NOTES ON FORMATTING: For diffs' quality, please use one line per logical . terminated sentence. This means that diffs are on a sentence by sentence basis and thus easier to read compared to being paragraph by paragraph which can hide exact textual changes.
Article I. Name
The name of this Fraternity shall be Lambda Alpha Nu written as ΛΑΝ in Greek or abbreviated LAN for ease of typing.
Article II. Purpose
The Fraternity of Lambda Alpha Nu exists to cultivate a strong community around the field of Computer Science, including those interested and involved in other computing-related fields. The fraternity accomplishes its mission by structuring its activities around three main pillars - the pillar of scholarship, the pillar of solidarity, and the pillar of ambition.
Article III. Membership
- Members:
- The membership of this organization shall be restricted to currently enrolled students at the University of Texas at Austin.
- Membership status shall be attainable only by attending semesterly rush events and by being officially inducted through the pledge process as established by the Board.
- Privileges and Responsibilities of Membership:
- Voting: Each active member is entitled to one ballot during whole membership votes.
- Privileges: Each active member shall be entitled to all property and services of the organization.
- Participation: Each active member shall be expected to take part in all organizational events.
- Responsibilities: Each active member shall be responsible for payment of such semesterly dues and other fees as the Board shall assess on the advice of the Treasurer.
- Active vs. Inactive Members:
- Pledges shall be individuals who express an intent to Rush Lambda Alpha Nu, who are invited to be a part of the Pledge process. Terminated Pledges may not take part in Pledge activities until the next recruitment cycle, at which point they can reapply.
- Members shall be individuals who have Rushed and been Initiated to LAN as part of the Pledge process. They shall have paid or filed a plan to pay by whatever date the Treasurer shall specify at the start of the semester. Members who fail to pay or file a plan to pay shall become Inactive. Members of Lambda Alpha Nu who are separated from the University by the University are considered to have lost their membership in LAN, except for exceptional circumstances, requiring Board approval. Members who end their time at the University in good standing with LAN and the University shall become Alumni in perpetuity.
- Inactive members are barred from attending events, participating in Board or General meetings, and will not be assigned littles. Inactive members may resume Active status by paying Dues for the semester in which they wish to resume Active status.
Article IV. Membership Meetings
- The business meetings of the membership will be held at least once semesterly in both the spring and the fall. Attendance is required of all active members of the fraternity.
- Membership meetings may be called by the President or acting President with the approval of the Board.
- The Board will decide the agenda and content of these meetings.
Article V. Officers & The Board
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Lambda Alpha Nu shall have the following officers.
- President
- Vice-president of Administration
- Webmaster
- Vice-president of Service Activities
- Vice-president of Standards
- Standards Board Members
- Vice-president of Social Affairs
- Historian
- Solidarity Officer
- Marketing Officer
- Vice-president of New Member services
- Pledge Trainer(s)
- Capstone Officer
- Treasurer
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The Board shall be formed of the following titular officers:
- President
- Vice-president of Administration
- Vice-president of Service Activities
- Vice-president of Standards
- Vice-president of Social Affairs
- Vice-president of New Member Services
- Treasurer
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Qualifications:
- All Board officers shall have been elected by the organization and have remained an active member for no less than one full academic semester.
- The other officers must be active members of the organization and be either nominated by their reporting officer or elected upon by general membership depending on their position. These positions may be held in the first semester of active membership.
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Duties of Officers:
- The President, being an elected position, shall preside at all meetings, and is responsible for ensuring that the Board, officers, and the organization's members are aware of and fulfill their responsibilities, comply with applicable rules and bylaws, conduct board business effectively and efficiently, and are accountable for their performance.
- The Vice-President of Administration, being an elected position, shall act in the absence of the President in all capacities as listed above and shall aid in conducting the business of the organization.
In these duties, the Vice-President shall have the support of the Webmaster.
Additionally, the Vice-President of Administration shall act as a secretary and shall be expected to record the minutes of all board and full member meetings and have knowledge about previous discussions and positions.
- The Webmaster, being a nominated position, shall maintain all computer services of the organization, including, but not limited to, the official website, official emails, and hosting services. They will also be expected to manage all technical aspects of the social groups maintained by the organization.
- The Vice-President of Service Activities, being an elected position, shall have primary responsibility for the planning and management of community and service outreach activities. This includes efforts to introduce members to open source communities as well as the management of efforts to provide technical service to local charities in addition to any other nontechnical service opportunities.
- The Vice-President of Standards, being an elected position, is responsible for being a point of contact for any issue regarding the code of conduct.
They are responsible for taking disciplinary action as stated in the code of conduct against individuals who have broken it in agreement with the Standards Board.
