Yale Political Union Constitution
Article I
Name
Section
1:
The name of this organization
shall
be the Yale Political Union.
Object
Section
1:
The purpose of the Yale
Political
Union shall be to provide Yale with a non-partisan forum for
parliamentary
debate and to encourage other suitable means for the discussion of
matters
of
public interest.
Section
2: The
Union shall be open to
any and
all political viewpoints in its capacity as a forum.
Section
3:
The property and income of the Union shall be used solely
to further the purposes expressed in this Article. Should the Union
be dissolved, its assets shall be distributed among all
the parties within the Union at the time of its
dissolution, according to their relative sizes.
Members
Section
1:
There shall be three classes
of
membership in the Union, which shall be Full Members, Patron
Members,
and Honorary Members.
Section
2:
Students and alumni of Yale
University shall be eligible to be Full Members of the Union.
Membership shall be by Session. Anyone who purchases a membership for a
Fall
Session must also purchase a membership for the Spring Session
immediately
following. Anyone eligible to purchase a membership may choose to
purchase
membership for eight Sessions for the cost of six consecutive Sessions.
Anyone
eligible to purchase a membership may choose to purchase a membership
for
life,
which shall cost an amount equal to the cost of ten consecutive
Sessions
minus
any amount the purchaser has previously spent on his own membership in
the
Union.
Section
3:
All those who have been
elected
President or Speaker of the Union before the adoption of
this
Constitution shall upon its adoption be granted full membership for
life,
and
upon election to the office of Speaker or President, a member shall
automatically and immediately be granted full membership for life, but
nothing
in this Section shall be construed to limit the body's ability to strip
a
member
of his membership.
Section
4:
All members of the Oxford and
Cambridge Union Societies shall be Full Members of the Yale Political
Union.
Section
5:
The Executive Board shall set
the
cost for Fall and Spring memberships, though it may not change the
price
of
membership for any Session after the first meeting of the Executive
Board
during
that Session. The cost for membership for the Fall and Spring Sessions
do
not
have to be the same.
Section
6:
Any person who is ineligible
to
purchase membership in the Union may become a Patron Member by
paying
an amount equivalent to the cost of a membership of the same duration.
Patron
Members shall have floor privileges but shall not vote on any matter
before the Union.
Section
7:
The Executive Board may grant
honorary memberships to any non-member it wishes for any length of time
it
wishes. Honorary Members shall have floor privileges but may not vote
on
any
matter before the Union.
Section
8: A
Member shall be considered
an
Active Member if he has attended at least one meeting in either the
current
Session or the Session immediately preceding the current Session,
except
that
neither a Patron Member nor an Honorary Member shall be considered an
Active
Member.
Section
9:
Membership in the Union
is subject to revocation by the body in accordance with the rules set
forth in
the parliamentary authority. No refund of any amount shall be granted
for
a
revoked membership.
Section
10:
Honorary and patron
membership in
the Union is subject to revocation by the body in accordance
with the
rules set forth in the parliamentary authority, except that there shall
be
no
requirement of notice. In addition, the Executive Board may, without
notice,
revoke a patron membership by a two-thirds majority vote, and it may,
without
notice, revoke an honorary membership by a majority vote. No refund of
any
amount shall be granted for a revoked patron membership.
Section
11:
Any Member may resign at any
time
by writing a letter in the Member's own hand and delivering it in
person
or by
United States Mail to the President or Speaker of the Union. Such
resignations
take effect immediately. No refund of any amount shall be granted for a
resigned
membership.
Section
12:
Any Active Member who has
attended
at least three meetings, or one-half the meetings in a Session, of the
Union
during the time specified by Article X Section 2 shall be eligible to
vote
in
Union elections at the end of the same Session.
Officers
Section 1: The President shall be elected to be the Chief Executive Officer of the Union; to preside over meetings of the Executive Board; to supervise all other Union officers; to appoint, with the advice and consent of the Executive Board, the Secretary and such officers as deemed necessary for the functioning of the Union, the chairmen of all committees except the Rules Committee, and officers to fill elected offices which become vacant during the Session; to appoint Full Members to serve temporarily in the absence of an officer; and to submit to the Executive Board, in accordance with Article VII, a proposal for the budget for the Session. The President shall be ultimately responsible for the success of the Union.
