Chapter Constitution

Preamble
We, the members of the College of William and Mary Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary, in order to honor and recognize outstanding members of the residence hall system, and to promote a higher quality and standard of involvement and interaction in the residence hall community do hereby establish and uphold this constitution.

Article I: Name
The name of this organization shall be the College of William and Mary Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary.

Article II: Purpose
The purpose of this organization shall be to provide recognition for those in the residence hall system who have shown outstanding service and who have provided important leadership in the advancement of the residence halls. They will also act as a resource for those groups desiring information about leadership in residence halls.

Article III: Membership
Section I: Selection Standards
A. At no time shall the active membership of the Chapter exceed one percent of the total residence hall population.
B. Each candidate must have contributed outstanding service, leadership, and involvement for the advancement of the residence hall system.
C. The campus selection committee shall review all applications biannually.
D. Nondiscrimination clause: The National Residence Hall Honorary shall not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, religion, handicap, or sexual orientation in the selection of its members or in its programs.
Section II: Three Types of Members
A. Active members shall be defined as students currently living in the residence halls at the College of William and Mary who desire to attend monthly NRHH meetings. They shall be the only members with voting privileges. In order to retain active statues, members must attend at least 2 meetings and/or vote or nominate OTMs monthly. Failure to meet the requirements will result in an active non-voting membership status. To regain active voting status the member must meet the above components for active voting status. Active non-voting members will not be counted towards quorum.
B. Alumni membership shall be held by former active members who have left the residence halls. They remain active with the organization when they can. They do not have voting privileges.
The following guidelines apply to the procedure of applying for early alumni membership status:
1. The member and/or chapter must complete the early alumni membership application (contact your Regional AD-NRHH to obtain a copy) which shall include the signatures of: Chapter President, Chapter Advisor, and chapter member for whom the form is being completed.
2. The completed early alumni membership application shall be submitted to the Regional AD-NRHH for approval.
3. The number of early alumni members a chapter shall be granted per academic year will not exceed ten percent of the chapter's membership cap (i.e.: if a chapter has a membership cap of 50, it will not be allowed more than 5 early alumni members approved per a year).
F. It is the right of the Regional AD-NRHH to deny requests for reasons including, but not limited to:
A. The application form is incomplete.
B. The Regional AD-NRHH does not believe that sufficient measures were taken by the chapter to address the member’s inactivity with chapter business before submitting the application.
C. The chapter has exceeded its allotted early alumni membership approvals for the year.
4. If the member and/or chapter wish to appeal the decision of the Regional AD-NRHH, they may appeal to the entire AD-NRHH board. The decision of the AD-NRHH board (consisting of an AD-NRHH from each region) shall be final.
A. Each AD-NRHH shall have one vote
B. A simple majority shall be necessary, with the NRHH Chair casting the tie-breaking vote when necessary.
C. Honorary membership is offered to others who have shown outstanding service and devotion to the interests of the residence program. In addition, residents who are inducted but do not intend to participate in NRHH monthly meeting may ask to be classified as honorary members. Honorary members do not have voting privileges.
Section III: Selection of New Members
A. Selection Committee
1. The campus selection committee shall be composed of five active members of the College of William and Mary Chapter. The five members will be those who can graciously afford to volunteer at the time of the selection process.
2. An officer will chair the committee.
3. Any voting member can make honorary membership nominations. Honorary members are selected by a simple majority vote of the selection committee.
4. Active members are selected by the committee based on the qualifications below and dedication to the William and Mary residents.
B. Qualifications
1. Shall have resided in the residence halls at William and Mary for at least two semesters prior to the semester of selection.
2. Shall have achieved sophomore status by completing a minimum of twenty-four credit hours.
3. Shall be a student in good standing with the college and shall have a minimum of a 2.0 quality grade point average.
4. Shall have demonstrated outstanding service and leadership in the residence halls at the College of William and Mary.
C. Nomination Procedure
1. Resident Assistants, Head Residents, Area Directors, Resident Hall Association members, NRHH members, Office of Residence Life personnel, and Hall Councils will submit nomination lists. The NRHH selection committee will send applications to the names contained on the list.
2. Application will also be made available to those interested through the Residence Life office, NRHH members, and Area Directors.

