Warwick Chemistry Society - Constitution Change

ChemSoc Constitution Change

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This is to vote in favour or against the amended constitution for ChemSoc (see Motion text for detailed changes) 

Please see below to outline the amended constitution. All the changes are in BOLD. 

 

SOCIETY CONSTITUTION                                                   

                                                                                    Date Recognised/Renewed: 13/01/20

1. General
   1. This Society shall be named “Warwick ChemSoc” (hereafter referred to as ‘ChemSoc’). 
   2. ChemSoc primarily, but not exclusively, provides support (academic, social and pastoral) to the undergraduate and postgraduate cohort of the University of Warwick Chemistry Department, often in conjunction with the department. 
   3. It is the student’s voice and a medium for connecting the students.

 

2. Mission Statement, Aims and Objectives: 
   1. The        society             aims     to         provide            learning           resources        (Student   Led

Classes, ChemCafé etc.) and a safe communal atmosphere for students to learn and socialise, whilst also completing charity events contributing beneficially to the external sphere. 

2. The attempt to achieve ‘SocsMarks’ should be in the core of the society’s activities.  
3. The society is a Warwick SU society and has no conflict of interest with SU policies as a result of potential external sponsors. 
4. The society aims to provide a safe learning and social network for all students, whilst adhering to the Warwick SU Code of Good Practice and NHS Guidelines on Mental Health. If any students are discriminated against, or observe discrimination, these claims will be reported to the Warwick SU or National Union of Students, to investigate and ensure appropriate measures taken to remove the prejudice in future and discipline as necessary. The society aims to have no prejudice or discrimination, employing a non-discriminatory policy at all levels. All reported instances of discrimination will be taken seriously and reported to the SU recommended officers to sufficiently solve the issue and discipline accordingly. The society shall ensure that all members feel comfortable, regardless of disability (mental or physical), ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender and otherwise. Instances of racism, sexism, discrimination against LGBTQIA+, the disabled or any group not aforementioned will not be tolerated. 
5. The society, its officers, its funds and all its activities shall be subject to the provisions of the constitution, regulations and policy of the University of Warwick Students’ Union. 
6. The society shall abide by the Union’s current ‘Equal Opportunities Policy’ and ‘Environmental Policy statement’, which shall be included in all constitutions. 
7. The society shall be subject to a disciplinary code as laid down by the Students’ Union and administered by the Societies Federation Committee. 
8. Any alterations to the Society Constitution must be ratified by the Societies Federation Committee. 
9. ChemSoc shall always abide by the University of Warwick’s GDPR policies.

 

3. Equal Opportunities and Discrimination:
   1. The Secretary of ChemSoc acts as the Equal Opportunities Representative, however, can abstain, in the event of which an election within the Executive Committee will be completed. This person is responsible for the fair treatment of all ChemSoc members (both undergraduate and postgraduate) in accordance with the Equal Opportunities Policy of the Students’ Union.
   2. ChemSoc ethos reflects the diversity of University of Warwick and society members.

 

4. Union Rules: 
   1. ChemSoc shall abide by the rules and constitutional elements set down by the Students’ Union regarding conduct and management of societies. This includes attendance at the compulsory courses provided by the Students’ Union.
   2. In the event of a conflict between Union regulations and those passed by the membership, ChemSoc shall abide by those rules set out by the Students’ Union. The President of the Students’ Union shall have ultimate arbitration if the ChemSoc Executive Committee deems the conflict irresolvable.

 

5. Membership:
   1. Membership shall be open to all students and staff of the University of Warwick, members of the University of Warwick Students’ Union – not exclusively to students of Chemistry. 
   2. Membership of the society shall be open to all members of the Students’ Union and full, associate and honorary members of Societies Federation upon payment of the required subscription. The ChemSoc subscription rate reflects the true cost of the facilities made available to the members of the society. 
   3. All members of the society shall be entitled to vote in elections, provided that they have joined the society and paid the appropriate subscription fee no less than fourteen days before the election takes place. 

