Missouri S&T Academic Competition Organization Constitution

Article I: Name

The name of the organization shall be "The Missouri S&T Academic Competition Organization," hereafter referred to as the "ACO".

Article II: Purpose

The purpose of the ACO shall be to represent Missouri S&T at Academic Competition Federation, National Academic Quiz Tournaments, and related academic competitions, not necessarily affiliated with the College Bowl Company.

Article III: Membership

Membership is open to any student. Specific procedures for membership may be outlined by amendment to the Constitution.

Article IV: Officers and Advisors

Section 1: The officers of the ACO shall consist of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Public Relations Officer. Their terms shall last for one academic year, provided they are attending classes on campus during both semesters. The terms for each office begin at the end of the winter semester and end at the conclusion of the academic year. In the event that an officer is not attending classes on campus in a given semester, a special election shall be held to fill that office.

Section 2: Regular nominations for officers shall take place during the last regular meeting of the winter semester. A nomination may be made by any member.

Section 3: Candidates for each office shall be elected by a vote of members not running for that particular office. If specific election procedures cannot be agreed upon by all candidates, they may be added to the Constitution by amendment.

Section 4: The President shall have responsibility to represent the ACO in external affairs, chair meetings, schedule competitions for the ACO, direct tournaments hosted by the ACO, establish a calendar of meetings, and exercise final decision-making authority over team selection. The President shall consult with the advisor during the summer after his/her election about scheduling meetings for the following year, and shall inform the ACO membership of the time and location of meetings, via email, before the beginning of the fall semester.

Section 5: The Vice President shall have responsibility to arbitrate in matters of dispute over interpretations or conflicts in the Constitution, take attendance at all meetings, and serve as President if the duly-elected President is unable to serve until such time as a special election may be held.

Section 6: The Secretary shall have responsibility to maintain the collection of questions used during meetings, maintain statistics during meetings, coordinate room reservations on campus for meetings and tournaments, and collect mail from the campus box.

Section 7: The Treasurer shall have responsibility to oversee the financial status of the ACO and make necessary travel arrangements for off-campus tournaments.

Section 8: The Public Relations Officer shall have responsibility to maintain the ACO web facility, maintain other university and college bowl related links, and refine the facility for ease and efficiency in performing the tasks of the ACO. In addition, the Public Relations Officer shall have responsibility, in collaboration with other ACO members as necessary, to coordinate any disseminated information for the Missouri S&T community, including promotional materials used for announcement or recruiting, articles for the Missouri Miner, and other materials as appropriate.

Section 9: The ACO should have a faculty / staff advisor, who will oversee the election of officers and organizational operations, advise the officers in choosing competitions and planning events, and participate in moderating during meetings. In the event a faculty / staff advisor is unavailable, the President shall consult with the remaining officers for advice and oversight.

Section 10: If the ACO has 15 or more members who do not live in University-approved housing, it shall elect a Student Council representative. Nominations for this position may be made by any member at the first regular meeting at which the ACO meets this requirement. Candidates shall be elected by members not running for that particular position. The duties of the representative include representing the ACO at Council meetings and reporting on those meetings to the ACO at the first regular meeting immediately following each Council meeting. The representative's term ends at the conclusion of the academic year.

Section 11: No office in the ACO is subject to term limitations. Any officer who wishes to run for the same office again in the following academic year may be nominated.

Section 12: All officers in the ACO are subject to impeachment. Impeachment must be discussed for the first time at a regular meeting, and may not be voted upon during the first meeting at which it is addressed. Impeachment may only be voted upon during a regular meeting. Two thirds of a quorum must vote in favor to approve an impeachment. The Impeachment proceedings shall be presided over by the advisor.

Section 13: If at any time the faculty/staff Advisor fails to perform his required duties or interferes with the general well-being of the ACO, s/he may be removed. The removal proceeding will be discussed first at a regular meeting at which the president and at least one other officer in addition to a quorum is present. Voting can take place either at the aforementioned meeting or at the next meeting at which the president, another officer, and a quorum are present. Two-thirds of the voting members present must vote for the removal for the motion to carry.

Article V: Team Selection Process

Section 1: The advisor shall recommend to the ACO a group of members to constitute a team (or teams) to represent the ACO at a tournament off campus. The President shall take the advisor's recommendation under advisement when making the final decision.

Section 2: The decision of the President with regard to team selection may be over-ruled by two thirds of the quorum of members present.

Article VI: Meetings

Section 1: The ACO shall hold meetings as prescribed in the calendar of meetings.

Section 2: A special meeting may be called by the President, advisor, or by at least 10% of the ACO membership. All members must be informed of the time and location of a special meeting at least two days in advance.

Article VII: Constitutional Amendments

Section 1: An amendment may be proposed by any member.

Section 2: A proposed amendment must be typewritten with all deletions in brackets and all additions in italics.

Section 3: Amendments must be discussed for the first time at a regular meeting. An amendment may be voted upon during the first meeting at which it is discussed. Any member may request that the amendment be tabled until a later meeting for further discussion and consideration.

Section 4: An amendment may only be voted on at a regular meeting. Two thirds of the quorum must be in favor of an amendment in order to adopt it. Amendments are effective immediately upon adoption.

Article VII: Definitions

Student: Anyone enrolled in classes for credit at Missouri S&T. It should however be noted that some tournaments define "student" as anyone enrolled full-time in classes for credit.

Academic year: A time period beginning with the first day of classes of a fall semester and ending with the last day of finals of the following winter semester.

Regular meeting: Any meeting established on the calendar.

Member: Anyone on the ACO.

Team member: Anyone on the actual team (or teams) that compete against other universities in ACF, NAQT, or related competitions. To qualify for consideration as a team member, a member must attend at least one fifth of the scheduled meetings on the calendar of meetings.