JMAGE Constitution

Japanese Manga, Anime, and Gaming EncOUnters Constitution
Article I. Name
Article II. Purpose
Article III. Affiliations
Article IV. Membership
Article V. Officers
Article VI. Advisor
Article VII. Meetings
Article VIII. Amendments
Article IX: Activities and Travel

Article I: Name
The name of the club shall be Japanese Manga, Anime, and Gaming EncOUnters, hereafter referred to as “JMAGE.”

Article II: Purpose
JMAGE's purpose is to involve the local community and Ohio University student body in aspects of Japanese culture such as media, pop culture and cuisine. JMAGE is also to facilitate a place where people can share common interests.

Article III: Affiliations 
Section 1: Sister Clubs
A sister club shall be defined as a club with which JMAGE shares close relations. They shall follow the following stipulations, including the following clubs:
  • JSA - The Japanese Student Association
  • Hocking College Anime Club
  • In order to be nominated, a club must be a public institution or one based in a college setting. Sister clubs shall not be considered 'members' of JMAGE. In order to be nominated, a club must have some relation to Ohio University, an Ohio University alumni/faculty member, or a university in Ohio or surrounding areas. In addition, a club must have a strong tie to Japanese culture.
  • Participation, though not required, is highly encouraged between sister clubs. Hosting an event and inviting clubs to attend shall count as participation. Aiding another club with an event shall count as participation. JMAGE shall not be obligated to provide hosting accommodations to sister club members traveling from other campuses.
  • Sister clubs may be nominated and selected at any time by a vote of majority of the present general body.
Section 2: Affiliated Clubs
Affiliated Clubs are clubs that share a non-zero number of members/interests and may occasionally collaborate with JMAGE to any degree.
  • OUGA
  • Bobcat tabletop
  • Wargamers
  • ExtraLife
Sister Clubs are all considered to be affiliated clubs as well, but not all affiliated clubs will be considered sister clubs
Article IV: Membership
Section 1: Ability to Join
Membership is open to the public, faculty, staff, and students, both graduate and undergraduate.

Section 2: Nondiscrimination Policy
JMAGE will not discriminate against its members on basis of race, ethnicity, creed, religion, sexual orientation, sex, gender, age, political affiliation, handicap, veteran/marital status or any other quality that differentiates individuals from each other.
  
Article V: Officers
Section 1: Positions
The Executive Committee shall consist of President, Vice President, Treasurer, Public Relations [PR], and Webmaster.
In the event that an officer is not able to perform her/his duties, the Executive Board will appoint someone to fulfill the duties until an election is held if deemed necessary.

Section 1a: Hierarchy
President, Vice President, Treasurer, Public Relations [PR], Webmaster

