Constitution

1) Preamble

This Constitution describes the running of student affairs with the Camborne School of Mines Student Association. It must be distributed to all Committee Members and made available to all Student Association Members. In this Constitution the Camborne School of Mines Student Association will be referred to as the Student Association or CSMSA.

2) Membership of the Student Association

The following groups are eligible for membership of the Student Association:
1. Student members - Students who are currently attending a CSM led course.
2. Affiliated members - Students who have previously attended CSM but are not included under (2ai) i.e. Old boys.
Memberships are renewable on a yearly basis at a cost of £2. For graduating members this is refunded as their first pint/drink in the student bar after graduation.
All Members of the Student Association are expected to promote the well-being of the Camborne School of Mines and its Student Association, to uphold its prestige and to observe the rules designed to further these purposes.
The CSM motto “Laboris Gloria Ludi” is taken to mean “Work Hard, Play Hard” and this should forever be at the forefront of the mind of a CSM Student.
It is paramount that all Members are to be able to sing our CSM Drinking Songs. Above all “The Engineers” (See Appendix A) is to be known by heart by each and every CSMSA Member.

3) The Student Association Committee

Student members of the Student Association shall elect a Committee which shall be made up solely of student members of the Student Association (as listed under (2) (a) (i) and (ii)).
The Student Association Committee exists to foster the community life of CSM in all its aspects and to represent the views and interests of the student members of CSM.

4) Members of the Committee

President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Entertainments Chairperson
Sports Chairperson
International Students Representative
Web Master
Sale and Merchandising Officer

5) Duties of the Student Association Committee

The Committee shall organise functions on behalf of the Student Association and shall organise all elections and Student Association General Meetings that are required to ensure that this Constitution is upheld.
The Committee shall deal with complaints and suggestions on Student Association matters that are within its power. Any member of the Committee who is made aware of problems or issues concerning the Student Association must bring them to the attention of the Student Association Committee.
The Committee shall meet fortnightly during the academic semester to discuss Student Association business. The Committee can only discuss Student Association matters if 50% of the Committee is present including either: the President, Vice-President or Secretary. Additional meeting can be arranged when necessary, particularly around the large events.
Student Association funds are for the benefit of all Student Association members.
The Committee shall have the power to enforce Student Association rules. The Committee shall interview any member of Student Association who, in its opinion, abuses the privileges of the Student Association or whose behaviour in any way damages the reputation of the Student Association. If the ruling of the Committee is in any way disregarded, it shall have the power to remove the offender’s membership to the Student Association.
The President must attend any external meetings they are required to attend as head of the Student Association. I.e. CSM Association, CSM Trust or RAG Week Committee meetings where required. If unable to meet this require he or she must delegate the task to another committee member.

6) Duties of the Committee Members

It is the duty of all committee members to uphold the well-being of the Camborne School of Mines and its Student Association. They are also responsible for upholding the rules stated within this constitution for both the running of the Student Association and in the drinking of beer and other beverages in the name of CSM, rules for the latter will be detailed in Section (15).

