Washington, DC, 1997.
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Virginia
Polytechnic Institute
German Club
CONSTITUTION
Revised Edition
This body shall be known as the Virginia Polytechnic Institute German Club.
The object of this Club shall be to promote dancing at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
The Club shall consist of such students, professors and instructors of the Institute, together with such other persons as may be elected to membership according to this Constitution.
Section
1. There shall be held a regular annual meeting at such time and place as the President may appoint, on the Wednesday nearest the eighth day of June of each year, for the purpose of electing officers for the succeeding session and for the dispatch of such other business as may come before the Club.
Sec
. 2. Special meetings may be held at any time and place the President may appoint.
Section
1. There shall be not more than fifty active members, four of whom shall be officers.
Sec
. 2. (
a
) Members of the faculty of the Institute and such other persons as the Club may see fit, may be elected honorary members, and shall have all the privileges of active members except voting and holding office.
(
b
) Honorary members shall be exempt from all fees whatsoever.
(
c
) Active members of this Club shall become honorary members after severing their connection with the Institute. This is not meant to include those who shall sever their connection and subsequently re-connect themselves with the Institute.
Section 1. An election to fill any vacancy or vacancies in membership may be held at any meeting.
Sec. 2. Election to membership in this Club shall be by secret ballot, each person being ballotted for separately, and three votes against any one person shall disqualify him, but his name may be voted upon again during the collegiate year.
Sec. 3 Newiy elected members shall be installed at the meeting succeeding their election and the installation shall be as follows: The President shall read to the members elect:
“Mr. —, being now about to become a member of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute German Club, do you solemnly promise to abide by its Constitution, to guard its reputation, to divulge none of its private affairs and to perform to the best of your ability the duties incident to your membership?”
The member answers, “I do.”
Section
1. There shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, and Leader, and the Secretary and Treasurer shall be one and the same person.
Sec
. 2. Tbeir term of office shall be one collegiate year.
Sec
. 3. The President, Leader and Secretary and
Section 1. The election of officers shall be held at the regular annual meeting in June.
Sec. 2. Officers of this Club shall be elected by secret ballot and each officer shall be voted for separately.
Sec. 3. The method of voting for officers shall be as follows: Each member of the Club present shall write the name of the nominee for whom he desires to vote upon a slip of paper and present it to the Secretary; the officers of the Club shall count the ballots, and the nominee receiving the lowest number of votes shall be declared out of nomination and the remaining nominees again voted upon. This shall be continued until there remain only two nominees, whereupon the one obtaining a majority of the votes shall be declared elected.
Section
1. (
a
) It shall be the duty of the President to call and preside at all meetings and to appoint all committees unless otherwise ordered by the Club.
(
b
) It shall be his duty to call a meeting of the Club upon the request of a quorum of its members, and as soon as practicable thereafter.
(
c
) It shall be his duty to notify the Secretary of his intention of calling a meeting at least one hour before the time such meeting is to take place.
(
d
) He shall be
ex-officio
member of the Reception Committee and shall exercise a general supervision over the affairs of the Club.
(
e
) It shall be his duty to invite visiting members of other German Clubs and such other persons as he may see fit to participate in the social functions of this Club.
Sec
. 2. It shall be the duty of the Vice-President to assume the duties of the President in the absence of the latter.
Sec
. 3. (
a
) It shall be the duty of the Secretary and Treasurer to keep full and complete minutes of all meetings and to collect and disburse all funds of the Club, and to be personally responsible for the same.
(
b
) It shall be his duty to furnish to the Club at the regular annual meeting to be held in June of each year, and at such other times as he may be directed by the President or a quorum of the members, itemized statements of all moneys received and disbursed, and to produce, if requested, receipts for all moneys disbursed.
(
c
) It shall be his duty to provide proper admittance cards for each german or hop and to issue same to each member of the Club upon the payment by that member of all indebtedness to the Club, including the price charged for that particular german or hop.
(
d
) It shall be his duty to provide a door-keeper, whose duty it shall be to collect tickets at the door of the hall and to admit no one not provided with the proper admittance card.
(
e
) It shall be his duty to have published before the Corps of Cadets, and to notify personally or otherwise such members as this may not reach, of the time and place of holding meetings.
(
f
) It shall be his duty to receive the reports of the several committees as to the cost of performing the duties of those several committees, and from the figures thus obtained to estimate as near as possible the total cost per member of the german or hop.
(
g
) It shall be his duty to turn over to his successor all books, papers, ballot-boxes and other property of of the Club.
Sec
. 4. (
a
) It shall be the duty of the Leader to lead all germans and to exercise a general supervision over all social functions during their progress.
(
b
) The Leader may, however, if he chooses, allow any one he sees fit to lead part of the german.
