Theta Tau Zeta Epsilon Chapter Bylaws

The Zeta Epsilon Chapter Bylaws provide guidance and have jurisdiction among the members of Theta Tau Zeta Epsilon Chapter. All members are responsible for knowing the contents of the Bylaws. These Bylaws are in addition to any policies instilled by the national Fraternity and Stony Brook University. Article I – General Information Section I – Name The name of this fraternity is Theta Tau Zeta Epsilon Chapter.

Section II – Purpose The purpose of Theta Tau is to develop and maintain a high standard of professional interest among its members, and to unite them in a strong bond of fraternal fellowship.

Section III – Pillars This chapter operates as a professional engineering fraternity and both holds and promotes activities that revolve around its three pillars: Brotherhood, Profession, and Service.

Section IV – Affiliation with Stony Brook University Theta Tau, as a registered organization at Stony Brook University is committed to promoting a safe and vibrant campus community. In receiving annual recognition through the Department of Student Activities, no individual or group affiliated with Theta Tau will take any action or create a situation, which recklessly or intentionally endangers mental or physical health or involves the forced consumption of liquor or drugs for the purpose of initiation into or affiliation with this organization. The leaders and members of Theta Tau also agree to abide by all aspects of the Stony Brook University Student Conduct Code, university policies and Federal, State and Local laws. Article II – Chapter Traditions Section I – Brothers All members of this chapter are referred to as “Brothers.”

Section II – Classes Semesterly groups of new members are referred to as “Classes.”

Section III – Brother Names & Lineages Brother Names are given and Lineages are extended as part of the New Member Education curriculum’s Big/Little program (Article VII, Section IV).

*General member records are documented on the chapter website at sbuthetatau.com. Brother Information and Classes, Brother Names, and Lineages documentation are kept on the chapter’s Google Drive and updated by the Scribe after each initiation date.

Article III – Membership Section I – Eligibility Membership is open to any major within Stony Brook University, with a high preference for majors under the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS). These high preference majors are:  Applied Mathematics and Statistics  Biomedical Engineering  Chemical and Molecular Engineering  Civil Engineering  Computer Engineering  Computer Science  Electrical Engineering  Engineering Chemistry  Engineering Science  Information Systems  Mechanical Engineering  Technological Systems Management

Membership is open to students who are enrolled at Stony Brook University (full-time or part-time), pursuing a bachelor’s degree or higher in their major, and maintaining a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50, with a high preference for those with a cumulative GPA of 3.20 and above.

Membership is open to students who have fulfilled the event attendance requirements during the semesterly recruitment period set by the Rush Chair and interviewed with the Rush Chair and New Member Educators.

Membership is not open to students who have yet to complete a Fall/Spring semester of their academic program.

There are no restrictions on membership on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, civil union status, domestic partnership status, military service or veteran status, and any other category protected by law.

Section II – Active Membership Active members must be enrolled at Stony Brook University (full-time or part-time) and have completed the New Member Education curriculum and been initiated into this chapter. Members must follow all Standards Board guidelines (Article IV, Section V). Once an active member, the individual is a member for life, and no resignation of membership is permitted. Status changes are subject to the approval of the Executive Board.

Section III – Alumni Membership A member is considered an Alumnus/Alumna upon graduation and leaving Stony Brook University. A member enrolled in graduate school at Stony Brook University may choose to remain an active member and be granted Alumnus/Alumna status upon completing or leaving graduate school.

Section IV – Inactive Membership This chapter considers two types of inactivity:  Excused Inactive: An active member participating in a co-op program, who is leaving the locale of the chapter for a period of industrial training, may be declared inactive by the chapter for this period without having to make a formal application, therefore paying semiannual dues only for that fraction of the semiannual period that he/she is on-campus, provided that the Executive Director is promptly informed of such inactive status.  Absent Inactive: A member not participating in a co-op program may request to the Executive Board to become inactive within one week from the start of semester. These inactive members must pay national semiannual dues. Absent inactive members may not run for officer or chair positions, join committees, vote, wear letters, speak on behalf of, or represent this chapter at its events.

Section V – Early Alumnus Status An undergraduate active member who wishes to be declared an Alumnus/Alumna while continuing to be enrolled at Stony Brook University, where he/she was initiated, must meet the following requirements:  Have no financial obligation to the chapter.  Have fulfilled any contractual obligations to the chapter, if applicable.  Have completed two semesters of active membership.  Have a significant change in lifestyle that is preventing him/her from fulfilling chapter obligations.

