UNC-Wilmington Model United Nations Association

Welcome

The Constitution

of the

The University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Model United Nations Association

Article I. Name

The name of this organization shall be the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Model United Nations Association, hereafter referred to as the MUNA.

Article II. Affiliation

Section 1: This organization is not affiliated with any local, state, national, or international organizations.

Article III. Purpose and Objectives

The purpose(s) of this organization shall be:

Section 1: To promote understanding of foreign governments, peoples, and international political institutions such as, but not limited to, the United Nations through participation in intercollegiate simulations.

Section 2: To facilitate cross-cultural relationships and exchanges of ideas amongst students of diverse backgrounds.

Section 3: To serve as a medium through which students have the opportunity to increase awareness of the global issues facing the international community and foster an environment in which students practice international diplomacy.

Section 4: To provide students the opportunity to participate in open forums held for the discussion of internationally related topics, especially at the competitive Model United Nations conferences.

Article IV. Adherence

The MUNA will adhere to all University rules, regulations, and policies, as well as to all local, state, and federal laws.

Article V. Membership

Section 1: General Requirements: The MUNA shall be open all UNCW students, regardless of discipline or course study.

Section 2: Non-exclusionary Membership Clause: This organization does not discriminate against any student, faculty, or staff based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, handicap, or sexual orientation.

Section 3: Categories of Membership:

• Active members shall be enrolled students at The University of North Carolina at Wilmington .

• Associate members shall be faculty, staff and non-enrolled students.

Section 4: Qualifications and Privileges

All members shall have full voting rights at the General Meetings if:

• He/She maintain good attendance. A member is not allowed to miss more than two unexcused meetings during the academic year (Members may miss a meeting for class or work and must notify the secretary at least one day before the meeting in order for an absence to be excused.) Failure to meet this requirement will result in probation from the organization, to be decided upon by the Executive Board.

• He/She pays dues by the date set annually by the executive board.

Section 5: Expectation of Membership

Members are expected to fully to immerse themselves in the MUNA experience. Members must be prepared to learn the MUNA committee system and be able operate effectively within the committees. Members must be prepared to write policy position papers and resolutions based on intensive research. Members must be willing to represent a country (as part of the organization activities) that may or may not represent their own views on world issues.

The MUNA membership shall at all times attempt to behave in a manner consistent with and in the spirits the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Section 6: Removal Procedures

a) Grounds for removal:

1) Members failing to pay dues by the deadline or maintain good attendance are considered inactive and lose voting privileges; however this is not grounds for total removal from the organization.

2) A member who fails to pay dues, maintain good attendance and does not meet the expectations set forth in section five may be removed from the roster.

b) The Process for Removal:

A member of the executive board must submit a letter outlining the member's offense to the general membership. The offending member has two business days to appeal at which time a hearing before his peers will be scheduled. At the hearing the issue of removal will be put to a vote and requires a 2/3 vote of quorum to remove the member.

Article VI. Advisor

Section 1: Qualifications: The Advisor must be a full-time or part-time faculty or staff member at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington .

Section 2: Responsibilities: The Advisor shall serve as Advisor to the officers and active body concerning the planning and implementation of new activities and programs and in its role of promoting current programs and activities.

Section 3: The Advisor shall have no voting capacities.

Section 4: Advisor shall serve a term of one academic year which can be reviewed annually at the discretion of the Executive Board.

Article VII. Meetings

Section 1: The MUNA will meet once every week for not more than 90 minutes. The Head Delegate, with consent of the Advisor, will call special meetings.

Section 2: Regular meeting dates and times will be set by the Head Delegate. However, the meeting dates and times can be changed by a simple majority vote of the members present.

Section 3: Parliamentary procedure shall be observed at regular meetings in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

Section 4: 50 % of total active membership of the organization shall constitute a quorum. A simple majority, (50%+1) rules.

Article VIII. Officers

Section 1: The leadership structure of this organization is based on the committee leadership hierarchy employed at the National Model United Nations Conference. The MUNA Executive Board shall consist of a Head Delegate/Director, a Vice Head Delegate/Assistant Director, and a Secretary-Treasurer/Rapporteur. The academic advisor shall be an ex-officio member of the Board.

Section 2: Officers are elected to a one-year term with elections being held at the end of the Spring semester.

Section 3: The MUNA officers shall meet as necessary or when called by the assembly.

