Tau Beta Sigma

North Central District Constitution

Last Revised: April 1998

I. GENERAL

1.01 This document establishes and prescribes the authorized regulations pertaining to the functions and the operations of the North Central District of Tau Beta Sigma. This document is an extension of the regulations prescribed by the National Constitution of Tau Beta Sigma. The National Constitution of Tau Beta Sigma shall supersede all contents of this document.

1.02 The North Central District is composed of all chapters of the sorority in active

standing with the National Headquarters, from the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The district shall be further divided into Blocks. The North Central District Blocks shall be as follows: Ohio Valley Block, Great Lakes Block, and Eastern State Block.

1.03 The Constitution was officially adopted at the First Annual convention of the North Central District, held in March 1988 and revised at the District Convention in April 2000.

1.04 Any and all previous Constitutions of the District along with any and all amendments shall become void and are superseded by this constitution.

1.05 Proposed amendments to this Constitution shall be presented in writing at conventions of the District and shall be referred at once to the Committee on Jurisdiction, which will report thereon at the same convention. If two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast by the convention are favorable, the proposed amendment shall be declared adopted and after such adoption it shall become operative and effective immediately, unless otherwise stated in the amendment.

1.06 Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, unless otherwise specifically stated in this constitution, shall govern the deliberations of all component parts of the Sorority assembled in meeting.

1.07 The District shall be under the jurisdiction of a District Counselor(s), whose obligation and duties are defined in the National Constitution.

II. OFFICERS

2.01 The District President, Vice-President for Membership, Vice-President for Special

Projects, and Secretary/Treasurer shall be elected by the chapters represented at District Convention.

2.02 The District President, Vice-President for Membership, Vice-President for Special

Projects, and Secretary/ Treasurer shall serve a period of one year, or from District Convention to District Convention. A District officer may serve no more than two consecutive terms in the same office on the District Council.

2.03 At the time of election, each District officer shall be at least a sophomore student and an active members of the Sorority in good standing for at least two full academic quarters or one full academic semester at the time of election.

2.04 The District President shall preside at all meetings of the District and will be the official representative of the District when the District Counselor(s) is unable to do so. The President shall be a non-voting member of all district committees, and shall upon approval of the District Counselor(s), appoint chairpersons. The District President is responsible for appointing additional committees as well as a Parliamentarian when necessary. The President shall render all possible assistance to the District Counselor(s).

2.05 The District Vice-President for Membership shall preside at meetings of the

District in the absence of the District President. The Vice-President for Membership shall be responsible for assisting chapters with their prospective member programs, for membership within the District, and shall distribute, collect, and evaluate expansion and colonization reports.

2.06 The District Vice-President for Special Projects shall advise and coordinate

corporate sponsorship for the host chapters of the district publication, Kadenza. The District Vice-President for Special Projects shall be responsible for designing and implementing special projects as determined by the District Council. S/he shall also be responsible for informing chapters of SPAM and its submission dates.

2.07 The District Secretary/Treasurer shall record, keep and distribute the minutes of all

district meetings. S/he is in charge of controlling the receipts and disbursements of all district monies and keeping a ledger of financial transactions.

The incoming Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for creating a district directory. S/he shall be responsible for distributing the district directory, the convention minutes, and the constitution to all chapters in the District, the District officers, the District Counselor(s), the National Headquarters, and all members of the National Council.

2.08 If the office of District President is vacated, the Vice-President for Membership will fill the vacancy.

2.08.01 If both offices are vacated, the outgoing President’s chapter shall work with the District Counselor(s) to appoint a replacement president.

2.08.02 Should the office of Vice-President for Membership, Vice- President for Special Projects, or Secretary/ Treasurer be vacated for any reason, the active chapters shall be notified of the vacancy. Within a week of notification, actives interested in the office shall contact the Counselor(s). The Counselor(s) shall conduct phone interviews with the prospective officers. The District Counselor(s) shall have the authority to appoint a person to the office, subject to the approval of the remaining officers.

2.08 The District Council will review any requests for impeachment. Active chapters

will be notified of the pending investigations. The officer in question may be removed from office by a unanimous vote of the remaining District officers and the approval of the District Counselor(s).

III. FINANCES

3.01 The account for Tau Beta Sigma North Central District will be handled by the

National Headquarters. Requests for disbursements are signed by the Secretary/ Treasurer and the District Counselor(s). They shall be sent to the National Headquarters, accompanied by receipts when checks need to be written. The statement will be sent to the National Headquarters and the Secretary/ Treasurer. Whenever possible, the payment request form will be sent to the National Headquarters with a written explanation for the emergency expenditures and the receipts of expenses.

3.02 Upon request and presentation of receipts, each District Officer shall be allotted an amount, to be determined at Convention, to defray costs incurred in efficient execution of office.

3.03 The District shall pay an amount to be determined by the Convention for the publication of the district newsletter. This amount shall be forwarded by the Secretary/ Treasurer to the chapter publishing the newsletter.

