The society will be known as the “Dalhousie Women in Technology Society”, abbreviated as WiTS and hereinafter referred to as the “Society".

The purpose of the Society is to:

Promote equality of gender and race within STEM organizations inside and outside of the university.
Support, promote, and celebrate women pursuing or considering a degree within Dalhousie’s technology programs.
Participate in recruitment events for Dalhousie University and the CS faculty.
To introduce technology related programs to interested women, and the Halifax community.
Host and volunteer at social and educational events to help establish a community of technology enthusiasts at Dalhousie University and in the larger Halifax community.

Any student enrolled in a STEM course at Dalhousie University is eligible to be a member of the Society. However, being eligible to join does not automatically make a person a member.
Only members of the Society may vote in elections and hold Council positions.
The following are eligible to become honorary members of the Society:
1. The Dean of the Dalhousie University Faculty of Computer Science;
2. Faculty and Staff members of the Dalhousie University Faculty of Computer Science;
3. Dalhousie University alumni of a STEM program;
4. Post-Doctoral Fellows of the Faculty of Computer Science;
5. Any other person(s) elected by the Society’s representative council.
Honorary members do not have voting privileges and may not become executives in the Society.
The society does not place any limits on membership based on age, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, place of birth, religion, language, or mental/physical disability.

There shall be a council of students (hereafter ’the Council’), which shall consist of the administrative positions (hereafter ’the Executive’) and elected or appointed representatives.
The Executive will be made up of 5 officers. Each member can only hold one Executive position at a time. In order of ascension, these officers are:
1. President
2. Vice President Internal
3. Vice President External
4. Treasurer
5. Secretary
The Council shall consist of
1. The Executive
2. Communications Representative
3. Events/Social Representative
4. Marketing and Public Relations Representative
5. Education Representative
6. Graduate Representative
7. CSS Representative
8. Alumni Representative
9. Technical Coordinator
10. Faculty Representative (Non-voting)

Subject to the By-Laws, the Council may appoint and delegate to committees such powers and duties as maybe deemed necessary or desirable. The Council may also make rules and regulations relating to the performance of its functions and the exercise of its powers.
The Council may introduce, amend, or repeal any By-Laws in accordance with this constitution.
The Council may delegate responsibilities and duties to Council members including at least the applicable duties in Article 6. This delegation shall not limit the oversight of Council as expressed in Article 5(D).
The Council as a whole may hold a vote to overrule any executive or committee decision.
The Council must ensure that the Society begins the ratification process by May 1st of each calendar year, as recommended by the DSU, and ensure the Society is ratified no later than August 1st of that year.

