Constitution of the

Glasgow University Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Trans Queer Plus Students Association
As adopted at the AGM on 21st April 2004 and as amended at the AGM on 27th April 2005 and as amended at the EGM on 6 October 2010 and as amended at the EGM on the 26th,January, 2011 and as amended at the AGM on the 23rd, March 2011 and as amended at the AGM on the 21st, March 2012 and as amended at the AGM on the 27th, March 2013 and as amended at the AGM on the 26th, March 2014
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Contents Article 1: Name Article 2: Objectives Article 3: Membership Article 4: Administration of the LGBTQ+ Article 5: Eligibility for election to the Committee of Management Article 6: Specific COM members and their roles Article 7: Honorary positions Article 8: Affiliations Article 9: Finance Article 10: Meetings and Constitutional Amendments Article 11: Elections Article 12: Committee Meetings Article 13: Interpretation of the Constitution Article 14: Mailing List Article 15: Subcommittees

Article 1: Name
This organisation shall be known as the Glasgow University Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Trans Queer Plus Students Association. Hereinafter referred to as either the LGBTQ+ or the Association.

Article 2: Objectives
1. The LGBTQ+ exists to provide a social, campaigning, and welfare organisation to meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ Community within the University of Glasgow. 2. The LGBTQ+ shall work in accordance with and promote the ideals contained in the SRC Equal Opportunities Policy specifically with regard to LGBTQ+ people, though not exclusively. 3. The LGBTQ+ shall not affiliate to nor endorse any political ideologies, groups or societies. 4. The LGBTQ+ shall organise such meetings and activities as from time to time the administrative bodies, or general meetings, shall resolve to comply with Article 2(1) above. 5. In the event that the LGBTQ+ arrange or endorse a single gender event, it shall be ensured to be transfriendly.
6. The core values of the society are: personal integrity; mutual respect; acceptance and inclusiveness. All members of the Society are expected up hold these values when at Society events or activities, including on-line. Appendix 1 of the Constitution sets out the full statement of values.

Article 3: Membership
1. Fully matriculated students of the University of Glasgow are welcome to become full members of the LGBTQ+. 2. Members of University staff, students from other institutions and members of the general public are welcome to become members of the LGBTQ+, under associate status. 3. Associate Status does not permit such members to vote or to propose amendments to the constitution. 4. Associate members may only hold the positions of Past President, Honorary President or Honorary Vice President. 5. The Executive must ensure that associate members do not constitute more than 20% of the total membership of the Association. 6. A person awarded the Fellowship of the LGBTQ+ as described in Article 7(5) shall not be classed as a member, unless they also fall within one of the categories described in Articles 3(1) and 3(2).

Article 4: Administration of the LGBT

1. 2. 3. The administrative functioning of the LGBTQ+ shall be entailed to the Executive and the Committee of Management (COM). The Executive shall consist of the President, the Secretary and the Treasurer. The COM shall consist of the Executive, the Welfare Officer, an Events Coordinator, a Womens Officer, a Mens Officer, a Trans Officer, a Postgraduate and Mature Students Officer, a Campaign Officer, a Publicity Officer, a General Ordinary Member and a First Year Ordinary Member. Ex-officio members shall be the SRC Delegates and the Past President.

4. All members of the Executive and COM will adhere to the Code of Conduct set out in Appendix 1 of the Constitution 5 The COM will be responsible for administering the Society's Complaints and Disciplinary process as set out in Appendix 1. This will include a standing Complaints Sub-Committee to be chaired by the President.

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The COM and/or the Executive may employ the expertise and/or resources of any LGBTQ+ member in an ex-officio capacity as and when required. In cases of urgency, or in between meetings of the COM, the Executive may take decisions on the behalf of the LGBTQ+. These are subject to ratification by the COM at the earliest opportunity. Any member of the COM may resign at any time, leaving their position vacant.

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Any vacancy of an Executive Officer or the Welfare Officer shall be filled at a validly convened EGM, to be held within four academic weeks of the vacancy arising and to be conducted under

the procedures outlined in Article 11. The position(s) will remain vacant if they become so within six academic weeks of the AGM. 10. Any vacancy for any other officer shall be filled by co-option to be held within four academic weeks of the vacancy arising. Any such co-option is subject to ratification by a subsequent EGM. In the event the co-option is not ratified a special election will be held at the EGM and conducted according to the procedures outlined in Article 11.

Article 5: Eligibility for election to the Committee of Management

Only full members of the LGBTQ+ who have subscribed to the mailing list shall be eligible to stand for election to the COM.

