Our Constitution
Preamble:
In order to promote a better America, with equality, opportunity, and freedom within a just and strong society we Democratic college students dedicate ourselves to organizing the participation of like-minded Democratic college students at Temple University. Pivotal to Temple College Democrats mission is the need to embrace and value the diversity of its members. Acknowledging the uniqueness of each individual, we seek to cultivate an environment that encourages freedom of expression. We are committed to building a group of people who are as diverse as the voting population we serve. We encourage and promote a diverse organization; therefore, we are committed to maintaining processes and procedures to foster an inclusive and multicultural body through recruiting and activating members, voters, and volunteers. We are committed to reflecting our diversity amongst our executive board and dedicated members. While the mission of our organization is to promote the principles and ideals of the Democratic Party we realize that not all Democrats think alike and welcome the various ideas and viewpoints of all members. In this mission we call for full participation of all students regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, physical handicap, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation. Understanding the importance of participation in the Democratic Party to the preservation of our values and principles, we, Democratic college students do hereby associate ourselves and adopt this Constitution as the Temple College Democrats.
Article I -- Name and Purpose
Section I -- Name
Section 2 -- Purpose
2. Assist in the election of local, state, and national Democratic candidates;
3. Affect political change on a local, state, and national level.
Article II - Membership
Section I -- General Membership
Section 2 -- Executive Membership
A) Composition and Power of the Executive Board
2. The Executive Board has the power to remove any Executive Board member by two-thirds vote.
3. The Executive Board shall determine the agenda and policy of the Temple College Democrats and coordinate all activities and events.
B) Executive Board Duties by Title:
Section 3 -- The Cabinet of Advisors
2. Each Cabinet Advisor will have the discretion to request the formation of a committee of Temple College Democrats.
3. Positions within the Cabinet of Advisors may be created at the discretion of the Executive Board.
Article III -- Elections
Article IV -- Official Endorsements
2. General endorsement resolution: A simple vote shall be taken to extend the opportunity for the active membership to endorse a Temple Student Government ticket. Should a general endorsement resolution pass, the active membership shall be informed of a pending vote during the next general membership meeting. All active members shall be permitted one (1) vote, and an endorsement shall be considered successful if more than fifty (50) percent of membership in attendance vote “yay.”
3. Temple College Democrats may not endorse any current Executive Board member’s Temple Student Government ticket over any other current Executive Board member’s ticket.
4. Temple College Democrats’ office may not be used for Temple Student Government candidacy activities.
5. Temple College Democrats may not endorse any registered Democrat for any office over another registered Democrat other than a Temple Student Government office. There shall be no exceptions to this rule under any conditions.
Article V -- Amendments
Article VI -- Affiliation
Article VII -- Parliamentary Authority
In order to promote a better America, with equality, opportunity, and freedom within a just and strong society we Democratic college students dedicate ourselves to organizing the participation of like-minded Democratic college students at Temple University. Pivotal to Temple College Democrats mission is the need to embrace and value the diversity of its members. Acknowledging the uniqueness of each individual, we seek to cultivate an environment that encourages freedom of expression. We are committed to building a group of people who are as diverse as the voting population we serve. We encourage and promote a diverse organization; therefore, we are committed to maintaining processes and procedures to foster an inclusive and multicultural body through recruiting and activating members, voters, and volunteers. We are committed to reflecting our diversity amongst our executive board and dedicated members. While the mission of our organization is to promote the principles and ideals of the Democratic Party we realize that not all Democrats think alike and welcome the various ideas and viewpoints of all members. In this mission we call for full participation of all students regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, physical handicap, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation. Understanding the importance of participation in the Democratic Party to the preservation of our values and principles, we, Democratic college students do hereby associate ourselves and adopt this Constitution as the Temple College Democrats.
Article I -- Name and Purpose
Section I -- Name
- The name of this organization shall be the Temple College Democrats, hereafter referred to in this document as College Democrats.
Section 2 -- Purpose
- College Democrats pledges itself to support the philosophies and the candidates supported by the Democratic National Committee. Furthermore, the College Democrats declare its intention to support all efforts to increase the participation of college students in Democratic affairs. To this end, the College Democrats shall:
2. Assist in the election of local, state, and national Democratic candidates;
3. Affect political change on a local, state, and national level.
Article II - Membership
Section I -- General Membership
- Any full or part time Temple University student is eligible for membership in Temple College Democrats. Every student, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, physical handicap, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation may attend activities, events, and meetings as a representative of Temple College Democrats.
- Active membership is contingent upon attending three (3) events associated with the organization and being up to date with membership dues. Every three (3) meetings a student has attended will receive credit for one (1) event.
- Membership dues shall be set by the incoming Executive Board by two/thirds (⅔) majority vote.
- All Executive Board members shall be considered Active members upon taking office.
Section 2 -- Executive Membership
A) Composition and Power of the Executive Board
- The Executive Board shall be composed of: President, Vice President, Communications Director, External Affairs Director, Internal Affairs Director, Financial Director, Secretary, Policy Director, Deputy Finance Director, and Temple Student Government Representative.
- All Executive Board members, except for Policy Director, Graduate Advisor(s), and Cabinet Members, will be elected every semester at general elections.
2. The Executive Board has the power to remove any Executive Board member by two-thirds vote.
3. The Executive Board shall determine the agenda and policy of the Temple College Democrats and coordinate all activities and events.
