The name of this organization shall be The German Club at the University of Washington, herein referred to as stated or as ‘the club’.
It shall be the primary purpose of the club to promote the use and learning of the German language at the University of Washington.
It shall be the secondary purpose of the club to create a community of students and associate members who are passionate about the German language and culture at the University of Washington.
There are currently no affiliations for the Club.
A. Requirements
The three requirements for regular membership shall be as follows:
1. Prospective member shall be a currently enrolled student at the University of Washington, and not declared ineligible through disciplinary sanctions as outlined in the Student Code.
2. Prospective member shall share, along with current members, an interest in the German language—the learning and use thereof—and be interested in encouraging and supporting others within the group to the same.
3. Prospective member shall be familiar with the club constitution and be generally in support of the club’s vision and interests.
B. Induction
The steps of induction for membership are hereby established to ensure that the club thinks and acts in a unified, embracing and accepting way regarding each new member:
1. A prospective member shall attend not less than one meeting, in which they shall meet, interact with, and connect with residing members.
2. A prospective member then shall state their interest in membership to the President.
3. Soon thereafter, the president shall confirm consensus with all attending officers and regular members at a club meeting, regarding induction of said prospective member.
a. All members are expected to pursue and embrace the growth of this club, in line with the purposes of the club, defined above, as is reasonably actionable, and shall therefore work toward consensus for induction of each prospective member.
b. Concerns, questions, or other hindrances regarding the induction of said prospective member shall be discussed and approached with a purpose of resolution within the group of current attending members.
4. Upon group consensus the president or another officer shall contact said prospective member regarding their induction into the group, and at that time they will officially be a regular member.
5. At no time will a prospective member be denied membership on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, handicap, sexual orientation, or status as Disabled Veteran, or Vietnam era veteran.
A. Prospect members who are not currently enrolled as students at the University of Washington who are interested in membership in the club—faculty, alumni, staff, spouses or friends of current members—shall be subject to the steps of induction defined under Section 1.
a. Alumni of the Club shall be named ‘honorary members’ upon induction.
b. UW alumni, UW faculty, UW staff, advisors, spouses and friends of current members shall hereby be named ‘associate members’ upon induction.
B. Upon induction, honorary and associate members shall be granted membership status and all consequent privileges within the club except voting rights.
C. There shall at all times be more regular members than Associate and honorary members.
A. At such a time that a member—regular, honorary or associate—chooses not to continue as a member of the Club, their status of membership shall be terminated.
a. At no time will a regular member’s status change with respect to their student status of Summer Quarter at the University of Washington.
B. Suspension or termination of membership outside of the circumstance mentioned in Article 4.3.A above, of either a regular, associate, or honorary member shall be taken very seriously and reviewed on a case by case basis by the officers of the Club.
a. Termination/suspension shall be reviewed by the officers of the club and decided on by consensus, with the ultimate wellbeing and vision of the club and its members as the guiding focus for such action.
C. All suspensions, terminations, or other status changes of membership will be made known to all regular members.
The officers of The German Club at the University of Washington shall be a president, an events officer, a current affairs officer, a public relations officer, and a legal officer.
A. The president, with the assistance of the other officers shall exercise the executive functions of the club. The president shall call and conduct meetings of the club and shall act as the official representative of the club. The president takes ultimate responsibility for the direction and vision of the club, its movement and growth, and shall be responsible for all financial matters of the club.
B. The events officer shall with consensus and support of the other officers plan for and coordinate events that the club votes on or recommends, or on other event concepts open to review by the club.
C. The current affairs officer shall be the club’s eyes and ears regarding German –focused cultural events or opportunities in the Puget Sound area, and other relevant affairs, websites, resources, and opportunities for the club. The current affairs officer shall also explore news ideas to bring passionate students of German into the club, thereby sustaining it, and shall work with the other officers toward this goal.
D. The public relations officer shall make record—written or photographical—of certain club meetings and events to be placed on the club website for the enjoyment and betterment of the club and all its members, and shall compose articles, correspondence, or other written communication as needed for use by the University of Washington, the club itself, Affiliate organizations, or other parties.
E. The legal officer shall hereby steward the membership statuses and information for the club and its standing members, and shall be responsible for review and stewardship of all legal and constitutional matters regarding the club, including amendments. The legal officer shall also ensure that all events, meetings, and actions of the club are consistent with UW policy.
F. All officers, by virtue of the office that they hold, shall commit to frequent, timely, and honest communication with all other officers of the club for the efficiency and efficacy of the purposes of the club.
G. It shall be the constant duty of all officers to act and speak toward the best interests of the club and its members, to forward and promote the vision, direction, and current activities of the club, and to perpetuate a passion and interest for Germany and the German language for the good of all other members. All Officers voluntarily take on this responsibility and embrace their office in this way.
Rules of eligibility for candidacy for election to and holding of club offices shall be consistent with University of Washington rules. Any officer of the club who under the rules of the University of Washington of the club becomes ineligible for such offices shall, upon determination of such fact and without further action, cease to hold such office.
A. The founder of the club shall be the president for the first year of the club.
B. Initial nomination of officers shall be the task of the president.
C. All successive nominations of officers shall proceed as follows:
a. Prospect officer shall contact the president, or vice versa, regarding the position in question. In the case of the position in question being that of president, the prospect officer shall contact the other officers, or vice versa.
b. The president shall discuss with current officers of the club regarding the position and prospect officer, to gain consensus on the granting of the position.
c. Upon officer consensus, prospect officer shall make a short introduction at a meeting of their choice to all attending members, sharing how they will be serving the membership body in this office.
d. Said prospect officer shall at that time take the office in question.
A. An officer may be involuntarily removed from office only by consensus of all other officers.
B. Article V.4.A stated above shall be actionable only after all the other officers, address the issue of concern with the officer in question, with a goal and direction to resolve and remedy such issues that would give rise to removal.
A. Frequency of meetings shall be weekly, on a day and time that shall be communicated to all members by an officer of the club.
B. Location of meetings shall be communicated by an officer to all members beforehand, and changes of location shall also be communicated thusly.
C. There shall at all times be at least one officer present during each general meeting to accept responsibility of said meeting.
A. Officer meetings shall be called by the president as necessary to discuss club related issues, policies, plans, etc.
B. It shall be the duty of each officer to communicate their ability or inability to attend based on scheduling, and shall work in concert with all the Officers to establish a time to meet in such case that they are unable to attend the meeting previously proposed.
This Constitution shall be altered or amended by a 2/3 vote of those present at a general meeting with a quorum, or by unanimous consensus of all officers at an officer meeting, provided that no office is vacant at that time.
An alteration or amendment shall be proposed at a general meeting and voted upon with a quorum for a decision of its adoption or rejection.
A. Founding members of the club shall be all members deemed by the president to have significantly or faithfully supported and initiated the founding momentum of the club, and shall going forward be a founding member. This granted status is equivalent to that of Regular member regarding voting privileges, and additional steps for induction for membership shall be nullified and inapplicable regarding founding members.
B. Currently participating founding members of the club shall upon leaving the club become honorary Founding members without other consideration or action.
1. The above stands unless said founding member leaves the club due to disciplinary or punitive action.