MASSACHUSETTS JUNIOR CLASSICAL LEAGUE

 

CONSTITUTION

 

 

May 9, 2009

 

 

Preamble

 

We, the members of the National Junior Classical League of Massachusetts, in order to promote cooperation among the chapters, to establish a basis of order, to better unite the members of this organization, and to promote friendship and understanding among the members, do hereby adopt the following constitution and agree to abide by its rules.

 

Article I

Name & Purpose

 

Section I: Name

The name of this organization shall be the Massachusetts Junior Classical League (MassJCL).

 

Section II: Purpose

The purpose of this organization shall be: to promote a more thorough knowledge of Classical history, life, and literature; to impart a better understanding of the practical and cultural values of the Classics; and, to foster academic enthusiasm for the studies of Latin and Greek.

 

Section III: Emblem

The emblem shall be a torch encircled in a laurel wreath. The colors shall be Roman purple and gold.

 

Article II

Membership

 

Section I: Members

The organizationÕs membership shall be of two kinds: members of school chapters and members at large. All members shall be admitted automatically to the MassJCL upon payment of MassJCL dues.

 

Section II: School Chapter Membership

A.          School chapters of the National Junior Classical League located in Massachusetts shall be considered chapters of the MassJCL.

B.          All MassJCL school chapters are required to be members of the National Junior Classical League.

C.          MassJCL school chapters whose members have paid both MassJCL and National JCL dues shall be considered Ôin good standing.Õ

 

Section III: Membership at Large

Members at large shall include the active members of the National Junior Classical League for whom no local chapter exists.

 

 

Article III

Executive Board

 

Section I:

Activities of the Mass JCL shall be initiated and organized by an Executive Board consisting of nine (9) Student Officers and the State Chairs.

 

Section II: Meetings

A.         The Executive Board shall meet at least five (5) times a year at a central location.

B.          Meetings of the Executive Board shall abide by RobertÕs Rules of Order Revised unless the present Constitution, by-laws, or standing rules otherwise provide.

C.          State Officers and State Chairs shall be the only ones permitted to vote at meetings, with each possessing one (1) vote.

 

Article IV

Officers and State Chairs

 

Section I: Offices Defined

The elected student offices of this organization shall be: President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian, Historian, Publications Editor, and Technical Coordinator. 

 

Section II: Qualifications for Office

A.          To qualify as an officer the student must be enrolled in a Latin or Greek class or independent study for the term of office or have completed all the Classics courses offered by his school. Post-Graduates and mid-term Graduates shall not be eligible for office.

B.          Three candidates for elected and appointed offices shall be allowed from each chapter. A chapter may hold no more then three offices on the Executive Board.

 

Section III: Restrictions

A.          No person or chapter may hold the same elected office for more than one term. A term shall begin at the transition meeting following the election and end at the next yearsÕ transition meeting.

B.          In order to run for office candidates must be present at the State Convention and comply with article IV, section IV.

For the office of Second Vice President all candidates must have attended at least one National Convention.

Section IV: Elections

A.          In order to become a candidate for the MassJCL executive board, one must submit an application form to the current Parliamentarian by     the specified date.

B.          At State Convention, candidates are required to give a speech at the specified General Assembly unless they are granted an exception by the current Parliamentarian before the start of State Convention.

C.          All candidates are required to attend the CandidatesÕ Open Forum held during State Convention.

D.          Candidates may campaign at the State Convention after candidate speeches conclude, but only in accordance with the rules and guidelines set forth in the Convention Packet.

Elections shall take place at the State Convention by the voting process described in Article VII, Section II.

Section V: Vacancies

A.          If an elected officer becomes unable to serve on the Executive Board, the officerÕs advisor shall present a qualified candidate to the Executive Board as a potential replacement. The Executive Board shall then vote on the potential replacement; a 2/3 majority is required to appoint the new officer. An appointment shall be effective immediately.

B.          If the potential replacement is not appointed, the remaining officers and State Chairs shall work together to select a candidate to be elected by a 2/3-majority vote.

 

Section VI: Candidates for National Junior Classical League Office

A.         In order to run for a National Junior Classical League office, one must have served on the MassJCL Executive Board.

B.         All those interested in national candidacy must make their intent known to the current MassJCL president by February First 

C.         At the first MassJCL Executive Board meeting immediately following the February First deadline, each candidateÕs application   describing his/her qualifications for National Office will be reviewed by the Executive Board, in preparation for choosing one (1) candidate. 

D.         No applicant for National Junior Classical League office may be present for or participate in the review of or voting on applicants.

E.         After reviewing each application, the Executive Board shall select one (1) candidate from among the applicants by a simple majority vote.

