DE ANZA GREEN PARTY CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I – OUR ORGANIZATION’S NAME
Our organization’s name shall be DA Green Party (DAGP in acronym form) or simply the DA
Greens. The DAGP is sponsored by the Green Party of Santa Clara County (GPSCC) and this
document is evolved from the GPSCC bylaws (found at
http://www.cagreens.org/santaclara/bylaws.shtml) which along with many other Green Party
documents directly informs this constitution. The DA Greens participate in the caucus of the
Young Greens of California http://www.cagreens.org/caucus/young-greens which is a member of
Young Greens US ( http://www.ygus.org ). The GPSCC is a member of the Green Party of
California (GPCA see http://www.cagreens.org ) and the GPCA is a member of the (USGP, see
http://www.gp.org ). The USGP is a member of the Global Greens (
http://www.globalgreens.org/ ) .
ARTICLE II – PURPOSE OF THE DA GREENS
Section 1 - Brief History of U.S. Green Party
Dr. Jill Stein M.D., the 2012 presidential nominee of the U.S. Green Party summarized the
Green Party as “a party for people, peace and the planet.” The Green Party is an international
political movement that started in 1970, born in Tasmania and New Zealand of the inspiration of
the 1960’s American civil rights (especially Martin Luther King, Jr.) and environmental
movements and spread worldwide. In the early years of the Green Party movement the West
German Green Party (“Die Gruenen” in German which translates to “The Greens”) co-founded
by American-educated Petra Kelly gained worldwide admiration for their successful opposition
to Reagan’s attempt to put tactical nuclear missiles in West Germany. Starting in 1984 “The
Greens” in America, inspired by “Die Gruenen” began an evolutionary process that eventually
led to today’s U.S. Green Party.
Section 2 - DA Greens association
The DA Greens are a De Anza student club and associate primarily with the Santa Clara County
Green Party, the Green Party of California and Young Greens at the state and national level.
Section 3 - DA Greens purpose
The DA Greens seek to embody the values of Green politics, as expressed in the Four Pillars of
the Green Party: social justice, grassroots democracy,nonviolence, and ecological wisdom. The
purpose of the the DA Greens' is to create awareness and provide opportunities to participate in
Green Party-compatible positions and campaigns to solve the critical issues confronting our the
De Anza Campus, community, world, our country, and the world.
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ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP
Any DASB cardholder who carries a minimum of 1/2 unit is eligible to join the DA Greens. Any
membership dues shall be decided by the DA Greens members through the consensus-building
decision process but in any case waiver for membership dues will be available to those who
request it who are under financial stress. DA Greens members may not be on academic or social
probation.
ARTICLE IV – QUALIFICATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Section 1
DA Greens officers must be currently enrolled, have a minimum of a 2.0 cumulative Grade Point
Average (GPA), must maintain minimum 1/2 unit, have a current DASB card, and must not be on
academic or social probation. We choose to have a three unit minimum so as to be inclusive of
and not discriminate against disabled and working students who are unable to carry a heavier
academic load but can greatly contribute to campus life by their participation in the DA Greens.
Section 2
Officers will be two Co-Chairs, (these co-chair positions are to be gender-balanced whenever
possible), Secretary, and Treasurer (again with gender balance whenever possible). There will be
or two ICC Representatives, and the ICC Representatives may serve another officer position as
well. So one person could fill the role of a Co-Chair and ICC Rep., Treasurer and ICC Rep or
Secretary and ICC Rep.
The election of the DA Greens officers shall be held in the Spring Quarter, no later than the sixth
(6th) week.
DA Greens officers shall be elected by a secret ballot of the active DA Greens members present
at the DA Greens election meeting. Active DA Greens members are defined as dues-paying
members who have attended at least two prior meetings.
New officers will be sworn in by the seventh week of Spring Quarter
Section 3
When a candidate is running for a particular office, each member shall be provided a written
secret ballot containing the names of the candidates in random order. The ballot shall also
include a "None of the Above” (N.o.t.A. or simply NotA) option (which is also sometimes called
“No Other Candidate”, No C. or simply NoC). The voters shall vote by marking any and all
candidates they deem acceptable (including the N.o.t.A. option). The ballots shall be tabulated
using Approval Voting with the highest vote winning the office. If NotA wins the election the
meeting will be notified of this immediately as soon as possible and will use the consensus
process to resolve the situation.
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ARTICLE V – DUTIES OF THE DA GREENS’ OFFICERS
Section 1 – Co-Chairs
a) Share the presiding over meetings with the other Co-Chair.
b) Together with the other Co-Chair, call special meetings as needed.
c) Carry out the provisions of the constitution.
d) Together with the other Co-Chair, appoint committees and chairpersons.
e) Together with the other Co-Chair, oversee all committee activities.
Section 2 – Secretary
a) Record and keep accurate minutes of all meetings.
b) Act as correspondence clerk.
c) Print and distribute agenda for all meetings.
d) Keep a record of DA Greens membership and DA Greens meeting attendance.
Section 3 – Treasurer
a) Handle funds and finances for the DA Greens.
b) Keep financial records and collect dues.
c) Pay bills and release funds as voted by the general membership.
d) Make financial reports at least once a month at the meeting.
Section 4 - ICC Rep
a) Attend all Inter Club Council meetings.
b) Report the results of ICC meetings at club meetings.
ARTICLE VI – EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Section 1
The Executive Council will consist of the two Co-Chairs, the Secretary, and Treasurer and shall
meet as needed.
Section 2 – Duties of the DA Greens’ Executive Council
a) To formulate policy of the DA Greens between regular meetings and in case of emergencies,
subject to approval of the general membership.
b) To execute policies determined by the general membership.
c) To govern activities of the DA Greens.
d) To compile agenda for general meetings.