They will also be responsible for the proactive assessment of risks for all organization events and activities and shall be responsible for ensuring a Risk Management Officer is present at events, either by appointing such an Officer or defaulting to an elected Risk Managment Officer.
- The Standards Board, being comprised of officers elected into their position, is responsible for advising the Vice-President of Standards in all situations regarding issues arisen. They will act as a point of contact for any issue regarding the code of conduct.
- The Vice-President of Social Affairs, being an elected position, shall have responsibility for the organization and planning of all official social events, to include organizing rush events in concert with the Vice-President of New Member Services, and primary responsibility for normal semester social activities.
They will also be responsible for managing the official social media accounts for the organization.
- The Historian, being a nominated position, is expected to record the social events put on by the organization and make such records available to the Board and other Officers.
- The Solidarity officer, being a nominated position, shall have the responsibility of planning events surrounding the bonding and fostering of community within the fraternity, with assistance from the Vice-President of Social Affairs.
- The Marketing officer, being a nominated position, shall have the responsibility of organizing and ordering merchandise and advertising for the fraternity.
- The Vice-president of New Member services, informally known as the warden, being an elected position, shall have primary responsibility for organizing the member intake process, and organizing rush events in concert with the Vice-President of Social.
The Vice-President of New Member Services shall be responsible for nominating a Pledge Trainer, with a board approval.
Additional duties entail the creation of a pledge education curriculum, heading all rush related committees, and being the point of authority for the pledges.
- The Pledge Trainer, being a nominated position at the end of each semester by the Vice-president of New Member Services, with approval from the board, shall have the responsibility for following the pledge education curriculum laid out by the Vice-president of New Member Services. Additionally, the Pledge Trainer shall have the duties of planning and holding “study hours”, bonding events, day-to-day enforcement of pledges, and shall act as a point of communication between the pledge class and the board. With discretion from the Vice-President of New Member Services with advisory from the board, multiple Pledge Trainers may be appointed per semester.
- The Pledge Trainer and Vice President of New Member Services may terminate Pledge status at their unanimous discretion. The Pledge Trainer and Vice President of New Member Services are directed to confer with Pledges in danger of termination, and barring exceptional circumstances, consult with the Board on potential Pledge termination. This decision may be reversed by a vote of two-thirds of the Board.
- The Capstone officer, being a nominated position, shall have the responsibility of organizing and leading the capstone projects for the pledges.
- The Treasurer, being an elected position, shall have ultimate responsibility for maintaining financial records and semester to date operating budgets. The Treasurer shall further have primary responsibility for the management and collection of dues and other fees such as the board may see fit as to instate. The Treasurer’s primary responsibility shall be to present a written statement of accounts and transactions to the board on a semesterly basis. In the case of financial difficulty, the Treasurer shall be responsible for notifying the Board immediately and assisting in the design and execution of recovery efforts.
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Terms of Office:
- During the 2nd to last scheduled meeting of the academic year, all elected Officer positions shall be voted in. In addition, an officer who is unable to complete the second semester of their duties shall be replaced in an election at the end of the fall semester.
- A Member may serve in an elected Officer position for only one full term.
- A Member may be nominated for the same position repeatedly unless there is a compelling organizational reason to not do so. Such reappointments shall be frowned upon if the person has been in that position for more than a year.
- Each officer shall take office in the 2nd to last scheduled meeting of the academic year and serve a two-semester term. After holding a full term in office, they will be considered ineligible for election to the same position.
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Voting:
- For all officer elections, a simple majority elects using choose three runoff secret ballot voting with an explicit no vote option which may never be eliminated. If a ballot is completely eliminated, it becomes a no-vote. If no majority is achieved or if no vote achieves a majority then all standing candidates are discarded and the election for that position must be re-run. Candidates may be re-nominated.
- Board motions shall require a 2/3rds vote of the Board members to pass.
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Nominating:
- All nominated positions shall be chosen by the Board officer to whom the nominated position reports to.
- All nominated positions must be approved by a 2/3rds vote of the Board.
- All nominated position terms are a semester long and may be renewed at the end of each semester.
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Board meetings:
- Board meetings can be attended by all active members of the fraternity.
- Meetings will adhere to a strict agenda organized by the secretary prior to the meeting.
- 2/3rds of the board members must be present to constitute an official board meeting.
- Emergency meetings of the Board shall be held when directed by the president or by two members of the voting board. All Board members must be given notice of such a meeting and the meeting must be conducted in as similar a fashion as possible to a regular board meeting.
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Vacancies and Removal:
- A vacancy in the office of the President shall be filled by the Vice-President of Administration unless he or she is unable to serve, at which time a full special election must be held.
- All vacancies in other elected positions are filled with a special election.
