Section 1: The name of the organization shall be the Northeastern University Symphony Orchestra (hereafter abbreviated as “NUSO”).
Article 2: Purpose
Section 1: The purpose of the organization shall be to provide an environment for musicians to come together musically and socially, and to prepare a concert each semester.
Article 3: Affiliation
Section 1: NUSO claims no external affiliation.
Section 2: NUSO is affiliated with the NU Music Department.
Section 3: NUSO may affiliate with other NU performing arts organizations for musical and social events.
Article 4: Membership
Section 1: NUSO does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, color, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation.
Section 2: Full membership will be open to all full-time undergraduate students.
Section 3: Associate membership will be open to other NU affiliates (part-time undergraduate students, graduate students, alumni, faculty, staff) and community members. Guest membership is at the discretion of the Director.
Section 4: Auditions shall be held at the discretion of the Director, who reserves the right to select members based upon the audition results. The Director shall make every effort to place all full members, and is subsequently encouraged to employ part rotation rather than select the minimum number of members. Associate members shall not be selected at the expense of a full member.
Section 5: All full members shall be responsible for paying membership dues on a per semester basis.
Section 6: All full members who are in undergraduate classes in a given semester are required to register for MUS1906. In addition, any student who is registered for MUS1906 is required to be a full member of NUSO.
Section 7: A member in good standing is defined as one who has no more than one unexcused absence from a rehearsal or required meeting, no absences from any dress rehearsals or concerts (excepting emergencies), and no outstanding debts to the organization (including dues).An excused absence is only acceptable for a family emergency or illness. Missing rehearsal due to schoolwork, projects, or exams that do not occur during normal rehearsal time constitutes an unexcused absence.
Section 8: A member who is not in good standing at the end of a semester may not rejoin NUSO for one following semester. If a member is not in good standing at the completion of a semester, their future with the NUSO is at the joint discretion of the Director and the Council.
Article 5: Officers
Section 1: The officers of NUSO, in order of succession, shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Manager, Fundraising Coordinator, and Events Coordinator.
Section 2: The officers must be full-time undergraduate students at Northeastern University.
Section 3: All officers must have been a NUSO member in good standing for at least one full semester before taking office, unless the Council votes on a two-thirds majority otherwise.
Section 4: The President must have been on NUSO Council for at least one full semester before taking office.
Section 5: The Events Coordinator must have traveled on at least one tour with NUSO before taking office.
Section 6: All officers shall hold their position for one full year, beginning in Summer 1.
Article 6: Director
Section 1: The Director must be a faculty or staff member at the NU Music Department.
Section 2: The Director is in charge of auditions, seating assignments, selecting repertoire, musical rehearsals and performances, and is the conductor of NUSO.
Section 3: Student conductors are permitted, and are chosen at the Director’s discretion.
Article 7: Organization Advisor
Section 1: The advisor must be a full-time faculty or staff member at Northeastern. The advisor will be an ex officio, non-voting member on all committees of the organization.
Section 2: The advisor will be responsible for financial oversight by signing all financial forms for the Student Activities Business Office.
Article 8: Election of Officers
Section 1: Elections shall be publicized to all members two weeks in advance.
Section 2: The elections will take place by the rehearsal before last concert of the spring semester.
Section 3: A voting member is defined as a full member in good standing as defined in Article 4, Sections 2 and 7.
Section 4: Quorum for elections is defined as three-quarters of all voting members.
Section 5: All members interested in running must submit their name to the Council before the elections begin. All candidates must be voting members and meet eligibility requirements as defined in Article 5.
Section 6: A member may run for multiple offices, as elections will be held in a drop-down procedure, but may only hold one position.
Section 7: All candidates will briefly address the members before the vote is held. They must then leave the room during the vote.
Section 8: Elections will be held in the order of succession. The highest ranking officer shall officiate the election, unless all current officers run for the Presidential position at the same time, in which case the Director shall be considered the highest ranking officer. A candidate is voted into office with a simple majority of hand raises. A vote of “No Confidence” is also taken for each position being elected. The highest-ranked officer not running shall not vote, except in the case of a tie.
Article 9: Duties of Officers
Section 1: All Officers
A) All officers shall be responsible for knowing and understanding the information in the NU Campus Activities Policies and Procedures, NU Code of Student Conduct, and the NUSO Constitution.
B) All officers shall be responsible for upholding the image and intergrity of the NUSO.
C) All officers shall be responsible for updating their respective Sustainability Documents as necessary.
Section 2: President
A) The President shall be in charge of upholding the integrity and vision of the NUSO.
B) The President shall be the chairperson of the Council. This includes planning Council meeting agendas, preparing for elections, and on-boarding all new Council members.
C) The President shall be the representative to Campus Activities Office and all outside agencies.
D) The President shall be responsible for overseeing all activities of NUSO, except the oversight assigned to the Director and Advisor in Articles 6 and 7.
E) The President shall be a member of all committees of NUSO.
F) The President shall assign other duties not specified by the Constitution to the Council members, as he/she sees fit.
Section 3: Vice President
A) The Vice President shall help to accomplish all goals set pertaining to communication, image and the overall welfare of NUSO. This includes the maintenance of the NUSO website and all media outlets.
B) The Vice President shall be responsible for organizing the recruitment efforts of NUSO. If the Vice President is not on or near campus during the summer, the highest-ranked officer who is on or near campus shall be responsible for recruiting, in conjunction with the Secretary.
C) The Vice President shall publicize all concerts to the public and to the NU community.
D) The Vice President shall be responsible for taking pictures of social events and posting them on the website.