ARTICLE VII –REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF OFFICERS AND MEMBERS
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Section 1 - Removal
All elected officers and DA Greens members may be subjected to removal by a 60% majority
vote of the total membership.
Section 2 - Removal preconditions
Grounds for removal are negligence and any form of misconduct which is damaging to the DA
Greens. An officer/member may be removed only if there has been at least one week's
publicized notice of the intent to vote on removal. there must be a quorum present for the
meeting on the removal.
Section 3 - Vacancies to be filled
Any officer vacancies shall be filled by an election held within two weeks of the vacancy.
ARTICLE VIII – MEETINGS
Section 1 - Notice
There must be public notice of DA Greens meetings on the DA Greens board at least four (4)
school days in advance.
Section 2 - Frequency
There shall be a meeting at least once a month on campus. Note that though they are not optimal
for building the DA Greens, live video conference and phone-in audio calls will be considered
legitimate ways to participate in meetings. Given the highly mobile nature of our student body,
including remote participation is needed in order for the DA Greens stay current with our
membership.
Section 3 - Quorum
Twenty percent of the active membership shall be considered quorum.
Section 3 - Financial Actions
Financial actions may be taken care of by the Executive Council or by a meeting where there is a
quorum present in order to take care of financial action.
Section 4 - Minutes
Minutes must be kept of all financial action with the DA Greens secretary.
Section 5 - Treasurer’s Report
The treasurer will need to make a written and oral report at least once a month at a meeting.
Section 6 - DA Greens’ Consensus-building process
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All DA Greens decisions will be made using the following consensus-building process among
the members:
General Principles of Consensus-building Process
a) Consensus shall be defined as eighty percent (80%) participant’s acceptance. Consensus shall
be sought after adequate discussion which must include asking for and discussing any unresolved
concerns. When the facilitator calls for a Consensus Count the participants can 1) consens (ie.
accept), or 2) stand-aside if they think they can be okay with the proposal but don’t wish to
actively support it or 3) maintain their unresolved concern if they are unable to accept the
proposal as it is currently formulated.
b) The entire process shall be focused on negotiating on the proposal and evolving its provisions
until an acceptable group compromise is reached.
b) All stand-asides will be recorded. If stand-asides and unresolved concerns are twenty percent
(20%) or more of the voting body, the proposal has not yet reached consensus and the unresolved
concerns that remain will be formulated as friendly amendments to resolve those concerns or the
group may choose to table the proposal for further refinement or study.
Consensus-Building Process Specifics
a) Presenter presents a written proposal with clearly defined actions or questions for the general
body to decide.
b) Facilitator asks the group for any clarifying questions, which the presenter will answer.
c) Facilitator asks for affirmations, concerns and friendly amendments. If there are no
amendments or concerns, consensus has been achieved and the proposal is adopted.
d) Friendly amendments may be accepted at the presenter’s discretion and if accepted they must
be recorded (not merely stated verbally) and integrated into the proposal. Unaccepted
amendments may be restated as unresolved concerns.
e) If concerns are stated, the group seeks to resolve the concerns and incorporate resolutions to
them into the proposal.
f) If unresolved concerns remain, the facilitator asks those holding concerns if they are willing to
stand aside and allow the group to adopt the proposal. If concerns remain, go to the closing
options.
g) The facilitator's / group´s closing options are:
1) Request additional time to reach a resolution of any remaining concerns.
2) A new presenter may be chosen by the group to address the stated concerns by amending the
proposal in order to reach an overall consensus on the proposal. When amended the proposal
shall be written out and clearly restated in its newly modified form.
3) Table the proposal, returning it to the presenter (or a newly chosen presenter) for further
consultation with those stating concerns and refinement of the proposal in the attempt to resolve
the concerns and achieve consensus.
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ARTICLE IX – COMMITTEES
Section 1
The standing committees of the DA Greens shall be appointed as necessary.
ARTICLE X – ADVISOR
Section 1 – The role of the advisor is to:
a) Serve as the official staff representative of the college.
b) Work closely with the DA Greens to ensure a cooperative relationship between the advisor,
and the DA Greens membership.
c) Assist each officer of the DA Greens in understanding their duties.
d) Give particular attention to the financial activities of the group in order to prevent the
incurring of organizational debts for succeeding members to pay.
e) Assist students to understand and apply Green Party and democratic principles within their
own organizations, and in working with others.
f) Be present or arrange for a faculty or staff representative present for all official DA Greens
meetings and activities (business and social), and to advise students of the policies and
procedures which they must follow as a club at De Anza.
g) Be familiar with the ICC Code, ICC Financial Code, ICC Concessions Code, and the DA
Greens’ financial process.
h) Ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure the safety, and welfare of DA Greens
members.
i) Ensure that appropriate college policies are upheld.
j) To sign all DA Greens requisitions for the DA Greens, and to make sure that 1) their student
treasurer or president or vice president signs it and 2) that the expenditure is correct within all
existing policies.
K. Work with members to select and provide readings and/or media for discussion prior to each
meeting.
ARTICLE XI – RESPONSIBILITIES
Section 1
The DA Greens accept full financial responsibility for all activities that bear its name as official
sponsor, and will adhere to college regulations. All publicity for an event the DA Greens sponsor
must bear the name of the DA Greens (aka DA Green Party).
ARTICLE XII – RIGHT TO ACT
Section 1
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No DA Greens officer or member has the right to incur any debt or become involved in any
business under the title or by implying the title of the DA Greens in any way unless given full
authority to do so by the DA Greens.
ARTICLE XIII – AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION
Section 1
Any amendment change requires a decision by the consensus-building process at a DA Greens
meeting and must then be approved at the ICC Agenda Meeting.
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