- Vacancies in nominated positions shall be filled by nomination of the Board officer to whom the nominated position reports, as approved by a vote of 2/3rds of the Board. If the Board officer fails to promptly supply a nominee or fails to supply a nominee acceptable to 2/3rds of the Board, 2/3rds of the Board may install a nominee of their choosing.
- Any officer, including the President and appointed positions, may be removed from office or suspended from office by a vote of two-thirds of the active membership at a regular meeting. Removal or suspension may be with or without cause. The person under consideration shall be given an opportunity to be heard at the meeting with sufficient notice of the proposed removal or suspension. The person under consideration shall not be counted in determining the presence of a quorum nor whether the required two-thirds vote has been obtained. Upon a vote of removal or suspension of an officer, the normal vacancy policy immediately comes into effect.
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Powers of the Board
- In its executive capacity, the Board is authorized to plan and conduct Rush as well as other events; to set and collect dues; to accept new Pledges into the Fraternity and conduct all business necessary and proper to the function and continuance of the Fraternity that are otherwise not specified in these bylaws.
- The Board may make and impose no Rule, Policy or Code of Conduct upon the Membership of the Fraternity save by a 2/3rds vote of the Membership taken at a General or Special meeting of the Fraternity.
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Powers of the Standards Board
- In its judicial capacity, the Standards Board is authorized to take disciplinary action against Members under established Policies and Codes of Conduct.
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Terms and Responsibilities of Risk Management
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Selection of Risk Management Personnel: Any and all Risk Management personnel will be designated by the Vice President of Standards on an event by event basis. They will be designated either on a voluntary basis, or in the event that there are not enough volunteers, by a rule based system detailed in the current board order. At any time, there must always exist a board order detailing the aforementioned default manner of selecting Risk Management personnel. Every LAN sanctioned event must have, at absolute minimum, two Risk Management personnel present for the duration of the event.
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General Responsibility of Risk Management Personnel: The Risk Management personnel are jointly designated as the first points of contact for all matters involving risk specific to the event which they are assigned. Should the risk go beyond the scope of the event, the matter will be deferred to Vice President of Standards. A "head" of Risk Management, who will be appointed by the Vice President of Standards prior to the start of the event, will be the point of contact with the authorities. All other Risk Management personnel will obey the messages from the head of Risk Management, and will assist in taking care of the people attending the event. It will be the responsibility of any Risk Management personnel to be vigilant for members (or non-members attending LAN sanctioned events) who could potentially pose risk to themselves or others. Risks are defined as (but not limited to) the following:
- Illegal substances of any kind.
- Destruction/damage of property.
- Overly-intoxicated or aggressive behavior.
- Appropriately marking underage people attending LAN sanctioned social events.
- Risk Management personnel are, at all times, required to be free of intoxicants during the duration of their duty (the bounds of which are determined by the Vice President of Standards).
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Article VI. Committees
- With the knowledge of the Board, all officers shall have the power to create committees of Members to assist them in whatever planning or other duties they may feel require effort and attention beyond that which they are able to give. Such committees derive their authority entirely from the presiding officer, and the presiding officer remains solely responsible to the Board for the execution of their Duties.
- Committees shall exist for the sole purpose of advising the appointing officer and making proposals thereto on such topics as the officer shall instruct the Committee Chairperson.
- A vacancy in a Committee Chairperson position shall be filled by appointment of the governing officer with input from the outgoing Chairperson.
- Committees shall dissolve after a period of one semester unless otherwise noted by the appointing officer.
Article VII. Parliamentary Authority
The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the organization in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the bylaws or the special rules of order of the organization.
Article VIII. University Policies
This organization shall abide by all applicable policies instituted by the University of Texas at Austin.
Article IX. Communication
All members must provide and monitor an email address which will serve as the sole official point of contact from the board. Emails from the board must be sent from a @texaslan.org (http://texaslan.org/) email account. Any communications through social media must follow an official announcement in email form.
Article X. Board Orders
- Processes and directives which are not specified by the Bylaws but which are required by the sitting Board are referred to as Board Orders.
- Board Orders may be enacted by a 2/3rds vote of the Board.
- Board Orders must be re-enacted upon the election of a new Board.
- Board Orders may be repealed by a 2/3rds vote of the Board.
- Board Orders shall be promptly posted in the Board Orders Document and communicated to the General Membership through the official communications channels.
Article XI. Amendments
Changes to these bylaws may be proposed and drafted by the Board, which is will then present the proposed changes to the general membership in a full meeting called for that purpose. Additionally, once every academic year in the spring semester, the current Board shall meet with the general membership to discuss the current Bylaws and Board Orders, and determine if any changes must be made. At such special meetings, a vote of 2/3rds of the membership may approve changes to the bylaws drafted by the Board, and a vote of 2/3rds of the membership may propose changes to the Bylaws to the Board.