 

6. Management, Elections and Meetings:
   1. The business of ChemSoc shall be managed by the Executive Committee, elected at the Annual General Meeting of the society proceeding the year of their office. Positions on the Executive Committee are outlined in article 7.
   2. The general meeting shall be free to give titles to the remaining Officers and create other Executive Officers as it believes necessary. 
   3. Elections of the Executive Committee positions will occur typically in term 2 in the following order: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, then additional Executive Committee positions. Any new Executive Committee positions created between Executive Committee elections will be elected in the same manner. 
   4. The Executive shall be responsible for the day to day running of the society. The Executive shall be further responsible for:
   9. Organising the activities of the society in such a way as to include the greatest possible number of society members whilst retaining its quality.
   217. Directing the expenditure of the society’s funds in a responsible fashion in line with the aims, objectives and planned activities of the society, whilst adhering to the SU’s financial regulations.
   5625. Formulating and submitting an annual bid for funds from the Societies Federation Committee, or additional bids for funds from the Societies Federation Committee or groups within the Union, prior to any specified deadline which shall include a statement of activities and objectives for the coming year and detailed justification of the figures contained within the bid.
   230. Upholding the constitution of the society and ensuring that its aims and objectives reflect the society’s activities. 
   22. Ensuring that all society activities abide by the constitution, regulations, policy of the Warwick SU and the law.  vi. Any temporary or subsidiary committee can be set up at the discretion of the Executive Committee, however, must contain at least one member of the Executive Committee. 

e. Meetings of ChemSoc shall be arranged as follows: 

i. Executive Committee Meetings: 

1. These shall normally be called by the President but can be called by any member of the Executive Committee. 
2. The quorum for a meeting of the Executive Committee shall be no less than two-thirds of its membership. 
3. Changes that will affect the identity or aims of ChemSoc, following a vote from the executive committee, must be disclosed to members, and a 14-day period must be given to allow for members to voice their opinions on the matter. In the event of a disagreement, members are invited to attend a meeting with the Executive Committee to discuss their concerns, in which a second vote will be cast by the Executive Committee to finalise any changes. 
4. Voting shall be by a simple majority.
5. Only members of the Executive Committee may vote. 
6. Executive Committee meetings are not open to non-Executive Committee members except at the discretion of the Executive Committee, as such non-Executive Committee members may be asked to leave at any point if confidential information (including personal and private) is discussed, because this information is always confidential and is not at the discretion of the Executive Committee. 
7. A meeting of the Executive Committee can be closed by a majority vote of those members of the Executive Committee present, remaining agenda points must be carried forth to the following meeting. 
8. No member of the Executive Committee may vote more than once, thus non-majority motions will be reopened at a later date. 

 

ii. General Meetings: 

1. These shall normally be called by the President, however, can be called by any member at the discretion of the Executive Committee. 
2. Annual General Meetings shall normally occur towards the end of the second term of the academic year and a minimum of seven days’ notice must be given. If the General meeting involves an election, then a minimum of seven days’ notice must be given. 
3. Annual General Meetings shall include a review of ChemSoc’s financial position and the election of the new Executive Committee. 
4. The quorum for an Annual General Meeting shall be 10 % of the society’s membership. This is to be determined by those in attendance, the Students’ Union does not allow voting by proxy. 
5. Voting shall be by the Single Transferable Vote system. Any vote taken which has more ‘re-open nominations’ than votes cast will be declared void and a re-vote taken at a time specified by the chairman to be no earlier than 14 term days after the original vote and must be treated by standard election proceedings. 
6. Votes are counted by members of the Executive Committee who are not standing for a position of the elections in question. The Democracy Officer of the SU is entitled to sit in elections if deemed necessary. 
7. No members can hold more than one Executive Committee position at any given time. 
8. Under exceptional circumstances as decided by the Executive Committee, a proxy vote may be given in writing to the President. 
9. Any unresolved business shall be referred to the next meeting of the Executive Committee and any decisions made should be referred to the Executive Committee. 
10. Minutes taken shall preserve the anonymity of the results and just record the outcome.  iii. Extraordinary General Meetings: 
    1. These shall normally be called by the Executive Committee or upon a written request made to the President, which has been signed by at least ten members of ChemSoc. 
    2. Extraordinary General Meetings may be called at any time, but a minimum of seven days’ notice must be given. 
    3. Extraordinary General Meetings allow the Executive Committee to bring to ChemSoc members’ attention any issue of importance and shall normally involve a decision to be made by ChemSoc members present. 
    4. The quorum for an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be 10 % of ChemSoc’s membership. This is to be determined by those in attendance, the Students’ Union does not allow voting by proxy. 
    5. Voting shall be by the Single Transferable Vote System 
    6. Under exceptional circumstances as decided by the Executive Committee, a proxy vote may be given in writing to the President. 
    7. Minutes taken shall preserve the anonymity of the results, and just record their outcome. 

