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House of Apollo Constitution

Preamble:

The House of Apollo Constitution exists with the intention to broadly define policies which affect the administration, membership and finances of the House, as well as the rights and values of its Members. The policies within this document are intentionally more difficult to amend than those found other documents, as the Members of House of Apollo have decided that these policies should only be amended with great consideration and care.

1. Definitions

a. ‘House of Apollo’ and ‘the House’ will be defined as the organization which resides at 236 N. Harrison Road, East Lansing, Michigan.

b. ‘Premises’ will be defined as the land and building in which the House resides.

c. ‘Member’ will be defined as any person who holds a contract with the MSU Student Housing Cooperative for residence in/at or occupation of the Premises, for the duration which is stated in the contract.

d. ‘Total Membership’ will be defined as the number of Members of House of Apollo.

e. ‘Member Space’ will be defined as any room of the Premises which may be, but has not yet been, designated to a Member (or Members) for occupation during their membership of House of Apollo.

f. ‘Member Room’ will be defined as a room which has been designated to a Member (or Members) for occupation during their membership of House of Apollo.

g. ‘Common Space’ will be defined as all of the Premises which is not a Member Space.

h. ‘House Property’ will be defined as all items located on the Premises which do not belong to any combination of individual members.

i. ‘House Approval’ will be defined as either:
1. i. A majority vote of members present at a quorum House Meeting who are in favor of a proposal.
2. ii. A majority vote of members comprising Total Membership who are in favor of a proposal.

2. Membership

a. No one may reside in House of Apollo without first signing a valid contract, except guests of members of House of Apollo.

b. Prospective members must undergo the following process prior to signing a Contract for Membership, Co-Management, & Occupancy for House of Apollo:
1. i. Prospective member must first be an applicant approved by the SHC.
2. ii. Prospective member must be given a tour of the House, and have explained all responsibilities of a member of House of Apollo.
3. iii. Prospective member must attend one regular House meal.
4. iv. Prospective member must attend one regular House meeting.
5. v. Prospective member must be approved with House Approval.

c. Prospective member will be allowed to sign a Contract for Membership, Co-Management, & Occupancy with House Approval.

d. Prospective members with become members for the duration stated on their completed Contract for Membership, Co-Management, & Occupancy upon payment of Member Shares and Member Dues.

e. Members are required to:
1. i. Understand and promote the Rochdale Principles of Cooperation.
2. ii. Take an active part in the affairs of the House by attending House meetings.
3. iii. Maintain House facilities beyond the scope of regular chores.
4. iv. Obey all rules and policies that are decided by the House, so long as they comply with the rules and policies of the MSU SHC.

f. Inactive Membership
1. i. An Inactive Member will:
  1. 1. Have their charges reduced for the duration of Inactive Membership for those costs of the House which are reduced by Member’s absence.
  2. 2. Not be counted as a member of House of Apollo for the purpose of determining Total Membership.
  3. 3. Have no right to vote in matters of the House.

1. ii. A member who plans to be absent from the House for a period of time may apply for Inactive Membership by notifying the Finance Officer in advance of a House Meeting, which precedes the desired date range of Inactive Membership.
2. iii. A member will be declared an Inactive Member for a proposed range of dates with House Approval. Inactive Membership will never be applied retroactively, and proposed ranges of dates will always begin at any time following the proposal.

3. Member Rooms

a. Before the end of each contract period, the order of seniority for all contracted future members of House of Apollo will be determined for the following contract period. The Membership Officer will then, in order of most senior to least senior, allow each contracted future member to choose their Member Room for the following contract period.
1. i. Seniority is determined by the number of continuous semesters a member has been contracted with House of Apollo. In the event of a tie, the most recent contract signing dates will be compared and used as a tie-breaker, followed by the number of semesters lived in the SHC. In the event of a tie at this stage, the House will determine the best method for determining seniority.
2. ii. Returning members have the right to retain their Member Room for the coming contract period. The Membership Officer will account for this if notified of the returning member’s will in advance.

b. In the event that a member wishes to release their contract, they will be responsible for finding a replacement for their Member Room, as opposed to any existing vacant Member Space within the House. Until a replacement member has signed a contract, a member retains all rights to their Member Room regardless of occupation.
c. A member may trade their Member Room with another member if both parties agree to do so.
1. i. In this case, both parties are equally responsible for notifying the Member Services Coordinator of the MSU SHC and the Finance Officer of House of Apollo in writing and in a timely manner.

