The Student Affairs Blog

Examples of Student Club Constitutions

Jeannette Sullivan from Palm Beach Community College was looking for some examples and guidelines to creating a student club constituion. With the help of my infinitely knowledgeable friend, Mr. Google, I found this detailed outline of a student club constituion:

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College of XYZ University

Constitution 

XYZ Club 

Article I: Name and Purpose 

Section 1: Name

State the name of the club - you may abbreviate the name after this section if you identify that abbreviation here. 

Section 2: Purpose/Mission

State the purpose/mission of your organization – the reasons why you exist. This can be in a list format, or in a paragraph. 

Section 3: Affiliation:

If your organization is affiliated with any regional/national organizations, please state those affiliations here.

Article II: Membership 

Section 1: Eligibility for Membership

CSB/SJU joint clubs must be open to any CSB/SJU student. Non-students [e.g., faculty/staff] are not allowed to be full members, but they can be non-voting, affiliate members. State all categories for membership – voting, affiliate, non-voting, etc.

Section 2: Voting Member Criteria

State how a student becomes a voting member [e.g., attends a certain % of meetings/events, pays dues, etc] and if there are any criteria for any other membership categories. This is an important issue for your organization – you want to make sure that students listed on your voting member list are active, interested students in your group.

Section 3: Removal of Members

State the process to remove any member who is not in good standing with the club. Due process must be followed. Things to consider are: reasonable notice to the person being considered for removal, opportunity to defend their position, quorum* needed to vote, timeline for the process, appeal process.

While you will hopefully not need this section, it is very important that you have a process in place. When you need it, this will clarify the procedure and take out some of the difficult personal issues….

Article III: Officers 

Section 1: Officer Qualifications

Identify what qualifications a student must have to be eligible to be an officer. This may include GPA, length of time in organization, previous experience, etc. All officers must be current CSB/SJU students. See Article IV for Election procedures.

Section 2: Elected Officers

List the positions in descending order (e.g., President, Vice-President, etc). If you choose to have a non-hierarchical structure -–that is great! Then just list the Department of Student Activities contact person first. Also clearly identify the Co-Funding Board (CFB) and Joint Club Board (JCB) contacts.

Section 3: Duties of Officers

List each officer position and their duties. You can include this information in Section 2 if you prefer. You may rename positions and form a non-hierarchical structure (we encourage this actually!). Term of office should also be addressed (e.g., academic year, April 1 – March 31)

Typical duties include: 

    

President: preside at meetings, call special meetings, primary contact with the institutions, appoint committee chairs, runs the election process, other Vice-President: assume President’s duties in his/her absence, schedule meeting/practice rooms/facilities, primary contact with the JCB, plans member/officer training programs, other Secretary: takes and distributes minutes of all club meetings, recorder keeper (current and past members, files minutes, etc), club historian, notify members of meetings, handles the official correspondence of the club, other Treasurer: keeps all financial records, submits monthly audit statements to CFB contact (this is a mandatory requirement if you receive CFB funds), notifies organization of financial issues, prepares budget/allocation requests,

Section 4: Vacancy in Office

In the event a vacancy should occur (resignation or removal), provisions must be made to fill the vacancy. Officer succession/"chain of command" should be addressed (e.g., in the event that the President leaves office, the Vice President will assume those duties until a special election is held. Then refer readers to the special election section of Article IV.

Section 5: Removal of Officers

Grounds for removal of an officer must be clearly identified. Similar to the removal of members, due process must be followed. (see above) Make sure you note the role of your club advisor.

One example:

A petition to remove the officer in question must be submitted to another officer. This 

petition must contain the signatures of x% of voting members. When such petition is 

received, the officer shall call a meeting of the club to determine whether or not the 

officer should be removed. 

Grounds for removal are to presented by the officer in charge at a regular or special club 

meeting. 

The officer in question shall be provided an opportunity to present a defense either in 

person or in writing. 

A quorum shall be present, and a (x%, 2/3, simply majority) vote of the voting members 

shall decide upon removal.

While you will hopefully not need this section, it is very important that you have a process in place. When you need it, this will clarify the procedure and take out some of the difficult personal issues….

Section 6: Appeal of Removal of Officers

This section clearly outlines what procedure a removed officer can take to appeal the club’s decision.

Article IV: Elections 

Section 1: Nomination Process

State how officer candidates will be nominated (by a current officer/member, self-nomination, etc.) and the timeline associated with the nomination process.

Section 2: Election

Election procedures, quorum present, method of voting (secret ballot, etc.), number of terms a person can serve, and when the elections will be held (the JCB mandates that by April 1, officer elections take place and that they and the Department of Student Activities are notified of the new officers).

