Amended March 7, 1978
Amended March 5, 1980
Revised February 24, 1987
Revised November 17, 1992
Revised October 25, 1994
Revised September 17, 1996
Revised October 27, 2000
Revised March 17, 2003

COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES CHAPTER
BLUE KEY NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY

BY-LAWS

These by-laws are in addition to the Official
Constitution of the Blue Key Honor Society

Article I - Organization

Section A: Name
(For general information see Article I, Section 1 and Article III, Section 2 of the Statutes.) The name of this organization shall be the Vigilante Chapter of the Blue Key National Honor Society.

Section B: Members of Blue Key shall adhere to the letter and spirit of the Constitution and Statutes of Procedures set forth by the Blue Key National Honor Society.

Section C: The Guide for Chapter Operations shall be adhered to unless local procedures state otherwise.


Article II - Membership

Section A: Members shall include all pledged or initiated students that have paid dues for the current semester and remain active in the organization.

Section B: New Pledge Members
(For general information see Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution; Article II, Section 3 of the Statutes.)

1. Selection of new pledges shall be conducted annually.

2. After a pledge period of one semester, a pledge shall obtain full active membership, provided he/she has completed all pledge period requirements. If the requirements are not met due to a coop or foreign study, the member will remain a pledge the following semester as decided on by executive council. Initiation rites shall be conducted annually.

3. To be eligible for pledgeship, an applicant must:

a. Be in the top 35% of his or her class by GPA.

b. Have completed at least three semesters of class at CSM or have transferred in sufficient credit to be considered at least a fourth semester student and have successfully completed one semester at CSM.

c. Submit to the chapter a completed Blue Key application.
d. Attend the informational meeting or have a valid excuse of not attending the meeting.

4. Preceding initiation, pledges must complete the following requirements:

a. Pass the pledge exam that will cover the history of the Vigilante Chapter, history of the Blue Key National Honor Society, and the Statutes, by-laws and procedures that govern the Vigilante Chapter of the Blue Key National Honor Society with a score of at least 90 percent.

b. Have no more than one unexcused absence during the pledge period.

c. Participation in at least one pledge project.


Section C: Honorary, Faculty, and Alumni Membership
(For general information see Article II, Section 1 C, D & E of the Constitution; and Article II, Section 1 J of the Statutes.)


Section D: Advisor
(For general information see Article III, Section 5 of the Constitution; and Article III, Section 6 of the Statutes.)
The advisor shall be elected and maybe reelected. Co-advisors shall be permitted.


Section E: Membership Rights and Responsibilities
(For general information see Article II, Section 1 E, G & H of the Statutes.)

1. Any member may petition for inactive status in writing. The petition must be voted on by the chapter. Inactive status causes forfeiting both voting and office holding privileges.

2. A member may take inactive status for no more than one year.

3. Any member that is on inactive status will be reactivated at the beginning of the next semester. A member may petition for active status during the semester of excused inactive status. Both of these situations can only be considered if the member is not in violation of these by-laws.

4. Inactive members are required to pay dues during their semester of inactive status.

5. Each member much attend all mandatory events listed below:

Freshman M-Climb
Weekly Meetings
Fall Retreat
Honorary Banquet
Career Fair
Graduations
Senior M-Climb
One Community Service Project
One Trip to Work on the M


Section F: Removal and Due Process
(For general information see Article II, Section 1 G & H of the Constitution; and Article II, Section 1 H & I of the Statutes.)

Article III - Officers
(For general information see Article III, Section 5 of the Constitution; and Article III, Section 5 of the Statutes.)

Section A: Officers
The following executive offices shall be filled by election: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Honorary Chair, M-Chair, and Assistant M-Chair.

Section B: Election Procedures

1. Nominations for executive offices shall be held the meeting prior to and the meeting of elections.

2. Election of all executive offices shall be held prior to the date of April 15th.

3. All members, including pledges, are eligible for election.

4. Terms of office shall be for one year. Officers are expected to fulfill a full term.

Section C: Standing Offices

1. An ASCSM Representative shall be elected at the beginning of each academic semester. It is his/her responsibility to comply with all ASCSM rules that apply to this position. This position may be filled by any member or officer.

2. The Honorary Chair shall be the National Chapter Member
a. The officer will collect all National Membership Petitions

b. The officer will distribute certificates and plaques.

c. The officer will organize the Honorary Banquet.

d. The officer will communicate with the National Office.

