source/about/constitution/index.md
---
title: Constitution
type: about
date: 2016-04-17 16:22:40
---
# DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY: Dublin City University Networking Society CONSTITUTION
## 1. Name of Society:
1. The official name of the society will be Dublin City University Networking Society. This shall appear on correspondence with official bodies.
1. The society operates under the name Redbrick.
## 2. Aims & Objectives:
The aims and objectives of the Society are as follows:
1. To facilitate computer networking in all its forms.
2. The promotion of electronic communication and related computer systems in all its forms.
3. To foster the development of members.
4. To provide a forum for members to interact and socialise through activities and discuss and gain experience in computer networking.
5. To assist Society members to represent the Society at a higher level.
6. To increase and promote awareness of electronic communication and related computer systems.
7. To help educate people in the usage of Internet utilities and resources.
## 3. Members:
1. Membership of the Society shall be open to all students, staff and former
students of the University,
2. Membership shall be obtained by paying the appropriate fee and registering with the OSL Database for the current academic year.
3. The Society recognizes the important role that former students and staff can play in Societies . Therefore there shall be a class of "Associate Member" of the Society for former students of the University and staff.
4. Associate Members shall pay an annual membership fee to the Society. The amount of this fee shall not be less than the ordinary membership fee and no more than 10 (ten) times the ordinary membership fee.Application for a higher Associate Member fee made be made to the OSL by the Society involved.
1. In consultation with OSL as outlined (see section 3.4) associate members shall pay an annual membership fee that will be twice that of the ordinary membership fee.This will be re-evaluated in the event of a change to the ordinary membership fee.
5. Associate Members are not eligible for election to the Society’s Governing Executive committee
6. Associate Members shall be entitled to attend all general meetings of the Society but have no voting rights. The rights of an Associate Member shall not exceed those of an ordinary member of the Society
7. All members shall be bound by this constitution
8. Honorary lifetime membership is awarded to the founding committee members.
9. Nothing in this section shall prevent the society bestowing honorary membership upon a graduate or former student of Dublin City University.
## 4. Governing Executive Committee:
1. The Society shall have a Governing Executive Committee all of whom must be fully registered students of DCU (The Committee).
2. The Committee shall run the Society of behalf of its members and in accordance with the aims and objectives.
3. Although decisions should be arrived at by the consensus of the committee (where possible), committee decisions shall be decided by majority voting.
4. A quorum shall be ⅔ of committee members.
5. The following Officer positions are obligatory on the Committee :
- Chairperson
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Public Relations Officer
_Other suggested positions include:_
- 3x Systems Administrators
- 2x Helpdesk
- 1st Year Liaison Officer
- 2x Events Officer
- Webmaster
- 2x Ordinary Member
- Vice Chair
- Graphics Design Officer (G.D.O)
6. The Term of Office of these elected officers shall be one academic year.
7. No student may hold an obligatory Officer (as above) position for more than two consecutive years.
## 5. Election of the Governing Executive Committee:
1. The Committee Members shall be democratically elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or at an Extra-ordinary General Meeting (EGM).
2. To seek election to the Committee, each candidate must have two nominations by current members of the Society.
3. To be deemed fit for election to the position of Systems Administrator or Webmaster, the candidate must either:
1. Pass an Aptitude test, as devised by the outgoing Webmaster for Webmaster candidates, or system administrators for system administrator candidates. If it is deemed preferable to do so, the test may be set by a third party nominated by the Webmaster (in the case of the Webmaster examination), or by a majority of the system administrators (in the case of the system administrator exams). The current committee will nominate this third party. Be an outgoing Webmaster or Systems Administrator
4. All Helpdesk candidates must sit and pass a test as devised by the outgoing education officer(s)
## 6. Duties of the Governing Executive Committee:
1. The Chairperson shall be the Chief Officer of the Society whose functions include chairing all meetings of the committee and officiating at meetings of the Society.
2. The Chair of any meeting shall have an ordinary vote at committee meetings and meetings of the Society. In the event of a tied vote on any matter she/he shall have the casting vote.
3. The Secretary’s function shall be to deal with all correspondence and records of the Society.
4. The Secretary keeps minutes of all committee meetings, of all general meetings, of the Annual General Meeting or any other meetings related to the business of the Society when requested by the committee.
5. The Secretary may keep a record of authorization of expenditure.
6. The Secretary shall give notice to all members of the Society's meetings, events, and functions.
7. The Secretary shall assist the Public Relations Officer (PRO) or other officers to organize fundraising events and sponsorship where necessary.
8. The Treasurer’s function shall be to administer the funds of the Society and to maintain accounts and budgets.
9. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the maintenance of accounts subject to the decision of the committee in compliance with the regulations set down by the Society Life Committee.
10. The Treasurer shall keep full records of income and expenditure of the Society. The Treasurer shall also keep a record of who authorized various expenditures and shall issue receipts.
11. The Treasurer must countersign all cheques and withdrawal forms for the Society’s bank account.
12. Where the Treasurer is decreed as unavailable, another designated person may countersign cheques and withdrawal forms for the Society in consultation with the Society Life Committee.
13. The Public Relations Officer (along with the Secretary) shall be responsible for the advertising of all functions of the Society through all means possible.
14. The System Administrators shall be held ultimately responsible for the administration, security, and maintenance of the society's computer systems. They shall be responsible for the notification of the committee in regard to any breaches of the rules and regulations of the system. They are hereby authorised to take any administrative action necessary to discharge their duties, so long as such actions are constitutional. Such actions are open to review by the committee.
