Women’s Studies and Feminist Club Constitution
Article 1: Name
The name of the organization shall be “Women’s Studies and Feminist Club”, hereinafter
referred to by its name or as “WSF Calgary”.
The name of the Club will be used as stated in all official capacities.
Article 2.1: Mandate
The Women’s Studies and Feminist Club must, in all actions, strive towards one or more of the
following basic goals:
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To facilitate and foster a Women’s Studies and feminist community.
To contribute new facets to the health and vitality of the Women’s Studies program at
the University of Calgary.
To explore the place of activism in Women’s Studies and feminist communities by
welcoming, fostering, promoting, enacting, and/or documenting diverse actions.
To support pride in Women’s Studies and feminism through relationship-building, action,
celebration, documentation, education, storytelling, scholarship, outreach, activism
training, and other means.
To hold, first and foremost, both its mandate and values as the guiding principles for all
action.
Article 2.2 Values
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Diversity. WSF Calgary is committed to actively representing and honouring diversity of
gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, spirituality, class, sexuality, age,
ability, language, immigration status, education level, etc. WSF Calgary strives to
achieve a non-judgemental practice and culture among its members.
Intersectionality. WSF Calgary strives to work from a model of understanding that
a each being exists at an intersection of oppressions and privileges, such that they
are uniquely positioned in a web/matrix of connections between their identities,
situations, privileges, oppressions
b to form a clear and complete picture of the people around us, all of the factors of
our situation and identity are to be taken seriously without measuring or ranking
them
c we need space to examine both privilege and oppression, and that paying
attention to privilege is an important part of social change
d our experiences and situations change over time in relation to the web of identity,
privilege, and oppression
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we are each complex, and it would be impossible to allow for a fullness of who
we are through just one or two labels
f Intersectionality is a theory that expands and changes with time itself as well, and
that there is no uniform understanding or application of this theory (e.g. some folk
choose to include the natural world and its oppression into the web, while others
do not).
Reciprocity.
Empathy and external sympathy.
Learning environment: trust, reflexive learning, attunement, critical thinking, gratefulness.
Group norms and respect guidelines will be established by the time of the first event of
the club; these will be visibly posted at all club events, and clearly communicated to all
members and executives. These norms and guidelines will be maintained and modified
through the consensus decision-making process outlined in Article 11.
WSF Calgary is committed to actively achieve and practice a non-hierarchical structure
and bottom-up, membership-driven, participatory culture - as much as is possible within
the technical constraints dictated by the Students’ Union.
Article 3: Membership
WSF Calgary will allow membership for any and all Active Members of the SU. WSF Calgary
will also allow membership to any person who is not an Active Member of the SU, as long as
this keeps the membership within the 2/3rds Active Members bracket outlined below. If this is
not the case, then WSF Calgary will still offer to put that person on a mailing list of public club
events, as well as on a ‘waiting list’ should it become possible to provide that person with a
membership.
At all times WSF Calgary will have a minimum of 20 members, 2/3 of which are Active
Members of the Students’ Union.
WSF Calgary will collect a minimum $1.00 membership fee from each individual member
each year. It is advised that the membership fee is collected on a sliding scale with no upper
limit, and with careful wording of the membership fee request such that there is no pressure on
the potential or renewing member to give more than they are able to. In the 2012/2013
academic year the membership fee is predicted to be $7.00.
Article 4: Students’ Union
WSF Calgary acknowledges and will abide by the Students’ Union By-laws and Policies.
WSF Calgary will no longer remain a Students’ Union Club if a Policy or By-law is
contravened, without Club Committee ratification.
Article 5: Executive Positions
All Club Executives must be Active Members of the Students’ Union.
Only Club Executives may apply for sanctioning, be responsible for all communications with the
SU and attending Club Special Events.
Club members may only hold one Club Executive position.
Two (2) signing Club Executive Members must sign each cheque from the Club.
Executives may not sign cheques made out to themselves.
All members of the Executive are responsible for the following:
● Understanding and abiding by the WSF Calgary constitution in full
● Helping with some aspects of event organization, planning, and/or promotion
● Attendance at a minimum 1/3rd of all WSF Calgary events (excluding Executive
Meetings)
● Attendance at a minimum 3/4s of all Meetings (Executive, General, and Special General
Meetings)
● Serving the good of WSF Calgary by socializing with members; engaging in outreach
outside of WSF Calgary membership; and capitalizing on opportunities for collaboration
and coalition-building whenever possible
● Putting together the end of year Annual Report to the SU
● Keeping themselves and other members of the Executive accountable in terms of
attendance, responsibilities, and abidance by the constitution
Responsibilities of specific roles are outlined below.