President:
1. The President is responsible for co-ordinating the actions of the Committee and chairing weekly Committee meetings at which he/she is present (additional meetings can also be requested at the President's discretion).
2. He/she shall call at least one Student Association Annual General Meeting (AGM) per year.
3. The Student Association President must ensure all newly elected Committee members understand their role and can carry out their duties to the best of their ability. This may include referring them to appropriate sections of the Constitution.
4. The Student Association President must represent the Student Association at all relevant meetings.
Vice-President:
1. The Vice-President is responsible for helping the President in all his/her duties and has special responsibility for co-ordinating the CSM Annual Dinner with the CSM Association.
2. In the absence of the Student Association President, the Vice-President shall be responsible for chairing meetings of the Committee.
Secretary:
1. The Student Association Secretary is responsible for taking minutes of all Committee meetings which shall be distributed to the committee members following each meeting. The minutes of a meeting must be confirmed at the next Committee meeting and any corrections agreed. The minutes should also be made available to the Student Association Members via the Student Association Website.
2. The Secretary must ensure that the minutes do not identify specific individuals only facts surrounding cases in discussions falling under section (5)(e)
3. The Secretary is responsible for ensuring that all procedures associated with Student Association elections are properly carried out
4. The Secretary is also responsible for the printing and distribution of all official posters.
5. The Secretary should liaise with the committee, notably the Student Treasurer and President to ensure that all administrative work is carried out as necessary.
Treasurer:
1. The Treasurer shall keep proper accounts of all Student Association funds (see (9)).
2. The Treasurer should make available the Student Association finance books to any Student Association member who wishes to examine them (by arrangement).
3. The Treasurer shall ensure that the accounts of the Committee are properly audited.
4. The Treasurer shall record all payments of Student Association subscriptions at the beginning of each year and shall inform the President of any student who has not paid the appropriate subscription in full within 21 days of signing up to the Student Association.
Entertainments Chairperson:
1. The Entertainments Chairperson shall be responsible for the social activities of the Student Association and shall liaise with the Ents Reps of the FXU and CSM Crazy Week Committees where necessary.
2. The Entertainments Chairperson with his/her Entertainments Officer are responsible for coordinating the three major events in the Student Association Calendar: Fresher’s Week, The Christmas Ball and Presidents Night.
3. The Entertainments Chairperson and Officer should plan at least one Student Association Social per fortnight.
Sports Chairperson:
1. The Sports Chairperson shall be responsible for the organisation of the annual Bottle Match against the Royal School of Mines.
2. All the Sports Chairperson is expected to work together with the Sports Captains to promote the success of the CSM teams.
3. The Sports Chairperson is expected to represent the interests of the Student Association at any Sports meetings and to alert the Student Association Committee to issues which may affect the Student Association such as dissolutions and name changes.
4. The Sports Chairperson is expected to be able to liaise with Captains from each sport, particularly to arrange a whole Team Photo at the end of the season/year. At least one copy of each of the team photos is to be presented to the CSMA to be added to the archives.
5. Whilst team captains are responsible for finding eligible players for their sport they may seek help from the Sports Chairperson if they are in difficulty. If it is impossible to field a team for any fixture, the Sports Chairperson must be notified so as to coordinate help from the Student Association members and other CSM Teams.
International Student Representative:
1. The International Students Representative is responsible for liaising with Student Association members from outside the UK.
2. He/she is also responsible for liaising with the International Students Council to organise an International Students Week (ISW) and organise Student Association Members to go to the ISW abroad.
3. The International Students Representative must also play an active role in the forming and maintaining of Team GB for the annual International Mining Games.
Web Master:
1. It is the responsibility of the Web Master to organise and regularly update the CSM Student Association webpage. The website should be updated at least once every fortnight to keep members updated on new/upcoming events.
2. The Web Master will liaise with members of the Student Association Committee as well as the CSM Team Captains, Crazy Week Committee and Ordinary Members for new content to add to the website. Such as Match Reports and up-coming Events
Sales and Merchandising Officer:
1. The Student Association Sales and Merchandising Officer is responsible for the designing and ordering of all Student Association Merchandise.
2. It is important for the Sales and Marketing Officer to keep in close contact with the CSM Association Secretary who also deals with the sale of merchandise for the CSM Association.

7) Status of Positions

All members of the Committee have full voting and speaking rights at a Committee meeting, except that the Student Association President shall not vote unless there is an even split of the vote at a meeting, in which case he/she shall have the casting vote. The Student Association President must also be informed of any notions passed in his/her absence and reserves the right to overrule any decisions made.
The Committee shall include four members responsible for ensuring all Committee Hustings are conducted democratically and that the integrity of voting is maintained. These four members should comprise of: The President, Vice-President, Secretary and one Ordinary or Affiliated Student Association Member not running for a committee position. Ordinary or affiliated Student Association Members can nominate themselves for the position with the chosen person agreed on by the committee.
All student members of the Student Association have voting and speaking rights at the AGM.

