Article I: Name, Purpose and Affiliation

Section 1: The name of this organization shall be the Tufts Freethought Society (TFS).

Section 2: The purpose of the Tufts Freethought Society is the following: to provide students with a non-religious organization to associate with, to encourage freethought and secular ideals on campus through the use of campus activities and involvement with campus government, and to educate its members and the campus about the freethought movement. The freethought movement is characterized by the advancement and encouragement of living one’s life without superstition, dogma, or belief in the supernatural.

Section 3: This group is currently not affiliated with any local, state or national organizations other than Tufts University.

Article II: Membership

Section 1: General members.
Part a. Any Tufts University student enrolled at least half time may become a general member upon request. General members must have their name and contact information recorded on the club roster.
Part b: Privileges of general membership
1. General members may attend any meeting or event of the Tufts Freethought Society.
2. General members may vote on any decision not reserved for full members as outlined in article V, section 5, part b, paragraph 2 of this constitution.

Section 2: Full members
Part a. Any general member who has satisfied all of the following requirements shall become a full member.
1. Attends 75% of general club meetings since becoming a general member.
2. Attends 50% of special events since attaining membership status.
3. Attends a minimum of 12 general club meetings
Part b. Should any one of the following requirements not be met at any time during a single semester a full member shall become a general member until all of these requirements is met once again.
1. Attends 3 of the last 5 general club meetings.
2. Attends 1 of the last 3 special events.
Part c. Privileges of full membership.
1. Full members shall have the privilege of voting in all situations as outlines in article V, section 5, part b, paragraph 2 of this constitution. Section 3: Membership of this organization shall not be denied to any individual based upon race, religion, gender, nationality, handicap, sexual orientation, age, etc.

Article III: Officers

Section 1: The following list shall constitute all mandatory officers and their basic responsibilities.
Part a. President- The President shall preside over all meetings, coordinate club affairs with other organizations and the University, and to ensure the future well-fare of the club.
Part b. Vice-President- The Vice-President shall preside over all meetings in the absence of the President and to work with the President to ensure the smooth operation of the organization.
Part c. Secretary- The Secretary shall record minutes for all general, executive and special meetings, take attendance at all meetings and events, maintain communication within the club as well as with other campus organizations, and keep an up-to-date club roster. The secretary shall also count all votes cast during a secret ballot.
Part d. Treasurer- The treasurer shall keep current records of all financial interactions, present a budget for approval to the executive board at the end of each semester, and to be accountable for all club finances.
Part e. Public Relations- The Public Relations officer shall be responsible for ensuring positive public relations through frequent Daily articles, participation in appropriate university publications, and the maintenance of any internet accounts used by TFS for the purpose of advertising.
Part f. Community Outreach- The Community Outreach officer shall keep the club up to date about pertinent freethought events in the community at large.
Part g. Programming- The Programming officer shall be in charge of logistics for all special events including food, drinks or other related logistics for special events.
Part h. Freshman Representative- The Freshman Representative’s primary goal is to increase TFS visibility and relevance to freshmen. This representative will be chosen at the general interest meeting, unlike the other positions. Upon receiving full membership status and attendance of at least 3 executive board meetings, the Freshman Representative gains executive voting privileges.
Section 2: The following requirements must be met for eligibility to take position as an officer.
Part a. must be a full-time student.
Part b. must be an undergraduate student.
Part c. must be a full member. This requirement may be waived by a 4/5ths vote of all full members.

Article IV: Election and Impeachment

Section 1: Officers shall be elected as outlined in this article IV at the end of each academic year no later than two weeks before the end of classes or any earlier than four weeks before the end of classes.
Part a: One week prior to the election of officers a meeting shall be held where any member may nominate eligible persons for each position. This may be done at a regular general meeting.
Part b: The day of elections further nominations may be taken for any position at any time prior to the opening of discussion for said position.
1. The position of president and vice-president are exempt from this rule. Further nominations may only be taken for these positions in the event of a lack of candidates.
Part c: Officers shall be considered in the order of highest to lowest rank. Each candidate shall be given the opportunity to provide a statement on their own behalf then all candidates shall leave the room while the remaining members discuss the merits of each candidate. Any candidate may be called in to answer a question by any member, but must retire from the room upon answering the question. The highest ranking officer shall preside over the discussion.
Part d: Once discussion has ended a secret ballot of full members shall be held, the candidate receiving the most votes being declared elected.
Part e: Elected officers shall take up their positions upon the end of official classes.
Part f: In the event of a vacancy a special election may be held at any time during the school year. Officers elected during a special election shall hold office until the next regular election.
1. Should a vacancy occur less than four weeks before the next election a 3/5 vote of all full members shall allow the President appoint a temporary officer. Said appointment must be approved by the executive board by majority vote of all executive members. Section 2: Any officer may be impeached at any time for any reason according to the following guidelines.
Part a: A letter of impeachment and accusations shall be submitted to the president (or vice-president should the president be the officer in question).
Part b: Within five days the President shall forward the letter of impeachment to the party in question, keeping the identity of the accusers private upon request.
Part c: No later than 14 days after the officer in question has been notified the matter shall be discussed in a meeting. The officer in question may opt to skip this meeting upon written request given to the President 24 hours in advance.
1: At least one of the accusing party must be present at the meeting.
2: Only members and full members may be present at the meeting and contribute to discussion.
3: Upon a 2/3 vote of present members the discussion shall end and a secret-vote shall be taken.
4: The officer in question shall be removed from office should 3/5 of all full members vote to remove said officer. Otherwise the officer shall remain in office and the matter shall be considered closed.
5: No officer shall face impeachment twice for the same accusations.
6: Should an officer be removed from office a replacement officer shall be selected in accordance with Article III section 1.

