Constitution

Heading Preamble:       We, the pre-veterinary students of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in order to secure ourselves a fuller understanding and finer appreciation of the study of veterinary medicine, do hereby adopt and establish the following constitution and by-laws.           Article I Name: Pre-Vet Club at the University of Illinois     Article II Purpose:       Section One: To serve, educate, and inform fellow Pre-Vet students.     Section Two: To allow opportunities to those students who want to gain more experience in the field of veterinary medicine.     Section Three: To foster and maintain a spirit of fellowship among all Pre-Vet students.     Section Four: To conduct social functions for the Pre-Vet students.   Article III Membership:       Section One: All students attending the University of Illinois pursuing a pre-veterinary curriculum (and spouses) are eligible for membership, plus others who are interested in animal well being.     Section Two: The point system for the full school year shall be as follows: (based on the number of meetings, fundraisers, etc.....)   Annual Symposium: 15 points     Fundraisers: 1 point/hour     Day Field Trips: 2 points (+1 if driving)     Helping Officers: 1-2 points     Meeting Attendance: 2 points/meeting     Test Files: 1 point/test (max. 6)     Fall Retreat:  10 points     Other Events 1 point (Max. 2/event)     Section Three Membership Status       Honorary Membership       -Will be group from which most valuable members are chosen       -Must acquire the maximum meeting and 25 or more points       -Must have paid dues for full year       Active Membership       -Must acquire at least 2/3 maximum meeting and at least 10 more       -Must have paid dues for full year or semester       All activities may be attended by anyone, but if someone has not paid dues to the Pre-Vet Club, they will be charged twice the admission of members. A pre-determined admission will be charged if members are going at no cost.       Payment of dues is required for participation in Large Animal Intensive Care Unit /Small Animal Emergency Care Clinic (LAICU/SAECC) at the University of Illinois Veterinary School. Payment of dues is also required for access to the club's test files.     Article IV Officers:       Section One: The elected officers shall be: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Public Relations Chair, 2 Programs Coordinator Chairs, 2 Fundraising Chairs.     Section Two: The term of office shall be for two semesters, Fall and Spring.     Section Three: No officer shall hold more than two consecutive terms of the same office.     Section Four: No officer shall hold more than one office in the organization at one time.     Section Five: The Executive Committee is composed of regularly elected officers named above and national officers if elected at symposium. The Executive Committee shall meet previous to each regular meeting, and as many other times deemed necessary to plan and conduct the business of the club.     Section Six: More than one inexcusable absence from any meeting or function of the club (as determined by the president) will require an officer to relinquish his/her position. More than three excused absences (with the exception of academic reasons) denotes probationary status, and the officer will have no authority for one semester, but must still meet the other requirements to maintain his/her office. A fifth excused absence requires an officer to relinquish his/her position.     Section Seven: The officers shall be held responsible for all of the books and keys of their office until such records are turned over to their successor.     Section Eight: The treasurer and president must attend a mandatory treasurer's and president's meeting given by the Registered Student Organizations office at the start of the year.     Section Nine: Impeachment of an officer requires a 3/4 vote of a working quorum of the executive board. Grounds of impeachment of an officer are as follows:       1: Not fulfilling said duties (see Article VI)       2: Having absences as previously determined     Article V: Elections:       Section One: Nominations shall take place one meeting prior to elections. Elections shall take place on the second to last meeting of the Spring semester, at which time the club members are to be informed of the qualifications of the nominees. The elected shall serve with the incumbents for the remainder of the year as apprentices. The elected shall take full responsibility upon adjournment of the spring classes.     Section Two: Candidates for president must have previously held an office for one term (two semesters). In such an instance that this requirement can not be met, candidates must be approved by a 2/3 vote of the executive committee.     Section Three: The candidates for all offices should be a member in active standing in the club, unless approved by a 2/3 vote of the executive committee.     Section Four: Elections shall be by majority vote, eliminating the candidates with the fewest votes, leaving the one with the majority vote being the elected official.     Section Five: If an officer relinquishes his/her position, or the position at the time of regular elections, the vacancy is filled by means of a special election, if deemed necessary by a 2/3 vote of the executive committee.     Article VI: Duties of the Officers:       Section One: The President is in charge of the coordination of the club. Presides at all meetings and is ultimately responsible for club activities. Must know all the duties of the other officers, and must have good interpersonal skills, and be willing to learn the processes involved in running an organization at this university. Also, he or she is responsible for maintaining the listserv and keeping track of all membership points. Last but not least, the President oversees all money flow by co-signing on the checking account.     