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The Constitution of the USC College Republicans
Approved April 27th, 2005
Article I
Name
Section 1 - The name of this organization shall be the University of Southern California College Republicans (hereafter
referred to as USCCR).
Section 2 - USCCR shall not allow its name to be associated with any cause unless adhered to by Art. X
Article II
Purpose
Section 1 - The purpose of this Chapter is to:
A. Provide a volunteer base for the Republican candidates;
B. Promote the conservative cause in the student government;
C. Increase the conservative role in campus media;
D. Work in concert with our fellow Republican and conservative organizations;
E. Actively discuss the future of the Republican party;
F. Serve as a contact point for finding internships with Republicans;
G. Effectively promote Republican candidates for President;
H. Boost political awareness of local Republican candidates;
I. Become as active force within academic political organizations;
J. Bring inspiring Republican speakers to campus;
K. Develop the next generation of Republican leaders.
Article III
Membership
Section 1 - There shall be no limit to the number of members in USCCR.
Section 2 - Any undergraduate or graduate student, faculty member, staff, or spouse thereof at USC shall be eligible to
become a member of USCCR if he or she is a registered Republican or intends to be so when eligible. Those seeking membership
shall fill out a membership form, which shall be based upon and contain the information required by the California College
Republicans for membership. A person, whose membership form has been approved by a USCCR officer, shall be declared a member
of USCCR upon payment of the semester dues to the Treasurer.
Section 3 - All students who are USCCR members are eligible to become voting members. All USC staff, faculty, and alumni
and alumnae who are USCCR members shall be considered non-voting members.
Section 4 - All members are required to pay $5 per semester membership fee.
Section 5 - Membership decisions will not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, creed, national origin, ethnicity,
gender, disability, or sexual orientation.
Section 6 - Members may have their membership withdrawn for failure to adhere to the requirements for membership stated
above.
Section 7 - Members' eligibility to vote in non-election and non-endorsement votes shall be based upon the attendance
of at least three USCCR sanctioned events that are not entirely social in nature in that semester, e.g. USCCR general meetings
and political events. For eligibility to vote in Elections see Article IX, Section 5 and in Endorsements see Article X, Section
4.
Article IV
Officers
Section 1 - The elected officers of USCCR shall be Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Fundraising Director,
Speaker's Director, and Public Relations Director (see Article IX for election information). The duties of the officers shall
contain, but are not specifically limited to, the following:
i. The Chairman shall oversee each general and Executive Board meeting. The Chairman is also required to create appointed
positions to help fulfill any duties not clearly defined here, see Article VI, Section 5 for information on appointed positions.
ii. The Vice Chairman shall fulfill all Chairman duties during any meeting that the Chairman is unable to attend as well
as assist any officer in his or her duties if necessary. The Vice Chairman is responsible for taking attendance and obtaining
records on dues paid in order to determine members' eligibility for voting.
iii. The Secretary shall keep minutes of each meeting (and report the minutes of each meeting to the appointed officer
in charge of the USCCR website, see Article VI, Section 5) and send out weekly emails to the USCCR concerning club events.
iv. The Treasurer shall keep financial records and oversee all outgoing club funds. The Treasurer shall collect dues and
give a copy of all his records to the Fundraising Director. The Treasurer shall report the state of USCCR accounts once a
month at a general meeting and the Treasurer's records are to be made available for any member wishing to see them.
v. The Fundraising Director shall oversee all other incoming club funds and setup fundraising events.
vi. The Speaker's Director shall work to bring conservative speakers to campus as well as work on any events involving
speakers.
vii. The Public Relations Director shall promote the club on and off campus, e.g. advertising and fliers.
Section 2 - Any officer may be removed at any time by a 2/3 majority vote of the members present at a general meeting,
or if an officer is absent for at least three general meetings, a vote by the majority of the Executive Board can remove that
person from office. The vacancy of the office shall be announced at the same general meeting, or at the next general meeting
if the vacancy was caused by an Executive Board vote that did not occur at a general meeting.
Section 3 - Any officer may resign by submitting a letter of resignation to the Chairman. The resignation shall be effective
at the following general meeting, at which time the resignation and vacancy of the office shall be announced.
Section 4 - No member shall hold more than one office at a time. And no member shall be eligible to serve more that two
consecutive terms in the same office.
Article V
Officer Vacancies
Section 1 - In the event of a vacancy of an elected position other than Chairman, a special election (see Article IX,
Section 1) shall be held at the next general meeting following the announcement of the vacancy to elect a replacement to serve
out the remainder of the term. In an emergency, the Chairman may appoint an individual to serve as the acting officer until
a special election can be held, if such an appointment is necessary to avoid severe hardship for the club.