If said petitioner meets the above requirements, he/she may receive such a status by four-fifths favorable vote by all active members. Once a four-fifths vote is achieved, the chapter must file a Premature Alumnus Status Request for petitioner to the Executive Director for approval.

The Alumnus/Alumna member shall pay his/her national dues for that half year to the chapter Treasurer for remittance to the Executive Director. These dues will be refunded to the chapter for disbursement to the petitioner if the application packet postmarked to the Executive Director within 30 days of the start of classes is approved. The chapter will send to the Executive Director and Central Office all petitions, whether approved or rejected by the chapter. The Executive Director will notify the chapter with the status of each petitioner’s request, as to whether it has been approved or rejected.

If petitioner does not receive the required four-fifths favorable vote of all members of the chapter, he/she may appeal the decision of the chapter body to the Executive Director only once. This appeal must be postmarked to the Executive Director within 10 days of the chapter’s decision. The petitioner must include in his/her appeal packet all documentation of the original appeal along with a chapter report written by the Regent, explaining the outcome of the failed petition.

Section VI – Multi-Fraternity & Sorority Membership Members may be actively involved in other non-competitive organizations. Members of this chapter may not join competitive organizations nor may members of competitive organizations join this chapter. These competitive organizations are:  (ΑΧΣ)  Epsilon (ΑΩΕ)  (ΑΡΧ)  Alpha Sigma Kappa (ΑΣΚ)  (ΚΗΚ)  Phi Sigma Rho (ΦΣΡ)  Sigma Beta Epsilon (ΣΒΕ)  (ΣΦΔ)  Sigma Rho (ΣΡ)  Triangle

Section VII – Expulsion All members are expected to uphold the standards of this chapter. A member may be subject to Standards Board session and expulsion if the chapter deems the behavior of the member disgraceful and/or inappropriate. Expulsion procedures are detailed in Bylaws, Chapter VI, Section 2. Article IV – Governance Section I – Executive Board The Executive Board oversees the chapter’s operations, holds regular administrative meetings with each other, and mediates any conflict. The Executive Board Officers are:  Regent  Vice Regent  Scribe  Treasurer  Corresponding Secretary

Executive Board Officer responsibilities can be found on the chapter’s Google Drive.

Section II – Chairs Chairs are responsible for their respective branch of chapter operations. The chairs of this chapter are:  Marshal  Rush Chair  Pledge Master  Pledge Instructor  Pledge Counselor  Professional Development Chair  Service Chair  Brotherhood Chair  Social Chair  Fundraising Chair  Engineering Project Chair  Academic Chair  Public Relations Chair  Webmaster  Historian  Risk Management Chair

Committee-based chairs must form committees, especially selecting members who will contribute well to their respective committees, are looking to hold their respective chair positions in the future, and have held their respective chair positions in the past. Committee-based chairs may revoke committee membership and must track general attendance for external events and member attendance for internal events. These committee-based chairs are all chairs excluding Marshal, Webmaster, and Historian.

Chair responsibilities can be found on the chapter’s Google Drive.

Section III – Position Appointments Executive Board Officer and Rush Chair appointments for the following semester are determined by elections held at a chapter meeting before the end of semester. Members may nominate themselves and other members for officer positions and may only nominate themselves for Rush Chair prior to this meeting. For each position, nominees who accept their nomination give five-minute speeches, five- minute discussion of the nominees takes place, and the position is then elected by two-thirds favorable vote by all members at the meeting. Nominees must not be present in the meeting room during speeches by other nominees running for the same position nor discussion nor voting of the position they run for. Members who have yet to be an active member of the chapter for at least one semester may not vote.

Members may only run for Regent if they have been an active member of the chapter for at least two semesters. A member may only be Regent for two semesters. Members may only run for Vice Regent, Scribe, Treasurer, or Corresponding Secretary if they have been an active member of the chapter for at least one semester. All Executive Board Officer positions are elected each Spring semester, therefore holding office for one academic year.

Members may only nominate themselves for chair positions for the following semester. Chairs may then only be selected from the pool of self-nominees. The Pledge Master is chosen by the Regent. The Pledge Instructor and Pledge Counselor are chosen by the Pledge Master. All other chairs are chosen by the Executive Board. Chair positions with no nominees are chosen by the Executive Board. It is encouraged for members who have yet to be an active member of the chapter for at least one semester to not be chosen. Each chair holds the position for one semester.

Members may hold a maximum of one officer position and one chair position or two chair positions in a given semester. Members may not hold more than one officer position in a given semester.