Section
2:
The Speaker shall be elected to preside over all meetings of the
Political
Union; to act as Chairman of the Rules Committee; to supervise the
Floorleaders and oversee the construction of a speaking docket for each
meetnig; to appoint, subject to the restrictions stated in Article
VIII, the Teller; to appoint Acting Tellers in the absence of the
Teller; and to advise the Executive Board on parliamentary and
constitutional matters. The Speaker shall be responsible for student
contribution to debate.
Section
3:
The Vice President shall be elected to both procure guests for debates
and generate tentative resolutions; to make the ncessary practical
arrangements for the travel and accommodation of guests; to secure
guests for future semesters, to set a tentative schedule for the
following semester in accordance with Article VII, and to regularly
update the Executive Board on the status of said schedule; to produce
an end of term report on the status of invited guests; to maintain a
database of past, present, and potential guests; to assist the
President in the operation of the Union; to act as President in the
President's absence; and to succeed to the Presidency should that
office become vacant during the Session. The Vice President shall be
responsible for guest contribution to debate.
Section
4:
The Treasurer shall be elected to collect and disburse Union
funds; to assist the President in drafting a budget proposal for the
Session; to advise the Executive Board on financial matters pertaining
to
the Union; to maintain the Union's financial records, which shall be
open to inspection by any Full Member; to provide complete reports of
the Union's financial status monthly, or as instructed, to the
Executive Board; to assist the President in drafting a budget proposal
for the Session; and to deposit a copy of the Union budget as approved
by the Executive Board with the Yale College Dean's Office. Union funds
may only be disbursed in accordance with a duly-passed budget for the
Session, or by special authorization by the Executive Board in
accordance with Article VII, or by the requirements of this
Constitution. Any Treasurer elected in elections for the Fall Session
shall serve in the Spring Session immediately following that Fall
Session unless he shall resign his office. The Treasurer shall be
responsible for the financial stability of the Union.
Section
5:
The Director of Campus Relations shall be elected to serve as liaison
between the Union and other campus organizations; to be responsible for
the publicity of Union events; to engage faculty with the Union and
promote Union events to relevant academic departments; and to ensure
the visibility of the Union in campus media. The Director of Campus
Relations shall be responsible for strengthening the Union's ties with
the Yale community.
Section
6:
The Director of Development shall be elected to raise money for the
Union from sources including, but not limited to, Union members past
and present, corporate entities, and non-profit organizations; to
coordinate any alumni functions or events deemed necessary by the
Executive Board; to maintain an accurate alumni database; to publish a
newsletter, approved by the Executive Board, by the end of the Session,
to be distributed to alumni and members of the Union. The Director of
Development shall be responsible for strengthening the Union's ties
with alumni.
Section
7:
There shall be two Floorleaders, a Floorleader of the Left and a
Floorleader of the Right, who shall be elected to actively promote the
quality of debate within their Coalitions; to assist the Speaker in
coordinating Union debates; and to submit their Coalitions' tentative
dockets to the Speaker at least twelve hours before a debate. Nothing
in this Section shall be construed as restricting the Speaker's freedom
in presiding over meetings or assigning the floor. The Floorleaders
shall be responsible for their respective Coalitions' contributions to
debate.
Section
8:
The
Secretary shall be appointed to record the minutes of Union,
Rules Committee, and Executive Board meetings; to submit the minutes to
the Executive Board in a timely fashion and, upon approval, to post the
minutes on the Union's website and place them in Union archives; to
assist the President and Vice President with Union correspondence; and
to maintain the Union archives, which shall be open to any Member's
inspection. The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping record of
Union proceedings.
Section
9:
The Teller shall be appointed to maintain the Union's membership and
attendance rolls; to communicate regularly with the Executive Board on
the status of Union recruitment efforts; to compose a weekly membership
and attendance report to be submitted to the Executive Board and to be
placed in the Union archives; to sell Union memberships; to make
available attendance records which shall be open to inspection at the
request of any Active Member; and to ensure only authorized persons are
admitted to Union meetings. The Teller shall be responsible for keeping
record of Union membership.
Election of Officers
Section
1:
Elections shall be conducted
each
Session by the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee shall certify the
election
of officers by a majority vote and no officer shall be deemed elected
unless so
certified.
Section
2:
Elections shall take place on
the
first full weekday of Reading Period, as defined by Yale College,
unless the Rules Committee shall, by a
two-thirds majority vote, set a new date for elections. The Rules
Committee shall set the time and location of elections by a majority
vote.
Public Notice shall be given of the date, time, and location of
elections.
