I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

To serve as an umbrella organization, coordinating group projects between all campus departments and organizations dealing with public affairs and the philosphical and rhetorical aspects of the dialogue surrounding those issues.

II. MEETINGS

Attendance at all Union meetings will be open to the community-at-large.  Meetings will be held in the first week of each term, and other meetings can be called at any time by a Member Organization.  When a Member Organization calls a meeting, that organization must make arrangements for the time, place, and a record of the minutes, and forward that information to the Secretary. Other meetings may also be called by the Secretary.  Meetings require attendance of 2/3 of the current Member Organization.

III. MEMBERSHIP

Any registered Stanford student organization or academic department may send Representatives to meetings.   Attendance at the first meeting, or thereafter at the second consecutive meeting, deems an organization Member status.  Each Member Organization deems two representatives to the Union, one of whom must be in attendance for the organization to be considered in attendance.  The Secretary will record as Representatives whomever the President of a Member Organization deems.  An organizaton loses Member status if it fails to attend two consecutive meetings.  Only Representatives may cast votes.  Member status is regained at the second of two consecutive attended meetings. Member Organizations get one vote each in the Union.

IV. PROJECTS

The Union will organize projects among its member organizations.  No project may be held which engages a topic of public affairs, wherein one organization (including the Union itself) with a particular platform, or a number of organizations with similar platforms along the spectrum of platforms normally part of the public dialogue on the topic, is given dominant access to the resources of that project.  Similarly, the Union may not as a body ally with a platformed party outside Stanford University.

V. ADMINSTRATORS

There will be three types of Union administrators, the Secretary, Treasurer. and the Project Directors.

The Secretary will be elected by majority at the first meeting each term.  Any registered student may run for Secretary.  The Secretary's duties are as follows: first, to act as the authorized representative for the Union; second, to call and preside over the monthly meetings and any other meetings when it seems fit; third, to disseminate publicly and to all Member Organizations a Weekly Report of activity in the Union.  The Weekly Report must contain the following: a complete statement of financial transactions for the week; a detailed account of all business conducted in each Union project, and all business predicted until the next report; minutes from any Union meetings; a running tally of all the Member Organizations; and an agenda for Union meetings during the week.

The Treasurer acts as bookkeeper for the Union and signs all funding, as so authorized by the Secretary and Project Directors.

The Project Directors will be elected at the first meeting each term along with the budget (see Sec. VI).  Any Stanford Student may be a Project Director.  Project Directors must be revoted each term.  If a Member volunteers to direct a new project after the first meeting of the term, the Secretary may appoint him or her as a Project Director and assign Discretionary Funding (see Sec. VI).  Project Directors' duties are as follows: to have authority over all aspects of the project, including all spending that is not allotted by line-item by the Union budget; to report to the Secretary all project business and financial transactions; to finish the project in a manner and schedule reasonably similar to that proposed.

In the absence of the Secretary, meetings will be presided over by random draw of a representative of a Member Organization.  Administrators may be impeached at any point in the term by a 3/4 vote.  The Secretary must be replaced immediately anywhere in the term following impeachment.  Impeached Project Directors may be replaced in the middle of the term.

VI. FUNDING

At the first meeting of the term, the outgoing Secretary (see Sec. VI) gives an updated budget report. Following this the new Secretary is elected. The new Secretary calls each candidate for Project Director to propose his or her project and projected budget. Then the Secretary proposes how much he or she will require for discretionary spending.  Each project is voted upon by ballot.  The projects are then voted upon in order from highest to lowest, gaining approval on a 3/4 vote.  After the projects are voted upon, the Union votes to allot money to the Secretary as discretionary spending.  Finances for both projects and discretionary spending may be voted upon in a line-item budget.

Each Member Organization will be asked to volunteer donations to the Union.  Funding may also come from other sources, including shifts at the Stanford Fund, donations, and so forth.  The Union may not accept donations from any platformed party outside Stanford, or on any condition of partisanship.

VII. AMENDMENTS

This Constitution may be amended at any time by a 3/4 vote of the Union.

VIII. DISSOLUTION

Should the Union dissolve, all Union property and uncommitted funds will be split equally among the Member Organizations at the time of the dissolution.

Draft #2  Sept. 15, 1998