Constitution

1. Name

The name of this organization shall be the "Computer Science Club of the University of Waterloo".

2. Purpose

  1. The Club is organized and will be operated exclusively for educational and scientific purposes in furtherance of:
    1. promoting an increased knowledge of computer science and its applications;
    2. providing a means of communication between persons having interest in computer science.
    3. promoting a greater interest in computer science and its applications; and
  2. The above purposes will be fulfilled by the organization of discussions and lectures with professionals and academics in the field of computer science and related fields, the maintenance of a library of materials related to computer science, the maintenance of an office containing the library as an aid to aim (1.3) above, and such other means as decided by the club membership.

3. Membership

  1. In compliance with MathSoc regulations and in recognition of the club being primarily targeted at undergraduate students, full membership is open to all Social Members of the Mathematics Society and restricted to the same.
  2. Affiliate membership in this Club shall be open to all members of the University community, including alumni. Affiliate members shall have all the rights of full members except for the rights of voting and holding executive office.
  3. Membership shall be accounted for on a termly basis, where a term begins at the start of lectures in Winter or Spring, and at the start of Orientation Week in Fall.
  4. A person is not a member until he or she has paid the current membership fee and has been enrolled in the member database. A person must only be enrolled after paying the current membership fee, unless they are not a current undergraduate student at the University and the Executive grants them honorary membership free of charge. The termly membership fee is set from time to time by the Executive. Under conditions approved by the Executive, a member who purchases a membership at the end of the current term may be given membership for both the current term and the next term. If the membership fee changes, then this does not affect the validity of any membership terms already paid for.
  5. The Club may grant access to its systems, either free of charge or for a fee, to members of the University community in order to offer them services. This does not constitute membership.

4. Officers

  1. The officers of the Club shall be:
    1. President
    2. Vice-President
    3. Assistant Vice-President
    4. Treasurer
    5. Systems Administrator
  2. There shall additionally be a Faculty Advisor, selected by the Executive from time to time from among the faculty of the School of Computer Science. The Faculty Advisor shall be an ex-officio affiliate member of the Club.
  3. The choice of officers shall be limited to full members of the Club.
  4. All officers, other than the Systems Administrator, shall be elected at a meeting to be held no later than two weeks after the start of lectures in each term.
  5. The election of officers shall be accomplished by the following procedure:
    1. Before the end of the prior term, the then-Executive shall choose a willing Chief Returning Officer, who is responsible for carrying out elections according to this procedure.
    2. The CRO shall set the date and time of the election meeting, and set the nomination period. The nomination shall be at least one week long and shall end at least 24 hours before the start of the election meeting.
    3. Announcements of the election and the nomination procedure must be distributed to all members by the members' mailing list.
    4. During the nomination period, the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) shall be available to receive nominations for the posts of officers of the club, either in person, by email, or by writing the nomination in a place in the CSC office to be specified by the CRO.
    5. A nomination shall consist of the nominee's userid, and post(s) nominated for. Nominees must be full members of the Computer Science Club. A member may decline a nomination at any point prior to the taking of the vote.
    6. Within 24 hours of the CRO receiving a nomination, the CRO must publicize the nomination, such as by writing it on the CSC office whiteboard.
    7. Each nominee shall make a platform and submit it to the CRO. Within 24 hours of the CRO receiving a platform from a nominee, the CRO must publicize the platform. Each nominee is also encouraged to publicize their platform on their own.
    8. The election shall commence with the offering of memberships for sale. After a reasonable time, control of the meeting is given to the CRO who will preside over the election of the President, Vice-President, Assistant Vice-President, and Treasurer, in that order.
    9. All nominees shall present their platforms. If a position has no nominees, then the CRO shall take nominations from the floor. Any present, eligible member can be nominated.
    10. Voting shall be by secret ballot, in a manner that is to be decided on by the CRO and agreed upon by the members at the meeting. A simple heads-down-hands-up method is considered acceptable.
    11. The CRO shall not vote except to break a tie.
    12. The CRO may, if feasible, accept absentee ballots from full members. No absentee vote from a member shall be counted if the member is present at the time the vote is taken. The CRO shall make a best effort to ensure that absentee ballots are compatible with the method of voting chosen; if this is not possible (for instance, if the CRO is overruled by the membership), then the absentee votes shall not be counted.
    13. Immediately after the vote is taken, the CRO will announce the results of the election and the winner will be removed from subsequent contests. If, due to a lack of candidates (because there were no nominations, or candidates withdrew or were eliminated), there is no one elected to an office, then the members at the meeting will decide whether or not to hold extra elections in accordance with the procedure for vacancies. If they choose not to, this does not prevent the Executive or a group of members from calling extra elections later in the term in accordance with the usual vacancy provisions.
  6. Following the elections, it is the responsibility of the new Executive to select a Systems Administrator. The selection of Systems Administrator must then be ratified by the members at the meeting. If a suitable Systems Administrator is not available, the duties of the Systems Administrator shall be carried out by the Systems Committee, with decisions made by consensus achieved on their mailing list.
  7. Any two offices may be held by a single person with the approval of the President (if any), and the explicit approval of the members.
  8. In the case of a resignation of an officer or officers, including the President, or if a vacancy occurs for any other reason, the Executive, members at a meeting, or any ten (10) members may call extra elections to replace such officer(s). If extra elections are held, they are held for all vacant offices.
  9. Whenever extra elections are held, they shall follow the usual election procedure. If they are held after elections failed to elect an officer, then the nomination period may be shortened to less than a week in order to allow the extra elections to take place at the same date and time in the following week. The Executive (or the ten (10) members who called the election) may appoint a replacement CRO if the previous CRO is unwilling or unable to fulfill their duties.