Section
3:
Elections shall be held for
one
continuous time period which shall be at least three hours, beginning
no
earlier
than noon. Elections may be held in only one location, unless otherwise
decided by a unanimous vote of Rules Committee. Neither absentee
ballots
nor proxies shall be allowed.
Section
4:
Any undergraduate Member of
the
Union who intends to remain an undergraduate of Yale College
throughout his term in office and is eligible to vote in the Union
elections may
be elected to any office; except that no Member who resigned an elected
office shall be eligible to be elected for the following Session,
unless the Rules Committee shall, at the time it certifies the list of
qualified voters, vote by a two-thirds majority to allow that person to
be a candidate for election.
Section
5:
To be a candidate for nomination to any office, a Member must submit to
the Speaker either a letter of intent to run for that office by noon
seven days before the scheduled date of Elections, or a petition signed
by a quorum of the Union by noon five days before the scheduled date of
Elections. The Secretary shall post the names of all those seeking
election to each office, within 36 hours of being so instructed by the
speaker.
Section
6:
To appear on the ballot, a candidate must be nominated by a Party. A
Party may nominate only one candidate for each office, and many
nominate a candidate for Floorleader of a coalition only if the Party
has at least one affiliated Member eligible to vote in the election of
that coalition's Floorleader. For each candidate to be nominated, a
Party must submit a letter of nomination to the Speaker before 9:00
a.m. on the day of elections.
Section
7:
The membership of the Union shall be divided into two coalitions, a
Coalition of the Left and a Coalition of the Right. A Member affiliated
with a
Party that has officially designated itself in one Coalition shall be a
member
of that Coalition, and all other Members shall be considered
unaffiliated by default, except that a Member's Coalition affiliation
during the previous election shall be automatically carried over into
the current Session. However, any Member may register with either or
neither Coalition by notifying the Teller of his affiliation for the
current Session before the date specified as Midterm by Yale College.
No Member or Party may register or change a coalition affiliation after
Midterm.
Section
8:
To be eligible to be elected
Floorleader of a coalition, a Member must be eligible to vote in the
election of
the Floorleader of the same coalition. No Member shall under any
circumstances be eligible to vote in the election of both Floorleaders.
If at any time the Floorleader's coalition registration is changed, the
Floorleader immediately and automatically resigns the office.
Section
9:
The Teller shall prepare a
preliminary list of qualified voters by noon eight days before the
scheduled
date of Elections. This list shall show the name, party affiliation,
and coalition of each qualified voter; and shall be distributed to the
members of the Rules Committee, members of the Executive Board, and the
Chairman of each Party; and shall be posted publicly.
Section
10:
The Rules Committee shall
meet
between noon seven days before the scheduled date of elections and noon
four days before the scheduled date of elections to draft a certified
list of
qualified voters. After this certified list showing the name, party
affiliation, and coalition of each qualified voter has been drafted and
approved by a majority vote, it shall be distributed to the members of
the Rules Committee, the members of the Executive Board, and to the
Chairman of each Party, and shall be posted publicly at least 72 hours
prior to the beginning of Union elections. No corrections may be made
after the certified list has been approved by the Rules Committee.
Section
11:
Elections shall be by secret ballot. Electioneering shall not be
allowed in the room where ballots are cast. Nominees shall appear by
office in alphabetical order on the ballot, but the office of Treasurer
shall not appear on the ballot during elections for the spring Session
unless the elected Treasurer has resigned his office at least fifteen
days before the scheduled day of elections or the office of Treasurer
is held by an appointee. A line shall be designated for write-in
candidates for each office on the ballot.
Section
12:
A plurality of votes cast
for any
office shall be required to elect, except as provided in Section 16
of
this Article.
Section
13:
No Member may serve in more
than one office at the same time under any circumstances.
Section
14:
In the event that there is no eligible candidate for an office, the
Rules Committee may, by a two-thirds vote, elect any eligible Member to
that office.
Section
15:
In the event that no
candidate for
an office receives a plurality due to a tied vote, the Rules Committee
may, by a three-fourths vote, elect one of the tied candidates to that
office. If the Rules Committee does not so
elect a member, it shall call a special election to be held within
three days of the original election at which there will be a run-off
between the tied candidates, and a candidate shall be elected by a
plurality of the Members voting in the election. Any Member who was
qualified to vote in the original election may participate in the
runoff, but the Rules Committee may create any additional rules it
deems necessary for conducting such an election.
