Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- bylaws [2022/11/23 12:58] – [ARTICLE 1 - MEMBERSHIP] ahunt
+++ bylaws [2026/05/16 13:15] (current) – [ARTICLE 1 - MEMBERSHIP] bylaws amendments 1.03 passed 2025-05-16 byang2
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 The sole available membership level for alumni and students who have withdrawn will be special membership. Upon graduation, the membership status of all full and social members of good standing will automatically convert to special membership. Special members of Dabney need not pay dues and retain a heavily restricted ability to access house resources or attend social functions.
-Other types of membership can exist and can confer any subset of privileges allotted by full membership.
+Other types of membership can exist and can confer any subset of privileges allotted by full membership. Members of the House must pay the dues associated with their membership type for each academic term they remain a member.
-Members of the House must pay the dues associated with their membership type for each academic term they remain a member.
 **SECTION 1.02 - TERMINATION OR MODIFICATION OF MEMBERSHIP**
 Membership of Dabney House is gained through Rotation or after an application is approved by a Membership Vote. Alumni and students who have withdrawn are not eligible to apply for House membership. Individuals can request the removal of their personal membership status at any time by notifying the Secretary, President, or another relevant member of Excomm. If membership is revoked, the individual must wait for a time period greater than one academic term before they are eligible to reapply for any type of Dabney membership. Membership may be revoked as part of an Institute-imposed sanction. If a member remains on temporary leave for at least 2 years, Excomm may, by unanimous consent, revoke or change their membership status.
 **SECTION 1.03 - DUES**
-Members of the House must pay the dues associated with their membership type for each academic term they remain a member. Dues policy may be created and changed by a vote of either Excomm vote or the House. Dues policy must be accessible as an addendum to the Bylaws.
+Dues policy may be created and changed by amendment to the Bylaws. Such policy must be transparently available to the members of the house within this document.
+Members can pay dues on a termly or yearly basis. If on a termly basis, $10 must be paid by the end of term, here defined as the end of the finals testing period for that term. If on a yearly basis, $30 must be paid either by the end of first term or graduation, whichever is earlier for the member.
+A member is required to pay dues if they are a member of the house at any point during the term in question and have been enrolled at the Institute for 6 or more weeks during the term in question.
+Baseline Enforcement Mechanism:
+(A) Failure to pay dues for 1 term may result in social probation. Social probation will result in the member not being able to participate in the roompicks process of the house for the following academic year, if applicable.
+(B) Failure to pay dues for 2 terms may result in expulsion from house membership.
+(C) The above clauses of the enforcement mechanism will be at the discretion of Excomm, decided by unanimous vote.
+(D) If the member is paying dues on a yearly basis, failure to pay dues for an entire year may result in the immediate escalation to the consequences in clause (B).
+(E) Upon the decision of Excomm to render the enforcement mechanism upon a member of the house, Excomm must communicate with the member in regards to the dues violation through a proper channel. The member will then have a 20 day grace period after being notified by Excomm to rectify the violation. If Excomm notifies the offending member during a break of the academic year or while the member is on leave, the grace period will begin when the member is once again enrolled at the Institute.
+(F) Upon payment of all outstanding balances, social probation status will be removed from the member.
+If a member of the house finds themselves unable or unwilling to pay the requested dues to the house, they are entitled to a negotiation with the President or Vice President with regards to a case-by-case mechanism for dues payment/waiver.
 ===== ARTICLE 2 - HOUSE OFFICES =====
@@ Line 66: / Line 84: @@
 If a position opens due to resignation, the person leaving may specify an interim appointee subject to the approval of Excomm. Otherwise, Excomm will specify an appointee. The appointee will hold all duties of the position, excluding sitting on Excomm, until a special election can be held. In the case that an officer is unable to perform their duties for a known period of time, Excomm, with the consent of the affected officer, may choose to hold an election for an interim officer to serve in their place for that period of time. This interim officer will perform all duties of the given office, including sitting on Excomm, if applicable.
-===== House Votes =====
+===== ARTICLE 3 - VOTING =====
-House votes are required for the following: (a) election of members to any Dabney office; (b) significant changes to house membership types, roompicks procedures, duties of any Dabney office, or house dues; %%(c)%% or by petition of 10 full members. House votes must be open to all full members and in rare circumstances can be opened to other types of membership with consent of full members via vote. Excomm is responsible for fairly administering house votes.
+**SECTION 3.01 - ELECTION VOTES**
-The proposed full text of any house vote must be made available to all voting members prior to the opening of the vote. Votes must then be open for at least 72 hours before closing. All voting members must be granted reasonable access to vote, change their vote before the close of the voting period, and cast an absentee ballot.
+Officers will be appointed to house positions by a ranked-pairs house vote organized by the Secretary (or another unbiased member of Excomm if the Secretary is absent or if the Secretary is running for the position in question). The winner of elections receives a majority of the votes in every head-to-head election against each of the other candidates (Condorcet method). The elections process will involve a period of at least 24 hours in which candidates may be nominated, followed by a voting period of at least 72 hours, in which all full members have reasonable access to vote. Each full member of Dabney is entitled to a single vote in the election of officers.
