Wenonah Players

Winona State University

Club Constitution

Adopted/Revised: September 1, 1948/ March 20, 2007

Article I- Name

The name of this organization shall be the Wenonah Players.

Article II- Purpose

  1. The purpose of this organization is to foster dramatic activity at Winona State University.
  2. To inculcate in its members a sense of responsibility to the campus and community.
  3. To establish scholarship and to aid worthy charitable, philanthropic and eleemosynary establishments.

Article III- Membership

  1. Membership shall hereby be allowed to all undergraduate and graduate students with interest in theatrical aspects including but not limited to performing, directing, stage managing, designing, participating and observing.
  2. To constitute as an active member, individuals must fulfill a minimum of six (6) Players hours and attend a minimum ten (10) meetings for the year. If all meetings cannot be completed, twelve (12) Players hours shall entitle participants to active membership. Hours need to be recorded and signed by the supervisor or and board member by 2 weeks before the annual Players Banquet.
  3. Membership requirements will be non-discriminatory and all persons will be treated in a fair and equitable manner.
  4. A member may be asked to no longer attend meetings or events if actions foster negative behavior and are detrimental to the organization.
  5. The Executive Board in which the individual will have the right to petition his/her case will decide extenuating membership circumstances.

Article IV- Privileges of Membership

  1. Active members may be heard as hereinafter provided on all questions discussed at regular meetings and shall be entitled to one vote each on such matters. In order to be eligible to vote, one must attend at least one meeting prior to the one the voting is taking place at.
  2. Alumni members may be heard on all questions but shall not be entitled to vote.
  3. Active membership shall be terminated upon the members’ severance or connection with the university via obtaining undergraduate degree, graduate degree, or breaks between semester matriculations.

Article V- Executive Board

Section I- Officers

  1. Officers of the chapter shall be the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Production Coordinator and Secretary.
  2. Leadership nomination requirements will be non-discriminatory and all persons will be treated in a fair and equitable manner.

Section II- Duties

  1. The President shall perform duties regularly ascribed to that office. These entail, but are not limited to: holding regular meetings, acting as liaison between faculty and the organization, and external operations of the organization, including club fairs. The President is responsible for coordinating all ACTF planning in conjunction with Faculty.
  2. The Vice President shall preside at meetings which the President is unable to attend and shall assume presidency if that office falls vacant. It is also the duty of the Vice President to act as Homecoming Coordinator and delegate the distribution of responsibilities to the entire Executive Board. The Vice President is in charge of planning of the Players Banquet, held at the end of the year.
  3. The Treasurer shall keep a complete and accurate record of all funds of the organization. It is also the duty of the Treasurer to organize funds for Wenonah Player related clothing and other spirit items (glassware, novelty items, etc.). The Treasurer will assist the Production Coordinator at Alliance of Student Organization (ASO) meeting attendance.
  4. The Production Coordinator shall organize traditional Wenonah Player shows (e.g. Shakespeare in the Park), as well as organize trips to other theatrical events. The Production Coordinator shall also organizer a minimum of two (2) philanthropic events per academic year. The Production Coordinator will be responsible for regular attendance at ASO meetings.
  5. The Secretary shall keep a complete record of the proceedings of all Wenonah Players meetings and of the attendance. The Secretary is responsible for having the minutes accessible to members. The Secretary will also update Wenonah Players files with programs, posters, headshots and other at-hand materials of productions. The Secretary is in charge of updating status of active membership and relaying the information at regular meetings. The Secretary is responsible for chair position applications.

Article VI- Meetings

  1. Meetings shall occur every Wednesday at 4 p.m. or as decided by the club in the Green Room of the Performing Arts Center at Winona State University.
  2. At the second meeting of each semester, the constitution shall be read to all members.

Article VII- Elections

Section I- Nominations

  1. To be nominated to be a member of the Executive Board of the Wenonah Players one must
  2. Be an active member (see Article III)
  3. Attend WSU the following year.
  4. Nominations will take place 2 weeks prior to the Players Banquet, at which time the Secretary will announce the names of all active Players eligible for election (see Article III).
  5. All nominations must be seconded.
  6. Members nominated for multiple positions will decide which position they are running for at the end of the nominations meeting.
  7. The Secretary will post the nominees in a manner accessible to all members.

