Club Constitution

Officers:

PresidentAdvait Marathe (adumarathe@gmail.com)  
Co-President: Rishabh Chittaranjan
Vice President: Jefferey Lin
Treasurer: Vivek Vijay
Secretary: Ishan Bijor
TARC Group: All TARC Members (msjhs-tarc@googlegroups.com)
TARC Director: Sophie Chan
Co -TARC Director: Maggie Yu

MSJ Tech and Robotics is the oldest club in our school and operates within the guidelines established by our club constitution, which is hereby inscribed for public access.

Constitution of the Mission San Jose Tech and Robotics Club
MSJTRC 2011-12

Preamble
We, the delegated officials of Mission San Jose High School, proclaim the Tech and Robotics club to be a club of the highest order, in that it shall uphold the standards of competition, sportsmanship, and gracious professionalism while furthering the causes of science, technology, and engineering through participation and competition in the areas of robotics and engineering.

Article 1: Organization
Section 1. Name of Organization.  The Tech and Robotics Club participates in robotics and STEM competitions, mainly tournaments held by FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
Section 2. Purpose and Means of Accomplishment.  The Tech and Robotics Club is a meeting place for students interested in computers, technology, and engineering. The Tech and Robotics Club shall educate all interested students to robotics engineering. Students will receive the opportunity to take part in competitions throughout the schools year. A majority of these competitions are within the FIRST program. The Club shall incorporate new members through publicizing at Orientation at Hopkins Jr. High and Mission San Jose High School, as well as through other methods of public outreach. The club shall support itself by fundraising at tournaments and Multicultural Week in order to reduce financial burdens of competition and any other engineering project the Club takes on.

Article 2: Meetings and Events
Section 1. Meetings.  Club meetings are to be held within the boundaries of Mission San Jose High school on a monthly basis during each month that school is in session. Meetings shall be conducted on a predetermined day of the week; however, the specific meeting schedule for each academic year shall be determined by discussion between club officers, members, and the club advisor.
Section 2. Definition of quorum.  A quorum for Tech and Robotics club shall be defined as three (3) club members, including at least one (1) of which is a current club officer, and shall exist only in the case that the meeting was not explicitly dissolved by an officer ranked higher than the highest-ranking officer present at the meeting, as defined in Article 5, Section 1.
Section 3. Notification of Meeting.  Club Members shall be notified of the meeting via e-mail, announcements over the P.A., via social network pages, and via updates posted on the club website, at www.msjrobotics.com.  The secretary shall be responsible for the announcements.
Section 4. Ideas for Events.  Club events shall include fundraisers as well as tournaments. Tournaments are announced by FIRST throughout the academic school year and they include FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition.. Fundraisers include food stands at FIRST Tech Challenge.

Article 3: Membership
Section 1. Eligibility.  Any student currently enrolled at Mission San Jose High School is eligible for membership in Tech and Robotics Club. Events organized by the Tech and Robotics Club may not necessarily be limited to club members, but this is to be decided by the club president.
Section 2. Dues.  All members shall be required to pay a designated membership fee. Payment of dues will be recorded by club officers, and will serve as proof of membership if questionable circumstances arise.  Dues shall be determined before the first club meeting, by the club president and/or vice president through discussion with other officers and the advisor.

Article 4: Elections
Section 1. Elections.  In order to preserve the integrity and longevity of the club, officers will be elected to continue club procedures and succeed outgoing officers at the end of each term.  This process will allow this club to continue serving the community throughout subsequent years.
Section 2. Eligibility.  In order for a member to be eligible to run for an officer position, he/she must be a paid member for at least a year and must have attended at least three-quarters of the Club’s meetings.
Section 3. Election process.  Officers shall be elected with an interview process if needed.
Section 4. Length of term.  Each officer’s term begins at the beginning of the academic year after which the officer is elected, and shall end at the time that his/her elected successor’s term commences.

