Debating Union Constitution
1)
Aims
of the Union
I.
To provide a forum for the free exchange of
ideas and facilitate the formation of reasoned opinions and arguments.
II.
To aid the improvement of transferable
skills related to the Debating Union: e.g. oratory etc.
III.
To encourage the inclusion of all members in
a fun and considerate environment.
IV.
To provide a setting for debates between the
Debating Union and other societies or between two different societies.
2)
Committee
Members
I.
President-the
role of the President is to supervise the other office bearers to ensure that
they are performing their primary function within the society. The President
also sets the tone and direction of the Union. The President is the first point
of contact for members with queries, worries or ideas.
II.
Vice-President-the
duty of the Vice-President is to support the President in their role. The VP will
lead committee/general meetings if the President is otherwise indisposed. The
VP is in charge of managing external relations-to interact with organisations
out with the University.
III.
Treasurer-the
Treasurer must balance the Union’s budget, ensuring that the society always has
enough money to function. The T is in command of fundraising. The T must ensure
that all members have paid their dues and that all money raised either through
members’ fees or other proceeds are secure. The T is responsible for maintaining
a record of all paid members.
IV.
Secretary-General-The
duties of the SG include booking rooms and informing members when General
Meetings occur. If a formal committee meeting is held the SG is required to
maintain minutes and make them available to members on request.
V.
Publicity
Officer-The PO is required to maintain any online presence the Union
may have: Facebook etc. The duties of the PO also include the creation and
implementation of promotional materials as well as acting as a recruitment
sectary for the Union.
VI.
Events
Sectary-The ES arranges all social events: the Christmas meal etc. The
ES works in collaboration with the rest of the committee in co-ordinating
larger events.
3)
Procedures
Regarding Elections/AGM
I.
Officer bearers can only be elected at the
AGM unless a committee position is vacated. In this case the vacant position
can be filled at a General Meeting at the discretion of the President.
II.
All officer bearers are elected in a secret
ballot.
III.
All officer bearers are elected using the
First Past The Post system.
IV.
Only members who have paid all dues in full
can stand for office or vote in elections.
V.
All candidates must have a proposer and a
second who must be members who have paid all dues.
VI.
A member cannot propose or second more than
one candidate for the same post.
VII.
Members can run for more than one position
within the committee but they cannot hold multiple offices.
VIII.
The date/time of the AGM is at the
discretion of the President.
IX.
The location of the AGM is at the discretion
of the Sectary General.
X.
In all elections bar the Presidential the
President acts as returning officer.
XI.
In all elections bar that of the VP the
Vice-President acts as witness to the count. If the VP is indisposed the
responsibility passes to the Treasurer.
XII.
In the case of the Presidential/VP election
the General Sectary acts as returning officer or witness. If the Treasurer is
acting as witness the same applies.
XIII.
Prior to any election the President must
give a ‘State of the Union’ address in which they summarise what they have
achieved in the role.
XIV.
In all elections the change to Re-Open
Nominations must be included. For R.O.N to win 50% +1 votes cast must select
R.O.N.
XV.
In the case of a vote for R.O.N. any
candidates running for that post must be excluded from the election for that
office and nominations must be opened to the floor. If no new nominations are
forthcoming then the post becomes vacant unless that post is the President,
Sectary General or Treasurer in which case the VP (in case of the President),
the PO (in case of the SG) and the ES (in the case of the Treasurer) succeed to
that post and their office becomes vacant.
4)
Privacy
of Members
I.
The image of any member of the Union cannot
be used in promotional material without the express consent of that member and
the President.
II.
Only the Treasurer, Sectary General and
President are allowed to access the information given by members upon joining
the society.
III.
The information of the old members must be
disposed prior to the hand-over of committees: the new committee is not allowed
access to the records of past members.
5)
Regarding
General Meetings
I.
A minimum of 5 GMs (not including an AGM)
must be held every semester.
