Pad the Mitten Constitution

Pad the Mitten’s Constitution

ARTICLE I: NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1: The name of this organization shall be: Pad the Mitten

Section 2: The organization hopes to eradicate period poverty in the state of Michigan through service, education, and advocacy. The organization will host drives to collect period products for those in need, and the donations will be distributed to nearby homeless shelters, refugee centers, low-income hospitals, and others in need. Education will be based on discussions in club meetings. Students at MSU come from different backgrounds; and our goal on campus is to reduce the stigma surrounding periods, have period products be more accessible to students, and ensure that they are having hygienic periods. Advocacy can help Michigan join the states that do not tax period products. It will also assist in getting more period products in public spaces, like dorms or educational building bathrooms.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: Any MSU student may be a member of Pad the Mitten. The organization will not discriminate on the basis of age, color, gender, gender identity, disability status, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or weight. Also, only MSU students may be officers and/or voting members. 

Section 2: A person can become a member by attending three meetings/events per semester. This, along with obeying the rules of the constitution, will place them in good standing for the following semester.

ARTICLE III: OFFICERS

Section 1: The President,Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Outreach Chair, Education Chairs shall serve from August 15th to May 10th.

Section 2: Any member in good standing can run for an office position. Nominations are not necessary. Candidates pursuing am executive board position will apply when applications come out every March.

Section 3: The President will plan topics for club meetings, email service partners (places that will accept donations), approve donations and menstrual hygiene products (MHPs)/supplies orders, coordinate donation drives, and approve university financial account transactions. 

The Secretary will email the member email list (student members) to promote club meeting’s and initiatives, validate that Member Email List is updated, track quantity of MHPs donated (Excel), schedule club events (determine meeting dates by polling members and find rooms that are available and accommodate needs of the meeting). 

The Treasurer will coordinate fundraising for club operations, execute university financial account transactions after permission from the president, and keep track of spending. They will also help connect Pad the Mitten to small businesses for menstrual and self-care products that we can promote to our club members.

Outreach Director(s) will create and upload posts for social media to promote club events and initiatives, attend events to promote our club to potential members, update member email list, plan collaborations with other RSO’s, and maintain student member engagement to create a succession plan.

The Education Committee Members will find documentaries and informative videos for club events, and they will also help the President research topics for club meetings. They will take charge on education based events and delegate work for education meetings to other e-board members.

Section 4: An officer can be removed from their position if they are not in good standing as a member. They can be removed if they do not fulfill the duties requested by Article III, Section 3. They can also be subject to removal if a group member feels as though they are not suited for a leadership position. An officer will officially be removed if there is a majority secret vote. 

ARTICLE IV: OPERATING PROCEDURES

Section 1: Club meetings should be bi-weekly. The times will be in the evenings. Events might occur at any time throughout the semester. A quorum will be 5 members. 

Section 2: The rules of order will be by parliamentary procedure. Motions can only occur when a quorum is met. A member may make a motion during a club meeting or an executive board member may make a motion during an executive board session. This motion must be seconded and then voted on by the present bodies. 

Section 3: The executive committee consists of Mackenzie Lovell (President), Ananyaa Asthana (Vice President), Alexa Banning (Treasurer), Natalia Velychko (Secretary), Paige Lawson (Outreach Chair), Anjali Shrimanker (Social Media Chair), Tatum Fettig (Education Chair).

ARTICLE V: AMENDMENTS

Section 1: Any member may propose to make an amendment. The proposal must be then sent to the executive committee. 

Section 2: Amendments can be made by editing the constitution on the Google document. It must then be resubmitted to the Community.

Section 3: Amendments are approved by the executive committee and advisor.