KILROY sketch comedy constitution


a child organization of WPI Student Comedy Productions
revision as of 10-28-08

I. Name



I.A. KILROY sketch comedy (Herein referred to alternately as simply Kilroy)


II. Purpose



II.A. The purpose of Kilroy is to provide a source of entertainment and comedy to the WPI community, and to provide an outlet for creativity and growth for its members. The primary goal of this organization is to write and produce a sketch comedy show every academic term for the enjoyment of the WPI community.


III. Membership



III.A. Eligibility

III.A.1. Kilroy is open to all undergraduate and graduate members of the WPI community. Inactive Members (which can include non-students) may continue to support Kilroy, but shall not be given voting privileges or be allowed to run for an Officer position.

III.B. Discrimination

III.B.1. Kilroy will not discriminate of the basis of race, creed, religion, color, age, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, marital status or national origin.

III.C. Hazing

III.C.1. Kilroy will ensure that its membership will not practice any physically or psychologically abusive hazing behaviors either intentionally or unintentionally.

III.D. Levels of Membership

III.D.1. Not a Member

III.D.1.a. Anyone who does not fall into any of the following categories shall be defined as being Not a Member of Kilroy.

III.D.1.b. Not a Members may choose to become New Members by attending at least three (3) general, production, or writing meetings.

III.D.2. New Member

III.D.2.a. New Members have recently joined Kilroy and have shown an interest in learning more about the organization.

III.D.2.b. New Members can become Active Members by attending the majority of the general meetings in a single term, or by notifying the Director and Producer that they are maintaining an interest in becoming an Active Member of Kilroy. After one term of continued interest, their status will be redefined as Active Members.

III.D.2.c. New Members agree to abide by the Code of Conduct.

III.D.2.d. New Members may choose to discontinue membership at any time by notifying the Director and Producer, whereupon their status will be redefined as Not a Member.

III.D.3. Active Member

III.D.3.a. Active Members are those who have shown a continuous interest in Kilroy.

III.D.3.b. Active Members have voting privileges, and agree to abide by the Code of Conduct. They may choose to run for an Officer position.

III.D.3.c. Active Members can become Inactive Members if they fail to attend a majority of the general meetings in two successive terms, or if they are no longer current WPI undergraduate or graduate students.

III.D.3.d. Active Members may choose to discontinue membership at any time by notifying the Director and Producer, whereupon their status will be redefined as either an Inactive Member or a Not a Member, at the discretion of the member.

III.D.4. Inactive Member

III.D.4.a. Inactive Members (herein alternatively referred to as Alumni) are those who were at one point an Active Member, but have decided to let their membership in Kilroy expire. Inactive Members may continue to support the group.

III.D.4.b. Inactive Members can become Active Members (if they are still current WPI undergraduate or graduate students) by attending the majority of the general meetings in a single term, or by notifying the Director and Producer that they are maintaining an interest in becoming an Active Member of Kilroy. After one term of continued interest, their status will be redefined as Active Members.

III.D.4.c. In instances where Inactive Members continue to support the group, they shall agree to abide by the Code of Conduct.

III.D.4.d. Inactive Members may choose to discontinue affiliation with Kilroy at any time by notifying the Director and Producer, whereupon their status will be redefined as a Not a Member.

III.E. Membership Removal

III.E.1. A vote to remove a New Member or Active Member may be called by any member by a written communication to the group detailing the reasons why. This petition must be brought up at the next available general meeting, and a vote taken on whether the petition is valid. If the petition is deemed valid by a majority of the group, a timeframe for a meeting for removal discussion and proceedings must be established. This meeting may occur no longer than two weeks after a petition is deemed valid.

III.E.2. A removal meeting will be run by the Director and Producer, and will begin by the accused member addressing the group and responding to the charges. While this should take a reasonable amount of time, it is expected that the severity of the charges may warrant an extended address. After this, the group will discuss with the member the charges. The accused member will then leave the room, and the group will discuss the charges amongst itself. Finally, a vote will be taken. If three fourths (3/4) of all votes cast are in favor of removal, the member is reclassified as Not a Member, effective immediately.

III.E.3. Members may choose to discontinue membership with Kilroy at any time by notifying the Director and Producer, whereupon their status will be redefined as a Not a Member.

III.E.4. Inactive Members may be removed at the discretion of the Director and Producer.

III.F. Code of Conduct

III.F.1. A Code of Conduct for members shall be maintained by the Director and Producer.

III.F.2. Amendments and revisions to the Code may be requested by any member to the Director and Producer for inclusion into the next term's Code. The Director and Producer shall decide if the amendments and revisions will be considered valid.


