Constitution of the Ten Percent Society

Article I. Title

Article II. Mission

Section 1. The Ten Percent Society, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student organization, builds community and fosters individual growth for those of fluid sexualities and gender identities* by providing social involvement opportunities through events, education and activism. The Ten Percent Society actively pursues an inclusive environment for all.

*Including but not limited to: ally, asexual, bisexual, gay, genderqueer, intersex, lesbian, pansexual, queer, questioning, same-gender loving, transgender, transsexual, and two-spirited.

Article III. Membership

Section 2. Individuals who attend two out of four consecutive official meetings per year are considered Full members. All students who participate and register at TPS events are considered Partial members.

Section 3. Full members have the right to attend official and committee meetings of TPS and to be sent notices of these meetings. Full members have the right to run and hold an Executive Board office. Full members may nominate candidates for Executive Office and serve as chair of a committee. Full members may make and second motions, and vote. Full members have a right to place items on the agenda, and participate in discussions or debate. Full members have the right to receive an up-to-date Constitution, Bylaws, and all minutes of official meetings.

Section 4. Partial members have the right to attend official and committee meetings of TPS and to be sent notices of these meetings. Partial members have the right to place items on the agenda, and participate in discussions and debate. Partial members have the right to receive an up-to-date Constitution, Bylaws and minutes of official meetings.

Section 5. Voting requirements for Full members as stated in Section 2 of Article III of the Constitution, are waived during the first two meetings of each school year.

Section 6. Full membership is held until one of the following occurs:

1. the start of the new school year, OR..
2. a member has lost their membership status as described in Section 7 of Article III of the Constitution.

Section 7. Membership status may be lost if a member does not uphold the constitution and/or bylaws of TPS. A person may be made ineligible for membership upon petition by five full members followed by a 2/3 vote at an official meeting. In order to be considered valid, such a petition must be announced at an official meeting or by e-mail at least one week prior to its consideration. The person named in the petition shall have the opportunity to present his or her case during the meeting at which the petition is considered.

Article IV. Executive Board

Section 2. The Executive Board will consist of two officers: two Co-presidents.. The two elected Co-presidents may not identify as the same gender.

Section 3. The Co-presidents serve as official representatives of the Ten Percent Society. The Co-presidents publicly speak on behalf of TPS and sign letters or documents necessary to carry out the will of the organization. The Co-presidents ensure that all meetings are moderated in an orderly and purposeful manner. The Co-presidents are also responsible for ensuring the efficient operation of all TPS sponsored events. The Co-presidents, along with the Secretary and Treasurer shall create the rough outline of an agenda for Official meetings.

Section 6. No person can hold or act in the capacity of more than one Executive Office of TPS.

Section 7. Until a vacant office is filled, due to Section 9 of Article V of the Constitution, the Executive Board may appoint an acting officer for a period of no more than three weeks.

Article V. Procedures

Section 2. Any Full member may nominate any Full member, including themselves, for any Executive Office or Committee Chair. All nominations must be seconded by another Full member. Nominees may accept their nomination at any Official meeting before and including the meeting of the election.

Section 3. Elections for the members of the Executive Board will be held the third week of March, subject to Section 3 of Article VI of the Constitution. If an Official meeting does not take place on this date, the election will be held at the next Official meeting.

Section 4. Committee Chairs shall be elected by a majority vote within the Committee by the third week of March, but not before the third week of February. The Committee's selection of Chair is subject to appeal by the Full membership, provided that a written request for such is provided within one week of the selection. Majority vote is required for reconsideration of the Chair's election. Upon a vote for reconsideration, a vote will be taken as to whether or not to retain the Chair. If the Chair is voted out by a majority of the Full membership in attendance at an Official meeting, the Committee must select a new Chair.

Section 5. The term of an Executive Office or Committee Chair will begin the first week of May. Any office not filled by an election will be considered vacant according to Section 10 of Article V of the Constitution.

Section 6. Election will be moderated by two Full members who are not candidates for an Executive Office.