Article 5: Officers
Section 1. Order of officers.  The officers of Tech and Robotics club shall be, in order of seniority: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, public relations officer, and media producer (there may be two media producers in a given year depending on officer qualifications).
Section 2. Duties of president.  The president holds all unassigned powers of the constitution, and shall be responsible for duties delegated upon him/her by the club advisor.
Section 3. Duties of vice president.  The vice president may conduct business to his/her own will subject to the president’s review, and shall be present to aid the president and call meetings to order.
Section 4. Duties of secretary.  The secretary shall be present to record minutes of meetings and distribute them through any means decided to be appropriate through discussion among club officers and members. He/she shall report to the president and vice president and club members concerning club meetings.
Section 5. Duties of treasurer.  The treasurer shall keep a record of all monetary transactions within the club, and supervise collection of dues and other balances. The treasurer is to perform deposits and withdrawals from the club account with approval of the club president, club advisor, ASB treasurer, and school principal. Any discrepancy shall fall directly upon the treasurer. The treasurer is also incharge of finding grants and other sponsorships for the club.
Section 6. Duties of public relations officer.  The public relations officer shall act in the place of activities coordinator of the club, and shall be responsible for organizing fundraising activities. In addition, the public relations officer shall be responsible for matters of publicity and public relations with regards to the Mission San Jose High School student body and the general populace of the City of Fremont and vicinity.
Section 7. Duties of Media Producer.   The media producer is responsible for maintaining the Club website and for covering the robotics tournaments that MSJ robotics clubs attend. There may be two media producers for a given year depending on officer qualifications.
Section 8. Impeachment.  Impeachment of any club officer shall be recommended to members and officers by the club by the club advisor or by any officer. Upon review of an officer’s status, a vote by active members of the club shall be held at the next meeting, and a 2/3 vote in favor of impeachment shall oust the sitting officer. Afterwards, standard succession procedures shall be followed.
Section 9. Succession.  Should an officer be incapacitated in mental or physical health, the line of succession shall be identical to the order of seniority of the officers as stated in Article 5, Section 1. The next officer in the line of succession shall accept the duties of that officer until special elections are held according to club election procedures at a suitable date.
Section 10.  ASB Council Meetings.  The officer(s) required to be present at ASB council will be determined on a weekly rotational basis.  The officer(s) responsible for attendance on a certain week will also be responsible for reporting the contents of the meeting to the other officers of T&R.

Article 6: Advisors
Section 1. Names of advisors.  As of the writing of this constitution, our club advisors are Mrs. Neilson and Mr. Brucker.
Section 2. Duties of advisors.  The club advisors shall be responsible for the supervision of all duties outlined by the preceding articles, Articles 1, 2, 3, and 4, of the constitution. In addition, they shall provide advice to club members and officials, designate a location for meetings, sign forms and papers, and accompany club members as a chaperone when necessary.

Article 7: Finances
Section 1. Budget.  The coffers of the Tech and Robotics club are primarily filled by fundraisers and donations from sponsors for various competitions.
Section 2. Fundraisers.  The fundraisers the Tech and Robotics club participates in shall be designated by the club president, treasurer, and advisor upon discussion with members.
Section 3. Expenditures.  The assets of Tech and Robotics club are to be used towards the costs of the club’s activities, as defined in Article 1. These costs may include, but are not limited to, the costs of procuring materials for competition, registration costs, and costs for use of machinery and tools spent in the course of competition.
Section 4. Reports.  Records of club income and expenditures are to be maintained and distributed by the treasurer.

Article 8: Safety and Liability
Section 1. Physical Injury.   Students engage in build activities where they use power tools and metal. Risk of injury through the use of these parts exists.  Members of Tech and Robotics acknowledge this risk upon participation, and will not hold Tech and Robotics liable for any such damages.
Section 2.  Property Damage.  Team meetings will not take place on school grounds. Teams will meet in an environment other than school that provides an adult supervisor. Club meetings will take place on school grounds with constant supervision from our advisor or another certified MSJ teacher.
Section 3. Liability Waivers.  Liability waivers will be created by club officers when tournament are announced. The Tech and Robotics Club shall not be liable for physical injury. In order to participate, students must turn in liability waivers signed by their parent/guardian.

Article 9: Activities
Section 1. FIRST Robotics Competition.  Members of Tech and Robotics club are encouraged to and shall be given the right to participate in FIRST Robotics Competition through FRC Team 2489, an independent but affiliated organization (students not in this club are also welcome to participate in FIRST FRC Team 2489.
Section 2. FIRST Tech Challenge.  Club members are encouraged to participate in the competition currently known as FIRST Tech Challenge, and previously known as FIRST Vex Challenge. Club members may form teams for this competition as a part of the Tech and Robotics club, upon approval by the club president. All teams shall receive financial assistance from the club, covering some of the registration fee (given all members of the team have paid club dues). The specific aid given shall be determined by club officers and announced by the beginning of each academic year. Club members may also participate as part of a team not associated with the club; however, they and their teams will not receive club assistance.
Section 3. Other competitions.  Tech and Robotics club may choose to participate in other activities as suggested and decided by club officers and members.

Article 10: Amendment.
Section 1. Method of amendment.  When the contents of the constitution are deemed to be outdated and in need of modification as per the Associated Student Body guidelines, a member of ASB may propose an amendment to the constitution to the president. At any time when the club advisor, a regular member, or an officer sees the need for a change in the legislature, he/she may deliver the proposal at a meeting, assuming that a quorum exists at the time of the proposal.
Section 2. Requirements for amendment to be passed.  Any amendments to the constitution are only valid after a recommendation by the advisor and a 2/3 vote in favor among non-abstaining club members at a regularly scheduled meeting held at least one week after the proposal of the amendment.

Article 11: Ratification
We hereby decree this constitution to be valid in the name of every member of Tech and Robotics club. The club populace, through our power, has given consent to this document and has readily accepted the terms in this piece.