Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (WiSTEM)
Last active term
Club Name
The name of the club will be Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (WiSTEM). 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
The purpose of this club is to connect, empower, and advocate for women and under-represented minorities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The club is open to anyone regardless of gender, age, or educational background, however the focus of the club’s activities will be on STEM career-themed and empowerment-focused topics.
MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission is to:
(a) Promote diversity and connect women and under-represented minorities in the STEM fields;
(b) Present varied perspectives and share knowledge surrounding disciplines across STEM; and
(c) Offer a welcoming and continuous presence for meaningful relationship building around the
aforementioned goals, (a) and (b), throughout one’s time at the University of Waterloo.
Club events, activities, and/or initatives will include
Those falling under the 4 pillars of Career Advancement, Technical Workshops, Social/Community-Building, and Community Outreach. This may include but is not limited to
Resume Critiques, Mentorship Opportunities, Intro to Python Coding Workshop, Step-into-STEM Conference, Trivia Nights, and Professional STEM Panels.
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 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.
- they maintain close communication with the Vice President(s) and are efficiently sharing leadership of WiSTEM events;
The President is a signing authority.
The VP Internal 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.
- (Responsibilities above will be split between President, VP Internal and VP External)
- Organizing and implementing some club events for WiSTEM members which involve mostly on-campus organizations and are not being managed by the VP External;
- Maintain close communication with the VP External and President to advertise all of WiSTEM’s events and opportunities, and to ensure that the VP Internal and VP External are efficiently sharing leadership of WiSTEM events;
- Communications to club members and the public audience through the website, social media, emails and print media (marketing), and
- Marketing of WiSTEM events through posters, class visits, social media, and/or mailing lists.
The VP Internal 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.
The Social Media Coordinator ensures that:
- · Ensures that the next Social Media Coordinator is trained.
- · Comes up with creative slogans/descriptions for events to catch the interest of students.
- · Updates media outlets with news-worthy content related to WiSTEM.
- · Selects daily posts that represent WiSTEM's goals.
- · Uses social media outlets to promote WiSTEM's messages and events, as well as partnering clubs.
- Ensures that the next Social Media Coordinator is trained.
The Web Developer ensures that:
- · Ensures that the next Web Developer is trained.
- · Organizes and leads technology-based workshops and events.
- · Regular upkeep and optimization of website, especially troubleshooting.
- · Regular updates to website regarding events and news.
- · Provides support and communication via the club websites.
- Ensures that the next Web Developer is trained.
The Event Coordinator ensures that:
- · Ensures that the next Event Coordinator is trained.
- · Is comfortable with booking locations and ensure deadlines are met
- · Ensures budgets are followed and keep inventory.
- · Is present at all events including set-up and clean up.
- · Plans, organizes, and carries out tasks for events working in a team of 2.
- · Helps create new and creative events focusing on goals of WiSTEM.
- Ensures that the next Event Coordinator is trained.
The Graphic Designer ensures that:
- information is presented clearly and concisely to students and the WiSTEM audience;
- produces all marketing material including social media graphics, brochures, and flyers;
- creates eye-catching graphics; and
- Ensures that the next Graphic Designer is trained.
The External Affairs Coordinator ensures that:
- oversee and respond to external emails in a timely and professional manner;
- attend external and company meetings on behalf of WiSTEM while effectively communicating goals and general club mission to potential partners;
- manage all sponsorships and event collaborations outside of the WiSTEM executive team
- ensure that they are familiarized with WUSA guidelines for external events and sponsorships
- Ensures that the next External Affairs Coordinator is trained.
The VP External ensures that:
- Communication with all external bodies such as guest speakers, professional organizations and other student organizations unless the VP Internal takes responsibility for a certain instance;
- Organizing and implementing club events for WiSTEM members which are in collaboration with external organizations;
- Maintain close communication with the VP Internal and President to advertise all of WiSTEM’s events and opportunities, and to ensure that the VP Internal and VP External are efficiently sharing leadership of WiSTEM events;
- Securing external support for events as required (e.g. a professional workshop); and
- Promoting new relationships that would benefit WiSTEM members.
- Ensures that the next VP External is trained.
The VP External is a signing authority.
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.
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 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.