Constitution of PRISM
- Article I: Name, Motto, and Logo of the Organization
- Section A:
The name of this organization shall be PRISM - Section B:
The motto of PRISM shall be “advocate. love.” - Section C:
The following graphic* shall be the official logo of PRISM:
*designed by Kari Gilbertson
- Section A:
- Article II: Mission Statement and Goals of PRISM
- Section A: Purpose of Organization
PRISM is the first queer-straight alliance at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ).
We aim to create a safe, comfortable, and nurturing environment for queer* individuals. PRISM strives for acceptance and equality for all people regardless of gender expression, gender identity, sex, sexuality, age, race, religion, ethnicity, ability, socioeconomic status, health status, or immigration status. Our goal is to educate and advocate on TCNJ's campus as well as the greater Mercer County area. PRISM also acts as a support system and social outlet for its members.
*We of PRISM are aware of the historical, present, and likely future connotation of this word and the harm it has and can cause and would like to make it clear we are using it in an academic sense to avoid forcing a more specific label or identity onto any persons who would may align with the definition of queer in the sense of gender, sexuality, or expression, but may not wish to use any other specific labels. This definition encompasses labels such as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Non-Binary, Questioning, Intersex, Ally, Asexual, Pansexual, Polyamorous, Two-Spirited, etc. (LGBTNQIAAPP2S*), but for both brevity and avoiding leaving any persons’ specific experience out we will continue to use the word queer for the remainder of this text. - Section B: Goals of Organization
PRISM strives to educate people about all aspects of queer life and allyship and promote advocacy on TCNJ's campus and the greater Mercer County community while serving as a support system and social outlet for its members. - Section C: Goals of the PRISM Center
The PRISM Center shall adhere to the rules and regulations set by the Brower Student Center as an office in the building. Beyond this the space is expected to be maintained as a welcoming environment for every member of the TCNJ community and a safe space notably for, though not only for, queer identifying members of the community. Any actions deemed harmful to this environment can and should be taken up to the PRISM executive board and/or with the BSC staff to either modify or remove the stimulus creating harm in the environment.
- Section A: Purpose of Organization
- Article III: Membership
- Section A: Qualifications for Membership
No student can be denied membership on the basis of a protected class: age, race, creed, color, national origin, nationality, ancestry, sex/gender (including pregnancy), marital status, civil union status, domestic partner status, familial status, religion, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, genetic information, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or disability. Exceptions include:
Religious qualifications may be required by organizations whose aims are primarily sectarian.
Sororities or fraternities that have been traditionally single sex organizations may limit membership to a single sex or gender identity.
Club Sports teams recognized and advised through the College recreation program may limit membership to a single sex or gender expression provided there is a co-existing team of the same or substantially similar sport for the opposite sex or gender identity. - Section B: Limitations on Membership
There are no dues for membership or limitations other than it is required that all members must be matriculated students at The College of New Jersey.
- Section A: Qualifications for Membership
- Article IV: Officers
- Section A: Application For Membership
To become a General Member of PRISM it is only required that a person attends at least one PRISM hosted event or meeting and is on the PRISM email list. - Section B: Type of Membership
PRISM's two tiers of membership are General Membership and Active Membership.
A general member must attend at least one PRISM event or meeting.
An active member must attend a combination of at least three PRISM events or meetings.
A person is considered an official general member of PRISM when they meet the requirements listed in tier a. Only those who meet the requirements of tier b are considered active members and are allowed to run for executive board.
