Student OrgsDance Collective of Gustavus

DANCE COLLECTIVE OF GUSTAVUS CONSTITUTION

We, the student body of Gustavus Adolphus College, in order to uphold the values of

Excellence, Community, Justice, Service, and Faith; to safeguard the rights of students; to foster

an atmosphere in which students may freely pursue their academic endeavors; and to elevate

the general welfare of the campus community, do hereby establish this constitution of the

Gustavus Adolphus College Dance Collective of Gustavus. The responsibilities and procedures of the Collective shall be designated solely by this constitution and the by-laws passed pursuant to it.

ARTICLE I: Name

1. The name of this organization shall be the Dance Collective of Gustavus.

ARTICLE II: Purpose and Responsibilities

1. The Dance Collective of Gustavus shall follow and uphold all policies delineated in the “Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Judicial Procedures” section of the Gustavus Guide, as well as ensure and protect all rights of students listed in this section.
2. The DCG shall be subject to the “All-College Policies” listed in the Faculty Book and shall act in accordance with them.
3. The DCG does not support or condone hazing in any form. All reports of hazing will be investigated by the College.
4. The DCG shall be subject to and follow all local, state, and federal laws.
5. The DCG shall serve as an extracurricular, student-run organization for the student body with the purpose to promote dance, movement engagement, education, and enjoyment of the art.
6. The goal of the DCG is to expand upon the opportunities provided by the Theatre and Dance department. The DCG strives to support and collaborate with the Theatre and Dance department to provide additional learning opportunities, however, the DCG is an organization that operates outside of the Theatre and Dance department.

ARTICLE III: Membership and Joining

1. Membership in this organization is open to all students who believe in the mission of the DCG and want to continue, or start, engaging with the art of dance and the dance community.
2. All categories of membership receive equal treatment. The following categories of membership exist: 
   1. Organization Members (those who attend a minimum of 3 events per year). 
   2. Executive Board (organization members who are elected and meet outside of scheduled DCG events (e.g., board meetings)); see Article VII for Election procedures
3. Members are accepted continually throughout the year as long as they attend at least three events in that academic year. Members in good standing also carry the responsibility of engaging in voting processes. 
4. Removal of a member for any reason, but specifically in instances of bias, hate, or other harm, is possible through a simple majority vote. See Article IX, Section 1 for voting procedures. 
   1. If a member is removed from DCG through processes for bias/hate/harm and are part of the standing Executive Board, the Officer is also impeached from their position. See Article VII for filling Executive Board vacancy.
      1. If an Executive Board officer is under investigation by the school for violating the student code of conduct, automatic removal from their Executive Board position is required. If the Officer is found not guilty of official charges and had an Executive Board position, they may, within one week of voting process, write an appeal for the Executive position to be reinstated. Appeal will be available to all voters in the DCG and voting will ensue following the protocol of Article IX

ARTICLE IV: Executive Board 

1. The Executive Board shall be composed of Co-Presidents, Treasurer, Secretary, Risk Manager and any other positions that the standing Executive Board deem necessary. 
   1. Basic roles of Executive Board (individual transition plans for each position will be updated yearly and provided during transition period):
      1. Co-Presidents
      2. Treasurer
      3. Secretary
      4. Risk Manager
      5. Event Organizer(s)
      6. Social Media Outreach
      7. Records Specialist (single semester position–as needed)
2. The Executive Board shall meet a minimum of biweekly to discuss the planning of organization events. At the board’s first meeting of each semester, they shall set the dates of the first event, schedule Executive Board meetings (if not already done), as well as, develop organizational goals. 

ARTICLE V: Committees

1. The Executive Board may create Special Committees on an as needed basis.

ARTICLE VI: Events

1. The DCG strives to plan and hold a minimum of one event per month for interested students to help foster a community relationship within the DCG. However, biweekly events are encouraged for continued group engagement.
   1. Events may include but are not limited to: streaming dance in an academic hall, DCG members leading a stretch, movement, or dance combination class, viewing dance concerts, taking a master class, creating compositional studies and performing, social events such as team building, etc.
2. The DCG will have a minimum of one event per semester dedicated to the continued learning of non-Eurocentric movement (i.e., not Eurocentric modern or ballet dance styles). Fulfilling this requirement can take many forms, such as, but not limited to, viewing non-Eurocentric dance and having a discussion, taking a master class or stream a class online, watch a documentary/film on different dance practices, attend cultural events at Gustavus that feature dance (e.g., Lunar New Year, Africa Night, International Festival, etc.). 

ARTICLE VII: Elections

1. Elections will take place near the end of each spring semester to allow the new Executive Board and other members a smooth transition into new leadership roles for the upcoming academic year. The term of office begins at the beginning of June, with the months of April-May serving as transition months between old and new officers. The term of office shall last for one academic year.
2. Interested members of the DCG (i.e., members who have attended at least two DCG events the previous semester) must submit a written application provided by the standing Executive Board to show their commitment to the organization and discuss what they hope to accomplish if they receive a position of leadership. This will be distributed to all members of the organization along with the voting date (approximately the mid to end of March). Refer to Article IX, Section 1 for voting procedures.
   1. All members of the DCG are eligible to apply for an Executive Board position, however, at least a year of membership is highly recommended for members running for Presidential positions.
   2. Priority will be given to Executive Board applicants who will not be abroad. If another member is running for the same position as a member who plans to be abroad, the member who plans to be on-campus for the academic year will be on the ballot.
   3. A member is ineligible to run for a leadership role if they have a conduct violation complaint in process for review for bias, hate, harm, hazing, or sexual misconduct.
3. Candidates will be elected into office if they receive a majority vote. 

