UW Stem Cell Club (Formerly UW One Match)
Last active term
Club Name
The name of the club will be UW Stem Cell Club (Formerly UW One Match). We are not agent or representative of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), and our views and actions in no way represent the WUSA.
Governance
The club will uphold the values, mission, and mandate of both the University of Waterloo (UW) and WUSA through following the directives outlined in the WUSA Clubs Manual, all WUSA By-Laws, Policies, and Procedures, as well as all policies and procedures outlined by the UW Secretariat. Furthermore, the club will abide by all laws of the Region of Waterloo, Province of Ontario, and Government of Canada. All club matters will ultimately be governed by the WUSA Clubs Manager.
Purpose
The purpose of the club is to gather University of Waterloo students, staff, faculty and members of the UW community at large to
As the UW branch of OneMatch, the purpose of the club will be:
1) Through meetings, promotion booths, volunteer training, and stem cell drives, meeting the interest of students with the desire to save patients’ lives.
2) Recruiting quality donors into the stem cell donor registry through stem cell drives.*
3) Educating students on what the stem cell procedures are and to clear the stigmas related to donation.
*A stem cell drive involves swabbing the cheeks of potential donors. The actual swabbing and sealing of the package is done by the donors themselves, and not handled by others. No actual stem cells will be collected during these drives. The actual procedure, if a potential donor is selected will be handled by the Canadian Bone Marrow registry and by medical professionals.
Club events, activities, and/or initatives will include
A registered health professional from OneMatch will be present at each event initially. Members will eventually become approved by OneMatch and allowed to run events independently.
Under OneMatch’s guidance, our volunteers were able to hold two events over the past year. One was a math review session for first-year members of the Science Faculty, where the purpose was to make the club known to a large group of people. The second was a speaker event with two stem-cell recipients and one donor, during which a drive was also conducted.
Drives consist of:
1. Representatives from OneMatch gathering promotion materials and setting up the booths together.
2. Volunteers actively informing students about our cause and seeking interest.
3. The registration of new potential donors once they show interest (he/she sits down and swabs his/her cheeks with swabsticks contained in the kits provided by Canadian Blood Services).
This year, as our volunteers will obtain the skills to hold drives independently, we would like to promote OneMatch as a body on campus, collect and hold events for our volunteers and make them feel that we are a visible organization in UW. We wish to be able to hold events that are not only recruitment drives, but social gatherings where students can make acquaintances and discuss issues that would otherwise seem less trustworthy during a drive (where it feels like a salesperson-client relationship). It would allow us to gain a larger presence on campus and promote our cause through the benefits of being FEDS approved (i.e. easy to book spaces, free use of certain locations, and a budget).
Membership Structure
The club will be fully inclusive and welcoming to both its current and potential membership. New membership is welcome and accepted at any time during a club’s active term. Eligible club members may be current: WUSA Members, as outlined by the WUSA By-Laws; UW graduate students; UW staff or faculty; and/or members of the UW community at large, as defined in the Clubs Manual.
Only current UW students (graduate or undergraduate) may hold voting membership within the club. UW Staff, faculty, and members of the UW community at large may hold non-voting membership within the club. (If Applicable) UW undergrad students who are eligible to obtain voting membership in the club who do not wish to pay the club membership fee at the time of joining may hold non-voting membership within the club. Voting membership can be obtained for said members by paying the membership fee.
At least two thirds of the club's membership must be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate).
Membership Fee
Executive Officers
The majority of executives will be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate). The club president will be a current UW undergraduate student. All club executives will be elected, not hired or appointed. The term of office for all executive positions is three consecutive academic terms, as outlined by the UW Registrar’s Office. All club decisions will be determined by executive vote, as no executive officer (not even the President) holds decision making power for the collective.
The Co-Presidents ensures that:
- The club operates according to the guidelines of its constitution and some agreed upon guidelines for running a meeting, such as Robert's Rules of Order;
- The club works towards its objectives as agreed upon by the membership; and
- Their successor is trained.
- Co-presidents serve to facilitate meetings and ensure that all members of the club are updated with club affairs. They will suggest and plan events with the support of the other VPs of the club. Finally, they will ensure that the next Presidents are trained.
- Co-presidents hold the power to make decisions for the whole group. However, they are required to make these decisions known to all members, and if there are any objections or suggestions to be made by the other members, a referendum will be held to determine what occurs.
The Co-Presidents is a signing authority.
The VP of Human Resources ensures that:
- Records of what the group has done are maintained, distributed, and are accessibile to all the members;
- Meeting minutes/notes are recorded and made available to all voting members;
- All club correspondence is monitored and brought to the attention of the appropriate person(s);
- Their successor is trained.
The VP of Human Resources is a signing authority.
The VP of Finance ensures that:
- The club's WUSA bank account and all financial transactions for the club are monitored and verified;
- All club revenues are collected, deposited into the club's WUSA bank account, and reconciled correctly and within a timely manner;
- Club cheque requests are submitted correctly and in a timely manner; and
- Their successor is trained.
- The VP of Finance will oversee all financial transactions for the club, the club bank account under the Federation of Students, and all external funds received through affiliates and other third party organizations. They will budget and plan to minimize costs regarding advertising and food related to swabbing drives and events.
