Drafted 29 November, 1994
Submitted 20 January, 1995
Amended 10 December, 2005
Mu Epsilon Kappa Anime
Arcadia Chapter
Constitution and Bylaws
Texas Tech University Lubbock, Texas
Opening Gambit. We, the members of Mu Epsilon Kappa, sometimes called the Ten Thousand Animeniacs, hereafter referred to in this document as "MEK" in order to save space, chartered on the site of the campus of Texas Tech University and established for the purposes of fun, enlightenment, and greater world peace and understanding through the study of popular culture, do hereby adopt and assimilate this Constitution in which is contained our By-Laws and Policies.
Article I Name
Sec. 1 - The name of this organization is the Arcadia Chapter of Mu Epsilon Kappa Anime/10,000 Animeniacs.
Article II Purpose and Aims
Sec. 1 - This organization shall operate and be conducted as a society given to the idea of World Peace Through the Sharing of Popular Culture.
Sec. 2 - We also encourage the exploration of cultures other then our own though the viewing of their popular culture, usually in the form of animation and other graphic mediums.
Sec. 3 - We promote a good time.
Article III Membership
Sec. 1 - Eligibility: Membership in MEK is open to any and all sentient beings who wish to join and who have completed all of the Requirements for Membership as stated in Article III Section 2 of this constitution. MEK shall never place any limits on membership based on species, color, creed, age, gender, sexual preference, race, or national or planetary origin.
Sec. 2 - Requirements for Membership: The Requirements of MEK membership are twofold. First, the person wishing to join must express a wish to do so to at least two of the active members. Then, at the next convenient meeting, the "pledge" shall express the same wish to all attending members and guests. Upon fulfilling this, the "pledge" shall be granted active membership in MEK.
Sec. 3 - Active Membership: Active membership is to consist of all those members of MEK who have completed the aforementioned Requirements. Active membership shall continue so long as the member remains in good standing with the organization. To remain in good standing, Actives must fulfill all national and MEK obligations and must show themselves to be given to the ideals upon which this organization was founded. The rights and privileges of Actives include, but are not limited to: Voting, Voice, Officership, Events and Access.
Sec. 4 - Honorary Membership: An honorary membership in MEK may be bestowed upon any person by a majority vote of the Active Membership. Honorary members have the privileges of Voice, Events, and Access.
Sec. 5 - The Advisor: The organization's advisor shall be selected from the Faculty and Staff of the University in accordance with University Policy as defined by the Student Organizations Services. The advisor has all privileges accorded to Active members with the exceptions of Officership and Vote.
Sec. 6 - Resignation: Any member, regardless of status, may resign from the organization at any time by merely expressing a wish to do so to the members present at an organization meeting.
Sec. 7 - Suspension: Any member, regardless of status, may be suspended from MEK after due discussion to take place over a minimum of two consecutive meetings. The High Council shall decide if the cause is worthy of suspension and will execute sentence after a 3/4 majority vote of the Actives by secret ballot. This vote shall take place at a regularly scheduled meeting. The particulars of the suspension shall be determined by the High Council.
Sec. 8 - Definition of Rights and Privileges: Members of MEK are granted certain privileges as accorded to one of their status. The various privileges and rights given out in MEK include but are not limited to: Vote, Voice, Events, Officership, and Access.
Clause 1 - Vote: The right of Vote is the ability to participate in the major decision making of MEK in accordance with the policies of voting contained herein.
Clause 2 - Voice: The right of Voice gives the member the power to speak his mind openly and without fear of retribution before the body of membership assembled in a meeting.
Clause 3 - Events: Members with this privilege are allowed to participate in and attend all activities and functions of MEK without restriction. They may however, be subject to fee if necessary.
Clause 4 - Officership: The privilege of Officership gives the member it is granted to the power to run for and hold any one of the offices on the High Council as detailed in Article IV.
Clause 5 - Access: The privilege of Access grants the member the ability to use the Library and Matrix for the purposes that they were intended, without restriction or fee created for the purposes of profit. They may still be subject to fees charged for maintenance or materials if necessary.
Article IV Officership and the High Council
Sec. 1 - Elected Officers: Elected officers of MEK shall be Emperor, Kagemusha, and the Chancellor of Assets & Acquisitions. These officers shall together with the appointed officers make up the governing body of MEK, hereafter called the High Council.
Clause 1 – President/Emperor: The Emperor shall supervise and direct MEK and its members, and see that the obligations and duties of such are fulfilled. The Emperor shall preside at all organization meetings and the meetings of the High Council. The Emperor is to perform any other duties that the office of Emperor may require.