Section 3: Special Elections

This section outlines what procedures will take place if an officer leaves/is removed from office. Clearly state the timeline for these procedures (e. g, within "x" weeks of vacancy occurring). You may use the same procedures from Section 2, with a revised timeline.

Article V: Advisor 

Section 1: Selection

Indicate how your club will choose an advisor. Note: All club advisors MUST be an employee of CSB or SJU. 

Section 2: Duties

What do you want your advisor to do? See advisor contract for ideas.

Article VI: Meetings 

Section 1: Regular Meeting/Club Activities

Address how often business meetings will occur, any regular club activities, etc., process to notify members of meetings/activities.

Section 2: Special Meetings

Identify why you would call special meetings, and the process used to call these meetings/notify members, etc. Will these meetings be run any differently than regular meetings?

Section 3: Parliamentary Authority

Will you use Robert’s Rules of Order? How will the meetings be run… 

Section 4: Quorum*

What % of your membership must be present for official club business to occur? 2/3 is a standard number. 

*A quorum is a certain percentage of voting members required to be present during a vote. It is VERY important to clearly indicate what your quorum will be (often, it is 2/3 of the voting members). You want to make sure that when a vote takes place, that you have a representative sample of your voting membership present.

Article VII: Committees 

Section 1: Committee Structure

Include what committees (if any) that your club will have. Include responsibilities of each committee and who is responsible for each committee. Examples include Membership, Programs, Elections, Fundraising, etc.

Section 2: Special/Ad-Hoc Committees

State that special/ad-hoc committees may be formed if needed…

Article VIII: Finances 

Section 1: Co-Funding Board

State whether or not your club will apply for CFB monies and that if allocated resources, your club will follow all CFB and institutional regulations.

Please note that recognized clubs MAY NOT have an off-campus account, even if it is from club generated funds. This is an institutional policy.

Section 2: Honorariums

State whether or not any officers or members will receive an honorarium/stipend from the organization. Note: if honorariums are given, they must come from club generated funds.

Section 3: Dues (optional)

State here if members are required to pay dues, and if so, how much that will be.

Article IX: Amendments 

Section 1: Ratification

Identify the process to be used regarding proposed constitutional amendments: voting procedures, timeline, etc. 

Section 2: Submittal to Department of Student Activities and Joint Club Board

Any changes made to this constitution must be submitted to the Department of Student Activities and the JCB.

Article X:

         The following is a required statement for all organizations:

       The (name of organization) admits students without regard to their race, religion, color, sex, age, sexual orientation or national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and other activities, generally accorded or made available to members of the organization.

Article XI:

       The following is a required statement for all organizations:

       The (name of organization) considers hazing to be a degrading and destructive activity which is inconsistent with the standards of this student organization.  The (name of organization) recognizes the dignity of every person and opposes all forms of hazing.

 

Date of recognition/revision:

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If you are still itching for some more examples here are a few more:

1. University of Notre Dame
2. Madison Area Technical College
3. Washington University in St. Louis
4. Campbell University

Does your university have anything special not included above? If so what is it and why? Or if you have a digital copy of a student constitution at your university, post the link in the comments to share with us.

Smoothing Out the Rough Spots: Contracts (Part 1)

How contracts are handled varies from school, but there are a few common rough spots that could be smoothed out with some effort on both sides.

The simple goal, of course, is to have the artist work and the school get programming and have both of them covered with reasonable protection.

It's always the reasonable protection that gets lawyers in a tizzy. One person's idea of reasonable might be different from someone else's.

I need to start this with the lovely acronym, IANAL, which stands for I am not a lawyer. Meaning I'm going to use normal language and talk about interests in general terms.

Let's start with sticky spot number one, the dreaded Termination Clause:

This is the current language in the standard Swift Kick contract. This is the "no hard feelings" version of a termination clause, where, basically, either party can walk out on the contract at anytime and only be on the hook for money paid. If the flights are purchased, and a down payment was made, whoever canceled is out the money.

This clause assumes that both parties want to make it work, and that if it doesn't something serious must have come up.

This clause, by implication, also assumes the parties want to maintain a positive relationship and that both sides will be reasonable in the event of a cancellation. Lawyers don't like to make this assumption, and will sometimes want to write contracts adversarially.

They would prefer to write in something to the effect of "if the performer cancels the contract for any reason other than an act of God, the performer shall reimburse the school for all expenses incurred including room expenses, promotional material and all labor."

This, in the lawyer view, gives the school the right to collect what they want in the rare egregious case of a negligent performer, while also allowing the school to not collect the money in the more normal, "let's reschedule", the cancellation was regrettable but reasonable and unavoidable, scenario.

