Constitution

Commuter Student Organization

The Ohio State University

Preamble
We, the advocates of the commuter students of The Ohio State University, believing that a
student organization is needed to enhance the university experience for commuter students,
ordain and establish this Constitution of the Commuter Student Organization.

Article I - Name, Purpose, and Non-Discrimination Policy

Section I: Name: The Commuter Student Organization at The Ohio State University. For this
document the group will herein be referred to as CSO.
Section II: Purpose: The purposes of CSO shall be:
1. To act as an advisory group to the commuter student population at The Ohio State University
2. To sponsor activities and encourage communication among commuter students to increase
involvement and a sense of belonging to The Ohio State University.
3. To communicate the interests of commuter students concerning campus issues and university
policy to commuter senators and other representatives in their respective positions at the
university.
Section III: Non-Discrimination Policy: The Commuter Student Organization shall not
discriminate against any individual(s) for reasons of race, ethnicity, creed, religion, sexual
orientation, national origin, sex, gender identity, age, disability, or veteran status.

Article II: Membership: Types of Membership

Section I: Officers: Officers are elected by their commuter student peers by a process to take
place each spring semester.
Section II: Co-Chairpersons: For each committee sanctioned by CSO, one Co-Chairperson will
be appointed by a vote of CSO members and one Co-Chairperson will be appointed by the
President of CSO.
Section III: Commuter Members
Members of the student commuter population can become members of CSO and participate in
general body meetings, activities, events, committees, and votes.

Article III: Membership: Qualifications for Membership

Section I: Qualifications for Membership

All members of CSO must be full-time or part-time students at The Ohio State University, who
commute to campus or live in off-campus housing.
Section II: Qualifications for Officers and Co-Chairpersons
In addition to the requirements listed in Article II Sections I and II of this document, Officers and
Co-Chairpersons must have completed two full-time semesters at The Ohio State University.
Section III: Removal of Members
If a member conducts themselves in such a manner deemed detrimental to advancing the
purpose of this organization or is in violation of the OSU Student Code of Conduct, they can be
removed through a majority vote of the other voting membership or unanimous vote of the
officers, with the consultation of the advisor.

Article IV: Student Leadership: Titles, Terms of Office, Selection of Officers, and
Removal of Officers and Co-Chairpersons
Section I: Titles: Within CSO, there shall be four officers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer
and Secretary. There shall also be two committee co-chairpersons per committee.

Section II: The Role of President

Presides over all business meetings
Shall create the agendas for each meeting
Shall conduct Elections at the end of each office term
Shall serve as the main representative and liaison of CSO to the University
The President must be the primary line of communication to the Advisor(s).
Update the organizations registration and attend trainings as required by Student Activities

Section III: The Role of Vice-President

The Vice President shall assume all duties of the President should the President not be able to
fulfill them. In addition, they shall:
Oversee committee Co-Chairpersons
Monitor the productivity of each committee
Evaluate the effectiveness of each committee
Recommend the creation or dissolution of committees to CSO membership and Advisor(s).
Must ensure that parliamentary procedure is being followed at all CSO meetings.

Section IV: The Role of Treasurer

Keep records of the organizations finances
Must co-sign the organizations checks in order to make purchases, pay debts, or otherwise
exchange funds of the organization.
Responsible for informing all members of the organizations financial status.
Shall attend the Treasurer training to maintain organizations active status