8) Elections and Terms of Office

Elections shall be held by secret ballot. Each student member of the Student Association has one vote for each position. All members of the CSMSA (Ordinary and Affiliate) can vote. The Committee may also vote with the exception of the President who has the casting vote in the event of a tie.
Nominations for Student Association Committee positions in the forthcoming election shall be displayed on the Student Association website for at least one week prior to the date fixed for the election. One proposer and one seconder are required for each candidate (the seconder must be a present Committee member). No student may propose more than one candidate for each post, and no more than two people in total. Nominations must be in at least one week before the date set for the election.
An election at a time and a place decided by the Student Association Committee, and shall take the form as decided by the Committee. Campaigning may begin immediately preceding the release of the nominations, and will cease on deadline for voting.
Any Committee member may stand for his/her post again or for any other post in any future elections whilst still a student at CSM, with the exception of the President who may only stand for the position again if there are no first year candidates in contention for the position.
The position of President is exclusively for current first year CSM students to run for in their second year. Second years may only run for presidency if no first year candidates are nominated and seconded.
The Polling will take place over one week after the nominations are announced, with the Results to be announced no more than one week later.
1. At polling, the Committee should ensure no Candidates campaign in this area compromising the integrity of the vote.
2. Each student shall be given one form to be filled in to act as his/her vote for each candidate. These forms shall only be distributed upon production of evidence that the student has signed against his/her name on a register of Student Association members, although a spoilt form may be returned to a controlling officer and a new form issued upon request.
3. All forms shall be placed within a sealed ballot box which shall be placed prominently in the polling area. This box is not to be opened until all persons concerned with the counting of the votes are present.
4. Counting of votes is to be carried out by a minimum of 3 Committee Officers and one Ordinary Student Association Member (see 7 (b)).
5. The election is secret and any violation of the rules may disqualify the vote.
Election Nominations should be completed by Colours Night and the elections should close the following week.
The term of office of all posts shall be one academic year and the vacating of all posts will be automatic at the expiration the academic year.
‘Reopen Nominations (RON)':
1. On each form for any election there will be a 'Reopen Nominations’ or ‘RON’ box and this shall be treated as if it were another candidate in the count.
2. In the event of 'RON', for any position, receiving the majority of the total valid vote in any election, the position shall be declared unfilled and there shall be a new election for that post to be held within three academic weeks.
Membership of the Committee will continue until one of the following conditions applies:
1. Completion of the normal period of office in the post.
2. Withdrawal from the University for any reason.
3. Withdrawal from the Student Association for any reason.
4. Resignation.
5. A vote of no confidence passed by a simple majority at an EGM (Emergency General Meeting).
6. Absence from three Committee meetings without adequate explanation.
Any post which becomes vacant under conditions specified in (8) (j) (i)-(vi) shall be filled by a by-election.
During the period of the vacancy, the Committee may co-opt a student member of the Student Association onto the Committee, who shall hold the position until it is filled, unless the vacancy caused is the Student Association President, in which case the vacancy shall be filled by the Vice-President until a by-election can be held. If vacancies occur during vacations and it is impractical to consult other Committee members, the Student Association President may act on consultation with the Committee, to make temporary arrangements to fill a vacancy. Under these circumstances, the Committee must act to fill the vacancy by a by-election as soon as circumstances permit.
Members of the Student Association who are co-opted by the Committee to fill a casual vacancy, as outlined in (8) (l), are eligible to be candidates in the by-election called to fill the post.
Only student members of the Student Association, and those affiliated to the Student Association shall be eligible to stand for election to any post.
No person may hold more than one post on the Committee, nor stand for more than one post at any election.
Regulations as to the secrecy and fairness of the ballot:
1. No canvassing, intimidation, distribution or display of publicity is permitted within sight of the ballot box. The Returning Officer shall ensure that any publicity material within sight of the ballot box is removed and destroyed immediately prior to the commencement of voting.
2. Members of the Student Association must not attempt to ascertain how any person participating in the election has voted. Nor may they wilfully deface, remove or obscure election publicity.
3. Allegations of breaches of these conditions shall be investigated by the Committee who shall report the circumstances to the (outgoing) Student Association President who shall, if necessary, arrange for the Committee to take action under section (5)(e) of this Constitution.
Handover
1. Once a new Committee has been elected the past Committee will remain in office until midnight on graduation day. This is to ensure that each member of the new Committee understands their particular role and position, and will allow any third year students on the committee to graduate as that position.
2. The outgoing committee must meet with the inbound committee as a whole or individually to discuss the position in more detail with their counterpart. Ideas and contacts should be exchanged to help the new committee in its duties the following year. This can be done in the form of a handover pack and is a requirement of ALL positions.
3. During the hand over period the inbound Committee will not have any voting rights during this hand over period.
4. After this hand over period the old Committee will then step down.

