Constitution

Queen’s Swing Dance Club: Constitution

Article I: Name

The name of this club shall be Queen’s Swing Dance Club, hereafter referred to as the Club. It shall be a Queen’s student club located on campus.

Article II: Objectives

The objectives of the Club are:

To provide a low-cost means of regular recreation through weekly Swing dances.
To educate the Kingston and Queen’s community about old and modern Swing music and Swing dancing in the “classic” styles through playing relevant music and teaching beginner-friendly dance lessons.
To expose the Kingston and Queen’s community to local talent, such as professional dancers, dance instructors, and jazz artists.
To maintain the good image of Queen’s University by participating in outside charitable events by performing dance demonstrations, and helping to organize outside events where Swing dancing is encouraged.
To promote and encourage the growth of the Swing phenomenon at Queen’s and in Kingston so that it can be enjoyed for many years to come.

Article III: Affiliation with the Alma Mater Society (AMS)

The constitution of the AMS shall take precedence over this constitution. In particular, the following sections of the AMS constitution shall be recognized: 2.01.03, 7.01, and 7.02

Article IV: Membership

Full members of the Club shall consist of any student, faculty member or employee of Queen’s University and those interested in the community.

All full members are liable to an annual membership fee prescribed by the Executive Committee at its first meeting each September.

Non-members may participate in Club events, including regular lessons and dances, for a per-use fee. The fee will be prescribed by the Executive Committee at its first meeting each September.

All Club members have the right to vote in Club elections, seek nomination and be elected to Executive office.

Article V: Structure of the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee consists of eight Executive Officers and two Swing Dance Representatives; collectively all 10 members form the Executive Committee.
The Executive Officers shall be elected by the Club’s members annually in a single election, as detailed in Article VIII
The Swing Dance Representatives shall be elected by the Club’s members annually in a single election, as detailed in Article VIII
The Executive Officers shall be: President, Vice-president, Treasurer, Dance Instruction Coordinator, Music Manager, Secretary, Promotions, and Webmaster.
Additional “Swing Dance Representatives” may be elected either at the time of the general election or at another point in the year, at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
The Executive Officers shall have such powers and duties as are assigned to them by the constitution and as may be delegated to or from them, from time to time, by resolution of the Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee shall serve as such without remuneration, and no Officers shall directly or indirectly receive any profits from their positions as such. However Executive Officers, as well as any volunteers may receive discounts (up to and not exceeding 100%) on events, etc.
The quorum of Executive Committee shall be five of its Officers, one of whom must be the President or Vice-president; voting shall consist of a simple majority of those present.
The Executive Committee may create special sub-committees. At least one Executive Officer shall sit on any such committee to represent the interests of the Executive Committee to the sub-committee and vice versa.
The term of office begins at 12:00 AM on the 1st day of May of each year and shall end at 11:59 PM on the last day of the following April.

Article VI: Duties of the Executive Officers and Swing Dance Representatives

President: The President shall

1. Officially represent the Club.
2. Be responsible for communications within Queen’s, in particular liaising with the AMS, and for communications within the community.
3. Define the agenda for and preside over all meetings.
4. Lead the coordination of all activities and events of the Club and be responsible for venue bookings.
5. Coordinate Elections and Executive Committee transition at the end of the year.
6. Regularly inform the Executive Committee on the Club’s activities and events.
7. May nominate an unofficial (and appropriate) alternative title, to be ratified by a quorum of the Executive Committee.

Vice-president: The Vice-president shall

1. Assist the President in the leading of the coordination of all club activities.
2. Assume the role of President in his/her absence.
3. Be responsible for coordinating external communications and serve as the Club’s contact for the community at large.
4. Advertise Club events in other Swing Dance scenes, a role that can be delegated without Executive Committee quorum and with the consent of the one delegated to.
5. Work to keep the Club up-to-date on Swing Dance events going on outside of Queen’s.

Treasurer: The treasurer shall

1. Be the financial officer and be responsible for the Club’s bank account.
2. Maintain all financial records and receive all money due to the Club.
3. Present a financial statement every month to the Executive Committee.
4. Make a final report to the Club at the end of their term of office.
5. Approve any spending and make sure payments are made on time.
6. Sign all cheques of the Club with permission of the Executive Committee and the co-signature of either the President or Vice-President.
7. Be responsible for the financial aspect of special events, including registration, handling of the cash box, expenditures, and provide financial updates after every event, including weekly lessons.
8. Enforce membership pricing and drop-in pricing.
9. Shall be in charge of the Club Paypal account.
10. Deposit all cash in excess of $200.00 CAD, belonging to the Club, to the Club bank account within 10 business days of discovering the excess.

