README.md

Constitution of MellonHeads

Last revised October 30, 2015.

See Article X for detailed history of revisions to this document.

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Article 0. Table of Contents

• Article 0. Table of Contents
• Article I. Official name and abbreviation
• Article II. Purpose
• Article III. General Eligibility
• Article IV. Members of the General Body
• Article V. Members of the Board
• Article VI. Meetings
• Article VII. Election of Board Members
• Article VIII. Quorum
• Article IV. Amendments
• Article X. History

Article I. Official name and abbreviation

1. The name of this Carnegie Mellon University ("the University") student organization shall officially be known as MellonHeads.

   1. MellonHeads may be abbreviated as "MH".

2. In this document ("the Constitution"), the organization shall be referred to as "MellonHeads" or "the Organization."

Article II. Purpose

1. The Mission Statement of MellonHeads is to:

   1. Create and celebrate maker culture in as many disciplines as possible.

   2. Foster an on-campus community for all things related to hackathons.

2. The purpose of this organization is to:

   3. Organize on-campus events related to hackathons

   4. Create a safe, inclusive hackathon community on-campus and online

   5. Ensure that interested Carnegie Mellon Students are aware of upcoming hackathons and related events

3. All activities and functions of the organization must be legal under University, local, state, and federal laws.

Article III. General Eligibility

1. There shall be two types of members of the organization: General Body Members and Board Members. These roles are described in Articles IV and V, respectively.

2. Membership of any kind in MellonHeads (i.e. General Body Membership or Board Membership) is limited to individuals meeting the below General Eligibility Requirements:

   1. Carnegie Mellon University undergraduate students

   2. Carnegie Mellon University graduate students

   3. Carnegie Mellon Faculty who meet the eligibility requirements below

   4. Carnegie Mellon Staff who meet the eligibility requirements below

   5. Undergraduate or graduate students at other universities who meet the eligibility requirements below

   6. Other people who meet the eligibility requirements below

3. There shall be no dues associated with membership of any kind of MellonHeads

4. In accordance with Carnegie Mellon University's Statement of Assurance as stated in The Word, MellonHeads shall not deny or restrict membership, nor discriminate in any way, on the basis of race, religion, national origin, age, gender, marital status, color, veteran status, sexual orientation, or disability.

5. Hazing shall not be used as a condition of membership in this organization.

Article IV. Members of the General Body

1. A General Body Member is an individual meeting the General Eligibility requirements as outlined in Article III who has signed up for membership using an online form, which may be completed at any time.

   1. General Body Membership expires at the end of every semester.

   2. Individuals may re-apply for General Body Membership an unlimited number of times as long as they meet the General Eligibility Requirements set forth above.

2. General Body Membership, once granted, may be lost or revoked if:

   3. The Member voluntarily resigns from the position by submitting a written notice to a member of the Operations Team

   4. The Member no longer meets the General Eligibility requirements set forth in Article III

   5. The Member’s actions cause significant damage or harm to MellonHeads, its mission, events, reputation or membership, as determined by unanimous opinion of the Board

3. There is no process to appeal a non-voluntary revocation of General Body membership, but the revocation may be overturned by unanimous opinion of the Board

Article V. Members of the Board

1. Board Members are elected by the General Body and serve for a term of one year, but may serve an unlimited number of terms if re-elected. The Executive Board consists of the following positions:

   1. Board member max term length: 1 academic year

   2. There is no term limit

2. The Board shall consist of four teams:

   3. The Executive Team, which shall consist of:

      1. President, whose roles shall include:

         1. Presiding over meetings of the General Body and the Board

         2. Representing MellonHeads to broader community

         3. Overseeing the planning of MellonHeads events

         4. Setting the short and long term direction of the organization, and ensuring progress is made towards those ends

         5. Ensuring that MellonHeads abides by this Constitution

      2. Internal Relations Chair, whose roles shall include:

         6. Ensuring effective communication between the Board and the General Body

         7. Ensuring effective communication between members of the Board

         8. Helping to assess and ensure that Board Members are fulfilling their requirements

         9. Serving as a private sounding board for other members of the Board.

         10. Offering advice to members of the Board as needed

   4. The Operations Team, which shall consist of:

      3. Secretary, whose roles shall include:

         11. Taking accurate minutes at meetings of the General Body and the Board

         12. Preparing and distributing agendas prior to meetings of the General Body and the Board

         13. Keeping track of attendance at meetings of the General Body and the Board

         14. Administering and maintaining the Organization’s official email distribution list

         15. Creating and maintaining the online sign-up form for General Body membership

      4. Historian, whose roles shall include:

         16. Documenting the planning and execution of MellonHeads events to ensure effective transition of organizational knowledge, including but not limited to