Section 2 - In the event that the Chairman's position becomes vacant, the Vice-Chairman shall immediately become the Chairman.
A special election shall be held during the next general meeting to elect a new Vice-Chairman.
Section 3 - Should vacancies in the Chairman and Vice-Chairman's positions occur simultaneously, the Executive Director
shall become interim Chairman, and shall announce special elections for both Chairman and Vice Chairman positions at the next
general meeting and hold the elections on the following meeting.
Section 4 - Whenever a vacancy occurs and a special election is to be held, it shall be the Chairman's duty to notify
USCCR members as soon as possible using email or other appropriate means.
Section 5 - An individual elected by a special election with respect to Sections 1 through 4 shall serve out the remainder
of the unfulfilled term and that shall not be counted as a term in accordance with term limits mentioned in Article IV, Section
5.
Article VI
Executive Director and Other Appointed Positions
Section 1 - The Executive Director shall be an ex-officio member of the Executive Board. He or she shall have the right
to attend and participate in all Executive Board meetings and functions, but shall not have the right to make motions during
an Executive Board meeting, or to vote on Executive Board decisions or actions unless he or she is needed to break a tie.
Section 2 - The Executive Director is in charge of making sure that all members and officers adhere to the Constitution
of the USCCR and is required to report any possible violations to the USCCR members.
Section 3 - The Executive Director must be appointed by the Chairman and approved by the Executive Board before the third
general meeting of the semester. At the third general meeting, a majority vote of all USCCR members present (including non-voting
members) shall be required to confirm the Executive Director. After the completion of such process and confirmation by the
USCCR members, the Executive Director shall assume his or her duties immediately.
Section 4 - The Executive Director shall help the Chairman to oversee all other appointed positions.
Section 5 - All appointed positions other than the Executive Director shall be created by the Chairman at his or her own
discretion followed by approval of the Executive Board. These positions shall be created in order to assist the Chairman in
fulfilling his duties, e.g. Sergeant-at-Arms, Membership Director, Social Director, Webmaster, Campaign Coordinator, and Political
Affairs Director.
Section 6 - No appointed positions can be filled without the approval of the Executive Board, and in the case of the Executive
Director only also confirmation by the USCCR members.
Article VII
Meetings
Section 1 - The Executive Board shall fix the hour and the place of the general meetings. These meetings shall be weekly.
Each general meeting must be announced by at least four days prior to said meeting.
Section 2 - A special meeting may be called upon the written request of the quorum or at the direction of the Chairman.
The purpose of the meeting shall be stated in the call.
Section 3 - Seven or more USCCR voting members shall constitute a quorum of a general meeting. Votes in a general meeting
can only take place when a quorum exists.
Article VIII
The Executive Board
Section 1 - The elected officers of the USCCR shall constitute the Executive Board along with the Executive Director as
a non-voting ex-officio member (see Article VI, Section 1).
Section 2 - The Executive Board shall have the general supervision of the affairs of the USCCR. The board shall be subject
to the will of USCCR, and none of its acts shall conflict with the action taken by the USCCR. When the Executive Board makes
a decision by vote, the Executive Director shall hold the authority to break a tie, but is limited to only vote in the case
of breaking ties.
Section 3 - USCCR reserves the authority to reverse or repeal any business conducted by the Executive Board. USCCR must
reach a vote of a 4/7th majority to reverse or repeal actions of the Executive Board.
Section 4 - Five or more members of the Executive Board (not including the Executive Director) shall constitute a quorum
of the Executive Board. Executive Board votes can only take place if a quorum of the Executive Board exists.
Section 5 - The Chairman must hold Executive Board meetings twice a month unless there are mitigating circumstances in
which case, the Vice Chairman should hold the meetings.
Article IX
Elections
Section 1 - In the event of a special election for USCCR officers, notice must be reasonably provided to all USCCR members
at least seven days prior to the special elections meeting. Special elections shall be conducted in the same manner as the
Elections meeting (see Article IX, Section 4), except that the special elections meeting shall also be considered a Nominations
meeting for that special election (see Article IX, Section 2) and that any newly elected officers shall take their office
immediately after that meeting.
Section 2 - On the second general meeting day in April, the USCCR shall hold a Nominations meeting for officers after
having announced the date for it no later than at the first general meeting day in April. Only voting members, who have accepted
a nomination by another voting member at the Nominations meeting, shall be eligible to run for an Executive Board office at
the Elections meeting.