4. Guests

a. Any person who is not a member of the House, who is also brought onto the Premises by a Member, will be considered a guest of that member.
b. Guests may stay on the Premises overnight provided the following conditions are met:
1. i. If the guest will be using a parking space overnight, the member will notify the House with a description of the guest’s vehicle.

5. Events Policy

a. Parties
1. i. An event that takes place on the Premises of House of Apollo shall be defined as a party when all of the following conditions are met:
  1. 1. The event is advertised to Houses of the MSU SHC.
  2. 2. The event takes place in Common Space.
  3. 3. The party has live entertainment or amplified music.

ii. A party may only take place with House Approval.
1. 1. A member of the House who votes in favor of hosting a party will be expected to participate in the setup and cleanup of the party.
2. 2. A member of the House who votes in opposition of hosting a party is expected to not participate in the festivities of the party. Such members will not be expected to participate in the setup and cleanup of the party.

iii. A party must be approved for a specific date. In the event that a specific date is not included in the proposed in advance of House Approval, a party is never truly approved by the House.
iv. There will be no more than one party hosted during a semester.

6. Administrative Positions

a. The titles and primary responsibilities of administrative positions within House of Apollo will consist of:
1. i. Membership Officer
  1. 1. Responsible for communicating with prospective members in a timely manner, as well as scheduling House tours, House meals, and House meeting visits with all prospective members.
  2. 2. Responsible for alerting prospective members whether they have been approved by the House in a timely manner.
  3. 3. Responsible for reporting the discussions and decisions of the Membership Committee during House meetings.

ii. Education Officer
1. 1. Responsible for submitting the latest revised House of Apollo Constitution to the Vice President of Education.
2. 2. Responsible for compiling a digital album of photos of the House and its Members.
3. 3. Responsible for reporting the discussions and decisions of the Education Committee during House meetings.

iii. Finance Officer
1. 1. Responsible for paying bills issued to House of Apollo in a timely manner.
2. 2. Responsible for reimbursing members for purchases authorized by the House in a timely manner.
3. 3. Responsible for recording accurate and up-to-date information in the House of Apollo Charge Sheet and the House of Apollo Reconciliation Workbook, as well as ensuring each of these documents are available for viewing by all Members of House of Apollo at all times.
4. 4. Responsible for reporting the discussions and decisions of the Finance Committee during House meetings.

iv. Facilities Officer
1. 1. Responsible for keeping a detailed list of ongoing maintenance concerns.
2. 2. Responsible for facilitating maintenance projects that are beyond the capabilities of the Members of House of Apollo.
3. 3. Responsible for reporting the discussions and decisions of the Facilities Committee during House meetings.

v. Taskmaster
1. 1. Responsible for determining whether chores and work duties assigned to members have been completed.
2. 2. Responsible for setting a consistent time that completion of chores and work duties will be assessed on a weekly basis.
3. 3. Responsible for reporting chore and work duty fines given and bounties taken to the Finance Officer in a timely manner.
4. 4. Responsible for ensuring the accuracy of fines and credits listed on the House of Apollo Charge Sheet prior to the end of each month.

vi. Meeting Facilitator
1. 1. Responsible for ensuring House meeting procedure is adhered to by all of those in attendance of each House meeting.

vii. Meeting Minute Taker
1. 1. Responsible for recording the minutes of every quorum House meeting, as well as ensuring that all meeting minutes are available for viewing by all Member of Apollo at all times.
2. 2. Responsible for recording the number of those in favor, those opposed, and those abstaining of all proposals which have met quorum during or outside of meetings.

7. Amendment

a. Amendments to the House of Apollo Constitution will be made only after the following conditions are met in the order written as follows:
1. i. The proposed amendment will be presented as will be written during a quorum House meeting.
2. ii. The proposed amendment will be posted for a minimum of two weeks prior to voting.
3. iii. The proposed amendment will be approved by a present ⅔ of Total Membership during a House meeting.
  1. 1. In the event that ⅔ approval is not met by Members present during a House meeting, the remaining members comprising Total Membership will be allowed two weeks to submit their written opinions to be addended to the House meeting Minutes. If ⅔ approval is met by including the addended opinions, the amendment will be approved.

b. Each amended revision of the House of Apollo Constitution will be archived and available for viewing by all Members of House of Apollo at all times.

8. Supremacy Clause

a. All policies and directives established by the House of Apollo Constitution, the House of Apollo Standing Rules and valid decisions of the House will be binding on the House and its Members in the following descending order of supremacy:
1. i. The House of Apollo Constitution
2. ii. The House of Apollo Standing Rules
3. iii. Decisions of House of Apollo