McGill Environmental Students' Society (MESS)
McGill University
Final version as presented to SSMU
January 28, 1999
Revised: January 12, 2005 (Presidents presiding: Shiri Noy and David Brodkey)
Edited by: Alessandro Bisagni (February 19, 2005)
Article I: Name
1.0 The organization shall be called the McGill Environmental Students' Society (M.E.S.S.) Or Société des Etudiants(es) en Environnement de McGill, herein referred to as "the society".
Article II: Aim and Purpose
2.0 The aim of the society shall be to promote the interests of its members through the encouragement of cultural, educational, recreational and social activities sponsored by the society or by members of the society.
2.1 The society shall have jurisdiction and final authority over all its activities and any affiliated activities.
2.2 The society shall not be regulated or subordinated by any other constitution or council, other than the constitution of the society.
2.3 The society shall promote environmental awareness and exhibit environmental responsibility.
Article III: Membership
3.0 The society shall consist of all students registered in the McGill School of Environment, pursuing degrees of B.A. or B.Sc. Environment or Diploma of Environment, from first to last year of study inclusive and who are in good standing with the university.
Article IV: Membership Fees
4.0 The society shall not collect membership fees.
Article V: Financial Restrictions
5.0 Control of all monies belonging to the society is under the jurisdiction of the society executive and its use must be agreed upon by
a) the VP Finance and the Co-Presidents in the case of society activities and interests of amounts less than $50,
b) a majority of the executive (50%+1) in the case of society activities and interests of amounts that exceed $50 and
c) unanimously by the society executive in the case of sponsorships and endorsements.
5.1 The spending of money shall reflect the aims of the society.
5.2 Any member of the society shall have access to the financial records of the society within a reasonable time after a request is made.
5.3 Sponsorships, endorsements and affiliations from sources outside McGill shall require unanimous approval of the society executive.
Article VI: Executives of the Society
6.0 The executives of the society shall be:
a) The President (or co-presidents)
b) VP Finance
c) VP Communications
d) VP Events
e) The U1 Representative
f) The MacDonald Campus Representative
g) The Representative to AUS (Arts Undergraduate Society)
h) The Representative to SUS (Science Undergraduate Society)
i) The Academic Representative
6.1 All executives of the society must be elected by the members of the society (with the exception of the U1 Representative and the MacDonald Campus Representative) in the spring prior to the academic year in which they will hold office, excepting 1998-1999. The U1 Representative will be selected from a list of volunteers by the existing members of the executive within three weeks of the beginning of fall term.
6.2 The President (co-presidents) shall be responsible for the general organization and administration of all society activities and shall reside as the chair (co-chair) at executive meetings. It is the ultimate responsibility of the President (co-president) to ensure representation at Arts Undergraduate Society, Science Undergraduate Society and Macdonald Campus Students' Society meetings. The President shall be voted in by the previous year’s executive and shall be someone from within the executive. On the event that no one from within the executive wishes to serve as president or the majority of the executive does not vote for their instatement open elections will be held.
6.3 The VP Communication shall be responsible for keeping minutes of executive meetings, documenting the activities held by the executive throughout the year, keeping an orderly record of said activities and be responsible for the maintenance of the society’s e-mail account: mess [at] planet-save.com.
6.4 The VP Events shall be responsible for coordinating events with the help of the rest of the executive and organizing those members outside the executives who wish to plan and help with events carried out by the society.
6.5 The VP Finance shall be responsible for all cash flow into and out of the society account and for keeping a record of financial transactions in a ledger kept for that purpose. Any and all members of the executive have signing privileges and a minimum of two signatures is required to write all cheques.
6.6 The U1 Representatives will represent the members of their respective year and inform them of all society activities. Also they will aid in the running of all aforesaid activities.
6.7 The MacDonald Campus Representative shall represent those students in the Society taking classes at MacDonald Campus and serve as a liason between the executive and the students at MacDonald campus.
6.8 The Representative to AUS (Arts Undergraduate Society) shall represent the society’s interests before the Arts Undergraduate Society, attend Arts Undergraduate Society meetings and request funding, when necessary, for the society from the Arts Undergraduate Society.
6.9 The Representative to SUS (Science Undergraduate Society) shall represent the society’s interests before the Science Undergraduate Society, attend Science Undergraduate Society meetings and request funding, when necessary, for the society from the Science Undergraduate Society.
6.10 The Academic Representative shall sit on the McGill School of Environment Undergraduate Affairs Committee and represent the academic wishes of the McGill School of Environment Students in this forum. This includes voicing concerns, suggestions and initiatives during Undergraduate Affairs Committee meetings.
Article VII: Committees
7.0 At least one of the members of the executive will be required to attend meetings of the following comittees:
a) The McGill School of Environment Council Committee (2 representatives)
b) The McGill School of Environment Undergraduate Affairs Committee (3 representatives)
c) The McGill School of Environment Graduate Affairs Committee (1 representative)
Article VIII: Elections
8.0 All members of the society shall be eligible to vote for the executive of the society.
8.1 Elections shall be conducted in accordance with this constitution and the bylaws of the society.
8.2 Elections are passed by plurality.
8.3 All members of the society are eligible to stand for elections to the society executive.
8.4 All elected individuals must remain members of the society throughout their mandate.
8.5 Procedures:
a) Elections shall take place between February 15th and March 31st, polls being opened for at least two full afternoons.
b) Candidates must have at least ten nominations signatures of society members in order to run for a position. c) An electoral officer will be appointed in the fall of each year by the executive to oversee the running of the election. Votes will be counted by electoral officer and two other members of the society, chosen by the electoral officer. On the event that there is only one candidate for a position the candidate shall assume the position.
Article IX: Changing the Constitution
9.0 The society constitution may be changed at the will of the executive, if a majority (50%+1) of the executive agrees with the proposed changes for the 1998-99 academic year. Thereafter, any changes must be passed by a referendum of the society, with a majority (50%+1) vote.
9.1 All changes to the constitution must reflect the aims of the society as specified in section 2.0.
Article X: Conclusion
10.1 This constitution has been written to document the activities and workings of the society. It has been written by the 1998 MESS constitutional working group, who officiate it with the following signatures.
Meaghan Obee
Nadia Cavallin
Raissa Marks
Louanne Rioux
Hannah Shenkar
Caroline Canning