Preamble: We, the members of the Madison West Latin chapter of the Junior Classical League, in order to participate in and assist with the activities of the Wisconsin Junior Classical League and the National Junior Classical League, do hereby adopt the following constitution and agree to abide by its provisions.
Article I: Purpose
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be Madison West Latin.
Section 2. The emblem of this organization shall be a reproduction of the national emblem, namely a torch encircled with a laurel wreath, and the colors shall be maize and gold, the Madison West school colors, though Madison West Latin shall also recognize the Tyrian purple and gold of the National Junior Classical League.
Section 3. The purpose of West Latin shall be to gain a more thorough knowledge of classical life, history, and literature; to understand the practical and cultural values of the classics; and to interest other students in classical languages, literature, government, law, and arts; and to participate in WJCL and NJCL activities
Section 4. West Latin formulates its policies in accordance with the policies of the WJCL and NJCL, as it shall be a chapter of both organizations.
Section 5. The welfare of West Latin requires close cooperation among the individual members, the officers, the sponsors, and the WJCL board. Long-term needs and immediate concerns must be balanced carefully. To this end, every attempt has been made to provide checks and balances to assure that every substantial decision truly has the support of both those most concerned with the long-term health of the organization – the sponsors– and those most concerned with the immediate needs of the organization – the members and officers. However, the most effective measure to aid the welfare of the organization is the close cooperation of all members of the organization.
Article II: Membership
Section 1. Any West High School student may affiliate with West Latin by application to the sponsor and payment of dues. Such students shall precede the college level, take or have taken Latin, Greek, or other classical studies courses. All registered members of West Latin become individual members of the WJCL upon payment of dues.
Section 2. West Latin members must also join the WJCL and NJCL.
Article III: The Executive Board
Section 1. The West Latin board will be composed of the officers and the sponsor.
Section 2: The board positions, in gavel order, will be President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Parliamentarian, Secretary, Historian, Treasurer, Technology Coordinator, and Certamen Coordinator.
Section 3. The sponsor will be the most senior Latin teacher, unless someone else is found to be more fit. shall be decided by a ⅔ majority of the club members (or what procedure you have)
Section 4. The purpose of the class representative shall be to represent their class at West Latin meetings. The class may choose their representative. If the representative is unable to attend a meeting, a substitute may be selected from the missing representative's class. Class Representatives shall have the same voting and discussion privileges as officers at West Latin meetings.
Article IV: Officers
Section 1. The elected officers of the Madison West Board shall be: President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Parliamentarian, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, Technology Coordinator, and Certamen Coordinator.
Section 2. All officers will serve from their election in February/March until either the end of their term at the following year’s elections, or until they are no longer eligible for the West Latin board.
Section 3. If a West Latin board member is elected to the WJCL or NJCL boards, they are no longer eligible to be West Latin board members, and must step down.
Section 4.If a board member steps down or is impeached, a state of emergency will be declared and an emergency election will be held.
Section 5. Any officer must be a member of both the WJCL and the NJCL. Candidates must have been a member of West Latin for the academic year preceding the election, and must have attended at least one Junior Classical League Convention, either State or National.
Section 6. Any West Latin member may begin impeachment proceedings by sending the President, Parliamentarian, and charged officer a letter detailing charges or abrogation of duties of office. If the MadWest Latin Board and Sponsor agree that the charges against the accused officer are relevant the impeachment process will begin. At the next board meeting – which may not be held until at least one week after the charged officer has received written notice of the charges – a motion to read the charges against the officer may be introduced. If a simple majority of MadWest Latin club members present passes the motion, the charged officer will be granted the floor in order to present a defense. Only after this defense may a motion to remove the officer from office be introduced. This motion shall require the approval of two-thirds of MadWest Latin Club members present in order to pass.
Article V: Elections
Section 1. All candidates who wish to run for office must declare their intention to do so by announcing it at the Madison West Latin board meeting or notifying the Madison West Parliamentarian after the February WJCL Board meeting. Speeches, candidates' open forum, and elections will take place over no more than two weeks post declarations of candidacy, respectively.
Section 2. Should no candidates declare their intent to run for an office a State-of-Emergency is to be declared. The Parliamentarian is obligated to notify all classes as soon as possible. Any qualified member of the West Latin, including a current candidate for another office, may declare their intention to run for the office.
Section 3. Officers shall be elected one day every year the day after the candidates open forum. Each candidate shall be limited to one speech of two minutes at the Open Forum meeting the day before the election. Each class shall select a Voting Delegate to report the vote of that chapter. The Parliamentarian shall retain the ballots of any contested election for examination by any West Latin member for one year after the election in question.
Section 4. Should a vacancy occur in the office of President, the 1st Vice-President shall become President. Should a vacancy occur in any office other than that of the President, the Parliamentarian is obligated to notify all classes as soon as possible and call a Vacancy Election.
Section 5. Any qualified West Latin member may submit a declaration of candidacy to be considered a candidate in a Vacancy or Emergency Election, provided that the candidacy is declared at least one week prior to the election meeting. At the election meeting, each candidate shall be interviewed individually in front of all voters present. Each sponsor(s) and club member(s) shall be entitled to one vote. A candidate must win a majority of votes cast in order to be elected. Should no candidate win a majority of the votes, a runoff election between the two candidates who received the most votes shall occur.
