Cornell Ballroom Dance Club

Name of Organization
1. The club is an organization named the Cornell DanceSport Club (hereafter referred to as the "CDSC"). The CDSC is a Student Club at Cornell University.
Affiliation with Other Groups
1. The CDSC is affiliated with YCN (Youth/College Network) which is a branch of USABDA (the United States Amateur Ballroom Dance Association).
Purpose, Aims, and Functions of the Organization
1. The purpose of the CDSC is to promote and coordinate competitive Ballroom and Latin dancing on the Cornell Campus.
2. The CDSC represents Cornell University at any and all Ballroom Dance Competitions and events that it attends.
Membership, Requirements and Limitations
1. Membership is open to all members of the Cornell community (Cornell Students, Faculty, and Staff).
2. Non-Cornell community members will be considered as volunteers with organizations. They may avail themselves of the student club insurance by declaring themselves and paying the appropriate fee.
3. A person can become a member by fulfilling all the requirements for membership, which will be set by the CDSC By-Laws. These requirements will not be based on race, religion, age, sex, sexual preference, or ethnic background (except where gender is bona fide qualification for membership)
4. Membership lasts for one semester, starting at the beginning of each semester and ending at the beginning of the next.
Officers and the Executive Committee
1. The Executive Committee consists of the four officers of the organization.
2. Being a member of the Executive Committee guarantees the right to vote on all club issues under the purview of the Committee.
3. The four officers of the Executive Committee shall be the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary. A fifth officer, the Competition Manager, will be an Executive Committee member solely on issues pertaining to the annual Cornell-hosted Competition.
4. Officers are elected for one year; their duties start at the end of the Spring Semester (to be defined more clearly in the CDSC By-Laws) and last for the entire following academic year.
5. Officers must be and intend to be Cornell University students for the entire following academic year to be eligible for candidacy for an Executive Committee position.
6. All major financial decisions must be approved by the Executive Committee.
7. The specific duties, rights, and privileges of each officer will be specified by the CDSC By-Laws.
8. Additional officers may be added to the committee. Their Executive or Non-Executive status as well as the duties, rights, and privileges of their position will be specified by the CDSC By-Laws.
9. The Executive Committee is required to decide upon and announce a set of By-Laws at the start of the academic year by which all team members must abide by. The By-Laws will be officially enacted by a simple majority vote of all Executive Committee Members. The By-Laws may be officially changed by the same process.
10. All officers should keep detailed records of their activities, and be responsible for conveying these to their successors.
11. All members of the Executive Committee must be provided with and abide by this Constitution and its By-Laws. All other members of the organization will have access to the Constitution and By-Laws as well.
Advisor
1. The Faculty Advisor is nominated each year by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
2. The President will then contact the nominated person, and offer him or her the function in writing. If the nominated person refuses to be Faculty Advisor, another person suggested as an alternative Faculty Advisor will be approached.
3. The term of the Faculty Advisor lasts one whole year. The term starts at the end of the Spring Semester.
4. The Faculty Advisor has a purely advisory role and does not vote in any of the Executive Committee meetings.
Election and Voting Procedures
1. Elections will be held each year near the end of the spring semester.
2. In order to declare candidacy and run for an Executive Committee officer position, the candidate must:
  1. Be a current CDSC member at the time of declaring candidacy.
  2. Be a Cornell University graduate or undergraduate student.
  3. Attend at least one Executive Committee meeting, in its entirety, prior to the election period.
  4. Officially declare candidacy at least one week in advance of the start of the scheduled election period by submitting a short statement to the Committee.
  5. Must have a noted record of participation and volunteering in team activities in the recent past and be in good standing with the organization.
  6. Must be and intend to be Cornell University students for the entire following academic year to be eligible for candidacy for an Executive Committee position.
  7. Meet any additional position-specific requirements specified in the By-Laws.
3. Every club member has one vote in each election. Members of the CDSC must vote for all positions.
4. Voting will be done by paper or electronic ballot.
5. The Web Master organizes the election or vote and counts the ballots unless an alternate officer is designated by the Executive Committee.
6. The election period will last one week, commencing on the date of the Committee's choosing, and will be announced two weeks prior to the scheduled election. Ballots are collected in the manner previously determined by the Executive Committee.
7. The following rules apply:
  1. Officers are elected by a simple majority of votes cast. If only one candidate is available for a function, a Yes/No vote will be cast. In the event of a tie or a 'No' vote, the Executive Committee will decide how the candidate should be chosen.
