Constitution of Community Roots - University of Maryland, College Park

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Preamble

We, the members of Community Roots do hereby establish this constitution in order that our purpose be realized to its fullest extent.



Article I. Note
Section 1.The name of the organization will be Community Roots, henceforth referred to as Community Roots.


Article II. Purpose

Section 1. Community Roots is fundamentally an activist based group that intends to unite the many ethnic communities of the University of Maryland through activist work. Our goal is to motivate and inspire the ethnically diverse student body of the University of Maryland to take definitive action in the face of domestic and international social injustice. In our attempt to combat social injustice we are determined to create an environment in which people from different cultural backgrounds can foster true camaraderie. For every activist campaign we plan to present a well organized and educated movement on campus by sponsoring events such as, teach-ins, movies, and speakers who will help motivate and educate our members, as well as other Maryland Students. In addition to campaigns created and run by Community Roots, our organization will support other established Community Service groups at the University of Maryland by sending our members and helping other students find groups they are interested in.



Section 2.Community Roots understands and is committed to fulfilling its responsibilities of abiding by University of Maryland, College Park Policies.



Article III. Membership

Section 1. Active membership shall be limited to those officially connected with the University of Maryland at College Park as facility, Staff, or registered students. Students enrolled in either the spring semester or in summer school are eligible for summer membership. In addition, the following requirements are necessary to constitute active membership:

Attendance of Community Roots once a week general body Meetings
For Officers: Attendance of all Committee meetings unless previous warning of absents

Section 2.Withdrawal of Membership is Voluntary.



Section 3.Community Root openly admits students to its membership and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, personal appearance, marital statuses, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, or on the basis of rights secured by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Article IV Officers

Section 1.The following Committees will govern community Roots:
Administration Committee: is responsible for making sure that Community Roots runs smoothly and efficiently so that the goals set forth in its mission statement may be fulfilled.

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President

The elected President will preside over all Community Roots general body meetings and Administration committee meetings. The president will make sure that all meetings run smoothly and in an orderly fashion. He/she will run elections, help organize events, and will generally be active in all major aspects of the group. The President of Community Roots must constantly be aware of the purpose, focus, and direction set out in the constitution of Community Roots.



Vice- President 

Acts as co-president and equally shares all responsibilities with current president.

Assumes all Presidential roles in absents of president.
Responsible for recognizing, reacting to, and increasing moral among group members.

Treasurer 
Oversees all financial activity in consultation with the president, and any other officers with regard to financial transactions.
Prepares of the annual budget, maintain, up to date financial records and give financial reports when necessary
Prompt payment of any CROOTS bills and debts
Act as chair of the Finance Committee. To her or his discretion a co-chair or vice-chair may be appointed.
Shall provide guidance to CROOTS members on financial matters.

Secretary 
Records Administration Meetings
Maintains membership roster
Records administration's activities (archive purposes)
Archives all important Croots documents in an organized system for future reference
Collects meeting minutes from all other committees

Historian
Keeps all CROOTS related articles, publication, and news, for the purpose of establishing a chronological record of Community Roots activities.
Attends all events for the purpose of fully documenting events through a range of multimedia (video, picture, writing, etc.), and in absents secures a substitute to assume role

Community Outreach Committee

The outreach committee is charged with organizing and coordinating our various community service activities including SEEDS chapters, Little Terps Soccer, the Breakfast Program and others.



Chair - Responsible for the efficiency and effectiveness of the committee. This person must take meeting minutes and transfer them to the Secretary.
Programs Committee: The Programs Committee is responsible for handling the leg work for our on-campus programs including concerts, pot luck diners, parties and other large events. Events intended to increase awareness and understanding of societal and individual needs, behavior, attitudes, etc. Events are to be geared toward raising awareness of all or either international, national, local, or campus issues. This committee is also responsible for designing and maintaining community service and community related activities.