Section IV – Faculty Adviser The Faculty Adviser reviews general chapter activity and event plans based on regular meetings with the Executive Board. At the end of each Spring semester, the Executive Board seeks a Faculty Adviser for the following academic year.

Section V – Alumni Advisory Board The Alumni Advisory Board serves as the first point of contact between the active members and alumni of the chapter. Its main purpose is to advise and bring up concerns alumni have to the Executive Board.

A minimum of two alumni make up the Alumni Advisory Board. Each semester, the Executive Board nominates two or more alumni to form the Alumni Advisory Board. The nominated alumni may accept or decline the nomination. After two alumni have accepted their nominations, the Alumni Advisory Board may be finalized. The Executive Board may reach out to the Alumni Advisory Board for advising. Likewise, the Alumni Advisory Board may reach out to the Executive Board regarding alumni concerns. The Alumni Advisory Board sends meeting minutes and updates to the rest of the alumni after each meeting with the Executive Board. The Alumni Advisory Board and Executive Board co-host a mixer between active members and alumni at least once per semester.

Section VI – Standards Board All Standards Board content, including standards, procedures, and disciplinary action can be found on the chapter’s Google Drive. Article V – Meetings Section I – Chapter Meetings Chapter meetings are weekly and consist of Executive Board and committee announcements and discussion. At the end of each Spring semester, the President applies for chapter meeting rooms and times for the following academic year.

Section II – Bid Meetings Bid meetings are organized by the Executive Board, Rush Chair, and New Member Educators. Before a rushee is voted upon, it should be ascertained that he/she is fully eligible according to Theta Tau membership requirements. Student members of the chapter discuss each rushee for five minutes. He/she must then receive the three-fourths favorable vote of the members before being asked to pledge.

Section III – Emergency Meetings Only the Regent may call for emergency active body meetings.

Section IV – General Voting Quorum is set to 85% of the active body. For approval votes, excluding Early Alumnus (Article III, Section V) and bid meeting (Section II) votes, at least two-thirds of those present must vote in favor in order to pass. For all other votes, excluding election (Article IV, Section III) votes, the majority vote decides the appropriate action.

All votes are held during meetings, and no member may enter or leave the meeting room during voting. All votes are primarily done digitally. Other forms of voting include paper ballot voting and heads-down, hands-up voting for unforeseen issues. The Regent counts all votes. In the case of paper ballot voting, the Regent may vote, but the Vice Regent must double-count the vote. In the case of heads-down, hands-up voting, the Regent may not vote but is the tiebreaker in the event of a tie.

The voting procedure is as follows:  The Regent is present for the issue at hand and permits a reasonable time for discussion.  During this discussion, amendments to the proposition may be discussed. Any proposed amendment must follow this same voting procedure.  A member may motion to vote after the issue has been sufficiently discussed. Other members must second and third the motion, otherwise discussion continues.  Voting takes place.  The Regent counts the votes and announces the result.

Section V – Re-Voting For bid meeting (Section II) votes, re-voting takes place when a rushee does not receive three-fourths favorable vote but receives majority favorable vote. Student members of the chapter discuss each rushee being re-voted on for five minutes, after all initial votes have been cast. If the rushee then receives three- fourths favorable vote, then he/she will be asked to pledge. If the rushee then receives majority favorable vote again, then the Executive Board, Rush Chair, and New Member Educators make the decision following the bid meeting.

For election (Article IV, Section III) votes, re-voting takes place when no nominees running for a position receive two-thirds favorable vote. Discussion of the nominees continues. The nominee who then receives the most favorable votes is appointed the position.

The re-voting procedure for all other votes is as follows:  Re-voting may only occur in the same meeting that the initial vote was cast. No re-vote is allowed if the meeting has been adjourned.  A member who wishes to re-vote must present the issue and explain his/her reasoning for desire to re-vote.  The member must motion to further discuss the issue, and other members must second and third the motion in order for discussion to take place.  The general voting procedure is then followed.

Article VI – Finances Section I – Budget Each chair must work with his/her committee prior to the start of semester to set a budget and present it to the Treasurer. The Treasurer reviews the committee budgets and presents them to the Executive Board for approval.

This chapter shall use its funds only to accomplish the objectives and purposes specified in the national Constitution and Bylaws, and no part of said funds shall inure or be distributed to the members of the chapter. Chapter funds shall not be used for the purchase of alcoholic beverages or controlled substances.

