Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself.

The Constitution of the Berkeley American Civil Liberties Union

ARTICLE I: Name, Purpose, and Status

1. In order to promote discussion and awareness of civil liberties issues and to safeguard civil liberties on and off campus, we hereby establish the Berkeley American Civil Liberties Union (Berkeley ACLU).
2. The Berkeley ACLU is an official UC Berkeley undergraduate organization and will act in compliance with the university’s regulations regarding student organizations. The Berkeley ACLU does not purport to represent the views or opinions of the University of California or its Berkeley Campus.
3. The Berkley ACLU is a registered college chapter of the ACLU. The Berkeley ACLU must renew its registration with the ACLU annually and must comply with ACLU policy.

ARTICLE II: Political Affiliation

1. The Berkley ACLU is not officially affiliated with any political party (including campus government political parties) and will not endorse any candidate for university, local, state, r national office. This Article does not prevent the Berkeley ACLU from working with politically partisan groups and organizations toward common goals without endorsing specific candidates.
2. The Co-Presidents of the Berkeley ACLU may use their title in endorsing candidates in ASUC or other UC Berkeley related elections provided that the candidate is an active member of the Berkeley ACLU as defined by Article III of this Constitution.

ARTICLE III: Membership

1. Only currently registered UC Berkeley students, faculty, and staff may be active members in a registered student organization.
2. Active membership pin the Berkeley ACLU shall be ranted at the beginning of the fourth meeting attended each semester.
3. A small membership fee may also be required to become an active member. This fee may be waived for potential members with financial difficulties.
4. Only active members may vote or hold office.
5. We will not haze according to California State Law,; we will not restrict membership based upon race, color, national origin, religion, sex, physical and mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship or status as a covered veteran (special disabled veteran, Vietnam-era veteran, or any other veteran who served on active duty during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized).
6. Members are encouraged to become members of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the American Civil Liberties Union, but this is not required.

