Revised April 13, 1999
Article I. Another Choice on Campus
Article II. Purpose
To provide and support opportunities on-campus and off-campus for Boston College
students who want to participate in activities in a substance-free environment.
In addition, to provide education about substance abuse through speakers and
workshops.
Article III. Membership Qualifications
a. Events and membership are open to all full-time and part-time Boston
College undergraduate and graduate students.
b. An active member will attend bi-monthly meetings and participate in
activities.
c. Active members may vote on proposals and officers.
d. There shall be no discrimination against any individual due to race, age,
religion, color, sex, national origin, mental or medical handicaps, sexual
orientation, marital or parental status, or Vietnam Veteran status.
Article IV. Officers
a. There will be five officers: President, Vice President, Secretary/Historian,
Treasurer, and Public Relations Coordinator.
b. Officers must be active members.
c. Duties of the officers:
i. President: runs all bi-monthly meetings; is responsible for coordinating
functions of club; is representative of the club to the student body; is responsible
for communication with deans, advisor and the Office of the Dean for Student
Development (ODSD); must attend officer orientation sponsored by ODSD in fall.
ii. Vice President: Assists president in all duties; takes over all responsibilities
of the president in his/her absence; coordinates all committees and attends
committee meetings.
iii. Secretary/Historian: Responsible for taking and reporting minutes and
attendance; organizes written documents and archives; keeps correspondence
with appropriate parties.
iv. Treasurer: Responsible for all bookkeeping, donations, fundraising; submits
annual budget to UGBC, keeps contact with the ODSD Budget Manager; must attend
treasurers' training sponsored by ODSD in fall.
v. Public Relations Coordinator: Responsible for publicizing events that ACC
sponsors or co-sponsors.
d. In the event of a vacated position, remaining officers will nominate an
alternate until a new officer can be elected. Standard election procedure
will follow as soon as possible.
e. An officer may be impeached due to misconduct as outlined in the Boston
College Code of Conduct, misrepresentation of club, or not fulfilling duties
as outlined under article IVc of the ACC Constitution.
i. In order to impeach an officer an active member of the club must bring
a complaint to the highest-ranking officer not in question.
ii. Officers and the faculty advisor will then meet with those involved in
the complaint for the purpose of resolving the issue. Officer in question
must be allowed to present his/her case. If deemed necessary, the case (which
includes the officer in question's testimony) will be presented to the members
for the option of a probation period. The probation period must include specified
steps toward reinstatement decided upon by remaining officers.
iii. The probation plan must be presented to and approved by a 2/3 vote of
active members present. Prior to the vote an open discussion among members
should be held. A vote should be held to decide whether or not parties in
question should or should not be present during this discussion.
iv. Reinstatement is contingent upon completion of the specified steps. If,
at the end of the probation period, the specified steps have been fulfilled,
the officer may return to office. If the steps have not been fulfilled, he/she
is automatically impeached.
Article V. Organizational Meetings
a. Regular meetings will be held bi-monthly.
b. Executive meetings will be held immediately prior to each bi-monthly
meeting.
c. Committee meetings will be held as needed, determined by committee
chairperson.
d. Any officer may call for an emergency meeting.
Article VI. Elections
a. A member must be a full-time undergraduate at Boston College and have had
at least one year of active membership to be eligible to run for office.
b. Nominations are made at the first meeting in March.
c. Nominations are made by active members one meeting prior to elections.
Self-nominations may be made. Nominations are followed by platform speeches
by all candidates. Speeches will be no more than five minutes in length.
d. Elections are held at the last meeting in March. Votes are taken by secret
ballot and counted by the outgoing officers and the faculty advisor.
e. Outgoing officers will abstain from voting. In the event of a tie, an odd
number of the outgoing officers will vote.
f. Votes are counted by outgoing officers in front of the faculty adviser
and members are notified of the results at the designated election meeting.
Election results will also be posted in a designated area. There will be no
absentee voting.
g. The transition period for officers will be the month of April. New officers
will assume their positions on May 1.
Article VII. Committees
a. Committee chairpersons are appointed by the Vice President.
b. Committees are formed as needed, based on activities being planned.
c. Committee chairpersons are responsible for coordinating their designated
events as well as reporting to the Vice President.
Article VIII. By-laws
To be determined by members, voted on and revised each year by majority vote
at meeting in the spring.
a. Active members are expected to attend bi-monthly meetings. If an absence
is necessary club Secretary or other officer should be contacted.
b. Active members will serve on at least one committee at all times.
c. Active members will attend designated committee meetings.
d. Active members and their guests will attend club events free of and not
having consumed illegal substances. Members are responsible for the state
of and behavior of their guests, but guests are more than welcome to attend.
e. As a group, members will plan at least two events each month.
f. All members will uphold the laws of the constitution.
Article IX. Method of amending constitution
a. Amendments to the constitution may be proposed in writing to the current
officers at the third to last meeting of the year.
b. A proposed amendment will be read and voted on two times before being voted
on. It must be proposed at the specified meeting for consideration, and read
and voted on at the next meeting.
c. Amendments may be proposed by any active member, but must be ratified by
a two-thirds majority with a two-thirds quorum of active members present.
Any officer may veto an amendment. A veto may be overridden by a two-thirds
vote of the members.
d. Any changes made to the original constitution or by-laws must be approved
by the ODSD before going into effect.
Article X. Ratification
a. The constitution will go into effect immediately following approval by
ODSD.
b. The constitution will be reviewed annually and revised
accordingly.
Article XI. Faculty Advisor
The faculty advisor sees that officers and members uphold the constitution,
provides assistance in coordinating events, and attends meetings as needed.