Article VI: Voting
Section 1. Each MadWest Latin Club member is entitled to a single vote for each office if they attend both the Candidates’ Open Forum and the Candidates’ Speeches. Members may vote in favor of a candidate, abstain, or cast a vote of no confidence. An abstention is not included in the total number of votes cast; a vote of no confidence is included in the total number of votes cast.
Section 2. A candidate running unopposed must receive a majority of votes cast in favor of election. For a contested office, a candidate must receive a plurality of eligible votes cast to be elected to an office. Ties shall be broken by the sponsor.
Section 3. At each West Latin meeting for which amendments have been proposed, the Parliamentarian shall call a meeting to present these amendments. At least ten people, four of which must be non-board members, must be present at this meeting.
Article VII: Amendments
Section 1. Any West Latin member may submit amendments to the Parliamentarian for consideration. At an amendment meeting, the Parliamentarian shall present proposed amendments for discussion and revision.
Section 2. Ratification of amendments shall require a two-thirds majority of votes cast, excluding those of abstention.
Section 3. At each West Latin meeting for which amendments have been proposed, the Parliamentarian shall call a meeting to present these amendments.
Bylaws
Article I: Duties of Officers
Section 1. The President shall preside at all West Latin meetings, maintain the presidential files, and call board meetings. The President may appoint committees with chair, serve ex-officio on committees, and plan yearly projects. The President shall be one of the representative for MadWest Latin in all WJCL elections for which they are eligible to represent. In which case the President cannot represent MadWest Latin, a vote will be called to choose a new representative or the sponsor shall choose a new representative. The President shall also be officially in charge of submitting any necessary material to the WJCL Editor for the WJCL Torch.
Section 2. The 1st Vice President shall aid in the promotion of membership. The 1st Vice President shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President or when otherwise requested by the President. The 1st Vice President will lead committees if there is no other leader, and will assist the other board members whenever necessary.
Section 3. The 2nd Vice President shall perform all duties relating to spirit and service, including spirit contests, roll call, promotion of spirit and service, and any other spirit and service related activities.
Section 4. The Parliamentarian will be responsible for using Robert's Rules of Order to determine any procedural questions. The Parliamentarian shall maintain a current copy of the West Latin Constitution at all meetings. The Parliamentarian shall preside over all meetings pertaining to elections, the constitution, and amendments. The Parliamentarian will inform candidates of their duties, keep track of candidates, and run elections. If the Parliamentarian is being voted on or cannot run an election, it will be run by the highest-in-gavel-order West Latin board member present.
Section 5. The Secretary shall send copies of minutes of West Latin board meetings to all officers and members within one week after such meetings. The Secretary also shall conduct West Latin correspondence, retain appropriate records, and create a meeting agenda to be sent out to MadWest Latin Club members no less than two days before the meeting.
Section 6. The Treasurer shall maintain a record of receipts and expenditures, pay all bills authorized by the executive board, and submit reports at state convention and board meetings. All payments shall be co-signed by the sponsor. The Treasurer will also be in charge of all fundraising events, whether they be at the State Bazaar or outside of State Convention.
Section 7. The Historian shall prepare a scrapbook for the Wisconsin Junior Classical League Convention and take pictures at all West Latin Activities.
Section 8. The Technology Coordinator shall maintain a current and well organized website to ensure that all West Latin members have access to information regarding West Latin activities. The Technology Coordinator shall update the West Latin website, Facebook page, and any other social media with information approved by the board, facilitate communication among the members through technological means, and aid in the acquisition of other technology for the use of West Latin. The Technology Coordinator will also fix any broken Certamen machines. After elections, the Technology Coordinator shall work closely with the Technology Coordinator-Elect in order to ensure a smooth transition of operations.
Section 9. The Certamen Coordinator shall be an upperclassmen who has played Certamen for West Latin for at least two years. The Certamen Coordinator shall teach and coach all West Latin certamen players, particularly the novices. The Certamen Coordinator shall run Friday practices, and, when possible, extra-scholastic practices. The Certamen Coordinator shall also have the ability to veto any choices made by other MadWest Latin members in regards to choosing Certamen teams with the sponsor's approval. The Certamen Coordinator will coach the novice team at the WJCL Convention, including any substitutions and practices that may be needed.
Article II: Certamen
Section 1. Certamen shall be introduced to the novices no earlier than the Friday of Homecoming.
Section 2. Once certamen has been introduced to the novices, there shall be certamen practice every Friday at lunch in the Latin room. Intermediate and advanced players may practice as soon as school starts, it they wish.
Section 3. The novice certamen team, both starters and alternates, shall be chosen at Novice Certamen Tryouts the first week of November. The Tryouts will be run by the Certamen Coordinator; in the Certamen Coordinator’s absence, the 1st Vice President and the remainder of the board may run tryouts.
Section 4. It shall be the responsibility of the intermediate and advanced players to assist the novice team and each other in certamen training.
Section 5. The state Certamen team shall be chosen with the input of senior MadWest Latin members, the Certamen Coordinator, and the Sponsor.
Section 6. West Latin shall hold Madison certamen practices, in addition to the WJCL certamen practices, during the summer.
Article III: Bylaws
Section 1. Additional bylaws not in conflict with the NJCL and WJCL constitutions may be adopted by either a two-thirds majority of the Executive Board or a simple majority of the members at a meeting.