CONSTITUTIONOF THEUNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKYCOLLEGE DEMOCRATS

Preamble

In order to promote a better United States of America, with equality, opportunity, and freedomwithin a just and strong society, we dedicate ourselves to organizing the participation of Democratic college students at the University of Kentucky. In this mission, we call for full participation of all students, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, physical handicap, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation.Understanding the importance of participation in the Democratic Party to the preservation of our values and principles, we, Democratic college students, do hereby associate ourselves and adoptthis Constitution as the University of Kentucky College Democrats.

Article I. Name and Purpose

Section I.

The name of this organization shall be the University of KentuckyCollege Democrats, hereafter referred to as the UKDemsSection II. The UKDems pledges itself to support the philosophy andcandidates of the Democratic Party. Furthermore, the UKDemsdeclares its intention to support all efforts to increase the participation of college students in Democratic affairs. To these ends, the UKDemsshall educate and train its members so that they may be better able to:i.Educate students about the philosophy of the Democratic Party;ii.Assist in the election of local, state, and national Democraticcandidates;iii.Effect political change on the local, state, and national level.

Article II. Policy

Section I. UKDems shall affiliate locally with the Democratic Party of FayetteCounty and the Kentucky Federation of College Democrats, and nationallywith the Democratic National Committee of the United States and theCollege Democrats of America.

Section II. UKDems may endorse candidates for any national, state, local, or studentoffice.Section III. All endorsements shall require a majority vote of those active organizationmembers present and voting at a general organization meeting except inthe endorsement of candidates for student office, which shall only requirea majority vote of the executive board.

Section IV. UKDems will abide by the university rules and policies of the Universityof Kentucky, including but not limited to the regulations of the Office for Student Involvement

Article III. Membership and Privileges

Section I. Any currently enrolled student of the University of Kentucky is eligiblefor organization membership. Any person who submits his/her dues to theTreasurer of UKDems shall be considered an active organization member in good standing.Section II. Only active organization members are entitled to a vote on endorsementsand elections.Section III. Membership must be renewed every school year by submitting yearlymembership dues to the organization.Section IV. Membership dues shall be determined by the UKDems Executive Board in plenary session upon a full financial report of the UKDems Treasurer.Section V. Any person, upon recommendation of the Executive Board and a majorityvote of those organization members present and voting at a general bodymeeting, shall become an Honorary Member of the UKDems.Section VI. Membership will not, however, be under any circumstances limited bygender, sexual orientation, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age,or citizenship status.

Article IV. Executive Board

Section I. The Executive Board shall be the policy-making body of the UKDemsand shall act as the supervisory and administrative body of theorganization.

Section II. The Executive Board shall consist of the following voting and elected positions: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, FundraisingDirector, and Historian.Section III. The Executive Board shall create or eliminate appointed Executive Board positions by a 2/3 majority of a quorum of existing Executive Boardmembers. The creation of an elected Executive Board position shalladhere to the constitutional amendment process as defined in Article X,Section I. Upon creation of a new Executive Board position, a majorityvote of the Executive Board shall decide whether to fill said positionthrough appointment or election.Subsection I. Elected positions shall be filled through an ad-hoc electionof the general membership according to guidelines set inArticle VII, Section VI, Subsection II.

Section IV. Regular meetings of the Executive Board shall be held at the discretion of the Board with at least two meetings being held each month. Meetingsshall be open to all active organization members, except when closed by amajority vote of the Executive Board.Section V. All Executive Board members shall be notified of any changes in the timeof an Executive Board meeting at least 24 hours in advance. Section VI. A quorum to conduct business at an Executive Board meeting shall be amajority of the voting members of the Board unless there is a request for a2/3 quorum by at least two Executive Board members, at which time, themotion in question will be tabled until a 2/3 quorum can be reached. Section VII. No member shall hold more than one position on the Executive Board atany one time. Section VIII. Executive Board decisions may be overruled by a 2/3 majority of activeUKDems members present and voting at a general membership meeting.Section IX. If a voting member of the Executive Board cannot attend a meeting of theExecutive Board and wishes to assign a proxy, said member must notifythe President and at least one other board member who will be present atthat meeting. Subsection I. One proxy may be assigned to only one officer at eachExecutive Board meeting.Section X. All Board votes are to be verbal except when a majority of the Board votesfor secret ballot.

Article V. Powers of the Elected Executive Board

Section I. PresidentSubsection I. The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of theUKDems.Subsection II. The President shall define the agenda of the UKDemsduring his/her tenure.Subsection III. The President shall create and submit an annual Platformfor the academic year during the month of August. ThePlatform shall be adopted by a majority vote of theExecutive Board.i. The Platform may be amended during the academicyear by a 2/3 vote of the Executive Board.Subsection IV. The President will act as the official spokesperson for theUKDems.Subsection V. The President shall have the right to veto any decisionmade by the Executive Board. The Board may override