f. Candidates for election must be of the following:  

1. All candidates for the positions of the Executive Committee must hold full membership of ChemSoc and be a member of the Societies Federation at least 14 days before elections. Associate members of ChemSoc cannot run for elections. Ii. ChemSoc shall not be run for private profit of a ChemSoc member(s). Any balance at the end of the financial year shall be carried over to help further the objectives of ChemSoc.  
2. ChemSoc shall not be wound up except by a resolution of threequarters of those present at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for that purpose.  

1. In the event of ChemSoc winding up, the remaining ChemSoc funds and assets shall not be distributed among ChemSoc members or Executive Committee but shall be distributed as directed by Union regulations. ChemSoc wishes that, where possible, assets should be used to aid those with similar objectives to the society.  

3. If an incoming Executive member resigns their position within two weeks of the Executive election, the current Executive should: a. If possible, recount the votes cast (if preference voting was used, redistribute preference votes of the withdrawn candidate starting again in round 1) and award the position to the candidate with the subsequent highest votes. B. Re-Open Nominations for that position.  
4. If a member of the current Executive resigns their position after the 2week induction period following the day of elections, the current Executive Committee can: a. Leave the position unfilled so long as it is not the position of President, Treasurer or Secretary. B. Co-opt a member to temporarily take on the responsibilities of that role for no longer than 10 weeks. C. Hold a by-election amongst all members if there are more than 10 weeks remaining in the tenancy of that Executive position.  
5. A motion of no confidence removing a member from the Executive Committee may be proposed as long as that member’s mitigating circumstances have been considered and the Societies Offer has been consulted. A. A motion of no confidence should relate to the fulfilment of the role only (e.g. not fulfilling core responsibilities, not attending meetings, abusing conflicts of interest, or breaking the SU’s Code of Conduct) and must have a proposer and a seconder who may be any two standard members of ChemSoc. B. Members shall have equal opportunity to speak for and against the motion (the person the motion concerns will be given first right of refusal to speak against). C. The motion shall be decided by a two thirds majority in a secret ballot of an Executive Committee Meeting with at least half the Executive present. In the event of a tie, the motion will not be carried. D. A successful vote of no confidence will trigger a by-election. All members of ChemSoc shall be informed of the result and any subsequent byelection  
6. In the event of a post on the Executive Committee being unfilled, the Executive Committee may invite members to submit interest and must be voted by the same standards expressed above.   

 

7. Duties of the Executive Committee:  

1. The members of the Executive Committee should perform the following duties but are not limited in scope to those duties outlined. They are expected to take up their positions after the handover, however, the President is expected to take up the position after the election on which they were voted. The officer in each position must also be prepared to work on other tasks not specified to assist ChemSoc in its general work, as well as assisting other members of the Executive Committee as necessary.  The Executive Committee is responsible for providing all necessary proof for ‘SocsMarks’.  
2. President: The President is the representative of the society and may be asked to attend events on its behalf. As of 2018 onwards, the President must have, in previous years, completed experience in mentoring or outreach, to demonstrate an understanding of the running of the society. The role begins prior to term three and must provide support, advice and guidance to all other executive committee positions in order to successfully lead the society.  

i. Executive Committee Meetings: The President must chair all executive committee meetings unless specifically requested otherwise.  ii. The President shall assume the role of Safety Officer, but the role may be delegated to another member who is deemed more qualified.  iii. At the end of their term, the President is responsible for ensuring an efficient handover to the new exec. This includes reviewing all handover packs and ensuring their timely delivery.

iv. The President is responsible for liaising with the chemistry department via departmental meetings and Student-Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC) meetings to ensure that the students' needs remain at the core of the society’s activities.    

