BAMA CONSTITUTION

Constitution of BAMA at the University of Alabama

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Article I: Name of the Organization 2

Article II: Purpose of the Organization 2

Article III: Membership 2

Article IV: Officers 2-4

Article V: Meetings 4-5

Article VI: Advisors 5

Article VII: Library 5-6

Article VIII: Amendments of the Constitution 6

Article IX: Bylaws to the Constitution 6

Article X: Ratification 7

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Article I: Name of the Organization

The name of this group shall be Bama Anime and Manga Association (BAMA). We
represent fans of Asian popular culture, especially Japanese animation (anime) and
manga, on the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa campus.

Article II: Purpose of the Organization

The purpose of BAMA is to provide a space for enjoyment of Asian popular culture at
the University of Alabama; to promote scholarship on anime and manga; and to
introduce these media products to the wider campus.

Article III: Membership

Section 1: Membership shall be determined by payment of a $5-a-semester dues or a
donation to the library whose minimum estimated value (MEV) meets a semester’s dues
(MEV defined in Article VII, Section 1, Clause 5, Subclause 1). All dues will go toward
supporting club activities (such as attendance of conventions) and development of club
projects, such as a club library. All members current with their dues, herein defined as a
‘full member,’ shall be eligible to vote regarding club matters and run for office.
Clause 1. Members who are not current with dues are not excluded from voting on
the viewing of shows during meetings, but will not be able to vote regarding club
business matters or at the annual business meeting, use the club library, or attend
conventions with the club.
Section 2: All members must fill out a registration form and agree to uphold this
constitution. A clause must be included on the registration form stating that it is an
agreement to uphold the constitution.
Section 3: Membership in BAMA will not be denied to an individual on the basis of race,
color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity/ expression,
veteran’s status, or the presence of a disability.
Section 6: Membership dues will be determined by the Officers, published on the
group’s website, and will be collected by the Treasurer in compliment of the registration
form. Dues are subject to change on an annual basis by agreement of the Officers and
a vote of the membership at the annual business meeting and shall be published on the
group’s website in advance of collection of new dues.

Article IV: Officers

Section 1: BAMA shall have three officers: President, Vice President, and Treasurer.
The position of Webmaster may be appointed via selection by the Officers and a
majority vote of the membership if one of these officers does not possess the skills to
handle the duties as stipulated below.
Section 2: The President’s duties are to run all meetings, be in contact with BAMA’s
advisors, be a contact for the University of Alabama’s administrative offices, oversee the
other officers, run all meetings, work with the other officers to coordinate all group
events, and update organizational contact information with the Student Government
Association (SGA) and The Source.

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Section 3: The Vice President’s duties are to oversee the running of all video equipment
at meetings, organize all outreach programs, manage the club library, and fill in for the
President as needed.
Section 4: The Treasurer’s duties are to attend finance meetings held by the Financial
Affairs Committee (FAC) in conjunction with SGA, submit each year’s budget during the
annual business meeting for approval, oversee the upkeep of budget and accounts,
collect and deposit membership dues payments, maintaining a receipt book, updating
officer contact information with the appointed bank; handle the financial records with the
appointed bank, and jointly oversee ordering of library materials with the other Officers.
Expenditure of funds shall be authorized by the Officers. No individual officer is
authorized to commit or otherwise obligate the funds of BAMA.
Section 6: The position of Webmaster and their duties, whether held by one of the
officers or through appointment by them, are to maintain an up-to-date and informative
website and electronic media publicizing meetings and meeting minutes, upcoming
events, a current copy of the constitution, and other pertinent information.
Section 7
Clause 1. Officers are elected for one academic year beginning each fall semester
and concluding after the summer semester. Individuals may be elected to a second
term of office; however no one may hold the same office or chairmanship more than
two (2) consecutive academic years’.
Subclause.1. Dependent on skill level, the Webmaster shall serve a term to be
determined by the officers
Subclause 2. To be nominated to run for office, a member must be a full member
current with their dues. In the event that there are not enough full members willing to
fill all positions, members not current with their dues shall be allowed to run for any
positions not contested by full members, but under no circumstances shall members
who are not students at the University of Alabama be allowed to run for office.
Clause 3. Nominations shall be taken at a meeting prior to the actual election, which
shall occur during the annual business meeting, which shall be the last business
meeting of the spring semester and will be approved by the President. Nominations
may also be taken from the floor before elections begin. Members running for office
shall be required to make a statement of intent before voting takes place.
Clause 4. Officers shall be elected by secret ballot, except in cases where a
member is running unchallenged, in which case the option to elect the member by
acclamation is left to the discretion of the President.
Clause 5. A special election may be held which does not coincide with the date
stipulated in Section 7, Clause 3 above, if extenuating circumstances may occur, such
as adoption of a new constitution which redefines officer positions and duties or other
circumstances deemed imperative. To hold a special election, one of the Officers must
announce the intention to hold said special election, which shall be voted upon by a
two-thirds majority of the full members at the meeting.
Subclause 1. The special election may waive the nomination process as
stipulated in Section 7, Clause 3 above and allow for nominations from the floor

