President refuses to edit Constitution, By-Laws

[Guest Andrew C]

To begin, I know I should register to avoid CAPTCHA, etc. but I tried and the validation email never goes through (even in junk mail) and for whatever reason I can't contact an administrator. But that's beside the point.

My question has to do with a situation in which my organization needs to edit our Constitution and By-Laws before we vote for new officers at our next weekly meeting. The problem is only the President and our off-campus (we're a college organization) advisor has ever seen and read through the Constitution. They refuse to allow us other members access even though it is (or so I assume since I've never read it) the right of any member to be allowed to read it. When pushed about it they don't say we aren't allowed to according to it just that they won't let us.

Now our President refuses to edit it because our off-campus advisor hasn't been to our meetings lately and said President defers all power to said advisor. Our President is essentially a puppet with strings being pulled by the advisor.

How can my organization go about requesting to edit the Constitution? Is it a simple 2/3 majority vote overrules the President? I don't have a copy of RONR but I did order it from Amazon a few days ago, just waiting for it to arrive. In the meantime I figured I'd ask here. Thanks!

[Josh Martin]

They refuse to allow us other members access even though it is (or so I assume since I've never read it) the right of any member to be allowed to read it.

It is indeed the right of every member to view the organization's Constitution. In fact, RONR recommends that all members be given a copy.

How can my organization go about requesting to edit the Constitution?

Order the President to let members see the Constitution. Heck, while you're at it, you might order that some copies be given out.

Is it a simple 2/3 majority vote overrules the President?

The President doesn't even have that much power. A majority vote (more than half) is sufficient to instruct the President or to overturn his ruling on Appeal (if for some reason he rules the motion out of order).

I'd also take a look at FAQ #20, as it seems that it might be time for a new President, and maybe a new adviser.

[Guest Andrew C]

Thank you very much for your help and the quick response! This answers my question.

[Boss Lady]

Andrew, you can contact me at oliviamevans@yahoo.com. If you think you created your account but can't log in, let me know what email address and/or username you used. Otherwise, I'll create the account for you. Just give me the email address, login name, profile name, and a temporary password that you can change later.

To begin, I know I should register to avoid CAPTCHA, etc. but I tried and the validation email never goes through (even in junk mail) and for whatever reason I can't contact an administrator. But that's beside the point.