IV. Officers, Duties and Requirements



IV.A. SCP Representative

IV.A.1. The SCP Representative's role is defined in the SCP Constitution, IV, Section B, Paragraph 4. This is repeated here:
The SCP Representative is responsible for ultimate discretion over the governmental and constitutional issues of its group. The SCP Representative will represent this group during SCP meetings and votes, and will lobby for the best interests of SCP, while balancing the best interests of its group. The SCP Representative is in charge of enforcing the constitutions of SCP and of its group, and is responsible for making sure the officers of its group abide by the constitution. The SCP Representative interfaces with outside entities and serves as a face for the group in negotiations of the financial and governmental aspects of the group. The SCP Representative's highest allegiance is to SCP.

IV.A.2. The term of office of the SCP Representative is one academic year.

IV.B. Director

IV.B.1. The director is responsible for ultimate artistic discretion over Kilroy's sketch comedy show that term, and any other project which is not headed by a special Director (see Section G). The Director should be able to take over and direct any sketch in this show, or appoint someone to do so. The Director is also responsible for organizing and appointing leaders to run various workshops, as well as running or appointing someone to run the writing group. The Director interfaces with outside entities and serves as a face for the group in negotiations of the artistic direction of the group.

IV.B.2. The term of office of the Director is one academic term.

IV.C. Producer

IV.C.1. The Producer is responsible for organizing and running the general meetings of Kilroy. The Producer is also responsible for scheduling and booking rooms for meetings, rehearsals, performances, workshops, and any other event that requires this service. When mass communications need to be made to the group or parts of it, the Producer is responsible for writing and sending these. The Producer interfaces with outside entities and serves as a face for the group in negotiations of the business aspects of the group.

IV.C.2. The term of office of the Producer is one academic term.

IV.D. Property Master

IV.D.1. The Property Master (herein alternatively referred to as the Props Master) is in charge of care and maintenance of the SCP props closet as well as all props and costumes. The Property Master will work with the SCP Representative and Director of Kilroy and the Treasurer of SCP to purchase new props and costumes.

IV.D.2. The term of office of the Property Master is one academic year.

IV.E. Technical Director

IV.E.1. The Technical Director is in charge of care and maintenance of all production equipment owned by SCP, such as cameras, microphones, computers, and other such devices. The Technical Director will work with the SCP Representative and Producer of Kilroy and the Treasurer of SCP to purchase new production equipment.

IV.E.2. The term of office of the Technical Director is one academic year.

IV.F. Webmaster

IV.F.1. The Webmaster is responsible for managing the online content and face of Kilroy. This includes but is not limited to: updating the public web site with announcements and news, managing the video archive system, and managing the internal Kilroy website. The Webmaster is responsible for keeping the video archive up to date. The Webmaster is responsible for the password to the SCP webspace and is responsible for not exercising inappropriate influence outside of the space reserved for Kilroy.

IV.F.2. The term of office of the Webmaster is one academic year.

IV.G. Special Officers

IV.G.1. For special projects Kilroy decides to undertake, a separate Producer and Director will be chosen on a case by case basis by the membership of Kilroy. The special Director has the same job as the Director of Kilroy, for the project they are directing. The special Producer has the same job as the Producer of Kilroy, for the project they are directing. The Producer and Director of Kilroy do not have ultimate authority over these special officers in their domain.


V. Elections and Officer Replacement / Removal



V.A. Election Procedures

V.A.1. Elections for Producer, Director, Props Master, Technical Director, and Webmaster will be moderated and run by the SCP Representative. Elections for the SCP Representative will be moderated and run by the Director and Producer. A moderator can be appointed to run the meeting if one person holds the office of SCP Representative and Director or Producer.

V.A.2. Any Active Member of Kilroy, who is a full-time WPI student in good academic standing may stand for office by being nominated by themselves or another member, and seconded by themselves or another member. The nomination may be declined.

V.A.3. The order of elections should be decided after examining the nominations, and asking people who are nominated for multiple positions which they prefer, and choosing an order which results in the least conflict of people running for their preferred office first.

V.A.4. The offices of Director and Producer may not be held by the same person at the time of election. The offices of Technical Director, Property Master, and Treasurer of SCP may not be held by the same person.