5. Duties of Officers

  1. The duties of the President shall be:
    1. to call and preside at all general, special, and executive meetings of the Club, except during the election of officers;
    2. to appoint special committees of the Club and the membership and chairs of such committees, with the approval of the Executive Council;
    3. to audit, or to appoint a representative to audit, the financial records of the club at the end of each academic term; and
    4. with the approval of the Faculty Advisor, rule on any point of procedure under the constitution that arises outside of a meeting.
  2. The duties of the Vice-President shall be:
    1. to assume the duties of the President in the event of the President's absence;
    2. to chair the Programme Committee;
    3. to appoint members to and remove members from the Programme Committee;
    4. to ensure that Club events are held regularly; and
    5. to assume those duties of the President that are delegated to them by the President.
  3. The duties of the Assistant Vice-President shall be:
    1. to keep minutes of all Club meetings;
    2. to care for all Club correspondence; and
    3. to manage any persons appointed to internal positions by the Executive.
  4. The duties of the Treasurer shall be:
    1. to collect dues and maintain all financial and membership records; and
    2. to produce a financial or membership statement when requested.
  5. The duties of the System Administrator shall be:
    1. to chair the Systems Committee;
    2. to appoint members to and remove members from the Systems Committee;
    3. to ensure that the duties of the Systems Committee are performed; and
    4. to act as a liaison for the CSC with CSCF, IST, and similar organizations.

6. Executive Council

  1. The Executive Council shall consist of the present officers of the Club and the Faculty Advisor (as a non-voting member) and has the power to run the affairs of this club within the limits of this constitution. This includes the power to overrule or issue directions to any officer.
  2. The Executive Council may appoint people to various positions to help manage the Club.
  3. If members provide any points of feedback to the Executive Council at a meeting, then the Executive Council shall respond to them.
  4. The Executive Council can act by consensus achieved on their mailing list.
  5. Minutes of the Executive Council meetings shall be made available for inspection by any member of the Club and shall be filed with the Club records. On request, a member shall be shown the archive of any thread on the Executive Council mailing list which resulted in a decision being made.

7. Committees

Programme Committee

  1. The Programme Committee shall be a standing committee chaired by the Vice-President.
  2. The Vice-President shall appoint and remove members to and from the Programme Committee as needed.
  3. The Programme Committee shall plan and arrange the events of the Club.
  4. The Programme Committee shall be responsible to the Executive Council and to the Vice-President.

Systems Committee

  1. The Systems Committee (syscom) shall be a standing committee, chaired by the Systems Administrator (sysadmin).
  2. New members to the Systems Committee shall be appointed at the Systems Administrator’s discretion. Members should only be appointed to the Systems Committee if they show interest and some existing ability in systems administration.
  3. Members should only be removed from the Systems Committee with cause, or when they no longer show interest in systems administration.
  4. When a member is added to or removed from the Systems Committee, the Systems Committee and the Executive must be notified via both mailing lists.
  5. The Systems Committee will collectively, under the leadership of the Systems Administrator,
    1. operate any and all equipment in the possession of the Club.
    2. maintain and upgrade the software on equipment that is operated by the Club.
    3. facilitate the use of equipment that is operated by the Club.
  6. Members of the Systems Committee shall have root access to the machines operated by the Club.

