Luther King House Student Body
Constitution*
The Constitution of the Luther King House Student Body, hereafter called the Body, amended following a meeting held on Tuesday 16th February 1999.
Contents
Aims Membership Meetings
Elections Executive
Duties of Executive Duties
of President Duties of President-elect
Duties of Secretary Duties
of Treasurer Finance No
Confidence or Cessation Food College
Student Bodies Validation of Constitution
1. 1 The Body shall aim to promote the welfare of all members.
1.2 The Body shall aim to negotiate with the Luther King House (LKH) Trust to secure a satisfactory worship, working and social environment for all members.
1.3 The Body shall aim to be involved in the development of the Partnership for Theological Education, Manchester (PTEM).
2.1 The Body shall admit to membership all students on the Partnership for Theological Education Manchester registered courses.
2.2 The Body Constitution shall be available to all members.
2.3 The facilities of the Body shall be available to all members, partners and families of members; but children are to be supervised in the use of them.
2.4 Permission for the exclusive use of Body facilities at any time by any person or group must be sought from the Body Executive Committee, hereafter known as the Executive.
3.1 Two General Meetings may be convened by the Executive per Semester, which will be integrated into the timetable.
3.2 Emergency meetings may be convened by the Executive or on the written request of not fewer than ten members.
3.3 An Annual General Meeting shall be held on the day after the Annual Elections, or as soon as practically possible afterwards.
3.4 Notification of a General Meeting shall be made at least seven days prior to the date of the meeting by notification on the noticeboard.
3.5 The President of the Body, or in his/her absence an officer or member of the Body nominated by the President, shall take the chair at all Body Meetings.
3.6 All questions raised at any meeting shall be decided by the majority of votes cast, provided that in the event of an equal result, the President shall have the deciding vote as well as a deliberative vote as an ordinary member.
3.7 Twenty-five members shall constitute a quorum for a General Meeting.
3.8 Attendance at General Meetings is expected of all members of the Body.
3.9 Students unable to be present at a meeting of the Body have the right to appoint a proxy to speak and vote on their behalf by giving such a proxy a written authority to be shown to the President.
3.10 Minutes for all General Meetings shall be available to all members, one copy being posted on the noticeboard before notification of the next General Meeting.
3. 11 Minutes of each General Meeting shall be approved at the following meeting, and signed as such by the President.
4.1 An annual Election shall be held in the week before the AGM.
4.2 The Annual Election shall elect the following officers: President-elect, Secretary, Treasurer and Social Secretaries (2). House User Group representative.
4.3 The results of an Annual Election shall be announced at the AGM.
4.4 Officers elected under 4.2 shall take office at the conclusion of the AGM at which the results were announced, and hold office until the conclusion of the AGM the following year.
4.5 Nominations for posts must be received by the Returning Officer by 5.30 p.m. on the seventh day before the Annual Election. Nominations should be in writing and carry the signatures of the nominee, proposer and seconder.
4.6 Nominations shall be posted by the Returning Officer by 8 a.m. the day before the Annual Election.
4.7 A candidate shall be allowed to stand for one post only.
4.8 Voting shall be made by secret ballot on a single transferable vote basis.
4.9 The Returning Officer shall be responsible for the counting of the votes and announcing the results at the AGM.
4. 10 Minor Body Officers shall be elected at the AGM.
4.11 The posts of the Minor Body Officers are as follows: Assistant Treasurer and Chapel Steward.
5. The Body Executive Committee
5.1 The Body Executive Committee shall consist of the officers elected under 4.2, and also one representative each from the sub-committees of Hartley Victoria College; Northern Baptist College; Northern College; Unitarian College; and the lay participants.
5.2 All questions raised at any committee meeting shall be decided by the majority of votes cast, providing that in the event of an equal result, the President shall have the casting vote, as well as a deliberative vote as a member of the Executive.
5.3 The President, or in his/her absence an officer or member of the Executive nominated by the President, shall take the chair at all committee meetings.
5.4 Body Executive Committee Meetings may be called at any time on the request of a quorum.
5.5 Five Committee members shall constitute a quorum of the Executive.
6. Duties of the Body Executive Committee
6.1 The Body Executive Committee shall conduct the affairs of the Body and be responsible for the organisation and administration of the Body.