F.          MassJCL State Chairs will endorse the candidate selected by the Executive Board.

 

Section VII: State Chairs

A.         State Chairs shall be elected by the sponsors at the State Convention by a simple majority, with each sponsor casting one (1) vote. 

B.         Upon election, the State Chair shall serve for a term of five (5) years.

 

 

Article V

Duties of Executive Board Members

 

Section I: Expectations

         Every Executive Board member is expected to attend all Executive Board meetings, the State Convention, and the National Convention.

 

Section II: Duties of the Officers

A.         Duties of the President

1. Shall actively lead the MassJCL as the primary representative of the institution and as a liaison between its officers, members, and chairs.

2. Shall offer assistance to other officers when appropriate, maintaining an awareness of the officersÕ activities and duties within the JCL.

3. Shall preside over all meetings of the Executive Board, State Convention General Assemblies, and National Convention Fellowship meetings.

4. Shall preside over State Convention, working cooperatively with the State Chairs and other student officers in planning and execution of the various components of the event.

 

 

B.         Duties of the First Vice President

1. Shall preside over Executive Board meetings in the absence of the President.

2. Shall coordinate Mass JCL Classics Day.

3. Shall organize and judge the State Publicity Contest.

 

C.         Duties of the Second Vice President

1. Shall organize and run the spirit games at the State Convention.

2. Shall organize statewide participation in the national spirit contests.

3. Shall promote and encourage both Massachusetts and National JCL membership in the state of Massachusetts.

4. Shall judge the Toga Parade contest at the State Convention.

 

D.         Duties of the Secretary

1. Shall record minutes of the Executive Board meetings and email a copy to the Technical Coordinator within 48 hours after the meeting.

2. Shall write letters on behalf of the Executive Board as directed.

 

E.         Duties of the Treasurer

1. Shall open and maintain a checking account in MassJCLÕs name and shall honor all financial obligations of the MassJCL.

2. Shall maintain current and accurate financial records of all transactions of the MassJCL.

3. Shall be responsible for receiving and processing annual dues, and passing on all membership information to the State Chairs as it becomes available.

4. Shall organize all contact information pertaining to student liaisons and chapter sponsors and disseminate this information to the Executive Board as it becomes available.

5. Shall furnish, at each Executive Board meeting a copy of all MassJCL financial transactions occurring since the previous Executive Board meeting.

6. Shall furnish upon the request of any Executive Board member a copy of all MassJCL financial transactions.

 

F.          Duties of the Parliamentarian:

1. Shall be responsible for becoming familiar with the MassJCL Constitution and parliamentary procedure for all Executive Board meetings.

2. Shall be responsible for ensuring that all Executive Board meetings are run in accordance with RobertÕs Rules of Order Revised.

3. Shall be responsible for finding and encouraging qualified candidates to run for office; shall create candidacy application forms and distribute them to interested delegates by at least two months before State Convention.

4. Shall be the steward of the Mass JCL constitution and shall be responsible for supplying copies of the Constitution and by-laws upon request.

5. As steward of the constitution, the parliamentarian shall revise and amend the constitution and receive any proposed suggestions for further change from JCL members by February 1st.

6. The parliamentarian shall present all constitutional amendments, bylaws, and edits, created before February 1st, to the Executive Board by March 1st. Amendments and bylaws approved by a majority vote of the board shall be deferred to MassJCL members for ratification

7. Shall provide copies of all amendments and bylaws approved by the Executive Board to all chapters in good standing by March 1st.

8. Shall preside over all voting procedures, for amendments and candidates, at the State Convention and shall prepare all official ballots.

9. Shall, if necessary, call a state of emergency, as defined in Article VII Section IV, at the State Convention. 

10.            Shall provide a revised Constitution, incorporating all amendments approved at the State Convention, at the first Executive            Board meeting after the State Convention.

11.            Shall provide the application for members wishing to run for National Junior Classical League           office by December 1. 

 

        

G.         Duties of the Historian

 

1. Shall be responsible for creating a State Scrapbook and entering it in the State Scrapbook Contest at the National Convention.

2. Shall be the caretaker of the State Scrapbook until the first meeting after National Convention, when it shall become the property of MassJCL Inc. It is the duty of the Historian to safely transfer the Scrapbook into the possession of the State Chairs.

3. Shall encourage schools to actively contribute chapter materials for the scrapbook. 

4. Shall be responsible for sending State Scrapbook materials to the National Historian.

5. Shall judge of the Scrapbook Contest at the State Convention.

 

H.         Duties of the Publications Editor

1. Shall be responsible for producing and distributing at least three (3) issues of            the official publication of the MassJCL, the Forum Factorum as well as two (2) issues of the convention news.  