ARTICLE VIII: Impeachment, Resignation, and Vacancies

1. Impeachment:
   1. The DCG, by a majority vote of all eligible voting members, may remove on good cause, an Executive Board member from office. A request for removal from office will be brought to the DCG Advisor, President, or Vice President, who will then bring the request before the membership.
      1. Procedure for impeachment:
         1. It is the expectation and responsibility of Executive officers to be in communication with each other about expected duties and responsibilities regarding their position.
         2. If an informal meeting or conversation with the officer to discuss their responsibilities within their role does not lead to a plan of action for the officer in question to change their behavior, a more formal meeting with the DCG advisor or mediator is recommended to better understand the situation.
         3. If the officer in question meets with an advisor or mediator while having a discussion about their responsibilities and the rest of the Executive Board feels they are not fulfilling their duties, the Executive Board has the authority to vote to impeach the officer.
            1. If impeachment occurs, see Section 3 for procedures on filling vacancies 
      2. If cause of impeachment is for bias, hate, or harm, the officer is automatically impeached as the DCG will not tolerate instances of hate and bias; see Article III, Section 4
2. Resignation:
   1. In order to resign as an Executive Board member of the DCG, the member shall submit a letter in writing or via email to the Co-President(s) and/or Advisor who will announce the resignation to the DCG at the next meeting/event or via email. All resignations shall take effect immediately.
3. Vacancies:
   1. Any vacancies during the year shall be announced to the membership at the next meeting or via email following the vacancy. Nominations and/or applications to fill the vacancy shall be taken and voting shall occur at the meeting or via email. If no one is nominated and/or the nominee does not receive the majority vote, the President can appoint a member to that position.

Article IX: Voting

1. For any voting purpose, voting can take place online via confidential voting systems (e.g., Google Form, email, private polling, etc.). 
   1. Members must be made aware of the items being voted on (e.g., candidates, amendments, impeachments, etc.) at least 72 hours (or 3 days) before the voting poll opens; but notification a week or more in-advance is encouraged. 
   2. All members who have attended at least one DCG meeting/event that semester will be eligible to vote.
   3. Voting is a requirement for membership. However, a voter turnout of less than 55% of eligible voters deems the election to be invalid. If a minimum of 55% of eligible voting members is not met, then a revote must occur within the next week. 
   4. Online votes may only be collected for a period of 24 hours; all votes casted outside of the designated date will not be counted. Members must be informed they will only have 24 hours to cast their vote before the voting day.
   5. Members will be made aware of voting results no more than 48 hours after the poll closes.

ARTICLE X: Finances

1. Funds of the organization shall be raised primarily through fundraising, departmental allocation, and any allocation awarded by the Student Senate
2. Upon dissolution of the Dance Collective of Gustavus, any financial assets will be credited to the Gustavus Student Senate.

ARTICLE XI: By-laws

1. By-laws may be established by club members and reviewed each September. Any member in good standing can propose the by-laws. They will be prepared for voting by the Executive Board members and submitted to members in writing prior to the meeting where voting is to take place. 
   1. If necessary, voting can take place online via confidential voting systems (e.g., Google Form, email, private polling, etc.) and members must be made aware of the proposed by-law(s) before the day of voting. Online votes may only be collected for a period of 24 hours; all votes casted outside of the designated date will not be counted. Members must be informed they will only have 24 hours to cast their vote before the voting day.
2. All members in good standing are eligible to vote, but must be present at the in-person meeting to do so. A majority vote is needed to allow the by-law to pass.

ARTICLE XII: Amendments to the Constitution

1. All members of the DCG that are in good standing may propose Amendments. The proposed amendments will be reviewed by the Executive Board members and submitted to members in writing at least 2 weeks before voting is to take place.
2. All members in good standing are eligible to vote, but must be present at the meeting to do so. A two-thirds (2/3) majority is needed to allow the amendment to pass. 
   1. If necessary, voting can take place online via confidential voting systems (e.g., Google Form, email, private polling, etc.) and members must be made aware of the proposed amendment(s) before the day of voting. Online votes may only be collected for a period of 24 hours; all votes casted outside of the designated date will not be counted. Members must be informed they will only have 24 hours to cast their vote before the voting day.
3. If amendments are passed they take effect at the end of the meeting during which they are passed.

AMENDMENTS 

I: Members will vote for E-board positions, with current E-board members voting to break ties. All members can cast a vote, and the current E-board will be the final measure as to who receives the position. If the E-board has to cast a vote in person, the candidate should step out of the room, and votes should be taken as anonymously as possible. Otherwise, voting should be completed via online ballot.  

II: Anyone running for the office of president must have prior experience of at least one semester in an E-board position. 

III: Special elections may be held under certain circumstances. These elections may be held when an E-board member graduates early, studies abroad, student teaches, or other circumstances. Special elections should be held during the transition period from fall semester to spring semester. Elections should be held internally and may transition a current board member to a new position. 

Date of Ratification: 9/11/21, 10/1/24, 10/16/24, 10/30/24