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Compsoc Constitution Version 3
University of Kent Computing Society
(Keywords below: Society, Member, Committee, Officer, Meeting, Motion, University, President, SGM, Secretary, Treasurer, Senior Officer, Election, User.)
Nomenclature
1.1 The Society shall be named "University of Kent Computing Society".
1.2 The Society's name may be abbreviated to "Compsoc".
Aims and Objectives
2.1 The aims and objectives of the Society are as follows:
2.1.1 To provide computing and network services to students and staff of the University.
2.1.2 To organise computing-related events, meetings, seminars and social activities for students and staff of the University.
2.1.3 To promote the use of computing, computer networks and the Internet at the University.
2.1.4 To promote the sport of computer gaming.
Membership
3.1 Membership shall be open to all students and staff of the University, upon payment of a membership fee to be decided by the Committee.
3.2 A Member who has broken Society regulations may be expelled from the society. Any such expulsion must be passed as a Motion.
Society Structure
4.1 The Members are collectively the executive of the Society. The result of a fair vote by the Members shall be considered binding and sovereign over all other decisions.
4.2 The Society's main bodies shall be the Committee and the Officers.
The Committee
5.1 The Members shall elect a non-executive Committee of three Members to handle the Society's administrative affairs:
5.1.1 The President provides direction for the Society, chairs SGMs and other meetings, and liaises with the University, departments, and the general public.
5.1.2 The Secretary supervises the organisation of events, records minutes of SGMs and other meetings, and liaises with Members and Officers.
5.1.3 The Treasurer manages the Society's financial assets, arranges the purchase of new equipment, and manages the funding of events.
The Officers
6.1 The Officers are responsible for the day-to-day running of the society. Their duties shall include (but not be limited to):
6.1.1 Maintenance of Society systems and services
6.1.2 Design and implementation of new systems and services in response to Motions
6.1.3 Liaison with Computing Service and departmental systems teams
6.1.4 Organisation of social and academic events
6.2 Any Member may volunteer to be an Officer.
6.3 The Members shall elect an Officer to be Senior Officer. When a decision cannot be reached by the Officers, the Senior Officer shall resolve the dispute.
Elections
7.1 Elections for all electable positions shall be held in an SGM once a year. Elections shall be arranged and conducted by the current Committee. Nominations for candidates must be received at least seven days before the election.
7.2 Members may be removed from elected positions by a Motion "of no confidence". Any such removal must be passed as a Motion at an SGM.
7.3 If a member resigns or is removed from an elected position, an Election must be held at an SGM for their position within one week.
Motions
8.1 A Motion proposing an action for the Society to take may be brought by any two Members: one to propose it, and one to second it. A Motion may be withdrawn at any time with the agreement of the two Members who brought it.
8.2 Motions must be submitted to the Committee in a human-readable electronic format. The Committee will make the Motion available to the Members.
8.3 Members shall vote upon each Motion one week after its submission. The vote may be conducted electronically or at an SGM, at the discretion of the Committee. Votes upon Motions taken to an SGM should be preceded by a brief oral summary of the Motion by the proposing and seconding Members.
8.4 The quorum for a vote on a Motion will be one fifth of the Members.
8.5 As an exception, for any Motion proposing a change to this Constitution, the quorum will be two thirds of the Members, and the vote must be performed at an SGM.
8.6 Any Member may abstain from voting. Any Committee member who cannot be present at a vote may nominate a Member to vote in their place.
8.7 No motion may be voted upon more than once, except in the event of a tied electronic vote, where the Motion may be voted upon again at an SGM at the discretion of the Members who brought it.
8.8 In the event of a tied vote at an SGM, the Committee hold the casting three votes. If the overall vote is tied and the Committee's votes are also tied (due to an abstention or absence), the motion automatically fails, as no consensus has been reached.
8.9 The result of all votes shall be recorded by the Secretary. When a Motion is passed, the Committee shall be responsible for implementing the action proposed in the Motion.
Society General Meetings
9.1 A Society General Meeting (SGM) allows the Members to meet, discuss, and vote on Society issues and motions. Motions may be presented at an SGM, votes may be taken, policy may be discussed, and elections conducted.
9.2 An SGM must be held at least once a term. The meeting should be chaired by the President. In the President's absence, the meeting may instead by chaired by another Committee member.
9.3 At an SGM, Members may question Committee members and/or Officers about society matters.
Use of Society systems
10.1 If a User's University computing account is suspended, their access to Society systems may also be suspended until their University account is restored.
10.2 A User's access to Society systems may be suspended temporarily by any member of the Officers Team if due cause is shown. The full details of any such suspension must be immediately reported to the Secretary. Any suspension lasting longer than seven days must be passed as a Motion.
10.3 Users should endeavour not to cause harm to Society systems or to other Users' activities.
Regulations
11.1 Members must abide by this constitution.
11.2 Members must not bring the Society or the University of Kent into disrepute.
11.3 Members and Users must abide by the Computing Service Regulations and the general regulations of the University of Kent.