Section
16:
No more than three of the
six persons serving as the President, Speaker, Vice President,
Treasurer, Director of Development and Director of Campus Relations
shall be from the same Party. If at the time of the certification of
new officers
more than three of the persons to be certified for these six offices
are affiliated with the same Party, the officers-elect from the Party
in question shall be given 24 hours in which to submit an appropriate
number of resignations withdrawing from contention for the offices to
which they were elected. If this does not resolve the issue, the Rules
Committee shall decide which offices will be forfeited by a majority
vote, and the runners up for these offices, as determined by strict
plurality, shall be elected. For the purposes of this Section, a Member
shall be considered to be from the Party with which he was affiliated
at Midterm; unless this is his first semester of Union membership in
which case he shall be considered to be from the Party with which he is
affiliated in the list of qualified voters; or unless the Rules
Committee shall, by majority vote at least two days before the day of
elections, determine that he should be considered to be affiliated with
a different Party or no Party at all.
Section 17: The Rules Committee shall establish any standing rules necessary for the conduction of elections.
Removal of Officers
Section
1:
Upon petition of one-tenth of
the previous semester's qualified voters, the
Executive
Board shall call a meeting of the Union to take place within ten
classdays to consider
rescinding an officer's election. Public Notice must be given of the
meeting, and only those who were eligible to vote in that officer's
election may vote on the question of the rescission of his election. A
two-thirds vote shall be required to rescind an officer's election.
Section
2: A
motion to rescind an
officer's
election may not itself be rescinded or reconsidered. Any Union officer
whose election has been rescinded shall be ineligible to hold elected
or
appointed
office in the Union for the remainder of the Session during which he
was
removed and the following Session.
Section
3:
All appointed officers serve
at the
pleasure of the officer who appointed them.
Section 4: Any holder of elected office who ceases to be an undergraduate of Yale College shall immediately and automatically resign his office.
Executive Board
Section
1:
The executive powers and
responsibilities of the Union shall be vested in an Executive
Board to consist of the President, Speaker, Vice President, Treasurer,
Floorleaders, Director of Campus Relations, Director of Development and
Secretary of the Union, as well as the Chairmen of the Parties or their
representatives. All members of the Executive Board shall be able to
vote
on a matter before the Executive Board except that the Speaker,
Floorleaders, and Secretary shall have no vote on any matter.
Section
2:
The Executive Board shall be empowered to conduct the business of the
Union; to call meetings of the body; to invite guest speakers; to
select resolutions for debate; to give advice and consent to
appointments made by the President; and to set membership prices.
Section
3:
The Executive Board shall have the power to modify and to approve the
budget presented by the President and the Treasurer. No expenditure not
explicitly authorized by the budget shall be made except by special
authorization of the Executive Board. Special authorization for
expenses of $500 or less shall be by majority vote. Special
authorization for expenses exceeding $500 shall be by a two-thirds vote
of all voting members of the Executive Board. Party disbursements shall
not be considered expenditures for the purposes of this Section.
Section
4:
The Executive Board shall set the time and place for its own meetings.
Should it fail to do so, the President may summon it at his discretion.
Quorum of the Executive Board for
non-emergency meetings shall be a majority of all its voting members as
well as
one-half of the Chairmen or their representatives. Except in cases of
emergency, Public Notice shall be given of all meetings of the
Executive Board.
Section
5:
In the event of an emergency, the President or any two members of the
Executive Board may summon a meeting, but no action may take place at
such a meeting unless two-thirds of members present vote to recognize
that Public Notice was not possible. Quorum at an emergency meeting
shall be a majority of the Chairmen or their representatives and a
majority of voting members. No emergency meeting of the Executive Board
shall be called to order until a good faith effort has been made to
contact all voting members of the Executive Board and the Speaker. The
Rules Committee shall have the power to, by a majority vote, determine
that such a good faith effort was not made, and any action taken at
such an improperly called meeting of the Executive Board shall be null
and void.
Section
6:
The Chairman of any Party may delegate any other individual who is not
a voting member of the Executive Board to represent them at Executive
Board meetings.
Section
7:
Two-thirds or more of all Party Chairmen or their representatives may
veto any action of the Executive Board.
Rules Committee
Section
1:
The Rules Committee shall be
the
committee on rules and procedure for the Union. All rules established
by
the
Rules Committee shall remain in force until amended or repealed by the
Rules
Committee. A majority of the entire voting membership of the Rules
Committee may
establish, amend, or repeal any such rule.