6.2 The Executive shall take action on any matter referred to it by any Body member, or body within the Body.
6.3 The Executive shall represent to the General Manager, the Facilities Manager and the appropriate committees of the Partnership for Theological Education, Manchester concerning matters involving the whole of the Body. This shall be done through the President.
6.4 The Executive shall keep members informed of all its activities.
6.5 The Executive shall meet at least twice per semester; but otherwise, as often as is necessary for the efficient execution of its activities.
6.6 Minutes of all committee meetings shall be available to all Body members on request.
6.7 Minutes of each committee meeting shall be approved at the following committee meeting and signed by the President as such.
6.8 The Executive shall report to the General Meeting.
7.1 The President shall chair all meetings under 3.5 and 5.3
7.2 The President shall represent the Body under 6.3 and specifically the House Users Group.
7.3 The President shall undertake to provide the President-elect with every opportunity to build upon the continuity of information, communication and negotiation between the appropriate committees & Councils of the Partnership, Federation and Trust.
8. Duties of the President-elect
8.1 The President-elect shall deputise for the President in his/her absence.
8.2 The President-elect shall work alongside the President in preparation for their role as President the following year.
8.3 The President-elect shall assume responsibility for overall student welfare, in particular for the pastoral welfare of year-one students.
9. 1 The Secretary shall be responsible for calling General Meetings and meetings of the Executive.
9.2 The Secretary shall prepare and make available minutes of all meetings.
9.3 The Secretary shall be responsible for informing Body members of the Executive's activities.
9.4 The Secretary shall act as Returning Officer responsible for all ballots.
9.5 The Secretary shall be responsible for general correspondence on behalf of the body
10. 1 The Treasurer shall be responsible for all financial aspects of the life of the Body, including those underlined under 11.
10.2 The Treasurer shall present to the body at a General Meeting at the beginning of the academic year, a full and adequate estimate of proper expenses to be met, together with the subscriptions required to meet them.
10.3 The Treasurer shall present a statement of accounts to the Executive at the first meeting of each semester, and to the last meeting of the academic year. In addition, he/she shall present a statement of accounts to the AGM.
10.4 The retiring Treasurer shall be available to the end of the academic year as a point of reference for the incoming Treasurer.
11. 1 Members shall subscribe to the Body such amounts as are decided by the first General Meeting of every academic year.
11.2 Membership of members failing to pay subscriptions by the end of the semester shall be reviewed by the Executive.
11. 3 The Treasurer may present a revised estimate of expenses and/or subscriptions required to any General Meeting.
11.4 The Statement of Accounts produced by the Treasurer under 10.2 shall be available to all members of the Body on request, and posted on the noticeboard.
11.5 Signatories for cheques on behalf of the Body shall be any two of the following: President, President-elect, Secretary, Treasurer or Social Secretary.
11. 6 The Body's accounts shall be audited annually by an outside auditor.
12. No Confidence/Cessation of Office
12.1 A motion of no confidence in any Body Officer may be put to a General Meeting called for that purpose. To be a resolution it must be carried by at least two thirds of the votes cast at that meeting.
12.2 When a Senior Body Officer resigns before the end of the tenure of their office, the Executive shall be responsible for those duties until a new officer is elected.
12.3 The election of a new officer shall be required unless the termination of office occurs after the first day of the Second Semester and prior to the AGM.
13.1 Comments and criticisms of food made by any Body member shall be passed to the Catering Manager by the Food Representative, or in his/her absence, the President-elect.
13.2 Special dietary needs shall be accommodated only at the discretion of the Catering Manager.
14.1 No decision made by the Body shall have power to affect decisions taken by the sub-committees named in 5.1, on matters affecting them alone.
14.2 No decision made by the sub-committees shall have power to affect the whole Student Body.
15.1 The Body Constitution may be amended by a resolution carried by at least two thirds of the votes cast at a General Meeting.
15.2 The Body Constitution prior to the date on which this Constitution is approved is hereby rescinded.
15.3 The Constitution is binding to all members.
* Although throughout this document the word 'students' is used, it is understood to mean all full and part-time participants on registered courses of the Partnership for Theological Education, Manchester.