-Exceptions may be enacted in the event that any house policy or part of these bylaws become impossible to enact without violating any applicable laws, coming into conflict with Institute policy (which can be communicated either verbally or through writing), or causing direct and significant harm to any person’s well-being. In cases of exception, Excomm may create temporary policy to supercede original policy without consulting the house so long as said policy is announced. Excomm may amend the temporary policy at any time. If the temporary policy is approved over the conflicting policy in a house vote, it shall replace the conflicting policy permanently and no longer be governed by the terms specified in this paragraph. If the original conflict no longer exists, Excomm can choose to either hold a vote between the original and temporary policies or to simply revert to the original policy.
-===== Amending and Interpreting this Document =====
+**SECTION 3.02 - RECALL VOTES**
-In cases of question, Excomm is responsible for providing a reasonable interpretation of this document and other house policies.
+A recall vote is held to remove an officer from a house position or to amend or remove a house policy or portion of the bylaws. A recall vote is initiated by the creation of a petition that will designate either:
-Other house policies can be passed by Excomm to govern policies and actions of the house. In the absence of established policy, decisions can be made based on precedent and discretion of relevant officers.
+(A) The officer to be removed from office
-Any proposed amendment or ratification of these bylaws shall pass only if supported by 2/3rds of people who cast non-abstaining votes.
+(B) The house policy or bylaw to be amended or removed, with adequate explanation of the reason, and if applicable, a proposal for the new house policy or bylaw.
-<color #ffffff>THE SECRETARY SHALL BE THE HOUSE’S CHAMPION. THE ORIGINAL BEING THE ALMIGHTY CHAMPION DMAG!!!! LONG LIVE THE CHAMPION!
+(C) The petition must be signed by 10 full members to qualify for a house vote. After such a petition is obtained, a house vote will be held and concluded within 7 days of the submission of the petition. To recall the officer in question, the vote requires the approval of 2/3rds of voters who cast non-abstaining votes.
+**SECTION 3.03 - HOUSE VOTES**
+House votes are required for the following:
+(A) significant changes to house membership types, roompicks procedures, duties of any Dabney office, or house dues - unless such changes are mandated by a higher authority (ORE, IHC, etc)
+(B) or by petition of 10 full members
+House votes must be open to all full members and in rare circumstances can be opened to other types of membership with consent of full members via vote. Excomm is responsible for fairly administering house votes.
+The proposed full text of any house vote must be made available to all voting members prior to the opening of the vote. Votes must then be open for at least 72 hours before closing. All voting members must be granted reasonable access to vote, change their vote before the close of the voting period, and cast an absentee ballot. A house vote passes with the approval of 2/3rds of voters who cast non-abstaining votes.
+**SECTION 3.04 - MEMBERSHIP VOTE**
+A membership vote occurs to approve applications for Dabney membership. A span of at least 72 hours is required between the membership application and membership meeting - a meeting during which the application is discussed and voting is opened. Voting procedure documentation is maintained by the Secretary as an addendum to the Bylaws. Excomm is responsible for fairly administering membership votes.
+**
+SECTION 3.05 - EXCOMM VOTE**
+For house policies not covered by the bylaws, Excomm may propose policy and vote to approve the implementation. Votes are carried by majority, the President, Vice President, Secretary, Social VPs (as a unit), and Steward each have a vote, for a total of 5 votes. Excomm votes require a quorum of three voting members - only one Social VP is required to cast the vote allocated to the Social VPs; thus, one or both Social VPs can be considered a voting member.
+**SECTION 3.06 - GENERAL VOTE**
+General votes are used for circumstances not covered by the other described forms of voting. The proposed full text of any general vote must be made available to all voting members prior to the opening of the vote. Votes must then be open for at least 24 hours before closing. All voting members must be granted reasonable access to vote, change their vote before the close of the voting period, and cast an absentee ballot.
+A general vote passes with a simple majority (>50%) of voters who cast non-abstaining votes. Excomm is responsible for fairly administering house votes. An example of a measure requiring a general vote would be for the approval of a mural application.
+===== ARTICLE 4 - AMENDMENTS AND INTERPRETATION =====
+**SECTION 4.01 - TEMPORARY POLICY**
+Exceptions to the policy outlined in the bylaws or any part of house policy may be enacted in the following circumstances:
+(A) any house policy or part of the bylaws become impossible to enact without violating any applicable laws or Institute policy (communicated verbally or in writing)
+(B) Any house policy causes direct and significant harm to any person’s well-being
+In cases of exception, Excomm may create a temporary policy to supersede the original policy without consulting the house so long as said policy is announced within 48 hours of the creation of the temporary policy. Excomm may amend the temporary policy at any time and will announce the amendment within 48 hours.
+**SECTION 4.02 - AMENDMENTS**
+Temporary policies may be approved over the conflicting policy in a house vote. In these circumstances, it shall officially replace the conflicting policy. If the original conflict no longer exists, Excomm may choose either to hold a house vote between policies or to revert to the original policy.
+In cases of question, Excomm is responsible for providing a reasonable interpretation of this document and other house policies. Excomm has a responsibility to provide reasonably accessible documentation of the bylaws and other house policies. Addendums to the Bylaws are approved by a vote of Excomm or the House and should describe all other major house policies - including any documentation relevant to dues, roompicks, additional membership types, and voting procedure.
+<color #002200>
+SECRETARY SHALL BE THE HOUSE’S CHAMPION. THE ORIGINAL BEING THE ALMIGHTY CHAMPION DMAG!!!! LONG LIVE THE CHAMPION!
 Special thanks to Catrin for preserving this important message
 Cayla shall be known hereto as Honorary Champion and granted all rights of the house champion.
+Aelin has unilaterally assumed the position of Last Champion. Long may it live!
 </color>