Organizational Hardass (Co-Chair)
● Co-Executive on All Club Financial Matters
● Co-signing authority
● Checks money & financial records
● Takes on full event coordination responsibilities in the absence of an Executive member
for that task
Glittertongue (Co-Chair)
● Co-Executive on All Club Financial Matters
● Co-signing authority
● Checks money & financial records
● Membership list maintenance
● Event planning & organization
● Takes on full financial recordkeeping responsibilities in the absence of an Executive
member for that task
Web Guru (VP Online Content)
 Designs, maintains, and regularly updates WSF site and blog
 Finds/asks for new material for the blog on a regular basis
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Collaborates with other execs and club members to get material for the WSF site
VP Feminist Vindicator (VP Outreach)
 Expands feminist pride
 Deconstructs negative myths and connotations about feminism
 Promotes women’s studies classes
 Showcases Women’s Studies students’ works
 Navigates Executives and Members to relevant resources outside of the club
 Works on the Enhance Women’s Studies Team
 Works on the Feminist Task Force Team
Femisaurus Rex (VP Membership Engagement & Advocacy)
 Focuses on objectives and projects concerning community building, collaboration, and
networking to foster connections between new and existing club members
 Works with stakeholders to enhance the Women’s Studies program and its’ position
within the University of Calgary
 Actively recruits Women’s Studies majors
 Develops Women’s Studies student and alumni network
 Collaborates with other WSF Executives and Members to strengthen and diversify both
WSF and the Women’s Studies program
 Works on the Enhance Women’s Studies Team
VP Jack of All Trade (VP Events Coordination & Documentation)
 Makes posters
 Sets up classroom visits for WSF and Women’s Studies recruitment
 Collects photographs, videos, and written stories (WSF’s, Women’s Studies’, feminists’,
events’)
o Collaborates with Web Guru to get these up on the WSF site, and with the
Executives involved in external communications work to get stories out to other
media and communication outlets
 Helps coordinate publication projects (e.g. end of year chapbook, online academic
student works collection)
 Stays knowledgeable and updated about SU clubs policies and procedures, helps other
Executives and Members carry these out properly
 Looks for SU-related opportunities for club funding and growth
 Works on the Community Building Team
 Helps in high stress situations
 Assists with setting up and running events
 Responsible for initiating collaborative work on the End of Year Report to the SU, and for
submitting it when it is done
Morgendorffer (VP Finance)
 Handles deposits
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Keeps detailed records of all funding
Procures membership dues
Creates and maintains bank account under club name
Recruits members
Knows SU clubs policies well
La Bandida Feminista (VP Marketing & Community Building)
 Works on developing and running discussion groups
 Facilitates activity nights to keep members engaged in the club and want to share it with
non-members
 Constructs ‘play time’ and discussion time in a manner that will encourage and inspire
members to do feminism the way that best suits them
 Talks to people (e.g. via class presentations, booked tables) about the club, Women’s
Studies, and feminism
 Makes posters, flyers, brochures, and other visually engaging outreach items
 Recruits members
 Acts as one of the go-to’s if an Executives needs to book a space through the SU and is
unable to do it themselves
Feminist Cowboy (VP Marketing, Outreach, & Community Building)
 Recruits members
 Sets up classroom visits
 May split social media tasks with the Communications Facilitator (VP Communications)
 Knows the SU clubs policies and procedures and communicates these to others as
necessary
 Looks for SU-related opportunities for club funding and growth
Communications Queen (VP Communications)
 Writes and edits content for websites, brochures, blogs, etc. as necessary
 Does classroom presentations and/or public speaking as necessary
 Connects WSF club to local writing media and community
Communications Facilitator (VP Communications)
 Manages social media
 Contributes knowledge of university procedures
 Collaborates on other online projects
Article 6: Executive Terms of Office
The term of office for all Executive positions shall commence May 1st and end on
April 30th of the following school year. The exception to this is the first year that the club is
formed, in which year the Executive positions shall be filled by direct application to the co-chairs
of the club, and shall commence when WSF is first approved as an SU club. Since this will be,
presumably, at some point in the Winter term of 2013, elections will not be held that academic
year since the first Executive team will have just started doing their job and will continue doing it
for the full year (plus an extra month or so) until the March 2014 elections.
We are all human. It is possible, and probable, that a member of the Executive will commit an
act of impropriety, violate the provisions of the Club Constitution or become delinquent in their
duties during the course of their term. In this Constitution, such a member of the Executive shall
be referred to as MEUQ (member of the Executive under question), and the action which has
resulted directly in them becoming a MEUQ shall be referred to as a TA (the action).
