Justice League News

Article I - Name
The name of this club shall be "Justice."

Article II - Purpose
Section 1
Justice shall pursue its first goal by increasing awareness of and taking action against social, economic, environmental, and political injustices.

Section 2
Justice shall pursue its primary goal by providing a forum through which all students can voice opinions and mobilize on issues on campus, locally, and globally.

Section 3
Justice shall not be not officially affiliated with any local, regional or national groups.

Section 4
Justice's purpose is consistent with WPI's mission to get engineering and science students out of the classroom and into the world.

Section 5
Justice aims to be a lgbqt positive, anti-sexist, anti-racist, anti-classist, anti-ableist, non-hierarchical organization

Section 6
Justice opposes imperialsim, neoliberalism, neocolonialism, and all other unjust systems imposed on unwilling peoples.

Article III - Membership
Section 1
Membership is open to all WPI students, staff, and faculty regardless of race, creed, religion, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, marital status, class, income or national origin.

Section 2
Active members are defined as people who actively participate in the group on a regular basis

Section 3
Justice shall ensure that it's membership does not practice hazing of any kind.

Section 4
No member shall be required to take part in any activity that they do not wish to participate in.

Article IV - Officers and Election
Section 1
The officers of this group shall include a president, a vice president, a secretary and a treasurer.

Section 2
Officers will be chosen by consensus at the end of each semester to determine the officers for the following semester.

Section 3
In the case that consensus cannot be reached a vote will be taken for officers

Section 4
Any officer who has not fulfilled the duties of office may be removed from office by a consensus of the remaining members at any regular meeting.

Article V - Meetings
Section 1
Meetings will be held weekly with a duration of approximately one hour.

Section 2
Emergency meetings may be called by agreement of the club officers.

Section 3
At the start of each meeting, the meeting process will be explained to all new members. Old members will introduce themselves to new members.

Section 4
After the explanation of the process and introductions, the group must chose a facilitator, time keeper, note taker and mediator.

Section 5
A facilitator for a regular meeting shall have been already chosen at the end of the previous regular meeting. If for some reason, a facilitator has not been chosen, the president will facilitate during the process of choosing a facilitator.

Section 6
The meeting facilitator will create an agenda before each regular meeting based on the previous meetings notes and suggestions from members. The agenda should include an estimated time for each item.

Section 7
The role of the facilitator is to aid the group in defining decisions that need to be made, help them through the stages of reaching an agreement, keep the meeting moving, focus discussion to the point at hand, makes sure everyone has the opportunity to participate, and formulate and test to see if consensus has been reached.

Section 8
Facilitators help to direct the process of the meeting, not its content. They never make decisions for the group. If a facilitator feels too emotionally involved in an issue or discussion and cannot remain neutral in behavior, if not in attitude, then she should ask someone to take over the task of facilitation for that agenda item.

Section 9
The time keeper will warn the group when it reaches the estimated time for an agenda item.

Section 10
The note taker will record the minutes of the meeting and post them to the mailing list with the assistance of the secretary if necessary.

Section 11
The mediator will keep track of who has spoken and in what order people have raised their hands. She will make sure that one person or group does not dominate the discussion, and that everyone gets a chance to speak.

Section 12
After roles have been assigned, the facilitator will present the agenda and allow members to bring up new agenda items.

Section 13
Each agenda item that requires a decision will go through the consensus process.

Section 14
Initially, the proposal will be presented to the group and there will be a discussion period during which the proposal may be amended and modified, or withdrawn if it seems to be a dead end. During this discussion period it is important that all members articulate differences clearly. It is the responsibility of those who are having trouble with a proposal to put forth alternative suggestions.

Section 15
When a proposal seems to be well understood by everyone, and there are no new changes asked for, the facilitator can ask if there are any objections or reservations to it. If there are no objections, there can be a call for consensus. If there are still no objections, then after a moment of silence we have our decision. Once consensus does appear to have been reached, the facilitator should repeat the decision to the group so everyone is clear on what has been decided.

Section 16
There are several levels of objection:

Non-support ("I don't see the need for this, but I'll go along.")
Reservations ("I think this may be a mistake but I can live with it.")
Standing aside ("I personally can't do this, but I won't stop others from doing it.")
Blocking ("I cannot support this or allow the group to support this.")

Obviously, if many people express non-support or reservations or stand aside or leave the group, it may not be a viable decision even if no one directly blocks it.

Article VI - Amendments to Constitution and Bylaws
Section 1
All proposed amendments will be presented orally during regular club meetings. An electronic or printed copy of any proposed amendment shall be made available upon the request of any member.

Section 2
Amendments may be ratified by group consensus at the regular meeting following their presentation.

Article VII - Officer Duties and Responsibilities

Section 1
All officers must act consistently with the purpose of the club as defined in the constitution.

Section 2
All officers must attend at least three quarters of the scheduled meetings.

Section 3
The president shall be the official representative of the club. He/she will receive club mail and serve as a official liaison between the club and the rest of the world.

Section 4
The secretary is responsible for making sure that notes are taken at each meeting and posted to the appropriate mailing lists. He/she is also responsible for making sure that the web page is updated.

Section 5
The treasurer is responsible for taking care of expenditures, preparing budgets, and dealing with other monetary matters. He/she shall have no power to decide how money is distributed, as that privilege is reserved for the group.

