M.I.T. Guild of Bell Ringers The Constitution I. Name and purpose A. The organization shall be called the M.I.T. Guild of Bell Ringers. B. The purpose of the Guild is to provide an opportunity for its members to participate in the group ringing of tower bells and hand bells, and to help disseminate and perpetuate the art of bell ringing. The Guild shall make a good faith effort to ring the bells at the Old North Church when welcomed. C. The Guild will abide by the rules and regulations of the Association of Student Activities, the Executive Committee, and the Finance Board. II. Membership A. Membership will be open to all members of the M.I.T. community. The Guild is a secular organization. B. The Guild will consist of change-ringing members, tune-ringing members, and associate members. 1. Change-ringing members are those who have attended at least three tower bell sessions or change-ringing handbell sessions in the preceeding year. 2. Tune-ringing members are those who have attended at least three tune-ringing sessions in the preceeding year. 3. Associate members are those who have been change-ringing members or tune-ringing members in the past but do not currently fulfill the obligation. C. All change-ringing and tune-ringing members are active (voting) members. D. A member may be both a change-ringing and tune-ringing member simultaneously. E. The Guild shall not discriminate based on any characteristic listed in the MIT Nondiscrimination Policy for membership, officer position, or in any other aspect III. Officers A. The officers of the Guild will be a president, a ringing master, a steeple keeper, a handbell keeper, a secretary/treasurer, a director of the tune ringers, a historian, and a Clapper correspondent. B. The duties of the president are to be the official representative of the Guild to any other organization and to MIT, and to call and preside over business meetings. The president must be an M.I.T. student. C. The duties of the ringing master are to take care of the technical aspects of the ringing: to see to the instruction of new members, to lead the tower bell ringing, to call regular meetings of the Guild, etc. The ringing master may be reelected only once consecutively. D. The duties of the handbell keeper are to acquire a set of handbells for the Guild, to take care of them after that acquisition, and to organize the handbell sessions. E. The duties of the steeple keeper are to find a home tower for the Guild, and afterward to see to the condition of that tower. F. The duties of the secretary/treasurer are to handle the correspondence of the Guild, to be responsible for the Guild library, to take minutes at business meetings of the Guild and to handle the financial matters. Since the secretary/treasurer is responsible for dealing with the Finance Board, he/she must be an M.I.T. student, and a different person from the president. All expenses from the main account over $50 or recurring expenses which will add up to more than $50 over the course of the semester must be aproved by both the Ringing Master and the Director of the Tune Ringers. G. The duties of the director of the tune ringers are to lead the tune ringers: to select their music, to decide on their concert dates, etc. H. The duties of the historian are to organize and maintain the archives of the Guild. I. The duties of the Clapper correspondent are to send the NAGCR newsletter, the Clapper, information on the Guild's activities. J. All regular officers must be active members of the Guild. K. All officers are to be elected at the end of the spring term, and take office immediately. If an office becomes vacant, and qualified members exist to fill the office, a special election shall be held, and the new officer shall assume office as soon as possible. If a vacancy cannot be filled, then the president shall act in place of that office until it can be filled. L. Each active member has one vote for president and sectretary/treasurer. Only change-ringing members have a vote for ringing master, handbell keeper, and steeple keeper. Only tune-ringing members have a vote for director of the tune ringers. All elections are carried by a simple majority of those elegible to vote. If more than two people are running and no one wins a majority, then the person with the fewest votes is dropped from the ballot and votes are recast. M. Officers may be removed by a 2/3 vote of voting members. IV. Meetings A. Regular meetings will be in the form of ringing sessions. Tower ringing sessions will take place at least once a week, as is convenient for the ringers, the instructor, and the owners of the tower. Change-ringing handbell sessions will take place at least once a week, as is convenient for the ringers and the instructor. Tune ringing handbell sessions will take place at least once a week, as is convenient for the ringers and the director. B. An annual election meeting will take place at the end of the spring term. The annual meeting must be announced at least two weeks in advance. In addition, there may be other business meetings during the year to discuss matters requiring the attention of the Guild. C. At all business meetings, a quorum will be 1/3 of all active members. V. Amendments A. Amendments to this constitution must be approved by 2/3 the active members, and there must be a two week delay between the announcement of proposed amendments and voting. The constitution and bylaws, as amended, shall be subject to the review of the ASA Executive Committee to insure consistency with the ASA and Finance policies. VI. ASA Governance Clause The Guild of Bellringers agrees to abide by the rules and regulations of the Association of Student Activities, and its executive board. This constitution, amendments to it, 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.