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Article I - Name:
The Astronomy Club
Article II - Affiliation:
Dickinson College
Article III - Statement of Purpose:
The purpose of the Astronomy Club is to develop and to continue to encourage
an appreciation of astronomy within both the Carlisle and Dickinson communities.
It will continuously promote and further the sharing of specific knowledge
of astronomy and the college’s available observational equipment and educational
resources amongst members of the club.
Article IV - Membership:
Any Dickinson community member with an interest in astronomy is welcome to
join. Furthermore, all members must agree to safeguard the equipment used
by the organization. Discrimination of any kind is prohibited.
Active Members:
There are a couple of ways in which one gains Active Member status:
• New Members: Those who have never been a part of the
Astronomy Club are automatically given Active Member status.
• People who have attended an average of two events each
month will be given Active Member status.
• Those who have attended at least half of the meetings
each semester will be given Active Member status.
• Any combination of the previous two stipulations will
result in an Active Member status.
An event is defined as an activity or meeting of the club. This includes,
but is not limited to, star parties, planetarium shows, chalking, and creating
or dispersing posters or flyers.
Active Member status is based on the previous semester except in situations
pertaining to new members. If a member does not currently attend meetings
or go to events, they are still an active member if they did these things
the previous semester. However, the semester following they would lose their
Active Member status. The only exception is in the case of members who have
traveled abroad. In this case Active Member status is determined by the semester
prior to their time abroad.
Article V - Advisor and Officers:
Advisor:
The advisor must be a member of the
Physics and Astronomy department. This person must also have a Ph.D. or a
Sc.D. in astronomy, astrophysics, solar physics, planetary physics, or any
other branch of astronomy. This person must also be tenured or a tenure-track
professor at Dickinson College. The professor must be committed to furthering
the purpose of the club and must assist the officers in any reasonable endeavor.
Active faculty members of the club will decide who advises and how long the
person’s term should be. One of the advisor’s responsibilities is to give
keys to the president. The Advisor decides who else will get keys.
Officers:
• President- The president will not only call all meetings,
but he or she will also set the agenda for and preside over each meeting.
The president will attempt to thoroughly cover all areas of the agenda. In
the case of an officer vacating his or her position, it is the president’s
responsibility to call an emergency meeting to replace the officer.
The president may also call meetings of the executive officers as he or she
sees fit.
• Vice President- The Vice President assists the president.
If for any reason the president cannot be at the weekly meetings, it is the
Vice President’s responsibility to run the meeting or any other event. The
Vice President will also oversee the public relations of the club.
Also, if for any reason the presidency is vacated, the vice president will
assume the role of president.
• Treasurer- The treasurer will be in charge of estimating
costs of activities, obtaining money for activities, completing the yearly
budget proposal, and maintaining the account balance for the organization.
The Treasurer must also keep a ledger for the club and execute club fundraisers.
• Secretary- It is the secretary’s responsibility to take
the minutes of each meeting and send out a weekly mailing to both the officers
and members of the club. It is also the secretary’s job to inform club members
of upcoming events.
• Web-page Designer- It is the web-page master’s responsibility
to create, update, and maintain the Astronomy Club’s web-page as necessary.
It is also the web-page master’s responsibility to post upcoming events on
the website for the Dickinson and Carlisle communities.
• Past Officers- It is the responsibility of the all previous
offices to help the acting officer that has recently filled the past officer’s
old position. Past officers will teach the acting officer the requirements
of their position and also give the necessary documents and equipment to
the acting officer. Past officers will serve the semester following their
term of office.
Elections:
Elections will be held the on the last meeting of the Fall Semester. Officers
will hold their positions from the beginning of the Spring Semester until
the following Spring Semester.
Voting will be done as follows:
• Nominations will be taken the second to last week of
the Fall Semester. One cannot nominate oneself. One only needs to be nominated
by one person in order to appear on the ballot.
• Only Active Members may be nominated for an officer position.
• In order to nominate someone, one must be present at
the meeting unless prior arrangements with the acting President have been
made.
• Nomination for multiple positions is allowed.
• Voting will be done by secret ballot at the final meeting.
• In order to vote one must be present at the meeting unless
prior arrangements with the acting President are made.
• If one is elected for more than one position, the person
elected may choose which position he or she prefers. The runner-up will receive
the remaining open position.
• The faculty advisor is not permitted to vote in elections.
• Only Active Members may be allowed to vote and nominate.
Nominees must be full time students and cannot be seniors. Also, the officers
may serve no more than two consecutive terms of the same position.
Article VI - Business
Business will be conducted at Astronomy Club meetings. All meetings
may be deemed business meetings, but must not necessarily be business meetings.
A Business meeting may include activities such as planning events, administrative
activities, and discussions of recent events. Active meetings may take the
place of business meetings. Active meetings may include but are not limited
to trips for supplies and any active work on planetarium shows or other public
outreach events. The president will announce all meetings. Regular meeting
times for the next semester will be decided upon at the first meeting of
each semester. All members will have say in these times but the officers
will make the final decision. The officers will also determine the place
meetings will be held. The president will decide the agenda. Other officers
may also assist in presenting an agenda. Committees will be formed as deemed
by the officers. The officers will also appoint the heads of committees as
they see fit. Officers meetings will be announced as needed.
Article VIII - Recall
Any officer who does not fulfill his or her responsibilities or who acts
in a grossly inappropriate manner at an Astronomy event can be removed from
office by a two-thirds vote of the Active Members. This vote will take place
at an emergency meeting called by the president. In the event the president
is recalled, the vice president will call the meeting to recall the president.
At the meeting, the person who is being recalled has the opportunity to defend
himself or herself. Active Members must be present in order to vote unless
prior arrangements with the president are made. A quorum of Active Members
must be present in order for the recall to take place. Before a recall takes
place it must be announced at a prior meeting in order to discuss the issue
at hand. If the president is being recalled, the vice president will assume
the role of president until a vote has taken place.
Article IX - Amendments:
All Active Members will vote on amendments to this Constitution;
however, any member of the organization may propose an amendment. In order
for a motion to add an amendment to be valid, one-third of the Active Members
must agree. The amendment will be discussed for a minimum of two meetings
and a maximum of six meetings before a vote takes place. If a longer time
period is deemed necessary to discuss the amendment, the president will determine
how much longer the amendment shall be discussed. In order for an amendment
to pass, it must have a two-thirds majority vote of Active Members. Faculty
members are allowed to propose amendments.
Article X - Ratification
In order to ratify this constitution a two-thirds majority vote is necessary.
Members may vote on the ratification of this constitution. In order to vote
you must be present at the ratification meeting.