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University of Windsor Computer Science Society

Constitution

Article 1

Section 1 - Name

The name of this organization shall be the Computer Science Society.

Section 2 - Purpose

The objective of the society shall be to promote an interest in Computer Science and to enhance the lives of computer science students on campus.

Section 3 - Membership

Society Membership shall consist of:

1. All students who are currently enrolled on a full-time basis at the University of Windsor majoring in an undergraduate program offered by the department of Computer Science.
2. Any student at the University of Windsor, who is not otherwise covered by the previous point, may purchase a membership for $20 per semester.

Section 4 - Independence

The Computer Science Society is and will remain a separate, independent group. To protect the interest of society members, the society shall never amalgamate or be absorbed by any other student group or society (other than the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance).

Article 2

Section 1 - Positions

Section 1.1 - Executive Positions

The society’s Executive Positions shall consist of the following positions:

1. President
2. Vice President
3. Treasurer

Section 1.2 - Council Positions

1. Head of Events
2. Head of Communications
3. Head of Technology
4. Head of Student Affairs
5. Event Organizer
6. Event Coordinator (4)
7. Merchandising Coordinator
8. Promotions Coordinator
9. Design Coordinator
10. Career Advisor
11. Senior Representative
12. Second-Year Representative
13. First-Year Representative (3)
14. Secretary

Section 1.3 - Affiliate Positions

1. Social Media Moderators (2 minimum)
2. CSC Liaison(s)

Section 2 - Term

The Executive shall take office on May 1st, for a 12-month term.

Duties of the Executive

The President shall:

1. Preside over all meetings.
2. Represent the society in its relations with other organizations and individuals or assign a designee in his/her place.
3. Direct the activities of the executives and council members.
4. Submit a report to the incoming executive detailing the activities of the previous year.
5. Be an ex-officio member on all committees of the society.
6. Act as a moderator on the Computer Science Discord.

The Vice President shall:

1. Report to the President.
2. Act in the place of the President, where conflicts prohibit the president from acting or the president is unable to act.
3. Be responsible for managing student experience heads (i.e., Head of Technology, Head of Student Affairs, and Head of Events).
4. Act as a moderator on the Computer Science Discord.

The Treasurer shall:

1. Report to the President.
2. Be responsible for all society finances including possession of society bank card.
3. Collect and keep record of voluntary membership dues.
4. Ensure society records reflect the accurate financial position of the society at all times.
5. Event costs shall be subject to audit by the membership.
6. Submit an annual report detailing the society’s budget for the past year.
7. Review the financial records with members of the executive at least once a semester.
8. Be responsible for overseeing the communications team (i.e., Head of Communications).
9. Act as a moderator on the Computer Science Discord.

The Head of Events shall:

1. Report to the Vice President.
2. Be responsible for brainstorming events for the benefit of the social and academic life of students.
3. Manage the entire events team (i.e., Event Coordinators and Event Organizer) by passing information to the organizer to schedule certain events and coordinating with Event Coordinators to ensure that they are attending events.
4. Be the final say in which events CSS will host.
5. Create polls to allow all students to voice their opinions on what events they would like CSS to host.
6. Be responsible for collaborating and communicating with the Head of Communications to ensure all CSS events are promoted on social media and via email.
7. Act as a moderator on the Computer Science Discord.

The Head of Communications shall:

1. Report to the Treasurer.
2. Be responsible for leading the Communications team (i.e., Merchandising Coordinator, Promotions Coordinator, Design Coordinator).
3. Be responsible for planning and executing strategies to grow the Computer Science Society.
4. Be responsible for increasing our income by means of fundraising and promotion.
5. Be responsible for growing society presence on campus by means of marketing, social media and promoting events.
6. Act as a moderator on the Computer Science Discord.

The Head of Technology shall:

1. Report to the President.
2. Be appointed via interview process, conducted by the Computer Science Society executives.
3. Be responsible for development, debugging, implementation of changes, and maintenance of the Computer Science Society website.
4. Be responsible for managing the Computer Science Discord including channels, bots, roles, etc.
5. Act as a moderator on the Computer Science Discord.