Web Committee

  1. The Web Committee (webcom) will be a standing committee, chaired by the Webmaster.
  2. The Webmaster shall appoint and remove members to and from the Web Committee as needed.
  3. The Web Committee shall maintain and develop the club website with infrastructure support from the Systems Committee, if necessary.

Other Committees

  1. The President, with approval of the Executive Council, may appoint such special committees as are deemed necessary.

8. Meetings

  1. A regular meeting of the Club shall be held each term. This meeting shall be called by the CRO and shall be the election meeting for that term.
  2. A special meeting for a motion to remove an executive from office may be called at any time deemed necessary by the Executive Council, by the Faculty Advisor, by any thirty (30) members, or by 1/3 of the Club membership if there are fewer than thirty (30) members.
  3. All members shall be notified at least two days prior to a forthcoming meeting of the meeting and of the business to be considered at that meeting. A message to the members' mailing list will be considered sufficient notification, though other forms of notification are also encouraged.
  4. The Club shall hold meetings only in places that are open to all members of the Club.
  5. The Club membership cannot act except at a general meeting.
  6. A quorum necessary for the conduct of business is defined as twenty-five (25) full members or 2/3 of the full membership, whichever is smaller. If an election meeting lacks quorum, then the inquorate meeting can set a date and time for the elections, and can choose to either run the new elections with the same nominations or with a new nomination period (which does not need to meet the usual minimum requirement).
  7. A motion to remove an officer, or to call new elections (except at a regular election meeting or in the case of vacancies), requires at least a week's notice; a quorum of fifty (50) full members or 2/3 of the full membership, whichever is smaller; and a 2/3 vote. Any other motion requires a majority vote.
  8. If a motion is defeated, it cannot be brought again for sixty (60) days.

9. Finances

  1. The Treasurer shall, each term, present to the Executive a financial statement for the previous term. They shall, before the end of the current term, ensure that the records are in a good condition to make this task as easy as possible for the next Treasurer.
  2. The Treasurer shall prepare a budget each term, to be presented to MathSoc, and shall be responsible to ensure that the Club is represented at the MathSoc budget meeting.
  3. The signing officers shall be the Treasurer, and one of the President or Vice-President.
  4. At the end of each term, the President or his/her representative shall ensure that the financial records are complete and accurate.

10. Amendments and Procedures

  1. A constitutional amendment can be initiated by the Executive Council or any thirty (30) members. The initiation shall involve making the amendment available for viewing, including in the CSC office.
  2. There shall be at least twenty-eight (28) days between the amendment's initiation and announcement of the finalized version. Members shall be provided an avenue to discuss the amendment throughout this time period.
  3. The finalized version of the amendment shall be announced to all members, taking place through email to the members' mailing list.
  4. A general meeting shall be held to consider the finalized version of the amendment at least seven (7) and no more than thirty (30) days after its announcement, which may be the regular meeting for the term, or a special meeting.
  5. A constitutional amendment requires a 2/3 vote for adoption.

11. Dissolution

  1. In the event of dissolution of the Club, all assets of the Club shall be transferred to the Mathematics Society of the University of Waterloo.

12. Code of Conduct

  1. The Club has a Code of Conduct.
  2. The scope of the Code of Conduct is specified by the Code of Conduct.
  3. Changes to the Code of Conduct are governed by the same rules as changes to the Constitution.

13. Use of Club Resources

  1. All resources under control of the Club are to be used in accordance with the aims of the Club.
  2. The President and Vice-President are jointly responsible for the proper use of all Club resources, except as otherwise specified by the Executive or this Constitution.
  3. The Systems Administrator is responsible for the proper use of all administrative access to Club computing resources.
  4. The Executive, via the Systems Administrator and the Systems Committee, are responsible for the proper use of all Club computing resources.
  5. Permission to use a resource is automatically granted to someone responsible for that resource, and optionally as determined by those responsible for a resource. Granting permission to someone to use a resource does not make that person responsible for the proper use of the resource, although the user is, of course, responsible to the person granting permission.

14. Revision

The latest revision of the constitution is effective January 11, 2024.