Duties of Executive Officers
1. President
  1. Represent the Society as the head of the executive;
  2. Ensure the representation to all external organizations
  3. Chair and prepare an agenda for all meetings of the Council, publishing it for public perusal, no less than twenty-four hours prior to the meeting;
  4. Responsible for overseeing all operations of the Society;
  5. Sit as an ex-officio member of all committees of the Society;
  6. Maintain a file of the minutes to all the committees of which he or she is a part, and to pass this file, a summary of the contents of this file and any possessions of the society that he or she may want to hold to the appointed transition officer at the end of the current year;
  7. Delegate her duties where appropriate or necessary; h. Act as signing officer of the Society.
2. Vice-President Internal
  1. Act as a liaison between the Faculty of Computer Science and Society membership;
  2. Deal with all internal issues faced by the Society including courses, faculty and curriculum;
  3. Act as chair for general Council meetings in the absence of the President;
  4. Delegate their duties where appropriate or necessary.
  5. Attend Dalhousie Student Union Society Training Day at the date specified by the Vice-President (Internal) of the DSU;
  6. Maintain the Society’s Tiger Society page;
  7. Work closely with the (Communication Representative, Secretary) and Events/Social Representative on all accounts;
  8. Act as the WiTS Representative on the Computer Science Society;
  9. Act as a signing officer of the Society.
3. Vice-President External
  1. Act as a liaison with all organizations external to the Faculty of Computer Science;
  2. Deal with all external Society issues including non-campus activities, and community service;
  3. Facilitate ratification for the Society and adhere to Article 5(E);
  4. Act as chair for general Council meetings in the absence of the President and Vice-President Internal;
  5. Delegate his or her duties where appropriate or necessary;
  6. Attend Dalhousie Student Union Society Training Day at the date specified by the Vice-President (Internal) of the DSU;
  7. Work closely with the Marketing and Public Relations Representative and Education Representative on all accounts;
  8. Act as a signing officer of the Society, in case the Vice-President Internal is not able to exercise his or her duties as a signing officer.
4. Treasurer
  1. Manage all of the financial accounts of the Society;
  2. Prepare financial statements for the Society;
  3. Maintain monthly bank reconciliation, two weeks after receipts are dated and signed;
  4. Maintain accurate records of all receipts and expenditures of the Society;
  5. Place all records and possessions of the Society he or she may hold in the care of the appointed transition officer at the end of the year;
  6. Prepare a file at the end of the term summarizing the past year, to be given to the transition officer. This file should consist of:
    - Report of all revenues and expenditures for the previous year;
    - Report of the financial position of the Society;
    - Proposed budget for the next year;
    - Outline of the accounting procedures used in the Society;
    - Guidance for the incoming treasurer on how best to handle the accounts of the Society.
  7. Report revenue for all events organized by the Council in coordination with the organizer of the event;
  8. Chair a meeting of the executive to estimate the budget each year in accordance with the guidelines set forth in Section 11 of this document;
  9. Act as a signing office of the Society.
5. v. Secretary
  1. Record the minutes at the Society Council and executive meetings;
  2. Distribute the minutes to the Society Council members before or at the next meeting;
  3. Organize all Society Documents.
Duties of Council Members
1. Communications Representative
  1. Prepare all correspondence on behalf of the Society on the recommendations of the Executive or the Council;
  2. Advertise vacant positions whenever such positions are open;
  3. Send out all Faculty-wide emails to update students on meetings, events and other important updates;
  4. Be the correspondent for all inside contacts under the Vice President Internal;
  5. Co-ordinate all publicity on behalf of the Council.
2. Events/Social Representative
  1. Plan and execute the Society’s social events;
  2. Work to increase female student morale and participation in the Society events;
  3. Attempt to offer social events in collaboration with other Societies;
  4. Give the Council reports on events at meetings;
  5. Work with the treasurer to report on revenue of social events he or she organizes, and to collaborate on events with other Council members.
3. Marketing and Public Relations Representative
  1. Increase awareness of the Society to everyone outside the Faculty;
  2. Be the correspondent for all outside contacts under the Vice President External;
  3. In charge of all social media for the Society;
  4. Promote all events for the Society;
  5. Utilize Hootsuite to keep all social media consistent.
4. Education Representative
  1. Plan and execute the Society’s educational events;
  2. Work to increase female student morale and participation in the Society events;
  3. Represent the Society at academic events;
  4. Give the Council reports on events at meetings;
  5. Work with the treasurer to report on revenue of educational events he or she organizes; and to collaborate on events with other Council members.
5. Graduate Representative
  1. Act as liaison with the Dalhousie Computer Science Graduate Society;
  2. Appoint acting representatives to the meetings in his or her absence;

Meetings follow Robert’s Rules of Order.
There will be three types of meetings: general meetings, executive meetings, and annual general meetings (AGM’s).
The regulations regarding each type of meeting are as follows:
1. General meetings
  1. Quorum for general meetings shall be 2/3 of the executive and the lesser of 50% of the general membership or 5 (non-executive) members.
  2. Voting on motions put forth at general meetings must go before the general membership.
  3. Voting will be conducted via a show of hands, though any member may request that the motion be voted on by secret ballot. If any one member requests this for any motion, voting must be done by secret ballot.
  4. A majority vote is needed to pass a motion (a majority signifying 50%+1 of all members in attendance).
  5. The Vice-President of the Society will be responsible for giving advance notice of all motions to be voted on at any meeting not less than 48 (forty-eight) hours before the meeting, and this notice must be given to all members of the society.
2. Executive meetings
  1. Quorum for executive meetings shall be 2/3 of the executive.
  2. Executive meetings shall be used at the discretion of the executive to ensure the smooth operation of the Society.
  3. All members of the Society are permitted to join in Executive meetings, though notice of the meeting need not be given.
  4. Any motions must be voted on by the general membership, and as such motions cannot be passed during Executive meetings.
3. Annual general meetings (AGM’s)
  1. Quorum for an AGM shall be all Executive members along with 50% of the general membership.
  2. An AGM must be called at least once per academic year by the President.
  3. There will be at least one AGM during the months of February or March, during which elections will take place (see Article 11).
  4. Any additional AGM’s may be called at the request of all Executive, or at the request of a member of the general membership with a petition for an AGM signed by 75% of the general members.
  5. Constitutional amendments can only be made at an AGM (see Article 11).
  6. Voting on motions must go before the general membership.
  7. Voting will be conducted via a show of hands, though any member may request that the motion be voted on by secret ballot. If any one member requests this for any motion, voting must be done by secret ballot.
  8. A majority vote is needed to pass a motion.
  9. Notice of an AGM must be given to all members not less than one week before the AGM, and the Vice-President is responsible for delivering this notice.

