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2010 Constitution

All Societies affiliated to the Students' Union shall hold a Society constitution which shall read as follows:

1. Name and Date
1.1 The name of the Society shall be Royal Holloway Student Union (SURHUL) The Institute For Impure Science (IFIS), hereafter referred to as the Society.
1.2 Month and year this form was filled in: October 2010
2. Membership
2.1 Membership of the Society shall be open to all members of SURHUL in accordance with the Students' Union 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.
2.4 All Society members must purchase Student Activities Membership before joining the Society.
3. Aims and Objectives
3.1 The aims and objectives of the Society shall be determined by the Society individually and revised and re-submitted yearly to the Vice President (Student Activities). These aims should be written into the Society Development Pack.
4. Committee
4.1 The Society shall have a committee consisting of the following mandatory positions:
a. President
b. Secretary
c. Treasurer
And also the following non-mandatory position:
a.Librarian
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.
4.3 The committee will be elected at least two weeks before the end of the spring term and will not serve for longer than one year without re-election. The committee-elect will shadow the current committee for the duration of the summer term. There must be a member of the Student Activities Committee or Executive Committee present at the elections, which should be held at the Society's 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.
4.4 All Society elections must adhere to the rules and regulations outlined in Regulation B: Elections of the Students' Union Constitution.
4.5 The Committee has a joint responsibility to ensure that all information is effectively communicated both within the Society to its members, and to the Student Activities Department.
5. Duties of Committee Members
5.1 The President shall:
a. Be responsible for the constitutional running of the Society.
b. Chair the AGM and any other relevant meetings.
c. Be responsible for the administration and co-ordination of all the Society activities and to ensure that the Society meets all SURHUL requirements.
d. Be the point of contact between the Society and Vice President (Student Activities).
e. Attend Committee Training in person; non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Vice President (Student Activities) at least 24 hours in advance.
f. Attend all Societies Councils in person; non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Societies Officer or the Vice President (Student Activities) 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.
g. If a President misses two compulsory meetings of any type in one academic term, without adequate warning or reason given to the Secretary, Societies Officer or the Vice President (Student Activities), then they will have been assumed to have resigned from their position. If this situation arises the Secretary must contact the Vice President (Student Activities) immediately to initiate an emergency election procedure.
h. To ensure full committee presence at committee meetings, absence without apologies for more than two incidents must to be reported to both the Societies Officer and Vice President (Student Activities).
i. Ensure that the Society does not contravene the Students' Union Constitution, Regulations or Policy, any regulations of the Student Activities Department or the Society's own Constitution.
j. Be responsible for ensuring that the Society is regularly publicising its activities and achievements through the available media.
k. Actively continue to seek to secure sponsorship for the Society.
l. 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.
m. Ensure that Students' Union news, events and information is passed on to all members effectively and efficiently.
n. Review the Society Constitution and send revised copies to both Societies Officer and Vice President (Student Activities).
o. Should be responsible for all booking Students' Union and College Rooms for the Club. Bookings should be submitted no shorter than one week in advance via e-mail to the Student Activities Manager, unless exceptional circumstances exist.
p. Shall attend General Meetings, unless apologies have been received at least 24 hours in advance or a substitute representative has been nominated to attend in place of the Club President.
q. Ensure the librarian's duties are delegated evenly among the committee if no librarian has been elected.
5.2 The Secretary shall:
a. 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 one month after Freshers' Week of that year.
b. 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.
c. Be responsible for ensuring regular monitoring of the Society post delivered to the Students' Union and ensure that all information is dealt with correctly by the Society officers.
d. Attend Committee Training in person; non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Vice President (Student Activities) at least 24 hours in advance.
e. If the Secretary misses two mandatory meetings of any type (including committee meetings) in one academic term without adequate warning or reason given to the President, they may face disciplinary action.
f. Keep an up-to-date inventory of equipment owned by the Society.
g. Keep a file of all Society correspondence for the current year and the previous two years.
h. Be familiar with all Student' Union procedures regarding administration of the Society.
i. Coordinate the social activities of the Society.
j. Be responsible for regularly publicising the Society's activities and achievements through the available media outlets.