3. Vice-President: Role of Vice-President involves support of the President, offering council and taking initiative when required. The Vice-President may also be required to confront the President in the event of diminishing confidence in the President’s decision(s) and must maintain an open mind on

all matters. The Vice-President must carry out all roles of the President in the event that he/she is unable to do so.  

i. Mentoring: The Vice-President should receive and examine applications for mentors and administer training in term 3. They should be committed to becoming a mentor, as well as overseeing the program throughout the year, including holding regular meetings with the mentors. If a candidate has not previously held a mentoring position, the role of organising the mentorship program should default to an Executive member with more experience.  ii. Welfare Officer: The Vice-President should receive SU welfare officer training to promote general wellbeing, de-stigmatization and treatment of poor mental health, and will provide the Welfare and Campaigns Officer of the Students’ Union with a direct point of contact for ChemSoc with whom they can liaise and disseminate messages and will serve as an extra signpost to accessing important wellbeing services for students who need them.  

iii. ChemSoc Ambassadors: The Vice-President is responsible, together with the President, for selecting first year ChemSoc ambassadors at the beginning of the academic year via an application and interview process. The Vice-President will also be responsible for overseeing the work of these ambassadors, whilst also working as their point of contact within the Executive Committee. The need for ChemSoc ambassadors shall be revised annually by the executive committee. They should be brought to an executive committee meeting and introduced. They should liaise with all first years and the executive committee. This is not an executive position.

4. Secretary: Role consists primarily of organising the agenda and taking minutes of Executive Committee meetings, distributing minutes, regularly keeping contact with other Executive Committee members to ensure the agenda is representative of their interests and supporting the rest of the Executive Committee with any administrative work they require.  
   1. Equal Opportunities: The Secretary is typically responsible for ensuring all members feel safe and not discriminated against within the department/society. Equal Opportunities involves alliance with the rest of the Executive Committee as well as the mentors to ensure enough awareness is made and action is taken on behalf of people feeling discriminated against or who feel there are unjust motives at play. Any prejudice or discrimination should also be reported to Union and the relevant University officer. 
   2. ChemSoc Newsletter: The Secretary shall work with the Publicity Officer in writing the ChemSoc Newsletter.  
5. Treasurer: Responsible for budget planning for the following year and securing sponsorship as well as communicating with other potential society sponsors. Treasurer involves planning over the Easter break so will begin earlier and requires training from the Students’ Union.
   1. Be responsible (with the President) for the act of payment to external bodies and to members for relevant expenses. 
   2. Be responsible for fair and responsible management of the society funds.  
   3. Be responsible for management of monies received from members and external bodies. 
   4. Liaise with the Students’ Union Finance Department. 
   5. Create and maintain the annual budget for the society’s activities, present this to the Executive Committee for approval at least once per term. 
   6. Produce an end of year financial report and present this during the handover Executive Committee meeting. This report should include all payments made on behalf of the society in the past academic year, as well as all monies received through sponsorship. The Treasurer should also be able to provide evidence for all payments made and received.  vii. Be responsible for securing continued sponsorship for the society from the existing sponsors (including, but not limited to, IMFM GRP and the RSC).

viii. Be able to account for the financial situation of the society.

6. Education Officers (2 Positions): It is recommended that this role be held by individuals who are at least in their third year of study. Due to the nature of this role, these members must liaise with academics when delivering academic content. 
   1. ChemCafé: Officers are required to organise events and activities considered useful to the members of ChemSoc, publicise each week’s ChemCafé, and purchase refreshments. 
   2. Student Led Classes (SLCs): The Officers are required to organise SLCs for first, second- and third- year students (and fourth year if willing postgraduate lecturers can be found). 
7. Social Secretaries (2 Positions):

i. Organise frequent socials (of diverse interests to include the whole cohort and avoid exclusion based on moral grounds), abiding by the Warwick SU requirements – submitting necessary risk assessments for activities. 

8. Outreach Officers (2 Positions): In order to stand for this role, candidates must have previously been active members of the ChemSoc Outreach programme.  
9. Organisation of trips and events for the public and schools to engage and enthuse an interest in science to all.  ii. The role requires training of volunteers and organising of necessary safeguarding training, in accordance with the university and Warwick SU regulations.  iii. The role involves the organisation of volunteers for ACORNS and other such events (in close collaboration with Events officer).  iv. The officer(s) should ensure that all necessary risk assessments and COSHH forms have been completed and submitted to the necessary bodies if storing or using chemicals. 