In special cases where TCNJ or PRISM is in times of crisis (for example, in-person classes being suspended for the majority of a semester), the executive board may change the rule for active membership but only if the majority of the executive board agrees. In the case where the executive board is split on the decision the President’s vote will be the deciding factor. - Section C: Committee Membership
Any general member is eligible to join one or more committees at any time. Specific qualifications for committee membership are to be determined by the Chair heading the committee and the executive board, but should include a minimum attendance or participation requirement. The purpose of a committee is to involve the general membership in the planning, set-up, and execution of events from the perspective of the Chair heading the committee. - Section D: General Membership Revocation
Membership can be revoked if a member’s actions do not allow PRISM to achieve its purpose and goal of creating a safe, comfortable, and nurturing environment for queer students. If such a case arises they will be handled by the eboard member with the highest status not personally involved in the situation or with the person/persons in the situation and the club advisor Cecilia Colbeth ([email protected]). If there is no member of the executive board available who would qualify for being not personally involved in the situation or with the person/persons the responsibility will fall on the president alongside club advisor Cecilia Colbeth, though it is expected that the situation is handled with utmost responsibility despite one’s personal convictions. After an investigation, the executive board member and Cecilia may give the student following repercussions:
Loss of access to the PRISM Center (temporary or permanent)
May not attend general board meetings or social hours (temporary or permanent)
Can not run for eboard positions (1 or more semesters)
If necessary, any persons may report any other PRISM member’s behavior through the usage of this form https://forms.gle/jMK6opdv8fbmm9sf6. This form alongside the constitution should be consistently maintained by the current and future PRISM executive boards. - Section E: Executive Board Elections/Membership
PRISM operates on a semesterly executive board. Executive board elections occur two or more weeks before the end of the semester. Elections will be announced via email and/or social media at least a week in advance. The starting term of a new executive board will be May for a Fall semester and December for a Spring semester after the TCNJ academic calendar concludes.
Only active members can vote in elections.
All positions aside from the positions of President and Vice President.
are open to all active members.
Running members must serve 1 semester on the executive board before running for the positions of President or Vice President.
Elections shall be monitored by an outgoing executive board member or a trusted active member if there are no outgoing executive board members.
Elections will be run based on a majority vote system for those who run for each position. In cases where people run unopposed they automatically win the seat. If a person wins a seat, but runs for another seat they wish to serve instead they are allowed to withdraw this candidacy and move to this position. It is to the discretion of those who win to fill the remaining seats, if they are not filled, either through people sharing the responsibilities of the role.
Following an election it is expected for both the outgoing and incoming executive board to have a joint meeting for ease of transition and to address responsibilities of each officer’s role. - Section F: Impeachment, Recall, and Removal of Office
Criteria for Impeachment
Any officer of this organization can be removed from their position through this impeachment and recall process for:
Failure to meet expectations or perform the specific duties of their position as set forth in the organization’s constitution;
Any action that is determined to be contrary to the mission or purpose of the organization as stated in the organization’s constitution; or
Receiving a status sanction of pending suspension or higher from the Office of Student Conduct, the Office of Title IX and Sexual Misconduct, or the Office of Academic Affairs.
This criteria is dependent on the organization requiring all officers to sign a waiver allowing the organization to confirm this status as a written requirement of holding the position.
Impeachment Information
An impeachment process is initiated by the submission of information to an executive officer or advisor of the executive board. This information can be shared via any digital or physical means (e.g. email, text, direct message [DM], letter, note, picture, etc.). Any information shared verbally should be re-shared digitally or physically to ensure proper communication of the information.
After this information is received by an executive officer or advisor, that individual will confer with all other members of the executive board, except for a) the individual(s) whom the information is referring; and b) the organization advisor, if the advisor did not receive the information directly; within seven (7) days to review the information and decide on next step options.
A decision on which of the following option(s) to pursue should be made within seven (7) days of that meeting. In the event the executive board chooses Option 1, 2, or 3, the board shall notify the member presenting information to the board immediately upon completion of that option.
Next Step Options:
Option 1: No Potential Violation
Executive board decides that the information received does not indicate a potential violation
Option 2: Conversation with officer
The Executive board will coordinate a mutually agreeable time with the officer who is the subject of the information received. The meeting will discuss the information received and ask the officer to share their perspective. The meeting will educate the officer about expectations and responsibilities of the position and resolve without a formal agreement.
Option 3: Conversation with formal agreement
The Executive board will coordinate a mutually agreeable time with the officer who is the subject of the information received. The meeting will discuss the information received and ask the officer to share their perspective. The meeting will educate the officer about expectations and responsibilities of the position and resolve with a written formal agreement delineating measures to address said violation.
Option 4: TCNJ Peer Mediation
Refer matter to TCNJ Peer Mediation services from the Office of the Dean of Students: https://mediation.pages.tcnj.edu/.
Option 5: Impeachment and Recall of Officer
In the event a majority of the executive board members (excluding the officers negatively involved in the information received) determine sufficient grounds exist that, if all information submitted is assumed to be true, would constitute grounds for recall, the executive board shall issue a formal charge of impeachment to said officer.