Article V: Meetings

Section 1: General Club Meeting:
Part a: General Club Meetings shall be held once a week at a predetermined time as chosen by the President.
Part b: General Club Meetings are open to any who wish to attend.
Part c: The president shall preside over all General Club Meetings, directing all discussion, voting and procedures. Section 2: Executive Board Meetings:
Part a: Executive board meetings shall be held once a week at a predetermined time as chosen by the President.
Part b: Executive board meetings are open to all members and advisors of the Tufts Freethought Society.
Part c: Only executive board members may vote during executive board meetings.
Part d: All executive board meetings shall be governed in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order. Section 3: Emergency Meetings
Part a: Emergency meetings may be called at any time by the president or vice-president, by any four other executive board members or by a majority of all full members.
Part b: The ranking officer shall preside over all emergency meetings in accordance with Robert's Rule of Order.
Part c: Every member must be notified of any emergency meetings, its time, purpose and its location as soon as possible.
Part d: No vote shall be taken concerning the election of officers, impeachment of officers, amendments to the constitution, election or removal of advisor, decision to join or leave any other organization, budget, cancellation or modification of an event, or any decision left to the Executive Board should the following requirements not be met.
1. Every member must be given at least thirty-six hours notification prior to the meeting concerning its details. Said information must be provided to each member according to his or her preferred method of contact (email or telephone).
2. Quorum must exist.
3. The requirements for any vote as determined by this constitution must be met.
4. At least one of the President, Vice-President or Secretary is not present.
5. At least three executive members must be present.
6. Requirements 4 and 5 may be waived by a two-thirds vote of all voting members. Section 4: Attendance
Part a: Attendance shall be taken at all general club meetings, executive meetings, special meetings and special events.
Part b: Attendance shall be taken by the secretary. Should the secretary be absent the ranking officer shall take attendance.
Part c: Special events include but are not limited to: movie screenings, speakers, TFS hosted debates and discussions, or related community events.
1. The executive board shall determine which events are to be considered special events.
Section 5: Voting
Part a: General Voting Rights
1. All members shall have general voting rights.
2. General voting rights grants members the privilege of voting in any decision not not reserved for those with special voting rights as outlined in this article V, section 5, part a, paragraph 2. Part b: Special Voting Rights
1. Only full members may be granted special voting rights.
2. Special voting rights grants members the right to vote on the following decisions: the election and removal of officers, the choosing and removing of advisors, affiliation with other organizations, amendments to the constitution, and any other vote reserved for full members as outlined in this constitution.

Article VI: Committees

Section 1: Any officer may create and chair an officer’s committee for the sole purpose of fulfilling their responsibilities except the President, Vice-President, Secretary or Treasurer. Membership in said committees is voluntary and shall be composed of any general member of the club.
Section 2: The President and Vice-President may create or abolish any additional general committees as he or she sees fit. Said committees shall not be chaired by the President or Vice-President. Membership in said committees is open to all members and is not compulsory.
Section 3: Committees shall meet no less than once a month.
Section 4: Membership in any committee is open to any general member, full member or officer and any full member shall chair a committee barring the exceptions as described in Article VI sections 1 and 2 above.
Section 5: Chairs for general committees shall be chosen by majority vote of present members at any meeting where a quorum of members is present or by majority vote of the executive board. Should two persons wish to chair the same committee co-chairs shall be created or at the request of either person a brief election shall be held at the next meeting where quorum is present. The person receiving a majority of the vote of members shall be declared the chair.
Section 6: A 1/3 vote of quorum is required to allow a regular member to be eligible to chair a committee.
Article VII: Amendments and By-Laws
Section 1: Any member may propose an amendment to the by-laws. Proposed amendments shall be given to the secretary in writing who shall then immediately inform the executive board of said amendment.
Section 2: Amendments that have been presented to the secretary must be voted on no later than three full weeks since submission and no less than four days since submission.
Section 3: Amendments are adopted provided that 2/3 all full members vote in the affirmative at a meeting where a majority of the executive board and at least two of the four highest officers is present.Article Article VI: Adherence to College Policies
Section 1: The Tufts Freethought Society shall, at all times, act in accordance with all University Policies, local laws, state laws and federal laws. So too shall any member acting on behalf of the Tufts Freethought Society.Article IX: Advisor
Section 1: The advisor shall be selected by two-thirds all full members.
Section 2: Advisors shall function as a liaison between University and the club as needed. The advisor shall help to guide and direct the club as he or she sees fit.