OGS Constitution

Open Grove Society seeks to provide Central Michigan University and the surrounding community with a safe social outlet for members of pagan religions and other diverse beliefs, and their supporters. Our goals include dispelling negative stereotypes of various religions, providing an educational resource regarding non-mainstream or alternative religions and beliefs, and raising public awareness of non-mainstream religions.

A. Terms of Membership1. Membership shall be drawn from the CMU student body, staff, and the surrounding community
2. Full membership includes voting privileges

a. Voting Members may appoint a proxy or vote by absentee ballot.
b. Members who choose to use an absentee ballot or proxy must notify the scribe and one other e-board member at least one week before voting takes place.

3. Anyone who attends eight (8) meetings or more per semester will obtain and maintain full membership status.

a. Attendance will be tracked by the Scribe (See also Art. II Sec. A Pt2a)

4. Meeting attendees are expected to show respect for the group in the following manner

a. Waiting quietly until asked to speak
b. Agreeing to disagree with an opposing opinion rather than using it as a basis for personal attacks.

B. Termination of Membership1.Membership may be terminated for unacceptable behavior.
2. Unacceptable behavior may include, but is not limited to:

a. Disruptive behavior during meetings
b. Making offensive statements about any race, religion, sexual orientation, handicap, or other characteristic noted in the Anti-discrimination policy.
c. Failure to make compensation for a lost, damaged, or insulted OGS resource

- An OGS resource may be defined as printed material, office supply, hardware, software, ritual tool, event equipment, or person of expertise.

3. At least 3 people must agree to terminate a membership before it is called to a vote.
4. Membership must be terminated by a minimum of Eight (8) members or a 2/3 vote, whichever is the greater portion of those present at the vote.
5. Members found exhibiting unacceptable behavior will be given at least one (1) verbal warning.

a. A verbal warning may be issued through the following channels, listed by order of preference:

- Face-to-face conversation
- Telephone call
- Written memo

b. Attendees who continue to exhibit unacceptable behavior after at least one (1) warning may be asked to leave the meeting room for the rest of the meeting.

C. Reinstatement1. An ejected member may re-apply for membership in the following semester (Fall or Spring), no less than ten (10) calendar weeks after his or her ejection.
2. Other restitution may be decided upon by the group at this time.
3. Reinstated members must attend 8 meetings during the first semester of reinstatement to regain full membership status

 

A. Executive Board Offices1. President

a. The President shall act as spokesperson to the Office of Student Life
b. This officer shall be the primary stand-in to the Public Relations Officer in regards to contacts with the news media.
c. This officer shall maintain a group email address, through which the media and other individuals might contact the group.

- This email address is currently maintained as opengrovesociety@hotmail.com.

d. This officer shall be responsible for delegating duties and tasks regarding the group to other members.
e. The President is responsible for keeping the Faculty Advisor (Sec. III, A:1) informed of all group activities.

2. Vice-President

a. The Vice-President shall coordinate volunteers for scheduled activities
b. This officer will be the primary stand-in for other officers if they are unavailable.
c. The one exception to this rule is the office of Public Relations Officer, in which the Vice-President is the secondary stand-in.
d. This officer is responsible for arranging storage space for OGS resources (See also: Sec. I, B:2c), and maintaining a list of resources, their locations, and method of obtaining them.

3. Scribe

a. The Scribe will keep records of all meetings and business discussions, including officers reports and members attending.
b. The Scribe should post minutes to the electronic mailing list within five (5) days of the meeting
c. The Scribe will maintain a contact list of all members.
d. In the event of a constitutional rewrite or revision, the Scribe will email the minutes of the Constitutional meeting to the official Group officers’ account.

4. Treasurer

a. The treasurer will be responsible for the safekeeping of group funds on behalf of the group, in conjunction with the president.

- Safe-keeping of the funds is defined to include the management of a bank account, in the event that one is used for the deposit of group funds.
- The bank account shall be owned solely by the group and maintained separate from any personal funds belonging to an individual.

b. This officer will be responsible for filing appropriate paperwork with SBAC to receive funding from Office of Student Life for the group.
c. The Treasurer will report on funds raised at the first meeting following fundraising events.

5. Public Relations Officer

a. The Public Relations Officer shall be the primary contact for the news media.
b. This officer shall report to the E-board and the group as directed by the President.
c. This officer shall be responsible for replying to editorials and articles concerning the Group, as directed by the President or the Vice-President.
d. This officer shall be responsible for all advertising done on behalf of the Group.
e. This officer shall oversee the production of promotional materials using the Group’s name.
f. This officer should delegate individual tasks to volunteers as necessary, regarding public relations.
g. This officer shall be responsible for coordinating those volunteers referred to in (Sec. II, A:5f).