IV. ALUMNI

4.01 All Alumni must abide by the regulations of the National Alumni Association.

V. MEETINGS

5.01 A District Convention, a meeting of the district, shall be called every year, the

location to be suggested by the Joint Convention Site Committee and to be determined by a majority vote of district chapters at the preceding Convention. In the event of a tie, the slated chapter shall be awarded Convention location. In the absence of a decision by the Convention, the site shall be determined by the District Officers and the District Counselor(s), in conjunction with Kappa Kappa Psi’s District Governor. The District Councils and Counselor(s)/Governor will accept bids for 30 days and make their decision in an additional 30 days. The general order of business, in accordance to policy, may be changed by the District Counselor(s) or the District President.

5.02 Each of the three (3) Blocks will host one block meeting each year prior to District Convention.

5.03 District Officer Meetings should be held four (4) times per term of office, plus a transitional meeting with the newly elected officers. A suggested schedule for these meetings can be found in the District Guidelines.

VI. DELEGATES

6.01 Each active chapter shall be officially represented at each convention by a Delegate or Alternate Delegate. In the absence of a Delegate or Alternate Delegate, each chapter may designate the Alternate Delegate of another chapter in attendance at the Convention to serve as its proxy. (Refer to the National Constitution section 3.6).

6.02 Each official delegate or proxy must have a current annual membership card or be

properly vouched for by the Credentials and Resolutions Committee. Each delegate shall have one vote at the regularly called convention.

6.03 All seats of chapters in good standing with the National Headquarters that are

vacant after seating of delegates and written proxies shall be filled alphabetically with the proxies for the chapters present, beginning in the alphabetically listing of the chapters following the last one seated at the prior convention. (Refer to the National Constitution section 5.6)

6.04 Each official delegate may claim the appointed seat at any time during the convention. Upon the arrival of an official delegate, a previously seated proxy will be unseated. For the purpose of seating at the following convention, all proxies shall be treated as if they had been seated for the duration of the previous convention.

VII. COMMITTEES

7.01 The standing committees of the District shall be: Ways and Means, Convention

Site, Nominations, Membership, Jurisdiction, Credentials and Resolutions, Publications, Programs and other special committees as may be considered necessary by the District President and/or District Counselor(s).

7.02 The Ways and Means Committee will examine, recommend, and submit all propositions related to the finances of the District. It will prepare an operating budget for the entire year and present it to the Convention for approval.

7.02 The membership of the Convention Site Committee will be closed to members of

the chapters who are submitting a bid and will meet jointly with members of Kappa Kappa Psi to recommend the Convention Site for the upcoming Convention.

7.04 The Nominations Committee shall investigate the eligibility of the candidates for election to district office. This committee shall nominate one person for each office, but only if the candidate is deemed qualified by the committee and present that name to the Convention.

7.05 The Membership Committee will examine, recommend, and submit all proposals

related to the expansion of the membership to the Convention.

7.06 The Jurisdiction Committee will examine, recommend, and submit all proposals, revisions, and alterations to the Convention.

7.06 The Credentials and Resolutions Committee will examine and submit to the

Convention all credentials of District Officers, delegates, alternate delegates, proxies, national officers, and other official personnel. The committee will also determine the winners of the Chapter Distance Award and the Chapter Participation Award. The committee will review and recommend resolutions for the consideration of Convention.

7.07 The Publications Committee will be closed to members of the chapters who are

presenting a bid and will meet jointly with Kappa Kappa Psi to examine, recommend, and submit to the Convention all proposals related to the publications of the District newsletter.

7.09 The Programs Committee will examine, recommend, and submit to the Convention all proposals related to the programs of the sorority. The committee will discuss criteria for the Superior Achievement Award and the Kathy Stevens Award. The Committee on Programs will discuss issues of District programs deemed necessary by the District President.

VIII. REPORTS

8.01 Each District Officer shall submit a report at each convention of the activities of his/her office during the period since the last convention.

8.02 A report of the activities and recommendations of each committee shall be submitted by the chairperson to the District Delegation.

8.03 Each chapter shall submit a report of its activities since the last District Convention.

8.04 A sponsor chapter of a colony shall include details of the progress of the colony in a separate report to immediately follow the chapter reports at Convention.

8.05 A report of the Convention host chapter must be submitted to the National Council, the District Officers, the District Counselor(s), and the District Chapters.

IX. PUBLICATIONS

9.01 The official publication of the North Central District shall be the Kadenza.

9.02 The chapter responsible for editing and publishing the Kadenza shall be determined by a majority vote of the joint chapters assembled at District Convention. In event of a tie, the slated chapter shall be awarded the Kadenza.

9.03 In the event that no school presents a formal bid for Kadenza, the Joint Committee on Publications shall recommend a school to publish the Kadenza.

9.04 Each succeeding Kadenza staff shall maintain a cumulative operations manual to be passed on to the next publishing chapter.

X. DISTRICT GUIDELINES

10.01 The District Guidelines are intended as a place for the bylaws and policies of the North Central District. References to it are made throughout this Constitution. It is intended as a supplement to the District Constitution.

10.02 Proposed amendments to the District Guidelines will be presented by any convention committee. If the committees are unsure of whether the proposal belongs in the District Guidelines or the District Constitution, the decision shall be made by the Jurisdiction Committee.