The Head of Student Affairs shall:

1. Report to the Vice President.
2. Be responsible for leading the Student Affairs team (i.e., Career Advisor, Senior Representative, Second-Year Representative, First-Year Representative(s)).
3. Maintain liaison between the Department of Computer Science and the Computer Science students regarding academic issues and policies.
4. Be responsible for planning and executing strategies to develop student skills.
5. Collaborate with the Head of Events to determine events that would benefit students (e.g., workshops to prepare for interviews, co-op, teach skills, prepare for courses, etc.)
6. Act as a moderator on the Computer Science Discord.

The Event Organizer shall:

1. Report to the Head of Events.
2. Be responsible for communicating with venues to organize, schedule, and gather pricing for events.

The Event Coordinator(s) shall:

1. Report to the Head of Events.
2. Be responsible for attending events and help manage the events while they are happening.
3. Be in constant communication with the Head of Events to help arrange and organize the events, as well as any necessary payments.
4. Be responsible for photographing or recording events and share the photographs/videos with the Promotions Coordinator.
5. Event Coordinators are limited to missing 2 events per semester or 4 events total per elected term before they are removed and replaced.

The Merchandising Coordinator shall:

1. Report to the Head of Communications.
2. Be responsible for all things related to Computer Science merchandise (e.g., sweaters).
3. Communicate with vendors to get quotes and work with the Treasurer to secure payments for merchandise.
4. Brainstorm ideas for merchandise and strategies related to merchandise.
5. Host/organize any design contests with the students (e.g., sweater design contest).
6. Collaborate with the Promotions Coordinator to effectively promote all merch sales and giveaways.
7. Collaborate with the Design Coordinator to develop designs for merchandise.

The Promotions Coordinator shall:

1. Report to the Head of Communications.
2. Be responsible for promoting any society activities and events through all communication channels, online and offline (e.g., flyers, posters, Instagram, Facebook, Discord, email, the CSS website, etc.).
3. Be responsible for promoting other CSS/CS related items to all communication channels.
4. Be responsible for posting photos/videos from events to all communication channels.

The Design Coordinator shall:

1. Report to the Head of Communications.
2. Be responsible for designing all promotional materials (flyers, social media posts, etc.) related to CSS/CS.
3. Be responsible for designing CSS merchandise, in cooperation with the Merchandising Coordinator.
4. Be expected to follow the CSS branding style to develop assets.

The Career Advisor shall:

1. Report to the Head of Student Affairs.
2. Actively brainstorm workshops, ideas, tools, etc. to improve the careers of our students.
3. Host workshops related to internships and co-op, resume workshops, etc.
4. Be responsible for advocating awards and scholarships to students.

The Senior Representative shall:

1. Report to the Head of Student Affairs.
2. Be responsible for representing the views and concerns of third- and fourth-year students to the executive.
3. Be responsible for representing the executive to all third and fourth year members of the Society.
4. Be responsible for making announcements at the beginning of third- and fourth-year lectures to make members aware of society events.

The Second-Year Representative shall:

1. Report to the Head of Student Affairs.
2. Be responsible for representing the views and concerns of second-year students to the executive.
3. Be responsible for representing the executive to second-year members of the Society.
4. Be responsible for making announcements at the beginning of second-year lectures to make members aware of society events.

The First-Year Representative(s) shall:

1. Report to the Head of Student Affairs.
2. Be responsible for representing the views and concerns of first-year students to the executives.
3. Be responsible for representing the executive to all first-year members of the Society.
4. Be responsible for making announcements at the beginning of first-year lectures to make members aware of society events.

The Secretary shall:

1. Report to the President.
2. Be appointed by the president and ratified by the remaining executive at the first regular meeting and from the membership of the society.
3. Be responsible for scheduling meetings by determining the best time for members, the location, and sending calendar invites.
4. Be responsible for taking notes during meetings.

The Social Media Moderator(s) shall:

1. Report to the executives.
2. Be appointed via interview process, conducted by the Computer Science Society executives and Head of Technology.
3. Be responsible for representing the views and concerns of the Computer Science Society.
4. Be responsible for ensuring that rules and regulations for our official social medias are upheld.