I've received a few contracts with wording like this and this is where it becomes sticky. We want the best relationship with a school possible and want to work with them and their legal needs, but it does not make economic sense for us to sign a contract that has potential liability far exceeding the revenue generated.

While I understand that a school could have been burned once or twice and would therefore want the most options, experienced performers will have similar experiences (99% positive, 1% difficult) and, once the conversation starts assuming conflict, they may want maximum protection as well. Then we get stuck in the tug-of-war.

We feel that it is best to meet in the middle right away. We'll give the school the right to cancel whenever and only be out a down payment, if applicable, in exchange for the right to reschedule without having to discuss labor costs of students.

So let's get the war stories. Who has a termination clause they like and why? What's the win-win framework? Should rescheduling be made explicit in the contract?

Contracts and Riders 101

Posted by: Del Suggs - Saltwatermusic.com

Contracts, riders, and addenda are those legal agreements we deal with every day in student activities.  Every time you book a musician, a novelty, a comedian, you are executing a contract.  Let’s take a moment to look at these agreements, and get a basic understanding of what they are, what they do, and what they can do for you.

Here’s the standard disclaimer:  I am not a lawyer, or a paralegal, and I’m not giving you legal advice.  I’m not qualified to give you legal advice.  But I do know some of the basics of contracts and riders, and I’ll share with you what I know.  If you have any questions, go see a lawyer who is qualified to answer your questions.

First, let’s understand what a contract is-- a legal agreement.  Contracts are used to document and clarify an agreement between parties.  For most student activity directors, a contract  chronicles the agreement for an attraction to appear on a college campus.  The contract will give the details of the appearance:  date, time, venue, and payment.  In addition, the contract will contain other more extensive details of the agreement.

Be very careful in negotiating an agreement.  Many people believe that a legal contract doesn’t exist until it’s signed.  That is wrong.  The contract exists when the agreement is made.  If you agree to an offer over the phone, that’s a contract and you can be held to that contract legally.  I think nearly all contracts begin as verbal contracts.  The formal written and signed contract just restates it and clarifies the agreement.

The contract is important because of the so-called “fine print” it may contain.  These are the items that keep you up and night and give you heartburn.

Understand the Basics

It’s easy to agree on the basics.  For example, you book a comedian to perform on November 3 in the Student Center at 8 p.m. for one hour, and agree to pay $1500.  That’s is the basic agreement:  Date, place, time, and fee.  Nothing difficult about that, is there?

But let’s look at the details that might be in the contract.  How about travel costs?  Are you responsible for that expense, or is the fee “all-inclusive” meaning that it includes all additional costs?  If you are responsible for travel, how is it calculated?  First class airfare from LA to your local airport?  A stretch limousine?  A suite at the Hyatt downtown?

Travel costs can vary dramatically, so understand what you are contracting to pay.  There was a very popular vocal group touring colleges several years ago.  It was a large ensemble (six members), yet they performed for only $750 “Plus travel.”  Some schools learned too late that the “Plus Travel” was for six members flying round trip from New York to campus and back without a Saturday night stayover.  Plus hotel rooms.  The bottom line was that some schools ended up paying well over $2000 for what they thought was a $750 act. 

Make sure your contract clearly states your financial obligation.  One state university handles this with a contract which states a maximum total financial responsibility.  For example, the contract might agree to pay a performers fee of $1500 plus airfare and lodging not to exceed $300.  The contract states “under no circumstance will the school be obligated for more the $1800 total fee and expense.”  Very smart!

Cancellation Clauses

Other items covered in the details of a contract might include a cancellation clause.  The Cancellation clause is important, because it states the only situations which might be used to cancel the agreement.  Obvious examples are things like “Acts of God,” such as hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, etc.  But it’s not enough to simply have a cancellation clause.  It’s important to also spell out any financial responsibilities.  If the performer has already traveled to your campus when the tornado rips the roof off of the auditorium, does he have to pay his travel expenses?  It’s not his fault the show was canceled.  Of course, it’s not the school’s fault either.  These occurrences, although rare, show why it’s important to clearly state financial responsibilities.

A more common use of the cancellation clause is to take a better offer.  Some acts, generally comedians, have a clause which will allow them to cancel the contract if they get a movie or television offer for the same date.  That means if Jay Leno calls, your contract is history.  Be aware of this possibility.

