UMBC Linux Users’ Group

Constitution

Preamble

UMBC-LUG (the University of Maryland Baltimore County Linux Users' Group) shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Committee on Student Life, the Student Government Association, and the right of review of the President of the University or the President of the University's specifically designated representative.

• Article I: Name of the Organization
• Article II: Purpose
• Article III: Membership
• Article IV: Officers
• Article V: Amending the Constitution
• Article VI: Elections

Article I: Name of the Organization

The formal name of the organization shall be "The University of Maryland Baltimore County Linux Users' Group." Nicknames (such as UMBC-LUG) are encouraged.

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Article II: Purpose

The University of Maryland Baltimore County Linux Users' Group exists to unite Linux users and potential Linux users. Some suggested activities are:

• support Linux users both on and off campus;
• advocate the use of Linux and other open source software;
• discuss updates and news relating to Linux and open source software;
• attend and host seminars and tutorials about aspects of Linux;
• socialize with fellow Linux users;
• assist the open source community through programming, bug hunting, documentation, etc;
• work with operating systems ideologically similar to Linux;
• and any other activities that the members deem appropriate for the Group.

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Article III: Membership

To be eligible as a voting member, an individual must meet the criteria imposed on organization membership by the Student Government Association of UMBC. At this writing (4 November 1997), this means that the individual must be enrolled as an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Voting membership shall be open to all eligible individuals regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, sexual preference, physical and mental disability, or other external factor. This policy shall also apply to club officers.

All eligible individuals who submit membership information to the club officers and who attend club events with "reasonable" frequency shall be considered voting members. A quorum shall consist of 50% of voting members.

Regardless of an individual's eligibility for voting membership, all events shall be considered open to the community at large unless they involve voting or some other activity that university or SGA policy restricts. The only exceptions shall be events that the club officers or voting membership decide to close, for whatever reason they so choose. In general, members of the community at large should be welcomed as non-voting members in the UMBC-LUG.

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Article IV: Officers

The Officers shall consist of the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer, all of whom shall be voting members. One individual may occupy more than one position, subject only to the will of the membership and the regulations of the SGA.

There shall also be an Advisor, who should meet the current SGA criteria for Student Organization Advisor. As of this writing, the Advisor must be a member of UMBC's faculty or staff.

The officers and the advisor together comprise the UMBC-LUG executive board.

The Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings, and perform other duties as directed by the Executive Board.

The Treasurer shall be responsible and accountable for all the organization's fiscal concerns. He or she shall keep detailed records of all transactions, and attend budgetary meetings with the SGA as required by the SGA. The treasurer will perform any other duties as directed by the Executive Board.

The Vice President is the assistant to the President. He or she shall perform duties as directed by the Executive Board or delegated by the President.

The President is ultimately responsible to perform all the work that needs to be done, except those responsibilities specifically assigned to other officers by the Executive Board or by this Constitution. The President, or the President's duly designated representative (preferably another officer), shall preside over all meetings of the LUG. The President is directly answerable to the voting membership.

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Article V: Amending the Constitution

Any member may propose an amendment to the constitution. If the amendment is seconded, at least one week shall pass before a vote is taken on the amendment. If at least 2/3 of a quorum consisting of 2/3 of the active voting membership vote to support the amendment, the Constitution shall be duly amended.

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Article VI: Elections

The Executive Board, supervised by the Advisor, shall hold regular elections. No more than 12 months should pass from one election to the next election, although more frequent elections are allowed. In all matters pertaining to elections, the Advisor, as a neutral party, is to have the final say. Preferably, elections will occur in early April, although an exact date is left to the executive board's discretion. The election of the new officers shall go into effect 1 month after the results are tallied, or at such time as the Executive Board deems appropriate. During the period of transition from the old officer-ship to the new officer-ship, the old officers are encouraged to take the new officers in hand and "show them the ropes."

Elections shall be held with a minimum of one week's notice. The Executive Board is strongly encouraged to solicit votes using the broadest means as possible. Secure means of electronic voting, such as pgp-encrypted email, are encouraged, although such decisions are ultimately left to the Executive Board.

All voting members shall be eligible for office.

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