Section
2:
The Rules Committee shall be
responsible for interpreting this Constitution.
Section
3:
The Rules Committee shall be
composed of representatives from each Party. Each Party shall be
entitled
to two
voting representatives if there are five or fewer Parties, or one
voting representative if there are six or more Parties. Each Party
Chairman shall designate the voting representatives from that Party to
the Chairman of the Rules Committee. The Party Chairmen shall have the
right to change their respective Parties' representatives at any time.
Section
4:
The Speaker shall be the Chairman of the Rules Committee. In the
absence of the Speaker, the Rules Committee may elect any Member of the
Union to the position of Chairman pro tempore of
the Rules Committee. The Chairman of the Rules Committee shall not have
a vote on any matter before the Rules Committee under any circumstances.
Section
5:
The Chairman of the Rules Committee or any two Rules Committee members
from different Parties may call a meeting of the Rules Committee.
Public Notice will be provided and all committee members will be
individually notified. Quorum of the Rules Committee shall be a
majority of its voting membership.
Section
6:
The Secretary of the Rules Committee shall be responsible for keeping
minutes of the meetings of the Rules Committee, posting these minutes
on the Union's website, and filing them in the Union archives. The
Secretary of the Rules Committee may be removed from that position by a
majority of the Rules Committee. The Secretary of the Union shall act
as the Secretary of the Rules Committee unless he is removed from this
position. In the absence of the Secretary of the Union, any Member of
the Union may be elected Secretary of the Rules Committee pro
tempore by the members of the Rules Committee.
Section
7:
The Rules Committee shall be empowered to give Advice and Consent to
the Speaker in the appointment of a Teller.
Advisory Committee
Section
1:
Advisory Committee shall advise the Executive Board and the President
and shall provide long term planning for the Union.
Section
2:
The Committee chairman shall be the Senior Sometime President on the
Committee. If the Senior Sometime President on the Committee declines
the office or does not exist, the President shall appoint a Committee
member to serve as chairman. Each semester the chairman shall appoint
one member to serve as secretary. The secretary shall write a
newsletter each semester to alumni of the Committee and take minutes at
each meeting. These minutes shall not be publicly posted, but shall be
placed in the Union archives. The Committee shall select one member to
serve as a liaison to the Executive Board.
Section
3:
The Committee shall set the time and place of its meetings. Should it
fail to do so, the chairman of the committee may summon a meeting at
his discretion. Meetinsg will be closed to all but Committee members
and the President. Other Union members may attend these meetings by
invitation from the Committee.
Section
4:
The Committee shall provide an evaluation of the Executive Board before
Midterm. The President may appoint members of the Committee to serve as
advisors to Union officers at his discretion.
Section
5:
Significant actions of the Committee, as determined by the President,
shall require the consent of the Executive Board. The Committee shall
report regularly to the Executive Board, at least twice per semester,
and at leace once before Midterm.
Section
6:
Committee members shall be nominated by the chairman with the advice
and consent of the Committee, and, upon acceptance of the nomination,
shall be appointed by a majority vote of the Executive Board. All
former and sometimes presidents of the Union shall be automatically
nominated for seats on the Committee. The Committee may include, in
addition to sometime and former Presidents, up to four additional
members. No current member of Rules Committee, or the Executive Board,
or any party chairman shall serve as a member of the Advisory
Committee. No current member of the Advisory Committee may serve as a
proxy on Rules Committee or the Executive Board.
Section
7:
A member of the Committee shall serve until either his resignation or
graduation.
Section
8:
A current or past member of the Committee may only run for Union office
if he submits a statement of his intent to the Advisory Committee and
two-thirds of the remaining Committee members vote to allow him to run.
If allowed to run he must immediately resign from the Committee, and
the chairman of the Advisory Committee must notify the Speaker of this
member's eligiblity to run for office.
Section
9:
Upon graduation, a member of the Committee shall be awarded lifetime
membership in the Union, but this shall not be construed to provide
reimbursement for previous dues paid.
Section
10:
The chairman of the Committee shall be responsible for providing Public
Notice to the entire Union in cases of rescission of an officer's
election and motions to correct the Executive Board.
Meetings
Section
1:
Attendance at a meeting shall
mean
the physical presence of the member within twenty minutes after the
meeting is
called to order. Excuses for late arrival because of compulsory
University
appointment. medical appointment, or legal or religious obligation may
be granted by the Speaker.
