DukAnime Constitution

Name

The name of this organization is "DukAnime."

Article I.  Purpose

The purpose of DukAnime is to establish on the Duke University campus a means to watch and enjoy anime, also known as  Japanese animation, in an open, social atmosphere.  DukAnime is committed to exposing and encouraging to all members of the Duke community the wonderful arts and stories that can be found in all the genres of anime.  DukAnime also hopes to promote the awareness of Japanese culture through anime. This includes all form of media related to anime, including but not limited to anime video (mostly), movie showings, music, manga (Japanese comics), and trips to anime conventions.

DukAnime (and its meetings) is open to all members of the Duke community, regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, or any other polar representation(other visitors are welcome).  However, to obtain additional membership privileges, dues may be charged to the interested parties, which are to be determined by the executive board prior to the school year.  Payment of dues accords members full rights, including:

-access to our ever-growing video library (rentals)
-special club "discounts" on anime-related merchandise (to be determined—not guaranteed every semester)

Membership lasts for the duration of one semester, after which membership must be renewed by repayment of dues.  This is necessary to cover the costs of obtaining new tapes for the members' enjoyment as well as perhaps purchasing prizes to be given away at meetings or VCRs dedicated to making club copies.

Article III.  Eligible voters

Eligible voters are defined as those who have earned the right to vote on important issues pertaining to the club.  Examples of pertinent matters include:

-voting on formation/disbanding of committees
-voting in elections
-voting and proposing for new titles for acquisition to be shown at meetings (through a closed email poll)

To become an eligible voter (in matters other than general election), one must have attended at least five meetings by election time.

Article III.  Officers

The officers in DukAnime will be, in order of rank: President, Treasurer, Secretary, Librarian, and Publicity Chair.  Other office positions can be created as needed by amendment or Executive Board consensus (in an emergency).  Officers are responsible not only to themselves but each other in fulfilling their duties to the best of their ability. To be an officer, he/she must be elected by general body (after the first year of DukAnime existence) and must be an undergraduate registered to Duke University.  In addition, officers should have a decent knowledge of anime programs and other facets of Japanese Animation so that they can inform others about anime.  Note: ALL officers must be committed to furthering the goals and ideals of the club.  This is an important characteristic that is needed for the club to flourish.

Duties of Officers

President

The duty of the President is to preside over all meetings (including necessary executive board meetings) and gatherings and oversee the general organization of DukAnime. Decisions
should not be made by the President alone, however, unless it is an emergency.  He/she
should make decisions with the consent of the board.

He/she is responsible for representing DukAnime to Duke Student Government, Office of Student Life, and any other pertinent campus organization.

He/she should also represent DukAnime to other anime clubs across the nation.

The President shall arrange the schedules and meeting places for events and make sure that all events occur on time and with minimal inconvenience.  This includes reserving rooms and the audio/video equipment. The President will also be responsible for coordinating any external club events, such as convention trips. The Secretary may contribute to this task.

The President shall help to coordinate fund-raising with the Treasurer if necessary.  This includes formulating the budget and petitioning various departments on campus for funds.

The duty of the Treasurer is to handle accounts and all financial transactions of DukAnime.  This includes recording and keeping track of where money is being spent.

Also, the Treasurer shall -primarily- coordinate (with input from the President) budgetary and fund-raising activity for DukAnime.  This includes but is not limited to soliciting funds from different sources on or off campus.  On this issue he/she is expected to contribute most of his/her time as Treasurer.  The Treasurer is encouraged to take charge of this activity while in office.

Secretary

The duty of the Secretary is to keep lists and rosters of membership and to maintain minutes and attendance of DukAnime meetings.  Also, he/she can make announcements for every meeting stating what was shown the previous week and what is shown the current week.

The Secretary will manage a club mailing list and is expected to announce meetings on the list.  This mailing list is open to all those interested in club events and is also intended to be a forum for discussion as well.

Finally, the Secretary is responsible for assisting the President in coordinating external events such as convention trips.

Librarian

The duty of the Librarian is to maintain the club library of tapes owned by the club. He/she will keep a list of all tapes available in the library and keep records of members who borrow tapes from the library.

It is also the librarian's job to copy club tapes for those who request it, and to continually expand the club library by purchasing video tapes and copying fansubbed anime available from other club members. The Librarian may also work with other anime clubs to organize trades for videos.

Publicity Chair

The duty of the Publicity Chair is to publicize DukAnime events to the general public.

This is a very important job that gives the campus a perception or image of what kind of events DukAnime holds.  Publicity includes but is not limited to: flyers posted around campus, banners, and newspaper announcements.  Other officers can help with distribution of flyers.

Article IV.  Committees

Committees can be formed for special tasks or projects (for example, subtitling projects, scripting, manga translation, etc.). In order to form a committee, one-third of eligible voters must vote yes on it, and a committee head shall be designated (if more than one person wants to be head, run-off election will be held by secret ballot by eligible voters, although we would like this to be worked out before declaration of intention to form a committee).  Committees are responsible to the goals of the organization and must keep in touch with the officers, but other than that they will have freedom to pursue their project as they like (within reasonable boundaries).  Committees are responsible for their own fund-raising, and if they need DukAnime funds this must be taken up with the Executive Board, particularly the President and Treasurer. If the committee is ineffectual, then it may be disbanded, also by a 1/3 vote by eligible voters.

Article V.  Elections

Elections will be held in the Spring Semester during the second week of April.    Candidates are limited to a two-minute speech, and the candidate with the majority vote wins (runoff elections may be necessary).  To be eligible for office, one must be an enrolled undergraduate at Duke University and be on the list of eligible voters.  The term of office is a year, up to the next Spring elections.  Nominations must be made and seconded at the meeting before the election. In an emergency setting, nominees can be elected through interview with the Executive Board.  In addition, an officer can be impeached only if an eligible voter or officer (President excluded) makes a motion for impeachment and this motion is seconded.  The charges will be stated, the officer in question will have a chance to defend him/herself, and the officer can be removed with a 2/3 vote of eligible voters present (given a 51% quorum of eligible members).

Article VI.  Video Library

In order to maintain a diverse video selection, we need new titles constantly being added to the video library.  DukAnime encourages donations to the video library.  If one provides the tapes, DukAnime has the resources to make them available. Videos can only be borrowed by paid members after the meeting, due the following week.  At first, only one video can be taken out at a time.  Increasing numbers of videos can be rented at once if either the member is punctual in returning videos or if the library has grown sufficiently such that it can accommodate more rentals.  A maximum number of tapes for each person to rent can be set by the officers.  Repeated failure to return videos on time may result in either loss of membership privileges or a replacement fee charged to the renter.  We would prefer that this does not happen, otherwise we may have to charge a mandatory deposit per tape to cover replacement. Additional limits can be imposed by Executive Board if necessary.

Article VII.  Amendments

In order to amend the constitution, a quorum of 51% of eligible voters must be present.  A 2/3 vote of eligible voters present is then required for amendment.  The amendment can be drafted by DukAnime members, voters, officers, or committee.