STUDENTS FOR PEACE & JUSTICE BYLAWS
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ARTICLE I: NAME & PURPOSE
Section A: Name - The name of this organization shall be Students for Peace & Justice (SFPJ).
Section B: Affiliation - SFPJ will remain unaffiliated, though it’s members may choose to coordinate their activities with other local, state, and national organizations.
Section C: Mission - In the last half-century, students have been at the forefront of efforts to realize progressive social change. With this in mind, Students for Peace & Justice serves as a vehicle for non-violent student action to achieve an end to U.S. militarism and to achieve an increasingly peaceful and just world.
Section D: Commitment to Non-Violence - Students for Peace & Justice will organize only non-violent events and will approach all stages of planning and implementation from a non-violent perspective. In accordance with our commitment to non-violence, SFPJ members agree to the following guidelines for all SFPJ events and activities:
1. We will not use or return violence—verbal or physical—toward anyone.
2. We will not intentionally incite others to violence.
3. We will not bring or use firearms or other weapons.
NOTE: The SFPJ stance on non-violence does not exclude the organization or its members from engaging in non-violent civil disobedience.
Section E: Additional Guidelines - Students for Peace & Justice agree to the following additional guidelines for SFPJ events and activities:
1. We will act respectfully toward all people and toward the environment around us.
2. We will not destroy property.
3. We will not bring or use illegal drugs or alcohol to direct actions or protests (casual and social events excluded).
4. We will take full responsibility for our actions.
ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP
Section A: Eligibility - Membership shall be open to undergraduate students, graduate students, former students, students of life, instructors, professors, and university employees.
Section B: Restrictions - No person will be restricted from membership because of age, race, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, national origin, ancestry, marital status, arrest record, or conviction record.
Section C: Membership Status - The membership of SFPJ will be comprised of two groups of individuals, first “the membership,” which includes all persons who have expressed an interest in or attending SFPJ events and would like to stay informed. The second group is the “core membership.”
Section D: Core membership status shall be conferred to any eligible person who attends at least two meetings per semester and takes an active interest in the organization. All core members have the right to participate in organizational decision-making (see Article IV, section D).
Section E: Membership Termination – In the unlikely event that a member’s participation becomes unruly, hostile, or otherwise impedes SFPJ’s ability to achieve its mission, membership can be terminated based on a 2/3 majority vote of core members.
ARTICLE III: COORDINATORS
Section A: Coordinators - Three coordinators shall be elected and placed in charge of SFPJ administrative and financial matters. SFPJ will be a non-hierarchical organization to the extent that coordinators do not hold greater decision-making power than the other core members of the organization. In addition, any core member can carry out the duties of the coordinators. However, the coordinators should act as a “safety net,” ensuring that the coordinator duties are performed if no other core member has volunteered to do them.
Section B: Election - The coordinators shall be elected by secret ballot at the end of each semester by a majority of the vote cast for each position.
Section C: Term - The coordinators shall serve for one semester—fall, spring, and summer.
Section D: Vacancy - If a vacancy occurs with any of the three coordinators, that role can be filled by a special election in which a new person is appointed to that position by a majority vote of the membership.
Section E: Revocation of Coordinators - In the event that an elected coordinator fails to perform his or her duties to the satisfaction of the core membership, the coordinator can be removed from office with a 2/3-majority vote. If possible, a discussion about the coordinator's performance should be held with the coordinator and the core membership before the vote is taken. If the issues regarding the coordinator's performance cannot be resolved in that discussion, or if the core membership is unable to get the coordinator to partake in the discussion, a vote on revoking the coordinator should ensue.
Section F: Duties of Coordinators - The duties of the coordinators include, but are not limited to the following three positions (plus an intern when available): Meetings & Responsibilities Coordinator, Treasurer, and Communications Liaison. These duties should be considered guidelines; they may be shared differently among the coordinators and core membership given individual qualifications so long as all of the duties are fulfilled.
1. Meetings & Responsibilities Coordinator
a.Ensures that core members are fulfilling their individual commitments to the organization. The coordinator takes note of who has made commitments during the SFPJ meeting and sends a follow-up email to those people reminding them of their commitments.
b.Oversees the progress of any SFPJ committees that are formed.
c.Assigns or completes duties that arise throughout the week when there is not a chance to discuss the duties in a weekly meeting.
d.Acts as a liaison with the University of Colorado and Naropa University. (Note: The coordinator may assign someone to be a liaison to the university that s/he does not attend.)
e.Acts as a liaison with other progressive organizations and coalitions, including but not limited to: Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, United for Peace and Justice, the Alliance for Real Democracy and its member organizations.
f.Facilitates meetings when no one else volunteers to do so or when the scheduled facilitator is unable.
g.Coordinates the SFPJ tabling schedule.
h.Assigns responsibilities to the intern and oversees her/his internship at times when SFPJ has an intern.
i.Pulls the organization together at the beginning of each semester.
j.Ensures that the tabling supplies, including SFPJ flyers, are stocked.
