Chi Alpha Gamma
The Constitution of the Cornell College Social Group: Chi Alpha Gamma
Article I: Name
The name of this Social Group will be the Chi Alpha Gamma.
Article II: Purpose
A. The purpose of the Chi Alpha Gamma is to promote game play and to provide for organized gaming groups within the Cornell College community by:
1. Holding weekly meetings for the purpose of playing games for recreation;
2. Providing for the improvement of gaming skills through instruction, for both beginning and advanced players;
3. Providing competitions for players interested in playing inter-collegiate games;
4. Serving as an organizational framework for game players within the Cornell College community.
Article III: Membership
A. Any member of the Cornell College community is eligible for membership in the Chi Alpha Gamma. Membership will consist of: members, members in standing, members in good standing, and associate members.
1. Any student of Cornell College who expresses an interest in the club and who attends at least one general club meeting per year will be considered a member.
2. If a member has attended at least two of the six most recent general club meetings, including any meeting in progress, that member will be considered a member in standing.
3 If a member has attended at least two of the last three most recent general club meetings, including any meeting in progress, that member will be considered a member in good standing.
4. Any alumni or interested non-student members of Cornell College and the surrounding communities will be considered associate members of the club if they so desire and will not be eligible for member in standing or member in good standing status. If an Associate Member should become a Member of Chi Alpha Gamma, meetings previously attended will count toward becoming a Member in Standing or Good standing.
Article IV: Officers
A. All officers will be elected as stated in Article VI.
B. Duties of all officers:
1. To remain, during their term in office, members in good standing.
2. To delegate their duties and functions, except for remaining in good standing, to another member of the club in good standing and with the consent of the other officers, if said officer is unable to fulfill his/her duties temporarily.
3. To regularly attend officer meetings.
C. Duties of the President:
1. To preside over and keep order at all meetings of the club and officers.
2. To set up all tournaments and be responsible for making sure all tournaments are run.
3. To assume or delegate the duties and functions of any officer absent from a meeting for any reason.
4. To create committees, as needed, per Article X: Committees.
5. To announce all upcoming elections and nominations during the meeting prior to any election.
6. To reserve facilities for all meetings.
7. To assume or delegate any duties not explicitly stated in the constitution.
D. Duties of the Vice President:
1. To fulfill all presidential duties in the event of the absence of the President at general meetings.
2. To oversee the maintenance of any club-sponsored gaming groups, including connecting lone players with game masters.
3. To calculate the standings on chess play, gaming groups, and tournaments.
4. To run informational sessions on games for any new players.
5. To coordinate committee reports with the officers outside of general club meetings as necessary.
6. To assist the President in addressing Public Relations issues for the club.
7. To act as the representative of the club to the Cornell College Yearbook and the Cornell College Alumni Association.
E. Duties of the Secretary:
1. To take minutes at all general meetings and read said minutes at the next general meeting.
2. To take minutes at officer meetings.
3. To maintain the list of the current members of the group.
4. To take attendance at general club meetings in order to keep current the list of members, members in standing, members in good standing, and associate members.
5. To issue memos for all general club meetings, including any electronic memos.
6. To maintain a record of the standings on chess play, gaming groups, and tournaments.
7. To verify the eligibility of all nominees and voters in an election.
F. Duties of the Treasurer:
1. To deposit all funds in the Student Activities Fund at the Cornell College Business Office and make disbursements by checks drawn upon this fund.
2. To report on the status of the account at all general club meetings.
3. To carry out all pre-approved reimbursements out of the Chess and Games account, including prizes for tournaments.
4. To act as the representative of the club to the Cornell College Student Senate in all monetary affairs.
5. To handle all other monetary affairs of Chi Alpha Gamma.
G. Duties of the Web Master:
1. To maintain and update the Cornell College Chess and Games Club Website.
2. To make regular reports to the club on the status of the website at all general club meetings.
3. To be responsible for maintaining, updating, and posting on the Chi Alpha Gamma Website the list of all members who wish to have their names on the website.
4. To act as the representative of the club to the Cornell College Office of College Communications and the Cornell College Web Team.
H. Duties of the Historian:
1. To maintain the games in the Commons games cabinet.
2. To mark each game purchased by Chi Alpha Gamma as purchased by the club.
3. To store in a safe location, maintain, and keep track of Chi Alpha Gamma Games Cabinet and the contents thereof.
4. To head the annual effort to select new games for purchase by the club.
5. To work in conjunction with the Secretary and the Web Master to maintain the official list of past and present members.
6. To record the history and the traditions of Chi Alpha Gamma.
I. If any officer neglects his/her duties, said officer will be dealt with according to Article VIII: Removal of Officers.
J. An advisor to the Cornell College Chess and Games Club will be appointed by the unanimous decision of the officers of the club and with the consent of the nominee. The advisor is invited to attend both general and officer meetings. The advisor is allowed to vote at any meeting that he/she attends, if he/she so desires and has attended at least two of the last six general club meetings.
Article V: Voting
A. Voting members are defined as members in standing or good standing.
B. The President shall vote only in the case of a tie. A non-electoral vote will be decided by runoffs, dropping the candidate with the lowest number of votes until one person is elected.
1. In case of a tied presidential vote between only two candidates, voting members will vote by secret ballot.
2. If there is a second tie after the secret ballot, another secret ballot vote will be held in which the current president can vote.