Section 1b: Responsibilities
All officers shall be subject to constitutional changes that will apply for the following year. The responsibilities of the Executive Committee are as follows:
A. The President is in charge of:
  • Running and keeping order at the General Body and Executive Committee meetings every Tuesday.
  • Fulfilling all university responsibilities for club and room registration.
  • Ensuring that the meeting and showing rooms and the equipment have been reserved.
  • Choosing an advisor with the help of the Executive Committee.
  • Acting as the club’s representative and liaison to other collaborative organizations, as well as the face of the club to Ohio University’s staff and faculty.
  • Making his or herself available at reasonable times for members, advisors, faculty, or other executives to talk to on a one-on-one basis for any concern within the club, public or private.
  • Communicating with the General Body through emails and other medium of contact when necessary.
  • In charge of Cosplay Boxes for events
B. The Vice President is in charge of:
  • Co-officiating General Body and Executive Committee meetings with the President.
  • Running the weekly showings and special events, with duties including the handling of anything voted as a showing necessity by the General Body.
  • Filling in any of the President’s duties should he/she not be able to carry them out.
  • Maintaining and being responsible for the well-being of the club audio/video equipment, as well as designating someone to maintain the well-being of said equipment for any period of time in which he/she cannot fulfill this requirement (ex., winter break, summer break, etc.).
  • Maintaining the various media/equipment inside Box-chan [Media Storage Device]
  • Being available at reasonable times for members to borrow media/equipment from the Box-chan [Media Storage Device]
  • In charge of Prize Bin for events
C. The Treasurer is in charge of:
  • Collecting all dues, donations, fines, and fundraising proceeds.
  • Keeping track of the club’s balance and assembling a budget.
  • Writing checks and receipts of club transactions.
  • Ordering/acquiring new materials/equipment.
  • Ensuring all members’ information is written down and accurate at time of joining the club.
  • Maintaining the club account at Chubb Hall as well as keeping a sufficient supply of checks and receipts.
  • Being financially prudent and fiscally responsible in regards to club purchases.
  • Overseeing hotel rooms for club conventions and planning for transportation to transport club members.
  • Overall in charge and responsible for making sure club conventions run as efficiently as possible within their jurisdiction with help of President.
  • In case of paying off personal credit card, money owed must be counted in front of Executive Committee to ensure there is no fraud or mishandling of money.
D. The Public Relations [PR] is in charge of:
  • Communicating with Alumni and other clubs on campus.
  • Managing the calendar of events, plans the semester with the President and submits it to the board for review
  • Find relevant events and happenings the club may be interested in attending.
  • Taking pictures at club event and getting them to the webmaster in a timely manner.
  • Taking minutes at meetings and short descriptions of events and getting them to the webmaster in a timely manner.
  • Responsible for putting together a medium in which the club history (can be a subjective account) is documented and accessible to the club members.
  • Advertises the club around campus
E. The Webmaster is in charge of:
  • Maintaining a user-friendly website for the club.
  • Updating the site regularly with pictures from what was submitted by other executives and members.
  • Updating the website with new member information [i.e. Executive Board, etc.]
  • Maintaining social media [i.e. Accepting facebook posts, checking and updating the Twitter feed…]
  • Maintaining and creating a Contact Database for the club.
  • Collection of Medical Forms for travel plans when needed [i.e. Katsucon, etc.]
  • Ensuring the website is free from spelling or grammatical errors, inappropriate language, and inaccurate information.
  • Official tie-breaker for Executive Committee decisions.
  • Adding or removing links to and from the site as needed.
  • Encourage communication through the website, and updating with regular notes from meetings and announcements.
Section 2: Attendance Requirements
Officers are required to attend meetings unless he or she can present a valid excuse [i.e. Illness, Family Emergency, Modern Inconveniences, Midterms or other large exams]). Officers are highly encouraged to attend showings and events. An “Off-campus JMAGE Event,” such as Food Trips, Movies and Conventions, are for paid members, whereas an “On-campus JMAGE Event” is for any member, paid or not.

Section 3: Shared Responsibilities
Executive Board members shall be held to higher standards in terms of representing JMAGE to Ohio University. They are expected to be fair and helpful to all members.

Section 4: Executive Terms
The term for an executive office begins and ends on the last showing of spring semester. An individual can hold the same Executive Committee position for no more than two years (consecutive or not) unless a special circumstance warrants. If the Executive Committee sees such a circumstance arise, a special vote must be conducted. A “constitutional majority” (as detailed in the Constitution, Article VIII, Section 1: Proposals) coupled with a simple majority vote of the Executive Committee (with the executive in question exempt from voting) is needed in order to extend a member’s term another year. This process must be repeated for any term above two.

Section 5: Vacancy
In the event that an executive must step down, is removed, or is involved in any other activity that causes him/her to abandon his/her post on the Executive Committee, an election will be held as soon as possible to fill in the position as detailed in the JMAGE Bylaws, Article II, Section 2: Nominations & Elections.

Article VI: Advisor
Section 1: Responsibilities  
An advisor is responsible for acting with the Executive Committee as a liaison between the club’s members and the staff/faculty at Ohio University. It is the duty of the advisor to answer, or get answers to any questions the club has about university policy or procedure.


