In order to promote a better America, with equality, opportunity, and freedom within a just and strong society, we dedicate ourselves to organizing the participation of Democratic college students at New Mexico Tech. In this mission, we call for full participation of all NMT students, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, physical handicap, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation. Understanding the importance of participation in the Democratic Party to the preservation of our values and principles, we, Democratic college students, do hereby associate ourselves and adopt this Constitution as the New Mexico Tech Young Democrats.
A: Name: The name of this organization shall be the New Mexico Tech Young Democrats, hereafter referred to in this document as the “NMTYD”.
B: Purpose: The College Democrats pledges itself to support the philosophy and candidates of the Democratic Party. Furthermore, the College Democrats declares its intention to support all efforts to increase the participation of college students in Democratic affairs. To these ends, the College Democrats shall educate and train its members so that they may be better able to:
1. Educate students about the philosophy of the Democratic Party;
2. Assist in the election of local, state, and national Democratic candidates.
3. Encourage group participation in community activities.
A: Members: Membership in the NMTYD shall be open to any college student currently enrolled in NMT, and any community member of Socorro county who wishes to be known as a NMTYD and who has the best interests of the NMTYD and the Democratic Party at heart, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, physical handicap, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation.
A: Composition: The Executive Board shall be composed of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. All positions will be elected at the General Elections.
B: The Executive Board shall determine the agenda and policy of the College Democrats and coordinate all activities and events.
A: All Executive Board members must maintain active involvement in all of the College Democrats activities and endeavors, and must meet immediately prior to the bimonthly meeting in order to develop an official agenda.
B: Duties of the President. The President shall:
1: Be the Chief Executive Officer of the College Democrats;
2: Define the agenda of the College Democrats during his or her tenure;
3: Act as the official representative of the College Democrats to other groups and the media;
4: Carry out the mandates, policies, an directives of the Executive Board;
5: Preside over all meetings of the College Democrats.
C: Duties of the Vice President. The Vice President shall:
1: Assist the President in the performance of his or her duties; including brainstorming ideas and evaluating the progress of the Executive Board and organization as a whole;
2: Act as President when the President is unable to perform his or her duties;
3: Assume the office of the President upon the President’s death, resignation, removal, or inability to perform duties;
4: Take on projects of his or her choosing.
D: Duties of the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall:
1: Direct fundraising activities and prepare all grants;
2: Manage the bank account and budget;
3: Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or her choosing.
E: Duties of the Communications Director. He or she shall:
1: Coordinate all postering and publicity activities;
2: Notify media of all events of the College Democrats in an attempt to ensure media coverage;
3: Perform such duties as the President may assign and take on projects of his or her choosing.
4: Maintain database of contact information of members and update NMTYD website.
A: Elections shall occur once a semester.
B: To be eligible to run for a position and vote a member must be active in the group for at least one semester previous to the election, and must have participated in at least one community outreach activity.
C: Secretive ballots: One vote per person per election. Candidates cannot vote in their own election.
D: Procedure: Candidates are nominated directly before their election.
1. Speech length: Pres - 4min; VP - 3min; Other - 2min
2. Q & A: Pres - 7min; Other - 5min
3. Supporting speakers: Pres - 5; Other - 3. Each supporting speaker has 45 seconds to support his candidate. Order of speakers will alternate among candidates. They are forbidden to make any derogatory statements about any candidate. Candidates are prohibited from the election room during the time of supporting statements.
4. Vote counting and declaration of winner will occur directly after that election.
A: Cause for removal: Cause for removal shall be defined as malfeasance or nonfeasance of duties assigned by the Executive Board or delineated within this document, or as ineligibility for Executive Board membership pursuant to Article 2. Cause for removal shall also include grounds found by 3/4 members of the Executive Board to constitute good and sufficient cause.
B: Process for removal: To begin the process for removal, another member of the Executive Board must charge the officer with the reasons for his or her removal publicly at a meeting of the Executive Board. The officer in question must be offered an opportunity to defend himself or herself at that meeting. After a period of two weeks the issue shall be put to a vote. Three-fourths members of the Executive Board must vote for removal for an officer to be removed.
A: Declaration of vacancy: A vacancy shall be declared when a member of the Executive Board dies, resigns, or is removed from office. If the vacancy occurs in an Executive Board position other than the President, the President shall appoint a successor with a 2/3 majority consent of the remaining Executive Board. If the vacancy is the President, then the Vice-President shall automatically be the replacement.
A: Meetings will be held twice monthly on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of every month during the semester.
A: Procedure: The Constitution can be amended by a 2/3 majority vote of the Executive Board with 2/3 approval by the membership.