5.3 The Treasurer shall:
a. Keep a record of and oversee all financial transactions of the Society.
b. Submit a financial report budget application to the Vice President (Student Activities) as required annually.
c. Present a report on the Society's finances to the AGM.
d. Collect and pay in all Membership Fees for all members of the Society.
e. Collect and pay in all annual fees for all members of the Society.
f. Be responsible for submitting all claims made by Society members.
g. Attend Committee Training in person; non-attendance is only permissible under exceptional circumstances as agreed with the Vice President (Student Activities) at least 24 hours in advance.
h. If the Treasurer misses two mandatory meetings of any type in one academic term without adequate warning or reason given to the President, they may face disciplinary action.
i. Be responsible for ensuring timely completion of Budget Packs.
5.4 The Librarian shall:
a. Be responsible for the safety and security of the Library.
b. Check the society website for any new book requests and discuss these with the treasurer and president at committee meetings.
c. Be responsible for the distribution of items from the library at meetings and ensuring items are returned.
d. Check the society website for requests for items currently in the library to be rented by members of the society.
6. Finance
6.1 The Society shall follow all Students' Union's financial guidelines, and shall ensure that all monies are handled through the respective Students' Union 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. This must 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 Policy and with the assistance of the Student Activities Committee Finance Representatives.
6.5 The Society shall participate in at least one event during the year, which is in aid of RAG.
7. Safety
7.1 The Society will follow all guidelines laid down by the Students' Union, the College Health and 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 the Students' Union, the College Safety Officers, and the Societies 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 as soon after the event as possible.
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 one per month. Any member of the Society is entitled to view any committee meeting, unless a closed meeting has been agreed with the Vice President (Student Activities). 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:
All members must be given at least two weeks notice of this meeting. The Student Activities Department must be informed of this meeting and the Democracy Officer and/or a member of the Student Activities Committee must be present for the elections.
8.3 An Extraordinary General Meeting for a Society must be held if requested by at least 10% of the Society's membership. There must be notice period of at least 24 hours before the EGM and all members of the Society and the Vice President (Student Activities) must be informed.
8.4 Quorum at a Society General Meeting will be 25% of the Society's membership or 20 members, whichever is the smaller.
9. Discipline
9.1 Failure of the Society or its members to comply with the Students' Union's Constitution, Regulations or Policy may result in disciplinary action against the Society.
9.2 The failure of Society committee members in fulfilling their mandated duties shall result in the Society not being eligible for Society awards.
9.3 Failure of any elected representative of the Society to not attend a second mandatory meeting in one academic term without adequate warning or reason given to the Societies Officer or the Vice President (Student Activities) may result in disciplinary action being taken against them by the Vice President (Student Activities), unless they hold the position of President as in this instance, they will be deemed to have resigned.
9.4 The behaviour of Society members should be appropriate; member's behaviour should be lawful and not cause offence to the local community or other Students' Union members, nor bring the reputation of the Students' Union or University into disrepute.
9.5 Any form of bullying or peer pressure is unacceptable. Wherever possible all activities should be accessible to all students whom wish to participate.
9.7 Failure of a Society member to adhere to the Society Constitution and the Students' Union Constitution, Regulations or Policy may result in one of the following actions being taken by the committee:
10. General
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.
10.2 All Society must make themselves aware of College safety regulations in force for individual rooms and must comply with all safety regulations issued by the College, Students' Union and the Societies Safety Framework.
10.3 The Vice President (Student Activities) 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.
10.4 Alumni or associate members of the Students' Union are permitted to join any Society. All members must purchase Student Activities Membership. It should be noted that in exceptional cases, Health and Safety or Insurance regulations may limit the activities of an Associate or Life Member.
10.5 No consumption of alcohol is allowed on minibuses, coaches, cars or any other form of transport which is being used for Society purposes. Minibuses must be returned on time and in the state you collected them in; clean and tidy and with a full tank of petrol. Any damages must be reported to the Membership Services Coordinator immediately.
11. Declarations
11.1 The Society committee and all it's members shall abide by the Students' Union Constitution, and any rules laid down by the Vice President (Student Activities) at all times.
11.2 All activities conducted by the Society are a reflection upon the Students' Union and consequently Royal Holloway, University of London. The Society will not therefore conduct any activity that has not been approved by the Students' Union.
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