Chair - Responsible for the efficiency and effectiveness of the committee. This person must take meeting minutes and transfer them to the Secretary.

Finance Committee: The Finance Committee is responsible for coordinating and organizing fundraising events such as bake sales, and earning money through grants.

Chair - Responsible for the efficiency and effectiveness of the committee. This person must take meeting minutes and transfer them to the Secretary.

Public Relations Committee: is responsible for promoting events to C-Roots membership, the campus community and appropriate press.

Chair - Responsible for the efficiency and effectiveness of the committee. This person must take meeting minutes and transfer them to the Secretary.

Gives Briefing @ Gen body meetings of all important issues and updates in regards to all other committees.

Media Relations
Press Releases
Pubic Service Announcements (PSAs)
Press Conferences
Building relationship with journalists and human media resources
Updates website calendar with future events
Database of Media Contact
Names/Phone/Email/Media Affiliations
Marketing & Promotions
Advertising/ Recruitment
Literature
General Recruitment of new members
General advertisement of the group and events
Creating events for the intended purpose of advertising and/or recruiting
Contacting Member for events and meetings
Email, Phone calls, Instant messaging
Follow up with potential recruits and contacts
Liaisons
Groups on/off campus
Organizations on/off campus
Individuals leaders on/off Campus
Database of all contacts
Database of Members
Names/Phone/Emails/Screen Names/ Outside involvements of members in Croots
Website
Administration of website

Article V Operations

Section 1.Voting Eligibility

Members that meet all the requirements of active membership, as set forth in Article III shall be granted voting privileges.
Section 2.Election Process

Only the office of President and Vice-President shall be elected by a majority vote of eligible voting members of Community Roots. Officer involvement in Committees is based on voluntary participation of Community Roots Members. All elections will be held on an annual basis during the month of March and the newly appointed President and Vice-president will take office in the new school semester.
The president will call for nomination and once all nominations have been given, each running candidate will be given a chance to advocate their position. Once each candidate is finished all votes will be done by secret ballot. The ballots will be collected and tabulated by the Secretary-Treasurer and re-counted by a voting member chosen at random by lottery.
Section 3.Removal

The president, if believed to be acting in violation of the Organization's purpose or constitution, may be removed from office by the following process:
A written petition signed by at least 30% of the members of Community Roots.
A written notification to the president, requesting that the president be ready to speak on his/her behalf. The president may elect others to also speak on their behalf.
A debate on the issue may ensue for a maximum time of one hour. Once the time limit has been reached or the parties concerned are done speaking, voting will commence.
A two thirds (2/3) majority vote is necessary to remove the President.
Section 4. Meetings

Meetings involving the different committees will take place as fallows:

General body meetings will take place on a weekly basis at a time selected by the Administration Committee of Community Roots. Attendance of the general body meetings is open to everyone.
All committee meetings shall meet on a weekly basis at a time selected by the members of that committee. Only Community Roots members or outside advisors shall be permitted to take part in committee meetings.


Article VI Finances​

​Section 1.Community Roots will finance the activities it engages in by the following means:
There will be no membership dues
Community Roots will submit a budget to the Student Government Association Finance Committee or Graduate Student Government Finance Committee on an annual basis and request funding appropriate to the effective operation of the organization for each year.
Community Roots will also hold fundraising events and will also accept donations and sponsorship from supporters and supporting organizations.


Article VII Amendments

​Section 1. The constitution is binding to all members of Community Roots, but the constitution is not binding unto itself.
Any voting member of Community Roots at any weekly general body meeting may propose amendments to the constitution in writing.
The amendment to the constitution shall be discussed at the following meeting for a maximum time of one hour. Voting will commence when the time limit has been reached or prior to this if the parties concerned are done speaking.
The Amendment will be ratified by a majority vote of two – thirds (2/3).


Article VIII Registration Renewal

Section 1. Community Roots will apply to the Office of Campus Programs for registration on an annual basis one month after Community Roots new officer elections.