Constitution

The Pep Band's constitution is the formal document that provides the guidelines for the management and organization of the band. It was amended and approved by unanimous vote of the band on April 14, 2006. The current version of the constitution is as follows (modified only to fit the formatting style of the wiki):

Name

The name of this organization shall be the RPI Pep Band or America’s Pep Band and herein referred to as the Pep Band.

Purpose

1. The Pep Band was formed to provide entertainment and instill enthusiasm in the teams and fans of RPI athletics.
2. The Pep Band will benefit the RPI community as follows.
   1. By performing at home and away athletic events.
   2. By promoting good public relations between RPI and the surrounding community with performances at civic and community service events.
3. The goals of the Pep Band are to benefit the RPI community and perform the functions for which it was formed, as stated above. These will be accomplished as follows.
   1. By maintaining a library of musical pieces for purposes of performance.
   2. By planning and executing periodic road trips to athletic events not held on the RPI campus.
   3. By planning periodic events intended to reward the members of the Pep Band for their time and efforts towards the objectives of the Pep Band.

Membership

Types of Members

Regular Members

Rensselaer Union full-time activity fee paying students and/or their spouses are eligible to be regular members.

Voting Members

Regular Members who have participated in 33% or more of required Pep Band events since the time of their joining or the beginning of the academic year (whichever is later) are voting members. Any member must have attended at least 10 total events to be eligible to vote, regardless of attendance percentage.

1. Required Pep Band events shall consist of home men’s and women’s hockey games, home football games, rehearsals, and community outreach events (i.e. Accepted Students Day, Uncle Sam Parade). Away trips that are held within driving distance of RPI and which place no limitation on attendance shall also be considered required. Events will only be considered required when classes are in session and there is reasonable expectation that the student body will be on campus.
2. Away trips that limit the number of attendees or require travel outside the immediate Capital District will not under any circumstances be considered required.

Associate Members

Continuing education, part-time students, and non-activity fee paying degree completion students, RPI faculty, staff, alumni (and their spouses), their dependants, and members of the Hudson-Mohawk Consortium are eligible to be associate members. Associate members may not hold office or vote in business matters or elections.

Volunteer Members

Members who are not associated with the Rensselaer Union or the RPI community. Volunteer members may not vote in business or election matters, and may not hold office. Volunteer membership cannot exceed 5% of the total membership, unless permission is given by the E-board.

Affirmative Action and Hazing

1. It is the policy of the Rensselaer Union and the Pep Band to provide, to the maximum extent feasible, equal opportunity to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, or disability for all aspects of club activities.
2. It is the policy of the Rensselaer Union and the Pep Band that the reckless or intentional endangerment to health or forced consumption of alcohol or other drugs for the purpose of initiation into or affiliation with the Pep Band is prohibited.

It is the policy of the Rensselaer Union that all officers, appointed officers, committee chairs, and Voting Members of recognized clubs and organizations be full-time activity fee paying students and/or their spouses. Only Voting Members may vote in business and election matters. Only Voting Members can run for and hold elected offices.

Officers

1. The Pep Band shall have two elected managers, one elected conductor, and a maximum of three assistant conductors. The assistant conductors shall be appointed by the conductor with the approval of the band. In this document, the term “managers” shall refer solely to the two elected managers; the term “officers” shall refer to the elected managers and the elected conductor. All executive decisions shall be the purview of the two managers and all musical decisions shall be the purview of the conductor.
   1. Officers are required to have been voting members of the Pep Band in the previous term.

Duties of the managers

1. The managers shall be responsible for formulating and carrying out the policies of the Pep Band as stated in this constitution.
2. Participation in special events (i.e. road trips) will be based on the discretion of the managers, taking into account attendance at Pep Band events.
3. The managers shall be responsible for the collection and distribution of funds.
4. The managers are responsible for running business meetings.
5. At least one manager must be available and within 25 miles of RPI for the next term of office.
6. The officers may delegate their authority to any Regular or Voting member.

Duties of the conductors

1. The conductor shall be responsible for the musical direction of the Pep Band at rehearsals and performances.
2. At the elected conductor's discretion, rehearsals or performances may be delegated to an assistant conductor.
3. The conductor is responsible for choosing the new music for the term he/she is in office.
4. Assistant conductors may be assigned temporary roles such as librarian as deemed necessary by the conductor and managers.
5. The conductor or at least one assistant conductor must be available and within 25 miles of RPI for the next term of office.

Election to an office shall be decided by a simple majority of those voting Pep Band members present. The current managers shall conduct the election. In the event that the current managers are running for re-election, then the conductor shall conduct the election. The elections shall be held in a meeting following the completion of both the men's and women's hockey seasons.