6. Social Deity

a. The Social Deity shall be responsible for Organizing social events for Group members in accordance with (Sec. IV, D) of this constitution
b. The Social Deity shall be responsible for organizing holiday outings for Group members in accordance with (Sec. IV, E) of this constitution.
c. This officer is responsible for creating a working social network between the Group and other groups as agreed upon by the Group members.
d. This officer shall track attendance at all social events and holiday outings via a sign-in sheet.
e. This officer shall contact the scribe to have an emergency contact information list at all social events and holiday outings.
f. The Social Deity has a budget of One hundred dollars per semester.

- There will be no carrying-over of unused funds from one semester to the next.
- There are no funds budgeted for this position during the times when school is not in Fall or Spring Semesters.

g. This officer must present Rituals and Social event plans to the group in accordance with (Sec. IV, D) and (Sec. IV, E) of this constitution.

- Any submissions for rituals must be complete scripts.
- Any submissions for social events must be at least a semi-comprehensive outline.

h. This officer is responsible for organizing a minimum of two (2) social events per semester (not inclusive of fundraising events)

B. Other Offices1. Webmaster

a. The webmaster shall maintain the website (currently located at http://www.freewebs.com/opengrovesociety).

- Maintenance of the website shall include updating links, contact information, and keeping the web domain registered.

b. The Webmaster is responsible for maintaining the e-mail list and listserv (currently established through GoogleGroups at (http://www.groups.google.com/group/opengrovesociety).
c. The Webmaster will not use images without permission from the originating site or artist.
d. The Webmaster should ensure that sites linked for research purposes have accurate information, or post a disclaimer in the event that information is not verifiable.
e. The Webmaster shall share access to the mailing list and website with the President and the Vice-President.
f. Any changes to the website require that a backup copy be made and presented (On disk) to the President.

2. Librarian

a. The Librarian is responsible for maintaining a list of books which members are willing to loan.
b. The Librarian will track loans and returns, and remind members when books are due.
c. The Librarian will report on the library activity at least once per semester.

3. Historian

a. The historian shall be responsible for keeping a log of minutes, and examples of flyers.
b. This officer shall keep a basic scrapbook of news articles and events involving the group.
c. This officer shall keep a record of group activities, such as Holiday camp-outs and fundraising events.

C. Qualifications1. The Executive Board Officers must be students of Central Michigan University in good standing, as outlined by Office of Student Life.
2. All officers should be members of the Group in good standing.

D. Selection and Term

1. Elections will be held at the last meeting before Spring Semester Final Exams.
2. Voting will be done by secret ballot.
3. The term of office shall be for one full year, beginning the following Fall Semester.
4. Summer officers and location shall be decided upon at the same meeting as elections.

E. Removal of Officers

1. Should an officer be unable to fulfill their duties, an emergency election will be held to replace them.
2. We feel that officers who cannot attend meetings on a regular basis may be missing out on vital information. A person may lose their position if they miss three (3) meetings.
3. A vote to remove an officer must have two-thirds of the current voting membership present at that meeting to achieve a quorum.

A. Faculty Advisor1. A Faculty Advisor is required by the Office of Student Life to maintain the Group’s status as an RSO.
2. The Current Faculty Advisor’s willingness to continue as such will be confirmed by the President in April.
3. If the current Advisor is unable to continue for whatever reason, a new Advisor must be selected by the end of September.
4. The faculty Advisor must be a faculty or staff member at Central Michigan University.

B. Other Advisors

1. Other Advisors may be selected or appointed as needed.

A. General Meetings1. General meetings will take place weekly, beginning with the first week of classes
2. Attendees may speak after being acknowledged by the person leading the meeting or topic of discussion.

B. Executive Board Meetings

1. Group business will be incorporated into the first half of general meetings

C. Special Meetings

1. Special Meetings may be called by any member.
2. The person who calls the meeting is responsible for contacting all members.
3. A quorum is required if voting is to take place.

D. Social Events.

1. A plan for each Social Event must be submitted to the group at least two (2) weeks in advance of the date of the meeting.
2. Attendance is not required. If attendance is low, It is still considered to be fulfilling the requirements set forth for the Social Deity in (Sec. II, A, Pt 6h)
3. General membership must RSVP at least one (1) week in advance of the date of the meeting. General members who RSVP and cannot attend must contact the Social Deity to notify of their inability to attend.

E. Holidays

1. Customary holidays are defined as Samhain, and Beltaine.
2. Other Holidays are defined by a group vote.
3. Holidays require a four (4) week notice if they contain rituals
4. Holidays require a two (2) week notice if they are a party.
5. When a Holiday contains a ritual and a party, follow requirements for (Sec. IV, E, 3)

F. Fundraising Events

1. A fundraising event is traditionally defined as The Masquerade Ball and the Psychic Fair.
2. Other fundraising events are defined by a group vote.