Article 6: Specific COM members and their roles

[repealed and replaced 23 of March 2011] 1. The President Shall be the spokesperson for policies adopted by the i. LGBTQ+ Shall chair meetings of the COM unless unavailable ii. Shall co-ordinate the work and activities of the COM iii. Shall co-ordinate Freshers Week activities iv. Shall chair the standing complaints subcommittee v. 2. The Secretary Shall be responsible for drafting letters to be sent to external bodies i. on behalf of the Association under the direction of the COM ii. Shall be responsible for compiling an agenda for Committee Meetings in accordance with Article 12(4) iii. Shall keep minutes of AGMs, EGMs and Committee Meetings Shall send copies of the minutes of the AGM, EGMs and Committee iv. Meetings, Constitutional Amendments, Accounts, Correspondence, Publicity and generally liaise with the University of Glasgow Archives to ensure a permanent record of our Associations activities exist The Secretary should also make the committee meeting agenda and v. minutes from the committee meetings available to ordinary members vi. Shall book rooms for LGBTQ+ purposes vii. Shall maintain a confidential mailing list 3. The Treasurer Shall book rooms for LGBTQ+ purposes i. ii. Shall maintain a record of the income and expenditure of the Association, shall be responsible for preparing the accounts and shall keep bank statements Shall gives copies of all correspondence to the Secretary iii. Shall be responsible for the financial wellbeing of the Assocation iv. 4. The Welfare Officer Shall co-ordinate the welfare activities of the LGBTQ+ and in i. particular shall work with the Womens, Mens, Trans, and the Postgraduate and Mature Students officers in achieving these goals ii. Shall be responsible for raising awareness of welfare issues with the membership, which may include supporting campaigns, and liaising with the appropriate bodies in the interests of achieving these goals iii. Shall ordinarily be responsible for maintaining the LGBTQ+ Student Befriendment Scheme under guidelines approved by the COM. Shall maintain an advisory and supporting role for all members of the iv. Association The Events Co-ordinator
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Shall be responsible for coordinating publicity and arrangements concerning all events Shall support the involved COM members in each event

The Womens Officer i. This post is only open to a person who identifies as female ii. Shall work under the auspices and direction of the Welfare Officer, in furtherance of that positions objectives The Mens Officer i. ii.

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This post is only open to a person who identifies as male Shall work under the auspices and direction of the Welfare Officer, in furtherance of that positions objectives

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The Trans Officer i.

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This post is open to any person who identifies as Trans or any other non-cis identity Shall work under the auspices and direction of the Welfare Officer, ii. in furtherance of that positions objectives The Postgraduate and Mature Students Officer i. This post is only open to a person who is either on a postgraduate defree or is identified as a mature student under University regulations ii. Shall work under the auspices and direction of the Welfare Officer, in furtherance of that positions objectives iii. The election for Postgraduate and Mature Students Officer will be by way of a by-election to be held at a validly convened general meeting, to preferably be held in the last week of October/first week of November

10. The Campaigns Officer i. Within approval of the COM and the Association, the Campaigns Officer shall promote awareness of campaigns regarding LGBTQ+ issues, within accordance of Article 2(3) 11. The Publicity Officer Shall prepare publicity for the Association where necessary i. ii. Shall co-ordinate persons, from the COM or otherwise, to ensure the aforementioned publicity is suitably distributed iii. Shall give copies of all publicity to the Secretary Shall be responsible for maintaining the Associations websites iv. Shall ensure that the Association website contains up-to-date copies v. of the Associations constitution and any policies of the LGBTQ+ or LGBTQ+ committee that are presently in force 12. The General Ordinary Member i. There will be one General Ordinary Member open to all members irrespective of age, gender or year of study ii. The primary role of the General Ordinary Member shall be to represent the present needs and views of the members of the Association, and to facilitate other Officers of the COM where appropriate 13. The First Year Ordinary Member
i. ii.

The First Year Ordinary Member must be in their first academic undergraduate year of study at the University of Glasgow, but irrespective of age and gender The primary role of the First Year Ordinary Member shall be to represent the present needs and views of the members of the Association, and to facilitate other Officers of the COM where appropriate

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The election for First Year Ordinary Member will be by way of a byelection to be held at a validly convened general meeting, to preferably be held in the last week of October/first week of November

14. Bi Officer i. ii. This post is open to anyone who identifies as Bi + (or any non-monosexual identity) Shall work under the auspices and direction of the welfare officer, in furtherance of

that positions objectives 15. International students officer i. ii. Shall work under the auspices and direction of the welfare officer and cater for the welfare of international students Shall work as an outreach to international students and a link between them and the society