V.A.5. Those nominated for the office being elected will leave the room, and will enter one by one and be given a reasonable time to address the group. The moderator of the election meeting may stop a candidate's speech if it is exceeding reasonable bounds. After all candidates have spoken, the group will discuss the candidates amongst themselves. When the discussion is concluded, a vote by secret ballot will be taken. Voting will be counted by the moderator of the meeting. If no candidate achieves a simple majority of valid votes cast, the candidate(s) receiving the fewest votes shall be eliminated and another vote taken, with this procedure repeated until one candidate receives a simple majority of valid votes cast. Eliminated candidates may vote in these ballots. In the case of a tie, there will be another round of discussion followed by a revote. The candidate to receive a majority of votes cast is deemed elected.

V.B. Election Timeline

V.B.1. Elections for Producer and Director will take place at the last General Meeting of the academic term prior to the term they will be taking office. Elections for SCP Representative, Props Master, Technical Director, and Webmaster will take place at the last General Meeting of C-term.

V.C. Removal Procedures

V.C.1. A vote to remove an officer may be called by any member by a written communication to the group detailing the reasons why. This petition must be brought up at the next available general meeting, and a vote taken on whether the petition is valid. If the petition is deemed valid by a majority of the group, a timeframe for a meeting for removal discussion and proceedings must be established. This meeting may occur no longer than two weeks after a petition is deemed valid in the case of the Producer or Director, or six weeks in the case of the SCP Representative.

V.C.2. A removal meeting for the Producer or Director will be moderated and run by the SCP Representative. A removal meeting for the SCP Representative will be moderated and run by the Producer and Director.

V.C.3. A removal meeting will begin by the accused officer addressing the group and responding to the charges. While this should take a reasonable amount of time, it is expected that the severity of the charges may warrant an extended address. After this, the group will discuss with the officer the charges. The accused officer will then leave the room, and the group will discuss the charges amongst itself. Finally, a vote will be taken. If three fourths (3/4) of all votes cast are in favor of removal, the officer is removed from office, effectively immediately.

V.D. Special Elections

V.D.1. Officer positions which become vacant due to removal or other special circumstances will be filled by vote of the membership at a special election. This election must take place as soon as possible after the office is vacated, with a maximum delay of one week.

V.D.2. If at a special election for Director or Producer, no member is willing to stand for election for office, then the other officer must assume all responsibilities of the impeached officer. This is not an option for replacement of the SCP Representative.


VI. Meetings



VI.A. General Meetings

VI.A.1. General Meetings of Kilroy shall be held once a week while classes are in session (discounting E-term). General Meetings shall be run by the Director and Producer, or an appointed member.

VI.B. Writing Meetings

VI.B.1. Writing Meetings of Kilroy shall be held at the discretion of the Director, and shall be run by the Director or an appointed member.

VI.C. Production Meetings

VI.C.1. Production Meetings of Kilroy shall be held at the discretion of the Producer, and shall be run by the Producer or an appointed member.


VII. Judicial Action



VII.A. Kilroy will abide by the decisions of the Campus Hearing Board in dealing with charges brought against the organization.


VIII. Finances



VIII.A. No dues will be imposed on members. Regular funding for Kilroy will be via voluntary donations, fund-raising, and a budget made available through Kilroy's parent organization, Student Comedy Productions. Special funding for particular events, activities, or purchases may from time to time be sought through suggested donations, fund-raising events, or by petition to appropriate WPI or external funding sources.

VIII.B. Kilroy will not charge members of the WPI community a fee for performances.


IX. Amendment Procedures



IX.A. An amendment to or revision of this constitution may be proposed by any member of Kilroy, but must gain the support of either the SCP Representative, the Producer, or the Director, as well as a simple majority of the group, to be considered.

IX.B. A meeting to discuss the proposed amendment's approval must be called within a maximum of six weeks from the date that it was deemed considerable.

IX.C. The meeting to discuss the proposed amendment will be moderated and run by the SCP Representative. The SCP Representative will open the meeting by reading the proposed amendment, and addressing the group on the implications and ramifications of this amendment. This will be followed by a period of discussion amongst the group. Finally, a vote will be taken. If a majority of the votes are in favor of adoption, approval goes to the SCP Representative. If the SCP Representative approves the amendment, it is adopted. If the SCP Representative vetoes the amendment, a revote is called. If a three-fourths majority of the group votes in favor of the amendment, it is adopted.


X. SOC Organization and Affirmation Clause



X.A. Kilroy agrees to abide by the policies of Worcester Polytechnic Institute as well as all federal, state and local laws. Any changes to this constitution and/or bylaws will follow, in word and spirit, all WPI policies and all federal, state and local laws.


XI. SCP Child Organization Clause



XI.A. Kilroy Sketch Comedy is a child organization of Student Comedy Productions (SCP), and will abide by its Constitution. In the event of a contradiction between constitutions, SCP will have precedence.