Elections shall be start no earlier then February 1 and end no later than March 31 of each year.
The President shall be responsible for overseeing elections.
If the President wishes to re-run for any position, then the Vice-President Internal shall act as Election Chair.
In the event that both the President and Vice-President Internal wish to run for any position, then the Vice-President External shall act as Election Chair.
In the event that the President, Vice-President Internal and Vice-President External wish to run for any position, the members of the society shall nominate and vote on an Election Chair from the general membership at least 1 month prior to elections being held.
Nominations for elections can be given to the Election Chair two weeks prior to the date of the elections.
Voting shall be conducted by secret ballot.
Election ballots shall always have an option to spoil the ballot.
All members, except honorary members, are eligible to vote for all elected positions.
The specific election process will be outlined in the By-Laws, in accordance with Section 6(3)(e) of the DSU Society Policy.
In the event that a nominee fails to be elected to a position, while they are no longer eligible for that specific position until the next general election, they may be eligible for another Council position, in the event of a by-election or as determined by the Council.
Each member can hold at most ONE (1) executive position at a time.

No member of the executive may be recalled without just cause, or in any manner not specified in this constitution.
Just cause is defined by this constitution as:
1. Failing to attend 4 consecutive executive or general meetings.
2. Failing to fulfill the majority their mandates as dictated by this constitution, within reasonable limits, and without reasonable excuse.
3. Conduct likely to result de-ratification of the Society, or conduct likely to bring the Society into disrepute.
4. In the case of the President, failing to submit a request for Ratification before November 1st of the year of their Presidency without reasonable excuse.
5. Other gross misconduct.
Any member may put forth a motion to impeach provided they have a petition signed by 75% of current members, and this petition can also serve to request an AGM as directed by Article 7(C)(iii)(d).
A motion to impeach may alternatively be
A vote to impeach an executive member can only be brought forth at an AGM.
Advance notice of a motion to impeach must be given to the member up for impeachment, and that member must have the ability to speak in their defence before the vote is taken.
A vote of 75% +1 of the general membership is required to impeach an Executive member. Voting will be conducted by secret ballot.

All resignations of Council members shall be made in writing, addressed to the president, and submitted at the next regular meeting of Council for action therein. In the case of the President's resignation, the letter shall be addressed to the Vice-President Internal.
Should an elected position not be filled during the initial elections, the position is to be filled by the newly elected Council. A secret ballot vote is to be held at the next Council meeting. This elected member has the same rights and responsibilities as if they had been elected in the initial elections.
Should a vacancy occur in the Council the runner up in the elections will be appointed, provided they received more votes than the None of the above option. If no one is available for the position, the Council shall as soon as reasonably possible appoint an elections officer for the sole purpose of overseeing a by-election. Council shall open a nomination period of not less than TWO (2) days, followed by an optional day of campaigning, and, finally, ONE (1) day of voting. Voting shall in all other respects conform as nearly as is reasonably possible to Article 8.

In the event that the Society cannot be ratified as a result of the content of this constitution, the current Executive have the ability to make such changes as are deemed necessary by the Vice President (Internal) of the Dalhousie Student Union. These changes become official upon ratification.
1. If any member of the Society wishes to contest the changes, they may do so at the next AGM, or petition the President to call one as per Article 7(C)(iii)(d).
With the exception of circumstances in Article 11(A), amendments to this constitution are subject to the following regulations:
1. Amendments to the constitution can only be made at an AGM.
2. Motions to amend the Constitution must be presented to the VicePresident of the Society no less than one-week before the AGM at which the constitution will be amended.
3. All members are entitled to vote on amendments to the constitution.
4. Voting will be conducted via a show of hands, though any member may request that the motion be voted on by secret ballot. If any one member requests this for any motion, voting must be done by secret ballot.
5. A 2/3 vote is required to pass a motion to amend the constitution.

As stated in Article 6, the President, Vice-President Internal, and Treasurer will be the signing officers of the Society.
At least two signing officers must sign every cheque from the bank account of the Society.
An executive officer cannot sign a cheque made out to his/her self.
The budget will be created each year by the Treasurer, and will be passed by the executive at an Executive meeting.

Society Constitution