Secular Student Alliance Constitution

Article I: Name and Purpose

This organization shall be known as Secular Student Alliance, also known as SSA, and referred to as
“the organization” within this document.

Section 2.

The purposes of the organization shall be to 1) promote and practice the open, rational, and scientific
examination of the universe and our place in it, 2) and that ethics and morality can be meaningfully
based on rational and humanistic ideals and values, 3) promote skeptical inquiry, 4) provide community
for atheists, agnostics, humanists, skeptics, naturalists and other freethinkers, 5) organize activities,
such as forums for discussion, guest speakers, and debates that educate the College of the Desert and
surrounding community, 6) foster acceptance of freethinkers, and 7) advocate for the separation
between church and state.

Article II: Membership

Membership shall be open to all College of the Desert students, faculty, and staff, and community
members. Only students may be voting members. All may be non-voting members.

Section 2.

To become a member, one need only inform the Secretary. Membership runs from the day of informing
the Secretary to the day after the end of the Spring academic term. At any time during the Spring
academic term a standing member may express their desire to renew their membership for the
following year.

Section 3.

Membership ends upon 1) end of the normal membership cycle without a prior request to renew, 2) the
member's request, 3) the member no longer being a student, faculty, staff or community member, 4)
majority vote of the membership at a properly announced meeting with quorum to revoke that person’s
membership. Voting membership becomes non-voting membership when a voting member is no longer
a student at College of the Desert.
Section 4.

Members who are removed by a vote may not join the organization again until the next academic year.
Members who are removed lose any officer positions they may have held within the organization.

Section 5.

In certain cases, honorary membership can be granted to those who cannot qualify as members.
Honorary membership is a symbolic way to show affiliation with the organization for interested parties
and to give organizational acknowledgment for the honorary member's support for the organization.
Honorary members do not have the privilege of voting. Honorary membership may be extended to
anyone via a majority vote of the elected officers.

Alumni membership can be granted to members of the group that have graduated from College of the
Desert. Graduates will be given the option to be Alumni members at their discretion. Students that
transfer out but do not graduate cannot be Alumni members but can still be honorary members. Alumni
members do not have the privilege of voting.

Article III: Officers

The elected offices of this organization shall be President, Vice-President, and Treasurer. These elected
officers will appoint via majority vote additional officer positions as necessary. These include, but are
not limited to the secretary, public relations director, development officer, and webmaster. Additional
positions may be created via a majority vote of the elected officers.

Section 2.

Officers shall be elected at least a month before the end of each Spring term. Members shall be notified
of a pending election at least two weeks in advance. The elected officers shall appoint a nominating
committee to recruit a slate of officers before the election, though nominations can also be taken from
the floor. Only voting members that plan to remain voting members during the next year are eligible to
run. Election shall occur by secret ballot of voting members at a meeting with quorum. The candidate
with the most votes wins; uncontested candidates win by default. Terms shall begin at the general
meeting following the election, and shall last until the terms of the next officers begin. There is no limit
on the number of terms an individual may hold office.
Section 3.

If for any reason an officer is unable or unwilling to fulfill their commitments, they may resign and the
remaining elected officers may appoint, via majority vote, replacement(s) who will serve until the next
election period.

Section 4.

Elected Officers:

The President shall 1) organize and preside over meetings, activities and events, 2) be the official
representative for the organization, 3) maintain contact with related outside organizations, 4) ensure
this Constitution is followed, 5) have the final word in all decisions where a vote is not specifically
called for in this document, 6) break any tie vote.

The Vice-President shall 1) plan, organize, and coordinate events for the organization, 2) be
responsible for reserving appropriate spaces for events, 3) thank all presenters.
The Treasurer shall 1) be responsible for all financial matters, 2) be responsible for keeping records
and possession (on behalf of the group) of all merchandise, 3) keep the organization current with all
paper work that needs to be filed with the College of the Desert, 4) prepare a budget for the following
academic term by the last meeting of the current academic term 5) if there is not an appointed secretary,
the Treasurer shall take on the roles of processing membership requests and keeping a current roster of
all members.