Clause 2 - Vice President/Kagemusha: The Kagemusha shall work with the Emperor in the direction of MEK and its activities. In the absence of the Emperor, the Kagemusha shall act as the Emperor in all things.
Clause 3 – Chancellor of Acquisitions: The Chancellor of Acquisitions is to keep track of the organization's assets. The Chancellor’s duties include seeing to the return of MEK materials from loaned sources, along with reclaiming MEK materials from retired officers (i.e. the Library, the Matrix, etc.). If monetary considerations for MEK become necessary, it is the duty of this office to oversee them. For the sake of Texas Tech organization office records, the Chancellor will be referred to as “Treasurer.”
Sec. 2 - Appointed Officers: The appointed officers of MEK are the Archivist, the Matrician, the Committee Coordinator, the Webmaster and the SOAC Representative.
Clause 1 - Archivist: The Archivist is in charge of keeping the Library as set up in Article VII, Section 1. It is their responsibility for maintaining order and organization of the Library's contents.
Clause 2 - Matrician: The Matrician's duties are similar in structure to those of the Archivist. The Matrician constructs and maintains the Matrix of Information, as described in Article VII, Section 1.
Clause 3 - Committee Coordinator: The office of Committee Coordinator shall oversee the interaction of the various committees within MEK.
Clause 4 – Webmaster: The primary duties of Webmaster are to maintain and update the MEK webpage (http://www.orgs.ttu.edu/muepsilonkappa/) to reflect club goings-on. Complete design overhauls of the site are subject to approval by the High Council and must meet with at least ¾ approval of all active members.
Clause 5 – SOAC Representative: The duties of the SOAC Representative include representing MEK in SOAC meetings and other Texas Tech sponsored events and committees that require an organization representative.
Sec. 3 - Terms of Office: Terms of office are for one complete year with the officers taking office immediately upon election or appointment.
Sec. 4 - Elections and Appointments: Elections shall be held every year at the first meeting in the month of February every year. Candidates are to be nominated at this meeting, with voting carried out by secret ballot afterwards. After the elected officers are chosen, their first duty is to select the appointed officers.
Sec. 5 - Titles and Subtitles: All officers have the privilege of choosing between using their normal office title, or creating a new one that more befits their person. Such a title is referred to as a "subtitle" and is to be used at all times instead of the regular office title. The subtitle is not to be one used by a predecessor in that office, but rather an original title. However, members reelected to that office or to a new one may choose to use their previous title if they so desire.
Amendment G: In the event that an elected officer does not, will not, or can not perform the duties required of him/her within a reasonable amount of time – with a reasonable amount of time to be decided by a majority of active members that shall be no fewer than two weeks - a 2/3 majority vote by active members can remove the individual from office. Careful consideration should be put into the vote, with members of the High Council to attempt an unbiased approach at making public all events that have lead to this point in the MEK officership of the marked individual. The marked individual may speak, or have an active member speak, on his/her defense before the final vote is cast. This should only be implemented in extreme cases where the lack of representation of the elected office hurts MEK as an organization, the reputation of MEK members and/or Advisor, and/or damages reputations with Texas Tech or any of its other organizations.
Article V Meetings
Sec. 1 - Meeting Times: The regular meetings shall be held at a time and a place as determined by the High Council at the first meeting of such each semester. The informal showings described in Article VII Section 2 may be treated as meetings, and indeed, this is the recommended action. There shall be at least one meeting a month, though more often is urged.
Sec. 2 - Special Meetings: Special meetings of MEK may be called by the Emperor or the High Council on their own whim and caprice or upon the request of 1/3 of the active membership. Such a special meeting must be held within a week of instigation of the calling. Effort must be made to notify all active members.
Sec. 3 - Validity of Meetings: A meeting shall be considered valid for all legal and organizational purposes if 1/3 of the active membership and at least three members of the High Council are present.
Article VI Relations with other Entities
Sec. 1 - Legion West Role-Playing and Wargaming Consortium: The members of MEK hereby acknowledge Legion West as our sister organization, and her members as our brothers-in-arms. The members of MEK are always to harbor good relations with the members of Legion West and to work with them toward our common goals.
Sec. 2 - Other Relations: At some point in the future, it may be in the best interests of MEK and her members to form relations with other organizations. This is to be encouraged and furthered, as it leads to the growth of all involved, and is another step toward the goals of MEK.
