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ACTIVE CHRISTIANS TODAY University of Toledo CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 1: NAME & AFFILIATIONS
I. The name of this organization shall be Active Christians Today at the University of Toledo, and hereafter in this document shall be referred to as ACT.
II. This organization shall be affiliated with Active Christians Today Incorporated, and this organization shall operate within the additional standards dictated by Active Christians Today Incorporated as are outlined at activechristianstoday.org.
III. This organization shall abide by all official University Policies pertaining to Student Organizations, as well as the Student Code of Conduct.
ARTICLE 2: PURPOSE
I. The purpose of this organization shall be to help people establish and develop a relationship with Christ and become productive leaders in God's family.
II. Objectives of this organization shall be:
a. Objective 1: Evangelism to help others develop a relationship with Christ.
b.Objective 2: Discipleship to develop a relationship with Christ.
c.Objective 3: Leadership Training to maximize our ability to reach new students.
d.Objective 4: Developing a global Christian view to allow students to best help others develop and cultivate a relationship with Christ.
e.Objective 5: Maintaining a community social life to develop an environment of believers who are passionate about serving others.
III. Activities and programs sponsored by this organization will keep within the organization's stated objectives.
ARTICLE 3: MEMBERSHIP
I. Membership in ACT shall be open to all currently enrolled students at the University of Toledo. Active Christians Today does not categorically deny membership to an individual, based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, military or veteran status, the presence of a disability, genetic information, familial status, political affiliation, or participation in protected activities (unless specifically exempted by law).
II.Membership Classification
i. Voting Members of ACT shall constitute students who attend at least five official ACT events a month.
ii. Inactive Members are those who may be physically away from campus due to academically-mandated absences. Those students will return to active member status once they are able to fulfill active member obligations as defined in Article 3, Section II, i.
III. Dues
This organization shall not collect mandatory dues of any type.
IV. Non-Student Members
This organization is open to non-student members, but non-student members may not hold office, may not vote, and may not benefit in any way from University funding.
ARTICLE 4: OFFICERS
I.The governing body of this organization shall be known as the Student Leadership Team of this organization.II.Officers within the Student Leadership Team shall consist of:
a. President
b. Vice President / Secretary
c. Outreach and Mission Team Leader / Treasurer
d. Prayer Team Leader
III. Officers shall be elected:
a. During the month of December
b. For a term of one calendar year beginning January 1
IV. Qualifications for officer positions are as follows:
i. To be elected for Vice President / Secretary, Outreach and Mission Leader / Treasurer, Prayer Team Leader, students must be an active member of ACT (see Article III, section 1), attend at least 2/3 of all official ACT activities and participate in at least one leadership event (meeting, organized activity, etc.) during the Fall term.
ii. To be elected for President, students must be an active member of ACT for at least three consecutive semesters, attend at least 2/3 of all official ACT activities and participate in at least one leadership event (meeting, organized activity, etc) during the Fall term.
iii. Officers are limited to two terms on the Student Leadership Team. If there is no other interest in a student leadership team position, a student leader that has served for two terms may serve an additional term in a different position (other than the one they originally served). Therefore, a student leader may serve three total terms but in two different positions.
iv. Student leaders may continue as voting members of ACT leadership after they have served their terms and continue to meet voting requirements.
V. Duties for each officer are as follows
a. President-Represents ACT at required University meetings-Serving as the primary point of contact for the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership-Meets regularly with ACT staff-Attends all ACT ministry team meetings-Fulfills requests by the University of Toledo related to ACT campus affiliation such as but not limited to paperwork, reserving spaces on campus, registration for events and filling out needed forms-Submit annual report to the University of Toledo-Must have administrative skills-Must be ready to delegate and be a mentor to possible future leaders
b. Vice President / Secretary-Functions in the absence of the President-Works with the President in all activities with a focus on communication-Maintains a list of voting members for the organization-Handles the bulk of communication with students using all means available (email, social media, phone calls, texts, etc.)-Maintains ACT reports, notes and contact lists-Meets regularly with ACT staff-Attends all ACT ministry team meetings-Works to develop connections with other like-minded and spiritually connected campus ministries through worship, mission projects and social events-Keeps notes at the meeting and sends out the minutes from the meeting
c. Outreach and Mission Team Leader / Treasurer-Responsible for organizing and budgeting outreach events such as rec nights, parties, game nights, service projects, mission events, etc.-The handling of all finances on behalf of the organization-Define our outreach audience for each event-Must be creative and enthusiastic about planning and organizing outreach events of all kinds-Helps develop mission plans for local, state and national opportunities-Develop a public relations plan and ideas for advertising-Should be personable, creative, outgoing and engaging
d. Prayer Team Leader-Responsible to collect prayer requests and follow up on them-Inviting others to pray-Setting a regular corporate prayer time to pray over requests-Encourage others to pray-Ability to keep the prayer requests of others confidential-Establishing prayer "experiences" to further our prayer reach-Developing a means to distribute prayer requests in emergency situations while respecting the privacy of individuals
VI. In the event that the President has been removed, or has vacated their position, the line of succession should be as follows:
a. President
b. Vice President / Secretary
c. Outreach and Mission Team Leader / Treasurer
d. Prayer Team Leader
VII. In the event that an executive board member has been removed, or has vacated their position, the President shall:
a. Temporarily assign an organization member to the responsibilities of the vacated position until such a time as a special election can be held.