2. Shall file four (4) copies of each issue (one of which shall be the convention news)with the National JCL Publications chairperson for entry in the National JCL Publications contest

3. Shall be responsible for judging the MassJCL School Newsletter Contest.

 

I.           Duties of the Technical Coordinator

1. Shall be responsible for creating and maintaining the web site of the MassJCL.

2. Shall help local chapters set up and maintain their websites as well as encourage them to link their websites to the stateÕs website.

3. Shall judge the MassJCL school web site contest.

4. Shall enter the MassJCL web site into the National JCL Web Site contest by the date set forth by the National Technology Coordinator. 

 

Section III: Duties of the State Chairs

A.       Shall support and advise the student officers in the execution of their duties as stated in this constitution.

B.        Shall attend all Executive Board meetings, State Conventions and National Conventions.

C.        Shall initiate planning for the September mailing to all Massachusetts schools known to offer Latin or Greek and oversee planning for: the JCL Kickoff Event, Classics Day, Certamen Preliminaries, the State Convention, and the National Convention.

D.       Shall be in charge of filing appropriate tax forms.

 

 

Section IV: Removal from the Board

A.       If any officers are in any way derelict in their duties, another member(s) of the state board may bring forth concerns at the state board meetings. The board will then vote to decide if a State Chair must oversee this officer more closely.  The State Chairs shall first work with the officer and his or her sponsor in an effort to correct the situation. If, however, these efforts are not successful, removal proceedings will begin.

B.        Removal proceedings can be initiated by any state board member, under the provision that part A of section IV under article V has already been completed. The state chair assigned to oversee the officerÕs duties will then give her opinion on how the officer has done since they have been identified as being derelict in their duties.  The Executive Board will then vote, and may remove an officer from office by a 2/3 vote..

C.        The vacancy shall be filled as described in Article IV, Section V.

 

Article VI

Amendments & Bylaws

 

Section I: Constitutional Amendments

A.       Proposed Amendments must be submitted in writing to the Parliamentarian by February 1st.

B.        If accepted by a majority of the Executive Board, copies of the proposed amendments shall be sent to all chapters in good standing by March 1st to be read over before voted on at State Convention.

C.        Ratification of an amendment shall occur only if the amendment receives a 2/3 majority vote at the Constitutional Amendments Meeting after State Convention (See Article VII, Section 3).

D.       A ratified Constitution shall take effect in September of that year.

 

Section II: Bylaws.

A.         Proposed bylaws must be submitted in writing to the Parliamentarian by February 1st.

B.         If accepted by a majority of the Executive Board, copies of the proposed bylaws shall be sent to all chapters in good standing by March 1st for ratification at the State Convention by a 2/3 vote of the General Assembly.

C.         Ratified bylaws shall take effect in September of that year.

 

Article VII

State Convention

 

Section I: Convention Planning

A.     The MassJCL shall hold an annual convention each spring before May 30th. The Executive Board is responsible for organizing the convention; it shall select the date, time, and location, establish a schedule of events, and update the rules and guidelines.

B.      The Executive Board is responsible for notifying all chapters in good standing of convention plans in a timely manner. 

 

Section II: Voting at State Convention for Student Officers

A.        Each chapter with more than four (4) delegates attending the State Convention shall be permitted four (4) electoral voting delegates. Each delegate shall receive one (1) vote, which may be given to any Candidate running for Executive office.

B.        Chapters attending with less than four (4) delegates shall be permitted as many delegates as they have attendees.

C.        All voting delegates must attend Candidates Open Forum to be eligible to vote in the Elections; absence from Candidates Open Forum shall not prohibit voting on constitutional amendments and/or bylaws. 

 

Section III: Voting at State Convention for Constitutional Amendments

A.         Each chapter attending the State Convention shall be permitted two (2) voting delegates. Each delegate shall receive one (1) vote, which may be given to any amendment.

B.         Chapters attending with less than two (2) delegates shall be permitted as many delegates as they have attendees.

C.         All voting delegates must attend Constitutional Amendments Meeting to be eligible to vote on amendments.

 

Section IV: State of Emergency

A.       In the event that there are no pre-filed candidates running for any given office, the Parliamentarian shall declare a state of emergency which allows delegates who are not pre-filed to run for that office.

B.       In the event that no single candidate running for a position on the Executive Board receives a majority of delegate votes, the Parliamentarian shall declare a state of emergency, which shall allow the state officers and State Chairs to collaborate to elect a candidate in the fashion of Article IV, Section V, B.