The American Civil Liberties Union-Princeton Chapter
Constitution
Article I: Name and Purpose
Section 1: The name of this organization shall be the American Civil Liberties
Union-Princeton Chapter, heretofore referred to as the Princeton ACLU.
Section 2: The purpose of this organization shall be to promote the ideals of the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) by supporting causes and campaigns
endorsed by the ACLU as well as providing a forum for student participation and
discussion of civil liberties issues at Princeton University.
Article II: Membership
Section 1: Membership in the Princeton ACLU shall be open to any student, faculty
member or employee of Princeton University.
Section 2: All members shall be placed on the Princeton ACLU’s e-mail list and shall
be notified of all organizational activities.
Section 3: Any and all members may participate in all meetings, activities and
elections of the organization.
Article III: Leadership
Section 1: The President of the Princeton ACLU shall be the administrative official
for the organization.
Section 2: The Executive Board of the Princeton ACLU shall be the supervisory
organ for the organization.
Section 2: The Executive Board of the Princeton ACLU shall consist of the
following elected offices, listed in order of rank: Vice-President, Secretary and
Treasurer. The President may also appoint members to the Executive Board subject
to the restrictions placed in Article IV, Section 7.
Section 3: Both the President and the officers of the Executive Board shall be elected
at a general meeting of the Princeton ACLU in accordance with the regulations
outlined in Article VIII and Article IX.
Section 4: The Executive Board and the President shall meet at their own discretion
at least once per month separately from a general Princeton ACLU meeting. It is
expected during these meetings the President will consult with the Executive Board
about current and future activities, events, organizations and projects.
Article IV: Powers of the President
Section 1: The President shall be the official spokesperson for the
Princeton ACLU.
Section 2: The President shall have the power to oversee all organizational
activities and shall preside at all Executive Board and general meetings.
Section 3: The President shall have the power to call all meetings of the
Princeton ACLU.
Section 4: The President shall have the power to delegate duties and
responsibilities to the Executive Board or to any member of the Princeton
ACLU.
Section 5: The President shall maintain contact with the leadership of
other chapters of the ACLU, including, but not limited to, the ACLU of New
Jersey.
Section 6: The President shall be responsible for sending regular e-mail
updates on organizational activities, or he/she must delegate this
responsibility to another member of the Executive Board.
Section 7: The President shall have the authority to create or appoint any
position he/she chooses with the restriction that an appointment to the
Executive Board must be ratified by a 2/3 majority of the current
Executive Board.
Section 8: The President must appoint a First Year Representative and an Issues
Director.
Section 9: The President shall have the authority to direct which activities
and campaigns the Princeton ACLU works on and in what manner the
Princeton ACLU shall be involved.
Article V: Powers of the Executive Board
Section 1: The Vice President
Subsection A: the Vice President shall preside over all Executive Board and
general meetings of the Princeton ACLU in the absence of the President.
Subsection B: the Vice President shall assume the position of the President
should the President be unable to complete his/her term.
Subsection C: the Vice President shall be the official liaison between the
Princeton ACLU and the ACLU chapters of other colleges or universities.
Subsection D: the Vice President shall be responsible for conducting all
regular and emergency elections of the organization, in accordance with the
regulations found in Article VIII.
Section 2: Secretary
Subsection A: the Secretary shall maintain an accurate list of all members of
the Princeton ACLU and shall be responsible for updating the e-mail list.
Subsection B: the Secretary shall be responsible for coordinating all publicity
for the Princeton ACLU activities, events and meetings.
Subsection C: the Secretary shall keep attendance records when such
information is important or necessary.
Section 3: The Treasurer
Subsection A: the Treasurer shall maintain an active record of all funding of
the Princeton ACLU.
Subsection B: the Treasurer shall make a funding report at least once per
month at an Executive Board meeting.
Subsection C: the Treasurer shall be responsible for all fundraising activities.
Section 4: The Executive Board
Subsection A: the Executive Board shall consult and advise the President on
all issues regarding the Princeton ACLU.
Subsection B: the Executive Board may veto any appointments, delegations
of duties or creations of positions made by the President with a 2/3 majority
vote of all current members of the Executive Board.
Article VI: Powers of Appointed Positions
Section 1: Issues Director
Subsection A: the Issues Director is appointed by the President and serves at
his/her pleasure. The Issues Director’s appointment expires at the end of
term of the President who appointed him/her. The Issues Director may be
reappointed by the next President.
Subsection B: the Issues Director is responsible for reporting to the
Princeton ACLU and specifically to the President any events, campaigns or
activities that are of direct interest to the Princeton ACLU.
Section 2: First Year Representative
Subsection A: the First Year Representative is appointed by the President
and serves at his/her pleasure. The First Year Representative’s appointment
expires at the end of the term of the President who appointed him/her. The
Issues Director may be reappointed by the next President.
Subsection B: the First Year Representative must be a member of the
entering class unless no such person willing to accept the position can be
found.
Subsection C: the First Year Representative shall be responsible for
recruiting new members to the Princeton ACLU from the entering class.
Subsection D: the First Year Representative shall be responsible for
encouraging involvement and meeting attendance of all members of
the Princeton ACLU who are part of the entering class.
Section 3: Restrictions
Subsection A: Appointed Positions have only the power specifically granted
to them by this Constitution or by the President who appointed them.
Subsection B: no Appointed Position may be given the authority or
responsibility of another position described in this Constitution.
