S.H.I.P. - State History Interest Project

Official Constitution

(including all amended sections as of 01/04)

Preamble

We, the State History Interest Project (S.H.I.P.), hereby declare our Constitution , written on October 20 th , 2000; our underlying purpose being to advance the knowledge of the new learning standards in Social Studies, Language Arts, the Arts, and Technology for New York State. Other goals include the encouragement of student interest in the history and culture of New York State and their local communities. We shall remain in contact with fellow students throughout the state with similar interests.

Article I - Official Title

The official title shall be known as the State History Interest Project (S.H.I.P.). However, individual chapters under this organization have the delegated power to create individual chapter titles.

Article II - Membership

Section 1

Membership is obtained through involvement in the local chapter. A local chapter must consist of at least 5 members. Voting privileges are attained through paying dues. Members should pay dues by November 1 st and resign annually.

Section 2

No refunds.

Section 3

Membership is open to all middle and high school students, including homeschooled students.

Section 4

For the purpose of governance, all home schooled students shall be considered a single chapter and shall be entitled to 1 voting delegate to the Board of Governors until such time the chapter reaches 5 members.

Section 5

The board of governors shall distribute honorary membership as seen fit by a majority vote.

Section 6

After two or more years of inactivity, a chapter shall be considered a new chapter for the purpose of assessing dues.

Article III - Officer Qualifications, Requirements, and Terms

Officers to be elected are President, Vice President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Comptroller, and Historian. All officers must be members of their local chapter; President must have been a member for at least two years and Vice President for at least one year. No one person may serve in excess of two years in any one office. Terms will run for one year, with elections being held at the state convention.

Article IV - Duties of Officers

President

•  Preside over meetings of the board of governors.

•  Attend all emergency meetings.

•  Schedule and attend meetings.

•  Head student organization of annual convention.

Vice President

•  Carry out the President's duties in the event of his or her absence.

•  Determine the validity of excuses for absence.

•  Take over for any absent officer.

•  In the event of the removal of the Vice President, the President shall appoint a delegate to serve the remainder of the term.

Recording Secretary

•  Keep track of minutes and issues discussed at the meeting.

•  Discuss what happened at the last meeting.

•  Record attendance at each meeting.

Corresponding Secretary

•  Send and receive information about the upcoming meetings, conventions, etc.

•  Consult with the board the information received by sponsors, clubs, etc.

Comptroller

•  Record dues collected by the chapters

•  Consult the treasurer on dues that are asked to be spent.

Historian

•  Keep permanent record of the history and important events of the S.H.I.P. organization.

•  Keep correspondence with historical organizations in relation to state and chapter history.

Article V - Board of Governors

The board of governors shall be comprised of each local chapter's two delegates; including or excluding elected officials. Each club shall have two votes at the discretion of the club.

Article VI - Elections

Section 1 - Nominations

•  Any members wishing to run for a state office shall announce their candidacy no later than March 1 st ; applications for candidacy will be sent to each chapter and must be completed and returned to S.H.I.P. headquarters.

•  Candidate biographies shall be posted in the official newsletter and official web site.

•  Withdrawal from the candidacy of any office shall be announced as soon as possible; in the event of a withdrawal, that candidate may endorse another candidate. Withdrawals may be made at any time prior to voting.

Section 2 - Campaigning

•  Sandwich Boards and other forms of advertising may be worn or displayed at any time and anywhere in areas set by S.H.I.P. and the convention facility.

•  Campaign insignia (buttons, pin-on badges, hat bands, t-shirts, etc.) identifying a candidate may be worn at any time.

•  Banner size shall be no more than 6 ft. by 3 ft. and quantity shall not exceed two; poster size shall be no more than 2 ft. by 3 ft. and quantity shall not exceed four. This includes combinations of candidates on a single poster. Posters must be evenly spaced and may not obstruct the posters of other candidates.

•  Inappropriate campaign insignia shall be removed at the discretion of any advisor.

•  No campaign shall include defaming of character of other candidates.

•  No campaign funding shall exceed one hundred dollars per candidate.

•  No campaign should include material that may cause damage or result in extra cleanup costs. Each candidate is responsible for cleaning areas that may become littered during the campaign.

•  No defacing or vandalizing of campaign materials will be tolerated.

•  Refer to election supervisor with any questions.

Section 3 - Speeches and Debates

•  At the state convention, candidates will be expected to give a concise speech no more than five minutes discussing their qualifications and future plans for S.H.I.P. The order of speeches will be determined alphabetically by office.

•  Speeches will be followed by a debate session, during which candidates will discuss issues and questions submitted to them by the S.H.I.P. members.

•  Both the speech and answers to questions shall be timed by an advisor.

•  Speeches must be approved prior to the convention by local chapter advisors.

•  Speeches on behalf of candidates will not be allowed to proceed during band or DJ functions; however candidates may be introduced at these times.

Section 4 - Voting

•  Voting will take place on Friday night between seven and nine.

•  Members voting at the convention must be registered by April 1 st .

•  Absentee ballots must be postmarked by April 1 st or brought to the convention by the chapter advisor.

•  During the election each candidate must be represented by one election supervisor to assist with registration and voting.

•  Each chapter shall appoint one non-running member to assist in the vote count.

•  Votes shall be totaled by advisors.

•  Results shall be announced at the awards ceremony by the previous president.

•  No candidate or representatives may actively campaign within the voting area.

Article VII - Impeachment

If an officer is deemed unfit, they may be removed from office by a petition signed by a 2/3 majority of the board of governors.

Dues will be collected annually; the board of governors will decide the amount yearly.

Article IX - Committees

Section 1

Convention Committee

The board of governors shall be the convention committee.

Finance Committee

The finance committee shall be comprised of the President, Treasurer and Comptroller. They shall prepare a state budget and devise ways and means of raising funds to meet and manage this budget. The budget must be ratified by a 2/3 majority of the board of governors; the delegates will present the budget to their respective chapters.

Election Committee

The election committee shall be comprised of the volunteering club. If there are no volunteering clubs, the board of governors shall appoint one. They shall be responsible for registering voters at the state convention and conducting elections.

Publicity Committee

The publicity committee shall be comprised of the state Historian and local chapter Historians. They shall be responsible for publishing newsletters throughout the year.

Section 2

New committees shall be established at the discretion of the board of governors.

Article X - Amendment Procedure

The constitution shall be amended by a 2/3 vote of all present members of the board of governors. Amendments proposed at one meeting of the board of governors shall be ratified at the next meeting as to allow for sufficient time in between.

Article XI - Dissolvement Clause

In the event that S.H.I.P. ceases to function as an organization, all remaining funds will be donated to the New York State Council for the Social Studies Brian Swayze fund.