Constitution of MIT Rowing Club

(Amended Spring 2006)

Purpose

The purpose of the MIT Rowing Club (formerly Sloan Crew as of 2/22/2006) is to provide members of the MIT community who are not able to row in the undergraduate program with an opportunity to row.

Membership

Membership in the MIT Rowing Club is open to all members of the MIT community. The membership of the club will at all times contain at least five MIT students and be more than fifty percent MIT students. MIT Rowing Club will not discriminate based on any characteristic listed in MIT’s nondiscrimination Statement. If this organization charges any monetary dues, there will be exceptions made for students which cannot afford these dues. Membership in the club is limited due to coaching and will be maintained at approximately 16 experienced rowers and 16 novice rowers.

Officers

The MIT Rowing Club will have a minimum of the offices of President, Treasurer, Race/Event Planner, Recruiter, and Equipment Manager. Any member that has rowed with the club for at least one season is eligible to be an officer. At least one officer should represent each of the two main communities that are served by MIT Rowing Club ---at least one officer should be from the MIT Sloan School and at least one officer should be a MIT Graduate Student. Elections will be held in February, and officers will serve a one year term. Elections will be made by asking for nominations (self-nomination is acceptable) and in the event of more than one nomination per office an election will be held following the same rules as used for any other important club decision (See section on Decision Making). The responsibilities of the different positions are outlined below.

o President- spokesperson for the club (main interface to coaching/boathouse staff, MIT administration, etc), schedules team meetings at least once per season, and delegates as much as reasonable.

o Treasurer- maintains financial records, writes checks, talks to GSC and athletic department (and other sources of funding from within MIT except the Sloan Senate) about funding and subsidies.

o Fundraiser- lobbies Sloan Senate for funds, maintains contact with and solicits donations from alumni, organize other fund-raisers (T-shirt sales, row-a-thons etc.) Traditionally, a Sloan student in order to lobby the Sloan senate.

o Race Coordinator-plans race schedules, makes sure entries/waivers/fees are submitted on time, negotiates for necessary equipment and organizes transportation.

o Social Planner- plans and organizes social activities, such as end-of-season banquet, post-workout meals etc.

o Recruiter- in charge of advertising, publicity, and recruiting (e.g. club day table). Also maintains roster and mailing list.

o Equipment Manager- in charge of purchase, maintenance/upkeep, security of team equipment. Keeps track of coxboxes, oars, etc.

If a vacancy of one of these positions should arise during the year, the nomination and election process will be repeated in order to fill the position. Officers may be removed by a 60% members vote.

Decision Making

There will be at least one club meeting per season i.e. at least one meeting in the fall and one meeting in the spring. As outlined above, the meetings will be called and run by the Club President. "Important" Decisions (defined as those decisions that reach beyond the day-to-day tasks necessary to keep the club organized and running efficiently) are to be made by the membership of the club. A meeting must be announced (along with the topics or issues under consideration) at least one week prior to the meeting. A 20% quorum of the voting membership is required to pass a decision. Voting membership includes a) all members who have paid their dues for the current season if the season is already underway, OR b) all members on the roster at the end of the previous season if in-between seasons. Club decisions will be made by a majority vote. Members who wish to vote but cannot make the meeting should indicate this by notifying the individual who called the meeting prior to the day of the meeting. These absentee voters will be asked for their votes only if their votes might change the decision made by those attending the meeting. Members who do not attend the meeting and do not indicate their desire to vote by the deadline forfeit their right to vote on the topic of that meeting.

Amendments

Amendments should be presented by any member of the organization and passed by a 60% vote of the members present at the meeting. Quorum for amending this constitution shall be 20% of the club membership.

ASA Membership

The MIT Rowing Club agrees to abide by the rules and regulations of the Association of Student Activities and its executive board. This constitution, its amendments, and the by-laws of this organization shall be subject to review by the ASA executive board to ensure that they are in accordance with the aforementioned rules and regulations.