(
c
) The Leader shall be invested with entire and absolute authority during the progress of a german or a hop, over all members, and shall have the right to expel from the hall any member or members who shall persistently and willfully disobey his orders or any part of this Constitution.
(
d
) It shall be his duty to see that dance-cards are distributed at the proper time.
Section
1. There shall be four standing committees appointed as soon as practicable after the opening of the session to serve throughout the collegiate year. viz: Committee on refreshments, to consist of two men; Committee on invitations, to consist of three men; Committee on reception, to consist of three men; Committee on music, to consist of two men.
Sec
. 2, (
a
) There shall be a Floor Committee appointed at least one week before each german to serve for that particular german and no longer.
(
b
) Special committees for other purposes may be appointed at any time.
Sec
. 1. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Refreshments to report to the Club at least three days before each german the kind and the cost of the refreshments it wishes served at that german, and if its report be approved by the Club to arrange for the refreshments.
Sec
. 2. (
a
) It shall be the duty of the Committee on Invitations to secure proper invitations for each german and to distribute same among the members of the Club, two to each member.
(
b
) It shall be the duty of this Committee to procure and hold subject to the disposal of the Leader, proper dance-cards for each german.
(
c
) It shall be the duty of this Committee to furnish to the Secretary and Treasurer, at least two days before each german, the cost of invitations and dance-cards for that german.
Sec
. 3. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Reception to meet the visiting young ladies at Christiansburg and accord them such assistance as they may need.
Sec
. 4. (
a
) It shall be the duty of the Committee on Music to ascertain the cost of the music which it proposes to engage and report to the Club at least two days before each german, and if its report is approved by the Club, to engage the music.
(
b
) If an orchestra from a distance be engaged, it
Sec
. 5. (
a
) It shall be the duty of the Floor Committee to prepare the floor and hall for dancing and to provide suitable dressing-rooms for the ladies and for the gentlemen.
(
b
) It shall be the duty of this Committee to provide the dressing rooms with the necessary toilet articles and to provide servants for the ladies' and and for the gentlemen's dressing rooms.
(
c
) It shall be the duty of this Committee to see that the hall is properly heated and lighted.
(
d
) It shall be the duty of this Committee to provide comfortable seats for the chaperons.
Section
1. (
a
) There shall be held four regular germans during the collegiate year, viz: One at the opening of the session, to be known as the Opening German; one near Thanksgiving, to be known as the Thanksgiving German; one near Easter, to be known as the Easter German; and one on Tuesday night during Finals, to be known as the Tuesday Night German.
Section
1. No member of the Club shall drink any intoxicating liquor within twenty-four hours immediately preceding the time of commencement of a german, upon pain of being dismissed from the Club. This shall be construed as prohibiting the drinking of beer, wine and all spirituous liquors of whatever kind.
Section
1. No member of this Club shall take it upon himself to invite any male person whomsoever to participate in any social function of the Club, except as provided in Article IX, Section 1 (
e
), of this Constitution.
Section
1. No member of this Club shall make, directly or indirectly, any engagement or engagements for dances until immediately preceding the german, and only after he shall have entered the hall.
Section
1. Any member of this Club who is a stag at any german shall pay a fine of fifty cents.
Section
1. Each new member shall, upon the payment of his initiation fee, be presented with a certificate of membership and a copy of the Constitution.
Section
1. The initiation fee for new members shall be five dollars, and shall be paid to the Treasurer before
Section
1. (
a
) No member shall be absent from any meeting, and any member failing to attend any meeting shall be fined twenty-five cents.
(
b
) The Club may, upon proper excuse being offered, remit the fine.
Sec
. 2. (
a
) No member shall be absent from any german or hop, and any member failing to attend shall be fined the amount of the price charged for the german or hop.
(
b
) The Club may, upon proper excuse being offered by the member, remit the fine, but except in extraordinary circumstances no excuse, except death in his family, unavoidable absence from the Institute or confinement in the hospital on account of sickness, shall be considered.
Section
1. A member of the Club may resign at any time.
Sec
. 2. Any member who shall resign from the Club and desires to be readmitted shall be treated as a new member; that is, he shall be again voted upon and required to pay the initiation fee.
Section
1. The Club shall decide at least two days before each german the kind of uniform to be worn at that german, and no member shall wear a uniform other than that decided to be worn.
See
. 2. All members of this Club who do not wear the uniform shall wear full dress or Tuxedos to all germans.
Sec
. 3. All members of this Club in uniform shall wear white gloves throughout the opening figure of all germans.
Section
1. A motion to amend or alter this Constitution shall be in writing and shall be read before the Club and then lie on the Secretary's table sixty days, when it shall be adopted only by a vote of two-thirds of the entire membership of the Club.
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BLACKSBURG.