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CONSTITUTION OF UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

POLITICS SOCIETY

Article I.

Society Constitutional Amendments

This constitution for this society may be amended by an armative vote of two-thirds of
those voting at the University of Manchester Politics Society Annual General Meeting.

Section I.1








If any of the elected Committee of the Politics Society decides to rewrite the constitution, prior approval and advice must be sought from
the Activities and Development Ocer. Newly devised constitution
must seek approval from the Students Union.

Section I.2





This constitution shall not be alterable except by a motion duly made.


All alterations to the constitution shall be subject to the approval of
the Students Union.

Article II.

Society Name

The name of the Society shall be: University of Manchester Politics Society or UoM
Politics Society or UMSU Politics Society (Referred to as the Society here after).

Article III.

Society Logo

The logo of the Society shall consist of the Ocial Crest of the University of Manchester
surrounded by an olive branch. The logo shall be available in the colours of white or blue,
with the Societys name below the logo.

Article IV.

Section IV.1











Aims, Beliefs and Objectives

The Society shall be part of the University of Manchester Students


Union (UMSU) and shall adhere to the rules that exist within UMSU
and the University. Financial accounting, committee recruitment,
general meetings and other formal business shall be conducted
according to such procedures.

Section IV.2









The Society shall be independent of any religious body or party


political organisation and shall adhere to the quality and non-
discriminatory policies lady down by the University and UMSU. The
Society and its committee members shall be unaliated with any
political party or candidate; it shall aim to hear from a variety of
sources from across the political spectrum.

Section IV.3





a.

The aims of the Society shall be:

To provide an arena for people who interested in politics to come


together and explore their interests with like-minded people.

b.

To host intellectuals, political insiders and others deemed political


enough (by Committee).

c.

To provide members an opportunity to network with each other and


guest speakers.

d.

To reach its objectives by organising topical panel discussions, guest


speaker talks, intellectually stimulating social events, trips,
workshops and any other means deemed appropriate by Committee.

i.


Whilst the Society will promote the aims, beliefs and objectives
as outlined, no individual student or sta member will be the
focus of direct campaigning as per university guidelines on
harassment.

ii.

The Society shall abide by the University of Manchesters


regulations regarding the Data Protection Act 1998.

The Committee

Article V.

Section V.1

Committee Policy

a.

The Committee shall decide whether an election should take place


based on interest in the Society from the student body (members of
UMSU).

b.

The Committee shall consist of EIGHT elected or appointed


members. (Additional positions may be added from time to time as
deemed necessary at the Society Annual General Meeting (AGM).

c.

All positions should be elected at the Societys AGM with the


exception of the Junior Executive who shall be co-opted by members
of the committee after the Introduction Meeting.

d.

The term of positions shall start on a date set by the Committee from
time to time, to last TWELVE months, with a handover period
beginning after the election.

e.

All Committee members must be valid members of the Students


Union and the Society. Any person who no longer satisfies this rule
shall be deemed to have resigned.

f.

The Administrative Aairs of the Society shall be donated or


delegated to members of the Society Committee.

g.

The committee shall manage the Societys aairs in all matters. Any
matter not provided for in this Constitution shall be decided upon by
the Committee.

h.

A Committee member may call for a Committee Meeting by writing to


the General Secretary.

i.

One-Third of the Committee is a quorum for Committee meetings.

j.

The President shall chair all Committee meetings, and the General
Secretary is temporarily appointed Chair of the meeting if the
President is absent.

k.

In the event of a tie, the person charging shall have a casting vote.

l.

A guest of any Committee member may attend any meeting with the
consent of the President.

Section V.2

The oce bearers of the society shall be:

a.

President

The main responsibilities of the President are to:

i.
Draft the societys year planner;

ii.

Oversee the Society so as to advance the Societys objectives;

iii.

Ensure the Societys rules and Constitutions are being adhered


to;

iv.

Ensure that all Committee positions are filled;

v.

Chair the Committee meetings and any General Meetings;

vi.

Produce the Presidents report to be presented at the AGM.

b.

General Secretary

The main responsibilities of the General Secretary are to:

i.

Manage all general administration of the Society;

ii.

Act as the primary link between the Society and the Students
Union;

iii.

Minute all Committee meetings, and circulate them to all


members of the Committee;

iv.

Minute all General Meetings, and circulate them to all


members of the Society.

c.

Treasurer

The main responsibilities of the Treasurer are to:

i.

Administer the Societys finances as required by its activities;

ii.

Ensure the probity of the Societys finances;

iii.