Article VII Proposed Activities
Sec. 1 - The Library and Matrix: MEK shall maintain an archive of various examples of foreign and domestic popular cultures. This archive shall be divided into two parts: the Library and the Matrix. The Library will contain audio/video/literary data such as movies, books, television shows, specials, music, art, etc. The Matrix will be made up of computer stored text and pictures containing information on cultures and entertainment. Members with the privilege of Access have unrestricted access to the Library and Matrix. Members lacking the privilege, and non-members may still use the Library and Matrix, but may be subject to restrictions or fees. A list of all components of the Library and the Matrix is to be kept by the offices of the Archivist and the Matrician, respectively.
Sec. 2 - Regular Showings: At least once a month, though more often if it is possible, the members of MEK, under the direction of the High Council, shall have an exhibition of various examples of popular cultures. This can include, but is not limited to, the showing of movies and television shows, the reading of literature, or music appreciation. It shall be the duties of the High Council to secure the various permissions that may apply to these exhibitions.
Sec. 3 - Occasional Festivals: In addition to the smaller exhibitions stated above in Article VII Section 2, larger and more "formal" festivals may also be held. And, if possible, MEK is to work with her related organizations as well as with the University on the project of hosting a convention dedicated to the same ideals as MEK and her members.
Article VIII Committee Structure
Sec. 1 - Creation: A committee may be created at any time by a majority vote of the High Council. All committees shall be made up of at least three members. These members, together with the High Council, shall designate from amongst said committee members a Chairman who shall coordinate the actions of the committee. The active members may petition the High Council to create a committee.
Sec. 2 - Dissolution: A committee may be dissolved at any time by a majority vote of the High Council. If a committee fails to have at least three members it shall be subject to dissolution for lack of support. The active members may petition the High Council to dissolve a committee.
Sec. 3 - Permanent Committees: MEK shall maintain a set of permanent committees that cannot be dissolved. They can, however, be suspended if there is a lack of support or need. They are the Travel Committee, the 45th Elite Convention Assault Squadron,
Clause 1 - The Travel Committee: The purpose of the Travel Committee is to coordinate trips to conventions and events that are of interest to MEK and her members.
Clause 2 - The 45th Elite Convention Assault Squadron: The 45th is made up of all the members of MEK at a particular convention or event. For this committee only, the Chairman can change depending on the members present.
Article IX The Advisor
Sec. 1 - Selection: If a time comes where there is no Advisor, a new one must be selected immediately by the active membership. The Advisor must be a full-time faculty or staff member employed by the University.
Sec. 2 - Responsibilities: The responsibilities of the Advisor are already detailed in the Advisor's Handbook as written by the University. MEK places no additional constraints or burdens upon the Advisor. The Advisor may have as little or as much interaction with MEK as they wish.
Sec. 3 - Privileges: The Advisor has the rights of Voice, Events and Access as detailed in Article III, Section 8.
Article X Rules of Order
Sec. 1 - Robert's Rules of Order: In accordance with tradition, Robert's Rules of Order will be used in governing meeting structure unless the members present deem Robert's Rules to be highly stuffy and too bureaucratic for the situation, in which case they will be abandoned in favor of one of the other sources of rules.
Sec. 2 - The Librae Discordia: When Robert's Rules of Order are abandoned as per the above section, the default rules source becomes the Principia Discordia and related documents. These sources are also subject to abandonment in favor of a more appropriate body of rules.
Sec. 3 - Ferengi Articles of Profit and Acquisition: If both Robert's Rules of Order and the Librae Discordia sources are abandoned, the meeting structure has no choice but to fall upon the Ferengi Articles of Profit and Acquisition. Such a move is highly discouraged.
Sec. 4 - Other Sources of Rules: New sources of rules and order may be added at any time by a majority vote of all active members present at a meeting. The new source must be submitted to the High Council for approval beforehand.
Article XI Amendments and Policies
Sec. 1 - Amendments to this document may be approved at any regular or special meeting of MEK upon a 3/4 vote of active members attending provided all conditions for amendments have been met.
Sec. 2 - All amendments must be submitted in triplicate to the High Council, signed by the authors, and must be no more than 15,000 words in length. Upon meeting these conditions the High Council will convene and query the document and its authors. One copy will be kept by the High Council, the second will be submitted to the University, and the third will be relegated to File Drawer 'M' for posterity.
Sec. 3 - Issues not specifically covered in this document may become written MEK Policy. A 2/3 majority vote is required to approve Policy.