Section
2:
All meetings of the Union
shall count towards attendance requirements for voting except that no
meeting held after ten days before the first full day of Reading Period
shall count toward attendance requirements.
Section
3:
Quorum for meetings of the Union shall be thirty-five Members, or a
majority of the Active Membership, whichever is less.
Section
4:
The Speaker shall chair Union meetings. In his absence, the President
or a Member appointed by the President shall act as Speaker pro
tempore.
Section
5:
All Union meetings shall be free and open to the public, but any
meeting of the Union may be restricted to Members by a two-thirds vote
of the Executive Board.
Section
6:
Everyone present at a Union meeting shall be allowed to vote on any
matter before the body, unless a motion is passed to restrict the
voting to Members. Such a motion will require a simple majority of
Members present to pass.
Section
7: A
motion to instruct or correct the Executive Board shall be in order
following procedures outlined by the Parliamentary Authority. The
passage of such a motion shall be considered to overrule any motions or
resolutions, including the budget, passed by the Executive Board that
inhibit or contradict it.
Section
8:
When a special order set by the Executive Board or a motion to rescind
an officer's election is pending, the motion for the previous question
shall not be in order until at least ten minutes of debate on each side
have been allowed.
Parties
Section 1: Any Parties formed in accordance with the procedures described in Sections 3-5 of this Article shall be recognized by the Union. Any Party that fails to meet the Party Qualification Requirements shall be on Probation for the following semester.
Section
2: All
Parties shall enjoy full autonomy in the conduct of their internal
affairs, including enrollment of Party members and the election of
Party officers. All Parties that register as separate organizations
with Yale University shall enjoy full autonomy in the conduct of their
external affairs, including political activities. No Party shall engage
in any activity which endangers the status of the Union as a
non-partisan and tax-exempt forum.
Section
3: A
group of Active Members of the Union that seeks to form a new Party
must submit a petition to the Speaker after the third meeting of a
Session and before noon ten days before the scheduled date of
elections. This petition must contain the valid signatures of a number
of Active Members to meet the Party Petitioning Standard. The petition
must explicitly express the intention of the Members who have signed it
to affiliate with that Party as soon as it shall be recognized as such.
These Members shall remain affiliated with their previous Parties, if
any, until such a time as the Speaker shall certify that the new Party
has been recognized. A Member must date his signature, and his
signature shall only count if the petition is submitted in the same
Session as the date of the signature. If a Member signs more than one
application in a single Session, only the signature on the first
petition to be submitted shall be counted.
Section 4: Within 24 hours of receiving such a petition, the Speaker must publicly announce his receipt of the application, providing the names of those Members intending to affiliate with the new Party. Within a week of receiving the petition or by the Rules Committee meeting to cerify the list of qualified voters, whichever is sooner, the Speaker must verify the signatures on the application and publicly announce if the application meets the requirements in Section 3. Upon the announcement that these requirements have been met, the new Party will be recognized as a Petitioning Party and all Members who signed the petition will be automatically affiliated with it. For the remainder of the semester, these signing Members will not be permitted to switch to another Party, but must list themselves as unaffiliated if they wish to leave the Petitioning Party. As a Petitioning party, Members will be able to affiliate with it in the attendance records at remaining meetings in that Session, but the Petitioning Party will have no representation on the Executive Board or Rules Committee.
Section 5: To become a full Party, enough Members who originally signed the petition must qualify to vote in Union elections for the Party to meet the Party Qualification Requirements. If this requirement is met, the new Party will be officially recognized immediately upon the certification of the list of qualified voters and shall enjoy all the privileges and responsibilities of a Party in the Union. However, the Party must also meet the Party Qualification Requirements for its first Session as a full Party as well. if in eitehr its Session as a Petitioning Party or its first Session as a full Party, the new Party fails to meet this requirement, after the certification of qualified voters, it will cease to exist and all Members affiliated with it will be considered unaffiliated.
Section
6:
One-fifth of all Union
income from the sale of memberships to Members affiliated with a Party
shall be considered Party dues, and shall be reimbursed to the Parties
in proportion to the number of qualified voters affiliated with each in
the current Session, in accordance with Section 8 of this Article.
Section
7:
One-fifth of all Union income from the sale of memberships to Members
not affiliated with any Party shall be considered Party grants, and
shall be divided equally among the Parties recognized in the current
Session, in accordance with Section 8 of this Article.