Section Two: The vice-president is in charge of arranging for speakers, trips, and extracurricular activities with the approval of the president, and must be willing to take over the president's position in the event of an emergency. Also will be responsible for writing thank-you notes to the speakers and organizations allowing the club tours. They are specifically in charge of the Campus Pathway Cleanup (at Illini Grove) which must be done at least 2x/semester and overseeing the Programs Coordinator positions to make sure work is getting effectively done. Must have good interpersonal skills.     Section Three: The treasurer is in charge of of all club funds. Must attend a mandatory treasurer's workshop given by the university in the fall, and is also responsible for filling out S.O.R.F. applications. Must have good bookkeeping and organizational abilities.     Section Four: The secretary will take minutes at each meeting, possibly send out weekly email letters, and make the newsletters for all meetings. He/she is responsible for collecting updated test files and Veterinary College admission information. Minutes will be distributed to the members on the web and in email if necessary.     Section Five: The public relations chair is the head of the PR committee and in charge of communicating all important info to the club and united the club. Will write up club announcements on chalkboards, and create and post flyers notifying the campus and members of club events. Must work with the fundraiser chair and newsletter editor to design and distribute information to all media organizations. They will also be in charge of club t-shirts, web-design, serving as the ACES Council Rep, and putting together a scrapbook for the end of the year.     Section Six: The fundraising chair is in charge of designing fund-raisers for the club. Must work with the treasurer to insure that the club's account in not in danger of being overdrawn. Is responsible for overseeing that all money raised is returned to the treasurer and deposited into the correct account and that potential refunds are distributed.     Section Seven: The Programs coordinator position is responsible for providing club members with valuable animal experience and events. They will plan and organize such events as the fall retreat, Symposium, Humane Society volunteering, Petstravaganza, community service events, LAICU/SAECC, social events with VPs. One of the two elected must have attended a symposium in the past.     Section Eight: All of the above responsibilities are subject to change depending on the president's need of the officers. All events and problems are to be approved by the president before initiation.     Section Nine: Any officer may request a committee. Committees will be formed by voluntary admission of members.     Section Ten: All officers are required to attend office hours in the cubicle for a minimum of two hours per week.     Section Eleven: In the event that one of the nine elected officers is not a Biology major, then a Biology Representative will be elected to serve as a mentor to the members of the club, otherwise this duty will be assigned to a current officer willing to help.     Section Twelve: In addition, one officer will be elected a "back-up" ACES Council rep in the case that the Public Relations chair is unable to attend a monthly meeting.         Article VII Meetings:       Section One: Regular meetings are to be set by the president, and others who deem them to be necessary. There will be a minimum of one meeting per month.     Section Two: Special meetings may be called when deemed necessary by the executive committee.     Section Three: Upon declaration of an emergency situation by the president, the executive committee may function as working quorum until the next meeting.     Article VIII Fees:       Section One: Dues are $15 per school year. This is subject to revision by the executive committee. Yearly dues will be accepted until the start of the spring semester. Semester dues will be accepted until the start of the third meeting of the spring semester.     Section Two: Assessments, when necessary, are to be voted by the club and subject to regulation by the executive committee.     Section Three: Fees for field trips are to be set by the president and executive board depending on the type of transportation, cost of admission, and distance to be traveled.     Article IX Ratification:       Section One: This document must be submitted to the organization at the meeting previous to ratification.     Section Two: A 3/4 vote majority is necessary to adopt this constitution.     Section Three: This constitution, once adopted, shall be the ruling guide for the Pre-Vet Club of the University of Illinois, and may be amended as necessary.     Return to the Top Article X Amendments:       Section One: A 2/3 vote of a working quorum carries an amendment.     Section Two: A 3/4 vote of a working quorum repeals an amendment.     Article XI General:     Section One: Copies of this constitution will be kept on file by each officer of the club, the faculty sponsor, and the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. Copies shall be filed in the club office.     Section Two: In the event of an emergency, or a situation arises which was not originally included in this constitution, the president may act as he/she sees necessary to carry on club function.     Section Three: In the event the president resigns, or is impeached, the vice-president has the authority to act in the president's position on all matters in this constitution.     Section Four: This constitution was designed, in part, from the constitution of the University of Missouri-Columbia Pre-Veterinary Medical Club.     Section Five: This constitution was last revised by the Pre-Vet Club of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign on May 4, 2006.