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followed by a secret ballot vote as stipulated in Section 7, Clause 4 above. Officers

elected at such special election shall serve through the end of the next summer
term and may run for re-election at that time as stipulated in Section 7, Clause 1
above.
Subclause 2: Notification of intent to hold a special election must be sent to all full
members at least one week prior to the date of proposal for the election.
Subclause 3. Under no circumstance shall a special election be held for a
consecutive academic year, unless through adoption of a bylaw change allowing for
such.
Section 8:
Clause 1. Any member can bring up the removal of an officer at any meeting. A vote
of two-thirds of the attending membership and approval of the President is required to
remove an officer. If said officer is the President, then the rest of the Officers must
approve the request. If an officer chooses to resign, he or she must submit a written
statement to the BAMA officers. If an officer is removed from office or resigns, the
President will appoint a suitable replacement.
Clause 2. In the event that any officer other than the President resigns, the
President shall appoint a suitable replacement to fulfill the duties of that office. In the
event that the President resigns, the Vice President will act as Interim President,
unless the Vice President resigns as well, in which case the longest-tenured officer
shall act as Interim President; if multiple officers have the longest tenure in such a
case, the President will choose which officer is to serve as Interim President. Any
officer or member may refuse an interim appointment for any reason.
Section 9.
Clause 1. The balloting shall be conducted by a designee of the President. No one
running for office in an election shall be allowed to conduct that election.
Clause 2. Full members who are unable to attend the meeting in which voting takes
place may vote absentee. Completed ballots must be sealed and returned to
designee no later than the day prior to the election. Absentee ballots shall be opened
and counted along with regular ballots at the voting meeting. Any member who votes
absentee shall be ineligible to vote in person at the voting meeting.
Section 10. No member shall be permitted to hold more than one office at a time other
than that of webmaster.
Section 11. Officers are encouraged to attend all meetings and functions of BAMA.
Officers are expected to attend the annual business meeting unless legitimate
circumstances prevent their presence.

Article V: Meetings
Section 1.
Clause 1. Meetings will be held once a week during the University of Alabama’s fall
and spring semesters or at a number deemed appropriate due to circumstances.
Meetings may also be held during the summer but business votes may not be taken

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at summer meetings. Meetings are subject to cancellation by extenuating

circumstances and a majority consensus of the officers, unless the meeting is an
emergency business meeting in accordance with Article VI, Section 2, Clause 1 of this
constitution.
Clause 2. The annual business meeting will take place during the spring semester.
At the annual business meeting, elections shall be held and current officers are
expected to assist officers-elect in learning their new duties, and if possible, the
officers-elect should be permitted to run at least one business meeting between the
annual business meeting and the end of the spring semester.
Section 2.
Clause 1. The President, with 48 hours notice, or any other officer, with one week’s
notice, may call an emergency business meeting by posting notice available in an e-
mail message, on the official BAMA website, by telephone or text message, and on
the BAMA Facebook page.
Clause 2. A full member with active status who wants to call an emergency business
meeting must submit a request to an officer. Any officer who is presented such a
request must make the appropriate notifications within 24 hours of receiving the
request.

Section 3.
Clause 1. The President may not make business votes except in the case of a tie, at
which time the President will serve as a tiebreaker.

Article VI: Advisors

Section 1.
Clause 1. BAMA shall call on a faculty advisor for support and guidance.
Clause 2. An advisor shall be present at the annual business meeting.
Clause 3. An advisor shall be appointed by the BAMA Officers and has the option
to replace them by a vote from the membership during the annual business meeting.
Clause 4. An advisor can resign from their duties by notifying the Officers in writing.

Article VII: Library

Section 1.

Clause 1. The library shall consist of a collection of legal anime VHS, DVDs,
manga, and any other relevant media, open to all full members. All items shall be
able to be checked out for a period of three weeks. Members may check out a
maximum of two items at a time. The Vice-President will maintain an up-to-date
inventory of the library in an Excel Document, which will be also posted on the
website.

Clause 2. BAMA’s advisor will remain in possession of the library at all times in
their University of Alabama office.

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Clause 3. The library shall be developed through purchases using official club
funds and member donations. The amount of club funds spent on the library shall be
one-fourth of all donations collected in the previous two semesters. The Vice-
President will coordinate the designation of funds and purchases with the President
and Treasurer.

Subclause 1. All purchases for the library must be presented to the club during
the meeting before the annual business meeting and sent out via e-mail or the
Facebook group, and approved by two-thirds majority of the attending full
members at the annual business meeting.

Clause 4. Full members interested in checking items out from the library must
inform the Vice President. Once the Vice-President has identified the item(s) to be
checked out, the interested member must arrange to meet with the advisor during
his or her designated office hours to receive or return the item.

Subclause 1. If the member and advisor cannot find a workable time for pick-up
or return, it shall be the responsibility of the Vice-President to have the requested
items at the next available meeting.

Clause 5. If an item is not returned within the designated three weeks, the member
has two weeks to return the item before their full status is revoked. If an item is lost
and cannot be returned, the member is charged a fee of $10 or must donate at least
two items with a collective MEV of $20 to the library.

Subclause 1. MEV is determined to be one half of the item’s current new

purchase price on [Link].

Article VIII: Amendment of the Constitution

This constitution may be amended at the annual business meeting. The proposed
changes must be read and distributed in an e-mail message to the general membership
the week before and read again at the meeting during which the vote on the changes
occurs. A vote will be taken and a two-thirds majority of the attending full members must
approve the changes for them to be implemented.

Article IX: Bylaws to the Constitution

Bylaws of this constitution may be added at any meeting. The proposed bylaws must be
read and distributed in an e-mail message the week before and read again at the
meeting during which the vote on the bylaws occurs. A vote will be taken and a two-
thirds majority of the attending full members must approve the bylaws for them to be
implemented.

Article X: Ratification
Once signed by the officers below, this constitution of BAMA will be adopted and take
effect on the day of August 21, 2009 until replaced with a newer ratified version.

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______________________________ ______________________________
President Vice President

______________________________ ______________________________
Treasurer Advisor

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