Section
8:
Party dues and Party grants combined shall be considered Party
disbursements. Party disbursements shall be paid to each Party after
the certification of the list of qualified voters described in Article
V and before the end of the current Session.
Section
9:
For the purposes of this Article, a Member shall be considered a Member
of the Party with which he last affiliated in writing to the Speaker,
except that no Member may change affiliation between noon ten days
before the scheduled date of elections and the end of the Session. This
section shall not be construed to contradict the requirements in
Article V Section 16 or Article XI Section 4.
Committees
Section
1:
Nothing in this Article shall
apply to the Rules Committee or the Advisory Committee.
Section
2:
The President of the Union
shall
create committees as he shall deem appropriate and shall appoint their
Chairmen with the Advice and Consent of the Executive Board.
Section
3:
The Chairmen shall be empowered to appoint the members of their
respective committees.
Section
4:
Every committee shall be given a charter signed by the President and
approved by the Executive Board outlining its responsibilities,
poweres, and privileges. No committee shall have any power not
delegated to it by the Executive Board.
Section 5: The President shall have the power to disband any committee, to appoint a new chairman, or to give a new charter to any committee with the Advice and Consent of the Executive Board.
Parliamentary Authority
Section
1:
The rules contained in the
current
edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern the
Union
in all
cases in which they are applicable and in which they are not
inconsistent
with
the Union's Constitution or any standing or special rules of order it
should choose to
adopt.
Section
2:
The following definitions
shall be
observed in interpreting the Constitution and the Parliamentary
Authority:
a) A day of classes or class day is any Monday through Friday on which classes are held in Yale College, excluding the Reading Period;
b) A Session of the Union is the period of time between the certification of the election of officers and the certification of the election of their successors;
c) Public Notice consists in posting an announcement on the Union's website and, if possible, announcements over the Union's email list, in campus publications and at previous Union meetings. Additional means of communication satisfying the Public Notice requirement may be specified by the Rules Committee in the Standing Rules. Public Notice shall be given at least 72 hours in advance of the event for which it is required, unless a longer period of notice is required;
d) Advice and Consent of the Executive Board is a two-thirds majority vote of the entire Executive Board following discussion;
e) Public Posting of minutes, list of qualified voters, officer candidates, etc, shall consist of posting these announcements on the Union's website and archiving them in the Union office.
f) To fulfill the Party Qualification Requirement: A Party must have at least 25 qualified voters affiliated with it, or one-eight of the total number of qualified voters in the previous election, whichever is less
g) A Party goes on Probation for the following semester if the list of certified voters shows that it failed to fulfill the Party Qualification Requirement. If a Party on Probation fails to meet the Party Qualification Requirement during either of the next two semesters, it shall cease to be recognized as a Party of the Union.
h)
The Party Petitioning Standard shall be equal to 1/6 of the number of
qualified voters from the previous semester unless that number is less
than 20 or greater than 65, in which case it shall be 20 or 65
respectively.
Amendments
Section
1:
Any six Active Members may
introduce an Amendment to the Constitution by submitting it to the
Speaker prior to the last two weeks of the Session.
Section
2:
The Rules Committee shall discuss the proposed Amendment within ten
class days. Copies of the proposed Amendment shall be available from
the Speaker at least 72 hours before the scheduled discussion by the
Rules Committee, and Public Notice shall be given for the Rules
Committee meeting.
Section
3:
The Rules Committee may amend the proposed Amendment within its scope
by a two-thirds vote. If the Rules Committee does so amend the proposed
Amendment, one-third of the Rules Committee may compel the postponement
of the vote on whether to report the proposed Amendment until the next
meeting of the Rules Committee, which must take place within ten class
days.
Section
4: In
order to be reported to the floor, the Amendment must be approved by a
three-fourths vote of the entire voting membership of the Rules
Committee. When an Amendment is so approved, it shall be submitted for
a floor vote at the first meeting the Speaker deems appropriate. This
must occur within thirty class days ofa pproval by Rules Committee and
before the conclusion of the Session. Public Notice shall precede the
reporting to the floor of the proposed Amendment.
Section
5: No
proposed Amendment to the Constitution may be amended by the floor of
the Union.
Section
6:
Amendments to the
Constitution
shall require a two-thirds vote on the floor of the Union for
adoption. Only Members shall be permitted to vote on proposed
Amendments.
Respectfully
submitted
Spring 2006