C. Voting members will signify their choice in a vote by raising a hand.
D. Only one vote per voting member will be counted in any general vote.
E. No voting will take place unless a quorum consisting of 2/3 of the voting members is present.
F. Yes/No votes will be decided by a simple majority, while multiple choice votes will be decided by plurality.
G. Abstentions will not count towards any vote total, and no abstention will reduce the number of voting members for purposes of defining a quorum as stated in Section E of this Article.
H. Votes on Games of the Week are exempt from all voting rules.
Article VI: Election of Officers
A. Officer positions to be filled are: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Web Master, and Historian.
B. Election of officers will take place during the first general club meeting of the second block of the academic year.
C. The President will make announcements of said elections at all previous general club meetings of the current academic year.
D. Nominations will take place at the general club meeting immediately prior to the election.
E. Nominees must be members in standing at the time of their nomination.
1. Individuals who are legitimately unable to attend any of the preceding meetings of the current academic year may still be nominated with the approval of at least five of the six officers.
F. Individuals may accept nominations for a maximum of two positions.
G. Non-returning students cannot run for President.
H. All voting will proceed according to the rules in Article V: Voting.
I. Officers who will be graduating at the end of the current academic year will be replaced in an election held at the first general club meeting of the ninth block.
1. This election will be announced by the Secretary at each meeting during eighth block.
2. Nominations will be taken at the last general club meeting of the eighth block.
3. The term of office for such officers will last from their election until the elections of the following academic year.
J. Officers leaving office before the ninth block will be replaced according to the terms of Article VII: Vacancies.
K. The current president will preside over all elections. In the case that he/she is a candidate in the current election; the election will be presided over by the next officer in line who is not a candidate in the presidential election (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Webmaster, Historian).
Article VII: Vacancies
A. Vacancies will be filled according to voting procedures as described in Articles V and VI.
B. Vacancies may only be filled at general club meetings.
C. Meetings during which vacancies will be filled must be announced at the general club meeting one week in advance.
D. The term of an officer elected to the vacant position will last from their election until the elections of the following academic year.
E. In the case that an officer becomes ineligible to hold his or her position, the remaining members of the officers will appoint an eligible member until the earliest reasonable time allowed by the Constitution when an election for the position may be held.
Article VIII: Removal of Officers
A. If an officer neglects or otherwise fails to perform the duties of his/her office, that officer may be removed by a two-thirds majority vote. Any member in good standing may call for such a vote at any general club meeting.
B. Meetings during which removal procedures will take place must be announced at the prior general club meeting.
C. Officers may only be removed during general club meetings.
Article IX: Meetings
A. General Meetings:
1. The Cornell College Chess and Games Club will meet at 6:18 p.m. on the first three Fridays of each block.
B. Officer Meetings:
1. At least once per block, the officers will meet to discuss current club business and anything pertaining to the club.
2. The date and time of each officer meeting will be announced to all the members of the club at the general club meeting prior to said officer meeting.
3. All voting taking place in an officers meeting will proceed according to the terms of Article V: Voting.
4. Any member of the Cornell College Chess and Games Club may attend a meeting of the officers with the consent of at least two of the officers and the acknowledgement of the President.
Article X: Committees
A. The President will form committees to fulfill duties as needed.
B. Upon creation of any committee the President will assign an interim chairman for the committee.
C. The interim chairman will collect members for the committee and organize the first meeting.
D. At the first meeting, the committee will choose a permanent chair. It is the duty of the permanent chair to run the committee meetings and make regular status reports to the club at all general club meetings.
E. The President must create the following committees by the second general meeting of the second block: Constitution, Jen-Con, Carnival, Publicity, Chess, Samhain, Fundraising, and the 20th Anniversary Committee.
1. It is the role of the Constitution Committee to review the constitution and to make amendments as needed.
2. It is the role of the Jen-Con Committee to organize the annual Cornell gaming convention known as Jen-Con.
3. It is the role of the Carnival Committee to organize the annual festival known as Carnival.
4. It is the role of the Publicity Committee to organize and coordinate publicity for all campus-wide club events.
5. It is the role of the Chess Committee to organize Chess on the Orange Carpet and the annual chess tournament.
6. It is the role of the Samhain Committee to organize the annual festival known as Samhain.
7. It is the role of the Fundraising Committee to organize and coordinate all fundraising.
8. It is the role of the 20th Anniversary Committee to run additional club functions delegated by the officers and to uphold club traditions.
F. All voting taking place at committee meetings will proceed according to the terms of Article V: Voting.
Article XI: Amendments
A. Any member in good standing may propose amendments.
B. All proposed amendments must be in their final form and available to the members of the club at least one meeting prior to voting.
C. A ¾ majority vote is needed to pass any proposed amendment.
D. All amendments will be subject to review and approval by the Cornell College Student Senate.
Article XII: Ratification and Review
A. Ratification of this constitution renders all previous constitutions of the Cornell Chess and Games Club null and void.
B. A ¾ majority vote at a general club meeting is needed to pass any ratification.
C. Ratification will be subject to review and approval by the Cornell College Student Senate.
D. This constitution is to be reviewed annually by a Constitutional Committee formed according to the terms of Article X: Committees.
1. Any revisions of this document will be made at that time.
2. This revision may, but does not necessarily, include any amendments to this constitution.
3. All revisions will require re-ratification of this constitution.
This Constitution was last Ratified by the club Spring 2005. This copy of the constitution is a work in progress until such a time as it is ratified by the club and Student Senate.
