Club of the Culinary Arts at Sonoma State University Constitution
Preamble- This hereby constitution provides the guidelines to constitute our club and it’s
by laws. It shall be followed fairly and just.
Article I- Name of the organization
A. The name of this organization shall be “Club of the Culinary Arts at Sonoma State
University”, hereinafter referred to as “The Cooking Club”.
B. There are not any national governing board or off-campus affiliates associated
with our club at this time.
Article II- Purpose of the Organization:
A. The Purpose of this Organization shall be:
1. Inspire students to cook
2. Teach basic culinary concepts
3. Have fun!
B. There are not any national governing board or off-campus affiliates associated
with our club at this time.
Article III- Membership of the Organization
All members of the organization are required to comply with the following University
Policies: Standards for Student Conduct, Prohibition of Hazing, Alcohol Policy and
Nondiscrimination Policy.
Regular voting membership in this student organization shall be open to all currently
enrolled and continuing students of Sonoma State University. An organization or its
membership may not discriminate on the basis of gender*, race, color, religion, national
origin, citizenship, creed, ethnic background, economic status, disability, sexual
orientation, marital status, or age, except in cases of fraternity and sorority organizations
which are exempt by federal law from Title IX Regulations concerning discrimination on
the basis of sex.
A. Eligibility for Membership
1. All students of Sonoma State University shall be eligible for membership
2. Faculty, staff, and alumni of SSU, as well as non-students may be
considered for non-voting membership in this organization. Only currently
enrolled or continuing students of SSU may be voting members.
B. Criteria or Qualifications for Membership
1. There are no GPA requirements to join or stay in the Cooking Club.
2. There are no initial fees to join the Cooking Club, but there may be
various demonstrations and possibly field trips or events that could require
active members to pay a small fee. This is something that can be handled
if such a situation arises.
C. Categories of Membership
1. As an active member of the Cooking Club, members will have the
privilege to attend all meetings and events. Although there are no specific
obligations set for such a member
2. As an inactive member of the Cooking Club, this includes those who
signed up but do not regularly attend meetings, they too are not held to
any specific obligations.
3. Alumni members of the Cooking Club not only are invited to attend
meetings, but they must notify the current President of the Cooking Club
before doing so.
4. Honorary members of the Cooking Club may include: those who come
and speak or perform a demonstration during a club meeting. Alumni, and
others through out the community.
D. Withdrawal or Removal of Members
1. Withdrawal from the Cooking Club may include: Any student failing to
re-join the following semester or filling out a withdrawal request form.
2. Removal of a member from the Cooking Club may occur if: They violate
any rules within the club or by laws within the Constitution. Any current
officer may nominate a certain member to be removed from the Cooking
Club including all weekly meetings and events. Although it must be
decided by a unanimous vote from all current officers including: The
President, Vice President, and Treasurer.
3. If a member has been removed from the Cooking Club by a unanimous
vote of all current officers, they are eligible to file an appeal They must
take the following steps to do so: Fill out an Intent to Appeal form and
submit it to the Cooking Club’s current officers. Once this is done the
removed member will have the opportunity to set a meeting with the
current officers and the current advisor of the Cooking Club. If and only if
the current officers and current advisor are persuaded by a 2/3 vote will
the removed member be let back into the Cooking Club under strict
probation until the end of the semester.
4. If a member is currently under strict probation, the current President and
only the current President holds the right to remove that member
indefinitely from the Cooking Club.
Article IV- Elections
A. Times and Period when Elections Occur
1. Elections will be held at the end of the Spring semester, all terms will last
one year until the following Spring semester.
B. Nomination Procedure
1. Nominations include: self-nomination, followed by filing out a
Nomination form, which includes the specific position they are running
for.
2. Only currently enrolled or continuing students in good standing at Sonoma
State University may serve as Officers of this organization. The Officers
shall be:
i. President
ii. Treasurer
iii. Vice President
iv. Secretary
v. Senate Delegate
C. Notification and Posting of Elections
1. There will be multiple opportunities for those interested in running to
stand before their fellow member the last weeks of the Spring semester
and give a short verbal announcement of who they are, why they are
running, and what position the are running for.
D. Election Procedures
1. Describe the election process (i.e. Officers of this organization shall be
elected by a majority vote (51%) of the regular student membership of the
organization. Elections shall take place once a year and they will be held
at the next to the last meeting of the spring semester of each year).
2. Every election will be carried out by a confidential majority vote including
individual private ballots.
Article V- Officers
A. Description of Officers
1. There will be a minimum of four current officers at all times.
2. President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary. All other positions
including Cooking Club Delegate are optional.
3. The four mandatory officers listed above, including Cooking Club
Delegate if selected, will make up The Executive Committee.
B. Duties and Responsibilities of Officers
1. President- Oversee all club meetings and operations. The President is
responsible to attend mostly all meetings. They are allowed to miss a
maximum of 2 meetings per semester. These absences are only to occur
due to scheduling conflict or illness.
