Constitution for the Russian Club at Georgia Tech
Created November 15, 2004
Revised April 15, 2005

Article I – Name

Section I. This organization will be known as the Russian Club (A Georgia Tech Student Organization).

Article II – Purpose

The purpose of the Russian Club is to:
1.Promote the culture of Russian-speaking countries.
2.Discuss the political and social issues of the culture.
3.Advocate social issues that pertain to the Russian culture.

Article III – Membership

A.All student members of the Russian Club will be Georgia Tech students who meet eligibility requirements for the participation in extra-curricular activities as stated in the GT Catalog and SGA policies. Only Georgia Tech students can vote or hold office.
B.Associate members are GT faculty, staff, or alumni and their spouses who are interested in the organization. They may not vote or hold office.
C.There will be no maximum number of members.
D.Membership will take effect when an interested party signs up on the membership roster and pays all dues.

Article IV – Officers

Section I. Only GT students eligible according to the GT Catalog can hold or run for office and they must already be a member of the organization.

Section II. The duties of the Executive Committee will be as follows:

A.President: The President will be the executive officer of the Executive Committee and will have general supervision of the affairs of the Russian Club and will preside at all meetings. The President will represent the Russian Club at all conferences, conventions, and faculty or alumni meetings. The President will be in charge of planning the bi-weekly meetings with the Vice President.
B.Vice President: The Vice President will be the junior executive officer and will act on the behalf of the President in the event of his/her absence. The Vice President will be in charge of planning large projects and social events. The Vice President will be in charge of planning the bi-weekly meetings with the President.
C.Secretary: The Secretary will record the proceedings of each meeting and distribute the minutes to the members. The Secretary will also be in charge of the membership list and in recruiting new members.
D.Treasurer: The Treasurer will collect dues, maintain records of expenditures, and ensure that generally accepted accounting practices and monetary controls are in place.
E.Social Event Coordinator: The Social Event Coordinator will be responsible for planning several large events for the campus and Atlanta-based communities.

Section III. Other necessary officer positions will be added as voted by the majority of the current officers, and the proceedings for election of the officer will follow the general election rules.

Section IV. Officers will be elected in the following manner:

A.The elections for officers for the forthcoming year will take place at the last meeting in March of each year.
B.Any student member of the Russian Club may campaign or be nominated for any position on the Executive Committee.
C.At a designated meeting, candidates will discuss their platform, and the outgoing Executive Board will have prepared several questions to ask.
D.The candidates’ platforms and the responses to the questions will then be compiled and emailed out to the membership list to be voted on through email. The voting period through email will last exactly one week. The votes will be directed to the outgoing President.
E.The candidate for each office receiving a majority vote of student members who had responded through email will be considered the victor. If no candidate receives a majority vote, then the candidate who receives the most votes will be the victor. The victors will be announced at the meeting following the end of the voting period.
F.New officers take office at the first meeting of the new semester.

Section V. Officers shall be removed in this manner:

A.If an officer fails to maintain Institute requirements for holding office (i.e., good standing), he or she shall resign immediately.
B.If it is believed that an officer is not fulfilling his or her constitutional duties, then a petition requesting his or her removal must be signed by at least half of the voting membership and presented at a general meeting. Then, upon verification of the validity of the petition, by the advisor, and, at least two weeks but no more than four weeks from the date of submission, another meeting shall be held at which the grievance will be presented, with both sides having the opportunity to present a case.
C.The Faculty Advisor, if appropriate, shall preside over the removal hearing. After all arguments have been heard, a secret-ballot vote shall be held. If at least two-thirds of the voting members present vote for the removal, the officer shall be removed immediately. D.If the President is removed or resigns, the Vice-President will take his/her place in the interim. All other officers will be nominated by the membership and voted on in accordance with regular election procedures.

Article V – Advisor

Section I. A full time GT faculty or staff member will serve as advisor to the organization.

Section II. Nominations for advisor will take place in the following manner.

A.The Executive Board will nominate an advisor from the Russian Language professors in the beginning of March.
B.If the Executive Board agrees on one particular professor to take office as the advisor, the professor will be nominated. The professor will have one week to respond to the nomination.
C.If the nominated advisor refuses the position, the process will be extended to all Russian Language professors. All of these professors will be given an application which will be due within two weeks. The applications will be reviewed by the Executive Board, and the majority of votes will determine the advisor for the forthcoming year.
D.In the case of when no Russian Language professor accepts the nomination or responds to the application, the process will be extended to Modern Language professors.
E.The new advisor will take office at least one week before the organization’s officer elections.

Section III. During Officer Elections, the organization will vote on whether to continue the Advisor appointment or not. The vote must be two-thirds majority of those voting in order to retain the Advisor for the next academic year.

Section IV. The duties of Advisor include meeting with organization officers, reviewing the yearly budget, signing all required paperwork, and advising on issues of risk management, organization leadership, and Georgia Tech policy.

Section V. The Advisor can be removed for not carrying out the duties and expectations as defined in this document. Any member can bring concerns to the Executive Board. The Executive Board will meet with the Advisor to discuss the concerns. After this meeting, the Executive Board will vote on whether to remove the Advisor. If there is a majority vote, then the Advisor will be removed.

Section VI. If an Advisor steps down or is removed, the Executive Board will follow the process stated in Article V Section II.

Article VI – Dues

The executive Board will set the amount of Dues in the beginning of Fall semester and voted on by the membership but will not be less than the required amount designated by SGA. To be paid by the fourth week of the semester or by the third week of membership.

Article VII – Parliamentary Procedure

Robert’s Rules of Order will govern all meetings.

Article VIII – Constitutional Amendments

Section I. Amendments to the constitution shall be submitted to the Executive Committee in writing for consideration. A reading or email of the proposed amendment(s) will be required prior to submitting the amendment to a vote.

Section II. Written notification of the proposed amendment to all voting members must be made by mail or email, at least two weeks in advance if any proposed change in the constitution.

Section III. A two-thirds vote of members present will be required for adoption.

Section IV. Amendments are subject to the approval by the Student Government Association and the Student Activities Committee.