ARTICLE 5: ELECTIONS
I. Elections will be conducted via the use of paper ballots made available at the ACT Campus House in two phases: nominations and final balloting.
a. In order to be elected, candidates must receive the majority of votes for that particular position.
b. During the nomination process, students may nominate two students per position.
c. A student may nominate themselves.
d. To be nominated for the final voting ballot, a student must receive at least two nominations for a particular officer position.
e. Nominations begin the first Sunday of November and remain open until the end of worship on the third Sunday of November (Sunday before Thanksgiving).
f. Nominated students will be contacted by ACT Staff the week of Thanksgiving. They may accept or decline their nomination.
g. Voting ballots will be made available at the first worship after Thanksgiving (fourth Sunday of November). Balloting remains open through the Friday before finals at 7 pm.
h. Students may only vote for one person per position during the final ballot phase.
i. Those with the most votes on the ballot will be contacted the Sunday before finals to confirm acceptance of an officer position.
j. A "transition" leadership meeting with the leadership team finishing their term and the leadership team newly nominated will take place the Sunday before finals.
k. All active ACT members, including student leaders currently serving are permitted to vote in the election of student leadership positions.l.In the case of a tie during the final ballot, the ACT Staff shall determine method and selection of candidate.
ARTICLE 6: OFFICER REMOVAL
I. Officer Removal / Impeachment
a. The University of Toledo employee advisor of the organization must be present for all removal/impeachment proceedings.
b. In the event that officers of this organization are not fulfilling the specific duties listed above, members have the right to question the conduct, actions, and/or work of any elected officer, advisor, committee chairperson, appointed representative, or member.
c. Executive Vote of Removali.Officers of this organization have the right, if deemed necessary to remove a fellow officer who does not fulfill their specific duties listed above (not including the member in question).
1. In order to initiate an Executive Vote of Removal, at least two attempts to contact the individual in question via their Rockets email address must have been made, with at least one week in between contact attempts.
2. After at least two contact attempts have been made by the organization, the advisor of the organization must make at least one attempt to contact the individual in question.
3. If all attempts to contact the individual are unsuccessful, the Executive Vote of Removal may be initiated.i.An Executive Vote of Removal may only take place if every executive position outlined in the constitution is filled at the time of vote.
ii. The University of Toledo employee advisor must be present for an Executive Vote of Removal.
a. In order to begin impeachment/removal proceedings:
i. An initial discussion is to be initiated by ACT staff.
ii. If a student desires an Appeal they seek an Appeal from an ACT staff member.
iii. All attempts to resolve issues will follow the principles and guidelines set forth in Matthew 18:15-19 with the goal of restoration
iv. If no resolution can be found, ACT Staff will determine the course of action using Matthew 18:15-19 as a guide
v. A student leader who has become incapacitated or unable to continue serving may step down and be re-nominated in the future for the same position if the term currently served is less than one half complete.
II. Officer Resignation
i. Students interested in resigning from an officer position must follow the following procedure.
a. A student leader presents an official letter of resignation to an ACT staff member.
b. The letter of resignation is presented at the next leadership meeting. At the next scheduled leadership meeting, the student leader's replacement is selected following the line of succession (See Article 4: Section VI).
ARTICLE 7: MEETINGS
I. Meetings will be held at least once every month.
a. Our meetings have the title of "Student Leadership Meeting."
b. An additional Student Leadership Meeting may be called by an ACT staff member or by request of the officers.
c. A Student Leadership Meeting may be rescheduled by an ACT staff member.
II. In order to conduct a vote on official organizational business, a quorum must be present.
a. A simple majority of voting members must be present to constitute a quorum.
b. All decisions will be decided by a majority vote.
ARTICLE 8: ADVISOR
I. The University of Toledo advisor(s) for this organization shall be decided upon by the executive officers of the organization.
II. Should the University of Toledo faculty advisor abdicate their position as an advisor, or should the advisor become unaffiliated with The University of Toledo, ACT will contact the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership within one week of receiving notice.
ARTICLE 9: PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
I. This organization will conduct business through informal processes as established by the executive officers.
ARTICLE 10: AMENDMENTS
I. Should a member of ACT wish to propose an amendment to this constitution, they must submit the amendment to an ACT staff member two months prior to a scheduled student leadership meeting in order that the amendment may be presented to the Student Leadership Team for discussion in the monthly meeting prior to the voting meeting.
II. It is further understood that if this organization desires at any time in the future to change in any way the provisions of the charter, that before such action is taken, the organization will submit for approval to the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership every detail of the desired changes to be made.III.Amendments require an affirmative vote of 75% to be approved.
ARTICLE 11: DISPOSING OF ORGANIZATION ASSETS AND DEBTS
I. Should ACT's registration with the university lapse for six (6) or more consecutive months, as a member of Active Christians Today, Inc., all assets as well as debts become the possession of Active Christians Today, Inc., 612 East Wooster, Bowling Green, Ohio 43402.
Revised by: Active Christians Today Student Leadership Team, August 2018