Section II- Voting

  1. The voting will happen the Wednesday before the Players Banquet.
  2. Each candidate has the option to present his/her platform to the club as a whole.
  3. The candidates must open the field to questions or comments from the club to which they may or may not respond.
  4. Voting will take place following each positions final presentation.
  5. Voting shall be done anonymously in a ballot-type election. The current President, graduating Executive Board member, or graduating member will count the votes in that order.
  6. A majority vote will decide the officer election. In the case of a tie, the highest newly elected board member (elected without a tie) will be contacted confidentially by the ballot counter to make a final decision. In this event, the tie will remain confidential.
  7. The newly elected officers shall take office on the last regular meeting of the spring semester.

Article VIII- Funding

  1. All funds will be held in an account in the WSU Business Office.
  2. In the event of the dissolution of the club, all funds will be returned to the Student Activities Fund Committee of Student Senate for re-appropriation. The dissolving club may speak to the SAFC regarding the re-appropriation.

Article IX- Committees

  1. All committees shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Executive Board, except when otherwise designated, and the term of office shall be one (1) year.
  2. As-Hoc committees will be created when necessary. The head position thereof shall be nominated at a regular meeting and elections shall take place one week after.

Article X- Chairs

Sections I- Positions

  1. Chairs of the chapter shall consist of, but not be limited to web chair, Winona Improvisational Theatre (WIT) Coordinator(s), historian, librarian, Alumni chair, and New Player Representative.
  2. Leadership nomination requirements will be non-discriminatory and all persons will be treated in a fair and equitable manner.
  3. If a chair or Board member cannot perform their duties for players, the Board must be informed before Fall Midterms.

Section II- Duties

  1. The duties of the web chair shall consist of updating/maintaining the website including minutes on a weekly basis, calendar, photos (production, Players events, etc.), contact information and Executive Board bios.
  1. The duties of the WIT Coordinator(s) will consist of running WIT on a regular schedule and exposing the club members, campus and community to improvisational theatre.
  2. The Duties of the historian include keeping record via photos, videos, etc of all Players events including but not limited to campus events, social events, and Studio Season productions. The historian will create and present a scrapbook and slide show at the end of the year Players Banquet. The historian is also in charge of keeping the Wenonah Players bulletin board on the upper level of the Performing Arts Center updated.
  3. The Librarians duties consist of organizing and maintaining the Players library and any supplies stored as a club.
  4. The duties of the Alumni Chair include acting as a liaison between the Alumni Office and the Club and between alumni and the club.
  5. The New Player Representative shall act as a liaison between new players and the executive board.

Section III- Application Process

  1. At the end of the current year, applications for the proceeding year shall be available.
  2. All applications will be turned into the outgoing Secretary who will in turn give them to the newly elected President.
  3. The newly elected board will make the decisions during finals week and will inform the club via a mass e-mail.
  4. A Freshman may apply for any chair position if there is an open position during the school year, and they are qualified.

Article XI- Amendments

  1. A proposed amendment to the constitution shall be made in written form and a notice of motion to amend must be made and seconded at a regular meeting at least one week before the motion is voted upon. At the next regular meeting, ¾ majority vote of those members present at the meeting shall be necessary for adoption.
  2. Where such a motion has been defeated, it may be brought up for consideration again at the second regular meeting following its defeat, provided however, that at the time of the original submission, it received a simple majority in its favor. If such a vote is not obtained, the proposed amendment must be dropped.
  3. Any article or any section of the By-Laws may be suspended, amended or repealed by a 2/3 majority vote at any regular meeting.
  4. The amended constitution will then go before the WSU Student Senate for ratification.
  5. The Wenonah Players Constitution must be resubmitted for ratification to the WSU Student Senate at least every two years.

Article XII- By-Laws

  1. By-Laws may be passed only by a 2/3 majority vote of those present at a regular meeting.

Article XIII- Constitution

  1. Upon a favorable majority vote of the chapter at a regular meeting, this constitution shall become law and the President shall have full power to enforce it.
  2. All questions of interpretation of this constitution shall be referred to the Executive Board and their decision to be presented at the following meeting shall be final.

Article XIV- Advisor

  1. The faculty advisor shall be Vivian Fusillo.
  2. Our faculty advisor shall adhere to the following items.
  3. Attend regular club meetings,
  4. Maintain contact with the club leadership
  5. In conjunction with the Treasurer from the club, track the club budget.
  6. Maintain current contact information with WSU Student Senate.

The following constitution has been approved.

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PresidentVice President

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Secretary Date