ETA KAPPA BYLAWS

Name: This chapter under the charter from the High Council of Sigma Nu fraternity shall be known as Eta Kappa Chapter of Sigma Nu Fraternity. This chapter shall be governed first by THE LAW OF SIGMA NU, which includes the constitution, statutes, and the trial code; and second by the following by-laws.

ARTICLE 1: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: A member shall be considered a matriculate, and subject to mandatory active status when carrying twelve (12) or more units at San Diego State University.
Section 2:  Married brothers and graduates shall be allowed the option to remain active or assume alumni status
Section 3:  Eligibility for membership or appointed or elected officer positions may not be limited on the basis of race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, age, color, marital status, citizenship, sexual orientation, or disability and no rules or policies shall discriminate on any of these grounds.

ARTICLE 2: MEETINGS

Section 1: The stated meeting of this chapter shall be held at fraternity house located at 5505 Aztec Walk, San Diego, California, every Sunday night at 5:30 P.M. if said meeting should occur on a legal holiday, or a night deemed inappropriate by the Eminent Commander, all business shall be held over to the next regular scheduled meeting, provided such action is approved by the general membership of the chapter.
Section 2: the Eminent Commander may call special meetings. The rules of attendance shall be synonymous with and included as that for a regularly scheduled meeting, unless such meeting had been called with less than five (5) days notice.
Section 3: Meetings during the summer and winter vacations shall not be official chapter meetings. No business may be conducted during the times that the chapter is on vacation from school.
Section 4: Stated meetings with a quorum present may still be opened, but no business may be conducted other than announcements.
Section 5: Stated meetings with a quorum present shall be official chapter meetings.
Section 6: All meetings shall start at 5:30 P.M. promptly, excepting special occasions, which warrant otherwise. Any change in starting time must be announced five (5) days in advance by the commander.
Section 7: A quorum shall be necessary to conduct business. A quorum shall be defined as 45% of those on the official chapter roster.
Section 8: Unless otherwise stated, when voting, a simple majority shall be necessary to be carried.
Section 9: All active dues paying members of the chapter shall be required to attend         meetings unless an excuse has been presented to and accepted by the commander prior to the meting, except in unusual circumstances.
Section 10: If a member misses three (3) consecutive meetings without acceptable excuse, it will be considered grounds for suspension or expulsion.
Section 11: All members of Eta Kappa chapter of Sigma Nu Fraternity living at 5255 55th street. Must attend at least 50% of all scheduled meetings during the semester.
Section 12: Smoking shall not be permitted in the chapter room during meetings.
Section 13: All meetings shall be conducted according to parliamentary procedure as set forth in Robert Rules of Order revised, as long as the will of the chapter is not subverted
Section 14: A motion to pass funds can only be made by an officer or designated assistant whose sphere of influence concerns the motion and the budget where the money is to be drawn.
Section 15: An officer cannot spend pass more total funds than was budgeted for him without prior approval of the chapter. Additionally, it must be decided where the additional funds will be appropriated (another officer’s budget must be specifically named)
Section 16: Any Brother may not be granted alumni status until he has graduated from San Diego State University or informed the Commander in writing he will be leaving school and will not be able to fulfill his duties and an active member. All collegiate Brothers are obligated to attend all official meetings and vote. Brothers on suspension must attend meetings but are not permitted to vote.

