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Oklahoma Academic Team Constitution

Article 1: Name

  1. The name of this organization shall be the Oklahoma Academic Team.
  2. The acronym OAT shall be used as a shortened form to refer to the organization.

Article 2: Purpose

  1. The purpose of the Oklahoma Academic Team shall be to promote academic competition on the campus of the University of Oklahoma and to increase the quality thereof.
  2. In order to attain these goals, the Oklahoma Academic Team shall do the following:
    1. It will enter teams of OU students in local, regional, and national invitational tournaments.
    2. It will hold high school and middle school tournaments to demonstrate the benefits of academic competition to secondary schools.
    3. It will cooperate with other organizations of The University of Oklahoma in sponsoring events to demonstrate the importance of academic competition.

Article 3: Membership

  1. The Oklahoma Academic Team does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, marital status, or political belief.
  2. Membership shall be divided into two grades as follows:
    1. Any OU student shall be eligible to become a Member. A Member must attend two meetings within a particular month, one tournament each semester, and all tournaments that the Oklahoma Academic Team hosts. Under extenuating circumstances, the Executive Council may waive any or all membership requirements. Only students of The University of Oklahoma are eligible to be Members.
    2. Associate membership shall be extended on a case-by-case basis to members of the OU community such as faculty, staff, or spouses of team members. Alumni may not be Associate Members unless they also are a member of the OU community in another capacity (i.e., as a faculty member, staff member, or spouse of a Member).
  3. One member of the Executive Council shall record attendance for determining membership.

Article 4: The Executive Council

  1. All officers shall be members of and referred to collectively as the Oklahoma Academic Team Executive Council.
    1. The Executive Council is hereby defined as the current holders of the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Media Relations Chair.
  2. All officers of the Oklahoma Academic Team shall be elected for one-year terms. All officers' terms shall begin the last day of the spring semester in which they are elected.
  3. In the case that an officer needs to be replaced, Members may vote for a replacement at the next meeting. The replacement officer shall then assume his or her duties immediately.
  4. Officers may be removed from their positions by a two-thirds vote of Members if they fail to discharge their duties adequately. Officers shall automatically be removed if they are expelled from the Oklahoma Academic Team (in which case it will be necessary to follow Section 4.3).
    1. A fair hearing shall occur in which the officer in question shall have the opportunity to explain and defend his or her actions. Members shall receive notice of this hearing at least two weeks in advance. The vote shall occur at this hearing.
  5. The members of the Executive Council are the head of the Oklahoma Academic Team. All issues pertaining to the team shall be decided by a vote of the Executive Council.
  6. The duties of the officers are as follows:
    1. The President shall be responsible for coordinating all activities of the Oklahoma Academic Team and for any type of formal relations with the University of Oklahoma Student Association (UOSA) or any other student organization. The President shall organize meetings and activities and shall be assisted by the Executive Council. The President shall be the head of the Executive Council and shall help it to perform all its specified duties. The President shall be responsible for all duties and functions of the Oklahoma Academic Team not assigned in the rest of this section. The President shall be empowered to delegate other duties not specifically mentioned to the officers and Members as necessary.
    2. The Vice President shall assume responsibility for any meeting that the President does not attend for any reason. The Vice President shall assist the President as needed in the execution of all his or her duties. The specific duties of the Vice President shall include, but not be limited to, the following: serving as the liaison between the Oklahoma Academic Team and other colleges and universities, performing all necessary communication with other colleges and universities, obtaining information about upcoming events, and coordinating travel arrangements of the Oklahoma Academic Team.
    3. The Secretary shall be responsible for attendance, statistics, and question packets. The duties of the Secretary shall include but not be limited to the following: recording attendance at all practices, recording attendance at all events, recording statistics at all events, maintaining question packets, and obtaining question packets to use at each meeting.
    4. The Treasurer shall be responsible for handling the finances of the Oklahoma Academic Team. The Treasurer shall coordinate with the UOSA and with any other groups as necessary to fulfill this duty. The Treasurer, along with the President, shall bear financial responsibility for the Oklahoma Academic Team. The duties of the Treasurer shall include but not be limited to the following: creating annual budget proposals and budget appeals as necessary for the UOSA, attending all UOSA budget meetings and defenses, exercising joint responsibility with the President for the team checking account, and exercising joint responsibility with the President for the management of the UOSA funds.
    5. The Media Relations Chair shall be responsible for the publicity necessary for the Oklahoma Academic Team. The duties of the Media Relations Chair shall include but not be limited to the following: coordinating all recruitment efforts of the Oklahoma Academic Team, creating flyers and other materials necessary to publicize Oklahoma Academic Team events, submitting announcements to the Oklahoma Daily, and making press releases of competitions.
  7. The Executive Council shall assign annually the post of webmaster to an officer or Member possessing the necessary skills to maintain and update the Oklahoma Academic Team Web site. The webmaster shall not be considered a member of the Executive Council unless he or she holds another aforementioned office.
  8. The Oklahoma Academic Team shall have a Faculty Advisor who is a full-time member of The University of Oklahoma faculty or staff. The Faculty Advisor shall serve as a further liaison between the Oklahoma Academic Team and the UOSA. The President shall be responsible for communicating with the Faculty Advisor. The Faculty Advisor shall not be considered a member of the Executive Council.
  9. In addition to the permanent positions, the President and Executive Council shall be empowered to create and fill other, temporary positions, such as Event Coordinator or Tournament Director, specific to single events and activities of the Oklahoma Academic Team. Any Member or officer may fill these positions. The President shall be responsible for outlining the responsibilities of these positions as they arise.

