The Drawing Board Constitution
Article I- Name and Purpose
Section 1- Name
The official name of this organization shall be The Drawing Board
Section 2- Purpose
The purpose of The Drawing Board is to provide Houghton College students with
a unique creative outlet allowing them to express themselves through the medium
of comics through a weekly publication.
Article II – Membership
Section 1 – Qualifications for Membership
Membership in the organization is open to all Houghton College students who
exhibit an interest in and commitment to fulfilling the purposes of the
organization.
Section 2 – Duties of Members
Members of the Drawing Board will be required to submit weekly comic strips
for publication before the required submission date and to attend meetings when
held.
Article III – Club Officers, Election Procedure, Removal Procedure
Section 1 – Officers
1. Editor
a. Qualifications: Applicants must have been members of The
Drawing Board for at least one year. Freshmen are ineligible
for applying for this position.
b. Duties: Editor is responsible for collecting comics from
members, approving comics and making adjustments to them if
necessary, and digitally organizing (“laying out”) the comics
into their final format for each issue. Editor is responsible for
organizing all meetings and attending all meetings whenever
possible.
2. Co-Editor
a. Qualifications: Applicants must have been members of The
Drawing Board for at least one year. Freshmen are ineligible to
apply for this position.
b. Duties: Co-Editor is responsible for assisting the Editor in his
or her duties and must attend all meetings whenever possible.
3. Secretary
a. Qualifications: Applicants must have been members of The
Drawing Board for at least one year. Freshmen are ineligible
for applying for this position.
b. Duties: Secretary is responsible for informing cartoonists when
a meeting will be held, keeping records of past issues of The
Drawing Board, and to attend all meetings.
4. Treasurer
a. Qualifications: Applicants must have been members of The
Drawing Board for at least one year. Freshmen are ineligible
for applying for this position.
b. Duties: Treasurer is responsible for managing The Drawing
Board’s finances, paying for each issue that is printed, and
attending all meetings whenever possible.
Section 2 – Election Procedure
1. Elections must be completed according to the timeframe provided in
the Election Policy established by the Student Programs Office.
Nominations will be received by filling out an application for the
desired position. The election will take place during the end of a
school year in which current active and associate members will be
allowed to vote. Voting will take place by writing on a ballot the name
of the candidate wished to fulfill the position and submitting the ballot
for the current officers to tally up the votes. The candidate who
receives at least 51% of the votes will win the election. In case of a tie,
the current officers will look over both applicants’ application sheets
and pick the candidate that best fits the coveted position.
2. Newly elected officers will take office at the beginning of the school
year that is after the year they were elected. Members are allowed to
run for re-election as many times as they wish to. Once transitions
have been completed, officers’ responsibilities in regards to The
Drawing Board will be in full effect.
3. Should a position become vacant (an officer resigns or is removed
from office), an election procedure will take place in accordance with
the election procedure listed in Article III, Section 2, Clause 1.
Section 3 – Removal Procedures
Should an officer fail to live up to the expectations of his or her position as listed
in this article without a good excuse, all other officers currently fulfilling their
roles along with the faculty advisor will take a vote to remove the negligent
officer from his or her duties for the Drawing Board. Good excuses include illness
or family issues and must promptly be reported as they arise to the other officers.
If the vote is 51% or greater in favor of relieving the officer from their position,
then the officer will be dismissed from their role. After the removal of an officer,
elections for the vacant office will take place in the manner laid out in Article III,
Section 2, Clause 1 of this constitution.
Article IV – Meetings
Section 1 – Regular Meetings
Regular meetings will be held once bi-weekly, led by the editor. During regular
meetings, officers will discuss with members the current status of The Drawing
Board, including the amount of money left in the organization’s budget and the
number of copies printed per the previous issue. Space and assignments for the
next two issues will be discussed as well. Regular meetings will also be a time of
respectfully critiquing one another’s comics in order to better improve the
cartoonist’s talents as well as the quality of The Drawing Board. The officers will
also inform members if an issue of The Drawing Board is to have a special theme
or not, and preparations for such issues will be discussed.
Section 2 – Special Meetings
Should occasion arise for extra meetings to be held, the Editor will inform the
other officers immediately and will set the date for the meeting at least one week
in advance. Business conducted by the editor during this meeting will strongly
relate to the meeting’s special purpose.
Article V – Amendment Procedure
Section 1 – Proposals
Amendments to this constitution may be proposed by a member of The Drawing
Board, an officer, or the faculty advisor. The proposal will be submitted to the
editor (if the editor has a proposal, he or she will propose the amendment to the
other officers and/or the faculty advisor). If a member who is not in office wishes
to propose an amendment, he or she must present a list of signatures, representing
at least 51% of the other members of The Drawing Board, in favor of the
proposal.
Section 2 – Ratification Process
All members of The Drawing Board will be allowed to vote on proposed
amendments. In order for the amendment to pass, a 51% majority of the votes
must be in favor of the proposal. These proposals will be voted on as soon as
possible after the amendment is brought forth to the editor, either during a regular
meeting or during a special meeting called for the purpose. After an amendment is
passed, the editor or co-editor must immediately notify the SGA vice-president
and the Director of Student Programs so that their records of The Drawing
Board’s constitution will remain up to date.
Date Completed:
Author:
18 February 2007
Joseph Freeman; Andrew Davis