ARTICLE 3: OFFICERS

Section 1: The elected officers shall be: Eminent Commander, Lieutenant Commander, Treasurer, Recorder, candidate Marshall, IFC Delegate, House Manager, SOE Chairman, Athletic Chairman, Philanthropy Chairman, Fundraiser Chairman, Scholarship Chairman, and Alumni         Contact Officer.
Section 2: The appointed offers shall be: Reporter, Sentinel, Historian, White Rose Chairman, Snake Chairman, Lead Chairman, and five (5) standards Board members.
Section 3: The Rush Chairman and the Social Chairman shall be elected one full semester prior to their term of office.
Section 4: Officers shall perform all duties as prescribed by THE LAW, and shall also carry out all other duties, as the Commander shall prescribe.
Section 5: A budget for the chapter will be written up at the beginning of the semester by a committee consisting of the Eminent Commander, Lt. Commander, and Treasurer. This budget shall include all semester charges to be incurred and will set ceilings on the funds which can be spent by officers.
Section 6: The executive Board shall consist of all elected officers of the chapter and shall have full voting rights. The Commander may summon any other person to attend stated meeting(s) of the executive Board whose presence he deems necessary. The Executive Board may allocate up to $50.00 per motion without the chapters prior consent, not to exceed one-hundred fifty (150.00) dollars total per weekly Executive Board meeting unless deemed necessary by a majority vote in a previous active chapter meeting.
Section 7: Any motion to pass over $150.00 must be prior approved by the executive board before being brought before the chapter for approval. Events requiring the passage of funds require that the officer responsible present a detailed budget of necessary expenditures to the executive board and to the chapter upon request.
Section 8: Election of officers shall be held semi-annually in April and in November. The newly elected officers shall assist the out-going officers in the interim period before they take office at the end of the semester.
Section 9: All elections shall be secret ballot, unless otherwise decided by the chapter. Ballot counting shall be conducted by a committee appointed by the Commander.
Section 10: Voting by proxy or absentee ballot is not permitted.
Section 11: Only dues paying members who are also current on all payments may hold office.
Section 12: Candidates shall be permitted to run for office and vote during the semi-annual elections.
Section 13: An officer may be removed from his office by a majority vote of those present at a regularly scheduled meeting.
Section 14: The offices of Commander and Treasurer shall be for one-year terms. The office of Commander shall be elected in the fall semester. The office of Treasurer shall be elected in the spring semester.


ARTICLE 4: FEES

Section 1: Dues are $610.00 per semester. These are inclusive of Collegiate Dues and Chapter Liability charges which go to National. Dues are due on the Tuesday preceding the first Rush event of the Semester.
Section 2: Any Brother who has been active at least five (5) full semesters shall be eligible to pay a reduced amount of dues beginning his sixth (6) active semester. Pledging semester and holdover semesters do not count as active semesters. The reduced dues amount is $305.00 per semester.
Section 3: The Eminent Commander and Treasure shall receive free dues when the active roster lists (40) or more members paying FULL dues as indicated in Section 1.
Section 4: Any Brother may not be granted alumni status until he has graduated or informed the Commander in writing he will not be attending school and there fore will not be able to fulfill the duties of an active member.
Section 5: Those unable to make a complete dues payment at the beginning of the semester must meet with the finance board the earliest possible date to work out a payment schedule. The establishment of such a payment schedule does not prevent the active from paying of the debt at an earlier convenience, Interest is charged on all outstanding debts at a rate of 1% compounded monthly.
Section 6: Establishment of a payment program with the finance board does not override the chapter’s ability to enforce relevant portions of the law concerning debt. (i.e... automatic suspension for Brothers 40 days or more in arrears on any debt, brining Brothers to Trial for debts 90 days or more past due)
Section 7: Any alumnus may continue as a social affiliate with only social privileges for the stated social affiliate fee. The Brother must have proof of graduation to qualify for alumni social affiliate status.
Section 8: The stated social affiliate fee is $100.00 per semester.
Section 9: The Eminent Commander shall have the power to levy fines, and excuses members from applying fines he has levied, but may be overruled in both cases by a majority vote of eligible voting members present at a chapter meeting.
Section 10: A fifty-dollar ($50.00) fine shall be levied to any member found guilty of having gone upon the chapter house roof. << THE MOST IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ARTICLE 5: CANDIDATES

Section 1: To be eligible as a candidate, an applicant must be a matriculate at San Diego State University and carry twelve (12) units or more.
Section 2: Each candidate to be considered for initiation and active membership must complete the following requirements within the regular academic semester that he becomes a candidate:
        a. Attain at least a 2.40 grade point average.
        b. Pass candidate boards on the history, ideals, and principles of Sigma Nu Fraternity. A candidate who does not pass either portion of the candidate board may be allowed to re-enter candidate boards for a second and final time.
        c. Complete any other requirements that the candidate Marshall and the
 Active Chapter may deem necessary.
        d. If a candidate fails to attain the required GPA during his candidate semester, he may choose to attend either summer or winter session at San Diego State University only. This GPA will be average in with this semester GPA. This average must be 2.40 or greater to fulfill his academic requirement.
Section 3: Candidates dues are $133.00 / month paid on a monthly basis
Section 4: Candidates must pay for their own project, unless otherwise deemed by the chapter and adequate funding has been secured.
Section 5: A candidate may be de-pledged only by a majority vote of the active chapter as prescribed by THE LAW
Section 6: Motions to remove a candidate are to be voted on by secret ballot
Section 7: A candidate may not pin or lavaliere any girl.
Section 8: Candidates shall not be allowed to wear or display the coat-of-arms (crest) of the Sigma Nu Fraternity. Also, they cannot wear the Greek Letters of Sigma Nu at any time, with the following exceptions.
        a. His candidate button
Section 9: Alcohol will not be allowed at any candidate event with an emphasis on pledging or pre-initiation. Events include, but are not limited to, formal pledging, and initiation and prior activities to these events.