  2. Functions can not be accumulated by more than one officer, unless not enough candidates are found.
  3. The President can never accumulate another function.
  4. If accumulation of functions or any other decisions regarding the election are necessary, the Executive Committee will make the decisions by a majority vote at the Committee meeting following the election period.
  5. Regardless of accumulations, each person in the Executive Committee will have only one vote in any decision.
8. After the election period, current Executive Committee members are required to meet with their successor and convey any and all information pertinent to the transfer of duties.
Meetings and Decision Making
1. General Meetings:
  1. General Meetings are meetings open to the entire membership of the team.
  2. There should be at least one General Meeting per semester, typically at the end of the semester.
  3. The purpose of the General Meeting is to review the accomplishments of the past semester and the prospects for the next semester with all members.
  4. There will be time set aside for Team members to provide input as to the proceedings of the last semester, and plans for the next semester.
  5. General Meetings are called by the Executive Committee, and need to be announced at least one week in advance. The agenda for that General Meeting should be announced at the time the General Meeting is announced.
  6. If it is necessary for the entire membership of the CDSC to vote on an issue(s), then a Quorum must be present. Such a vote must be approved in advance by the Executive Committee.
2. Executive Committee Meetings:
  1. These are the standard Committee meetings.
  2. Executive Committee Meetings are in general open to all team members to observe.
  3. Team members attending an Executive Committee Meeting must follow the basic guidelines for attendance and behavior at the Committee meeting. These basic guidelines will be set forth by the CDSC By-Laws.
  4. The Executive Committee will meet at least once a month during the regular semesters (fall and spring), at a date and time to be agreed upon by a majority of Committee members, in order to comply with the committee members' schedules.
  5. The first meeting of a semester should take place before the official beginning of the semester.
  6. All members of the Executive Committee are required to attend all committee meetings.
  7. Additional Executive Committee Meeting rules and policies will be outlined in the CDSC By-Laws.
3. Emergency Executive Committee Meetings:
  1. In case of an emergency, any member of the Executive Committee can call an emergency meeting.
  2. The member calling the meeting is responsible for notifying all other members as well as suggesting a time and place (suitable for as many executive committee members as possible) for the meeting and supplying an agenda in advance.
  3. Emergency Executive Committee Meetings are in general closed to non-committee members.
  4. Additional Emergency Executive Committee Meeting rules and policies will be outlined in the CDSC By-Laws.
4. Extraordinary General Meetings:
  1. May be called by the committee at the request of at least 7 club members who are not officers.
  2. Must be open to all team members.
  3. The time of this meeting must not interfere with team activities.
5. Decision Making:
  1. All decisions relating to the function and operation of the club, except for amendments and permanent changes to this Constitution, will be made by a normal majority vote of the officers present at Regular or Emergency Executive Committee Meetings.
  2. A majority of officers must be present for a vote to be taken. All officers must be informed of any sort of meeting. If quick decisions must be made with fewer officers or without the president, the decision will be reviewed for confirmation at the next Executive Committee meeting when sufficient officers and the President are present.
  3. Each Executive Committee Officer will be allowed one vote, regardless of their responsibilities in the club. In the event of a tie, the President will decide the outcome.
  4. The decisions of the Executive Committee are binding to all members of the Executive Committee, including those that voted against the decision.
  5. The Executive Committee can vote cloture on any issue, by a simply majority vote of attending Executive Committee members.
  6. Events should be planned far enough in advance so that related decisions can be made at the regular Executive Committee meetings and so that the relevant people have ample time to prepare for the event.
6. After each Executive Committee meeting, the minutes of that meeting will be made available for approval by all officers, before the next Executive Committee Meeting.
7. The President will preside over all Executive Committee meetings and General Meetings. If the President can not attend, or if the meeting's purpose is to levy charges of misconduct against the President, then the Vice-President will preside.
8. The decisions made by the Executive Committee, including the content of the By-Laws, must be respected and followed by all team members. Failure to do so will jeopardize a team member's ability to remain a member of the CDSC.
9. The Executive Committee reserves the right to bar membership from the CDSC to any person who has in the past been detrimental to the operation of the CDSC and/or has shown disregard for its rules and policies.
Quorum
1. A majority of Executive Committee Officers is required for quorum at any Executive Committee meeting.
2. Two-thirds of the Club membership as well as a majority of the Executive Committee officers are required for quorum at any function where a referendum is being conducted.