When a member of the Executive becomes an MEUQ, there are two (2) courses of action that
may be followed:
1 The incident may be resolved via appropriate action undertaken collaboratively by the
MEUQ and a member of the Executive that has designated Ombudsperson duties; the
appropriate action(s) may be
a an informal conversation guided by respectful listening; non-judgemental peer
support; and non-violent communication and conflict resolution values
b the development of a plan to prevent the MEUQ from engaging in further TA’s,
and/or the development of a plan to rectify any damage caused by the TA
c other appropriate actions as deemed viable by the collaborators (including a
voluntary resignation from the MEUQ)
d Please note that the MEUQ may not be impeached through this first set of
actions.
2 A Special General Meeting (SGM) may be called to find a context-appropriate solution to
the situation. This is the only procedure through which an Executive may become
impeached. See Article 9.3 on SGM procedures.
In any case, the incident must be documented in full and kept in the confidential section of the
WSF Calgary’s archives.
Article 7: Executive Elections
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The election of a new club Executive must take place no later than March 31st of each
year to ensure a smooth transition from old Executive to new Executive.
Prior to the election, the Executive shall appoint a Chief Election Officer (CEO) for the
upcoming election. The CEO must be a person who is not running in the upcoming
election.
The CEO shall not vote in the upcoming election.
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The CEO shall be responsible for all duties associated with the upcoming election and
shall provide proper notice to all club members of the upcoming election.
a Proper notice consists of active advertising of the election date through WSF
Calgary members’ mailing lists and any WSF Calgary social media profiles and
pages, as well as putting up election posters at any WSF Calgary events that
happen between the election announcement date and the election itself, and any
other reasonable member contact advertising available to WSF Calgary. The
election date, time, and place must be announced no later than three weeks (21
days) before the election date, with advertising continuing consistently after this
announcement up until and including the election date itself.
The Executive and the CEO must discuss in advance any accommodations that may
need to be made to members’ needs for the election. The CEO will then also be
responsible for arranging for such accommodations in whatever way has been
discussed with the Executive.
The Executive Elections must, essentially, follow the consensus decision-making
process outlined in Article 11. To clarify how it applies in the particular situation of the
executive election:
a A meeting facilitator will be designated for the meeting ahead of time. Any
member may volunteer to be a meeting facilitator by getting in contact with the
Executive at least 10 days before the meeting with such a request, as well as
meeting with two or more members of the Executive at some point before the
meeting in order to get ‘trained’ by going through the consensus decision-making
process, its facilitation options and requirements, and addressing any
questions/concerns the member may have
b The meeting facilitator will begin the meeting by introducing themselves and their
role, as well as outlining the meeting protocol and process. They will clarify any
concerns or questions members may have.
c The meeting facilitator may then choose to go through a process of everyone
who is present taking a turn to check in about their day, how they’re feeling, and
how they relate to being at the meeting at this time.
d The meeting facilitator will outline all of the executive positions briefly, and then
allow the CEO to go through the voting process for each position one by one, as
if each were a separate motion. For each executive position:
i The CEO will introduce the position name, roles and responsibilities, and
the executive that is currently holding that position.
ii The CEO will ask the candidates vying for that executive position to
identify themselves by name, and will then allow each of the candidates
to speak for themselves as to their interest in, and qualifications for, that
executive position. The CEO may choose to take down visible notes for
the group as the candidates speak, but at the very least some member of
WSF Calgary must write down the executive position and each of the
candidates’ names on a visible board.
1 The facilitator may remind all of the candidates to be respectful of
the members’ time in their speaking. Only the CEO (as a non-
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voting member) may act as moderator if conflicts or time issues
arise in this case, however.
iii The CEO will open up the floor for all members to speak, so that they can
ask questions of any or all candidates, as well as raise concerns that they
may have about certain candidates’ qualifications/agenda/etc..
1 At this point the facilitator must remind all members that, because
this will be a hidden vote, if any member has intention to “block”
any particular candidate, now is the only chance for the member
to voice concerns about that candidate while retaining relative
anonymity about their intention to block.
iv Once each of the candidates and members wishing to speak have had a
chance to speak, and the CEO has double checked that there are no
more comments or questions to be voiced by any voting member at this
time, the CEO will pass out empty election ballots.
v The CEO will instruct the members to write down the names of each
candidate in a column on the ballot, and, beside each name, to indicate
their decision in regards to that particular candidate: ‘assent’, ‘dissent’, or
‘block’.
vi After everyone is done, the ballots will be collected and kept in a separate
and secure bundle to be counted by the CEO later.
vii The next ‘motion’/voting procedure for the next executive position will
begin (steps i-vii).
