1g – Outreach Coordinator

Responsibilities: To coordinate a semesterly/yearly visit to local high schools for the purpose of educating students as well as ourselves; To facilitate communication between the National Democracy Matters and the local high schools; To spread and engage in the interests of Democracy Matters to other universities in the local, state, and national levels.

Section 1h – New Positions
New positions may be proposed by the Executive Core Officers and made official with a unanimous vote of the Executive Officers. This new position, pending its acceptance of the Executive Core, will then expire at the end of the Core’s term. However, this position may become permanent with an Amendment to this Constitution (found under Article XIII).

Section 1i – Impeachment of Officers

In the event an officer is not performing His/Her responsibilities, has violated this Constitution, or is determined (by a petitioning group of six or more active members) that He/She is no longer suited for the position, the petitioning group will formally Impeach the respective member. A two-thirds majority vote by the Quorum (found under Article XII) is necessary for the formal expulsion of the officer from the organization. Core Officers can be relieved of their duties at the will of the Executive Core Officer Appointee.

Article VII: Elections

Section 1 – Officer Nomination Procedures

Nominations for any of the organization’s positions must be made by one of the members and seconded by another member.

Section 2 – Voting

When all the nominations are received for all positions, the voting process can begin. It is to be purely democratic, with all votes of equal measure. The Advisor and two selected Democracy Matters members who are not connected to the ballot will conduct the vote. Only nominated candidates can be voted upon; write-in votes will not be accepted. The ballots will then be counted on that same day. The candidates with the most votes will inherit the position.

Section 3 – Time of Election

The time of the elections for Executive positions will be sometime during the second or third week in both Fall and Spring semesters.

Article VIII: Executive Committee

“The Executive Committee” will serve as a moniter for “The Executive Core Officers,” which include the Campus Coordinator, Campus Director, Treasurer, Campus Communications Coordinator, Secretary, Coalition Coordinator, and Outreach Coordinator. Other positions can be admitted to the Executive Committee with an Amendment to this Constitution (found under Article XIII).

Article IX: Executive Committee Duties

Section 1 – Executive Committee Meetings

The Executive Committee shall meet prior to each meeting for the purpose of formulating an Agenda.

Section 2 – Urgent Decisions

The Executive Committee will make decisions regarding an urgent situation should one arise. This constitutes extreme matters of threat to the well being of the organization.

Section 3 – Post-Meeting Analysis

The Executive Committee shall review the content of the last meeting and ensure the continued direction of Democracy Matters.

Section 4 – Upholding the Constitution

It is the Executive Committee’s duty to uphold and practice the guidelines of this Constitution.

Article X: Dues and Fees
Dues and fees will not be required by this organization nor will they ever be.

Article XI: Meetings

Section 1 – General Meetings

The meeting day(s) and time(s) will be voted upon. The Executive Core must discuss and list the times they are able to attend the meetings. From there this list will then be distributed to all of Democracy Matters’ general members, and then voted upon via email.

Section 2 – Urgent Meetings

The Campus Coordinator shall be granted the power to call special meetings involving the Executive Core should an urgent situation, regarding to the well-being of the organization, arise.

Section 3 – Parliamentary Guidelines

The current members of Democracy Matters in any given year may decide on proper procedures for running the meeting.

Article XII: Quorum

The Quorum needed to make any decisions regarding Democracy Matters will be three-fifths of the organization’s current members. The Campus Coordinator and Secretary will be responsible for determining this figure based on the active participation of each of the individual members of this organization.

Article XIII Amendments

Section 1 – Introducing an Amendment

Any six general members may introduce an Amendment to the Constitution by submitting it in writing to the Secretary.

Section 1a – A unanimous vote by the Executive Core in favor of the Amendment is necessary for the immediate adoption of the Amendment.

Section 1b – If the Executive Core cannot reach a unanimous vote, the Amendment will be passed to the general members for voting.   A two-thirds majority of the Quorum is needed to ratify the Amendment.

Section 2 – Publicizing the Amendment

Should the general members vote on an Amendment, the Secretary will provide a copy of the proposed Amendment and make it available to all members at least two days prior to the meeting.

Section 3 – Voting on the Amendment

The time period for the debate will be set by the Executive Core and may be extended if deemed necessary by the Executive Core. A vote is to be taken after the debate.

Section 4 – Unsuccessful Amendments

An Amendment may only be proposed once in a semester. If denied, that proposed Amendment cannot be resubmitted until the following semester.