“Impeachment” shall refer to the formal determination that the officer in question meets the criteria for impeachment. If an officer is impeached, they shall henceforth be referred to as the “impeached officer” or “impeached party.”
“Recall” shall refer to the collective vote and decision of the membership on whether to remove the impeached officer.
Upon a vote of impeachment, a recall vote shall be held at the next regularly scheduled organization meeting at least five (5) days out from notification, unless the vote is postponed to a later date for good cause.
The officer subject to impeachment shall be advised of the grounds for impeachment; notified of the date, time, location of the recall vote; and provided copies of all documents or other evidence that has been provided to the executive board and/or may be used during the recall proceeding at least five (5) days prior to the recall proceeding.
The recall proceeding will be run by the President of the organization or next highest ranking member of the executive board not facing impeachment changes, who shall be referred to as the “presiding officer.”
All recall proceedings will be fully documented by the organization Secretary, or equivalent. If the Secretary is the impeached officer, another member of the executive board will assume this responsibility.
The alleged violation(s) will be shared with the organization at the start of the procedure by the presiding officer.
Information that supports the alleged violations will be presented by the presiding officer or their designee.
The impeached officer will have the ability to present any information they wish to share with the organization.
After all information has been presented, the presiding officer will allow questions from organization members to be asked of the presiding officer or the impeached officer.
After questions have ended, the impeached officer will be given the opportunity to make a final statement and then asked to leave the meeting room.
The organization will vote by secret ballot whether to remove the officer from their executive board position.
A ⅔ vote of members present and constituting quorum will signify removal of office, or recall, of the impeached officer.
The results will be shared with the impeached officer by the presiding officer and advisor to the organization outside of the meeting space.
The presiding officer and officer will return to the meeting space and share the outcome with the organization membership.
The presiding officer will send formal notification of the vote within 24 hours to the impeached officer via email. The notification shall advise the officer of the appeal rights detailed below. If the impeached officer is recalled, and files no appeal to the Student Government, the Impeachment and Recall process is finished. - Section G: Appeals Process
All appeals will be heard by the Student Government Governmental Affairs Committee
For appeals requested by the recalled officer:
The recalled officer can submit an email to [email protected] within seven (7) days of receipt of formal notification of removal from office.
Appeals may be submitted on the following grounds:
Information presented did not meet the criteria for impeachment.
The organization voted in a manner contrary to the information presented.
There is new information available that was not available when the impeachment procedure occurred.
The organization did not follow its own processes resulting in an unfair impeachment procedure.
The Governmental Affairs Committee will review the appeal at its next scheduled meeting. The Committee can take the following actions:
Affirm the impeachment and recall of the officer;
Identify any error in the process, consideration of information, or new information presented and return the matter to the organization for a new recall proceeding.
For appeals requested by the individual formally submitting information to the executive board:
In the event the executive board takes no action in response to the information submitted (Option 1), the individual may appeal to the Governmental Affairs Committee by submitting an email to [email protected] within seven (7) days of receipt of the executive board’s decision.
The member must document the information presented to the executive board and identify the impeachment criteria it violated.
If the Governmental Affairs Committee grants the appeal, the executive board must send all archived information and communications regarding the impeachment request.
If the Governmental Affairs Committee upholds the appeal, the executive board must formally issue an impeachment charge to the officer in question and proceed with the impeachment and recall proceedings.
c) For appeals requested by any individual in the organization
i) In the event the executive board fails to adhere to the organization’s constitutional guidelines for impeachment and recall or that the established guidelines for Options 2, 3, and 4 are not carried through completion, the individual may appeal to the Governmental Affairs Committee by submitting an email to [email protected] at any time during the academic year.
ii) The member must provide any relevant documentation and/or reasoning when identifying the constitutional guidelines violated.
iii) If the Governmental Affairs Committee grants the appeal, the executive board must send all archived information and communications regarding the original information submitted, as well as any documents procured from Options 2, 3, and 4.
iv) If the Governmental Affairs Committee upholds the appeal, the executive board must formally issue an impeachment charge to the officer in question and proceed with the impeachment and recall proceedings.
- Section A: Application For Membership
- Article V: Advisers
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- Article VI: Elections
- Article VII: Disciplinary Policy
- Article VIII: Financial Provisions
- Article IX: Social Media Policy
- Article X: PRISM Center Policy
- Article XI: Amendments