This document has a few purposes. It lays out the formal definition of how we operate, both to satisfy the university and to keep us organized during major disagreements.
Most importantly, though, the Hacks constitution should be a reminder of the core values of our culture. Reading between the lines will reveal some of the the thought process behind these rules for our operation - ideas like:
- Distributed decision making is good; it reduces the likelihood of mistakes.
- Orgs with strong executive boards rely on benevolent, passionate leaders. Orgs with weak executive boards rely on benevolent, passionate culture.
- There should be few obstacles to trying new ideas. Hackers and makers like to help one another.
- Hackers and makers practice popular vote by action. When they decide something should be done, they make it happen rather than over-deliberating.
- Use good judgment. Don't be unreasonable, and fix what you break.
The rules set out in this document are meant to support student makers. If they become destructive of that end, do not hesitate to amend them.
Good luck. We're all counting on you.
The name of this organization shall be NU Hacks of Northeastern University, hereafter referred to as NU Hacks or Hacks.
Hacks is an advocacy group for student makers. Hacks is a social catalyst and a percolator for projects. It exists to inspire “awesome”: to promote innovation, creativity, and collaboration in all its forms. Hacks is a place to make things, meet people, and miss out on sleep.
NU Hacks does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, color, gender, gender identity, religion, religious creed, genetics, sex, age, ancestry, veteran status, disability, or sexual orientation.
Membership will be open to all full-time undergraduate students.
Graduate students, part-time undergraduate students, College of Professional Studies students, and non-Northeastern affiliates may become associate members by paying a membership fee that is set by the Hacks Advisory board, but will not exceed $1 per semester. Associate members are not eligible to vote or hold any position within this organization by either election or appointment.
NU Hacks will maintain a membership of at least twelve (12) members at all times.
All officers will be responsible for knowing and understanding the information in the Student Organization Handbook, the Code of Student Conduct, the Guide to Residence Hall Living, and all other published university policies.
All officers must be undergraduate students at Northeastern University.
The officers of NU Hacks shall be President and Treasurer. The President is only to be known as such for the purposes of the university; they are to be referred to as 'Liaison' within Hacks whenever possible to prevent the perception of power and hierarchy.
- Presides
- books rooms for meetings and other Hacks activities
- supports Hacks members in their activities with the resources of the club
The treasurer is in charge of
- finances and financial bookkeeping
- supporting fundraising efforts
- attending required Student Activities Business Office required meetings when others cannot
These definitions are to be interpreted somewhat narrowly, as these roles exist only to sustain the normal operation of the club and satisfy the University. As much decision making power as is practical should remain with the Advisory Board, which can delegate duties as needed to accomplish specific goals.
The Liaison (President) and Treasurer are governed by an advisory board comprised of all active members. If the advisory board reaches a consensus that either the Liason or Treasurer is no longer carrying out duties in the best interests of NU Hacks, the offending officer can be removed from office. This process is defined in Article 7 Section 4.
In the event that an officer is killed, removed from office, resigns, or otherwise ceases to be an officer of the club, a special election will be held as soon as possible to replace them. In the event that the interests of the club require the office to be filled before the special election can occur, the Advisory Board may optionally appoint a temporary officer to fill the position until the election.
Both officer positions must be filled by separate members - the Liaison and Treasurer offices may not be held by the same person simultaneously.
[TODO explain consensus in 'parliamentary procedure' section]
[TODO How can or can't an individual represent Hacks? What kinds of executive decisions are made by consensus/plurality/majority? This is actually really important. Right now the doc describes an organization that's still very approval-heavy. We need a dash of 'hey, just go do shit and we'll veto if we don't like it.']
The advisor to NU Hacks must be a full-time faculty or staff member at Northeastern. The advisor will be an ex-officio, non-voting member on all committees of NU Hacks.
The advisor will be responsible for financial oversight by signing all financial forms for the Student Activities Business Office.
Elections will be sufficiently publicized to all members 2 weeks in advance.
The term of office shall be one year, from the beginning of summer 1 semester through the end of the spring semester of the following year.
The candidate nomination process will take place place during the 2 weeks before and including the day of the election. Members may nominate others or themselves, with self-nominations requiring a second.
Information about nominated candidates is to be posted conspicuously for the inspection of the voting membership. At a minimum, this information will include the candidate's name and the position for which they are running.
Information about nominated candidates is to be posted conspicuously for the inspection of the voting membership. At a minimum, this information will include the candidate's name and the position for which they are running.
Each position will be voted on separately. The voting process will begin with the Liaison (President), then proceed to the Treasurer. A nominee who is not voted into the original office for which they were nominated may then be nominated for any of the remaining offices. A short time period is to be allotted between the votes for each office to allow for such nominations.
A nominee is voted into office by obtaining a simple majority of votes via the instant-runoff process. The instant-runoff process is defined as follows:
Ballots are initially distributed based on each elector's first preference. If a candidate secures more >than half of votes cast, that candidate wins. Otherwise, the candidate with the fewest votes is >eliminated. Ballots assigned to the eliminated candidate are recounted and assigned to those of the >remaining candidates who rank next in order of preference on each ballot. This process continues until >one candidate wins by obtaining more than half the votes. From Wikipedia
Only Voting Members are eligible to vote in elections. Current members are assumed to be voting members by default. If a person attempts to cast a vote, and their status as a Voting Member is challenged by another member of NU Hacks, their status as a Voting Member will be verified. If they are found not to be a Voting Member, they may not vote.
If five current members of Hacks affirm that an individual is an active member of Hacks, then the aforementioned individual is in fact an active member of Hacks. They are a Voting Member for the purposes of elections and all Hacks parliamentary process.
The Hacks Advisory Board is composed of all members, and enjoys all powers of the club that are not specifically delegated to an officer. These include, among other things, organizing events, appropriating funds for events, and generally guiding the direction of the club. These powers can be delegated. For example, the Advisory Board may appoint a member to handle the organization of a particular event or events rather than handling the entire process by voting.
Robert's Rules of Order will be the guide for all organizational procedures not specifically defined in the Constitution or by-laws of Hacks.
Quorum will be 50% of total current Voting Members, rounded up to the nearest integer.
Officers may be removed by the a 2/3 majority vote of current Voting Members. In the event that the Advisory Board removes an officer, the procedure for replacing that officer will be the same as if they had resigned voluntarily.
The by-laws and constitution can be amended by a 2/3 majority vote of current Voting Members.
Notice of the proposed amendment must be presented in writing at least one meeting prior to the vote. The text of the amendment must be posted conspicuously for the inspection of the Voting Members.
In the interest of transparency, efficiency, and fun, the primary voting process for amendments will be pull request. Voting Members seeking to edit the constitution will submit a pull request with their changes, [TODO Let's figure this out. I think it would be really cool to do amendments by PR (this is in a repo, after all), but I'm not sure how the actual voting works. Should we have people submit a PR and then vote on it traditionally at the meeting, or should we let people vote in the comments. I like the comments, but what if the submitter modifies the amendment after people cast their votes?]
The Hacks Advisory Board may opt instead to hold a traditional vote with paper ballots. However, this decision must be made at least one meeting prior to the vote and must be well-publicized to current Voting Members.