RELIEF THEATRE CONSTITUTION (Last modified at AGM on 22nd April 2014)
1. The Society
1.1. The name of the society shall be the Edinburgh University ‘Relief Theatre’ Society, herein referred to as ‘Relief Theatre’.
1.2. The aims of the society shall be:
1.2.1. To educate Edinburgh’s student community in theatre theory and technique through joyful workshops and experimentation.
1.2.2. To provide a forum for people to debate and learn open and accessible to all.
1.2.3. To provide a medium by which people can experiment with projects in performance arts unlike those they have done before, and support them in doing so.
1.2.4. To build links with and between other Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) societies and outside individuals and groups to allow a transfer of knowledge, experience and ideas and propagate a culture of cooperation and loveliness.
1.2.5. To participate in joint projects to achieve the aims in section 1.2.4.
1.3. The society shall abide by any applicable laws, by-laws and guidelines of EUSA in relation to recognised societies.
1.4. The society believes that discrimination or harassment, direct or indirect, based on a person’s gender, age (except where it relates to licensing laws), race, skin colour, nationality, religious belief, socioeconomic background, disability, HIV status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, family situation, domestic responsibilities or any other irrelevant distinction, is detrimental to the society, the university and wider society, and will not be tolerated.
1.5. The society has ensured and will continue to ensure that it complies with any relevant data protection legislation.
1.6. This constitution supersedes all previous constitutions. Any retyping of the constitution must be passed by an EGM or the AGM (see section 4.5.5), where the President and Secretary shall sign it as a true and fair record of the current constitution.
1.6.1. EUSA considers the ruling society constitution to be that which is displayed on the Society Profile.
1.7. This society has taken and will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure that our meetings, events and socials are accessible to all, irrespective of any disability.
1.8. Re-registration of the society must be submitted prior to Week 12 of Semester 2.
2. Membership
2.1. Membership shall be open to all, provided 75% of all members are matriculated students of Edinburgh University and all members who are not pay twice the standard annual subscription.
2.2. All members shall be entitled to vote on all elections and motions at EGMs and the AGM (see section 4.5) and also on the approval of projects (see article 5).
2.3. The society requires that all those standing for election to the committee be members of Relief Theatre.
2.4. The society requires that all those proposing and actively involved in Relief Theatre projects be members of Relief Theatre.
2.5. Membership entails free access to all regular workshops; however extraordinary workshops may require a small charge to cover additional costs.
3. The Committee
3.1. The committee shall consist of the President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Projects Coordinator, the Publicity and Relations Coordinator and the Workshop Coordinator. Between them they shall guide and maintain the aims of the society, support the society's projects and workshops and be available for discussion, advice, and support regarding all welfare concerns, whether stemming from internal or external factors.
3.2. The President, Secretary and Treasurer of the society (who may be referred to hereinafter as the “office bearers”) shall be matriculated students of Edinburgh University. Any member who is a matriculated student of Edinburgh University is entitled to run for election as an office bearer.
3.2.1. The President shall be ultimately responsible for the conduct of the society.
3.2.1.1. Callum is a duck.
3.2.2. The Secretary shall be responsible for the administration of the society, including EUSA and university room-booking, minuting and regular general emails.
3.2.2.1. The Secretary shall refrain from swearing when in the process of booking rooms.
3.2.3. The Treasurer shall be responsible to the President for the finances of the society, including timely processing of expenses and all venue hires which require payment.
3.2.3.1. The Treasurer shall not run off to Paraguay with the society's funds.
3.2.4. The office bearers must be assigned to the Society Profile as soon as possible after election.
3.2.5. The society’s cheques require two signatories; the Treasurer and either the President or Secretary.
3.2.6. Society office bearers will attend annual society training as outlined by the Societies’ Team.
3.3. The Projects Coordinator shall be responsible for maintaining close links with project teams, checking on their progress and reporting it back to the society, and shall be the teams’ first port of call for support.
3.4. The Publicity and Relations Coordinator shall be responsible for the society's social media presence, event publicity, and maintaining relations with and between outside groups and individuals (including joint responsibility with the Projects Coordinator for projects where Relief is an equal or junior partner with another society or group, or where the aim is to encourage cooperation with or between other societies and groups). Also Social Sec type stuff.
3.5. The Workshop Coordinator shall be responsible for organising the programme of workshops for the society.
3.6. The Committee, including office bearers, shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
3.6.1. In the event of a committee position becoming vacant, the President may call an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to elect a replacement.
3.7. The term of office for all committee members shall by default run from one month after the AGM at which they are elected to one month after the AGM at which their replacement is elected.
4. Meetings
4.1. All matters proposed to the society shall be discussed publicly.
4.2. The society shall have three types of meeting – discussion sessions, EGMs and the AGM, all of which shall be chaired by the President, minuted and open to all who wish to come.
4.3. If the President cannot attend to chair a discussion session, EGM, or the AGM, or if the chair wishes to take an active part in a particular debate, they will nominate someone else to the chair.
4.4. Discussion Sessions
4.4.1. The society shall meet weekly for a workshop and subsequent discussion session, open to all.
4.4.2. At a discussion session, the preceding workshop will be reviewed, the society updated on the progress of projects and new projects proposed (see article 5).
4.4.2.1. Any other relevant business is included at the end of the discussion session, under “Any Other Incompetent Biscuits” (AOIB).