A. Officer and Committee budgets1. Officers requiring a budget and committee heads must propose a budget at the beginning of each semester.

a. This budget must be submitted as an official report for group approval and voted upon.
b. Any funds needed that are not part of the preliminary proposal must be submitted and voted on by group members in regular meetings.

2. The Executive Board shall receive a budget of One hundred dollars ($100) in discretionary funds per standard CMU semester (Fall, Spring, Summer)

a. This budget shall not include funds for normal operation costs, committee costs, or fundraising events. b. The Treasurer will keep spending records and include the budget quotes in their official report to the Executive Board
c. Members may request additional reports and will receive them within two (2) weeks of the date of request.

B. Treasury1. The treasurer must keep a minimum of Fifty dollars ($50.00) in denominations of ten dollars ($10.00) or less in the cash box. And must be brought to all meetings and officially sanctioned events.
2. The Treasurer must keep a minimum of One hundred dollars ($100.00) in the OGS treasury.

C. Allocations from the Office of Student Life

1. The Treasurer will be responsible for filing the appropriate forms to receive funding from the Office of Student Life through the SBAC.

D. Fundraising

1. A fundraising committee will be formed as needed to plan an event.
2. To prevent questions of integrity, the fundraising committee will be composed of at least three people and no more than two (2) roommates.
3. All money raised through the event should be turned over to the Treasurer or President for deposit in the OGS bank account at the end of the event.
4. The Treasurer or Event facilitator will be responsible for using fundraising money to pay all bills arising from a fundraising event, including but not limited to:

a. Site rentals
b. Speaker’s expenses
c. Food
d. Transportation

5. Other expenses to be paid from funds belonging to the group should be reviewed by the group.E. Distribution of funds in the event of disbanding

1. All outstanding debts are to be paid.
2. Any remaining funds are to be divided evenly between the following organization(s):

a. Circle Sanctuary
P.O. Box 219
Mt. Horeb, Wi. 53572 USA
Phone: (608)-924-2216

b. Women’s Aid Service, Inc.
129 E. Broadway St.
Mt. Pleasant, Mi. 48858 USA
Phone: (989)-772-9168

A. Introduction of Amendments1. Any member may propose an amendment for addition to the constitution
2. The amendment must be presented in a mechanically printed format (e.g., typewritten or computer-printed).
3. The presenter may not join discussion of the proposed amendment except to answer voter questions or offer different wording.

B. Voting on an Amendment

1. A member other than the presenter must call for the vote to accept the proposed amendment.
2. A third member must second the motion before voting can take place

C. Ratification

1. A two-thirds (2/3) vote is required to ratify a new amendment.

D. Voting

1. Formal Voting

a. A formal vote can include but is not limited to:

- Electing or removing officers
- Allocating funds
- Removal of a general member
- Responding to a petition for reentry

b. After discussion has exceeded ten (10) minutes or reasonable discussion has been pursued, the e-board may request a call to vote that must be seconded by a general member
c. A formal vote requires two-thirds (2/3) of active voting members be present
d. Votes determined by the Executive Board to require privacy will be cast by paper ballot.
e. All formal votes shall be called for and recorded as “Yes”, “No”, or “Abstain”.
f. In all formal votes, the Vice President shall cast the deciding vote.

- In the event that the Vice-President feels that (s)he cannot make an unbiased decision, the president shall abstain from voting, and cast the deciding vote.

g. Graduating Seniors will count votes.

- In the event that there is only one graduating senior, the vice president will assist him/her with counting votes.
- In the event that there are no graduating seniors, the Vice-President and the Scribe will count the votes.

h. Proxy votes must be written, signed, and presented to an Executive Board member before the vote.

- The Proxy vote submitted should contain a clearly marked “Yes”, “No”, or “Abstain” vote, clearly separated from any discussion of the issue.
- The Executive Board reserves the right to disregard all unclear votes.

2. Online voting 

a. Online votes must be sent to the current OGS Executive Board e-mail address (opengrovesociety@hotmail.com).
b. Vote may not take place through the OGS Livejournal, Mailing List, or any other open forum.
c. Discussions for the vote may only take place on the OGS mailing list.
d. Only Executive Board members may initiate an online vote, and must submit the vote to the Mailing List. The announcement must include the following details:

- A clear subject Line
- The issue being voted upon
- Intended benefit to the group
- Justification for online voting
- Cost (if applicable)

e. Responses that will be accepted

- A cut-off time for discussion
- A cut-off time for voting

f. Members must send their votes from the e-mail account subscribed to the OGS mailing list or from the member’s *.cmich.edu account
g. Votes must include:

- A subject line marking it as a vote, including the issue being voted upon.
- The voter’s full name
- The issue restated in the body of the e-mail
- A clear “Yes”, “No”, or “Abstain” or other applicable response.

h. Anything up to and including personal commentary included in a voting response will be cause to declare that vote void.
i. All votes are final.