Constitution for the Rice Light Opera Society

I. Purpose

The purpose of the Rice Light Opera Society is:

a) to spread appreciation for light opera in the Rice community

b) to organize light-opera-based events on campus

c) to provide opportunities to participate in light opera on campus, and

d) to produce, independently or in conjunction with one or more of the several colleges, a minimum of one light opera production each year.

II. Membership

A. Full membership in the Rice Light Opera Society is open to:

1) any Rice student, faculty, or staff member with an interest in light opera,

2) any Rice student, faculty, or staff member with no interest in light opera who is willing to sit around and discuss/view/listen to/perform said works

B. Non-voting membership in the Rice Light Opera Society is open to all persons who:

1) want to be non-voting members of the Rice Light Opera Society.

2) involve themselves with the Rice Light Opera Society

C. At no point may the number of Rice Light Opera Society members who are not members of the Rice community outnumber those who are.

D. Membership may be revoked upon unanimous approval of the officers, or by 2/3 approval of all voting members.

E. No dues aside from voluntary contributions will be required of the club members.

III. Executive Committee

A. Only current Rice students who are full members of the Rice Light Opera Society shall be eligible Executive Committee candidates. Members of the Executive Committee shall be selected by a quorum of voting members of the Rice Light Opera Society based on the following:

i) Elections shall be held every spring for the following year, preferably after the conclusion of the annual production. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies as needed.

ii) A majority of voting members voting shall be required to elect a candidate. In the event that a majority is not established, a run-off election shall be held between the candidates receiving the two highest vote totals.

B. The offices and duties of the Rice Light Opera Society shall be:

i) President. The Rice Light Opera Society President shall be responsible for calling and moderating meetings of the Rice Light Opera Society. The President shall also represent the Rice Light Opera Society to the Student Association as needed. The President or a delegate thereof will also be responsible for the maintenance of the RLOS email account (rlos@rice.edu).

ii) Vice-President. The Vice-President shall preside over meetings in the President’s absence.

iii) Tally Ho. The Tally Ho shall be responsible for the accounting of the Rice Light Opera Society. In the event of a joint production of the Rice Light Opera Society and one of the residential colleges, the Tally Ho is responsible for coordinating financial matters with the appropriate representatives of the college.

iv) Minutes Bitch. The Minutes Bitch shall record and distribute the events and conclusions of all meetings of the Rice Light Opera Society. If the Minutes Bitch is unable to attend a meeting, he or she is responsible for finding someone to take notes for him or her. No person shall be Minutes Bitch who does not have a sense of humor. The Minutes Bitch or a delegate thereof will also be responsible for the maintenance of the RLOS website (www.hailpoetry.com) and the RLOS listserv (RLOS-NEWS@rice.edu).

C. In addition to these responsibilities, the Executive Committee as a whole is responsible for the following:

i) recruitment of new members

ii) fundraising

iii) setting of times and locations for meetings

iv) selecting a production staff for the annual production

v) allocation of funds, including the authority to spend club money

These responsibilities can be handled by the group, divided among the Executive Committee, or delegated to other members of the Rice Light Opera Society.

D. Any Executive Committee member shall cease to be a member of the executive committee if he or she:

i) becomes an ineligible Executive Committee candidate, as specified in III-A,

ii) becomes an ineligible full member of the Rice Light Opera Society, as specified in II-A, or

iii) is requested to resign by

a. the three other Executive Committee members,

b. 75% of the voting members of the Rice Light Opera Society, or

c. 50% of the voting members of the Rice Light Opera Society, including at least one Executive Committee member.

IV. Faculty Sponsor

The Rice Light Opera Society Faculty Sponsor shall be elected by a majority of voting members. The Faculty Sponsor must be:

A. A member of the Rice faculty, and

B. A person who is willing to be the Rice Light Opera Society Faculty Sponsor.

V. Productions

A. The Rice Light Opera Society shall, either independently or in collaboration with one or more of the residential colleges, produce a minimum of one light opera per academic year. The shows will be chosen by the membership, which must include at least the director and music director found by the Executive Committee.

VI. Amendments

This Constitution may be changed by

A. a 68.8% vote of the voting members of the Rice Light Opera Society, or

B. the whim of the Rice Light Opera Society President, given that

i) any proposed change is submitted for review by the membership for a minimum of one week during the academic school year prior to its enactment, and

ii) there is no majority of the voting membership in opposition to the proposed amendment.