16. The members of the COM shall not be wholly bound by the limitations of the descriptions of their roles in the above articles. It is expected that they work as a coherent whole to further the cause of the Association. Consequently, they may exchange responsibilities with other members of the COM where both parties agree and may delegate tasks to other members of the LGBTQ+ where appropriate and provided the COM do not disagree. 17. The SRC Delegates i. ii. iii. iv. Shall be members of the Students Representative Council (SRC) Shall ordinarily be the SRC Sexual Orientation Equality Officer and the Gender Equality Officer Shall communicate the interests of the LGBT to the SRC and the wider LGBT student population on campus May be another person from the SRC, nominated by the COM where either the position has remained vacant or the COM finds the LGBTQ+ Officer to have consistently and/or grossly worked against the interests of the LGBTQ+

18. The Past President i. ii. Shall be the last person to have held the office of President before the current incumbent of the office Advise and assist the COM at the committees discretion

19. While any member of the committee may be approached regarding any grievances concerning the Association, specific issues should be directed to the appropriate officer on the committee, or the executive, in accordance with our complaints procedure.

Article 7: Honorary Positions

1. There shall be one Honorary President and up to three Honorary Vice Presidents. 2. [repealed 23rd March 2011] 3. Only individuals who are not full members of the LGBTQ+ are eligible for the position of Honorary President and Honorary Vice-President. Nominees shall be those who have contributed to the furtherance of the objectives of the LGBTQ+ within the University of Glasgow. 4. Nomination for the above honorary positions shall be taken at the AGM and/or general meetings. Election shall be in accordance with the procedure in Article 11. 5. A person who, in the opinion of the majority of those voting at a duly convened AGM, has acted consistently in the best interests of the Association may be awarded the Fellowship of the LGBTQ+. 6. A person awarded the Fellowship of the LGBTQ+ may reject it at any time after being awarded it and it may be removed from any person if the majority of those voting at a duly convened AGM so vote.

Article 8: Affiliations
1. 2. 3 The COM shall affiliate the LGBTQ+ to the Students Representative Council annually. and the Queen Margaret Union and/or Glasgow University Union annually. The COM shall affiliate with the Glasgow University Union and/or the Queen Margaret Union annually. Affiliations to other organisations are permitted, provided that they do not infringe the principles of this constitution.

Article 9: Finance
1. The Executive shall be responsible for the Association finances. 2. The Executive should get a budget and/or proposals relating to spending ratified prospectively by the COM. 3. In the event that the COM have not prospectively approved spending, the COM may reject actual spending and refuse to remunerate such spending from Association funds. The signatories on any bank account of the Association must be elected members of the 4. COM. At least two such signatures shall be required to withdraw funds from such a bank account. Ordinarily, the authorised signatories shall be the three members of the Executive.
5. The COM will appoint an Auditor to assist the Society in keeping its finances in good order. The auditor shall be independent of the COM and of good standing and relevant experience if possible. The auditor need not be a member of the society. The auditor shall: i. Independently review the Society accounts once a year prior to the AGM and make a formal declaration to the AGM in writing that the accounts are regular and in good order ii. Work with and advise the Treasurer through the Academic year to ensure good practice is being maintained.

Article 10: Meetings & Constitutional Amendments

1. There shall be no fewer than 15 general meetings of the LGBTQ+ during the academic year 2. The AGM (Annual General Meeting) must be convened either before the end of the relevant academic year, or in the event of this not being possible, for circumstances beyond the control of the COM, no later than week three of term one the following academic year. 3. AGMs and EGMs must occur during the academic year 4. Fourteen days notice by email shall be given by the COM of the AGM or of an EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting). 5. An EGM shall be called either by the COM or by submission of a written request by 10 members or 10% of the membership whichever is lower. 6. AGMs or EGMs can be used to remove members of the COM or Society by majority vote in accordance with the societies complaints and disciplinary process as set out in Appendix 1; make constitutional amendments and or to disaffiliate from external and internal organisations. This shall be done by upon decision of two thirds of votes cast. 7. The quoracy of an EGM or AGM is 20 full members, or 12.5% of the full membership that has subscribed to the mailing list, whichever is the lesser. 8. In the event of being unable to convene the AGM before the end of the relevant academic year, Article 10(7) shall not apply to the subsequent AGM held in accordance with Article 10(2). 9. The purpose of an AGM is ordinarily to enable all members of the society to discuss the previous years strengths and weaknesses, to discuss the future direction of the association, to make any constitutional amendments, to carry out any other business and to elect persons to positions on the COM and to Honorary Positions as detailed in this constitution, insofar as reasonable time constraints allow. 10. General Meetings of the LGBTQ+ shall be chaired by the President, whom failing another committee member with the proviso that this should be someone who is not standing for election. In the event that there is no such person, the meeting shall elect a Chair by simple majority.

11. No person may occupy the chair who is not a matriculated student of the University of Glasgow 12. Votes on all motions at an AGM or EGM shall be by simple majority on a show of hands unless specified otherwise in this constitution. However, if one third of full members present so request, a secret ballot shall be held on a particular motion. 13. The chair shall not be entitled to vote on a motion, but shall have a casting vote in the event of a tie 14. The chair must temporarily stand down to propose any motion covered by Article 10(6)

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Articles 10(12) and 10(13) are without prejudice to the separate rules in Article 11 which cover the specific situations of elections to the COM and elections to Honorary Positions.

