DULUG Constitution

Preamble

DULUG (Duke University Linux Users Group) shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Office of Student Affairs, the Duke Student Government, and the right of review of the President of the University or the President of the University's specifically designated representative.

Article I: Name of the Organization

The formal name of the organization shall be "Duke University Linux Users Group." Nicknames (such as DULUG) are encouraged.

Article II: Purpose

Duke University Linux Users Group exists to unite Linux users and potential Linux users. Some suggested activities are:

• advocate the use of Linux;

• support Linux users both on and off campus;

• socialize with their fellow Linux users;

• engage in other Linux-related activities (i.e. installfests);

• obtain advanced information about Linux;

• attend seminars and tutorials about aspects of Linux;

• work with other open-source software ideologically similar to Linux;

• and any other activities that the members deem appropriate for the Group.

Article III: Membership

To be eligible as a voting member, an individual must meet the criteria imposed on organization membership by the Duke Student Government.

Voting membership shall be open to all eligible individuals regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, sexual preference, physical and mental disability, or other external factor. This policy shall also apply to club officers.

All eligible individuals who submit membership information to the club officers and who attend club events with "reasonable" frequency shall be considered voting members. A quorum shall consist of 50% of voting members.

Regardless of an individual's eligibility for voting membership, all events shall be considered open to the community at large unless they involve voting or some other activity that university or DSG policy restricts. The only exceptions shall be events that the club officers or voting membership decide to close, for whatever reason they so choose. In general, members of the community at large should be welcomed as non-voting members in DULUG.

Article IV: Officers

The Officers shall consist of the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer, all of whom shall be voting members.

There shall also be an Advisor, who should meet the current DSG criteria for Student Organization Advisor.

Vacancies that occur in any of the offices during the course of a semester will be filled by appointment (to be decided by the current President or in the case of an open Presidency, to be decided by the current Vice-President).

All officers of this organization are matriculated, currently enrolled students at Duke University.

The officers and the advisor together comprise the DULUG executive board.

The Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings, and perform other duties as directed by the Executive Board.

The Treasurer shall be responsible and accountable for all the organization's fiscal concerns. He or she shall keep detailed records of all transactions, and attend budgetary meetings as required by the DSG. The treasurer will perform any other duties as directed by the Executive Board.

The Vice President is the assistant to the President. He or she shall perform duties as directed by the Executive Board or delegated by the President.

The President is ultimately responsible to perform all the work that needs to be done, except those responsibilities specifically assigned to other officers by the Executive Board or by this Constitution. The President, or the President's duly designated representative (preferably another officer), shall preside over all meetings of the LUG. The President is directly answerable to the voting membership.

Termination of an officer may be attempted with a written complaint and oral presentation of issues to the active membership. The officer then has until the next meeting to prepare a rebuttal. After his rebuttal there will be the first of two votes. The next vote will take place during the next consecutive meeting. The plurality result of these meetings will determine the validity of the claim and the termination of the officer. A special election will be held during the final meeting to decide upon a replacement.

Article V: Meetings

There are two main forms of meetings convened by DULUG, the executive board meeting and the general body meeting.

Both executive board meetings and general body meetings are held on an ad hoc basis and may be convened by any officer. Members of DULUG who are not officers in the organization may convene a general body meeting if the meeting’s subject matter is deemed acceptable by the executive board.

Executive board meetings are to be attended by all officers, and, if possible, the organization’s advisor. Executive board meeting are convened as a forum for organizational decision-making pertaining to DULUG. Executive board meetings are open to all current DULUG members, however only after prior approval of the executive board. All other meetings, specifically general body meetings, are freely open to the general public.

Article VI: Amending the Constitution

Any member may propose an amendment to the constitution.

If the amendment is seconded, at least one week shall pass before a vote is taken on the amendment.

If at least 2/3 of a quorum consisting of 2/3 of the active voting membership vote to support the amendment, the Constitution shall be duly amended.

The minimum number of participants in an amendment vote shall be five members, at least two of which must be officers.

The amendment will become effective immediately following the vote.

Article VII: Elections

The Executive Board, supervised by the Advisor, shall hold regular elections. No more than 12 months should pass from one election to the next election, although more frequent elections are allowed. In all matters pertaining to elections, the Advisor, as a neutral party, is to have the final say. Preferably, elections will occur in early April, although an exact date is left to the executive board's discretion. The election of the new officers shall go into effect 1 month after the results are tallied, or at such time as the Executive Board deems appropriate. During the period of transition from the old officer-ship to the new officer-ship, the old officers are encouraged to take the new officers in hand and "show them the ropes."

Elections shall be held with a minimum of one week's notice. The Executive Board is strongly encouraged to solicit votes using the broadest means as possible. Secure means of electronic voting, such as pgp-encrypted email, are encouraged, although such decisions are ultimately left to the Executive Board.

All voting members shall be eligible for office.