Section 4: The duties of the officers shall be as follows:

a. The Head Delegate shall:

• Accept the responsibility for the conduct of the MUNA;

• Be the Emissary of the MUNA to other organizations and institutions;

• Be the chair of the General Assembly of the MUNA;

• In consultation with the Executive Committee, appoint members to the ad-hoc committees.

b. The Vice Head-Delegate shall:

• In the temporary absence of the President, preside over the General Assembly and shall succeed the President should the office become vacant;

• Be the chair of the Executive Committee;

• Be responsible for the internal organizational functioning and long term planning of MUNA;

• Be responsible for reserving meeting rooms for the MUNA.

c. The Secretary-Treasurer shall:

• Be in consultation with the Executive Committee, at the beginning of each semester present a budget to the membership;

• Collect and be responsible for dues if and when collection is necessary;

• Track the budget throughout the year to insure that the MUNA stays within its budget;

• Record minutes of and take roster at meetings of the General Assembly and Executive Committee, Conduct necessary correspondences;

• Maintain records for the MUNA.

Section 5: Petition by 1/3 of the total number of members is cause for a recall election. The offense must be stated in writing and submitted by a member. After the offense is submitted to the organization, the offending officer has two-business days to request a hearing. A recall election will be conducted as a “Special Election? Recall requires a majority vote.

Section 6: In the event an elected officer is unable to fulfill his/her term of office, there will be a “Special Election? Any eligible member, including those already holding office, can be nominated for a vacated officer position.

Article IX. Elections

Section 1: Nominations for officer positions may be made from the floor

Section 2: Officers shall be elected for a period of one academic year at the end of each Spring semester and shall assume office at the last General Assembly meeting of the academic year.

Section 3: The Secretary-Treasurer will be in charge of elections. Election of officers shall be by simple majority, voting by secret ballot, which will be tallied by the Advisor. All decisions shall be decided by the consensus.

Section 4: Should the Secretary-Treasurer be running for an office, the Advisor shall be in charge of elections.

Section 5: Any vacancy which may occur in any executive office shall be filled by a temporary appointment by the remaining executive officers, pending ratification at the next group meeting.

Section 6: At said meeting, the vacancy shall be announced and nominations for the election of the permanent officer shall be taken. Elections shall be held two weeks following the announcement.

Article X. Committees

Section 1: The committees of the MUNA shall be the General Assembly and the Executive Committee.

Section 2: The functions of the committees shall be as follows:
a. The General Assembly shall:

1. Be composed of the membership at large,

2. Be chaired by the President,

3. Be for information dissemination.

4. Be for planning organizational activities,

5. Be the instrument for legislation.

6. Be for skill development and education.

b. The Executive Committee shall:

• Be composed of the Head Delegate, the Vice Head Delegate, and the Secretary-Treasurer, the Advisor and the chairs of all standing committees,

• Be chaired by the Vice President,

• Be the instrument for setting policy,

• Be the instrument for implementation of the MUNAs goals, activities, and policies.

Section 3 : Ad-hoc Committees

Ad-hoc committees will be formed as deemed necessary by the campus chapter.

• Be created as necessary to deal with specific issues;

• Elect chairs to head their meetings and represent them at Executive Committee meetings;

• Not overlap in their functions.

Article XI. Finances

Section 1: Dues shall be set at the first meeting of each semester upon recommendation of the Advisor and Executive Board. Dues shall be paid by the last day of business in September.

Section 2: Members are expected to fully cooperate in fundraising activities. Dues may be assessed by the Advisor and Executive Board to cover traveling expenses to Model U.N. conferences.

Section 4: The Secretary-Treasurer, along with other officers, shall be responsible for the preparation of the budget. The budget is subject to the approval by the general assembly. The budget requires a two-thirds vote of quorum to pass.

Section 4: The Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for the disbursement of funds subject to Student Government Association guidelines. In the event of the MUNA being dissolved, all funds remaining in the state account will be remanded to the Student Government Association.

Article XII. Amendments

Section 1: Proposed amendments to the constitution of the MUNA shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Board for review at least one week prior to the scheduled organization meeting.

Section 2: The amendment must be presented to a quorum of the organization at the following organization meeting. All active members must be notified of the proposed amendment at least three days prior to the meeting.

Section 3: A two-third vote of quorum shall be required for adoption of changes to the constitution.

Article XIII. Non-profit Clause

The MUNA is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, or scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distribution to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.

No part of the net earnings of the organization shall inure to the benefit of its members, directors, officers, or other persons except that the organization shall be authorized to empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the exempt purposes of the organization.

In the event of dissolution, the residual assets of the organizations will be turned over to one or more organizations with similar purposes or to one or more organizations described in section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.