Section 7. Elections for the Executive Officers will be held by secret ballot. The requirement for secret ballot may be suspended by a two-thirds vote of the Full membership in attendance

Section 8. All candidates are entitled to vote during Elections.

Section 9. Executive Officers are elected only by the vote of the majority of the Full membership in attendance. If more than two candidates run for the same office, and nobody receives a majority vote, the one candidate receiving the fewest votes is eliminated and a run-off is held immediately. If two or more candidates tie with the fewest votes, they are all eliminated, but a run-off must have at least two candidates. If not enough, Section 10 of Article V of the Constitution applies.

Section 10. An Executive Board Office or Committee Chair is considered vacant when:

1. the Executive Officer or Committee Chair resigns, OR...
2. the Executive Office or Committee Chair remains unfilled, OR...
3. the Executive Officer or Committee Chair is no longer eligible for Full Membership, OR...
4. the Executive Officer or Committee Chair is removed from office in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 of Article V of the Constitution, OR...
5. None of the Above is elected by the majority.

Nominations for new Executive Officers of vacant positions will be held the first two Official meetings following the vacancy of an office. Elections will take place at the third Official meeting following the vacancy of an office. If a Committee Chair is left vacant, a new Chair shall be elected as per Section 4 of Article V of the Constitution.

Section 11. If, for any reason, one-third of the membership in attendance wishes, they may request to remove an Executive Officer or Committee Chair. Such a vote must be held at the next meeting at which time the officer or chair will be given an opportunity to present any appropriate explanations or defense prior to the vote. A two-thirds vote of the Full membership in attendance is required to remove an officer or chair from an elected position. If an officer or chair is removed, the position is to be filled pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 of Article V of the Constitution. Committee Chair will be filled pursuant to Section 4 of Article V of the Constitution.

Section 12. Unless stated otherwise in the Constitution or Bylaws, all voting procedures will be verbal or by hand count. If a majority of the Full members voting wishes the vote to be done by secret ballot, they may do so.

Section 13. If anyone wishes to challenge the validity of the elections, it should be brought up at the meeting or at the very least, a written complaint should be submitted to the new Executive Board no later than one week following the elections. The challenge will be brought to the attention of the Full membership at the next Official meeting and voted on by secret ballot. If the challenge is upheld by majority of the Full membership, a new election will be held.

Article VI. Official Meetings

Section 2. Meetings shall, in general, be conducted and decisions made by consensus. However, parliamentary procedure may be invoked at any time at the request of 1/3 of the full membership in attendance (or by consensus), in which case Sturgis Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure shall be used. Meetings shall always be conducted and decisions shall always be made in accordance with the TPS Constitution and bylaws.

Section 3. In order to conduct business, a quorum must be present, including at least one member of the executive board.

Section 4. Official and Unofficial meetings will be moderated and attended with respect, common sense, courtesies and control.

Article VII. Committees

Section 2. The only standing committee, besides the Executive Board, shall be the Finance Committee, responsible for ascertaining the amount of funds available for use by the organization, committees, and officers' formulating a budget for each Academic Year; and hearing requests for contributions and sponsorships from other groups. Any expenditures above $100 are subject to approval by the Full membership, and shall be presented in a report by the Finance Chair.

Section 3. All other committees are subject to review by the Full membership at the beginning of each semester. They shall state a report of their actions at each general meeting.

Section 4. Before a committee can take an Official action in the name of Ten Percent, the action must be approved by a majority vote of the Full members in attendance at an official meeting.

Section 5. Each committee can spend up to $100, within their allocated budget for the Academic Year. Any expenditure over $100 or any expenditure outside their budget must be approved by the Finance Committee and is subject to approval by the Full membership.

Section 6. Quorum for the Finance Committee is five Full members. Quorum for any other Committee is three Full members. No vote may be taken by a committee unless it is at an Official Committee meeting with quorum. Official Committee meetings shall occur no less than once a week, unless so allowed by the majority vote of the Full membership Committee meetings must be posted over the list-serve no less than forty-eight hours in advance of their occurrence. Minutes of the committee meeting will be sent out prior to the next general meeting of TPS.