Section 6
The vice-president is responsible for aiding the president in his/her duties.

Section 7
The club may delegate the responsibilities of any officer as necessary.

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What is consensus?
Consensus is a process for group decision-making. It is a method by which an entire group of people can come to an agreement. The input and ideas of all participants are gathered and synthesized to arrive at a final decision acceptable to all. Through consensus, we are not only working to achieve better solutions, but also to promote the growth of community and trust.

Consensus vs. voting
Voting is a means by which we choose one alternative from several. Consensus, on the other hand, is a process of synthesizing many diverse elements together.

Voting is a win or lose model, in which people are more often concerned with the numbers it takes to "win" than with the issue itself. Voting does not take into account individual feelings or needs. In essence, it is a quantitative, rather than qualitative, method of decision-making.

With consensus people can and should work through differences and reach a mutually satisfactory position. It is possible for one person's insights or strongly held beliefs to sway the whole group. No ideas are lost, each member's input is valued as part of the solution.

A group committed to consensus may utilize other forms of decision making (individual, compromise, majority rules) when appropriate; however, a group that has adopted a consensus model will use that process for any item that brings up a lot of emotions, is something that concerns people's ethics, politics, morals or other areas where there is much investment.

What does consensus mean?
Consensus does not mean that everyone thinks that the decision made is necessarily the best one possible, or even that they are sure it will work. What it does mean is that in coming to that decision, no one felt that her/his position on the matter was misunderstood or that it wasn't given a proper hearing. Hopefully, everyone will think it is the best decision; this often happens because, when it works, collective intelligence does come up with better solutions than could individuals.

Consensus takes more time and member skill, but uses lots of resources before a decision is made, creates commitment to the decision and often facilitates creative decision. It gives everyone some experience with new processes of interaction and conflict resolution, which is basic but important skill-building. For consensus to be a positive experience, it is best if the group has 1) common values, 2) some skill in group process and conflict resolution, or a commitment to let these be facilitated, 3) commitment and responsibility to the group by its members and 4) sufficient time for everyone to participate in the process.

Forming the consensus proposals
During discussion a proposal for resolution is put forward. It is amended and modified through more discussion, or withdrawn if it seems to be a dead end. During this discussion period it is important to articulate differences clearly. It is the responsibility of those who are having trouble with a proposal to put forth alternative suggestions.

The fundamental right of consensus is for all people to be able to express themselves in their own words and of their own will. The fundamental responsibility of consensus is to assure others of their right to speak and be heard. Coercion and trade-offs are replaced with creative alternatives, and compromise with synthesis.

When a proposal seems to be well understood by everyone, and there are no new changes asked for, the facilitator(s) can ask if there are any objections or reservations to it. If there are no objections, there can be a call for consensus. If there are still no objections, then after a moment of silence you have your decision. Once consensus does appear to have been reached, it really helps to have someone repeat the decision to the group so everyone is clear on what has been decided.

Difficulties in reaching consensus
If a decision has been reached, or is on the verge of being reached that you cannot support, there are several ways to express your objections:
Non-support ("I don't see the need for this, but I'll go along.")
Reservations ('I think this may be a mistake but I can live with it.")
Standing aside ("I personally can't do this, but I won't stop others from doing it. ")
Blocking ("I cannot support this or allow the group to support this. It is immoral." If a final decision violates someone's fundamental moral values they are obligated to block consensus.)
Withdrawing from the group. Obviously, if many people express non-support or reservations or stand aside or leave the group, it may not be a viable decision even if no one directly blocks it. This is what is known as a "lukewarm" consensus and it is just as desirable as a lukewarm beer or a lukewarm bath.

If consensus is blocked and no new consensus can be reached, the group stays with whatever the previous decision was on the subject, or does nothing if that is applicable. Major philosophical or moral questions that will come up with each affinity group will have to be worked through as soon as the group forms.

Roles in a consensus meeting
There are several roles which, if filled, can help consensus decision making run smoothly. The facilitator(s) aids the group in defining decisions that need to be made, helps them through the stages of reaching an agreement, keeps the meeting moving, focuses discussion to the point-at hand; makes sure everyone has the opportunity to participate, and formulates and tests to see if consensus has been reached. Facilitators help to direct the process of the meeting, not its content. They never make decisions for the group. If a facilitator feels too emotionally involved in an issue or discussion and cannot remain neutral in behavior, if not in attitude, then s/he should ask someone to take over the task of facilitation for that agenda item.

A vibes-watcher is someone besides the facilitator who watches and comments on individual and group feelings and patterns of participation. Vibes-watchers need to be especially tuned in to the sexism of group dynamics.

A recorder can take notes on the meeting, especially of decisions made and means of implementation and a time-keeper keeps things going on schedule so that each agenda item can be covered in the time allotted for it (if discussion runs over the time for an item, the group may or may not decide to contract for more time to finish up).

Even though individuals take on these roles, all participants in a meeting should be aware of and involved in the issues, process, and feelings of the group, and should share their individual expertise in helping the group run smoothly and reach a decision. This is especially true when it comes to finding compromise agreements to seemingly contradictory positions.

Taken from: http://www.actupny.org/documents/CDdocuments/Consensus.html

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