Spartasoft - Constitution

Constitution of Spartasoft, the MSU Student Game Programming Group

Article I: NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1. The name of this organization shall be Spartasoft.

Section 2. The purpose of this organization is to give students the opportunity to learn about the art and science of computer game development. The group will allow students to expand their skills and gain experience in various aspects of game development and provide assistance in building a career in game development. The group will also function to lobby for further university curriculum concerning game development and the subset of skills needed to be involved in that field.

Article II: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Participation in this organization is open to both students and non-students, however only Michigan State University students shall be voting members or officers of the organization. This organization shall not discriminate on the basis of age, color, gender, handicapper status, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status or weight.

Section 2. A person may become a participant in this organization by the merit of being subscribed to the mailing list and attending/helping with a Spartasoft function. A participant becomes a voting member by being an MSU student, having attended at least 3 Spartasoft meetings and having attended at least 1 official club event. Only voting members and officers will be listed on the website and officially recognized by Spartasoft. Only voting members and officers are entitled to Spartasoft resources. Voting membership shall be evaluated on a semester to semester basis.

Article III: OFFICERS

Section 1. The officers of this organization shall consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Webmaster, and Public Relations. No person shall hold more than two of these offices concurrently. Terms of all offices shall run for at least one year from end of Spring Semester to the end of the next Spring Semester.

Section 2. Officers shall be elected at the first regularly scheduled meeting after April 1st. Officers shall be nominated by the voting membership for a period of up to thirty days prior to that meeting. Election shall be by a majority of the voting members in attendance of the meeting scheduled for the election of officers. Election shall be by secret ballot, in which voting members anonymously choose their preferred candidate. A special election may be held to fill a vacancy no sooner than one regular meeting after the vacancy occurs, except for the President whose term will be completed by the Vice-President.

Section 3. The duty of the President will be to maintain any necessary communication between the organization and the University and to preside over meetings or to appoint a pro-tem chairman. The Vice-President shall conduct the duties of the President if he or she is absent or otherwise unable to satisfactorily perform such duties. The duties of the Secretary shall be to keep an accurate account of the organization, to record votes of the organization and to assist the President in necessary communications between the organization and the membership or the University. The duties of the Webmaster shall be to maintain the organization's web site, update it on a regular basis, maintain the web server which includes updates, backups and any other related activities. The duties of the Public Relations officer shall be to cultivate relationships with other organizations, including other MSU clubs, local and national businesses. They must also organize Spartasoft events including press releases, date & time and communicating that to membership and maintaining a list of needs for the event.

Section 4. An officer may be removed from office for losing status as a voting member of the organization or for failure to perform the duties specified for the office. A vote by a two-thirds majority of the voting membership in attendance or unanimous vote by officers (not including the officer in review) is necessary to remove an officer. Officers may resign at any time.

Article IV: OPERATING PROCEDURES

Section 1. Meeting of the organization shall occur weekly at a time and place determined by the President. The President shall also schedule a meeting at a time and location as requested by a majority of voting members, pursuant to the availability of the location at the specified time.

Section 2. The start of each meeting will be designated for Spartasoft business. Exceptions will be made for guest speakers and special events. All additional time will be used for content (i.e. tutorials, demos, etc).

Article V: AMENDMENTS

Section 1. Any voting member may propose amendments to this Constitution.

Section 2. A motion to amend this Constitution may be made at any regularly scheduled meeting. The Organization shall vote on the proposed amendment at the next regularly scheduled meeting occurring at least seven days subsequent to the proposal to amend. A member may also notify, in writing at least 10 days before the next scheduled meeting that he or she wishes to be placed on the agenda with an amendment proposal. A member proposing an amendment must furnish a copy of the amendment to the general membership at least five calendar days before the scheduled business meeting for which the amendment is to come before the membership.

Section 3. A proposed amendment to this Constitution shall be adopted if approved by a two-thirds majority of the voting members of the organization.

Section 4. Officers may make amendments to this Constitution during the break between formal school years, which occurs between the end of Spring Semester and the beginning of Fall Semester. Amendments made by officers may only be ratified by a unanimous vote of all officers before the school year officially begins at the start of the Fall Semester.