Article 5: Elections

  1. Elections shall be held on the last regular meeting in April unless another date is chosen in advance by a quorum vote as described in Section 6.6.
  2. Only Members of the Oklahoma Academic Team, as described in Section 3.2.1, shall be eligible for the offices of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Media Relations Chair.
  3. In order to stand for office, a candidate must be nominated by one Member. No Member may nominate himself or herself. Nominations shall open one week before the meeting on which elections will be held.
  4. Elections shall proceed according to the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order pertaining to Counted Show of Hands Vote. Any Member may request a closed ballot election for any reason.
  5. A simple majority of votes shall be required for a nominee to be elected.
  6. All Members, including outgoing Members and current officers, shall have one vote. Associate Members will not be eligible to vote.
  7. If necessary, any Member may vote by absentee ballot to be submitted to the President at the time of the election.

Article 6: Meetings

  1. Meetings shall be held twice weekly at a time and place to be determined by the team at the beginning of each semester.
  2. Robert's Rules of Order are automatically suspended for practices. If the need for parliamentary procedure should arise, a member may move to reinstate Robert's Rules of Order, at which point they are reinstated.
  3. If, in the opinion of the President or a majority of the Executive Council, a special meeting is required, the Executive Council shall immediately begin notifying Members of the special meeting. The President may also call special meetings of the Executive Council as needed.
  4. Additionally, the President is empowered to cancel meetings at his or her discretion.
  5. Members shall be notified by the Executive Council of weekly meetings or of any changes in the meeting schedule of which they might not otherwise be aware.
  6. A quorum shall consist of one-half of the Members. Meetings may be held with less than a quorum, but no official business shall be conducted at such a meeting. The order of business shall be determined by the Executive Council prior to the meeting.

Article 7: Disciplinary Action

  1. Members may be subject to disciplinary action for violations of local, state, or federal law or of The University of Oklahoma Student Code, extreme and repeated disruption of the Oklahoma Academic Team, or damaging the name or reputation of the team.
  2. In the event of such a violation, the Executive Council will undertake disciplinary action. Disciplinary action may include censure, suspension from team activities, or expulsion from the organization.
  3. Any Member threatened with expulsion shall have the right to a fair hearing in which the Member in question shall have the opportunity to explain and defend his or her actions. Members shall receive notice of this hearing at least two weeks in advance. In order for expulsion to be completed, four-fifths of the Members present must vote for expulsion.

Article 8: Governance

  1. Oklahoma Academic Team is subject to local, state, and federal laws.
  2. This constitution, subject to the terms of the University of Oklahoma Student Code, is the sole governing document of this organization.

Article 9: Amendments

  1. Any attempts to amend this constitution must be brought before the Executive Council. The Executive Council shall ensure the proposed amendment is within the guidelines of The University of Oklahoma and shall distribute the same to the membership. The membership shall then vote on the proposed amendment, and a majority vote shall constitute adoption of the amendment, which shall then be added to the constitution.

This constitution was submitted to the membership on September 12, 2007, and subsequently approved by the University of Oklahoma Student Association.