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SUWS Constitution

From SUWS-wiki
Revision as of 14:10, 6 December 2013 by Schmendrick (talk | contribs) (Updated the information at the top of the page regarding the date of last amendment and of the lack of SUSU approval.)

This page contains the constitution of the Southampton University Wireless Society (SUWS), last amended at our EGM on 05/12/2013. The modified constitution has not yet been approved by the Relevant Union Committee; the previously approved version appears here.

Name

The name of the Society shall be:

SUWS - Southampton University Wireless Society

hereinafter referred to as the Society.

Objects/Aims

The objects/aims of the Society shall be:

To promote the activity of amateur radio, community wireless networks and allied subjects.

Membership

  • Full membership is open to any registered student of the University of Southampton and/or full member of the Union.
  • Associate membership is open to associate members of the Union. Associate members shall be entitled to the full rights and privileges as full members except that they may not nominate or vote in elections.

The Relevant Union Officer must always be provided with an up to date copy of all member names and corresponding student numbers.

Officers

The officers of the society shall be:

  1. President:
    The President is the figurehead of the Society to all external interests. S/he is responsible for any other tasks that do not come under the jurisdiction of other committee members (see below).
  2. Treasurer:
    The Treasurer shall maintain the accounts of the Society, which shall be available for examination at the AGM. Any funds spent by the Society must follow Union regulations (as set out in the Constitution and Grant Aid) and be authorised by the Treasurer and the President.
  3. Secretary:
    The Secretary shall keep minutes of Society meetings which shall be available to the Relevant Union Committee. It is the responsibility of the Secretary to deal with all communications on behalf of the Society and its committee. The Secretary shall produce and maintain a list of all members, including up to date contact details, which shall be available to the officers and committee of the Society.
  4. Radio Licensing Officer:
    The Radio Licensing Officer is responsible for the Society's radio license(s). To be eligible for this position they must hold a full and valid UK Amateur Radio License for the duration of the term of office, as required by Ofcom (or any other official body). This officer is responsible for ensuring appropiate use of the license(s) held by, or in the name of the Society. They are responsible for updating, informing and responding to any official body regarding any licensing related issues or changes. Finally, this officer must return (or transfer) all license(s) at the end of their term of office.

Committee

The administration and management of the Society shall be the responsibility of its committee. The committee shall consist of the officers of the Society and no less than 2 ordinary members of the Society.

Society hand-over

Upon election of a new committee, the outgoing committee is responsible for overseeing the handover of responsibilities for a minimum of 2 weeks following the elections. The responsibilities of each outgoing officer are:

  1. President:
    The President must ensure that the e-mail list, computing file store and mailing list are transferred to the new owner.
  2. Treasurer:
    The Treasurer must ensure that the Society's copy of Grant Aid is up to date and that the new officer has all bank account details transferred to him/her, along with all relevant documentation. The Treasurer must also ensure that a budget application for the following academic year is submitted to the Relevant Union Officer before the end of the summer term.
  3. Secretary:
    The Secretary will transfer all minutes and relevant documentation to the new officer. The Secretary will also complete the Society registration and Bunfight stand request for the coming session and pass these to the Relevant Union Officer as soon as possible.

Meetings

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

  1. The Society AGM shall be held in the spring term.
  2. Notice of the AGM should be issued at least 7 days in advance of the meeting and advertised to Society members.
  3. Officers of the Society and committee members shall be elected at the AGM. The Society Secretary shall invite nominations at least 7 days in advance of the meeting.
  4. Nominations should be given to the Society Secretary before the start of the meeting.
  5. Each member of the committee may be invited by the Chairperson to make a short speech concerning his/her activities during the previous year.
  6. The Relevant Union Officer should be invited to the AGM.
  7. Minutes of the AGM shall be made available by the start of the summer term.

Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM)

  1. An EGM can be called by the President or Secretary of the Society, or by written application to the Society President of at least 6 members of the Society, together with a written statement of the objects for which the meeting is being called.
  2. In addition to the circumstances specified in i., an EGM shall be called in the event that a part, or parts, of this constitution are no longer accurate or enforceable. This EGM shall be held within 1 month of the committee becoming aware of this matter, or the soonest appropriate date if this would be in conflict with subsection iv..
  3. At the EGM, no business other than that specified in the written statement shall be discussed.
  4. At least 24 hours notice of an EGM shall be given. The meeting must be held within 2 weeks of term time (excluding exam periods and as defined by the University calendar) of the request being given to the Society President.
  5. The Relevant Union Officer shall be informed of the meeting and the reason for it being called, before it is held.

Conduct of General Meetings

  1. Voting: Every full member of the Society present at a general meeting shall be entitled to one vote upon every voting matter. Only full members are entitled to vote and no proxy votes shall be accepted for any purpose.
  2. Quorum: The quorum at all meetings shall be 10% of the full members.
  3. Minutes: The Secretary of the Society shall keep minutes of all general meetings, which shall be made available to the Relevant Union Officer and the Relevant Union Committee.

Elections

  1. Elections for Society Officers and committee members shall be held at the AGM. The Secretary shall invite nominations at least 7 days before the meeting. Nominations must be given to the Secretary before the meeting, on the nomination form provided.
  2. The elections will be advertised to all Society members.
  3. The elections shall be carried out by show of hands or secret ballot, to be decided by the Chairperson at the start of the meeting. Should there be a tied result, the Chairperson may vote in favour of one of the candidates or may declare the post unfilled.
  4. If a full committee is not elected for any reason, a Secretary shall be elected and s/he will be responsible for ensuring that elections for the remaining positions are held by the end of the summer term.
  5. Results of the elections, together with names, student numbers and contact details of those elected, shall be submitted to the Clubs and Relevant Union Officer within 14 days of the election.

Financial matters

  1. The Treasurer of the Society shall be responsible for maintaining the accounts of the Society, which shall be available to the Relevant Union Officer and the Relevant Union Committee.
  2. An annual statement of the Society accounts must be presented to the AGM by the Society Treasurer.
  3. The Society Officers are jointly liable for the proper management of the Society's finances and ensuring that the Union's Grant Aid regulations are applied.

Expulsion of members

  1. The Committee shall have the power to expel any member from the Society, after discussion with the Relevant Union Officer, on the grounds of misconduct, or for conduct of a nature opposed to the objects of the Society and the Students' Union.
  2. Where any member of the Society is expelled by the Committee, a report of the matter shall be made at the next General Meeting of the Society.
  3. Students who are expelled from the Society have the right of appeal to the Relevant Union Committee.

Affiliations

The Society may affiliate to an external organisation which is in line with the aims of the Society and which provides a direct benefit to its members. All external affiliations must be approved by the Relevant Union Committee. In order to affiliate to an external organisation, the matter shall be put to a discussion and vote of the membership present at a Society general meeting. For the purposes of this section, sponsorship from an external source is to be considered a form of external affiliation. Donations shall not in themselves be considered sponsorship.

Constitutional Amendments

  1. The Society committee at a General Meeting shall first approve amendments to the constitution.
  2. The committee shall hold a vote to pass any constitutional changes. This shall be done by ballot or a show of hands, at the discretion of the Chairperson. Should there be a tie, the Chairperson may vote.
  3. Amendments to this constitution shall be submitted to the Relevant Union Officer in writing, for consideration and approval by the Relevant Union Committee.
  4. The Secretary of the Society and the Relevant Union Officer shall both keep a copy of the constitution.

The above constitution was accepted by SUSU on the 3rd of May 2011.

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