The Science Fiction Club Constitution

University of Chicago Science Fiction Club Constitution

(as approved January, 1990)*

Article I-Name

Section 1. The name of this organization shall be The University of Chicago Science Fiction (or SF) Club

Article II-Purpose

Section 1. The purpose of The University of Chicago Science Fiction Club shall be to meet at times and places determined by the group to:

discuss science fiction, fantasy, horror, sequential art, role-playing games, board games, other games, history (our own and alternates), politics, Western Civilization, Eastern Civilization, alien civilizations, religion, and any other topics the members may care to bring up;
facilitate the planning of activities relating to the above, e.g. attending a local science fiction convention, bringing a speaker to campus, etc.;
make it possible for the members to play those games, role-playing or board, which may interest them;
to move the furniture;
to leave Coca-Cola cans in Ida Noyes;
the third and secret purpose;
make possible or aid in those other activities that the members, by consensus, choose.
the above shall not be construed as limiting the sorts of activities the Science Fiction Club as a whole or the members thereof may choose to engage in.

Article III-Field of Membership

Section 1. There shall be two classes of members: voting members and nonvoting members.

Section 2. Voting members must be registered students of the University of Chicago. Any sentient being may automatically become a nonvoting member by attendance at any meeting, whether regular or special (See Meetings) providing that he, she or it can maintain a constant body temperature between one and one hundred degrees centigrade. Poikilotherms, nonsentients, or others who do not qualify above, may be inducted by consensus of the members.

Article IV-Officers

Section 1. Officers of this organization shall be divided into two classes, formal and informal, as detailed below. The formal officers shall be called President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Section 2. All formal officers must be voting members. All informal officers must be members.

Section 3. A term of office will last for one year for formal officers, for the duration of the individual's membership in the group in the case of informal officers, except in the case of resignation.

Section 4. Types of Officers.

a) Formal Officers: The President shall preside over all meetings. The Vice President shall have all responsibilities of the President when the President is unable to attend. The Secretary shall be responsible for writing down anything which happens during meetings which he or she deems worth recording. The Treasurer and the President shall be jointly and individually responsible for the acquisition and dispensation of Student Government funds, as well as any other funds which may find their way into the hands of the aforementioned officers by whatever
means.

b) Informal Officers: Informal Offices are those which are not restricted to voting members. These are divided into two classes: permanent and personal.

Permanent informal offices are those which continue to exist and should be filled whenever a qualified member exists. These include:

(a) The God-Emperor: This shall be the seniormost member. Seniority, for the purposes of this office only, is measured by the difference between year of entry into the University of Chicago and the present date, irrespective of time taken off, graduation status, etc.

(b) The Minister of Information: This office subsumes two previous offices. As Minister of Propaganda he or she is responsible for the publicizing of the existence and activity of the Club. He or she should either be able to draw or otherwise produce posters, or be capable of coercing some other person to do so. As Minister of Intelligence, he or she is Chief of the Secret Police. The Minister of Information is also responsible for all internal coups.

Section 5. The President shall be the seniormost voting member of the club who chooses to complete the necessary paperwork. In a case where two or more members of equal seniority wish the office, the one who manages to turn in the paperwork with his or her name first shall be President. Alternately, should all candidates be amenable, a duel by any nonlethal means to which all candidates agree may be substituted. The Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be those voting members whose names are on the form turned in to the Student Activities Office by the winning presidential candidate. Permanent informal offices shall be assigned after the departure of the previous officeholder when an appropriate candidate appears, by the President, God-Emperor, or consensus of the members. Personal informal offices may be granted at any meeting, scheduled or special, by the President of the meeting, the President of the club, or by consensus of those attending. Examples of personal informal offices include First Speaker, Loudest Speaker, Sergeant at Arms, Lord of Historical Necessity, and Continuity Cop.

Section 6. Formal officers may be removed only by their general ostracism from the club. Informal officers may not be removed save after conviction by consensus of the group of having taken their position overly seriously in an annoying manner.

Section 7. Secret Police: There is no Secret Police. If there were, knowledge of such a hypothetical organization would be restricted. Anyone who claims knowledge of such an organization is a traitor and should be reported to the Minister of Information.

Article V-Meetings

Section 1. Regular meetings shall be held on Thursdays at 8 P.M., or at some other time by consensus of the membership. Meetings shall continue to take place during finals week.

Section 2. Special meetings shall occur whenever three or more members of the club shall be together at the same time. Special meetings shall have all powers and activities of regular meetings. The President of the meeting shall be, in descending order, the God-Emperor, the President, the Vice-President, the seniormost member present. The President of the meeting shall have all powers of Club President, save that he or she shall not have power over Club funds unless he or she already has that authority by virtue of his or her office.

Section 3. A quorum shall consist of three members, save in constitutional matters (see Article XI).

Article VI- Elections

Section 1. Election of officers shall be conducted annually, in the manner detailed in Article IV.

Section 2. All voting members as defined in Article III may vote in any election in which voting is conducted. Voting members must be present either in person or by some means of instantaneous communication (telephone, computer, radio, ansible, telepathy, etc.)

Section 3. Elections or appointments may be made only in accordance with Article IV, and shall be made known by word of mouth or other appropriate means.

Article VII- Sponsors, Advisors

Section 1. The University of Chicago Science Fiction Club will have a single advisor, who must be a full-time faculty member in residence or professional staff member.

Section 2. The advisor will be selected by any member acquiring the signature of an appropriate individual on the recognition form.

Section 3. Duties of advisors. The advisor will sign the recognition form at the beginning of each year.

Article VIII-Committees

Section 1. There shall be no standing committees.

Section 2. A Committee may be formed by any member, who shall be chair of the committee so formed. Formal creation of a committee shall consist of the member stating "I think I'll form a committee to" (or semantic equivalent) and the purpose of thecommittee. Committees may request monies through the President or Treasurer.

Article IX-Dues

Section 1. No monetary dues shall be charged by the UC Science Fiction Club. However, the prospective member must entrust the administration of the UC Science Fiction Club with his immaterial, immortal soul, if said soul or an option thereon has not been previously given. The Club will hold this for the duration of the individual's membership, whether voting or non-voting, although the individual may recall said soul should the necessity arise.

Article X-Handling of Funds

Section 1. All funds collected must be deposited in the UC Science Fiction Club's SAO account. The Treasurer and President are designated with the responsibility to handle all organization finances.

Article XI-Amendments

Section 1. Amendments to this Constitution may be made by consensus of the members or, if any voting member so demands, by hand vote among the voting members present during the regular meeting, this being considered the time during which the largest number of members are present. Alternately, it may be amended by any member's fiat if no one else particularly cares.

Section 2. Notice of intent to amend the Constitution by consensus or vote should be made at the meeting the week before proposal of the amendment.

*Yes, just for the record, we know how out of date that is... or at least, some of us do. Yes, just for the record, we are planning on doing something about it.... or at least, some of us are.

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