By-Laws ('Team Rules')
1. The CDSC By-Laws will be in effect for the entire calendar year after being ratified by the executive committee at the beginning of the fall.
2. The By-Laws are meant to be a more malleable supplement to the CDSC Constitution as well as to provide a framework for the structure of the club and the committee.
3. The By-Laws cannot interfere with the constitution.
4. The By-Laws are to be regarded as seriously as the Constitution by all members of the organization.
5. Failure to abide by the CDSC By-Laws and/or Constitution will result in official warnings from the Executive Committee. The Committee reserves the right to decide when a sufficient amount of warnings to an individual have been issued, at which time the committee can vote to remove the member from the organization. A more detailed description of this process can be specified in the By-Laws. This vote is final, unless otherwise stated in the By-Laws.
6. If there is a Team Coach, the By-Laws should enumerate his or her privileges, rights, and duties to the club.
7. The By-Laws will be accessible to all members of the organization.
8. There shall be only one set of CDSC By-Laws and will be published on the team webpage.
Professional Instruction
1. A professional Coach or Instructor may be hired by the organization to teach the club.
2. The Coach's level of involvement will be decided upon by the Executive Committee at the first official Executive Committee meeting of the academic year. This, along with the coach's privileges, rights, and duties will be specified by the CDSC By-Laws.
3. The President is in charge of all negotiations regarding official team instruction.
4. Any contracts between the CDSC and outside Instructors must be approved by the Executive Committee.
Resignation and Removal from Office
1. If a Committee member is consistently missing meetings (regardless of reason), and/or is not performing his/her duties in a satisfactory manner, said member should be notified of this by the President. If his/her performance does not improve after a reasonable interval of time, the officer in question should be asked to resign. If he/she refuses to resign, procedures for removal should be taken.
2. Officers can be removed from the Executive Committee for just cause by a unanimous vote by the remaining officers of the Executive Committee. All officers must be present at the hearing. Just cause can be (but this list is not exhaustive):
  1. Taking any action on behalf of the club without prior approval from the Executive Committee.
  2. Overstepping the boundaries of one's duties without consent of the Executive Committee.
  3. Not satisfactorily performing required duties.
  4. Interfering with club operations.
  5. Attempting to undermine the authority and/or effectiveness of the Executive Committee.
3. The officer in question has the right:
  1. To be notified by the President that a removal hearing is scheduled, at least a week in advance.
  2. To be present at the hearing.
  3. To make a statement in their defense before a vote for removal is taken.
  4. It is the President's duty to conduct a full investigation of the accusations brought against a committee member before a removal from office hearing is scheduled. If the President is the officer in question, then the Vice-President shall be in charge of the investigation.
4. If an officer is removed or resigns, the President will look for a volunteer to take over the function pro temp. All decisions regarding removal and/or replacement of officers must be agreed upon by the remaining members of the Executive Committee.
5. If the President is removed or resigns, the remainder of the Executive Committee will vote for a successor, from among the officers of the Committee, to take over his or her tasks, and then look for a replacement for this officer.
6. Any officer who wishes to resign must submit a statement of intent (in writing or via email to the Executive Committee list-serve) to the Committee sufficiently in advance of departure for a replacement to be designated.
Amendments
1. Amendments, changes, and/or exceptions to the Constitution may be suggested to the Executive Committee by any club member.
2. The Executive Committee will decide, by a simple majority vote, if the proposal has merit.
3. If and when Amendments and/or permanent changes are ratified by the Executive Committee, a vote is ordered and opened to all members. The voting procedure for amendments will be the same as the one outlined for officer election.
4. Once an Amendment and/or permanent change to the Constitution is ratified by both the Executive Committee and a majority the voting CDSC members, then it will be officially enacted.
5. If changes to the Constitution are made, the Executive Committee is responsible for immediately notifying the Cornell University Student Activities Office of the new Constitution.
6. Exceptions to the Constitution and/or By-Laws may be made by a majority executive committee vote.
Dissolution
1. The CDSC can be dissolved by unanimous decision of the Executive Committee.
2. In case of dissolution, the Committee shall be charged with the following duties:
  1. Negotiating the sale of all organization possessions at highest market value.
  2. After all debts are paid, transferring funds remaining to another Ballroom Dance organization, or if such a transfer is not possible, the Executive Committee will decide on the proper disposal of remaining assets.
3. Reporting the Dissolution to the faculty advisor, USABDA, and any required Cornell University bodies.