3. The M-Chair shall:

a. Ensure all 'M' supplies are kept in stock.

b. Organize all 'M' activities.

c. Coordinate general 'M' maintenance.

d. Assist in organization of all M-Climb Activities.

Section D: The duties of the officers shall be as stated in Section 6-12 of the Guide; Article III, Section 5 of the Constitution; Article II Section 5 of the Statutes.


Article IV - Meetings
(For general information see Article III, Section 7 of the Constitution; and Article III, Section 7 of the Statutes.)

Section A: The president shall preside at all meetings unless the vice-president has been appointed by the membership to preside over the meeting or the president is absent.

Section B: The chapter shall meet a minimum of once per week. Additional meetings can be scheduled as necessary and according to special events, and may be called for by the same number of members required for a quorum. The president may also schedule a meeting provided that at least 24 hours notice is provided.

Section C: Two-thirds of all student members of the chapter shall constitute a quorum. No votes may be taken without a quorum. A simple majority vote may pass any motion. A proxy is not allowed. Inactive members are not counted in determining quorum.

Section D: Minutes will be taken by the secretary at each meeting and will be posed 48 hours after the meeting for which they were taken.


Article V - Amendments

These by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members (excluding inactive members) during a business meeting. The amendment(s) must be presented to the chapter in writing at least one meeting before the vote.


Article VI - Documents

Section A: Copies of the current National Statutes, Constitution, Guide, and any other governing documents shall be in the possession of all advisors, the president, vice president, and members requesting copies.

Section B: Copies of the current chapter by-laws shall be in the possession of all advisors, executive council members, and accessible to all chapter members.

Section C: The chapter officers are responsible for seeing that current copies of the National Statutes, Constitution, Guide, Chapter by-laws, and any other governing documents are present at all meetings.


Article VII - Attendance Policy

Section A: If a meeting or mandatory activity must be missed, a written excuse must be submitted to the executive committee or the Blue Key mailbox before the activity.

PROCEDURES


These procedures are in addition to the Official
Statutes of Procedure of Blue Key National Honor Society


Article I - Membership

A. Prospective members shall be people who display exceptional capacity for leadership and industry and whose character and integrity is without question.

B. The vice president shall check the class rank and number of completed semesters of prospective members (in conjunction with the registrar's office) to determine if they are scholastically eligible under Article II, Section B of the Constitution and Article II, Section B, Subsection 3 of the chapter by-laws. Then, the vice president will send out applications for membership based on scholastic eligibility.

C. The new member committee judges applications according to the Blue Key pledge evaluation form.

Article II - Procedure for Elections

A. At the conclusion of nominations of a particular office, the nominees of that office will be allowed to speak individually, answer questions and then will leave the room. After the nominees have left, a general discussion will follow in the nominees' absence.

B. Voting will proceed in the absence of all nominees.

C. A majority vote of all student members present will be required for an office to be filled.

D. The voting must be by secret ballot then collected and counted by the secretary.

E. If after the first ballot an office is not filled, the candidate with the least number of votes on the last ballot will be removed from the next ballot. This will continue for each successive ballot until a majority vote is obtained by one candidate.

Article III - Finances

A. Commencing the semester following initiation, dues for active members and pledges shall be set by the Executive Committee in the fall for the academic year. This fee shall be divided by the Executive Committee for the General Fund and for Blue Key Jackets.


Article IV - Committees

A. The standing committees shall be as follows:

Executive Council
Spirit/Social Committee
New Member Committee
Service/Philanthropy Committee
Special Events (Homecoming, Winter Carnival, and E-Days) Committee

B. The duties and membership of each committee shall be as follows:

1. The Executive Council shall consist of all executive officers.

2. The duties of the other committees shall be to organize, plan and execute their respective events.

3. The president shall oversee all committees in absence of the committee chair.


Article V - Attendance Policy

A. Excused Absences - if a written excuse is submitted for one of the following, the absence is considered excused.

a. Illness
b. Classes
c. Exams
d. Extenuating circumstances cleared by all officers.

B. Unexcused Absences

a. Roll will be taken at all meetings and mandatory activities, and any absences will be announced and noted.

b. After a member has incurred two (2) unexcused absences, a warning letter will be sent. If a third is incurred, the member will be asked to withdraw their membership or their membership status will be brought to a vote of the executive council.