Section 2: Term  
The advisor’s position is considered permanent unless the advisor steps down from his/her office, or a simple majority vote in the Executive Committee or a constitutional majority General Body vote is reached.

Section 3: Vacancy
A vacancy, for any reason, in the advisor’s position must be filled immediately by a new advisor of the Executive Committee’s selection. Executives will make a list of probable advisors, in conjunction with recommendations from other executives and General Body members, to research the possible candidates. The President and Vice President will then sort through the list of candidates, and, using their best judgment in working closely with the university and its staff/faculty/policies, agree unanimously on who will best serve the club, its goals, and its way of doing things. This agreement, along with a small report on why the new advisor was chosen, must then be presented to the General Body at the following meeting.

Article VII: Meetings
Section 1: General Body Meetings The club must hold at least one General Body Meeting every week in the standard school year. The Executive Committee shall conduct the meeting using the following as a suggested outline:
  • Call to order
  • Old business
  • New business
  • Roundtable (open discussion)
  • Adjournment
In the event an executive is missing, another executive member shall give the absent executive’s report per prior arrangement. A motion to adjourn a meeting cannot be made until all business of the meeting agenda is met in a satisfactory manner to the Executive Committee and the General Body. Any General Body Member can then suggest a motion to adjourn, which must then be approved by the President. Another General Body Member can make a second for the motion. The President then calls for a simple majority vote in the General Body to adjourn the meeting.

Section 2: Executive Committee Meetings
Executive meetings are held weekly or more as needed in a general fashion.

Section 3: Special/Emergency Meetings  
A special or emergency meeting of the Executive Committee can be called by any member of the Executive Board. Emergency of special General Body meetings can be called by a majority of the Executive Board.

Article VIII: Amendments
Section 1: Proposals
A constitutional majority consists of a three-fourths majority of General Body members present at the time of voting.
A motion to amend a part of the Constitution or its Bylaws can be made by any member of JMAGE and must be seconded before a vote can proceed. If seconded, a majority must support the amendment, outside of the constitutional review. A seconded proposal must allow at least a week to pass before conducting a vote to adopt it. After at least a week has passed, the new amendment(s) will be presented before the club for review. A constitutional majority is required to institute the amendment. 
Section 2: Constitutional Review
JMAGE may have constitutional review sessions as needed, with at least one mandatory review session per year in Spring Semester involving both the new and old officers. Edits should only be made when necessary, once a year, unless a problem arises.

Article IX: Activities and Travel
Section 1: Conventions
1. To be considered a club activity, a convention must receive member funding.
2. For any conventions, planning must start at least 2 months in advance.
3.  If hotels are required for overnight stay, they must be booked as early as possible, even if more than 2 months in advance. If possible, book rooms within 2 weeks of the Fall Semester.
4. The Treasurer will determine a required member cost for all convention expenses (badges, hotels, etc) minus any subsidy provided from the club.

Japanese Manga, Anime, and Gaming EncOUnters Bylaws
Article I: Membership
Article II: Executives
Article III: Advisors
Article IV: Committees
Article V: Dues
Article VI: Amendments
Article VII: Alumni
Article VIII: Programming

Article I: Membership
Section 1: Attaining Membership
Membership in JMAGE is attained through the payment of dues per semester or year. Dues-paying members receive the following: Ability to travel to “Off-campus JMAGE Events” [i.e. Conventions, Food trips, etc.]
Free Members have the right to: Vote for showings and Executive Committee members, attend meetings and attend “On-campus JMAGE Events”
Benefits are defined as anything extra in addition to club entitlements that the constitution and club cannot guarantee, but can be available to members. Examples may include discounts at restaurants or retailers.

Section 2: Payment of Dues
The cost of membership dues is $20 for the length of the normal school year or $15 per semester. Semester dues can be paid at any time during the semester in which a person wishes to be a member. A yearly membership must be paid in full no later than the end of fall semester. Dues must be paid with money, not with any other form of payment [i.e. food purchase, merchandise, etc.].