Article 11: Elections

1. Only full members of the LGBTQ+ shall be entitled to vote in elections. The Chair shall be entitled to a deliberative vote. 2. Elections shall be by secret ballot 3. Elections will be conducted under secret ballot using the following system; voters must number the candidates in order of preference. Votes are first sorted according to first preference. If a candidate achieves a majority (over 50%) they will assume the position. In the case that a majority is not achieved by any candidate, the ballots of the candidate with the least votes shall be redistributed according to the second preference. This process shall continue until one candidate achieves a majority. 4. [repealed 23rd of March 2011] 5. In the election for the Honorary Vice-Presidents, after all persons to be nominated for such a position are named, the Chair shall call for a vote, by show of hands, on each in turn. Each candidate must achieve a majority of those voting to be elected. In the event that more than three candidates achieve a majority after all candidates are voted on, the three candidates achieving the most votes shall win. 6. In the event of a tie in Article 11(3) or Article 11(5), the result shall be determined by the toss of a coin by the Chair. 7. The Chair must temporarily stand down to be eligible to stand for election 8. Votes shall be counted by two impartial persons who are not standing as a candidate for election at that General Meeting. They shall be nominated for the position at the General Meeting and shall be allowed to fulfil this role provided that not more than five full members present object to their appointment. 9. Each candidate may oversee the counting process. 10. Newly elected members of the COM shall take up office at the adjournment of the General Meeting.

Article 12: Committee Meetings

1. The President shall determine the dates and times of meetings of the COM and shall intimate these to members of the COM at least one week in advance of such a meeting. 2. There shall be at least one meeting of the COM between September and December and another between January and April of each year, all months inclusive. 3. A member of the COM shall be deemed resigned if they fail to attend two consecutive COM meetings and do not give apologies for either. 4. Members of the COM shall submit items for the agenda of a Committee Meeting to the Secretary at least one day before such a meeting. 5. Committee Minutes and Committee Agendas shall be made available to ordinary
members of the society

Article 13: Interpretation of the Constitution

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

If a dispute as to the interpretation of this constitution arises during a validly convened AGM or EGM, then the interpretation of a particular provision shall be determined by the full members there present, by a simple majority vote. If a dispute as to the interpretation of this constitution arises in a circumstance not covered in Article 13(1), then the constitution shall be interpreted by the COM. Any interpretation as described in Article 13(2) must be ratified by a simple majority vote at the next validly convened AGM or EGM. Articles 13(1) and 13(2) must be read to be consistent with the underlying principle that in all circumstances, words are given their ordinary literal meaning. In the event of a member being dissatisfied with an interpretation given to a part of the Constitution, they may appeal the decision to the Students Representative Council.

Article 14: Mailing List

1. The Executive shall maintain a confidential mailing list. 2. This mailing list must not be disclosed to any organisation or person outwith the Executive. 3. Notwithstanding Article 14(2), the mailing list can be disclosed to another person insofar as it is necessary to set up a confidential email list. 4. In the event that the Students Representative Council rescind the LGBTQ+ Students Association members right to anonymity, necessary steps shall be taken by the Executive to ensure that the society maintains funding. 5. Under no circumstances can a members email address or identity be disclosed to any other person or organisation without that members express prior consent. 6. Article 14(5) has precedence over all other parts of this Article, but shall not stop actions pursuant to Article 14(3).

Article 15: Subcommittees

1. The LGBTQ+ recognises the willingness of the membership to have a more immediate input to the organisation of events. In recognition of this a subcommittee (SUBCOM) may be called and dissolved at the discretion of the COM. 2. The SUBCOM will be an entirely voluntary body, save that a member of the Executive must be a member of the SUBCOM to act as SUBCOM chair as defined in Article 15(4). 3. Membership of the SUBCOM is open to full members and associate members alike. 4. The SUBCOM chair i. ii. iii. Shall be a member of the COM Shall determine dates and times of meetings of the SUBCOM and shall intimate these to the SUBCOM at least one week in advance of such as meeting Shall ensure that the SUBCOM adheres to the objectives of the Association as described in Article 2 Shall be elected at the first SUBCOM meeting Shall be responsible for keeping minutes of SUBCOM meetings Shall be responsible for drafting letters on behalf of the SUBCOM and agendas for SUBCOM meetings

5. The SUBCOM Secretary i. ii. iii. 6.

Members of the SUBCOM shall submit items for the agenda of the SUBCOM meeting to the SUBCOM Secretary at least one day before such a meeting