Constitution

University of Regina Politics and International Studies Students Association

CONSTITUTION

Version 1.6 - Last Edited March 28, 2022


Preamble

The Politics and International Studies Students Association is a group composed of students in the University of Regina’s Department of Politics and International Studies. The sections listed below provide a written outline of the rules governing this association.


Article I – Name

1.1 The name of this association shall be UR POLIS.


Article II – Purpose

2.1 The association serves as the representative body of all students within the Politics and International Studies Department. The association acts as a liaison between students and faculty, hosts events that promote community building within the Department, and spreads engaged citizenship across the University of Regina campus.


Article III – Membership

3.1 This association shall allow membership to all students of the University of Regina who are registered in the Faculty of Arts and are current members of URSU. Membership will only be granted to students who meet the aforementioned conditions and one of the following: are majoring, minoring, or pursuing a certificate in a program offered by the Politics and International Studies (PAIS) Department, and/or are registered in a class delivered by the PAIS Department. This association supports and encourages respect for political, religious, ethnic, racial, physical, generational, sexual, and intellectual differences because such respect promotes free and open inquiry, independent thought, and mutual understanding.

Article IV – Treatment of Members

4.1 This association complies with all Provincial and Federal laws and University of Regina policies. This association recognizes mistreatment to be any action taken or situation created to inflict physical or mental discomfort, embarrassment, harassment or ridicule upon an individual or group. Further, the members of this organization understand that any individual or group found responsible for mistreatment will be subject to disciplinary action, which may result in permanent removal from the association, probation, suspension, or recommendation for revocation of University recognition.


Article V – Executive

5.1 There shall be an Executive Committee, which shall govern the association. This section includes the titles and duties of each executive of the association and a description of the executive term.


5.2 The Executive Committee shall be composed of:

  1. President;

  2. Vice-President;

  3. Treasurer;

  4. Secretary;

  5. Events Coordinator;

  6. Communications Coordinator;

  7. Outreach Coordinator;

  8. Member(s) at Large (up to three open positions).


5.3 - President's responsibilities:

  1. To call and chair all general and executive association meetings and set agendas;

  2. To act as official spokesperson for the association;

  3. To have co-signing authority on all association financial matters;

  4. To coordinate and supervise, in consultation with the members, a general plan of action for the term of office to guide the direction of association efforts;

  5. To evaluate all activities of the association in relation to this constitution and to work with all members of the executive to ensure that its values are adhered to at all times;

  6. To submit necessary documentation to URSU by the end of October, in order to get club status;

  7. To act as liaison and student representative to the Politics and International Studies Department (PAIS) and attend the Department's meetings;

  8. To chair the Annual General Meeting (AGM), ensuring that elections take place as detailed below in this constitution, and formally approving the Treasurer's financial report;

  9. To maintain a full executive committee and hold by-elections as necessary to fill empty positions. In the case that these by-elections are unsuccessful, to delegate positions to the elected members of the association executive;

  10. Such other duties as deemed appropriate on occasion by the association executive posed in motions.


5.4 - Vice President's responsibilities:

  1. To chair all association meetings in instances where the President is unavailable;

  2. To assist the President and other executives in the overall function of the association;

  3. To act as secondary spokesperson of the association;

  4. To be willing and able to assume role as president if the position becomes open;

  5. To work with members and the executive committee to ensure that future terms will have sufficient interest and necessary leadership so as to sustain a healthy and thriving student association and achieve and maintain Five Year club status with URSU;

  6. To ensure that access and passwords of accounts (such as email and social media) are transferred and changed at the beginning of each term;

  7. Such other duties as deemed appropriate on occasion by the association executive posed in motions.


5.5 - Treasurer's responsibilities:

  1. To advise the association on all financial matters;

  2. To maintain financial records of the association and be able to present them at all association meetings;

  3. To draft the budget of the association in consultation with executive members to be presented at the first general meeting of each semester, to outline the current financial situation and the plans to maintain a revenue neutral account balance;

  4. To present a final and complete financial report at year end at the AGM, detailing the year's spending and revenue;

  5. To have co-signing authority on all association financial matters;

  6. To work with the executive team to come up with fund-raising events and ideas throughout the term so as to not run a deficit budget;

  7. To ensure safe-keeping and handling of association cheques, money, and other financial assets;

  8. To facilitate any necessary transfers of signing authority (such as at the term end) on any and all financial accounts, with the President and the PAIS Department Head;

  9. Such other duties as deemed appropriate on occasion by the association executive posed in motions.


5.6 - Secretary's responsibilities:

  1. To attend and record minutes of all general meetings in time so that they may be included along with the agenda of the next meeting;

  2. To attend and record all executive meeting minutes for use of the executive committee;

  3. To work with the PAIS department's secretaries to book rooms within the university for the association's meetings upon request of the President;

  4. To share access with the President to the association email account and only use the account the fulfill their role as secretary;

  5. To maintain an up to date membership list, including name, student number, email, and program of study;

  6. To send notice of all meetings, elections, and relevant motions to members via email, if requested by the President;

  7. To upload digital copies of all general meeting minutes, agendas, public association documents, and other association material to the email accounts file sharing system and make them publicly shared;