Section V: The Role of Secretary

Responsible for keeping written records of meetings of the CSO.
Must produce and maintain all meeting minutes, which will be sent to all members of CSO
Shall be responsible for making meeting and event room reservations for the CSO
Section VI: Terms of Office
The officers of CSO shall have term lengths of one calendar year, beginning two weeks after the
tallying results.
Section VII: Selection of Officers
Officers shall be chosen by a vote of all members of CSO and selected by an internet ballot.
The election may be conducted on an electronic platform and shall be done at the discretion of
the organizations advisor. Each member of the CSO has one vote per position being elected.
Nominations for office may be made by any member of the commuter student population but the
proposed nominee must also accept the nomination for him- or herself. More than two nominees
may be selected for the same position. Nominees must be made known to the Advisor(s) no
less than two weeks prior to the election.
As stated above, elections will be conducted by electronic means, and votes shall be tallied by
the Advisor(s). The nominee with most votes for each position shall be elected awarded the
election. In the case of a tie, there will be a runoff election between the top two candidates until
a winner is declared.
Selection VIII: Removal of Officers and Co-Chairpersons
If an officer of co-chairperson of the CSO fails to perform his or her duties, he or she may be
subject to dismissal from office at the hands of the remaining members of CSO. Any of the
remaining officers may make a proposal to dismiss an officer to the rest of CSO within a
meeting, as governed by the rules of meeting procedures of the organization. A vote shall be
conducted without the presence of the officer or chairperson in question, and removal shall be
granted only if three-fourths of the remaining members agree upon removal.
Dismissal from The Ohio State University will immediately end the term of office of an officer or
co-chairperson without a vote being conducted.

Article V: Advisor(s) to the Organization

The Director of Off-Campus and Commuter Student Engagement at The Ohio State University
will serve as the principal advisor to the organization at all times.

Section I: Roles and Responsibilities

Shall be responsible for overseeing the groups activities
Shall be responsible for ensuring that the organization is staying within the bounds of its
Constitution and the policies of The Ohio State University.

Shall be responsible for co-signing each check issued on behalf of the organization.
May appoint a secondary advisor for CSO, if necessary.

Section II: Qualifications for Secondary Advisors

Must have obtained a bachelors degree
Must be enrolled as:
a graduate or professional students at The Ohio State University
faculty or staff members at The Ohio State University.

Article VI: Committees

Committees shall be comprised of members of the CSO. The requirements listed in Article III,
Section 1 must be met.

Section I: Selection of Committee Chairs

All members of CSO must submit a committee chair application.
All committee chairs shall be appointed by the CSO executive board through a two-thirds
majority vote.

Section II: The Role of Committee Chairs

Committee Co-Chairpersons shall be responsible for:
Determining the direction of each Standing Committee during the academic year.
Shall be responsible for recruiting other commuter students to assist them in their committees
work, planning events, programs, or activities.
Must report their updates and activities at the CSO meetings.

Article VII: Meetings of the Organization

Section I: Meeting Procedures
Meetings shall be conducted according to Roberts Rules of Order.
Section II: Frequency of Meetings
Meetings of the CSO will be held bi-weekly during the academic year at a regular meeting time
to be decided each semester by the members of the CSO, including all officers.
Section III: Cancellation of Meetings
Meetings of the CSO may be cancelled via a vote of the organization at the meeting preceding
the meeting that has been brought up for cancellation. Only the acting President may bring to
vote a measure to cancel a regularly scheduled meeting of the organization.

Section IV: Calling Special Meetings

Special meeting may be called during the academic year through two methods:
The faculty advisor and President of the CSO may call a special meeting of the CSO so long as
he or she gives three days notice to members of the organization.

The second method must be proposed and voted upon by the organization at a regularly
scheduled meeting.

Article VII: Ratification of the Constitution

Section I: Ratification
Any changes to the CSO constitution must be made through this process:
The recommendations must be given at least one business meeting prior to voting for the
proposed change.
Once proposed it shall be ratified only after a vote with two-thirds approval by the Officers,
committee chairs, and Advisor(s) of the organization.

Article IX: Amendments to the Constitution

Section I: Proposal of Amendments
Proposals for amendments to the Constitution of CSO shall be made at CSO meetings. Anyone
in attendance at a meeting may make a proposal for an amendment, but the amendment must
be submitted to the President of the Commuter Student Organization at least one week ahead
of time in order to be considered. Then it must go through the ratification process in Article VII.
Last Amended: January 15, 2012