Appointed Officers:

The Secretary shall 1) record the results of all votes taken, 2) record briefly what occurred at each
meeting, 3) collect attendance at each meeting, 4) process membership requests, 5) keep a current
roster of all members.
The Interclub Representative shall attend meetings of the College of the Desert Interclub Council as
a representative of the Secular Student Alliance.

Section 5.

An appointed officer may be removed by a majority vote of the elected officers. Officers and members
shall have the opportunity to present their sides at the meeting, before the vote. If the officer is
removed, a new officer shall be appointed as quickly as possible.

Section 6.
An elected officer may be removed by a majority vote of the membership. Officers and members shall
have the opportunity to present their sides at the meeting, before the vote. If the elected officer is
removed, a new officer shall be appointed as quickly as possible by majority vote of the remaining
elected officers.

Article IV: Meetings

General meetings shall occur at the discretion of the elected officers, however a schedule of meetings
for an academic term must be created prior to the beginning of said term.
Section 2.

Business meetings shall occur at the discretion of the elected officers. Prior notice of at least one week
should be given to all members.
Section 3.

Officers may call special meetings at any time for important matters. Prior notice should be given to all
members as soon as possible.
Section 4.

Voting may only take place at a meeting.

Section 5.

A quorum is 1/10 of the voting membership. If a quorum is not present, voting shall be postponed until
the next meeting. The number constituting 1/10 of the membership shall be determined by the officer in
charge of keeping the membership roster.

Section 6.

Meeting minutes shall be posted to the web site.

Article V: Committees
Section 1.

Possible purposes of committees will be to 1) take care of distributing out work equally on any given
issue that the committee is created to address, 2) brainstorm and create new ideas to present at the
organization business meetings 3) work through different ideas and issue and focus them so that they
can be presented to the general membership in order to be voted on.

Section 2.
Any member or officer may propose the formation of a committee. The elected officers may create,
structure and dissolve committees through a majority vote.

Article VI: Amendments to the Constitution

Any member may propose a constitutional amendment. Members shall be notified at least two weeks in
advance of a pending vote on an amendment. The amendment shall be read aloud and discussed on the
day of the vote and at the meeting two weeks previous. An amendment can be adopted only by a two-
thirds majority vote of voting membership at a meeting with quorum

Article VII: Statements of affirmation or condemnation

Statements of affirmation would be an official declaration made by the organization that they support a
certain issue or action being taken by another group or individual. Statements of condemnation would
be an official declaration made by the organization that they denounce or condemn a certain issue or
action being taken by another group or individual.

Section 2.

Statements of affirmation or condemnation do not have governing power over the organization. They
only serve to let future generations of leaders and the public know where the organization stands on
various issues.
Section 3.

Any member of the organization can propose an official statement of affirmation or condemnation at a
meeting. For discussion on the issue, another member of the organization member must second the
statement. If there is sufficient support about the issue among the group, it will be put to a vote in the
next meeting, where every member present will each be allowed up to but no more than 90 seconds to
state officially why they are for or against the statement of affirmation or condemnation. The Chair
shall be responsible for keeping time. After all members are giving the proper opportunity to speak,
members may vote to allow another round of discussion, with discussion continuing only if a majority
of members present feels it is necessary. When discussion is finally done, a general secret ballot vote
among the general membership will be taken.

Section 4.
A statement of affirmation or condemnation can pass only by a two-thirds majority vote of voting
membership at a meeting with quorum.

Section 5.

A statement of affirmation or condemnation can be retracted in a process identical to the process for
passing one.

Article VIII: Adviser

Section 2. The nature of the advisor's role shall be determined by the advisory. However, the authority
of the chair and the general membership of the organization trumps the authority of the advisory.

Section 3. The advisory may be removed by a vote among the elected officers. The advisory can
voluntarily remove herself or himself. Prospects for a new advisory would then be contacted and a new
advisory would be decided upon by the elected officers.

Article IX: Non-Discrimination

Article X: Dissolution
Section 1. The organization may be dissolved upon a unanimous vote of members present where the
vote is taken. Dissolution may only occur at a general or business meeting, not a special meeting.

Section 2. Quorum for a meeting with a dissolution vote is 3/10 of the current membership.

Section 3. The organization may not dissolve while in debt or with a balance in the bank.