2. Treasurer
a.Maintains each of the SFPJ financial accounts, including: Elevations Credit Union Account, Naropa Student Organizations Account, CU Student Organization Finance Office (SOFO) Accounts, and PayPal Donations Account
b.Maintains an updated balance sheet for the SFPJ account and makes an announcement at each weekly meeting concerning the standing of the accounts.
c.Keeps an invoice of all the SFPJ merchandise.
d.Makes deposits to the SFPJ accounts based on the sale of SFPJ merchandise, donations, and other income.
e.Signs off on all SFPJ expenses by adhering to the spending decisions and the interests of the core membership.
f.Writes SFPJ funding requests when no other core member has volunteered to do so.
g.Attends SFPJ funding meetings.
h.Writes grants applications on behalf of SFPJ in the hopes of securing additional funding when no other core member has volunteered to do so.
3. Communications Liaison
a.Writes the weekly SFPJ email announcing upcoming events.
b.Has the power to decide when additional emails should be sent to the SFPJ main list.
c.Periodically discusses the format of the weekly emails with the core members.
d.Maintains the SFPJ membership lists.
e.Takes and disseminates the weekly meeting notes when no other core member volunteers to do so.
f.Maintains the SFPJ archives, including the meeting notes from all previous SFPJ meetings.
g.Maintains the SFPJ website at www.sfpj.org.
h.Periodically discusses the format of the website with the core members.
i.Announces upcoming SFPJ events by helping to create flyers, send press releases, call press conferences, and the like.
j.Maintains the SFPJ list of press contacts, faculty contacts, and student group contacts.
4. Intern
a.SFPJ will attempt to secure an intern each academic year, though having an intern is not required by the SFPJ bylaws.
b.At the beginning of the internship, the intern should create a list of responsibilities with the help of the coordinator.
c.The intern may be assigned any of the coordinator responsibilities listed above in addition to any other responsibilities that suit the qualifications of the intern.
Section G: The Coordinator Pledge
I, ____________________, pledge to do everything in my ability to keep Students for Peace & Justice functioning and active for the entirety of my term. Together with the other coordinators and with the core membership, I will strive to create an organization that is more cohesive, more active, more peaceful, and more just than the organization to which I am committing myself today. This is my pledge to every member of SFPJ.
ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS
Section A: Meetings - Regular meetings of the core members shall be held weekly during the regular school year, unless decided otherwise by the membership.
Section B: Events – Every month, the core members should strive to include some form of event (direct action, protest, party, etc.) to generate more peace and justice in the world, for educational purposes, for increased membership investment in the organization, and to have a good time.
Section C: Special Meetings - Special meetings may be called by the core members as needed.
Section D: Roles - Each meeting will be presided over by a facilitator and a note-taker, democratically agreed upon by the core members present. The facilitator and note-taker should rotate each week.
1. Responsibilities of the facilitator - The facilitator will:
a.Send an email notification to the membership at least two days before impending meetings asking for agenda items.
b.Compose an agenda for each meeting based upon responsibilities previously delegated to members and other topics for discussion brought up by members. The proposed agenda should be sent to the core membership one day before the meeting. The first item on the agenda should be a vote to approve the agenda.
c.Strive to include all voices in discussions while also keeping discussions on track.
d.Call discussions to a close in order for a vote of the core membership.
2. Responsibilities of the note-taker – The note-taker will:
a.Take notes at each meeting, and
b.Send compiled notes out to the membership via email not more than three days after the meeting.
Section E: Decision Making – The core membership will strive to make decisions by agreement of the core membership at any one meeting, in which:
1.No core member objects to a decision, and at least half the core membership can support it; and
2.In which significant effort, including thorough deliberation and efforts to find compromise, are put forth by all parties to achieve such agreement.
3.But if such an agreement on important matters cannot be achieved even after significant efforts toward compromise have been attempted, decisions will be made by a 2/3-majority vote.
DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THE BYLAWS HERE:
SFPJ : Students for Peace and Justice, Boulder, Colorado
