BET Constitution

Article I. Name

Article II. Purpose and Membership

Bet is open to all members of the Brandeis Community regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual preference, class, age, nationality, use of funky chew toys, or disability. We encourage all interested persons to get involved.

Article III. Board Structure

• There shall be two coordinators. The coordinators will be responsible for conducting all meetings, tallying votes, and insuring adherence to the rules of the constitution. The co-coordinators shall also be responsible for attending, or insuring representation at, UTC meetings and working with campus administration to book spaces as needed. The co-coordinators will not vote on club matters in order to serve as tie-breakers on a rotating basis, excluding any involvement in the voting conflict.
• There shall be one secretary responsible for publicizing all meetings, taking and distributing minutes of all meetings, tracking attendance, submitting relevant material to the UTC webmaster, and ensuring adherence to membership guidelines.
• There shall be one treasurer responsible for maintaining financial records, creating a semesterly budget, appearing before the Senate Allocations Board with an additional BET representative, or ensuring that BET is fully represented during Marathon Sessions and for other financial requests and working with all BET producers to ensure the proper distribution of monies.
• BET will seek to engage a faculty member who will act as an artistic consultant to provide suggestions and information to the group.

• In the meeting prior to scheduled elections nominations will be accepted.
• Positions shall be elected by a simple majority of current voting members.
• Any positions not filled in spring elections will be filled by election at the beginning of the fall semester.
• Officers shall be elected to one-year terms.
• To be elected, one must be a voting member of BET.
• Following elections, there will be an apprenticeship with the outgoing board.
• New board members will assume their duties at the end of the school year.
• If a voting member cannot attend a meeting, a proxy vote may be submitted in writing to the co-coordinators, provided it is received prior to the tally of the vote.

• In the meeting prior to scheduled elections nominations will be accepted.
• The two candidates with the highest number of votes shall be elected.
• One voting board member will refrain from voting in order to serve as a tie-breaker.
• In the case of co-coordinators running for re-election, they will abstain from tallying votes and will gain the opportunity to vote.
• Any positions not filled in spring elections will be filled by election at the beginning of the fall semester.
• Officers shall be elected to one-year terms.
• To be elected, one must be a voting member of BET.
• Following elections, there will be an apprenticeship with the outgoing board.
• New board members will assume their duties at the end of the school year.

• A request for a Board Member's resignation must be made in writing to the Board.
• The Board will evaluate the legitimacy of the request.
• If the request is deemed legitimate by the Board, the resignation request and the accused's response will be presented and brought to a vote at a general meeting.

Article IV. Club Structure

• Specific cases that are not clearly determined will be handled by the board.

• There shall be a minimum of four meetings per semester.
• General meetings will be publicized at least one week in advance.
• Proposal and nomination meetings should be publicized at least two weeks in advance, and at no time will be publicized less than one week in advance.

Article V. BET Season

• In the fall semester, BET shall sponsor, if accepted, one full-length mainstage show.
• In the spring semester, BET shall, if accepted, one full length mainstage show and/or an evening of shorter works, preferably projects developed in the fall semester, as a mainstage show. The club should work to actively foster the development of material for the festival of shorter works.

  Selection of projects for the spring show shall be determined by the project proposal guidelines described below in section 2.

  Once selection has been completed, the coordinators of all projects involved shall appoint a common Producer, Coordinator and Stage Manager (for run-of-show purposes only).

• Independent of mainstage shows, BET will also sponsor projects as described below.

• At any general BET meeting a project can be proposed in writing.

  The person who proposes becomes the director or coordinator of the project.

  Interested people, who are not limited to BET members, will establish a meeting time outside of the bi-monthly BET meetings.

• At the following BET meetings, status reports are submitted in writing to the Board and presented to the club.
• When the project has been developed sufficiently, status report that states an intention to propose is submitted.

  Development can include, but is not limited to, writing, choreographing, or composing an original piece, re-examining an interesting script, or putting together a stage reading.

  This is a request for a production staff and an indication that the project has enough merit to become a show or a work-in-progress.

  The project will be proposed as either a full show or a work in progress at the next BET meeting.

• There are five possible ways the club can vote: Accept, Accept as part of a spring festival of shorter works, Accept as a Work-In-Progress, Postpone, or Reject.

  The vote for a work-in-progress indicates a proposal which is ready for presentation on a less formal scale.

  A proposal requires a Producer, Director, Stage Manager, Budget, and Proposed dates and space.

Mainstage Proposals

• The proposal meeting for the Fall semester show will occur prior to the date selection deadline established by the UTC coordinator.
• For a spring festival of shorter works, the meeting of all selected projects will occur, and its results will be presented prior to the date selection deadline established by the UTC coordinator.
• Persons proposing must contact the Board and discuss the proposal at least one week prior to the general proposal meeting to insure the inclusion of all the required elements as detailed below.
• Proposals must include the following:

  Production staff, including, for the fall show, at least a Producer, Stage Manager and Director, and for the spring show, at least a Producer, Coordinator, and Stage Manager.

  Preliminary Budget, including a detailed breakdown of both expenses and projected income.

  Play synopsis, character breakdown, and crucial technical aspects.

  Production statement as to why this show is appropriate for BET.

  Proposed dates

• E. Further explanation of proposal guidelines will be made available to all interested persons by individual request.

Article VI. Constitutional Amendments

Amendments will be adopted by a 2/3 vote of approval at a general meeting. The proposed amendments must be publicized at least one week prior to the meeting.

Article VII. Ratification