Provide regular financial reports to the Committee;

iv.

Produce the annual financial report to be presented at the


Societys AGM.

d.

Publicity and Media Ocer

The main responsibilities of the Publicity and Media Ocer are to:

i.

Manage all matters dealing with publicising events;

ii.

Publicise the Societys page on the UMSU website;

iii.

Maintain all social media accounts of the Society.

e.

Events Ocer

The main responsibilities of the Events Ocer are to:

i.

Organise all formal society events (e.g. speaker visits);

ii.

Organise the Introduction Evening (in conjunction with the


President);

iii.

Assist the Careers Ocer in career-based events;

iv.

Assist the Social Secretary in all social-based events.

f.

Careers Ocer

The main responsibilities of the Careers Ocer are to:

i.

Organise all career-based events;

ii.

Manage the Careers section on Politics Hub;

iii.

Organise all charity-based events.

g.

Social Secretary

The main responsibilities of the Social Secretary are to:

i.

Organise the Societys social calendar;

ii.

Oversee the organisation of the Societys Christmas Event;

iii.

Research and arranging the Societys trip.

h.

Junior Executive

The main responsibilities of the Junior Executive are to:

i. Ensure that the Society is engage with first-year students.

ii. Assist the President and the General Secretary in their tasks.

Section V.3

Committee Standard Practice

a.

Committee members should endeavour to attend all Committee


meetings and events.

b.

Committee members shall only make external contacts in the


name of the society after receiving approval from the President.

c.


If a Committee member misses more than THREE committee


meetings and events without an apology, he or she will be
deemed to have resigned and Committee shall decide whether to
co-opt another member or not.

e.





In circumstances where there is a conflict between members of


the Committee regarding the detrimental work AND/OR

behaviour of a fellow Committee member (with regards to
fulfilling their responsibilities and commitments as a serving
Committee member), a two-third majority of voting Committee
members in favour of their resignation is required to dismiss that
member from the committee.

Section V.4

Responsibilities and powers of Committee members

a.

The Committee may make rules to govern the running of aspects


of the Society. Rules must be made available to members of the
society on request.

b.

Committee members must ensure that the terms of this Constitution


are binding upon all members of the Society, as are any policies or
decisions determined under its provisions.

c.


The Committee may make decisions outside Committee meetings,


provided that such decisions are recorded by the General Secretary
and that all members of the Committee have the opportunity to
participate in the decision making process.

d.

Committee members must comply with tech conflict of interest rules


in the Societies Bye-law.

e.

Subject to the requirements of this Constitution, members of the


Committee may manage its aairs, and conduct itself informally, as it
sees fit.

f.

Within the responsibilities set out previously (see Section V.3), any
member of the Committee may act as they see fit on behalf of the
Society, subject to the oversight of the President.

Annual General Meeting and Introduction Evening

Article VI.

Section VI.1

The Annual General Meeting shall meet the following conditions:

a.

The AGM shall be held once every academic year, after at least NINE
months after the previous one.

b.

The AGM shall only be one to all ordinary members of the Society.

c.

Only full members of the Society are entitled to vote in the AGM.

d.

Notice of the AGM shall be given to all Society members, and


advertised to all students at least FOURTEEN days before the
meeting.

e.

The business of the AGM shall include the election of new oce-
bearers, the presentation of committee work reports (including annual
financial accounts) of the Society and a vote on the Constitution.

f.

For elections and motions, a simple majority is required.

g.

Where constitutional amendments are proposed, these require twothirds majority.

h.

The quorum for the AGM is 25% of the Societys ocially signed-up
members.

Section VI.2

The Introduction Evening shall meet the following conditions:

a.

Shall be held within a week after Welcome Week.

b.

Committee will be introduced to members.

c.

President will outline plants for the year.

Article VII

Membership

All members of the university of Manchester Students union shall be eligible for full
membership of the Society. At least THREE-QUARTERS of the membership shall be
registered students of the University of Manchester. ALL COMMITTEE MEMBERS MUST
BE ORDINARY MEMBERS OF UMSU.

Section VII.1

Full Members

a.

Full members shall be students who have joined the society on the
UMSU website.

b.

No membership fees will be applicable upon registration.

Section VII.2

Honorary Members

a.

Honorary members may be chosen by the Committee.

b.

Honorary members may be co-opted to the committee, subject to a


two-thirds majority in voting by the Committee.

c.

Only a maximum of TWO honorary members may be chosen per


academic year.

