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Contents Article 1: Name Article 2: Objectives Article 3: Membership Article 4: Administration of the LGBT 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 and Transgender Students Association. Hereinafter referred to as either the LGBT or the Association.
Article 2: Objectives
1. The LGBT exists to provide a social, campaigning, and welfare organisation to meet the needs of the LGBT Community within the University of Glasgow. 2. The LGBT shall work in accordance with and promote the ideals contained in the SRC Equal Opportunities Policy specifically with regard to LGBT people, though not exclusively. 3. The LGBT shall not affiliate to nor endorse any political ideologies, groups or societies. 4. The LGBT 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 LGBT arrange or endorse a single gender event, it shall be ensured to be transfriendly.
Article 3: Membership
1. Fully matriculated students of the University of Glasgow are welcome to become full members of the LGBT. 2. Members of University staff, students from other institutions and members of the general public are welcome to become members of the LGBT, 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 LGBT 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).
election shall be held under the procedures in Article 11. The requirement of a by-election shall not apply if the vacancy on the COM arose less than six weeks before the AGM is due to be held, or the vacancy arose less than six weeks before the by-election.
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Shall work under the auspices and direction of the Vice-President re Welfare, in furtherance of that positions objectives. 1. The Secretary: a. Shall be responsible for drafting letters to be sent to external bodies on behalf of the Association under the direction of the Committee. b. Shall be responsible compiling an agenda for Committee Meetings in accordance with Article 12(4). c. Shall keep minutes of AGMs, EGMs and Committee Meetings. d. Shall send copies of the minutes of the AGM, EGMs and Committee Meetings, Constitutional Amendments, Accounts, Correspondence, Publicity and generally liase with the University of Glasgow Archives to ensure a permanent record of our Associations activities exists. e. The Secretary should also make the committee meeting agenda and minutes from committee meetings available to ordinary members of the GULGBT Society. 2. [repealed 28 April 2006] 3. The Website and Communications Officer: a. Shall prepare publicity for the Association on behalf of the Association where necessary. b. Shall co-ordinate persons, from the COM or otherwise, to ensure the aforementioned publicity is suitably distributed. c. Shall give copies of all publicity produced to the Secretary d. Shall be responsible for maintaining the Association website e. Shall ensure that the Association website contains up-to-date copies of the Associations constitution and any policies of the LGBT or LGBT committee that are presently in force. 4. The First Year Ordinary Member i. The first year Ordinary Member shall ideally be in their first academic undergraduate year of study, but irrespective of age and gender. ii. The primary role of the First Year Ordinary Members shall be to represent the present needs and views of the members of the Society, and to facilitate other Officers of the COM where appropriate. iii. The election for First Year Ordinary Members 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. iv. The term of Ordinary Members will cease at the next by-election 5. The General Ordinary Members i. There shall be two General Ordinary Members open to all members irrespective of age, gender or year of study ii. The primary role of the General Ordinary Members shall be to represent the present needs and views of the members of the Society, and to facilitate other Officers of the COM where appropriate iii. The election for General Ordinary Members will be by way of a by-election to preferably be held at a validly convened general meeting to be held in the last week of October/ first week of November. iv. The term of the General Ordinary Members will cease at the next by-election.
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15. 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 LGBT where appropriate and provided the COM do not disagree. 1. The SRC Delegate: a. Shall be a member of the Students Representative Council (SRC) b. Shall ordinarily be the SRC LGBT Officer c. Shall communicate the interests of the LGBT to the SRC and the wider LGBT student population on campus.
d. May be another person from the SRC, nominated by the COM where either the position has remained vacant or the COM finds the LGBT Officer to have consistently and or grossly worked against the interests of the LGBT. 2. The Past President shall: a. Be the last person to have held the officer of President before the current incumbent of the office. b. Advise and assist the COM. c. Be entitled to sit on the COM until another person becomes eligible to be Past President d. A President removed from office under an Article 10(5) motion shall not eligible to sit on the COM as Past President e. The Past President shall only be entitled to vote at meetings of the COM held between the dissolution of the AGM at which they became Past President until the dissolution of the subsequent AGM, unless removed from the COM by an EGM. 3. While any member of the committee may be approached regarding any grievances concerning the society, specific issues should be directed to the appropriate officer on the committee, or the executive.
Article 8: Affiliations
1. The COM shall affiliate the LGBT to the Students Representative Council and the Queen Margaret Union and/or Glasgow University Union annually. 2. 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. 4. The signatories on any bank account of the Association must be elected members of the 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.
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 may be called upon the request of 5 members of the LGBT or, at the COMs discretion. An EGM must be called by the COM at the earliest practical opportunity if 5% of the Full Membership so request. 6. EGMs can be used to remove members of the COM. AGMs or EGMs can be used to remove members of the LGBT, to 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 LGBT shall be chaired by the President, whom failing the VicePresident re Welfare, whom failing the Vice-President re Administration, whom failing the Womens Officer, whom failing the Mens Officer, whom failing the Transgender Officer, whom failing the Postgraduate and Mature Students Officer, whom failing the Website and Communications Officer, whom failing the Secretary, whom failing an Ordinary Member, whom failing a member elected by the General Meeting. 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) 15. 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.
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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. 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. The Chair must temporarily stand down to be eligible to stand for election 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. Each candidate shall appoint a representative to oversee the count. Newly elected members of the COM shall take up office at the adjournment of the General Meeting.
Article 14: Mailing List 1. The Vice President re Administration shall maintain a confidential mailing list as per
Article 6(3)(ii). 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 LGBT 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).