ARTICLE IV: The Board

1. An elected board will be responsible for organizing the administration of the Berkeley ACLU. The Board will consist of the two Co-Presidents, the Historian, The Secretary, and the Treasurer. Board members will attend each Board meeting and general meeting, unless the Board approves an absence prior to the meeting, except in emergency situations.
2. The responsibilities of each Board members will be as follows:
   1. The Co-Presidents will be the public face and voice of the Berkeley ACLU. As such, they are the only Berkeley ACLU members who may speak as representatives of the Berkeley ACLU without a prior vote of the Berkeley ACLU. They will work closely with each other and the other board members to provide vision and leadership, and will be in charge of overall coordination of the organization and its divisions created by Article V. The Co-Presidents will be Office of Student Life signatories and ASUC agents. The Co-President positions shall be divided into the Internal Affairs Co-President and the External Affairs Co-President.
      1. i.      The Internal Affairs Co-Presidents will be responsible for the overall coordination of the organization and its divisions as created by Article V. The Internal Affairs Co-Presidents will supervise the division directors and divisions, including setting expectations and deadlines for division activities and providing supervision and support for all division directors. The Internal Affairs Co-President will also supervise all coordinators, as created by Article IX. The Internal Affairs Co-President will call and facilitate meetings, send club emails when appropriate, reserve rooms for club meetings and club events, and set the agenda for Berkeley ACLU Board meetings and general Berkeley ACLU club meetings.  The Internal Affairs Co-President will focus on recruitment and retention of new members, facilitate membership trainings, and coordinate tabling (including creating a tabling schedule and maintaining tabling supplies) to establish a presence on Sproul Plaza.
      2. ii.      The External Affairs Co-President will serve as the liaison between the Berkeley ACLU and other student, community, and ACLU groups. The External Affairs Co-President shall represent the Berkeley ACLU at ASUC Senate meetings and ACLU of Northern California field committee and board meetings. The External Affairs Co-President will establish a relationship with ACLU national staff, ACLU of Northern California staff, and BARK ACLU chapter board members and will be responsible for ensuring that all Berkeley ACLU actions are in line with ACLU policy. The External Affairs Co-President will work with division directors on publicity for all Berkeley ACLU events and will oversee all administrative duties.
3. The Historian will be responsible for maintaining and updating the Berkeley ACLU website. The Historian will also be in charge of documenting Berkeley ACLU events (taking photos, videotaping, etc.) and keeping a scrapbook with such documentation of events; the Board and general meeting minutes; Berkeley ACLU press releases, printed event coverage, and op-ed pieces; awards given to the Berkeley ACLU; and any other Berkeley ACLU related information the Historian or Board deems should be in the scrap book. At the end of the spring semester, the outgoing Historian will train the incoming Historian on how to maintain and update the website and will give the incoming Historian a copy of all files on the website and past Berkeley ACLU scrapbooks. The Historian will be an ASUC agent.
4. The Secretary will be in charge of all group email lists. The Secretary will keep an accurate and updated record of the group’s membership (including contact information), attendance, and other pertinent data. The Secretary will take minutes at both general and board meetings, type these minutes, and provide them to the Board before the next general meeting. The Secretary will be an Office of Student Life signatory and ASUC agent.
5. The Treasurer will be in charge of reimbursements, deposits, keeping track of all expenditures, maintaining a budget, completing the mid-year report, coordinating fundraising efforts, and other miscellaneous tasks as assigned by the Co-Presidents. The Treasurer will be an Office of Student Life signatory and ASUC agent.
6. All Board members must be active members of both the Berkeley ACLU and the national ACLU for the extent of their terms.
7. If a vacancy occurs on the Board at any time throughout the year, the Board will nominate an active member of the Berkeley ACLU to fill that position. The nomination will then be confirmed by majority vote of the active members of the Berkeley ACLU at the next general meeting.
8. The Board will hold specific Board meetings at least once a month. These meetings must be open to all members who wish to participate.
9. In an effort to attach the club more closely to the ACLU, every member of the board must attend at least one ACLU of Northern California board meeting or one BARK Chapter meeting per semester.
10. Any Board member who does not fulfill the duties for that position as laid out in this constitution may be removed from office at any time by a two-thirds majority vote from the general membership, provided that three-fifths of the Board participates in the vote and that an intent to initiate a vote of no confidence for the Board member be announced at least a week prior to the vote.
11. It is important to the Berkeley ACLU that the board contains diverse members in politics, ethnicity, year, sexual orientation, place of origin, and gender identity.

ARTICLE V: Divisions

1. The Berkley ACLU will be comprised of divisions, which will carry out the mission of the Berkeley ACLU by educating the campus about civil liberties issues through events, publications, projects, etc.
2. Divisions can be created by a majority vote of the members, on a motion from any members, provided that three-fifths of the Board participates in the vote. After a division is created, it will last for one year, though it may be extended by a majority vote of the members before that time elapses.
3. Divisions will be sub-organizations within the Berkeley ACLU. Each will focused on an issue, such as Immigrants’ Rights, or a project, such as the Berkeley ACLU Decal.
4. Each division will have a Director. Co-Presidents may not also be Directors. Directors must be active Berkeley ACLU members. Active Berkeley ACLU members may become a Director after receiving a majority vote of the Berkley ACLU members at large, on a motion from any member, provided that three-fifths of the Board participates in the vote and that the candidate declares to the Secretary and the Internal Affairs Co-President an intent to run for the Director position at least a week before the vote.
5. The responsibilities of each Director will be as follows:
   1. To ensure the overall success of their division. This includes, but is not limited to, the successful completion of one or more publication, project, or event on their division’s issue area.
   2. To coordinate all publicity for the division, including, but not limited, designing flyers for division events, creating a flyering schedule, copying division flyers, making event announcements at other student groups’ meetings, providing the Historian with an electronic flyer to put on the Berkeley ACLU website, and sending electronic event flyers to other groups. Directors will coordinate all division publicity efforts with the External Affairs Co-President prior to beginning publicity efforts.
   3. To appoint any officers within their division for the successful operation of that division. Each division may have an Associate Director, who will be nominated by the director and approved by the majority vote of the members at large, provided that three-fifths of the Board participates in the vote.
   4. To maintain a list of division members and their contact information.
   5. To maintain and regularly provide the Historian with an update for their division’s page on the Berkeley ACLU’s website.
   6. To hold division meetings at least once per semester.
   7. To regularly provide division updates to the Internal Affairs Co-President and the general membership.
   8. Any Director who does not fulfill the duties for that position as laid out in this constitution may be removed from office at any time for a majority vote from the general membership, provided that three-fifths of the Board participates In the vote and that an intent to initiate a vote of no confidence for the Director be announced at least a week prior to the vote.