15. The Webmaster shall be responsible for the design, implementation, and maintenance of the web site. They shall work in conjunction with other members of the committee in order to publicise society details via the web.
16. The Helpdesk's role is to answer the system-related questions of the society's membership, and to detail, organise, and implement beneficial tutorials for the members.
17. The Events Officer shall have the responsibility of organising all receptions held by the society.
18. 1st Year Liaison Officer shall work with the committee to make the society more accessible for first years. As part of this they shall work with the Events, Public Relations & Helpdesk where applicable. The 1st Year Liaison Officer shall be elected at an EGM in semester one, and must be in their first year as an undergraduate student at DCU.
19. The Ordinary member shall be an assiting figure within the society. The shall be involved in assiting other committee members in their duties and the organisation and running of events.
20. The Vice Chair shall act as a stand in chair in the absence of the elected one and shall be required to assume all their aforementioned duties. In the event that neither is available, a stand in may be elected ad hoc.
21. The Graphics Design Officer (G.D.O) shall be responsible for the design and creation of art assets for events and promotional materials. They shall also be required to liase with the Events officer(s) and PRO in the commissioning and distribution of said materials
22. The committee shall endeavour to meet weekly during term time, at which a majority of the committee must attend.
23. Any committee member that misses more than 3 committee meetings without the permission of the chair will be deemed to have reasonable grounds for dismissal subject to section 7
## 7. Dismissal and Resignation of Committee Members:
1. No member of the committee shall be dismissed from office unless:
1. Written notice of a resolution to seek such a dismissal, signed by 10% of the members of the Society is received five working days prior to a general meeting at which such a resolution shall be debated.
2. ⅔ of the Governing Executive Committee may also call a meeting to debate the dismissal of another committee member.
2. A resolution to dismiss a committee member shall be passed by a simple majority voting at the relevant and quorate meeting.
3. A committee member wishing to resigned must submit a letter in writing declaring that intention to resign to the Secretary, who will immediately inform the committee as a whole. The responsibilities of that person shall be delegated to other committee member(s) until a by- election can be held to re-elect a new person to the position.
## 8. Meetings:
1. There shall be an Annual General Meeting (AGM) held each year where the committee member shall be elected
2. The AGM shall be held no later than in the final month of the Academic year.
3. A quorum of a meeting shall be a majority of the committee members and the square-root of the number of ordinary members, rounded-up.
4. The business of the AGM shall include elections of relevant Executive Governing Committee as well as annual reports from the outgoing Governing Executive Committee (which should include a Treasurer’s report on the finances of the Society).
5. An Extra-ordinary General Meeting (EGM) shall be convened if:
1. 10% of the ordinary membership of the Society requests such a meeting in writing.
2. A quorum of the Governing Executive Committee requests such a meeting in writing.
3. A vacancy on the current committee occurs and there is a need to elect a replacement.
6. Notice of all meetings shall be given to the membership at least five working days prior to the date of the meeting.
7. At a meeting, a member may propose a resolution relating to the business of the Society. The resolution shall be voted on by a show of hands and a declaration of the Chairperson that the resolution is carried (unless a secret ballot is demanded by any 5 members) shall be conclusive evidence that the resolution has passed or failed.
8. In the event that the Chairperson’s resolution (8.7) is challenged a recount of the votes will be administered in which a number of appropriate people will be appointed by the committee as "tellers" to count the votes. The result will be announced by the Chairperson or the Vice-Chairperson (where requested by the general meeting).
9. No resolution may contravene DCU, DCU OSL or CLC policy.
## 9. General:
1. There shall be a President of the Society who shall be a staff member in compliance with the regulations set down by the Society Life Committee
2. The membership fee for the Society shall be in compliance with the conditions set down by the OSL
3. Each member of the Society shall be entitled to receive a copy of this Constitution, on demand, free of charge.
4. In the event of a clash with the Society Life Committee Constitution, the Society Life Committee Constitution shall take precedence above this constitution and is subject to the Society Life Committee at all times.
5. In joining the Society, members agree to be bound by the rules and regulations of the Society as laid down in this constitution and by the Governing Executive Committee. Members violating these rules and regulations
shall be answerable to the committee and may have
1. Computer system account suspended for a period of time decided by the System Administrators.
2. Their membership revoked and no monies refunded, for persistent breaches or extremely serious breaches, as deemed by a majority of the committee. In the event that the committee cannot resolve a dispute with a member(s), The Society Life Committee shall rule on the matter and its decision is final.
## 10. Equipment.
1. Any equipment loaned to the society by individuals may only be withdrawn if:
1. Notice is given by the individual at least two weeks prior to the date of withdrawal.
2. Or by the express approval of a committee majority.
2. The society shall seek to return any loaned equipment.
1. Any equipment donated to the society shall therein be the property of the society.
2. Any equipment which is damaged or destroyed whilst on loan to the society will have its replacement cost paid to it's loaner.
3. Administration of loaned or donated equipment shall be the exclusive responsibility of the committee.
## 11. Amendments to this Constitution:
1. Notice of a proposal to seek an amendment to this Constitution shall be given to the members at least 4 working days prior to the meeting at which such a proposal shall be considered.
2. A proposal to amend this Constitution must receive the approval of 2/3 of the members present and entitled to vote at the relevant meeting.