Section 3: Member Impeachment
Membership in JMAGE can be questioned if a majority of the Executive Committee finds a member guilty of any of the following: disrespectful or discriminatory acts against person or property; harassment or offensive behavior to fellow members, program attendees or meeting guests, or any other behavior that a majority of the executive committee feels is inappropriate for a member of JMAGE. Members’ actions can be brought before the Executive Committee by either a member, a non-member participant in a club activity, or an executive. The Executive Committee will then gather information from and talk to the witness about the behavior in question.
If deemed necessary, the offending member’s behavior will be reviewed by the Executive Committee solely, outside the normal meetings, with an opportunity for that member to discuss or defend his/her behavior with the Executive Committee privately and directly. The Executive Committee will discuss punishment and conduct disciplinary meetings on a person-to-person basis if a group of members was involved in improper conduct. A member has the right to not appear before the Executive Committee if he or she so wishes, but the Executive Committee must be reasonably flexible time-wise in order to accommodate a member’s desire to appear before the committee. The member will be informed by the President when the meeting regarding his/her actions will occur at least a week in advance of the disciplinary meeting.
After discussing the member’s behavior (either with or without the member present), a unanimous vote is needed in the Executive Committee to determine how the member should be reprimanded. If a constitutional majority is not reached, the member is acquitted of the accused improper behavior. If a constitutional majority is reached the advisor must be contacted to offer advice about the situation. Options for punishment include, but are not limited to: warnings, a change in membership to inactive status without refund of dues, some type of required service to the club to maintain membership, or in the most extreme cases, revocation of membership and expulsion of the member from any and all JMAGE activities without refund of dues.
Section 4: In Regards to Video Games
Jacob “the rock” Jones is hereby BANNED from ALL Mario Party games unless given specific permission to play Mario Party. It must be a majority.
Section 5: Dammit Jimmy Clause
If anyone messes up, Jimmy is encouraged to be blamed.

Article II: Executives
Section 1: Eligibility
To be an executive, a member must fulfill the following criteria:
  • Be able to fulfill all the duties and responsibilities of that position as described in the Constitution’s Article V, Section I.
  • Pay dues for the year following the election by the second week of fall semester.
  • Be a full-time student on the Athens campus of Ohio University and maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA for the duration of office.
  • Not arrange or already have arranged plans to travel abroad for a lengthy amount of time when classes are in session at Ohio University’s Athens campus (winter intersession and summer sessions excluded), transfer campuses or universities, or graduate during his/her term without having previously discussed plans with the Executive Committee.

Section 2: Nominations & Elections
Potential executives in the General Body will require a nomination (made by self or other General Body member) and a second by another non-executive member of JMAGE during the last three General Body meetings before Spring Break. An incumbent executive may nominate him/herself to a position (without violating term limits), however he/she can only be seconded by a General Body member. Nominees must meet the eligibility requirements listed above in Article II, Section I. Elections will be held during the first General Body meeting after Spring Break in Spring Semester. A nominee can also make a motion to place him/herself on the ticket (as a “second choice”) of another race if seconded by a fellow non-executive member. This will allow for more candidates running per position and the ability of a candidate to get elected if not already elected to his/her first choice.
Mid-Spring Semester, the nominees may state their experience, intents, and assessments of the club, etc. in a speech and question-and-answer session that should have a target around five minutes. If the Q & A session becomes exceedingly long, the President can move to end it. After all nominees for a position give their speeches, the present voting-eligible members will vote on that position via secret ballot. Current executives may not nominate or second a vote, however they have the right to vote in the actual election per position. The order of the elections shall be: President, Vice President, Treasurer, PR, and finally Webmaster, unless a candidate’s primary choice of position conflicts with this order.
Should a position not be filled on Election Day, nominations (as conducted above) will be held after the other executive positions have been filled. At the next meeting, the candidate(s) will have an opportunity to say what they want, then proceed to the vote.
Current officers will use the time between the elections and the end of the school year to train the upcoming officers.