ARTICLE 6: HONOR COUNCIL

Definition: Honor Council is a non-executive committee to review the actions and conduct of brothers of the fraternity when such actions or conduct are called into question.

Section 1: Honor Council will review each Brother’s fraternal relations, general inactivity, and any acts unbecoming of a gentleman of Sigma Nu Fraternity, including all disciplinary violations listed in the bylaws, as is necessary.

Section 2: Honor Council will have the authority to take disciplinary actions in the form of fines up to one-hundred dollars ($100), placing members on social-probation for a period of up to thirty (30) days and/or setting man-hours for violations, which include, but are not limited to misuses and/or damage to house property.

Section 3: Any actions taken by Honor Council may be directly appealed to the active chapter and overturned by a two-thirds vote.

Section 4: Definitions
a. Plaintiff – the member writing the complaint against another Brother.
b. Defendant – the member which the complaint is filed against.

Section 5: Honor Code
c. Information regarding the disciplinary status of the defendant is not to be discussed with anyone outside the hearing.
d. The vote of each board member shall be kept confidential.

Section 6: Honor/Judicial Board Structure
e. The Honor Council shall consist of 4-6 members not on the executive board, spread evenly from the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior class as well as the Head.
f. The Head of the Honor Council shall serve as the chairman of the board and will vote only in the event of a tie. The Head of the Honor Council is further tasked with running the meetings and keeping the records of the Honor Council. All proceedings and sanctions for each case should be kept on file. This will eliminate disagreements over what was decided after the hearing and it will allow for more consistency between cases.

Section 7: Complaint Procedures
g. Complaints can be filed by anyone in the active chapter.
h. The complaint must be filed in writing to the Head of the Honor Council within one week of the incident.
i. The complaint should consist of the following:
i. Description of the event/action at hand that warrants being brought to the Honor Council.
ii. A list of facts supporting the description of the event or action.
iii. No personal opinions or suggested punishments.
j.   If a complaint is to be written against the Head of the Honor Council, then the complaint should be given to the next highest ranking officer not involved with the complaint.
i. The officer receiving the complaint shall fill the duties of the Head of the Honor Council for the duration of the trial process.

Section 8: Notifications
k. The Head of the Honor Council is responsible for notifying the defendant, the plaintiff, and the Honor Council of the date and time of the hearing at least 5 days prior to the hearing.
l. The defendant should be given a copy of the complaint at least 5 days prior to the hearing.
m. In order to prevent bias, no details of the complaint should be released to the Honor Council or other chapter members prior to the hearing.

Section 9: Hearing Procedures
n. For one Defendant:
i. The Plaintiff will read the formal complaint.
1. Supporting evidence or witnesses may be presented.
ii. The Defendant will present his defense.
1. Supporting evidence or witnesses may be presented.
iii. The Council will have the opportunity to ask questions of the Plaintiff and Defendant.
iv. The Plaintiff and Defendant will be excused from the proceedings.
v. The Honor Council will deliberate in closed quarters.
vi.Voting will consist of a secret ballot with the choices guilty or not guilty.
o.  For more than one Defendant:
i.  The Council reserves the right to meet with Defendants collectively or individually.
ii. The Plaintiff will read the formal complaint.
1. Supporting evidence or witnesses may be presented.
iii.The Defendant(s) will present his/their defense.
1. Supporting evidence or witnesses may be presented.
iv.The Board will have the opportunity to ask questions of the Plaintiff and Defendant(s).
v. The Plaintiff and Defendant(s) will be excused from the proceedings.
vi.The Honor Council will deliberate in closed quarters.
vii.Voting will consist of a secret ballot with the choices guilty or not guilty.
p. Ballots will be read by the Head of the Honor Council.
i.  In the event of a tie, the Head of the Honor Council will make the deciding vote.
q. If the Defendant is found to be guilty, the Council will immediately deliberate, vote, and prescribe sanction(s) – Section 10.
r. If the Defendant is found to be not guilty, he will be notified by the Council in writing as prescribed by Section 11.

