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2006 Constitution

Royal Holloway Student Union (SURHUL) The Institute For Impure Science (IFIS) (Science Fiction and Fantasy) Society Constitution

1. Name & Date
1.1 The name of the Society shall be SURHUL IFIS hereafter referred to as the Society
1.2 Month and year this form was filled in: October 2006
2. MEMBERSHIP
2.1 Membership of the Society shall be open to all members of SURHUL in accordance with the SURHUL Constitution.
2.2 The Society shall have at least 20 members who are all full members of SURHUL.
2.3 All members are required to pay a membership fee for the year. The Student Activities Department will set a minimum requirement. In addition Society members will be required to pay for Student Activities Membership; the Society Committee in conjunction with the Student Activities Department sets this amount.
3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aims and objectives of the Society shall be:
A furtherance and encouragement of an interest in the works of science fiction and fantasy, and a furtherance and encouragement of all science fiction and fantasy related activities, such as laserquest, relevant student union function nights, science fiction and, or fantasy related talks. To promote discussion of science fiction and fantasy related topics on a bulletin board set up for the purpose and to create and maintain a magazine, which may be contributed to by IFIS members. To have fun whilst carrying out all of the previously mentioned things, and, above all to uphold what its members desire, because a society is nothing without its members. To expand and grow with the changing times.
4. COMMITTEE
4.1 The Society shall have a committee consisting of the following mandatory positions
  1. President
  2. Secretary
  3. Treasurer
Any additional positions of responsibility required shall only be elected with the consent of the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development).
4.2 The role of the committee is to manage all aspects of the Society's administration and activity. The committee shall not work autonomously. Planning activities, buying equipment and administering other Society matters must satisfy all members and the Student Activities Department. The committee will be elected at least 2 weeks before the end of the spring term, and will not serve for longer than one year without re-election. There must be a member of the Societies Federation Committee or Executive Committee present at the elections, which should be held at the Society Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Student Activities Department should be notified of any elections held, at least two weeks in advance of the date and all elections must be advertised across campus and to all members of the Society for a period of two weeks prior to the election date.
5. Duties of Committee Members
5.1 The President shall:
  1. Be responsible for the constitutional running of the Society.
  2. Chair the AGM and any other relevant meetings.
  3. Be responsible for the administration and co-ordination of all the Society activities and to ensure that the Society meets all SURHUL requirements.
  4. Attend Committee Training in person, non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development) at least 24 hours in advance.
  5. Attend all General Meetings in person, non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Constitution Officer or the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development) at least 24 hours in advance. If the President is unable to attend, then either the Society's Secretary or Treasurer must attend in their place.
  6. Attend all Societies Councils in person, non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Societies Federation Officer or the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development) at least 24 hours in advance. If the President is unable to attend, then either the Society's Secretary or Treasurer must attend in their place
  7. Attend all Category Forums in person, non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Societies Federation Officer or the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development).
  8. If a President misses two compulsory meetings of any type in one academic term, without adequate warning or reason given to the Societies Federation Officer or the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development), then they will have been assumed to have resigned from their position. The emergency election procedure will then be initiated to elect a new president.
  9. Ensure that a report of the governance of the Society is submitted to the Student Activities Department at the end of each academic term. The structure of this report shall be defined by the Student Activities Department.
  10. Ensure that the Society does not contravene the SURHUL Constitution, Regulations or Policy, any regulations of the Student Activities Department or the Society's own constitution.
  11. Ensure that Students' Union news, events and information is passed on to all members effectively and efficiently.
  12. Be responsible for completing Risk Assessment forms for all the Society's Activities and submitting them to the Student Activities Department by the set date. Training for this will be provided by the Students' Union and must be attended.
5.2 The Secretary shall:
  1. Keep a full list of membership and ensure that all are full members of SURHUL. This must be submitted to the Student Activities Department in the appropriate format no longer than two weeks after Freshers' Week of that year.
  2. Keep a record of all meetings held and minutes of these, which shall be available to all members of the Society and the Student Activities Department if requested.
  3. Be responsible for ensuring regular monitoring of the Society pigeon hole and ensuring that all information is dealt with correctly by the Society representatives.
  4. Attend Committee Training in person, non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development) at least 24 hours in advance.
  5. Attend all Category Forums in person if requested by the Societies Federation Committee, non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Societies Federation Officer or the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development) at least 24 hours in advance.
  6. If the Secretary misses two mandatory meetings of any type in one academic term without adequate warning or reason given to the Societies Federation Officer or the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development), then disciplinary action may be taken against them.
  7. Keep an up-to-date inventory of equipment owned by the Society.
  8. Keep a file of all Society correspondence for the current year and the previous two years.
  9. Be familiar with all student union (SU) procedures regarding administration of the Society.
  10. Co-ordinate the social activities of the Society.
  11. Be responsible for completing Risk Assessment forms for the society's activities, and