Other details might include complementary tickets (who gets them and how many), and a recording and broadcast prohibition.  In larger cities, the contract may also have an exclusivity clause.  This clause may prevent an act from appearing within a certain radius of the school for a certain length of time-- for example, “the act cannot appear within one hundred miles of campus within thirty days of the performance.”  Not a bad idea, especially if you are selling tickets.  You don’t want the hot band you’ve got booked for your spring concert playing a local club for a cheaper ticket price the day before your show!

Riders On The Storm

The next item you might run across attached to the contract is a rider.  Riders are frequently added to the contract by the act, to clarify some specific performance needs. This is an additional contract, which generally deals with specific things such as production and hospitality.  It is again important to understand what you are agreeing to when you sign the contract and rider.

A production rider might call for a stage with certain minimum dimensions.  It might list sound and lighting requirements.  It might list the number of crew members you are required to provide to assist with load in and load out.  Other items might include security, access to fax machines or the Internet, loading dock access and more.

The production rider is vitally important.  You must make sure that your facility is adequate for the attraction you are booking.  If you are required to hire a sound and lighting company from another state in order to meet the acts needs, you’ve got to account for that added expense.  And, you’ve got to recruit those volunteer roadies to help with load in and load out or be held financially responsible, according to some riders.

A hospitality rider generally includes items such as the necessary dressing rooms and meals or refreshments.  These are the riders you most often hear about because of there seemingly outrageous requests.  Acts may request cases of alcoholic beverages in their riders.  They may request multiple dressing rooms with showers.  They may ask for a gross of towels.  Some acts are truly at their creative peak when they draft their hospitality rider.

You must understand what you can provide, and what you can not provide.  You must review the rider, line out the requirements you can’t meet, and resubmit it to the act’s representative.  If they accept your changes, then you’re off the hook for those things. Otherwise, you may be held accountable.

Silly Riders and Their Purpose

Some of the strangest-- and funniest-- rider requests actually have a purpose.  The most famous rider request came from Van Halen.  They requested a bowl on M&M’s in their dressing room with all the brown ones removed.  How eccentric is that?  Well, there was a deeper purpose.  Understand that when an act goes onstage their entire professional reputation is at stake, yet so much of their actual performance is in the hands of others-- the sound company, the lighting company, etc.  If the sound is bad, nobody would say “what a lousy sound company.”  They would say that Van Halen was terrible.  So when Van Halen walked into their dressing room and saw a bowl of M&M’s with no brown ones, they knew  the production staff was taking care of details.  If they picked out the brown M&M’s, you can be sure that they took care of the sound and lights.  See, it was just a test.

An act currently touring the college market has an odd request in their hospitality rider. They ask for a sheep in their dressing room.  A sheep?  Is it for some satanic ritual?  Is it something so bizarre you don’t even want to think about it?  No. Once again, it’s a test.  If a school representative sees the request for a sheep in the rider and calls the manager, he’ll say “no problem, we just wanted to make sure you read it.”  Very clever, but I’ll bet it causes some panic in the student activities office the first time it’s read!

Add On The Addendum

The last area of contracts I’ll touch on is the Addendum.  This is another, additional contract, generally attached to the contract by the school.  An addendum can cover a host of legal details that the school wants to clarify, such as the previously mentioned maximum financial obligation. 

An addendum might include payment of royalties, fees, and dues.  If a performer is a member of a union, there may be a fee due to the local union for the performer.  There may also be a pension payment due from the performance fee.  An addendum could specify that the performer is responsible for that fee, and not the school.

An Addendum might also clarify indemnity and immunity.  For example, who is libel if the band starts a riot during their performance?  Who is responsible if lead singer falls into the audience and some one is injured?  These questions might be cleared up in the addendum.

I often find that schools add clauses to their addendum to prevent the recurrence of previous problems.  There are often addenda added to my contract that prohibit offensive conduct, language and behavior.  It’s certainly not there because of my reputation!  It’s there because some performer before me was offensive, so the school is seeking to prevent that from happening again.  Also included may be clauses prohibiting substance abuse, intoxication, and more.

If you have a problem with your performers, an addendum may be your legal solution.  I recently did some training at a school with a recurring problem.  Agents and artists would wait until the last minute to return the signed contract, yet expect payment at the performance.  I pointed out an addendum used by another school which calls for signed contracts to be returned five days before the show, otherwise payment would be made within a week following the performance.  It was the answer to their problem in getting contracts returned.  At least it enabled them to silence the performers who complained that their check wasn’t ready-- they should have gotten the contract back on time!

There are hundreds--  maybe thousands-- of books on contracts and contract law.  I’m not a lawyer, and I haven’t scratched the surface on these legal issues.  But I hope this has given you some insight into contracts, riders and addenda.  If you have any questions, contact your campus attorney.