II.
All GMs must be accessible by wheelchair.
III.
The time/date of GMs is at the discretion of
the President.
IV.
The location of the GMs is at the discretion
of the Sectary.
V.
In the event of a tied vote for motions in a
formal debate the President has the casting vote.
VI.
The theme of all GMs is at the discretion of
the President.
VII.
When the President is otherwise indisposed
the VP has all the rights and privileges of the President.
VIII.
The chair of a formal debate must never
vote. If the President is chair and the vote is tied then the VP has the
casting vote. In the absence of the President the VP cannot be chair to a
formal debate. In the absence of the VP the President cannot be chair.
IX.
The Debating Union must never become a
vehicle of hate speech. As such no one may be allowed to speak to the Union in
support of ideologues of racial, religious or sexual superiority.
6)
Committee
Meetings
I.
At all formal Committee Meetings (CM) the SG
must take minuets which must be given out on request to any member of the Union.
II.
Members
can attend CMs but have no voting rights and act as observers only.
III.
In the event of a tied vote the President
has the casting vote.
IV.
The President acts as chair to all CMs
unless otherwise indisposed in which case the VP acts as chair. When the VP has
the chair they have all the rights and privileges of the President but the
President has the right to overrule any decisions made at CMs at which they are
not present.
7)
The
Constitution
I.
The Constitution is binding on all members.
II.
The Constitution must be made available to
all members on request.
III.
The Constitution can only be amended at an
AGM.
IV.
Any member who has paid all their dues can
propose an amendment at an AGM.
V.
A proposition toward an amendment must have
two seconds who are paid members. The member who proposes an amendment cannot
second the motion.
VI.
An amendment can only be made to the
Constitution if 2/3 of votes cast are in favour of the motion.
VII.
In the case of a vote on the Constitution the
President acts as returning officer with the VP and SG acting as witness.
8)
The
Structure of Formal Debates
I.
Debates fall into 5 categories: Formal;
informal; mock-parliamentary; spotlight; presidential.
II.
In a formal debate or a spotlight two types
of questions can be asked by the audience: Points of Clarification and General
Questions. A POC is indicated when the audience member raises their arm and one
finger and is used to ask for clarification on a specific point. POCs are
different from GQ in that they never lead to elaboration by the speaker: as a
rule POCs should, in most cases, be able to be answered by a simple Yes or No.
III.
Formal:
formal debates comprise of two teams: one for and one against a motion before
the house. Each team will have 2 min to introduce their argument. At this point
the audience can ask for Points of Clarification. After the POCs form audience
the team supporting the motion is given 10 min to convince the House of their
argument. After this the opposing team is allowed to question them before
opening it to the House. After the questions are over the role is reversed.
After this each team is given 3 min to conclude their argument before going to
a vote.
IV.
Informal: unlike a formal debate there
is no introduction, conclusion or POCs. Each team is given 10-15 min to
convince the House of their position before allowing the opposing team to
question them and then opening the questioning to the House.
V.
Spotlight: This is when an individual
comes forward with a proposition to the House. There is no opposing team but
the House can question the speaker at the end. POC and GQ are in force. The
time limit is more liberal: the speaker can have anything between 10 and 30 min
to speak (at the discretion of the Chair and Speaker).
VI.
Mock-Parliamentary:
The House divides into ‘parties’. One ‘party’ is chosen as the
government and they attempt to pass laws by building up consensus within the
‘parliament’. At the end of the event
the committee can elect the best speaker on the night to a peerage. This means
in all future Mock-Parliamentary debates they must be referred to as
Lord/Baroness…
VII.
Presidential:
much like a mock-parliamentary debate but between individuals contesting the right
to be elected President of the World.
VIII.
Chair:
all the above debates have a chair who mediates the debate, chooses who is
allowed to ask questions etc. In the case of the Mock-Parliamentary debate the
position is known as the Speaker and they automatically receive a peerage.