Section 3: Executive Impeachment
A majority vote in the rest of the Executive Committee is required to carry out the chosen form of punishment. The advisor should be contacted to offer advice about what punishment is appropriate. Punishment can include but is not limited to: warnings, a change to inactive status without refund of dues, some type of required service to the club, or in the most extreme cases, revocation of membership, the stripping of the executive title, and expulsion of the executive from any and all JMAGE activities without refund of dues until further notice.
If any officer or member of the General Body feels any officer’s behavior is inappropriate or the officer is not fulfilling their duties, they can motion to hold a meeting of the executive board to review that officer’s behavior.  The officer in question has the right to attend that meeting to defend her/his behavior. If a majority of the Executive Board feels that officer’s behavior is objectionable, the Executive Board will then present at the General Body Meeting an explanation of that officer’s behavior. Again, the officer in question has the right to attend that meeting to defend her/his behavior. If a constitutional (3/4) majority of the General Body feels that that punishment is justified, then it will be up to the Executive Board to determine a fitting punishment.

Article III: Advisors
Section 1: Installment & Requirements
JMAGE’s advisor shall be selected by the unanimous decision of the Executive Board. Suggestions for advisors can be made to them by any member or executive, however. Advisors have full membership without paying dues or having to attend meetings. The only exception to this is that JMAGE’s advisor cannot vote; make motions, or second motions. The advisor chosen must fulfill the following qualities:
  • Be a full-time faculty member of the Athens campus of Ohio University.
  • Preferably teach, have knowledge of/show a deep personal interest in, or somehow be involved in the promotion of Japanese language, culture, and other qualities of Japan.
  • Be available at reasonable times/intervals to talk to the executive committee or attend the weekly meetings.
  • Give feedback and ideas to help promote the club, suggest activities to do or programs to show, and otherwise take a concern in the club’s affairs.

Section 2: Revocation of Advisor Status
An advisor deemed by a majority vote of the Executive Committee to be disadvantageous to the club’s functions or has acted in a way unbefitting of a faculty advisor shall be removed from the position of advisor. The advisor will have the opportunity to defend or explain his/her actions before the Executive Committee before the vote to remove him/her from office takes place. The advisor has the right to waive this opportunity. If the position is vacant, the President and Vice President need to fill the advisor’s chair as soon as reasonably possible.

Article IV: Committees
Section 1: Committee Involvement
Executive members of JMAGE by default sit on the Executive Committee, chaired by the President.
Section 2: Formation of Ad Hoc Committees
Any member can motion to form an ad hoc committee at any time during a meeting. This motion must be seconded by an executive. The member who motioned for the committee to be formed is then responsible to find members, including an Executive Board member to oversee the operations of the new committee as its executive advisor. The chair of the committee must then report the status of the ad hoc committee to its appointed executive on a weekly basis, as well as appoint the duties that the committee is responsible for among its members.

Article V: Dues
The dues of club members are to be used for the following:
  • Refunding gas for carpooling to an “Off-campus JMAGE Event.”
  • Purchasing vehicles for Katsucon in Maryland.
  • In rare case of event hosting [e.g. Food purchase for events with sister clubs].

Article VI: Amendments
Section 1: Voting
Voting for Bylaw amendments shall be carried out using the same process detailed in Article VII of the Constitution.

Section 2: Ratification
The old Bylaws will stay in place until a constitutional majority vote is made to replace one or more of the amendments developed and approved by the General Body members. Upon unanimous consent from the Executive Committee, some bylaws or properties of bylaws may be “grandfathered” under the new amendment(s). It takes a constitutional majority of the General Body to overrule grandfathered bylaws.
Members can forego waiting one week to vote on constitutional amendments if it is a simple change in grammar or phraseology with a vote of the constitutional majority. If there are more than two different options that all deal with the same constitutional amendment, the general body will vote the options down to two before taking a vote to change the constitution.