The CSC Liaison(s) shall:

1. Report to the Head of Student Affairs.
2. Be responsible for communication between the Computer Science Society and Computer Science Council.
3. Attend Computer Science Society meetings as non-voting members.

Article 3

Section 1 - Regular Meetings

Regular meetings of the society shall be held at least once per month during the academic year.

At least one week’s notice with agenda shall be given before all meetings. Quorum for regular meetings shall be two-thirds of total elected members.

Section 2 - Executive Meetings

Executive meetings shall be held as required. At least 48-hours notice shall be given before all Executive meetings. Quorum for executive meetings shall be 50% rounded up members of the Executive.

Section 3 - General Meeting

The general meeting of the society shall be held annually during the start of the summer semester, and shall include reports from the outgoing executive, any committee reports, the election of executive officers, budget presentation, and any new or old business.

General meetings shall also be held at the beginning of both the Fall and Winter semesters. The Fall meeting will consist of introductions and plans for the semester/year. The Winter meeting will consist of feedback/review of the previous semester, as well as plans for the current semester.

At least two weeks notice with agenda shall be given before a general meeting, stating the time, date, and place of the meeting. Quorum for general meetings shall be twenty-one (21) members.

Section 4 - Additional Requirements

Any two executives, the president, or three members may call a regular meeting. The president or the executive shall determine the date of the meeting within one week of the request. If a request has been made within the last month, the president can defer a meeting to ensure no more than one meeting a month.

The president can, with the agreement of half the executives, disregard requests for meetings. A further request of at least ten members can override this provision.

Article 4

Section 1 - Election of Officers

Elections are to be held annually under the auspices of the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance (UWSA) where they are capable of carrying out said elections. An annual election shall take place in March, with offices filled in May. Any positions not filled in the annual election may be appointed on a temporary basis by a simple majority of the Executive at an executive meeting.

The First-Year Representative, and any positions not elected in the annual election (including positions temporarily held), shall be elected during the first month of the fall semester.

The elected positions shall be all positions except Head of Technology, Secretary, and all affiliate positions.

The President, Vice President, and Treasurer positions are restricted to individuals who have held a previous position in the Computer Science Society. If no member who has previously held a position in the Computer Science Society is nominated for either of these positions, then any Computer Science student may be considered for nomination.

In the event of no new executive being elected, a group of Computer Science students may petition the UWSA VP Administration to represent the Computer Science Society on a temporary basis subject to election in the first month of the fall semester.

Section 2 - Removal of Executive or Council Member

In the event that a member is not fulfilling their responsibilities, the following procedure shall take place:

1. The President will meet with the member to discuss concerns raised by the membership.
2. If, after one week, the member is still not found to be fulfilling their responsibilities, the President shall issue a written warning.
3. After an additional week, if the member is still not found to be fulfilling their responsibilities, a meeting will be called to determine whether the individual will retain their position.
4. If the member is removed at such a meeting, they may appeal within a reasonable period to the CSS Board, as prescribed in Section 4.

Note: In the event the member in question is the President, the Vice President will conduct the above procedure.

Section 3 - Meeting to Remove an Executive or Council Member

An Executive meeting shall be called to determine whether a member shall continue to retain their position.

• At least one-week notice shall be given before the meeting. The member in question will be given an opportunity to address any issues and concerns raised, answer any questions as well as provide reasons why they should continue to hold their position.
• Voting shall take place by secret ballot.
• Quorum for the meeting shall be all of the executives, not including the accused.
• If quorum is not met, or in the event that a two-thirds vote is not obtained, the individual shall retain their position.
• Except at the sole request of the member in question, the minutes shall be sealed and shall not be published, beyond the immediate result and a notice that the minutes were sealed.
  • The President or some other executive shall inform the member in question of the right to unseal publication of the minutes.
  • If the member in question is the President, then the Vice President has the responsibility to inform the President of this right.
  • If the member in question shall request the minutes not be so sealed after being dutifully informed, then the minutes shall be published as routinely done so for Executive Meetings.
  • The member in question may, for a reasonable period of time following the meeting, request or permit the minutes to be unsealed in which case they shall be published as routinely done so for Executive Meetings.
  • The member in question may explicitly request the minutes be sealed, in which case, they shall be sealed just the same.