  8. To upload digital copies of the current membership list and executive meeting minutes for the private use of the executive team as necessary for their duties;

  9. The protect the confidentiality of all members and information within the association's records;

  10. To be familiar with and work secondary to the President in ensuring that the rules, processes, and values of this constitution are adhered to at all times;

  11. To arrange for a replacement (from within the membership in the case of general meeting, and from within the executive in the case of executive meetings) to record minutes of the meeting and send them to the Secretary should they be unable to attend any meeting;

  12. Such other duties as deemed appropriate on occasion by the association executive posed in motions.


5.7 - Events Coordinator's responsibilities:

  1. To work in consultation with the association executive and membership in the development, organization, implementation, and promotion of all association events and activities;

  2. To maintain contact with other organizations within the University of Regina and in broader communities across Saskatchewan to collaborate in campus wide events relating to matters of political science and international studies;

  3. To be responsible for filling out necessary forms or rentals

  4. To work with the Treasurer to facilitate necessary fundraising events so that the association's activities throughout the term bring in as much (or more) money than they spend, so as to maintain a revenue neutral (or positive) account balance;

  5. Such other duties as deemed appropriate on occasion by the association executive posed in motions.


5.8 - Communications Coordinator’s responsibilities:

  1. To be responsible for the administration of the various association social media accounts;

  2. To work with the rest of the executive to develop content for the association;

  3. Holding final approval on all association content before sharing;

  4. Such other duties as deemed appropriate on occasion by the association executive posed in motions.

5.9 - Outreach Coordinator’s responsibilities:

  1. To coordinate outreach projects related to civic engagement, political science, or international studies for the association in accordance with the association’s mandate;

  2. To liaise with non-profit organizations and other campus associations on collaborative outreach endeavours;

  3. Such other duties as deemed appropriate on occasion by the association executive posed in motions.

5.10 - Member(s) at Large’s responsibilities:

  1. To aid the association executive in the planning and execution of association events;

  2. To work with members and the executive committee to ensure that future terms will have sufficient interest so as to sustain a healthy and thriving student association;

  3. Such other duties as deemed appropriate on occasion by the association executive posed in motions.


5.11 - Executive Term

  1. The Executive committee shall begin their term of office starting the day following the final day of classes of the winter semester as outlined in the University of Regina schedule and serve until the final day of classes the year following;

  2. If unable to perform their assigned roles as outlined in this constitution for the entire term, an executive member shall give a thirty day notice (or longer if possible) to the rest of the executive team and assist the executive in the transfer of all roles as they would at the normal end of term;

  3. Before the end of each term, after the AGM and elections have taken place, each executive member shall work with the person elected to fill their position in the next term to transfer any and all knowledge, accounts, signing authority, and association assets. The association governing documents will be passed over at this time;

  4. The executive committee members shall submit contact information including full name, email address, and phone number to the advisor for their records at the beginning of each term.


Article VI – Advisor

6.1 The Advisor shall be a faculty member of the Department of Politics and International Studies. They shall be a volunteer selected by the faculty and approved by the association's Executive committee. They shall serve as long as they are willing and able, and shall arrange for their replacement before they step down as Advisor. Their primary duty shall be to ensure the continuation of the association via the following:

  1. Keeping a record of the names, emails, and phone numbers for the Executive Committee members responsible for all association accounts such as email, Facebook, bank account, etc. This information shall be kept confidential and only shared by the Advisor with members of the executive committee in the case of contacting that individual to arrange a transfer of an account or signing authority;

  2. Assisting students of the Department in finding a new President and Vice President to run the association should both persons be unable to fulfill their duties, and transferring to them the most current version of this constitution and any other association assets.


6.2 The Executive committee shall work with the Advisor to ensure their records be updated should any contact information change or should any bi-elections take place.


6.3 The Advisor's secondary duties shall be:

  1. To act as liaison with the association President to facilitate the involvement of any department faculty members in association events or activities;

  2. To meet with the Student Representative to the PAIS Department meetings (selected by this constitution) to brief them on how a PAIS Department meeting is run and the student representative's role in the meetings;

  3. To act as a signing authority for the association bank account.


Article VII – Meetings

7.1 The following shall be the rules and procedure of meetings of the association:

  1. The President shall call an association Executive Council meeting each month from September to April;

  2. The President shall call one private executive meeting within ten days before both the fall and winter semesters to formulate with the Executive committee a general plan for that semester;

  3. The Executive member appointed by this constitution shall attend the monthly faculty meeting of the Department of Politics and International Studies (PAIS);

  4. A member of the executive may motion to call any additional meetings throughout the year;

  5. A committee leader may be elected and hold meetings for their committee as necessary and shall disclose with the executive committee (and membership if necessary) a summary of such meetings by way of committee meeting minutes;

  6. No executive meeting shall be held without the advance notification of all executive members of twenty-four hours;

  7. No general meeting shall be held without the advance notification of seven days to all executive members and all association members, and without the presence of the President and/or Vice President, and the Secretary or their appointed replacement;

  8. General meetings shall have a quorum of six, and the AGM shall have a quorum of eight;

  9. The AGM shall take place each year in the month of March and a minimum of two weeks prior to the final day of classes for the winter semester;

  10. The order of business for the AGM shall be:

i. any motions to amend the constitution;

ii. presentation of the budget;

iii. elections;

iv. any other business;

  1. Should a member want an item placed on the agenda, they must notify the Secretary at least twenty-four hours in advance;

  2. Proposed amendments to this constitution shall be sent to the President a minimum of seven days prior to a general meeting, and the President shall immediately send out the proposed amendment to all members as well as include it in full written form in the agenda for the general meeting;

  3. All funding requests must be given to the President, Vice-President and the Treasurer in writing at least seventy-two hours prior to a general meeting in order to establish whether the funding needs can be met.