Section 10: Sanctions
s. If a guilty decision has been reached, the Honor Council will propose and vote upon a sanction.
t.  Previous sanctions should be referenced for precedence in similar cases to ensure consistency from case to case.

Section 11: Notification of Decision and Sanction
u. The Defendant should be notified with a letter of the decision of the Honor Council.
v. As part of the letter, the Defendant should be notified of the proper course or redress if he wishes to appeal the decision.
w. An identical copy of the letter should be filed for future reference.
x. The Head of the Honor Council, with the support of the Executive Committee, is responsible for enforcing the sanction.

ARTICLE 7: MISCELLANEOUS

Section 1: Each initiate of Eta Kappa Chapter of Sigma Nu Fraternity shall receive an Eta Kappa number, to be assigned according to the following criteria:
        a. Scholarship - beginning with the highest grade point average in the candidate class to be initiated.
        b. In the case of a tie, the number will be given alphabetically.
        c. Eta Kappa number will first be given to those candidates who have received at least a 2.4 grade point average during the fall or spring semester of the regular school year, then to those candidates who have raised their grade point average during summer or winter session.
Section 2: There shall be no guns, firearms, of any kind, ammunition or pets (mascots excluded) on the house property at any time.
Section 3: Eta Kappa is a non-profit organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service.
Section 4: If more than one meeting is held on one day, all by-law changes, amendments and additions will be void if passes at any meeting other than the original meeting.
Section 5: Any member found guilty of having discharged any house owned fire extinguishers during any non-emergency situation, shall be fined ($50) dollars.
Section 6: Any member, candidate, or affiliate who uses purchases or sells illegal controlled substances within chapter property or at a chapter sponsored (funded) function shall be permanently discharged from the Fraternity. An accused Brother who pleads not guilty shall be put on trial according to the LAW of Sigma Nu.
Section 7: If any member or candidate causes any unjust damage to house property they must repair the damage within one (1) week. If the damage is not repaired, a $10 fine will be incurred for every day after the one-week grace period. Fines will strictly be enforced by the Eminent Commander, Treasurer, and Judicial Board.
Section 8: Any member or candidate who purposely breaks glass on house property, whether by throwing or otherwise, shall be fined $20.
Section 9: Any member who has earned below a 2.0 GPA the prior semester must show up for at least one night of study hours per week. The fine for failing to do so will be $10 per week missed.

Section 10: It is to be required that every week all active members living in the house must obtain one point from either cleaning the chapter house or the courtyard. Any active member who does not live in will be required to get their point every Sunday after meeting. A point may be gained by, but is not limited to, picking up trash in courtyard, emptying trashcans, cleaning the upstairs of the chapter house, fully cleaning laundry room, mopping the chapter house or bathrooms, cleaning the snake cage, cleaning chapter house kitchen and doing any dishes, cleaning the BBQ, etc. These tasks are to be completed at the house manager’s discretion, meaning that the house manager must be notified of work being done. Any work that is not cleared with the house manager first will not be accepted. If a point is not gained on any given week and there is no valid reason why the task was not completed, a $10 dollar fine will be assessed. The fine must be paid by meeting on the following Sunday that the fine was assessed. If this fine is not cleared by meeting the following Sunday when the fine was assessed, then the member(s) will be sent to the judicial board to clear up any past due fines.

ARTICLE 8: BY-LAWS

Section 1: By-laws may be amended. No by-law may be adopted that is contrary to the LAW OF SIGMA NU.
Section 2: Any active member in good financial standing may present an amendment.
Section 3: All by-law proposals must be given to the Commander in writing prior to the meeting before they may be read to the chapter for consideration.
Section 4: A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present and eligible to vote at an official chapter meeting shall be necessary to amend the by-laws.
Section 5: The by-laws should be reviewed by a specially appointed committee between January and March of each year.
Section 6: The by-laws shall always be viewable online by any candidate, active, or alumni.
Section 7: A copy of the current by-laws shall be given to the alumni and faculty advisor of this chapter.