Next Meeting: No meetings until after winter break

Information:

Constitution and Bylaws of the Game Creation Society

Ratified May 2, 2008


I.  Mission Statement and Objectives

The Game Creation Society is an organization to facilitate the student development of video games. To this end, the organization will provide:

II.  Membership

Both graduate and undergraduate students may join the organization. The organization seeks to foster creativity and diversity and will not discriminate against its members unfairly.

The Game Creation Society follows the Carnegie Mellon Statement of Assurance, available at: http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/SoA.html

III.  Officer Roles and Responsibilities

President

The President serves at the lead initiator, charged with delegation of tasks to the other officers, organizing regular meetings, and protecting the interests of the organization.

Director of Development

The Director of Development maintains the organization’s framework for video game development and serves a role similar to that of Executive Producer for all projects.

Public Relations Lead

The Public Relations Lead organizes events and guest lectures, looks after the public face of the organization, and actively recruits for the organization.

Communication Administrator

The Communication Administrator maintains the organization’s website and mailing list.

System Administrator

The System Administrator maintains the organization’s file and web server.

Treasurer

The Treasurer manages and grows club finances. Duties include fund raising, approval of any in/outgoing funds, and applying for organization funding each year.


Officers reserve the right to find outside help or create additional non-officer positions if need be. The President has the right to either accept or appoint tasks to other officers if the task is not clearly defined within the roles of one of the officers.

IV.  Voting

The following definitions pertain to voting:

Club Member

An individual that currently participates on an active project or regularly attends general meetings.

Quorum

The lesser of 20 club members or two-thirds of the total membership.


Unless specifically noted otherwise, any vote or election must occur during a general meeting with at least a quorum in attendance. Votes must be announced on the mailing list prior to the meeting at which the vote will take place. All attending members may vote in that procedure. Votes are public if not specified.

V.  Selection of Officers

Officer terms run from the start of the spring semester to the end of the following fall semester. A member may serve more than one position during a given term.

Nominations and elections occur at the end of the fall semester. One member must nominate another member for a specific position. A member may nominate themselves. Nominations for a particular position are closed one week preceding the election for that position.

Elections for all positions need not occur during the same meeting. During an election, candidates may give a short speech to the membership, during which time other candidates running for the same position will be asked to leave the room. All candidates will be brought into the room for a general question and answer session during which questions may be directed to a specific candidate. After answering, other candidates will be given an opportunity to present a short response. After the question and answer session, candidates will be asked to leave the room and a private discussion will be held amongst the membership. Then members will each cast a private vote.

The candidate with the highest number of votes wins the election. If there is more than one candidate for a given position, the victor may decline the position if he or she wins another position, in which case the candidate with the next highest number of votes is given the position.

The president will moderate these election procedures. During an election in which the president is a candidate, another member, chosen by the officers, will moderate the elections in his place.

VI.  Removal and Replacement of Officers

An officer may resign from their position, if necessary. If a member wishes to remove an officer, he must make a motion. Another member must second the motion, in which case a vote is held. A two-thirds majority vote is required to remove the officer. The officer in question cannot be present for the vote and may be asked to leave for a portion of the discussion. The vote will be private.

In the event that an officer position becomes vacant during the term of office for any reason, the President can appoint a club member to fill a vacant position temporarily. If the vacancy is the Presidency itself, then the remaining officers appoint a club member to fill the vacancy. At the soonest possible time, a special election will be held to fill the vacancy. Normal elections procedures will be in effect, with the exception that nominations may take place on the day of the election before the election procedure begins. If the Presidency is the vacant position, another member, chosen by the officers, will moderate the elections. Officers elected in such a manner will serve out the remainder of the original term, i.e. until the end of the fall semester.

VII.  Revising this Document

Proposed changes to the constitution cannot take effect without two-thirds majority vote. Officers reserve the right to make any decisions that are necessary to improve the club and to perform their duties that do not conflict with resolutions within this document.

VIII.  Protocol Document

The development protocol of the organization is detailed in the document entitled “Game Creation Society Development Protocol”. That document carries as much weight as the constitution in any matter that does not conflict with resolutions within the constitution. As such, it requires a two-thirds majority vote for any modifications to take effect.

Announcements