Section 4: Secretary
A) The Secretary shall handle all internal communications and affairs, acting as the contact for members as well as the initial contact for all communication between non-member individuals.
B) The Secretary shall keep minutes of all general and Council meetings, and keep members updated on current initiatives arising from such meetings.
C) The Secretary shall register NUSO with the Campus Activities Office during the first month of each semester, and after every change of officers.
D) The Secretary shall maintain the internal documents of the Council, including the membership roster.
E) The Secretary shall take attendance at every required rehearsal, and report the attendance to the Director halfway through the semester and at the end of each semester.
F) The Secretary shall distribute the Constitution and all registration policies to members.
Section 5: Treasurer
A) The Treasurer shall be responsible for the organization and bookkeeping of NUSO funds.
B) The Treasurer shall maintain regular communication with the Student Activities Business Office staff and the Finance Board.
C) The Treasurer shall oversee all financial transactions of NUSO, including coordination of finances with outside organizations.
D) The Treasurer shall give reports at Council meetings as to disbursement, income, balance and accounts payable.
E) The Treasurer shall prepare all budget requests and spending reports as necessary during the fiscal year.
F) The Treasurer shall work with the Council to set the rate of dues, and shall collect them from each full-time member.
G) The Treasurer shall collect funds from members to pay for social events (including Tour), fundraisers, apparel, and other expenses.
Section 8: Manager
A) The Manager shall oversee the copying, distribution, and collection of music and music-related forms.
B) The Manager shall organize equipment facilities at least once per year.
C) The Manager shall maintain the inventory and the condition of all instruments owned by NUSO. This includes new acquisitions and repairs.
D) The Manager shall maintain the inventory and the condition of all music used by NUSO.
E) The Manager shall maintain communication with the Director concerning music and equipment.
F) The Manager shall coordinate the usage of instruments between members and external organizations.
G) The Manager shall perform stage managerial duties as needed.
Section 6: Fundraising Coordinator
A) The Fundraising Coordinator shall be responsible for the planning and execution of all NUSO fundraisers.
B) The Fundraising Coordinator shall be responsible for coordinating concert program ad sales.
C) The Fundraising Coordinator shall report income from all fundraisers to the Council.
Section 7: Events Coordinator
A) The Events Coordinator is responsible for all aspects of Tour planning and execution, including, but not limited to, performances, lodging, transportation, educational activities, and social activities on Tour.
B) The Events Coordinator must be the liaison on behalf of NUSO for all external social events.
C) The Events Coordinator must coordinate with the Fundraising Coordinator in a joint committee for social events that may incur funds.
D) The Events Coordinator will be responsible for senior gifts at the end of every school semester.
Article 10: Parliamentary Authority
Section 1: Quorum for Council meetings shall be defined as fifty percent of the officers plus one.
Section 2: Quorum for general meetings shall be defined as fifty percent of the voting members plus one.
Section 3: The highest-ranking presiding officer may not vote except in case of a tie.
Section 4: Any member may attend a Council meeting. In special circumstances, the President may hold a closed meeting, with majority approval of Council.
Section 5: All members may be notified of all Council meetings. All members will be notified of all general meetings in advance.
Section 6: The President may organize committees within NUSO. The Chairperson must be a full member, and their appointment must be approved by majority vote of Council on a per-semester basis. The Chairperson may select the committee members.
Section 7: Robert’s Rules of Order will be the guide for all organization procedures not specifically defined in this Constitution.
Article 11: Removal
Section 1: Failure to meet responsibilities as set forth in the Constitution and by the President shall constitute sufficient grounds for removal from office.
Section 2: Any NUSO full-time member bringing charges against a member of the Council for the purpose of removal from office shall present these charges in writing at an official Council meeting.
Section 3: Members of the Council shall be removed from their office by a three-quarters majority vote of the voting members of NUSO.
Article 12: Resignation
Section 1: The resignation of a Council officer should be presented in writing at a Council meeting at least three weeks prior to the effective date of said resignation.
Article 13: Vacancies in Office
Section 1: If an officer is removed from office, a special election must be held within two weeks of the removal. This election must be publicized immediately after the removal. Until the election, the duties of that position (except for President and Treasurer) shall be divided among the other Council members. The President and Treasurer positions shall be filled by the next officer in the order of succession until the special election.
Section 2: If an officer resigns, a special election must be held before the resignation goes into effect. This election must be publicized immediately after the Council receives the resignation.
Section 3: If an officer position is not filled by regular or special elections, the President (incoming President in the case of regular elections) shall appoint a member to the position. The appointment must be approved by majority of the Council. If a suitable appointment cannot be found, the duties of that position (except for President and Treasurer) shall be divided among the other Council members until another member is appointed. The President and Treasurer positions shall be filled by the next officer in the order of succession until the appointment.
Article 14: Interpretation
Section 1: Any conflict in interpretation of the Constitution will be decided by the Council in a Quorum vote as defined by Article 10.
Section 2: All qualifications for officer positions are subject to special circumstances as decided by the Council.
Section 3: Conflicting issues between the Syllabus and the Constitution will be resolved through a joint decision between the Director and the Council.
Article 15: Amendments
Section 1: An amendment may be proposed by any Council member, or by petition signed by at least one-third of all voting members.
Section 2: Notice of the proposed amendment must be presented in writing at least one meeting prior to the voting, except at an official Constitutional Review Meeting.
Section 3: The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of present full members in good standing.
Section 4: The Council shall review the Constitution each semester, at a Constitutional Review Meeting, to ensure it is in alignment with the purpose of the organization.
