Hi all!
This is an important message, please read it with care.
2. NOTICE OF SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING:
The Debating Society will be holding a Special General Meeting on Thursday 18 September at 6pm.
AND
3. NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:
The Debating Society will then be holding our Annual General Meeting on Thursday 25 September at 6pm.
Why are we doing this and how will it work?
The purpose of the SGM will be solely to vote on a proposed new Constitution for our Society. It should take approx. 30 minutes after which there will be debating as usual.
The purpose of the AGM will be to allow the current Exec to present annual reports, to elect the Exec for 2009 and to deal with any other motions raised.
At present changes to the Constitution require the majority vote of any members at a general meeting and ratification by the AUSA Clubs Officer.Because a number of the proposed changes will effect the way we run our internal elections we will be holding the SGM a week prior to the AGM so that the elections this year can be run under the new system (should it be passed).
Who can vote:
At the SGM every paid up member will have the power of voting, moving and seconding. If you have not yet paid up you should do so as soon as possible should you wish to vote.
At the AGM stricter conditions apply: to vote, move and second you need to be a paid up member and have attended three debating evenings this year.
Changes to the Constitution:
The reasons for changing our Constitution are:
1) To make a number of policy changes to how the club operates (outlined below).
2) It is missing some basic clauses that are required if we wish to become registered as an "Incorporated Society" (which we should consider and can be discussed at the AGM).
3) It is based on a generic AUSA template. As such it refers to positions like "Secretary" where we have a "Vice-President" and many other anomalies. We should tidy these up.
4) It is based on an outdated version of the AUSA Constitution so it presently includes clauses giving AUSA power we don't need to and excludes clauses we need to have in order to be affiliated. We should tidy this up.
5) As a founding and controlling document of the Society we should ensure it is as tidy, clear and up to date as possible.
The changes fall broadly into three types:
1) Policy changes.
2) Word replacements such as "Committee" to "Society", "Secretary" to "Vice-President" and so forth.
3) The consolidation of all terms referring to the AUSA in a single section so it is clear what is required by them and what is our own.
The policy changes cover a variety of issues. The most important to consider before the AGM are:
1) The abolition of 'portfolio positions' and their replacement with 'General Exec Members'.
Presently the Exec is made of: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Tournaments Officer, Schools Officer, Social Affairs Officer, Women's and Minorities Affairs Officer.
I propose that we move to a system that has: President, Vice President, Treasurer and then a set number of General Executive Members.
This is because the portfolio positions are becoming increasingly redundant and unused.
- The creation and structure of the schools debating competition (ASD) leaves the present Schools Officer with an ambiguous role and there is a smaller need for specific position within our Society. Exec members will still be able to serve on ASD, but that will be at the pleasure of the ASD Committee as our Debating Society has no real authority to decide who runs a separate competition (particularly as that competition grows).
- Almost everything we do throughout the year is a tournament in some form. These should be the responsibility of the entire Exec - not the portfolio of one person.
- Social affairs, while a valuable function and purpose for the club, has busy and dry periods. It makes sense for people to be delegated these jobs as the need arises.
- The Women's and Minorities position, while a useful one, is also a new one. I propose we remove the position but require that at least one Exec Member be female (should one wish to run) to ensure female representation.
General Exec members could still campaign for elections on policies and could be delegated jobs as the need arises. Person X could help with tournaments in one semester and help with schools or social events in semester two. Likewise Person A could work with Person B on one job but with Person C on another.In practical terms the Exec already works this way, but our Constitution should reflect this fact for clarity and for the benefit of all members.
2) Limiting the size of the Exec
At present the Exec could contain up to 11 people: Three top positions and then pairs for each portfolio position.I think the move to a General Member system should be coupled with a shrinking of the Exec. This is because:
- For a club that has 30 or so people turn up on Thursdays with regularity it is counter-intuitive to have approximately a third of them on the Exec.
- In previous years all (or almost all) the people who ran for a position did indeed win one (if not always their first choice). At times a concerted effort has been needed just to get enough people to run and fill all the positions. Having a smaller Exec will ensure competition for positions which gives them more value and creates an incentive for those running to work harder when in those positions.
- The hope that 'being on the Exec' would create a buy in and ensure more regular attendance at Club Nights is arguably false. Over the past three years the attendance of Exec members has not been hugely better than other regular members.
- Larger Exec's are harder to co-ordinate and less accountable. Often when votes or emails are sent the response is never 100%. A smaller Exec is more manageable in this regard.
3) Providing for a female presence on the Exec-
We propose that if no female wins one of the top three positions, and provided a female wishes to run for the General Member role, that the top ranked female candidate will be assured a spot on the Exec. This provision will ensure that in almost all years at least one Exec member will be female. This seems wise in light of the proposed abolition of the Women's and Minorities role. Given debating is a male dominated activity it encourages more females to join when they see female debaters actively involved in the management of the Society.
4) Creating a 'First Year Rep' position.-
We propose that one General Member position be held open each year to be filled by a first year student early the following year. This provision would bring us into line with both Victoria and Otago and is designed to ensure:a) Greater buy in among first years as they feel they have some impact on the running of the Societyb) A way for the Exec to stay in touch with the views and opinions of our newer members.
Click below to download:
A copy of the new proposed Constitution.
A copy of the current Constitution.
A Summary document which outlines a) the new provision b) the old provision that it is based on and c) a summary of what was changed and why.
If the above provisions are passed at the SGM then the elections at the AGM for the 2009 Exec will take place under the new system so those wishing to run for the 2009 Exec should have that in mind when considering what they may wish to run for.
Any paid up member wishing to make alterations to the above changes may do so verbally at the SGM.
The SGM should be shorter than the AGM and so will be followed by debates. Please keep these evenings free as they promise to be both interesting and important. A high turn out is needed to give our decisions the necessary authority.
Any questions about any of this just send me an email.
Thanks everyone,
Brad