Once all of the executive positions have been voted on and ballots collected, the
CEO will retire to count them privately, while the facilitator will resume with any
other points on the meeting agenda. In counting, any “blocks” disqualify the
candidate for that position (candidates may run for multiple positions); all
candidates that collect 2/3rds or more ‘assent’ votes and no blocks become
executives in their chosen position (with several candidates becoming
executives, the position may become an executive team); if candidates ran for
multiple positions and got elected to more than one of them, the position in which
they collected the greater number of ‘assent’ votes is the one that will be
designated to them (in the case that these numbers are the same, the candidate
is free to choose between these positions).
Once the candidates are voted in, there is a final step wherein the candidates
confirm their interest and sign a commitment contract (which may be amended
from year to year), signifying their acceptance of the executive position, as well
as their understanding of, and willingness to comply with, the requirements of the
position as is stated in the contract.
Article 8: Transition of the Executive
A.
During the period from the end of the first week of April until the first day of May, when
the new Executive will assume office, it is the responsibility of the departing Executive to
orient the newly elected executive officers to their jobs. This includes teaching the incoming
executive about club and Students’ Union policies and procedures, transitioning custodianship
of club records and materials (including office and mailbox keys, locker combinations and all
passwords to all club email accounts), and preparing the new Executive to be effective in their
roles for the next year's work.
B.
It is the responsibility of the departing Co-Chairs to ensure that all club requirements to the
Students’ Union, including submission of a complete annual report and the removal of all club
records and materials from the club office and locker, have been fulfilled before the incoming
Executive assumes office.
C.
It is the responsibility of the departing Co-Chairs and Treasurer to bring all accounts up to date
to the end of the fiscal year, and to prepare any required financial statements of the club. In
addition, the outgoing Co-Chairs and Treasurers must arrange with the respective incoming
Executive for the transition of the club bank accounts into the incoming Co-Chairs’ and
Treasurers’ names. These tasks are to be completed and their outputs delivered to the new
Executive no later than the last day of April.
D.
It is the responsibility of the incoming Executive to assume custody of all club records and
materials and accountability for all financial activities of the club (as outlined in Article 5) and for
all club requirements to the Students’ Union commencing with the first day of May.
Article 9.1: Executive Meetings
The Executive will meet every other week. All Executive meetings are open to WSF Calgary
members.
Decisions are ultimately made through a vote, where 2/3rds or more of those present ‘assent’ to
the decision, with no Executive voting to block it.
Quorum requires a minimum of 3/4’s of the expected Executive to be present (meaning that if a
particular Executive meeting is specific to a particular Team, then it is 3/4s of that Executive
Team that constitutes quorum).
Article 9.2: General Meetings (GMs)
General Meetings are called to elect new Executives, as well as to make major club decisions
as a collective. GMs must be called and advertised widely with the membership at least 15 days
in advance.
Article 9.3: Special General Meetings (SGMs)
Special General Meetings are called to deal with Members of Executive Under Question issues,
any other immediate potential changes that need to be dealt with. SGMs must be called and
advertised widely with the membership at least 10 days in advance. The agenda for the
meeting, and any applicable notes must be made available and promoted to the membership 10
days in advance as well.
Article 10: Amendments
This constitution shall comprise the operating basis of the Women’s Studies and Feminist Club.
All amendments to this document must be approved through the consensus decision making
process outlined in Article 11. A copy of the amended constitution must be submitted to the
Students’ Union within two weeks of ratification.
Article 11: Consensus Decision-Making Process (CDMP)
The consensus decision-making process requires a facilitator (any volunteer member or invited
facilitator). This person must meet with a designated member of the Executive for agenda and
consensus facilitation training and/or discussion, as appropriate. The facilitator may choose to
be as hands-on or -off as they are comfortable after consulting with the Executive member.
All members of the club that are physically present at a GM or SGM have the right to listen,
speak, and vote. Votes can be ‘assent’, ‘dissent’, or ‘block.’ As long as quorum is filled, a vote
that has no blocks and a minimum of 2/3rds assents means the motion/decision voted on is
passed and will be implemented.
Quorum is a minimum of 2/3rds active WSF Calgary club membership, or 13 members
(including Executives) present.
Article 12: Dissolution
If dissolution of the club is deemed to be the best choice by all members through the consensus
decision-making process, the details of such dissolution will be worked out in the members’
meeting that comes to such a decision. It is recommended that the club bank account be
closed, and any funds available be held in trust by another feminist organization on campus (the
Women’s Resource Centre, for example) until another feminist student group or club is formed,
at which point the clubs can be transferred to them. Other alternatives are also possible, and will
be discussed in the members’ meeting. Any existing and archived documentation will continue
to be stored in a known and pre-determined location, so that future groups can learn from the
progress of the club. Ideally, there will already exist a yearly ‘process’ publication of the major
successes, procedures, and conflicts of the club, documented for others to use and learn from.