1 Name
1.1 The society shall be called “Bangor Linguistics Society (BLS)” hereinafter called the society.
2 Affiliation
2.1 The society shall be affiliated to Bangor University Students’ Union and the Bangor University School of Linguistics and English Language, hereinafter called the School.
3 Objectives
3.1 To provide informal academic support to members, from members.
3.2 To provide a social environment for members, including the maintenance of the library.
3.3 To organise social events suitable for all.
4 Membership
4.1 The society shall be open to both ordinary and affiliate members of the Students’ Union. Affiliate members shall not make up more than 25% of the society’s membership.
4.2 The membership shall support and accept the objectives of the society.
4.3 In accepting membership, a person agrees to abide by the constitution and the rulings of the society in addition to the rulings of the society’s committee.
5 Society’s committee
5.0.1 Shall be comprised of the following two elements:
5.1 The Executive committee, hereinafter called the committee.
5.1.1 The Committee shall be comprised of the following elected officers:
5.1.2 President
5.1.3 Secretary
5.1.4 Treasurer
5.1.5 Vice President
5.1.6 Library Manager
5.1.7 Social Secretary
5.1.8 Welsh Language Representative
5.1.9 Postgraduate Representative
5.2 The Council, hereinafter called the council
5.2.1 The council shall be compromised of the following officers:
5.2.2 President
5.2.3 Secretary
5.2.4 Treasurer
5.2.5 Vice President
5.2.6 Library Manager
5.2.7 Social Secretary
5.2.8 Welsh Language Representative
5.2.9 Postgraduate Representative
5.2.10 Office Co-ordinators
5.3 Duties
5.3.1 To manage the society.
5.3.2 To consider applications for membership and decide if this application should be accepted. This decision shall be in accordance with policy specified in 4.
5.3.3 To decide what equipment /property is to be bought by the society.
5.3.4 Shall be responsible for all property owned by the society.
5.3.5 To liaise with staff from the School when needed.
5.3.6 To uphold the policy of ‘Safespace’ in accordance with the Students Unions’ Equality and Diversity Policy.
5.3.7 Maintain and update officer portfolio on an annual basis
5.3.8 Attend a weekly office hour, or give prior notice if this is not possible.
6 Officers of the Society’s committee and council
6.1 The Society President, in addition to their duties stated in Schedule 8: Societies, shall:
6.1.1 Chair all General Meetings of the society and all meetings of the society’s committee and council.
6.1.2 Be responsible for guiding the activities of the society as expressed by the majority of its members.
6.1.3 Represent or arrange for representation of the society at departmental student/staff liaison meetings, Board of Studies meetings, and Student Union GMs and AGMs.
6.1.4 Be responsible for reporting the work of the society’s committee to the AGM.
6.1.5 Be responsible for liaising with the Bangor Employability Award (BEA), and validating members’ efforts in line with the (BEA) policy.
6.1.6 Be responsible for liaising with honouree members of staff of the school.
6.1.7 Be responsible for preparing the grant application to be presented to the Communication and Societies Officer at the end of the year.
6.2 The Secretary, in addition to their duties stated in Schedule 8: Societies, shall:
6.2.1 Organise all General Meetings of the society and all meetings of the society’s committee.
6.2.2 Take minutes at all society meetings and archive them.
6.2.3 Ensure all financial committee decisions are minuted.
6.2.4 Keep a record of all society members in line with Bangor University’s Data Protection Policy.
6.2.5 Provide communication to members about meetings and any society updates via email.
6.2.6 Organise and chair meetings for the society newsletter, and be responsible for the editing, publishing, advertising and distribution.
6.2.7 Be responsible for organising the timetabling of the office co-ordinators and the society’s office.
6.3 The Treasurer, in addition to their duties stated in Schedule 8: Societies, shall:
6.3.1 Keep a receipt book of all monies taken.
6.3.2 Be responsible for lodging all society monies with the Students’ Union Finance Office.
6.3.3 Be responsible for purchases agreed by the committee but shall have the power to reject expenditure from the society account.
6.3.4 Be responsible for signing off all society expenditure in line with Students Union Finance procedures.
6.3.5 Present a financial report to the AGM showing the financial state of the society.
6.3.6 Ensure that the society’s insurance records are kept up-to-date with all changes to any property belonging to the society.
