Untitled Document

Club Constitutions

My school requires all school related after school clubs to write and ratify a constitution that controls the behaviors of the club. My school board is still considering additional rules to add to this and it will probably be looked at by legal council at sometime in the future, but this is my current working draft, developed by a number of vested parties. The current concern is with the RULES section, and we have been discussing what types of additional safety rules need to be in place. As mentioned before, it is a work in progress, but hopefully having this as a starting point will save some time when starting another similar club somewhere else.

Constitution

of the

Hartford High School

Robotics Club

ARTICLE I - NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Hartford High School Robotics Club, of Hartford Michigan. Hereafter in this document, it shall be referred to as the Robotics Club.

ARTICLE II – PURPOSE

The Purpose of the club shall be as follows:

a) to promote the appreciation and exploration of science and engineering

in the school and community.

b) to provide members with hands on opportunities to build, program and test

robots.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

Membership requirements are as follows:

a) must attend meetings regularly.

b) must participate in both the fundraising and building activities of the club.

must pay annual membership dues.

does not participate in behavior that is disruptive to club meetings or that endangers or intentionally destroys club equipment.

e) must agree and conform to all safety precautions set forth by the club and

only build robots that conform to Asimov’s three rules of robotics.

Asimov’s Rules:

1 A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2 A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3 A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

ARTICLE IV - CLUB OFFICERS

SECTION 1 - Offices

Majority shall elect President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer with a

vote of the Robotics Club members present. These officers shall be in office for the year in progress.

SECTION 2 - Order of Election

Regular officers if the Robotics club shall be elected in the following order: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

SECTION 3 - President

The President is the chief executive officer of the Robotics Club. He/She shall preside at the Robotics Club meetings and direct the work of the Club. He or she shall have the power of the club at such times when the Club cannot be convened. He or she may appoint committees.

SECTION 4- Vice-President

The Vice President is the second in command at Robotics Club meetings, thereby meaning that he/she shall be in mutual understanding with the President. The Vice President is to take the President's place in case of temporary absence and is to have all the powers of the president.

SECTION 5 - Secretary

The Secretary shall keep minutes of meetings and attendance and shall handle all Robotics Club correspondence as directed.

SECTION 6 - Treasurer

The Treasurer shall be in charge of all Robotics Club funds. He/she shall keep an accurate record of all business and transactions.

SECTION 7 - Vacancies

A vacancy of a Robotics Club Officer shall be:

1) due to death

2) change of residence

3) loss of seat

Vacancies of Robotics Club offices shall be filled by the majority vote of the Robotics Club members present.

ARTICLE V - ADVISOR

The Advisor shall be a teacher in employment at Hartford High School. He/she shall represent the Robotics Club at faculty meetings and represent the administration at Robotics Club meetings.

ARTICLE VI - QUROUM

At least 50% of the officers must be present to conduct official business at Robotics Club meetings.

ARTICLE VII - POWERS

The Robotics club shall have complete power over its own affairs and any other powers given it by the administration.

ARTICLE VIII - ACTION

All action taken by the Robotics Club must be approved by majority vote of the people present.

Article IX – SAFETY

All members must conform to safety measures and rules set forth by the School Board, Building Administration and those created by the Robotics Club. Any member who consistently disregards or violates safety precautions will be asked to leave the club.

ARTICLE X - REMOVAL

Loss of Seat

Any officer who, not attending to other important duties, misses three or more meetings of the Robotics Club may have this seat on the Robotics club taken away by a unanimous vote of the remaining members elected to and serving on the Robotics Club.

Article XI – ACTIVITIES

Activities will include but not be limited to: Fund raising, researching topics related to robots, building, programming and testing of robots.

Article XII - AMENDMENTS

After adoption of this constitution, articles may be amended or replaced by a majority vote of members present.

ARTICLE XIII - CONSTITUTIONALITY

The President of the Robotics Club may annually appoint two (2) officers, which he/she himself/herself can be included to determine the constitutionality of all actions of the Robotics Club.

ARTICLE XIV – RULES

SECTION 1 – School Rules

All school rules will be enforced during club meetings and events.

SECTION 2 – Use of Equipment

All equipment belonging to the Robotics Club shall only be used during club meetings or during events sanctioned by the club. Club equipment will be shared by all members. Theft of equipment will result in termination of club membership. Proper safety procedures will be followed while using club equipment to ensure the safety of both the user and the equipment.