Section 7. The Treasurer is required to attend all Finance Committee meetings, or appoint a designee to report to her/him if he/she is unable to attend.

Article VIII. Ratification, Amendments, and Bylaws

Section 2. Adoption of the ratified or amended Constitution permanently suspends any and all previous TPS Constitutions.

Section 3. This Constitution will stay in effect until a new constitution is approved by a vote of two-thirds of the Full membership in attendance at two consecutive Official meetings

Section 4. If the amendment or ratification of the constitution fails by not having the appropriate vote, the amendment or ratification may be re-introduced at any time.

Section 5. To amend or adopt Bylaws remaining consistent with the Constitution, a two-thirds vote of the Full membership in attendance at an Official meeting is required.

Section 6. If the adoption or amendment of a Bylaw fails by not having an appropriate vote, the Bylaw may be re-introduced at any time.

Bylaws of the Ten Percent Society

Article II. Mission

Article III. Membership

Article IV. Executive Board

Section 2. Press releases will be released by the Executive Board, or their designees, and must be approved by the entire Executive Board.

Section 3. The Co-presidents and/or their designees will have control of and access to all official TPS documents and functions. The Executive Board will appoint a Webperson and Dance Coordinator, who will oversee the functions of the Web and the Dances respectively, after the final dance of the Academic year subject to the approval of the majority vote of the Full membership in attendance at an Official meeting. If a vacancy occurs, it will be subject to Section 10 of Article 5 of the Constitution.

Section 4. The Officers of the Executive Board will have limited access to the organization's funds each half year as described:

1. The Co-presidents, combined with each others approval, may spend a maximum limit of $100 each half school year.
2. The Secretary is designated to buy office supplies with a maximum limit of $30 each half school year.
3. The Treasurer is designated to pay any and all authorized debts the organization has accumulated.
4. In case of emergency spending, a maximum limit of $300 may be spent by the Co-presidents with the approval of the entire Executive Board.

Section 5. Executive Board meetings are closed except by invitation of the Executive Board. However, the minutes of these meetings may be requested by any member of the Ten Percent Society.

Section 6. All Executive Board members will be provided with a set of keys to the TPS office within one week of attaining office. Upon leaving office, former Executive Board members will surrender their keys to the new Executive Board within one week.

Section 7. There will be one set of keys for each Executive Board member.

Section 8. All people who wish to keep their belongings in the TPS office must obtain permission of the Executive Board. Appeals may be made at an Official meeting.

Section 9. The Secretary is responsible for all activities as stated in Section 4 of Article 4 of the Constitution or for designating another Full member to carry out the activity.

Section 10. The Secretary will send out the minutes if an Official meeting within two days of the Official meeting in which they are reference to.

Article V. Procedures

Section 2. The budget for the Ten Percent Society will be set according to the calendar year. The budget for the Ten Percent Society will be begin on January 1st and will expire on December 31st of the same year.

Section 3. In the budgeting process, up to 1/3 of the allotted funds in the "Sponsorship" category may be used for persons attending conferences or workshops in any given budgeted period. This allotment restriction includes any expense related to a conference or workshop.

Article VI. Official Meetings

Section 2. Quorum will be defined as ten Full members.

Section 3. The length of time a person may speak once he or she has obtained the floor during an official meeting may be limited by a 2/3 vote. A motion to this effect

1. shall be in order when the maker of the motion has the floor, or when another person has been speaking for more than five minutes;
2. shall specify how long the limitation will be in effect: during consideration of a specific issue or set of issues, or for the duration of the meeting;
3. shall be debated for no more than two minutes, with no person speaking for more than 30 seconds; and
4. shall yield to no other motions.

Article VII. Committees

Section 2. The Finance Committee shall create and approve a budget proposal for the Society by October 31 for the following year, allocating a certain amount for committees. The budget must be approved by a majority vote of the Full membership in attendance at an Official meeting.