Article VIII – Committees

8.1 Committees may be established during a general meeting by any member by means of a motion. Such committees will be responsible to the Executive committee and may be requested at any time to make a full and timely report of their meetings and activities to the committee.


8.2 Committees of the association must abide by all values and principles of this constitution. Failure to report to the executive or abide by the principles of the constitution shall result in the immediate dissolution of the committee.


Article IX – Rules of Procedure

9.1 The business and meetings of the association shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order 2nd Edition unless otherwise stated by the constitution. In the event of any dissimilarity between the two, the constitution shall have precedence.


9.2 In order to maintain active status, this association will comply with all University of Regina policies and procedures, including financial regulations, which pertain to student organizations. As well the association shall abide by any guidelines or regulations laid out by the URSU regarding the governance and conduct of student organizations.


Article X - Elections

10.1 All members of the association shall be eligible to vote in elections.


10.2 Elections shall take place during the Annual General Meeting at the end of the Winter Semester.


10.3 The AGM shall be announced one month and/or two meetings in advance so that any person wishing to run or nominate will have the appropriate time to prepare a nomination and/or nominee application and a nominee speech.


10.4 The article on the roles of each position as detailed in this constitution shall be read aloud prior to nominations, as well as the full article on elections so that all members present shall be informed on duties and policies.


10.5 Candidates must be nominated by a motion made by a member present at the AGM and the motion must be seconded. Nominations must state the name and position. Nominations may happen in any order at this point. All candidates must have a major, minor, or certificate in political science, international studies, or PPE and declare this during their speech.


10.6 After nominations are made, candidates will be named, speeches will be given by candidates in the order of the nominations, and then an anonymous ballot election will ensue.


10.7 Voters shall put the names of up to seven people who were nominated on their ballot - one name for each of the five positions. The ballot shall not have more than five names or will be spoiled. Once every eligible member present has voted and placed their ballot within the voting box, votes will be counted.


10.8 The President presiding over the AGM shall only cast their vote in the case of a tie, and then only for the position(s) which require a tie-breaking vote. They shall not place a ballot in the box.


10.9 Votes shall be counted by two people who are not running for election. One person shall read the ballot aloud, and the other person tally votes publically. Once all ballots are counted election results shall be announced. It is at this point that the President shall make any tie-breakers.


10.10 After the winners of the positions outlined in Article 5.2 a-g are announced, nominations for Member(s) at Large will take place. Depending on the level of interest, there can be up to three Members at Large on the association executive. The number of Members at Large to be elected each year is to be determined by the outgoing association President.

10.11 Voters shall put the names of up to three people who were nominated for the position(s) of Member(s) at Large on their ballot. Other than this difference, the voting process will follow the same rules as the election of the other members of the association executive.

Article XI - Online Learning

11.1 In the case of the suspension of in-person classes at the University of Regina, the association will be governed by the following rules:

  1. No large events or meetings are to be hosted in-person until deemed safe by public health officials;

  2. All Executive business is to be conducted via Zoom or some other online channel;

  3. The rules outlined in the constitution are to be followed unless conflicting with guidelines provided by the University or public health officials.

11.2 If the suspension of in-person classes impedes the association's ability to host the Annual General Meeting, it is to be held in the association's private Facebook Group. An online AGM will comply by the following rules:

  1. The President will begin the AGM by making a post in the UR POLIS Facebook Group, outlining the order of business for the meeting;

  2. The AGM will start at 8:00 AM and end at 11:59 PM on the scheduled day;

  3. Ballots will be cast by way of a poll in the UR POLIS Facebook Group. The President presiding over the AGM will be responsible for confirming the legitimacy of each ballot.

  4. The association executive, aside from the Member(s) at Large will be announced the following morning;

  5. Elections for Member(s) at Large will take place the following day, also by way of Facebook Poll;

  6. All rules for elections outlined in Article X, if not in direct contrast with those outlined in 11.2, will still apply.


Article XII – Amendments

12.1 Amendments to this constitution shall be conducted as follows:

  1. A voting member of the association shall submit the proposed amendment to the executive to be added to the agenda prior to the meeting;

  2. The proposed amendment shall be submitted in full written form to all members of the general meeting;

  3. The proposed amendment must be passed by a 2/3 majority (with a minimum of six based on quorum).


Article XIII - Superseding Clause

13.1 This Constitution repeals and supersedes all previous constitutions.