B) Executive Board Duties by Title:
- President -- The president shall be the executive officer of the Temple College Democrats. They will define the agenda of the Temple College Democrats during his/her tenure. They will act as the official representative of the Temple College Democrats to the public. They will carry out the mandates, policies, and directives of the Executive Board and will preside over all members or appoint someone to do so.
- Vice President -- The Vice President shall be responsible for diplomatic and social relations between the organization and all political, social, and issue groups on campus and within the community at large, including political campaigns, elected officials, student organizations, and community non-profits.
- Communications Director -- The Communications director shall be responsible for the management of the Temple College Democrats communications, this includes press releases and social media accounts. They shall be in charge of promoting meetings, events, and campaigns on multiple platforms while also engaging with followers to create a digital presence for the Temple College Democrats.
- External Affairs Director -- The External Affairs Director shall be responsible for recruiting and working with guest speakers for the Temple College Democrats. They shall also plan off-campus events for the Temple College Democrats.
- Internal Affairs Director -- The Internal Affairs Director shall be responsible for planning and coordinating all events held by the Temple College Democrats on Temple University’s main campus.
- Financial Director -- The Financial Director shall direct fundraising activities and prepare all TSG proposals for funding. They shall co-manage the bank account and the budget. They shall perform duties that the president may assign, and take on projects of his/her own choosing.
- Secretary -- The Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining upkeep of the Temple College Democrats website and email account as well as the organization’s listserv. They shall recruit and track the participations and interests of active members in the organization.
- Policy Director -- The Policy Director shall be an appointed non-voting member. It shall be their responsibility to shape the policies of this organization. It shall also be their responsibility to promote the general image of the organization. All is shall be their responsibility to break any and all ties of both the Executive Board and the General Membership.
Section 3 -- The Cabinet of Advisors
- In order to assist the Executive Board of the Temple College Democrats in successfully completing the goals of the organization, the Executive Board will be served by a Cabinet of Advisors, under certain terms and conditions.
2. Each Cabinet Advisor will have the discretion to request the formation of a committee of Temple College Democrats.
3. Positions within the Cabinet of Advisors may be created at the discretion of the Executive Board.
- Cabinet Positions will be introduced by a member of the Executive Board of the Temple College Democrats, and created by a majority vote of the Executive Board.
- After the creation of a Cabinet position by the Executive Board, any member of the Executive Board may nominate any member of the Temple College Democrats to fill the vacancy in the created Cabinet position.
- The Nomination of a member of the Temple College Democrats to serve as a Cabinet Advisor in any position must be approved by a majority vote of the Voting Membership.
Article III -- Elections
- Elections shall occur once a semester.
- One vote per person, per election and candidates shall not be eligible to vote in their own elections.
- In order to vote or run for an Executive Board position, one must meet all membership requirements for that semester.
- Prior to the Election process, the Executive Board must select two (2) individuals to oversee the voting process and count all votes cast by the Electorate.
- Candidates are nominated directly before the election. Each candidate has the opportunity to speak before the Electorate for up to two (2) minutes. The Electorate then has the opportunity to ask the candidates questions for up to three (3) minutes. Candidates will then leave the room and the Electorate is permitted up to five (5) minutes to hold an open discussion. The Electorate will then vote.
- Only active members are eligible to vote in elections.
- All active members are eligible to run for Executive Board memberships with the exception of President, which requires serving one term as an Executive Board member in a previous term.
- In the case of a tie, it will be split by a vote of the current Executive board, and in the case of a tie among the Executive board, the policy director will decide it.
Article IV -- Official Endorsements
- The Temple College Democrats cannot vote to endorse any Temple Student Government ticket unless all Temple Student Government tickets have been invited to give their platform in a general membership meeting. If a Temple Student Government ticket should want to give their platform, they shall be allowed to give their platform at any meeting before Temple Student Government elections. No vote may be permitted unless all concerned tickets are officially invited by the Temple College Democrats Executive Board, and no vote shall be taken until all tickets have been accounted for either by an opportunity to present themselves to the Temple College Democrats membership body, or by a declination of the opportunity to present their platform. All tickets shall automatically be considered to decline if an extension of opportunity is not accepted or declined within a week of the aforementioned extension.
- Should the Temple College Democrats Executive Board desire to endorse a candidate after opportunities have been extended; and after all accepting tickets have given their platform, the vote shall be governed by one of two procedures:
2. General endorsement resolution: A simple vote shall be taken to extend the opportunity for the active membership to endorse a Temple Student Government ticket. Should a general endorsement resolution pass, the active membership shall be informed of a pending vote during the next general membership meeting. All active members shall be permitted one (1) vote, and an endorsement shall be considered successful if more than fifty (50) percent of membership in attendance vote “yay.”
3. Temple College Democrats may not endorse any current Executive Board member’s Temple Student Government ticket over any other current Executive Board member’s ticket.
4. Temple College Democrats’ office may not be used for Temple Student Government candidacy activities.
5. Temple College Democrats may not endorse any registered Democrat for any office over another registered Democrat other than a Temple Student Government office. There shall be no exceptions to this rule under any conditions.
Article V -- Amendments
- The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the Executive Board and a two-thirds approval by the general membership.
Article VI -- Affiliation
- The Temple University College Democrats is joint affiliate with the College Democrats of America and the Young Democrats of America. Temple University College Democrats is a chapter of the Pennsylvania Federation of College Democrats, and a chapter of the Pennsylvania Young Democrats, a federation of the Young Democrats of America.
Article VII -- Parliamentary Authority
- The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall govern Temple College Democrats in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitution and any special rules of order the organization may adopt.