Dance Instruction Coordinator: The Dance Instruction Coordinator shall:

1. Coordinate the teaching schedule and general lesson content ensuring variation in terms of moves and consistency in terms of technique.
2. Coordinate and chair meetings with instructors.
3. Coordinate with the Music Manager so that DJs can plan their playlists according to the lessons.
4. Attend lessons to observe teachers and provide feedback as well as to answer beginners’ questions.
5. Help beginner dancers and encourage Executive Officers and other teachers to do the same.
6. Look out for inappropriate behaviour during social dancing.
7. Be responsible for teaching when no instructors are available.
8. Coordinate and run regular dance internal workshops.
9. Coordinate weekly teaching schedule and content with workshop content.
10. Look out for new instructors and help them develop as instructors.

Music Manager: The Music Manager shall

1. Be responsible for ensuring a reasonable quality of music during weekly lessons and dances.
2. Coordinate weekly DJ schedule.
3. Be responsible for DJ-ing when there are no DJs available.
4. Be responsible for keeping the sound system and wireless microphone(s) secure and in good condition, and setting these up for lessons, dances and special events.
5. Book bands for band nights, and deal with Music Union contracts.
6. Book DJs for special events.
7. Be responsible for the smooth running of band nights.
8. Be responsible for recruiting and providing instruction and rules to DJs.
9. Coordinate and lead DJ internal workshops and “New DJ nights”.
10. Serve as the Club’s link to the Kingston’s jazz and live music scene.

Secretary: The secretary shall

1. Keep minutes of all meetings and upload them to the designated folder in the Club Google Drive.
2. Keep a record of all members of the Club.
3. Make weekly door shift schedules, inform Executive Officers of this schedule beforehand and enforce the schedule during the evening.
4. Assist the other executive officers in their duties.

Webmaster: The Webmaster shall

1. Be responsible for the Club’s website and to update it within 5 days of any request made the Executive Committee, in coordination with the rest of the Executive Committee
2. Deal with the domain registrar and web host.
3. Ensure that contact information for the server (including the WHOIS contact information), passwords, server addresses, links, etc. are up-to-date.
4. Backup the website at least once a month and maintain those backups until they can be handed to the incoming Webmaster.
5. Be in charge of all technical aspects of the Club’s e-mail accounts.

Promotions: The Promotions representative shall:

1. Create promotional material (including but not limited to: flyers and posters) to advertise the Club
2. Create membership cards for the Club
3. Create promotional material (including but not limited to: flyers and posters) for all special events
4. Coordinate club clothing orders and design.
5. Be responsible for leading and coordinating the distribution of promotional materials.

Two Swing Dance Representatives: Each Swing Dance Representatives shall:

1. Act as the voice of the club to the Executive Committee.
2. Generally assist the Executive Committee in its responsibilities.

Article VII: Duties of the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall:

1. Hold its first meeting before the start of term in September and thereafter every week or as deemed necessary.
2. Carry on the business of the Club within the limitations of this constitution and its bylaws.
3. Regularly seek the wishes of club’s members and always strive to honour them faithfully.

Article VIII: Provisions for the Constitution of the Club

Elections for Executive Officers:
a) Elections for Executive Officers will be held in March, during the regular weekly dance, to choose Executive Officers for the new year.
b) All Executive Committee members must vote, followed by a vote of confidence by raise of hands of club members.
c) The vote shall be by secret ballot.
d) Any Executive Officers not running for re-election shall be responsible for tallying and reporting the result.
e) Executive Officer candidates require a majority of votes to be elected, even in the case where there is only one candidate for a position.
Elections for Swing Dance Representatives
a) Separate elections will be held for Swing Dance Representatives by the first Monday in October.
Executive Committee Transitions
a) The outgoing Executive Officers shall serve the incoming Executive Officers all files and bank accounts of the Club before the 30th of April.
b) All outgoing Executive Officers shall complete a transition report to aid new executives, which will be placed in the Club’s records, by the 29th of April.
Financial Records:

a) All funds for the Club are located in an account at TD Canada Trust

Article IX: AMS Assembly

The AMS Assembly, as the highest legislative body representing students at Queen’s, constitutes the ultimate source of authority for the Club. Moreover, it can set up ad hoc committees with specific terms of reference to investigate financial matters and report to its next meeting.

Article X: Funding

In accordance with section 7.02 of the AMS constitution, the Queen’s Swing Club recognizes it is eligible to receive either or both student activity fees and Assembly grants. Eligibility for receiving Club Grants shall be restricted to those student organizations receiving funding from neither student activity fees nor Assembly Grants. Any funding received from the Society shall be spent for the purpose for which it was requested.
The Queen’s Swing Club shall be eligible to fund raise and to receive donations. Fund raising efforts and donations in excess of $5,000 shall in all cases to be coordinated through the AMS Advancement and Development Officers and the Queen’s University Office of Advancement business office.

Article XI: Amendments

The constitution shall be reviewed annually and any amendments shall be immediately presented to the AMS for approval, through the Commission of Internal Affairs.