The name of this organization is "The Sagan Society of UGA." It may alternately be referred to as TSS.

Article 2 Purpose

Section 1.
TSS is devoted to critical thinking and the objective discussion of contemporary issues and topics. TSS will provide meaningful student-faculty interaction on issues of the day within a rationalist framework. Subsidiary purposes of TSS are found in Article 1 of the Bylaws.

Section 2.
The Sagan Society will abide by all regulations set forth by the University of Georgia (herein denoted as the University) and the Department of Student Activities.

Article 3 Membership and Dues

Section 1.
General membership is open to all humans (homo sapiens sapiens). However, voting is restricted to those members who are students, staff and faculty at the University of Georgia. (Further voting restrictions are specified in Article 5 of the Bylaws.) Meetings are open to the entire community.

Section 2.
TSS does not charge membership dues. TSS will accept donations only.

Section 3.
Neither a member nor a non-member shall represent The Sagan Society without the expressed approval of the officers and/or faculty advisors, which individuals are indentified by Article 2, Sections 1 & 2 of the Bylaws.

Section 4.
Executive membership positions for non-officers (hereby referred to as Representantives-At-Large) are available (although not required for TSS to function). A description of these positions is found in Article 3, Section 9 of the Bylaws.

Article 5 Amendments to the Constitution

The Constitution may be amended, in whole or in part, by at least two-thirds of those eligible members of TSS voting in person, coinciding with officer elections. Proxy and/or absentee ballots are not permitted.

Article 6 Amendments to the Bylaws

The Bylaws may be amended, in whole or in part, by at least one-half plus one of TSS officers in person at general or executive meetings. Proxy and/or absentee ballots are not permitted.

Bylaws

Article 1 Subsidiary Purposes

Section 1.
The general purpose of TSS is found in Article 2 of the Constitution. What follows is a list of additional, side purposes of the TSS:

a) To promote a rational approach to life, education, problem solving and engagement with the world around us.

b) To promote critical thinking.

c) To seek out rational, non-fanciful, logically and empirically defensible explanations to counter-act claims about and beliefs in paranormal events and powers, pseudoscience, superstition and the other creations of fuzzy thinking that pervade our community and society as a whole.

d) To discuss local, regional, national and international issues and events in ways shaped by reasoned argument rather than non-rational ideology.

e) To empower its membership with the opportunity to learn from and meet with prominent speakers who share our rationalist philosophy.

f) To provide a vehicle for informal student-faculty interaction.

g) To allow students and faculty to discuss topics of mutual interest in a supportive, friendly and intellectually stimulating atmosphere.

h) To cultivate an appreciation for life-long learning.

i) To provide access to rationalist viewpoints and information for use by students, faculty and local/regional media.

Article 2 Representation

Section 1.
A member of TSS who is not also an officer may represent TSS as a whole with the approval of: a) the President and two other officers; or, b) all officers besides the President; or, c) one Faculty Advisor and the President.

Section 2.
A non-member may represent TSS with the approval of all members of the executive council.

Article 3 Executive Council (Officers) and Faculty Advisors

Section 1.
The Faculty Advisors will provide supervision for TSS. Faculty Advisors have no general voting powers except where otherwise noted.

Section 2.
The President will serve as the chief relations officer of TSS. The President will execute the promotional agenda of TSS and introduce guest lecturers. The President also has the principal responsibility of attracting speakers and should organize all events with the help of the other officers. The President will also set the agenda for the year, provide direction for TSS, and appoint committees when appropriate. The President has the additional responsibilities of the Social Director (see Section 8) when no person serves as such. The President may appoint this position, as found in Article 4 Section 4 of the Bylaws.

Section 3.
The Vice-President will conduct the executive meetings, serve as President Pro-tempore, appoint committees when appropriate, and ensure TSS's conformity with the Laws and Bylaws of the Constitution of The Sagan Society.

Section 4.
The Secretary will be responsible for recording the minutes of each meeting. The Secretary will also carry out the correspondence, maintain member e-mail lists, and record the attendances as found in Article 6 of the Bylaws.

Section 5.
The Treasurer will be responsible for all financial dealings of TSS. This includes complying with the University's regulations on allocations and reporting.