Section 3 - On the third general meeting day in April, the USCCR shall hold the Elections meeting for officers after having
announced the date for it no later than at the first general meeting day in April, and after having held a Nominations meeting
the second general meeting day in April.
Section 4 - The Chairman shall preside over the election process of the incoming Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer,
Fundraising Director, Speakers Director, and Public Relations Director-in that order at the Elections meeting. Members who
have accepted a nomination for an office at the Nominations meeting (see Article IX, Section 2), shall be removed from the
floor for the discussion and vote for that office during the Elections meeting. They shall be escorted back once the result
has been determined. Methods of voting shall be conducted at the discretion of the Chairman. A simple majority of votes by
those voting members present at the meeting shall be necessary to be elected (runoffs may be needed, dropping the least voted
nominee each ballot). The newly elected Executive Board shall take office immediately following the official end of the Spring
semester.
Section 5 - Eligibility to vote at the Elections meeting shall be based on attendance of at least five USCCR sanctioned
events that are not intended to be primarily social in nature in that semester or eight such events in the entire school year.
Article X
Endorsements
Section 1 - The USCCR has the power to endorse Republican political candidates who are not in a race against other Republican
candidates (such as is the case with primary elections) unless the USCCR has the power to vote as an organization in that
race (such as is the case with the CCR elections).
Section 2 - The delegates to the CCR Convention must be approved by the Executive Board, and only voting members are eligible
to be delegates.
Section 3 - All endorsements will follow the voting procedures of a general election and eligibility to vote for endorsements
is the same as in election votes, see Article IX, Section 5.
Article XI
Regulations of Club Funds
Section 1 - Expenditures of club funds or reimbursements over $100 shall only be made to cover proper club related activities
and must be approved by the USCCR members at a general meeting.
Section 2 - Expenditures of club funds or reimbursements over $20 but no more than $100 shall only be made to cover proper
club related activities and must be approved by the Executive Board.
Section 3 - Expenditures of club funds or reimbursements no more than $20 can be made at the discretion of the Chairman
but must be reported to the Executive Board at the following Executive Board meeting.
Section 4 - Approval of the use of club funds shall consist of a simple majority of voting members at a general meeting
(for those covered by Section 2) or a majority of officers present at an Executive Board meeting (if covered by Section 3).
Section 5 - With respect to section three of this article, the Chairman's approval of multiple $20 or less expenditures
shall not accumulate to more than $100 during a given semester without approval of the Executive Board.
Section 6 - No officer or USCCR member shall break down the appropriations of funds for a given event or cause in order
to circumvent one of the aforementioned levels of regulation.
Section 7 - The Chairman and the Treasurer shall both be responsible for ensuring the provisions of this section are carried
out.
Article XII
Committees
Section 1 - Standing committees (such as a Speakers Committee, Social Committee, etc.) or special committees (such as
various campaign committees, etc.) shall be appointed by the Chairman from time to time as deemed necessary.
Article XIII
Affiliations
Section 1 - USCCR may affiliate itself with the California College Republicans (CCR), the College Republican National
Committee, or any other Republican organization. USCCR reserves the right to secede from, or not to affiliate with any organization.
Section 2 - USC affiliation
i. This organization is a recognized student organization at the University of Southern California but is not part of
the University itself.
ii. In all correspondence and business transactions, it may refer to itself as an organization at USC, but not as part
of USC itself.
iii. USCCR accepts full financial and production responsibility for all activities it sponsors.
iv. USCCR agrees to abide by all pertinent USC policies and regulations. Where USC policies and regulations and those
of USCCR differ, the policies and regulations of USC will take precedence.
v. This organization recognizes and understands that the University assumes no legal liability for the actions of the
organization, and that the University is not providing blanket indemnification, unless those activities expressly benefit
and further the goals of the University, and have received prior review, approval and consent from the Office of Student Activities,
Risk Management and/or General Council.
Article XIV
Amendments
Section 1 - This constitution may be amended at any USCCR general meeting by 2/3 majority vote of voting members, provided
that the amendment has been submitted in writing at the previous general meeting. Ratification of an entirely new constitution
shall be subject to the same requirements as amendments.
Article XV
Statement of Sovereignty
Section 1 - The USCCR is an independent organization, responsible to its affiliations, but autonomous in its actions.
USCCR is only accountable to and responsible for its membership and Executive Board, in so far as the aforementioned actions
in accordance with and promotion of USCCR purpose stated in Article II. The Executive Board subject to the USCCR constitution,
is the highest authority within this sovereign body.
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