  12. submitting them to the Student Activities department by the set date. Be responsible for regularly publicising the Society's activities and achievements through the available media outlets.
5.3 The Treasurer shall:
  1. Keep a record of and oversee all financial transactions of the Society.
  2. Submit a financial report budget application to the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development) as required annually.
  3. Present a report on the Society's finances to the AGM.
  4. Collect and pay in all Membership Fees for all members of the Society.
  5. Collect and pay in all annual fees for all members of the Society.
  6. Be responsible for submitting all claims made by society members.
  7. Attend Committee Training in person, non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development) at least 24 hours in advance.
  8. Attend all Category Forums in person if requested by the Societies Federation Committee, non-attendance is only pe and expenditure for the following year, to be submitted by the date set by the Student Activities Department.
  9. If the Treasurer misses two mandatory meetings of any type in one academic term without adequate warning or reason given to the Societies Federation Officer or the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development), then disciplinary action may be taken against them.
6. FINANCE
6.1 The Society shall follow all SURHUL financial guidelines, and shall ensure that all monies are handled through the respective SURHUL accounts.
6.2 No external bank accounts are allowed for any society.
6.3 The incoming and outgoing Treasurers of the Society will complete an annual budget form detailing the year's income and expenditure, and predicted income and expenditure for the following year, to be submitted by the date set by the Student Activities Department.
6.4 The Society President and Treasurer shall endeavour to secure external sponsorship for the Society, following the Students' Union Sponsorship Guidelines and with the assistance of the Societies Federation Committee Sponsorship Officer.
6.5 The Society shall participate in at least one event during the course of the year, which is in aid of RAG.
6.6 Continue as Required...
7. SAFETY
7.1 The Society will follow all guidelines laid down by SURHUL, the College Health & Safety Office, and the Societies Safety Framework.
7.2 The Society President will complete risk assessments to be updated annually, and consider the risks for all activities, responding according to the guidelines laid down by SURHUL, the College Safety Officers, and the Sports Safety Framework.
7.3 The Society President is responsible for ensuring that the Student Activities Department is informed of all accidents and incidents.
7.4 Incident reports must be completed and submitted to the Student Activities Department by the next working day, except in exceptional circumstances.
7.5 The Society must ensure that all of its members have Student Activities Membership.
8. MEETINGS
8.1 The Committee will hold regular meetings (at least two per term) to administer the Society's activities. Any member of the Society is entitled to view any committee meeting, unless a closed meeting has been agreed with the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development). Only committee members may vote at these meetings.
8.2 The Society will hold an AGM at least two weeks before the end of the Spring Term, during which the following will take place:
  • The Society Constitution will be approved by all members.
  • Elections for the following Year's Committee will take place in accordance with SURHUL guidelines.
  • Each committee member will deliver an outgoing report of the year.
All members must be given at least two weeks notice of this meeting. The Student Activities Department must be informed of this meeting and a member of the Societies Federation Committee, Athletic Union Committee or Executive Committee must be present for the elections.
8.3 An Extraordinary General Meeting must be held if requested by at least 10% of the membership there must be notice period of at least 24 hours before the EGM and all members of the Society and the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development) must be informed.
8.4 Quorum at a Society General Meeting will be 25% of membership or 20 members whichever is the smaller.
9. DISCIPLINE
9.1 Failure of the Society or its members to comply with the SURHUL Constitution, Regulations or Policy may result in disciplinary action against the Society.
9.2 Failure of a elected representative of the society to attend a second mandatory meeting will result in disciplinary action being taken against them by the Vice President (Sports, Societies and Development).
9.3 The failure of Society committee members in fulfilling their mandated duties shall result in the Society not being eligible for Society awards.
9.4 Failure of any elected representative of the Society to attend a second mandatory meeting in one academic term without adequate warning or reason given to the Societies Federation Officer or the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development), then disciplinary action may be taken against them.
9.5 Failure of a Society member to adhere to the Society Constitution and the SURHUL Constitution, regulations code of Practice or Guidelines may with the agreement of the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development) result in one of the following actions being taken by the committee:
  • A written caution
  • Exclusion from Society Activities
  • Expulsion from the Society Committee
  • SU Disciplinary Action
10. GENERAL DIRECTIVES
10.1 No function or event may be held simultaneously with a General Meeting or Societies Council without seeking permission of the Executive Committee. Responsibility for all arrangements concerned with planned activities lies with the individual society.
10.4 The Society must make itself aware of College safety regulations in force for individual rooms and must comply with all safety regulations issued by the College, SURHUL and the Sports Safety Framework.
10.8 The Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development) may demand to see a general report of any Society activity and/or list of Society members at any time. Failure to produce either of these may lead to disciplinary action.
10.9 Members of SURHUL who are not full members of the Students' Union may join the Society. All members must also purchase Student Activities Membership.
10.10 Members of SURHUL who are not full members of the Students' Union may join any society. It should be noted that in exceptional cases, Health & Safety or Insurance regulations may limit the activities of an Associate or Life Member.
11. DECLARATION
11.1 The Society committee and all it's members shall abide by the SU Constitution, and any rules laid down by the Vice President (Sports, Societies & Development) at all times.
11.2 All activities conducted by the Society are a reflection upon SURHUL and consequently Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL). The Society will not therefore conduct any activity that has not been approved by SURHUL.

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