Section 6.
The Public Relations Agent will be responsible for public relations for TSS under the direction of the President. The Agent will also act as liaison between TSS and the University, and as an advisor to the President.

Section 7.
The Webmaster will be responsible for maintaining the web page of TSS on the University's server. This page must be updated often, and kept in compliance with University standards.

Section 8.
The Social Director will be responsible for directing all social meetings of TSS. Social meetings are those meetings (held at least once every other month during Fall and Spring semesters) that do not include special guest speakers. The Social Director sets up the times and places for social gatherings as well as the topic for discussion, if any. Socials shall ideally take place on Wednesday evenings, but may take place at any appropriate time. The Social Director should make every effort to help facilitate student-faculty rapport at the social gatherings. The Social Director sits on the executive council but has no voting power. Socials may also substitute general meetings.

Section 9.
Representatives-At-Large of TSS are those regular members who have voting power (and only voting power) on the executive council. There shall be no more than three Representatives-At-Large.

Section 10.
A single person may hold more than one officer position if insufficient numbers of voting members of TSS step forward to run for the officer positions outlined above during the May election.

Section 11.
Although power and responsibility for executive decisions ultimately resides with the President, and other powers and responsibilities attach to other offices, The Sagan Society encourages a climate of cooperation and mutual support among its officers. Solicitations of feedback and suggestions are encouraged, both among the officers and from the general members, and achieving consensus should be the decision-making ideal of the executive council.

Article 4 Elections, Appointments, and Terms

Section 1.
Faculty Advisors serve their term at will. If a Faculty Advisor decides to step down, an election will be called at the monthly general meeting to fill the position. If it is seen fit to eject a sitting Faculty Advisor, this may be done by a simple majority of the executive council plus a simple majority of the general membership. The student officers will choose a replacement advisor by simple majority.

Section 2.
The President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Agent and Webmaster will serve year-long terms, beginning at the end of the Spring semester of their election and concluding at the end of Spring semester the following year. Elections will be held at the last Spring meeting where a simple majority of votes by eligible voters (see Article 6 below) will determine the winners. Outgoing officers are required to advise new officers and make sure they are provided with any paperwork and knowledge they need to fulfill their new duties.

Section 3.
The position of Social Director is appointed by the President with the approval of a simple majority of the other executive voting members. The term will last until the end of the current school year. The President may choose to leave this position vacant.

Section 4.
Representatives-At-Large shall be appointed by the President at an executive council meeting or general meeting. The appointments shall be subject to a simple majority approval of the other officers. The term begins upon approval, and concludes at the end of the current school year, unless the appointment was made specifically for the subsequent year on behalf of a President-elect by the outgoing President.

Section 5.
Executive members may be ejected from service if two other executive members plus a Faculty Advisor agree that there is reason for TSS to remove the executive member from the position. Removal may also be instituted on the basis of insufficient attendance, as found in Article 6 of the Bylaws, in which case those requirements apply.

Section 6.
In the event that an executive member steps down, is removed, or in some other way vacates the office, that position shall be filled by Presidential appointment. Similarly, the President may fill by appointment any officer positions left vacant due to lack of candidates during the previous year's officer elections. Should the office of President be vacated, the Vice-President shall take on that position and appoint a new Vice-President. The new executive member shall fill out the remainder of that term until new elections in May.

Article 5 Meetings

Section 1.
General meetings of the membership will be held on the Wednesdays of any particular week. Specific dates and times of general meetings will be set by a majority vote of the officers. There shall be at least seven general meetings per semester, preferably ten. Summer semester general meetings can be set up at the discretion of officers and members.

Section 2.
Executive meetings (of the so-called executive council) shall be attended by TSS officers, any faculty advisors who care to attend and invited guests. Executive meetings will be held on Mondays, unless some other day is agreed upon by the majority of officers. Executive meetings shall be held as necessary to conduct the business of TSS.

Article 6 Attendance

Section 1.
For a member of TSS to retain voting power, the member must attend at least five meetings over the course of the academic year. Meetings include general and executive.

Section 2.
Executive members must attend four executive meetings and four general meetings each semester or shall be subject to removal from office.

Article 7 Quorum

Section 1.
In order to conduct business at an executive meeting, at least three of the officers must be present.