Section VII.3








All and only full members of the society are eligible to stand in
elections and on motions. All full and honorary members at any time
during the academic year can request to meet any members of the
Committee.

Section VII.4

Subscription

a.

The annual subscription to becoming a full member is 0.00.

b.

Certain events held by the Society may charge a small fee in order to
facilitate it.

Article VIII

Finance

Section VIII.1

UMSU

a.


Funds belonging to the Society shall only be used in furtherance of


the aims, beliefs and objectives as defined in Article IV of this
constitution. Also, as long as it does not contravene the UMSU
constitution, schedules, bye-laws or the law of the Land.

b.

The Treasurer shall be responsible for the proper accounting of the


funds in accordance with UMSU regulations.

c.

One signatory shall be required for financial transactions, who should


be the Treasurer or the President of the Society.

d.

e.







In the event of the Society ceasing to exist, all remaining funds shall
revert to the Students Union.

f.

A maximum of 10% of funds generated by the Society in such year


should be left in the external account for the incoming committee.

Section VIII.2

a.

b.

In the event of suspected financial malpractice, the Students Union


has the right to suspend the activities of the Society. Whilst
undertaking an investigation to ascertain the facts, during this time
the Students Union will take control of the running of the Societys
aairs. In the event of this happening, the oce-bearers of the
Society will be deemed to have resigned and the Students Union will
be empowered to appoint any persons it sees fit to these posts,
pending an emergency AGM is called to elect new members of the
Committee.

External Funding
The Treasurer shall try its best to secure external funding through
various sponsors, of whom are willing to provide monetary assistance
in the facilitation of all aspects of the Societys objectives.

The President and the Treasurer shall ensure that eternal funds
received do not violate UMSUs bye-laws.

Article IX.

Section IX.1

Relations and Aliations


UMSU

a.

Section IX.2

As a recognised UMSU Society, the Society shall at all times abide by


the constitution and bye-laws of the Students Union.

Academic

a.

Faculties of the University of Manchester

i.

b.

School of Social Sciences

i.

The Society is linked with The School of Social Sciences.

ii.

The President must be in dialogue with the head of the Politics


Department and/or the head of School of Sciences, by:

a)

Inviting the heads or his/her representative to speak at


the Introduction Evening or any important event.

b)

c)

Ensuring that the Publicity and Media Ocer will email


School and department secretaries to circulate
Societys communications.

c.

BSocSc Politics and International Relations

i.

The Society is linked with the undergraduate programme


BSocSc Politics and International Relations.

ii.

The President must be in dialogue with the Programme


Director, by:

a)

The Society is linked with only the Faculty of Humanities and


no other.

Provide assistance to any politically and/or


academically related event or aspect which the School
or department plans to hold.

Inviting the Director or his/her representative to speak at


the Introduction Evening, AGM, or any important
event.

Section IX.3

b)

Provide assistance to any politically and/or


academically related event or aspect which the Director
or programme plans to hold.

Peer Support

a.

The Society is linked with the Peer Mentoring Scheme BSocSc


Politics and International Relations.

b.

The President must be in dialogue with the Junior and Senior


Student Coordinators of the scheme, by:

i.

Section IX.4

Collaboration in any political/academic events.

Other Societies

a.

Other Societies in Manchester

i.

b.

Other Politics Societies in the United Kingdom and Ireland

ii.



Section IX.5

The General Secretary shall try his/her best to ensure


that the Societys events do not clash with other UMSU
events.

The President shall try its best to maintain a healthy


relationship with all other Politics Societies in the United
Kingdom and Ireland, so long that any relationship or
activity does not violate the rules and regulations, bye-
laws of other University Students Union.

External Organisations

a.

The Society may aliate to an outside organisation(s), providing the


aliation is approved by the committee. The Society must also seek
approval from Students Union.

b.

The Society may only aliate to an outside organisation(s) whose


beliefs and activities are in strict conformity to the principles outlined
in ALL sections of Article IV.

c.


The Society may not aliate to any organisation that perpetrates or


advocates any kind of violence or criminal activity whatsoever. No
aliation to any outside organisation must be allowed to compromise
the autonomy of the Society.

d.

Aliation to any organisation shall be terminated in the event of a


vote at the AGM; requiring an armative vote of two-thirds of those
voting.

Article X.

Final notes

Each oce-bearer must, on relinquishing their position (or leaving oce by other means),
promptly hand to their successor (or the President) all ocial documents and records
related to the Society, and must complete any requirements to transfer authority relating
to the position of the member in question. And outgoing committee need to transfer all
information to incoming committee before the beginning of summer exams.

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