Article VII: Meetings
Section 1: The first general meeting of the academic year shall be held on a date
determined by the Executive Board, no later than the second Tuesday after the start
of classes, at a time and location to be set by the President.
Section 2: The Princeton ACLU shall meet as often as determined by the President,
but no less than once per month, except during break and exam periods.
Section 3: The annual election meeting shall be held in December before Winter
Break at a time specified by the President.
Section 4: The President shall have the authority to call additional meetings as
needed.
Article VIII: Procedures for Elections and Removal from Office
Section 1: Election of Officers
Subsection A: the elections for the Presidency and all permanent positions
on the Executive Board shall be held at the annual election meeting, held in
December before Winter Break. The election of officers that have become
vacant shall be held at the first general meeting that takes place at least two
weeks after the vacancy was created.
Subsection B: terms for all offices shall be from the first day of class of the
semester after the elections until the beginning of the second semester the
following year. Those officers elected to fulfill an uncompleted term shall
serve until that term would normally expire.
Subsection C: all undergraduate student members of the Princeton ACLU
are eligible to run for office.
Subsection D: all members shall be notified by e-mail of regular and special
elections at least two weeks prior to the election meeting. This e-mail will
describe all open positions and shall solicit statements of candidacy by any
interested members.
Subsection E: all candidates must declare their candidacy and submit a
statement of 150 words or less at least one week prior to the election
meeting.
Subsection F: the names of all candidates shall be e-mailed to all members of
the Princeton ACLU at least five days before the election meeting.
Subsection G: at the election meeting, elections shall be held in the
following order: President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Candidates not successful in the election may opt to run in any of the
subsequent elections.
Subsection H: for each election, all candidates shall be given a period of two
minutes each to give a speech and an additional two minutes total to answer
questions from the membership.
Subsection I: only members present and on the member list at least one
month prior to the election meeting may vote in elections for all office. All
present officers may vote in the elections.
Subsection J: following the speeches and question and answer periods for all
candidates of one office, the election for that office shall be conducted by
paper ballots, which will be collected by the Vice President or designee and
tabulated outside of the meeting room in the presence of the President and
the Executive Board. If the Vice President is running for a position, he/she
must appoint someone else to tabulate the results. The results shall be
announced by the President immediately.
Subsection K: while the Vice President shall run the actual elections
including ballot tabulation, the President shall run the election meeting.
Section 2: Election Ties
Subsection A: in the event of a tie, a new vote shall be taken in accordance
with the procedures above between the candidates who received both the
highest and same number of votes.
Subsection B: if the second vote results in a tie, the Executive Board will
vote to break the tie.
Subsection C: if the vote of the officers is a tie, the President shall break the
tie.
Section 3: Procedure for Removal from Office
Subsection A: an officer may be removed from office for failure to perform
duties, being frequently absent from organizational meetings or activities or
professionally unethical behavior including, but not limited to, violating
provisions of the mission statement or this Constitution.
Subsection B: any member of the Princeton ACLU may make a call for
removal of an officer from office. Any call for removal from office must be
submitted in writing to the President or the highest-ranking officer not
implicated in the letter.
Subsection C: upon receipt of the written call for removal, all Executive
Board members not implicated in the letter must vote to accept the call for
removal as legitimate. If there are no Executive Board members not
implicated in the letter, then the Issues Director and the First Year
Representative will vote in their place. A simple majority will pass the
legitimacy test for a call for removal.
Subsection D: upon approval by the voting officers, the officer implicated
shall be offered a chance to resign or face removal proceedings at the next
general meeting. The membership shall be notified of the pending
proceedings by e-mail at least two weeks in advance.
Subsection E: removal statements shall include a four minute statement by
both the member who made the call for removal and by the officer(s)
implicated by this call for removal, and a question and answer period of not
less than ten minutes and not more than 20 minutes shall follow in which all
individuals shall respond to questions asked by the membership. The
meeting shall be run by the President or by the highest ranking officer not up
for impeachment.
Subsection F: a vote by paper ballot shall be conducted following this period
in accordance with standard election procedures.
Subsection G: an officer shall be removed from office with a two-thirds
majority vote of all members present.
Section IX: Special Provisions
Section 1: The Executive Board Prior to 2006 Elections
Subsection A: prior to the ratification of this Constitution there is no
procedure for determining who shall occupy Executive Board offices.
Consequently, until the first general election, to be held in May of
2006, Christopher Jackson ’07 shall assume the Presidency, having been
appointed by Deborah Jacobs, Executive Director of the ACLU of New
Jersey.
Subsection B: the non-elected President’s appointment shall run until June,
2006 at which time the President-elect shall assume the Presidency until the
winter elections of 2006.
Subsection C: the non-elected President shall have the authority to appoint
members to the other vacancies on the Executive Board.
Subsection D: All appointed members of the Executive Board shall have the
authority granted to their offices in this Constitution.
Section X: Ratification and Amendments
Section 1: Amendments
Subsection A: this Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority
vote of all members present at a general meeting of the Princeton ACLU.
Subsection B: an amendment may be proposed by any member and shall be
submitted to the President at least one week prior to a general meeting.
Section 2: Ratification
Subsection A: This Constitution shall be ratified by a majority vote of all
members present at a meeting of the Princeton ACLU.
Subsection B: upon ratification, this Constitution takes effect immediately.
Ratified September 16th, 2005 by a majority vote at a general meeting of the Princeton
ACLU.
Christopher M. Jackson
Jeffrey M. Wayno
Elaine G. Filadelfo
Interim President
Interim Vice President
Interim Treasurer