9) Student Association Finances

The Treasurer shall keep records of the Student Association finances as follows: All transactions shall be passed over to the Camborne School of Mines Student Association (CSMSA) Account and shall be recorded in the Camborne School of Mines Student Association Account book.
Subscriptions:
1. All student members in the Student Association shall pay an annual subscription, the amount of which must be settled at the AGM.
2. Any member of Student Association who leaves the Student Association early for any reason shall not be entitled to rebate.
3. Any member of the Student Association who has not paid his/her subscription within 21 days of signing up shall not be entitled to attend any Student Association functions at a members rate or participate in any Student Association activity, including elections, until the subscription is paid in full.
Expenditure:
1. The word 'cheque' shall be taken to mean any cheque, draft or other authorisation used to transfer money.
2. The AGM shall set a spending limit for any single item of expenditure or social event. The Entertainments Chairperson may not spend beyond this limit without the approval of the Student Association Committee, unless the expenditure is specifically related to self-financing social events. The Student Association Treasurer shall ensure cheques in excess of the amount agreed shall be countersigned additionally by the President. Before signing the President shall satisfy himself/herself that the conditions of this paragraph have been met.
3. Any cheque issued on a Student Association Account must bear the signature of the Treasurer and should be countersigned by either the Student President or the Student Association Secretary if other signatories are not present.
4. Condition (9)(c)(ii) will be made part of the terms of any account held by the Student Association with any institution or other financial body.
5. The Student Association President and Treasurer shall issue instructions to all new Committee members about petty cash spending limits. All claims for re-imbursement must meet these conditions and must be fully supported by receipts.
6. At the beginning of each semester, the Committee must prepare and publish a budget for expenditure from Student Association subscriptions. The budget may contain a reserve of up to 30% for contingencies, and must make adequate provision of reserves for the new Committee appointed for the following year.
7. Committee members must signify in writing on their appointment that they have understood and will abide by the provisions of the financial arrangements in the Constitution. Members of the Committee who breach these conditions must be referred to a GM under the provisions of section (8) (j) (v) and may be held personally responsible for any losses to Student Association funds which are incurred.

10) Student Association General Meetings (GM)

The Student Association President shall call at least one GM per fortnight, one of which shall be the AGM and shall normally chair that meeting. The Student Association President shall stand down for discussion of any item in which he/she has a personal interest in the outcome of the discussion.
A GM can be called in three other ways:
1. By decision of the Student Association Committee, constituted as in (4), with reference to (5) (c).
2. In writing by 15 members of the Student Association, together with the formal motions that those members wish to be discussed. In this case the meeting shall take place at a time and place decided by the Committee, but on a date not more than two academic weeks after the representation.
3. At the request of any Student Association committee member to discuss breaches of the Student Association Constitution.
The date of the next GM shall be given at the end of each GM and any other additional meetings shall be arranged in a method as seen fit by the Committee (email, phone call, text message) at least one week prior to the meeting, except in the case of a meeting called within one week of the start of a new term, in which case notice must be given by the second day of the term.
Formal motions (or in the case of (10)(b)(iii)), a statement of the issue must be presented to the Student Association President, in writing at least three days before the date that the meeting is scheduled to take place. Notice of all such motions must be published on the Student Association notice board and website at the same time as notice of the meeting is given, or as soon as is possible if a late motion is presented, and in any case not less than one day before the date set for the meeting.
The Agenda for the meeting shall be as follows:
1. Apologies for absence.
2. Approval of the minutes of the previous GM, which must be signed by two members of the Student Association.
3. Any motion(s) needing a change in this Constitution, or issues related to unconstitutional activities.
4. Any other formal motions.
5. Any emergency motions.
6. Any other business.
All motions giving rise to a change in this Constitution shall be presented as a formal motion at least one week prior to the meeting.
No formal or emergency motions shall be put to a meeting if a similar motion has been rejected by the previous meeting.
Procedure at a GM:
1. One person (normally the proposer) shall stand to give a speech on his/her motion. At the discretion of the President, other comments or statements may be given by any committee member present. Student and Non student members of the Student Association may participate at the invitation of the President.
2. When all points of view have been adequately expressed, the President may seek approval of the GM either by seeking a general show of hands, or if in his/her opinion the voting is close, by appointment of at least two tellers to count votes.
If a formal vote is required, a motion will be passed or rejected by a simple majority, (except in the case of motions requiring a change in this Constitution, in which case a 2/3 majority is required).