The VP of Operations ensures that:
- The VP of Operations will oversee all supplies related to OneMatch such as swabbing kits, brochures, posters, etc. They will be responsible for submitting events forms, booking event rooms, and submitting A/V forms when necessary for upcoming events.
- Ensures that the next VP of Operations is trained.
The VP of Operations is a signing authority.
The VP of Marketing ensures that:
- The VP of Marketing is responsible for advertising for all UW OneMatch events. They will create advertising material for our events to distribute to the community. They will work with the VP of Finance to reach out to external organizations for sponsorships. They will also create a plan for marketing to the various faculties on campus, in order to have a diverse group of students attend our events. They will also coordinate with faculty leads to ensure that our club is known within the corresponding faculties.
- Ensures that the next VP of Marketing is trained.
The VP of Social Media ensures that:
- The VP of Social Media will handle our club’s Facebook page. They will make frequent posts regarding upcoming events or stem cell related information. During the planning of events, they will be responsible for the Ticketfi event page, and any inquiries from non-members to the club.
- Ensures that the next VP of Social Media is trained.
It is important to assure that the person with the most information and/or knowledge in the club is not the full-time chairperson. Therefore, the club will occasionally rotate the role of chairperson among voting members.
Executive Support Structure
The Faculty Leads ensures that:
- There will be one faculty leads member per faculty (Applied Health Sciences, Arts, Engineering, Environment, Mathematics, and Science). Their responsibilities include being liaisons with their designated faculty to promote events and keep OneMatch updated on the events organized by the faculties, as primary recruiters. This will create more opportunities for One Match to participate in campus events and reach out to more people. They work directly with the VP of Marketing to ensure that the entire student body is knowledgeable about OneMatch.
- Ensures that the next Faculty Leads is trained.
Meetings
General Meetings
The club will hold monthly general meetings. Quorum for general meetings will be 15 voting members of 20% of voting membership (whichever is more).
Executive Meetings
The club will hold bi-weekly executive meetings. Quorum for executive meetings will be 2 executives or at least 51% of the executive body (whichever is more).
The first meetings (both general and executive) of the following term will be arranged by the outgoing executive. At said meetings, subsequent meeting dates and locations will be set. Meeting dates and times will be forwarded to voting members by:
Emergency meetings can be called by an executive via:
and must be sent to the appropriate members at least 48 hours prior to the meeting time.
ELECTION PROCESS
Elections shall take place at the end of each term for the following academic term. Only University of Waterloo students who are members of the club can vote. Club members must be notified, by email, two weeks in advance of the meeting where executive elections will take place. The term of office shall be for one term. An executive can only hold office (any position) for a total of up to three terms.
Nominations for executives can be made from any club member. The majority of executives must be undergraduate University of Waterloo students. The successful candidate will be the one with the most votes. In the case of a tie, a re-vote will take place until the tie is broken.
IMPEACHMENT AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
A movement to impeach an executive officer may be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. When the motion is made the Clubs Manager will be informed. An emergency general meeting will be called as soon as is reasonably possible. No club funds will be spent until the issue is resolved.
At the impeachment meeting, the individual(s) who initiated the process will state their case. Afterwards, the officer(s) under impeachment will have an opportunity to defend their position(s) on the matter.
There will then be a question and answer period followed by the selection process for a Chief Returning Officer (CRO) who will oversee the voting process to ensure the decision is fair and democratic. Any executive officer who is neither the initiator nor subject of the impeachment may volunteer as CRO. If there is no such officer, then any voting member of the club present at the meeting may volunteer. If there are multiple volunteers, then the CRO will be selected based on a simple majority vote cast by secret ballot and tallied publically by the chairperson of the meeting. If there is no such volunteer for CRO, then the meeting will be at a standstill until either an eligible executive officer or voting member volunteers.
The vote will be by a “YES/NO” secret ballot, tallied publically by the CRO. If at least two thirds of the votes are for impeachment, then said officer will immediately be stripped of their position. The remaining executive may choose to call an immediate by-election to replace the newly vacant executive officer position.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A claim against any executive officer or club member regarding a potential conflict of interest can be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. If such a claim arises, then said individual(s) under suspicion have the opportunity to remove them self (or themselves) from said potential conflict without acknowledging intention of wrongdoing. In the event the claim is contested, then the Clubs Manager will be informed and an emergency executive meeting will be called to determine the validity of the claim. Executive officers who have a claim against them cannot vote to determine the validity of said claim. If executive quorum is not possible due to the removal of said vote(s), then an emergency general meeting will be called and the same proceedings described for impeachment will be used to determine the validity of the claim.
If the claim is validated and there is suspicion of intentional wrongdoing, an immediate impeachment proceeding may be called by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members, of whom are not named in the claim. If it is determined that a club member is involved in intentional wrongdoing, the impeachment proceeding will be called to determine said member’s club status.
AMENDMENTS
Constitutional amendments may be proposed by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. The amendment will then be voted on by referendum. The voting procedure will be the same as for the impeachment process. If the vote passes, the amendment and the vote will be forwarded to the Clubs Manager for final approval. If the Clubs Manager approves, then the constitution will be amended and any changes will be inserted into the constitution.
A motion to officially close the club will follow the same procedure as a constitutional amendment. If such a motion passes, then the club will be purged from the clubs system.
AFFILIATIONS
No organization(s) is/are currently affiliated with this club.