             1. rooms and space utilized

             2. kinds, quantities, and costs of food purchased

             3. other event-related costs

             4. how sponsorship and other event-related funding was obtained

             5. how the event was publicized

         17. Recording objective and subjective assessments of the effectiveness of MellonHeads events, especially as they relate to to the Mission Statement set forth in Article II, including but not limited to

             6. whether the event was successful or not

             7. accuracy of food and attendance estimates

             8. which Board and General Body members were instrumental in the functioning of the event

             9. positive and negative feedback from attendees

   5. The Publicity Team, which shall consist of:

      5. Designer, whose roles include:

         18. Creating effective branding for MellonHeads as an organization and for MellonHeads events

         19. Educating and communicating branding and design goals to the Board

         20. Designing flyers and posters for events

         21. Working with the Webmaster to facilitate and implement effective web design for the MellonHeads’ website

         22. Designing presentations for official MellonHeads events

         23. Designing any MellonHeads apparel that may be needed

         24. Designing any digital or print media the organization may need

      6. Webmaster, whose roles shall include:

         25. Maintaining the official MellonHeads website ("the Website"), MellonHeads.org, including but not limited to:

             10. hosting the website

             11. managing the domain name

             12. building features and maintaining the code and layout of the website

         26. Working with the Social Media chair to ensure that the Website has up-to-date information about events and social media links

         27. Working with the Designer to ensure that the design of the Website is consistent with the Organization’s branding

         28. Administrating the MellonHeads GitHub organization (github.com/MellonHeads), including but not limited to:

             13. adding new members

             14. removing inactive members

      7. Social Media Chair, whose roles shall include:

         29. Maintaining and moderating the MellonHeads’ Facebook group ("the Facebook Group"), facebook.com/423766264446358

         30. Maintaining an effective presence on Twitter, Facebook, The Bridge, and any other social media outlets which the Publicity Team deems worthy of pursuing.

         31. Working with the Designer to ensure that profile pictures, banners, and similar art and graphics on social media outlets reflects the MellonHeads current design and branding

         32. Printing and distributing posters and flyers for events

   6. The Finance Team, which shall consist of:

      8. Treasurer, whose roles shall include:

         33. Maintaining accurate records of all financial transactions, including but not limited to:

             15. corporate sponsorship money

             16. donations

             17. University-granted finances

             18. event-related and other organizational expenses

         34. Managing the budget, and ensuring that the Board is aware of the financial standing of the organization

         35. Approve any expenditures of the Organization’s funding, or expenditures which are to be reimbursed using the Organization’s funding

         36. Reimbursing members as necessary

         37. Managing the MellonHeads university bank account

      9. Fundraising, whose roles shall include:

         38. Identifying and contacting organizations who may be interested in sponsoring the Organization and/or specific events

         39. Working with the Treasurer to ensure that appropriate funding is obtained as needed

         40. Managing and maintaining relationships with sponsoring organizations and individuals, including but not limited to writing thank-you notes

         41. Effectively communicating sponsorship benefits and responsibilities to sponsoring entities

3. Board Membership, once granted, may be lost or revoked if:

   7. The Member voluntarily resigns from the position by submitting a written notice to a member of the Operations Team

   8. The Member no longer meets the General Eligibility requirements set forth in Article III

   9. The Member demonstrates gross incompetence in the fulfillment of their Board responsibilities, as determined by unanimous opinion of the Executive Board

   10. The Member’s actions cause significant damage or harm to MellonHeads, its mission, events, reputation or membership, as determined by unanimous opinion of the Board

4. There is no process to appeal a non-voluntary revocation of Board membership, but the revocation may be overturned by unanimous opinion of the Board

