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Amos J. Peaslee Debate Society

Peaslee Debate Society Constitution

This consitution was ratified by unanimous voice vote on December 8, 2003.

  1. Membership
    1. There are no requirements for attending meetings. Because of limited resources, the executive board retains the right to impose requirements for attending tournaments and social events, including but not limited to meeting attendance and practice rounds.
    2. Voting membership shall be granted to those have participated in at least 1 tournament in their tenure at Swarthmore and also attended a minimum of 5 meetings in the semester elections are held. Exemptions will be considered by the executive board.

  2. Executive Board
    The executive board is composed of the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. Their specific duties are detailed below. All officers are required to attend all meetings unless special circumstances obtain. Each officer retains the right to delegate tasks although ultimate responsibility lies with the officer. If an officer is unable to serve the remainder of his or her term, a special election will be held to fill the position. If no candidates are willing to run, the Vice President shall take over the duties.
    1. President
      1. Novice recruiting and training
      2. Direct meetings
      3. Register for tournaments and find partners for people
      4. Official APDA representative
    2. Vice President
      1. All van logistics
      2. Liaison to school administration as needed
      3. Press releases about team successes to school and local newspapers
      4. Assist other members of the executive board as needed
    3. Treasurer
      1. Liaison to business office
      2. Take out money for tournaments and other needs
      3. Keep track of team finances and ensure fiscal responsibility
    4. Secretary
      1. Keep track of attendance
      2. Write minutes to post on website and mailing list
      3. General website and mailing list maintenance
      4. Propaganda

  3. Elections
    Elections shall be held to fill the executive board positions on an annual basis and to fill vacant positions according to the following procedures:
    1. Election meetings shall be well-advertised ahead of time.
    2. Candidacy and voting privileges at elections shall be granted to all voting members as defined in Section I.
    3. All elections are conducted on a secret ballot basis.
    4. Candidates shall be given time to make speeches and to answer any questions that voting members may have.
    5. Voting shall be conducted by a non-candidate member of the executive board who may choose assistants.
    6. Elections shall be conducted on a drop-down basis. Any candidates who are not elected after each round of voting may choose to run in the next-down election. The drop-down order is: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary.
    7. In the event of a tie, there shall be a run-off election between the tied candidates.
    8. In the event that no candidate garners a majority of the votes, run-offs will be conducted as follows:
      1. If there are five or more candidates, a run-off will be held between the top three candidates. In the even that there is no majority between the top three candidates, a run-off will be held between the top two.
      2. If there are four or less candidates, a run-off will be held between the top two candidates.

  4. Activities
    1. Tournaments
      1. The team will collectively decide on which tournaments to attend based on schedules published by APDA, CUSID, and the Worlds committee.
      2. Peaslee will pay for registration fees at any tournament sanctioned by one of the above bodies.
        1. Peaslee will not pay for transportation costs with the exception of gas and tolls for the Peaslee van and personal cars used in the event of overflow.
        2. Exceptions to the above rule will be considered on an individual basis by the executive board.
      3. Seeding and lettering at all tournaments and attendance at Nationals, Worlds and other limited registration tournaments shall be at the President’s discretion with consultation from the executive board and the entire team. Such decisions shall be made while considering the following factors: attendance and participation at prior meetings and tournaments, debate experience and accomplishments, relative sign-up time, and responsibilities at Peaslee-hosted tournaments.
    2. Hosting tournaments
      1. Peaslee shall, from time to time, host tournaments on the Swarthmore campus. Such tournaments may include an in-house tournament and a novice tournament at the beginning of fall semester and a varsity tournament in the spring semester.
      2. The President shall be responsible for scheduling the tournament with the APDA body. The Tournament Director position is selected by the previous TD in consultation with the executive board.
      3. All other positions and responsibilities concerning the tournament are at the discretion of the Tournament Director in conjunction with the executive board and other tournament staff. Bidding for title tournaments shall be done in consultation with the entire team.
    3. Social activities
      1. The executive board shall, according to interest, plan social activities on a semesterly basis.
      2. Such activities will be open first to voting members and then all members on a first-come, first-serve basis.

  5. Ratification and Amendments
    1. This constitution shall go into effect after obtaining a 2/3 majority vote of those attending a well-advertised meeting for this purpose.
    2. Amendments may be made by any voting member and will go into effect by the same procedures as ratification of the constitution.

last updated August 07, 2005
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