1. A notice of elections must be accurately communicated to the general membership mailing list at least one week in advance of the proposed date of the election.
2. At least one manager must be eligible for regular membership for the next term. At least one manager leaving office must be an RPI student and within a 25-mile radius of RPI during the year following his/her tenure to guarantee a manager pro tempore will be available the following term to aid the new officers.
3. At least one conductor/assistant conductor must be eligible for regular membership for the next term. At least one conductor/assistant conductor leaving office must be an RPI student and within a 25-mile radius of RPI during the year following his/her tenure to guarantee a conductor pro tempore will be available the following term to aid the new conductors.
4. The normal term of office for officers is one year. However, officers are free to run for re-election as long as they are still qualified.
5. Should a manager leave at any time during his/her tenure for any reason, the remaining manager shall hold an election to elect a replacement at the next eligible meeting.
6. In the event of the loss of all managers, the manager(s) from the previous term shall take office until an election may be held. The election shall take place at the next eligible meeting.
7. Should the conductor leave at any time during his/her tenure for any reason, a new conductor shall be elected from among the voting membership at the next eligible meeting.
8. Nominations shall be taken from the floor at any meeting where general elections are being held.

Policies, Standing Rules, and Bylaws

Policies, Standing Rules, and Bylaws shall be made and kept by the officers of the Pep Band. All such documents shall be approved by 2/3 of the voting membership.

Disciplinary Action/Suspension

1. If it is determined by the officers that a member is acting in a way detrimental to the functioning or stated purpose of the Pep Band the officers have the following choices of disciplinary action:
   1. Confront the individual for explanation of his/her actions.
   2. Ask said individual to break his/her affiliation with the Pep Band.
   3. Remove or restrict attendance of the individual at special events.
2. Member status and rights to participate in events may be revoked by a 2/3 vote of the voting membership present at a business meeting. The individual in question shall be notified at least five days in advance of the pending vote and may be present at the same business meeting to speak on his/her own behalf. The individual in question shall be given ample opportunity to speak on his/her own behalf. At any time during the penalty period, the issue resulting in the withdrawal of membership benefits may be referred to the Union Judicial Board as an appeals case for Regular members. For all other members, issues resulting in the withdrawal of membership benefits may be referred to the Rensselaer Union Executive Board.
3. If the Pep Band feels that an officer is neglecting his/her respective duties, such an officer may be removed from office by a 2/3 vote of the voting members of the Pep Band. The remaining officers will hold elections to elect a new officer. The officer in question must be notified and allowed to speak on his/her own behalf.
   1. Officers must be given five days notice of a vote to remove them from office.
   2. The process for removing an officer is as follows. At a business meeting, a motion to impeach an officer is brought forth. If a majority approves the motion to impeach, then a motion to remove the officer must be brought forth at the next business meeting after the notification period. If this does not occur then the original motion to impeach is void, and a new motion to impeach must be made.
   3. Removal of an officer requires a 2/3 majority of the voting membership present.
4. In the instance that both managers are removed from office, the managers’ pro tempore will assume the responsibilities of the managers until such time that new managers may be elected. If the pro tempore is not available then the conductor shall run elections.

Meetings

1. Officers shall call rehearsals and additional meetings.
2. Meetings may be called by 20% of the voting membership and arranged by the managers within 2 weeks.
3. Rehearsals shall normally be held once per week during the fall semester and the duration of the hockey season, and at the discretion of the officers during the spring semester.
4. Business may transpire at the rehearsals and or meetings.
5. Quorum is 50% of the active voting members.
6. Robert’s Rules of Order are to be used at business meetings.
7. The official language of all meetings and rehearsals shall be English unless, by unanimous vote of all those present in the meeting, an alternative language is preferred.
8. At least 48 hours notice shall be given prior to any meeting or rehearsal.

Committees

Committees may be formed within the Pep Band. The rules governing the committees shall be approved by a majority of the committee membership at a meeting.

Financial

Budgeting will occur according to the policies set forth by the Rensselaer Union. It is the duty of the managers to update and revise each year’s budget to suit the needs of the band for the following year.

Ratification and Amendments

1. This constitution shall be effective immediately upon ratification by a 2/3 majority of voting members of the Pep Band and subsequent approval by the Rensselaer Union Executive Board.
2. If any part of this constitution need be changed or amended in the future then a 2/3 majority of voting members and subsequent approval by the Rensselaer Union Executive Board must be obtained.

Affiliations and Governing Relationships

The Pep Band has no affiliations or governing relationships with any national and/or regional organizations.

Compliance with Union and Institute Standards

In the event that this constitution comes in conflict with any Rensselaer Union or Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute rule or standard, then such a rule or standard will supersede this constitution.