Strategic Intelligence Society Constitution and Bylaws

Article I: Name

The name of this organization shall be the Strategic Intelligence Society.

Article II: Purpose

The mission of the Strategic Intelligence Society is to prepare students for employment within the Intelligence Community by encouraging critical thinking that leads to the analysis of current events: specifically, the ability to discern intelligence from information within the fields of politics, technology, transnational issues, economics, and military policy.

Objective:

• To teach students to think critically and analyze current intelligence issues through participating in research for the SIS publication.
• To gain an enhanced understanding of intelligence positions through showing documentary films on intelligence and through presentations by well-established, former and current collectors, analysts, and operatives.
• To provide ample extracurricular activities as a form of introductory operations training within government and intelligence service: such as self-defense classes, target practice, etc.

Article III: Membership

Section I: Membership Requirements

• Members must have beliefs, evidenced by actions, which are consistent with the Liberty University Doctrinal Statement.
• Members must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Members are recommended have taken a lower level Government course such as GOVT 200 and GOVT 210 before joining the club.
• Members must be a currently registered student within any of Liberty University’s programs.     

Section II: Membership Candidacy

Any person who has an expressed interest in the intelligence community may join the club provided they meet the membership requirements.

Section III: Termination of Membership

• Membership may be terminated by the majority vote of the Executive Committee for any of the following offenses:
• Unrepentant actions inconsistent with the Liberty Way and the Liberty University Doctrinal Statement
• Failure to maintain the GPA requirement
• Academic misconduct
• Belligerent disrespect to a fellow student, faculty member, guest speaker, or any other individual

In each case, the member-in-question shall be given the opportunity to defend himself before the Executive Board.

Other reasonable causes, as determined by the Faculty Advisor or an executive officer, may be brought into consideration for the others with voting power of membership termination. Voting must result in a two-thirds majority by the Executive Board and Faculty Advisor for membership termination to occur. Votes for termination must be accompanied by a brief rationale for the voter’s stance.

Article IV: Officers

Section I: The club officers will be nominated by the faculty advisor and other officer members.

Section II: Officer Requirements

• Beliefs must be consistent with Liberty Doctrinal Statement.
• Must have completed a minimum of sixty credit hours prior to the semester in which they plan to serve.
• Officers are suggested to have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
• Must attend Executive Board meetings unless previously excused by the President and the Faculty Advisor - if unable to attend, shall make arrangements for a replacement.
• Must fulfill all assigned tasks.
• Must be an undergraduate full-time resident student.
• Discipline for failure to meet the above requirements may include suspension from club activities; further discipline may be enforced at the discretion of the Executive Board and the Faculty Advisor.

Section III: Officer Duties

• Faculty Advisor: The Faculty Advisor shall advise the Executive Board on all issues of its operation and shall oversee that the overall direction of the organization is consistent with the purpose found in the Constitution. He shall be a former member of the United States Intelligence Community in good standing with the Helms School of Government.
• President: The President shall be responsible for implementing and carrying out all decisions and policies of the organization. He is also Chairman of the Executive Board and presides over all general meetings. Moreover, the President shall be an ex officio member of all committees. He shall attend all meetings and represent the organization at all functions assigned by the Faculty Advisor.
• Director of Public Relations, Activities, and Recruitment: The Director of Public Relations, Activities, and Recruitment shall be responsible for inviting and hosting guest speakers on behalf of the organization and documenting club events through photographs and a short descriptive article summarizing each event. He shall establish good relations with the Student Government Association (SGA) and shall attend or send a proxy to all SGA meetings. Additionally, he shall be in charge of recruiting new members to the organization.
• Secretary: The Secretary/Treasurer shall maintain all financial records and minutes of the organization. He shall set a budget, with help of the President and Faculty Advisor, and be solely accountable for the collection of income and the payment of bills. Additionally, he shall carry out all official communication and shall keep a roster of all active members.
• Director of Research: The Director of Research shall oversee all research projects of the organization. He shall facilitate, with the help of the President and Faculty Advisor, the planning of the organization’s publications. Also, he shall guide research team members to the completion of a professional publication by setting deadlines and by instructing on source citation.
• Executive Editor: The Executive Editor shall have the final say on all of the organization’s publications. He shall edit all documents in order to maintain a uniform, professional appearance. Serves as the chairman of the Publication Committee.

Section VII: Vacancy

In the event of an officer position vacancy, the Faculty Advisor shall appoint a temporary replacement to fill the vacancy until the end of the academic year. The replacement will be automatically considered a candidate in the yearly ballot measure.

Section VIII: Committees

Committees will be determined by nomination from officers for specific purposes.

The Publication Committee is to contain no fewer than three officers, to include the Executive Editor (Chairman), Director of Research, and President, as well as any others deemed appropriate by the aforementioned officers. Assistant positions for these officers are recommended to participate in the Publication Committee’s proceedings.

Other committees may be created as deemed necessary by SIS officers for specific purposes, to exist as either temporary or permanent in their duration for the fulfillment of their function. Permanent committees are to be added to this Constitution upon their creation.

Section IX: Understudy Positions

Understudy positions will be created and filled as deemed necessary by the respective officers in order to train suitable replacements as well as assist the primary officers in their specific roles and functions. Understudy positions are recommended to include Assistant Research Director and Assistant Editor. A Vice President position will be created and sustained as necessary, for no more than one semester at a time.

Article V: Meetings

• Required Board Meetings for Officers: Meet as frequently as determined necessary by the SIS officers. Begin every meeting with prayer. Review minutes from previous meeting. It is recommended that the Executive Board meet at least once per month in the Helms School of Government.
• Voluntary Membership Meetings: Meetings are suggested to take place at least once per month, consisting of a guest speaker or activities. The place of meeting will be dependent upon its purpose and function.

Article VI: Research and Publication

Section I: Research Projects

The Research Director shall be given primacy in directing all research projects, to be conducted per semester, with the Executive Editor operating in a secondary role. Participants in research projects must be members of SIS and commit to time investment and active involvement as necessary for the research project.

Section II: Publication

The Executive Editor, serving as Chairman of the Publication Committee, shall have primacy in directing all publication processes, with the Director of Research in a secondary role. The term “Publication” herein and henceforth describes a distributed, professional-grade production from the highest caliber of SIS member research, as well as content from current or former members of the Intelligence Community in relevant matters as they pertain to the American people.

Section III: Publication Participation

SIS members with experience in SIS Research Projects may be invited to apply for participation in the Publication by the Director of Research, who shall then submit proposal abstracts to the Director of Research. Proposal abstracts shall then be referred to the rest of the Publication Committee anonymously for unbiased selection of viable material for the Publication.

Section IV:  Publication Editing Process

Throughout the editing process for the Publication, the Executive Editor shall have primacy. The Executive Editor shall work closely with researchers in successive rounds of editing, to be no fewer than three in number. Before the third round of editing is returned to the researcher, the Executive Editor shall forward the third edited draft to the Publication committee for approval, which shall have veto power and limited suggestive powers. Upon approval by the Publication Committee, the third edited draft shall be sent to the researcher for approval, wherein the researcher shall have veto power but must thoroughly justify its use. Successive rounds of editing shall be conducted by the Executive Editor for approval by the Publication Committee in the event of a researcher veto.

Article VII: Amendment Process

As deemed necessary, this Constitution shall be amended by a temporary Constitutional Committee, to include the Executive Editor and no fewer than one other officer as nominated by the SIS leadership. The amended Constitution draft is to be ratified by the Executive Board and the Faculty Advisor.

Followed by the signatures of the Executive Board and the Faculty Advisor, ratified 26 March 2012.