Article IV: Executive Structure and Meetings
Section I: Officers
A. Officer candidates for the College of William and Mary Chapter must be in good standing with the college.
B. The officers of the chapter shall be President, Vice President and Secretary.
Section II: Officer Responsibilities
A. The President shall:
1. Preside over called meetings.
2. Appoint ad hoc committees and committee chairs.
3. Act as an official spokesperson for the organization.
B. The Vice President of Administration shall:
1. Preside over called meetings in the absence of the President.
2. Edit the nominations for OTMs
3. Maintain a list of members in conjunction with the secretary, keeping track of members that vote and/or nominate OTMs.
C. The Vice President of Technology shall:
1. Post and run the voting process for OTMs.
2. Coordinate the NRHH website.
3. Assist the VP Administration in editing the OTM nominations.
C. The Secretary shall:
1. Maintain the NRHH-L listserv:
a. Post agendas for called meeting on the NRHH-L listserv.
b. Take minutes at called meetings and distribute them on the NRHH-L listserv.
c. Take attendance and keep a list of active members with the VP Administration.
2. Keep a copy of all minutes and reports on file.
3. Aid the President and advisors in the submission of the end of the year progress report to the National Honorary Office.
D. The Publicity coordinator shall:
1. Coordinate all publicity efforts
2. Recognize all nominees monthly
3. Keeps inventory of publicity supplies
4. Aid the President and advisors in the submission of the end of the year progress report to the National Honorary Office.

Section III: Election and Term of Office
A. Election of officers shall by held in April.
B. Members interested in running for office should send the current President a letter of intent. Letters will be compiled and distributed prior to the election. The officers shall be elected by a simple majority of the active members present at the designated election meeting.
C. Newly elected officers will not officially take office until the first day of the fall semester. Following April elections, they may share responsibilities with current officers; however, ultimate responsibility remains with current officers during this training period.
D. In the event of the resignation of an officer, an election will be held to fill the vacancy (with the exception of President).
1. In the event that the office President is vacated, the Vice President will become President.
2 . A general election then will be held to fill the Vice President vacancy.
E. Officers may be impeached as a result of failure to fulfill duties as stated in the constitution or misuse of executive privileges.
1. Impeachment of executive board members will follow the subsequent procedures:
 a.The officer shall be notified of poor performance in his/her duties by the members(s) in writing.
b. The officer shall have a meeting with the individual(s) bringing forth charges and the advisor.
c. The officer shall be given two weeks to improve upon these charges.
d. After a two week period there will be a review by the person(s) who have brought forth the charges and will be discussed with the advisor.
e. If performance has not improved, a recommendation for impeachment shall be forth before the chapter and must be approved by a majority vote of the membership to continue proceedings.
f. If majority rules, then impeachment proceeding will begin and the entire chapter will be informed of the charges. The executive board member being brought up on charges will be afforded the opportunity to speak and will then leave the room.
g. A discussion by the council will then take place and a vote as to whether or not the executive member shall be impeached shall occur. A 2/3 majority vote is needed for impeachment of the executive member.
Section IV: Meetings
A. Chapter meetings will be held at least once a month. Special meetings can be called as needed.
B. Meetings will be held by the presiding officer. The executive board will determine the agenda. C. A simple majority of active members present at each meeting is required to pass all motions with the following exceptions. Motions involving the appropriation of funds above $25.00 require a 2/3 vote of active voting membership.
Section V: Constitutional Amendments
A. Amendment(s) shall be submitted to the President in writing. The President will then present the proposal to the executive board and advisors.
B. Executive board must approve proposed amendment(s). Afterwards, amendment(s) must be presented to the chapter for ratification.
C. Amendments to the constitution shall be adopted or amended by a 2/3 vote of the active voting membership.
Section VI: Advisor
A. The College of William and Mary Chapter of NRHH shall be advised by a member (or two) of the Office of Residence Life.
B. The advisor(s) will attend all meetings of the chapter. The advisor(s) will be responsible for the submission of the chapter re-affiliation forms and end of the year progress reports.

Article V: Non-Campus Affiliation
This is a college affiliate of the National Residence Hall Honorary. In order to remain a member of the National Residence Hall Honorary, this chapter must follow the rules and by-laws of the National Residence Hall Honorary constitution.

Last Revised October 2008