2. Vice President- Responsible to oversee club meetings and operations if the
current President is absent. They are allowed to miss a maximum of 2
meetings per semester; this includes meetings where the current President
is able to attend. If the current President fails to show up, the Vice
President must be there.
3. Treasurer- Responsible to handle all financial paperwork. The Treasurer
must be present for any money handling or meetings involving the
financial integrity of the Cooking Club.
4. Secretary- Responsible for handling and storing all paperwork appointed
to them by the President, Vice President, or the Treasurer.
5. Senate Delegate- Duties are to represent the Cooking Club at public events
and meetings. Including SSU council meetings, public demonstrations
etc…
C. Qualifications for becoming an Officer
1. Club Presidents and Treasurers must be enrolled at SSU and earn a
minimum of 6 semester units for undergraduate students or 3 semester
units for graduate/credential students per term while holding office and
D.
E.
F.
G.
must maintain a minimum cumulative 2.0 grade point average.
2. All officers must be current SSU students.
3. There are only specific requirements for the President. The President must
be someone who has been involved in the Cooking Club for minimum of 1
year.
Terms of Office
1. All terms will last one academic year
2. All officers will assume their positions at the start of the following Fall
semester.
Procedure for filling Vacated Offices
1. Each candidate must undergo an interview regarding their interest in
running for office, with the current officer of their potential position.
2. There will be no sort of special elections involved
Procedure for Removal of officers
1. Only current officer can instigate the removal of another current officer
2. Once an officer has been instigated for removal they will have to
opportunity to speak on be half of their defense in front of all other current
officers. The decision will be decided by a 2/3 vote of the current officers.
Appeal Process
1. There is no appeal process, once an officer is terminated they must
coincide and step down from their position indefinitely.
Article VI- Committees
A. Types of Meetings
1. Executive Committee- All current officers make up the Executive
Committee. The current President of the Cooking Club is the head of the
Executive Committee.
2. Fundraising Committee- All those who choose to be apart of the
Fundraising Committee are welcome. The fellow members of the
committee choose the head of the Fundraising Committee by a 2/3 vote.
B. Temporary/Special Committees
1. Those involved in a temporary/special committee are held responsible for
what was appointed to them by the Executive Committee.
2. The duration of such committees is situational.
Article VII- Meetings
A. Types of Meeting
1. There are three specific types of meeting: Executive, regular, and
special/temporary meetings.
2. Only regular meetings allow access to all regular members.
B. Time and Occurrence of Meetings
1. Meetings will be held weekly during the academic school year.
2. Specifically once a week
C. Special Meetings
1. Special meetings can be called at any time by the current officer or by the
head of any of the three committees.
D. Quorum
1. A quorum may occur when 51% of the active members come to an
agreement.
2. A quorum may exist during any public regular meeting.
E. Method of Conducting Meetings
1. All regular and special meetings of the Cooking Club shall be conducted
by TNT’s rules of order, revised.
Article VIII- Finance/Fiscal Responsibilities
A. Dues/Membership Fees
1. There is no set fee or due amount, only in the event of an off-campus trip
or event will members be asked to pay dues.
2. The current Treasurer is responsible for collecting any sort of fees or dues.
B. Fundraising
1. Fundraising should cover at least 25% of our budget.
C. Budget Expenditures
1. The current Treasurer is responsible for authorizing all expenditures and
reimbursements
Article IX- Advisors
A. Selection of Advisors
1. The current President is responsible for selecting an advisor.
B. Qualifications
1. Advisors must be a current SSU employee and may not be auxiliary
(Sonoma Student Union Corporation/ Associated Students, Inc.)
employees.
C. Terms of Office
1. The Advisor whom is chosen is only obligated to serve a minimum 1-year
term.
2. There are no limitations to how many terms the advisor may serve.
D. Roles and Duties of an Advisor
1. The Advisor is not held responsible to participate or engage in weekly
meetings or events.
2. As a group we expect the Advisor to be readily available to sign and
process paperwork. The Advisor is not limited to this minimal
involvement.
Article X- Amendment
A. Proposing Amendments
1. The proposing procedure includes: a written document or the new
amendment and a verbal announcement.
2. Any current officers may propose a new amendment.
B. Provisions
1. An amendment may be proposed at any time during the academic school
year.
2. Whomever decides to amend the constitution or its bylaws must first
approach and give proper notification to the Executive Committee.
3. All members are allowed to vote on an amendment. This constitution and
bylaws may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the entire voting student
membership.
4. Once a new amendment has been passed by a 2/3 vote, it shall take effect
immediately.
5. The amended constitution/bylaws must be approved by the Center for
Student Leadership, Involvement and Service. A copy of the minutes of
the meeting that documents the approval of the changes in the constitution
or bylaws or organization name shall be placed on file with the Center for
Student Leadership, Involvement and Service. An officer of the
organization shall sign the minutes.