Article VII: Alumni
Section 1: Alumni Status Requirements
JMAGE members who meet the following requirements will be granted the title of JMAGE Alumni with all the benefits and responsibilities thereto:
Members graduating the first year they join:
  • Graduate from the Ohio University Athens campus
  • Be unanimously approved by the Executive Committee
Members graduating with two or more years in the club:
  • Must have officially participated in at least one event or been an executive
  • Must have graduated from the Ohio University Athens campus

Section 2: Alumni Benefits & Responsibilities
Alumni of JMAGE are entitled to the following:
  • Group rate on trips
  • Free membership
Alumni of JMAGE are responsible for the following:
  • Promote JMAGE in any reasonable way possible through monetary/prize/food/material donations, sponsorships, or marketing/networking with any connections an alumnus may come across in his/her life outside of OU that would benefit the club and help it continue its goals and purpose
Section 3: One More Thing
  • The eldest active participating member(s) of JMAGE has the opportunity to be called “Uncle (Their Name)”
  • Uncle is chosen not by age, but by years of involvement in JMAGE.
  • If they accept they will be introduced to new members as “Uncle (Their Name)”
  • Anyone who gains the title of “Uncle” will maintain the title of “Uncle” unless they royally mess up.
  • “Uncle” is the title regardless of gender
Article VIII: Programming
Section 1: Program Guidelines
All media presented by JMAGE must meet the following requirements:
  • No material containing mature themes or content will be shown before 10 p.m. The Vice President will research and decide on whether or not a program is classified as “mature”. If the general body would like to contest the rating it will be put to a vote by the Executive Committee.
  • Nothing that is presently airing on American Television [i.e. Toonami, etc.].
  • Nothing that has been seen by ¾ majority of the club that is from the current or previous season.
  • If a series has multiple arcs, it is up to the member to nominate an arc [in cases like One Piece, Naruto, and other large name animes]; member must also be able to give a brief description of the show upon nominating (per the club’s request).
  • If a dub exists, the member that nominates the anime will decide if the sub or the dub will be shown.
  • A series must wait at least two years to be presented again in the regular showing in order to encourage diversity of content. Any programming shown in special showings (excluding content from the regular showings) must wait one full school year to be eligible to be shown again (one school year extends from fall to spring.) An updated list will be kept on the JMAGE website and Orgsync.
  • A season or arc must be 75% (rounding up) complete or more to be nominated for showings.
  • The material must have relevance to Japanese language and/or culture in a significant way, in other words, no show that is from the West is eligible. A simple majority of the General Body can overrule this guideline [shows like Avatar the Last Airbender, Miraculous Ladybug, etc].
  • There will be a Grab Bag showing at the beginning of the semester to give members exposure to various series and shows. Members will nominate shows for the initial Grab Bag, and will vote on them in order to continue showing them throughout the semester.
Section 2: Semester Programming Voting Process
  1. Nominations: 25 nominations will be accepted by the Executive Committee; it will be up to the Executive Committee to determine how they will go about this.
  2. Presentation: Members must present a brief overview of the series to the General Body and Executive Committee in order to familiarize the club to the proposed series.
  3. Voting: Every member is given 10 positive points to distribute to 4 series they wish to vote for in a scale of 4 points, 3 points, 2 points, 1 point. The first round votes are tallied.
  4. If there are any ties relevant to the semester’s programming, a hand-raise vote will be taken among all members at the meeting.

Section 3: Member-Run Events and Special Programming
  • If for some reason a semester’s series must be replaced or time must be filled in a showing, any ad hoc material must be presented to the Vice President for approval and play. Special programming (for events such as Saturday Showings), however, may be voted upon in a similar fashion to Article VIII: Section 2 of the Bylaws, as every special event is different and may require varying methods to determine program content. Unless the President is called in by both the Vice President and the program-nominating member to resolve a programming dispute, the Vice President is the final authority for all ad hoc and special event programming.
  • Material deemed "mature" may be shown before 10 p.m. in the case of special programming.

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