Section 4 - Appeals of Removals

A member removed by the Process prescribed in Section 2 may, within a reasonable period of time prescribed by the Board but not lesser than 7 days, appeal to the Board by notice in writing or some other manner acceptable to the Board to the Secretary, or if there is no Secretary, to either the Head of Student Affairs, the Senior Representative, or any First or Second Year Representatives.

If notice is so given, then the Secretary or other member who recieves such notice shall inform the President and the remainder of the Board, which shall consider the appeal at either the next Regular Meeting or at a Special Meeting convened for that purpose, at least 1 week after reciept of such notice, but no later than 3 weeks without the consent of that member.

• The member shall be invited to attend the meeting, but shall have no vote during such.
• Prior to such meeting, the Executive shall deliver to the Board the Minutes from the meeting to remove the member, notwithstanding any seal put in place member.
• During the meeting, the Board may, by simple-majority, dismiss the appeal or allow the appeal. If the appeal is dimissed, then the removal order is confirmed. If the appeal is allowed, then the Board may do any of the following at its option:
  • Dismiss the Removal Order and reinstate the member,
  • Affirm the Removal Order but reinstate the member notwithstanding the removal order, possibly with such conditions as the Board may deem proper in the totality of the circumstances,
  • Reverse the Removal Order and remand to continued consideration by the Executive, with any instructions the Board sees fit to issue that the Executive shall consider
• In the case of a reinstatement without dismissal of the removal order, the Board may order the unsealing of the minutes from the meeting to remove the member, and if the unsealing is refused by the member, the Board may deny reinstatement and dismiss the appeal.

Section 5 - Removal at General or Regular Meeting

Any Board or Executive Member at a Regular Meeting of CSS may call for the removal of any Executive Member for the reason of a lack of confidence in that member to discharge the duties properly:

• Such a call may be confirmed by a simple-majority of the Board, or disposed of by the same. The member in question may have that portion of the minutes sealed under the same procedure as for ordinary removal meetings.
• A call made during one Regular meeting need not be confirmed or dimissed during that meeting, and may be confirmed or disposed of at a later meeting.

Any Member of the Society may at a General Meeting call for the removal of any Executive or Board Member, except for the CSC Liason, for the reason of a lack of confidence in that member to discharge their duties properly:

• Such a call may be confirmed by a three-fifths majority of the membership of that General Meeting, provided that general meeting has quorum, or may be disposed of by a simple-majority.
• If the call is neither confirmed nor disposed of during the general meeting, then the Board may call a special meeting with the person who so makes the request, and confirm or dispose of it as though a call made by a Board member at a Regular Meeting to remove an Executive, but if the call is not confirmed during that meeting it is disposed of at its adjournment. If the Board does not call such a Special Meeting, then the call is disposed of.

Section 6 - Constitutional Amendments

The constitution can be amended at a regular meeting, or a general meeting, with a three-fourths majority vote.

Any amendments must be announced one week prior to either meeting.

Amendments that only include stylistic, grammatical, typographical, graphical, or formatting changes can be made to the constitution outside of a meeting, without the need for an announcement one week prior, with a three-fourths majority vote. This vote may be electronic or in-person, as decided by the President.

Section 7 - Interpretation of Bylaws

These bylaws are to be interpreted by the Executive, except that Article 4 Section 4 shall be interpreted by the Executive as directed by the Board.

Section 8 - Conflicts with UWSA Policy

Nothing in this instrument shall be read to contradict UWSA rules regarding clubs or societies. In the event where a contradiction shall occur, the rules of the UWSA shall have precedent.

Section 9 - Parliamentary Authority

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern CSS in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order CSS may adopt.

Section 10 - Resignations

An executive member may resign from their position by submitting a written notice to the Executive at least two weeks in advance. The President shall be responsible for filling the vacant position, by appointment or election, as the President deems necessary.

In the case of the resignation of the President, the position shall be filled by the Vice President until the next election.