11) Changes to the Constitution

No change in this Constitution shall be deemed effective unless the procedures as given in section (10) regarding constitutional changes or in section (12) and (13) are followed.

12) Referenda

There shall be provision that upon presentation of a petition to the Student Association President, or by agreement of the Committee, a referendum shall be held. The petition must have been signed by at least 25 student members of the Student Association and must contain the wording to the question that is to be put. The Student Association President shall call a GM within two weeks of the decision to hold a referendum, at which the matter may be discussed, under other matters, and a secret ballot shall be held the following day, polling to take place for the same periods and in the same place as decided in the election guidelines (see section (8)).
Any motion thus passed by a simple majority shall be deemed to become Student Association policy unless a change in this Constitution is required, in which case a 2/3 majority is required for the change to become subject to a vote by the CSMA elected former CSMSA Presidents.

13) Disputes over the Constitution

Any dispute over the interpretation of this Constitution shall be referred to a GM in which any amendments can be proposed formally. Any major amendments will need to be accepted by three former CSMSA Presidents as elected by the Camborne School of Mines Association (CSMA) members.

14) Dissolution of the Student Association

Should the option to dissolve the CSM Student Association ever arise it must be agreed by the current serving President along with three former CSMSA Presidents as elected by members of the CSMA. On dissolution any funds remaining in CSM Student Association accounts will be given to the CSMA.

15) Drinking Rules

Drink with the clock
No Pointing
No Swearing
No first names shall be used – for people or for object. i.e ‘Table’ becomes ‘surface’, ‘drink’ becomes ‘beverage’, ‘finger’ becomes ‘digit’, ‘John’ becomes ‘Mr Smith’ etc
A toast is acknowledged by the downing of your drink. A toast may only be proposed if the person proposing the toast has at least half their drink to toast with.
Health and Safety should always be observed. i.e drinks should be an index fingers length from the tables edge.
No Double Parking
No Receiving
No Sliding
The Fresher/First Year always looses
Only one 10p/Domino/Golf Ball can be in play at any one time

If you are not prepared to play then prepare not to be a player

16) Wording of “The Engineers” song

Chorus:

We are, we are, we are, we are the Engineers,
We can, we can, we can demolish 40 beers,
The medical men from R.S.M.
They cannot drink with us
‘Cos we don’t give a fuck for anyone else
Who don’t give a fuck for us.

Verses:

Sir Francis Drake and all his men set sail for Galway Bay,
To meet the Spanish Rum Fleet that was heading by the way.
The Engineers cut them short by a night and half a day
And although they’re drunk as hooligans you can still hear them say...

Godiva was a lady who through Coventry did ride
To show all the villagers her skin so pure and white
The most observant man in town the Engineer of course
Was the only one to notice that Godiva rode a horse...

I’ve come a long way she said a man may go as far
SO GET ME OFF THE FUCKING HORSE AND TAKE ME TO THE BAR!
The men that got her off her horse and stood with her to hear
Was a blood-shot-eyed surveyor and a drunk Mine Engineer...

Godiva’s rounds were whiskey and the Engineer's were rum
The Surveyor's sobriety was nearly all but gone
Now homeward bound, they sang aloud until they all were deaf
And to this day, we’ll never know with who Godiva left...

We may have moved to Falmouth but we’re still called C.S.M.
AND IF YOU THINK WE’RE DEAD AND GONE YOU’D BETTER THINK AGAIN!
The legend that is C.S.M. Will cross both land and sea
We’re the School of Mines from Camborne and that’s who’ll we’ll always be...

A special verse to begin with at The Bottle Match:

Oh RSM don't mine no more and that's why they don’t sing.
To burst out in song requires a heart where mining's king.
So sing out all you Engineers, sing into the night.
'Cos we're mother fucking CSM and we don't take no shite!...

17) Version Information

This is Version II (09/07/2008)
Any amendments made to this constitution must be done in accordance to rules stated within it. All previous versions are to be kept in the CSM Archives for posterity.
Originally conceived 23/04/2008 by David Lafferty CSMSA President 07/08

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