1. Ball Coordinators (2 Positions): This role will require extra work to be completed before the official handover in term 3. 
   1. Organisation of the ChemSoc Departmental Ball (typically held during term two). Organisation of the ChemSoc Departmental Ball includes communication with the Students’ Union, venue hire, transport hire, food, entertainment and advertising etc. Ball Coordinators must consult the President and Treasurer with regards to available funds. Ball Coordinators must abide by SU regulations around event planning related deadlines. 
   2. Assistance of other roles within the society once the role has been completed.  
10. Sports and Charity Officer: Organisation of sporting teams, including matches and tournaments, and charity events within the society.  
    1. Requires the planning of sporting events and communication throughout the society and with Warwick Sport.  ii. Responsible for the coordination of fundraising events with the minimum of one charity focused (I.e. non-sporting related) event per term, for 1 local charity and any other selected charities.  
11. Events Officers (2 Positions): 
    1. Annual Conference on Research in Natural Sciences (ACORNS): Advertising, inviting schools, and organisation of the conference, including organising speakers. The conference is a non-profit event funded entirely by donations from sponsors and by ChemSoc, no cost will be charged to those in attendance.  ii. Other responsibilities include arranging the ChemSoc Presidential and ChemSoc New Year lectures, in coordination with the department.  
12. Publicity Officer: The main responsibilities involve designing promotional material, as well as being in control of the society social media and website. 
    1. Designing all promotional material for the society.
    2. Control of all of the society’s social media.
    3. Liaising with other members of the Executive Committee regarding design requests for promotional material for events they organize.
    4. The Publicity Officer should work with the Secretary in writing the ChemSoc Newsletter. 
    5. The Publicity Officer should be consulted on all promotional material created by any other Executive Committee member before they are released.   
13. Post-graduate Representative: This role should be held by a post-graduate member of the society.
    1. Promotion and assistance of post-graduate requirements within the society. 
    2. Responsible for liaising with other members of the Executive Committee in order to provide support and events for post-graduate members. 
14. Interdisciplinary Officer (IDO): The main responsibility of the Interdisciplinary

Officer is to promote and provide events for members of the ChemSoc community who do not directly study Chemistry and to provide non-STEM events for members of the society. 

1. The role requires the Executive member to liaise with others to ensure the needs of interdisciplinary members are met. 
2. The IDO will be the direct representative from ChemSoc for the Science Media project, and is therefore expected to coordinate with the respective participating societies. 
3. The IDO should arrange cross-disciplinary events with other societies. 

 

• Vote of No Confidence: In the event that the members of ChemSoc or the Executive Committee themselves feel there is insignificant and unjustified progress in a specific role on the exec, the motion can be proposed (anonymously) to the President or Vice-President, who will be required to bring the motion onto the meeting agenda, for a discussion and anonymous vote from the Executive Committee, as per SU guidelines.  
• In the event that the following roles are not filled, it is possible for the society to function as normal, as long as at least one by-election has been attempted: IDO, Post-graduate Representative, Sports and Charities Officer. If unfilled, the responsibilities of these roles should be shared amongst the rest of the Executive Committee as seen appropriate. 
• In the event that only 1 position is filled in the following roles that have 2 positions available, it is possible for the society to function as normal, as long as at least one by-election has been attempted: Outreach Officer, Ball Coordinator, Social Secretary. 

 

8. Discipline: 
   1. Any discipline procedures involving the society, or its members will be conducted by Warwick Students’ Union in line with Student Union Policy Outlined in “General Misconduct Disciplinary Regulations”. 

 

9. Affiliation:
   1. The society is affiliated with the University of Warwick Students’ Union. 
   2. The society is friendly with, but not affiliated to, the University of Warwick Department of Chemistry. 
   3. The society is friendly with, but not affiliated to, the Royal Society of Chemistry. 

 

10. Amendments: 
    1. New amendments or suggested improvements to the constitution must be approved by the society at a general meeting with 15 % quorum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Signatures on behalf of the society:

 

Signed:     Date: _20/01/2020__________

Jonas Bouhlal

President 2019-2020

 

 

Signed : Date: __________

Ally McLoughlin

Secretary 2019-2020