5. In the case of unexpected vacancies for Board positions, the President may choose (but is not obligated) to temporarily appoint a member of the General Body to fill the position until the next General Body Meeting when a vote can take place according to the standard election process described in Article VII

Article VI. Meetings

1. Meetings of the Board shall be conducted once every two weeks

   1. Shall be presided over by the President, who will facilitate discussion including but not limited to:

      1. Planning of upcoming events

      2. Reflection and analysis of past events

      3. Any voting that may be necessary

   2. Shall be conducted once every two weeks (or more if needed, at the discretion of the President)

   3. Emergency meetings of the Board may be called at any time by the President at their discretion

   4. A notice shall be sent by the Secretary to the Board at least one week prior to non-emergency meetings, containing details including but not limited to

      4. The expected agenda of the meeting

      5. The time and location, if not already known

      6. An expected duration of the meeting, if it is expected that it will be substantially different than typical meetings

2. Meetings of the General Body shall be conducted once per month

   5. Shall be presided over by the President, who will facilitate discussion including but not limited to:

      7. Announcements about upcoming hackathons and related events, including those not organized by MellonHeads

      8. Discussion of new policies and affairs which may pertain to the General Body, including but not limited to proposed and ratified changes to this Constitution

      9. Discussion of past and upcoming MellonHeads events

      10. Any voting that may be necessary

   6. A notice shall be sent by the Secretary to the Board and General Body at least one week prior to meetings, containing details including but not limited to

      11. the expected agenda of the meeting

      12. the time and location, if not already known

      13. an expected duration of the meeting, if it is expected that it will be substantially different than typical meetings

Article VII. Election of Board Members

1. Elections for Board member positions shall be conducted at a General Body Meeting at the end of the Spring semester

   1. the specific time, date, and location of the meeting shall be decided by the Board, and must be communicated to the General Body at least two weeks prior to the meeting

2. Any current member of the General Body or the Board who expects to remain an eligible member during the next academic semester of the University is eligible to vote in these elections

3. The ballot shall consist of individuals who have been nominated by themselves or their peers to specific Board member positions

   2. Individuals may nominate a maximum of three Eligible Individuals

      1. Nominations of the same person for different Board member positions shall be considered multiple nominations.

   3. If an eligible individual is nominated for more than one Board member position, they may run for all nominated positions simultaneously. If elected to more than one position, they must choose at most one of those positions to accept. There shall a re-vote for the position(s) not accepted by that individual.

4. There will be no absentee or proxy votes; only current General Body Members in physical attendance at the General Body Meeting where the election is conducted may vote.

5. Votes shall be cast by secret ballot

6. Votes shall be counted by the President, who shall not get a vote, except in the case of unresolved ties (see section 7.a.i of this Article)

   4. If the President is running for the position being contested, votes shall be counted by another member of the Board who is not running for the position, in order of their enumeration in Article V.

7. A candidate must receive a simple majority (1/2) of votes in order to win an election.

   5. If no candidate receives a simple majority, the candidate with the lowest number of votes shall be removed from the ballot, and the voting procedure shall be repeated. This step shall be repeated until a candidate wins.

      2. If no candidate receives a lower number of votes than any other candidates, the President must vote to break the tie.

Article VIII. Quorum

• At least one member of each team of the current Board must be present to conduct a meeting board.

• If a vote is required for a decision in a board meeting, a simple ½ majority of Board members in attendance is required to pass, except in cases specifically described in this constitution that require other voting rules.

Article IV. Amendments

Note: This section based on Article VII of ACM@CMU’s Constitution.

1. Any General Body Member may propose an amendment to the Constitution by submitting a written proposal to a member of the Executive Team.

2. Amendments must be sent out to all General Body Members for review at least one week before being voted upon.

3. Amendments shall only be voted upon during a Board Meeting.

4. Amendments must receive a three-quarters supermajority at a meeting of the Board to pass.

5. Amendments shall take effect immediately after being passed.

6. Amendments must be recorded in Article X, History, and these changes must be promptly and effectively communicated to the General Body by the Secretary.

Article X. History

1. October 17, 2015

   1. The initial version of the Constitution was completed by the interim Board Members (formerly the "Core Team") of MellonHeads.

2. November 1, 2015

   2. The Constitution was ratified by the 2014-2015 Interim Board.