Section II – Dues The Treasurer sets the dues and presents them to the Executive Board for approval each semester. The Treasurer pays national semiannual dues to the Executive Director on behalf of the chapter each semester.

All members (active and inactive) must pay the appropriate dues by the deadline set by the Treasurer. Exceptions may be granted based on review of member circumstances. Members who deliberately refuse to pay their dues are subject to Standards Board session.

Section III – Fees New members must pay the pledge fees promptly after the start of pledging. Initiates must pay the respective initiation fee and the price of the badge promptly after initiation. If the initiation fee is postmarked more than two weeks from the date of initiation, a fine of $25 per initiate must be paid by the chapter.

Section IV – Fines No fine may be set upon a member for a requirement not listed in the Standards Board.

In the case of fines for infringement of university or other organization policies, if this chapter is to receive a fine from an outside organization, it will be paid from this chapter’s budget. If the fine can be traced to the actions of a specific individual, then the individual is responsible for paying the fine and may be subject to Standards Board session. Article VII – New Member Education Section I – Hazing Hazing for the purpose of pledging, initiation, admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for maintaining membership in a group, organization or team shall be defined as any intentional, knowing or reckless act, whether on or off campus, which endangers the mental or physical health or safety of any person, regardless of consent, or which violates public law or University policy. Hazing includes, but is not limited to:  Any physical brutality such as whipping, beating, striking, paddling, branding, placing of a harmful substance on the body, or similar activity.  Any physical activity such as sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement, calisthenics, or other activity that subjects a student to risk of harm, or that adversely affects the mental or physical health or safety of a student.  Any activity involving consumption of food, liquid, alcoholic beverage, drug, or substance that subjects a student to risk of harm, or that adversely affects the mental or physical health or safety of a student.  Any activity that intimidates or threatens a student with ostracism, subjects a student to extreme mental stress, shame or humiliation, or adversely affects the mental health or dignity of a student, or that may reasonably be expected to cause a student to leave the organization or institution rather than submit to acts described above.  Any activity in which a person solicits, plans, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts to aid another in hazing or intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly permits hazing to occur and/or knowingly fails to report the incident.

Hazing is inconsistent with New York laws, University policies, the Student Code of Conduct, and fraternal/organizational laws. This fraternity and its members agree to abide by the anti-hazing policy required of all student organizations at Stony Brook University. Penalties and fines for a student organization found in violation of one or more non-alcohol/drug-related sections will be consistent with the Stony Brook University Code of Student Conduct.

Section II – Administration The New Member Educators (Pledge Master, Pledge Instructor, and Pledge Counselor) are responsible for teaching new members according to the curriculum based on Section III of this article and previous New Member Education curriculums.

Section III - Curriculum The information and knowledge passed down to new members are based on the curriculum created by this chapter.

All events and activities shall be relevant to the material below:  Brotherhood: The New Member Education curriculum ensures that new members are effectively assimilated into the membership of this chapter.  History, Values, Purpose, and Symbols: New members will learn this information, but they shall understand its relevance to their daily activities as members of this chapter.  Operations: Throughout the program, new members will work towards understanding the structure of the organization and how this chapter operates.  Skills: All new members should have the opportunity to develop and hone skills such as professional, event planning, decision making, learning, general management and leadership skills.

Follow this chapter’s curriculum, the New Member Educators administer the new members’ Pledge Tests.

Section IV – Big/Little Program The Big/Little program of this chapter is a structure for engaged, interactive mentorship.

This program pairs up new members with active members based on written submissions from both sides to the New Member Educators, whom then decide the appropriate pairings. For each pairing, the active member is referred to as the “Big,” whom acts as the mentor, and the new member is referred to as the “Little.” Bigs assign Brother Names to their Littles based on personality, interests, and new member performance following discussion with active members and approval from the New Member Educators. Brother Names that have already been assigned may not be reused. It is encouraged that the New Member Educators not assign themselves as Bigs during their own curriculum. Article VIII – Bylaws Amendments Section I – Procedure Any active member may propose an amendment during a meeting. The member must pre-write the proposal prior to the meeting in which it is made. Other members must second and third the motion in order for discussion to take place. After this initial discussion, the proposing member may make revisions over the next week and then initiate discussion and voting at a following meeting. If the amendment does not pass at this second meeting, then the proposing member may revise and initiate discussion and voting at a third meeting. If the amendment does not pass at this third meeting, then the amendment is no longer considered.

Voting procedures are detailed in Article V, Sections IV and V.