6.4 The Vice President shall:
6.4.1 Assume the duties of the chairperson if that person were unavailable
6.4.2 Be responsible for updating the society’s website.
6.4.3 Be responsible for managing the society’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.
6.4.4 Be responsible for the ordering of Hoodies or other promotional merchandise
6.5 The Library Manager shall:
6.5.1 Maintain the in-office library and ensure the upkeep.
6.5.2 Be responsible for the organisation of the library system.
6.5.3 Liaise with staff from the School to order copies of course texts for the library.
6.5.4 Keep a record of books and supplies used for, and in, the library, which is to be sent to the treasurer upon any update.
6.5.5 Maintain a record of office hour attendance.
6.6 The Social Secretary shall:
6.6.1 Be responsible for the organisation of regular social events for members, catering for all interests.
6.6.2 Be responsible for organising fundraising events for the society.
6.6.3 Be responsible for organising semesterly meals for the society, with invitation being sent to all members of the School.
6.7 The Welsh Language Representative shall:
6.7.1 Be responsible for the translation of any society correspondence
6.7.2 Be responsible for communicating with the Welsh-medium students
6.7.3 Report to the society with matters concerning its Welsh language provision.
6.8 The Postgraduate Representative shall:
6.8.1 Be responsible for communicating with Postgraduate students.
6.8.2 Report to the society with any issues regarding Postgraduate provision.
6.9 The Office Co-ordinator (minimum x4) shall:
6.9.1 Be responsible for the general maintenance of the office.
6.9.3 Provide assistance where necessary to any library users or visitors to the office.
6.10 Election of Officers
6.10.1 Officers shall be elected annually at the AGM and hold post for one year.
6.10.2 Nominations are open 14 days before the AGM, with submissions addressed to the Secretary via the society’s email address.
6.10.3 Candidates shall submit nominations no less than 3 days before the AGM..
6.10.4 Each officer shall be elected by simple majority.
6.10.5 Elections for each post may be reopened through a simple majority.
6.10.6 Office Co-ordinators are not to be elected at the AGM, they are chosen by the committee through an application process after the election date.
6.10.7 The School shall be requested to send a representative to act as the returning officer.
7 Meetings
7.1.1 Quorum for meetings shall be 50%+1 of all elected members.
7.1.2 Apologies for meetings must be sent to the Secretary.
7.1.3 All members shall be entitled to vote and shall have equal voting rights.
7.1.4 The Chair of the meeting shall have the casting vote in the event of a tie.
7.2 Annual General Meeting
7.2.1 The society AGM shall be held every year between April 1st and 8th May.
7.2.2 An AGM must be announced no less than 14 days before the date of the AGM.
7.3 Emergency General Meeting (EGM)
7.3.1 An EGM may be called with the consent of the majority of the society’s committee or on receipt of a petition signed by 50% of the society’s members.
7.3.2 An EGM must be announced no less than 7 days before the date of the EGM.
7.4 Society’s committee Meetings
7.4.1 Shall be attended by all society’s elected committee members.
7.4.2 Shall be held no less than one per month.
7.5 Society’s Council Meetings
7.5.1 Shall be attended by all officers stated in 5.2.1-10
7.5.2 Shall be held no less than bi-monthly.
8 Discipline and Appeals
8.1 Breach of the constitution by society members may result in disciplinary action and possibly expulsion from the society.
8.2 The society’s committee shall convene and discuss any breach of the constitution within 7 days of discovering the breach.
8.3 The society’s committee shall take action against any member if it is deemed appropriate, in line with the disciplinary procedure.
8.4 Members have the right to appeal any decision in writing to the society’s committee within 7 days.
8.5 Upon receipt of an appeal the society’s committee, shall contact the society members to form an Appeals Committee within 7 days.
8.6 The Appeals Committee will meet within 7 days of formation.
8.7 The decision of the Appeals Committee will be final.
9 Review of the Constitution
9.1 This constitution shall be reviewed at least on an annual basis.
9.2 Amendments to the constitution shall only be agreed at General Meetings (GM), Emergency General Meetings (EGM) and Annual General Meetings (AGM).
9.3 Amendments to the constitution shall be submitted to the Secretary no less than 7 days before the date of a GM, EGM or AGM.
Be the first to leave a comment