Club Constitution | Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association Clubs

Animusic Ensembles

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Constitution

Club Name

The name of the club will be Animusic Ensembles. 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

play arrangements of music from anime and video game soundtracks for with those who share a passion for anime & video game music.

Club events, activities, and/or initatives will include

weekly rehearsals, online projects, social events, open-learning events and several concerts throughout the year.

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

Club Membership is Free

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 one academic term, 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 President 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.
Oversees the Coordinator Team (includes all four executive support roles below)

The President is a signing authority.

The Secretary 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 club's official YouTube channel is managed and maintained, which includes the scheduling of online releases.
Oversees the release management team;

The Secretary is a signing authority.

The Treasurer 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.
Oversees the equipment team;

The Treasurer is a signing authority.

The Community Representative ensures that:

All Members of the club feel welcome within the bounds of the club (During Club events, rehearsals and within the discord server; Any events/disputes between club members are handled appropriately);
Club Social Events are planned and event forms are submitted to Wusa in a timely manner;
The executive & coordinator teams maintain the open social environment of the club;
The anonymous feedback form is monitored and promoted within the club;
The community executive will hold regular meetings with the moderator team to ensure the social values of the club are respected within the discord server;
The next community representative is trained.
Ensures that the next Community Representative is trained.

The Musical Director ensures that:

A diverse selection of musical ensembles is arranged & selected for the term’s repertoire;
each subsection of the band has at least one song with which it can include new members from that section;
Oversees a fair process by which term repertoire is selected;
Songs of all skill levels are performed per term;
The band has a minimum of 1 new full ensemble arrangement for each term;
Communication between between Rehearsal Leads & the Equipment Team is facilitated on an adequate basis to ensure rehearsals are adequately prepared for;
Oversees the section lead & rehearsal lead teams;
Arrangements performed & written within the club are adequately vetted in accordance with club policy prior to performance.
Ensures that the next Musical Director 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 Section Lead ensures that:

The club has a list of all available players within their section;
Rehearsal Leaders are given advice regarding project member selection when solicited;
Run sectional rehearsals when needed, assisting members in learning parts;
Provides support to the equipment team when needed;
Note that there may be more than one Section Lead per section.
Put forward suggestions for next term’s sectional pieces;
Ensures that the next Section Lead is trained.

The Moderator Team ensures that:

The club's official Discord server is designed and managed in a way that complements the club objectives; and
Communication between member within the server remains civil and inclusive.
Invitations to the club & discord server are distributed as required.
Note that there must always be an uneven amount of Moderators.
Ensures that the next Moderator Team is trained.

The Release Management Team ensures that:

Online projects run at an appropriate standard as expected by club membership; and
Online projects are vetted on an appropriate basis in accordance with established rules.
Online Releases are presented to the Leadership team, in a fashion ready to post on the official YouTube channel;
Note that Release Management is not required to be in the Waterloo region for the term.
Note that Release Management may consist of multiple members.
Ensures that the next Release Management Team is trained.

The Marketing Team ensures that:

The club's official social media accounts, with the exception of the official YouTube channel, are properly managed;
Club events and activities available to the public are advertised through online and physical media; and
Organize the ordering, storage, and distribution of club merchandise.
Note that there may be more than one Marketing Coordinator.
Club Promotional material such as posters, graphics, etc. are created or arranged for;
Ensures that the next Marketing Team is trained.

The Rehearsal Lead Team ensures that:

Their respective projects are run at an optimal level;
Sheet music distribution and sign-ups for songs are done in an effective manner to ensure that project members fully understand the scope of the project;
Their piece is performance ready by the end-of-term concert;
Note that the Rehearsal Lead team can be made up of existing leadership, as well as other club members.
Ensures that the next Rehearsal Lead Team is trained.

The Equipment Team ensures that:

Equipment for rehearsals is setup in a timely and effective manner;
Equipment requirements for each song are notated down & organized for the end-of-term concert;
Rehearsal leads are made aware of equipment available for rehearsal and recording;
Equipment purchases are recommended to the treasurer;
Recording equipment for recording days are set up in an appropriate manner.
Note that there may be more than 1 equipment team member.
Ensures that the next Equipment Team is trained.

Meetings

General Meetings

The club will hold termly 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 monthly 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:

Email
Discord

Emergency meetings can be called by an executive via:

Email
Discord

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.

Repertoire Requirements

The club should aim to perform a well-balanced repertoire which strives to be inclusive of all club members when viable. The musical director will be responsible for coordinating the setlist based upon the wishes of club members. A club panel consisting of club executives and supporting leadership will select songs based upon:

Difficulty of the piece;
Recency of the last performance of the piece;
Instrumentation limitations of the piece;
Interest of the Club members in performing the piece;
Perceived interest of the club’s audience in the song;
Overall instrument engagement in the clubs repertoire;
The project leadership’s eligibility in accordance with discussed guidelines.

The Club Will Perform a Selection of Ensembles, categorized by the following:

Full Ensemble: Inclusive of All Instruments and all skill levels. Some positions may be hand-picked if necessitated by the difficulty of the piece. These projects are given the most rehearsal time;
Small Ensemble: Inclusive of a rhythm section, as well as broader instrumentation. Sign-ups for these pieces are up to the discretion of the rehearsal lead in charge. These projects are given less practice time than Full Ensembles;
Rhythm-Led Ensemble: Primarily driven by a Rhythm section, Lower capacity than Small Ensembles for additional instrumentation. Sign-ups for these pieces are up to the discretion of the rehearsal lead in charge. These projects are given less practice time than Small ensembles, however additional practices can be scheduled at the discretion of the Executive Team;
Symphonic Ensemble: Projects without a Rhythm section. Primarily non-vocal songs in nature. Sign-ups for these pieces are up to the discretion of the rehearsal lead in charge. These projects are given less practice time and equipment than Rhythm-led Ensembles;
Individual Ensemble: Ensembles given 0 practice time through scheduled Animusic Rehearsals. All aspects of these projects are up to the discretion of the Rehearsal Lead in charge.

Club leadership will try to the best of their ability to identify a minimum of two songs from each term’s in-person repertoire to be produced for online recordings, whether through the end-of-term concert or recorded at another predetermined date.

Social Environment Commitment

Club leadership should, at all times, promote an active & healthy social environment for all members of the club. Members dissatisfied with social environments should be encouraged to fill out the anonymous feedback form. The community representative ensures that the anonymous feedback form is monitored.

Club leadership will host a new member welcome event on a termly basis. Section leads, Social Representatives, and the leadership team as a whole are responsible for ensuring new members are engaged in both the activities and the social atmosphere of the club, as well as making sure they are aware of all opportunities afforded to them.

Pending a vote from the executives & relevant executive support team(s), club members who cause harm to club members, negatively impact the club social environment, impair club equipment, or skip club performances without fair warning will receive a punishment appropriate for the transgression. Examples of appropriate punishments include, but are not limited to:

Removed from participation in current and future projects for a set period of time,
Banned from the clubs social events for the remainder of the term,
Banned from discussion on the club discord server for a set period of time

If a club member feels a decision made is inappropriate, any decision made may be challenged. Said appeal is subject to revote by the full club leadership team, inclusive of executives, moderators & coordinators. Should either party seek it, the situation will be brought to the office of the wusa clubs manager for arbitration.

Note that the moderator/executive who brings the case to the board may not vote on their judgment, with the exception of the community representative bringing cases from the anonymous feedback form. If a member of the team is accused of social misconduct, the group will confer without the accused member present.