ARTICLE VI: Decision Making

1. General meetings will be held on a regular basis. The specific time, location, and frequency of these meetings will be decided upon at the beginning of each semester by the Board and may be changed at any time following the procedures for decision making as outlined in this Article.
2. A vote of the general membership is required for the election of Board members as outlined in Article V; to rant the official endorsement of the Berkley ACLU of any event, organization, or document; to approve financial expenditures exceeding $150; to remove a Board member or division director from office; to confirm an appointment if any objection is made to that appointment; and to make any decision in which at least two board members deem it necessary that the general members take a vote. All other decisions that are not mentioned anywhere else in this Constitution will be made by a majority vote of the board.
3. For any vote, unless otherwise explicitly mentioned in this Constitution, a simple majority vote of the members present at the meeting when the vote occurs will decide the issue, provided that three-fifths of the Board participates in the vote.

ARTICLE VII: Finances

1. The Berkeley ACLU is a non-profit organization.
2. An accurate record of all income and expenses will be maintained at all times by the Treasurer. Receipts for contributions will be provided by the Treasurer when requested. The financial records of the Berkeley ACLU will be subjected to audit at any time.
3. The Berkeley ACLU will follow all the guidelines set out by the ASUC concerning funds for UC Berkeley student groups.

ARTICLE VIII: Elections

1. Elections for all Board positions will take place during the second-to-late meeting of the spring semester. Newly elected Board members begin their term at the end of the final meeting of the spring semester.
2. All candidates must declare their intent to run for a Board position to the Secretary and a President at least one week before the election.
3. Elections will be won by a simple majority vote of the active members with instant runoffs.
4. Each candidate may only run for one position at a time.
5. At the second-to-last meeting of the fall semester, each board member will face a vote-of-confidence. Failure to get a majority vote of confidence from the members will result in that board member losing their position. A new election will be held for that position at the last meeting of the fall semester.
6. Division directors are elected to a one semester term. Each division director will be elected at the time of the Board election (Spring) and Board vote-of-confidence (Fall). If a division is created mid-semester, the election for the director will take place at the following general meeting. In any case, each division must hold an election at the second-to-last meeting of each semester.

ARTICLE IX: Assignments

1. Assignments are to be created by the board when a task is needed be carried out to further the membership of the club or general interests of the club. An assignment may not be issue orientated.
2. Each assignment will be carried out by a Coordinator.
3. Coordinators will be appointed by the board and will be confirmed by the membership.
4. More than one person may be appointed to a Coordinator position at the same time. One person may hold multiple appointed positions. Board members and Directors may also hold appointed decisions.
5. All appointed positions will be filled by active members appointed by the Board and confirmed by the general membership. The terms for appointed positions are the same as the terms for the Directors.

Article X: Amendments

1. A two-thirds majority vote of active members as defined by this Constitution will be sufficient for the ratification of this Constitution.
2. This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the active members, provided that three-fifths of the Board participates in the vote. All changes to the Constitution must be presented to the general members one week before the vote.
3. All amendments, additions, or deletions must be filed with Office of Student Life, 102 Sproul Hall, and the ASUC Office of Student Affairs, 400 Eshleman Hall within one week of adoption.

ARTICLE XI: Dissolution

1. The Berkeley ACLU may be dissolved by a two-thirds majority vote of the active members, provided that three-fifths of the Board participates in the vote, and the vote be held two consecutive weeks.
2. All unspent ASUC funds shall remain the property of the ASUC. All Graduate Assembly funds shall remain the property of the Graduate Assembly.
3. All privately obtained funds will be donated to a non-profit organization, preferably the ACLU of Northern California Foundation and/or the nation ACLU Foundation.