4.4.3. Should it be deemed necessary, the President may call an additional discussion session with two days written/email notice including time, place and reasoning.
4.4.4. The quorum of a discussion session shall be two members of committee (including the chair) and two other members for the purposes of validating project approval votes. If a project is not being proposed, worrying about quorum at a discussion session is just silly.
4.4.5. The chair of the discussion session has a right to end it abruptly if they suddenly remember that they have signed up to staff at Bedlam Theatre in under fifteen minutes.
4.5. EGMs and the AGM
4.5.1. EGMs and the AGM shall follow the same procedure.
4.5.2. The President may call an EGM for matters arising in the course of the year which require consideration by members.
4.5.3. The society shall give at least 14 days written/email notification of EGMs and the AGM to all members, including time, location and (in the case of EGMs) reasoning.
4.5.3.1. The society shall also inform Societies’ Admin of the date, time and place of the society’s AGM, which must be between week 7 and week 11 of semester 2.
4.5.4. The quorum at an EGM or the AGM shall be either twenty percent of the membership, or five people, whichever is lowest, without which any decisions or votes made are invalid.
4.5.5. Motions (including constitutional amendments)
4.5.5.1. Motions for consideration must be submitted to the President five days in advance of their proposal and discussion at an EGM or the AGM, with their wording to be summarised and attached to a general email to the society mailing list two days in advance of said EGM or AGM.
4.5.5.2. All motions at an EGM or the AGM shall be passed by acclamation, unless any member present requests a secret ballot. Only members can vote.
4.5.5.3. The chair shall not normally vote in secret ballots, but has the casting vote in the case of a tie.
4.5.5.4. All motions shall take effect at the moment the EGM or AGM at which they are carried is adjourned.
4.5.5.5. Constitutional amendments shall require a two-thirds majority of the EGM or the AGM to be carried.
4.5.5.6. No clause in the constitution shall be self-referential apart from this one.
4.5.6. Committee Elections
4.5.6.1. Committee positions can only be contested at an EGM or the AGM; all committee elections are by simple majority using a secret ballot, with “Re-open Nominations” always a valid option.
4.5.6.2. Members do not have to be present at the EGM or AGM to stand for election to committee, however if they are not, the secretary must be informed a day in advance of the EGM or AGM.
5. Projects
5.1. Projects can only be proposed at a discussion session, EGM or AGM.
5.2. The proposing team or individual does not necessarily have to be present at the meeting - the project can be proposed by a proxy or in writing.
5.3. After proposing and during voting, the individual or team that proposed must leave the room for discussion among the rest of those in attendance.
5.3.1. If they are already not in the room, they stay... not in the room.
5.4. To be approved, proposed projects must meet the conditions outlined in sections 5.4.1 to 5.4.5, hereinafter referred to as “the permanent provisos”.
5.4.1. The proposed project must not want to do anything that would make it more difficult for future projects to do what they want to do.
5.4.2. The team or individual proposing the project have not done something similar before; either with Relief, another group or independently.
5.4.2.1. An exception can be made to 5.4.2 when the aim of the project is to educate or to encourage cooperation between outside groups and societies.
5.4.2.2. An exception can NOT be made to 5.4.2 purely on the grounds that the project will “make a lot of money” or “have great artistic merit”.
5.4.3. The project must be technically and logistically feasible, within the constraints of the society’s finances and access to resources.
5.4.4. The team or individual proposing the project is serious about following the project through and would be willing to ask for help should they become out of their depth.
5.4.5. The proposal adheres to the aims and ethos of the society, EUSA regulations, Scots, UK and European law and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
5.5. Those in attendance at the proposal have a right to voice concerns with the proposal to the committee in public or private. These concerns may evolve into an additional proviso, designed to counter concerns that the project will not adhere to the permanent provisos.
5.5.1. It is the choice of the team or individual proposing the project whether they accept an additional proviso. If they do not, those attending may choose to not approve the project because it does not adhere to the permanent provisos.
5.6. Ordinary proposals
5.6.1. Any member of Relief Theatre may propose a project in the ordinary way at any discussion session, EGM or the AGM.
5.6.2. For ordinary proposals, a “yes” or “no” vote is taken by show of hands (unless a secret ballot is requested) as to whether the project strictly matches and will continue to adhere to the permanent provisos.
5.6.3. If there is a majority in favour, the project is approved by the chair.
5.6.4. If there is a majority against, there is absolutely nothing to stop them coming back with a revised proposal.
5.7. Poked proposals
5.7.1. Should an opportunity crop up (be it a possibility for collaboration, a festival or anything else), the Projects Coordinator and Publicity and Relations Coordinator may “poke people for proposals” to take advantage of said opportunity.
5.7.2. All proposals which result from this poking shall be officially proposed at an agreed upon discussion session, EGM or AGM.
5.7.3. In the case of multiple proposals where the society is only able to support a limited number, a vote is taken as to which proposal(s) match(es) the permanent provisos better, and only by other criteria if they are considered equal in that respect.
5.7.4. People may want to abstain. Or just leave and not vote at all, you know, people are like that. They are able to.
5.7.5. The proposal(s) which has/have the most votes shall be approved by the chair.
5.8. Projects will receive the full support of committee from approval until conclusion. Projects are great.
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