Article 1
Organization
Section 1. The Chapter
The Tau Delta Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, located at New Jersey City University, being recognized as a collegiate chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, specifically adopts, accepts and acknowledges the International Constitution and International Bylaws and Traditions of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and, in addition, the following Bylaws are adopted under which this Chapter shall operate.
Article 2
Meetings
Section 1. Regular Meetings
Regular meetings of the Chapter shall be held every week of the regular school year at New Jersey City University, provided that in case of emergency, the day, hour or place may be changed by the Prytanis with notice to be sent to all members by the Grammateus or other designee under direction by the Prytanis via all available forms of communication.
24 hours prior to all chapter meetings each officer must send individual reports to the Epiprytanis.
Section 1.1 Order of Business (Ratified 12-18-12)
1. Roll call by Gramateus & reading of the names of unexcused absences
2. Report of Officers and Committees
a. Epiprytanis
b. Grammateus
c. Cysophylos
d. Histor
e. Hypophetes
f. Pylortes
g. Hegemon
h. Committee Chairmen
3. Prytanis Report
4. Other reports
a. Board of Advisor
b. Chapter Advisor
c. Alumni/Special Guest
5. Open Forum
6. Closing & passing of the gavel.
Section 2. Special Meetings
Special meetings may be called at any time by the Prytanis or shall be called by upon written request of not less than ten percent (10%) of the active Tau Delta members by at least 24 hours in advance of the time fixed for the meeting. The purpose of the meeting shall be clearly stated in any such request.
If the chapter is conducting a ritual meeting, all brothers attending the meeting must be dressed in business casual attire (no jean, collared shirt). This includes active brothers, inactive brothers, and alumni brothers as well. The prytanis can decide that a brother does not meet the business casual standards and that brother will be unable to be in attendance at the meeting.
Section 3. Officer Meetings
Officer Meetings may be called upon by request of the Prytanis to discuss internal organizational issues. No personnel except officers are permitted to attend meeting, exception shall be taken under advisement only if officer is to be replaced and successor will be permitted to attend the meeting. No final decisions shall be made during this meeting including, but not limited to, allocating chapter funds, disciplining brothers, setting dates for events.
Section 4. Quorum
Fifty-one percent (51%) of active members shall constitute as quorum for the conduct of business at any regular or special meeting of the Chapter.
Section 5. Opening and Closing
One meeting of each month shall be a formal ritual meeting of the Chapter and shall have a specific order of business. The informal opening and closing ritual shall be used for all other weekly meetings during the calendar month and follow the same order of business. However, formal ritual may be used for each and every meeting of the Chapter. Nothing herein shall in any way discourage formal ritual for all meetings at the Chapter.
Section 6. Voting
Voting on motions, on candidates for membership, on election to office and/or all other voting activities of the Chapter shall be open to the chapter and by the usual sign. Secret ballot shall be allowed only on Top TKE Chapter Member or other such awards. Absentee voting is never permitted, as well as absentee nominations, nor voting via communication device, including but not limited to, e-mail, phone call, text, webcam.
Section 7. Code of conduct
Every brother in attendance at a chapter meeting must follow the meeting's code of conduct, which includes:
-No eating
-No food
-Phones will be given at the beginning of the meeting
-Show brother respect while a person is speaking
-No sleeping
-No vaping of any kind
If a brother violates any of the meeting's code of conduct that brother may be escorted out of the meeting by the pylortes.
Section 8. Attendance at Chapter Meetings
Every active member shall be present at every meeting unless excused by the Prytanis, said application being submitted to the Grammateus and approved by the Prytanis. If a member is absent from 51% of scheduled regular meetings at the time of a vote, he SHALL have his right to vote or run for office removed. Suspension of voting rights SHALL NOT absolve the member of his financial obligations to the Fraternity. If excused is rejected member he may appeal to Board of Advisors.
If a brother has been absence for 51% of all chapter meetings unexcused, then a $20 fee will be added to that brother’s account to be paid no later than the second to last meeting of the semester. If that fee is not paid then additional cost, never to exceed double the amount aforementioned, will be added at the discretion of the Crysophylos and Prytanis.
If a brother has accumulated 3 unexcused latenesses at meetings, that will result in an 1 unexcused absence.
Newly Initiated members are exempt from this clause, as it becomes effective immediately after initiation.
Section 9. Attendance by Alumni
Any alumnus or honorary member may attend regular meetings of the chapter and may join in discussion and debate the same as any active member, but may not partake motions or vote.
Section 10. Voting Eligibility
In order to be able to vote on any fraternity matter or run for any office the member must meet all of the following requirements as have been laid out by the International Constitution and Bylaws and the bylaws and traditions of the chapter:
- The member must be an active Collegiate Member as defined in Article 6 Section 2 of these bylaws. No inactive member shall vote, run, or be nominated to any office.
a) The member must have been regularly initiated by the ritual of the fraternity as described in the Silver Book and required by the International Constitution and Bylaws.
b) The member must have attended 51% of all chapter meetings and meet all other requirements (or exemptions) as described in Article 2 Section 7.
c) The member must not have any financial debt to the Chapter or International Fraternity. A payment plan will not suffice and all debt must be satisfied before participating in any vote.
Section 11. Chapter Retreat
After a regular election and the transition of officers have occurred, it shall be the duty of the new Prytanis and Chapter Advisor to coordinate a Chapter Retreat. It must be held at least one month prior to the start of the upcoming semester. The purpose of this retreat shall be to ensure a smooth transition between the new officers and the members. The activities of the retreat shall be decided upon by the Prytanis and Chapter Advisor but they must focus on building an even stronger bond between all members of the chapter.
Article 3
Elections
Section 1. Date of Annual Election
Election of officers shall be held in the month of May.
Section 2. Candidates for Officer Positions
At least two weeks prior to the election, there shall be a posting on a prominent place of a listing of each office. Any interested frater may post his own name in nomination for that office, however, requires an additional nomination from an active member in good standing.
Section 3. Campaign
During the election meeting, each candidate for office shall have five minutes to present a statement as to his qualifications and his plans to carry out the office.
A maximum of eight questions be asked to each candidate. The candidate shall appoint four fraters for questions, the other four shall be chosen by the opposing candidates or the Prytanis.
Section 4. Voting for Officer
Voting for each office shall be open and by the usual sign for each office. Should no candidate receive a simple majority on the first vote, the bottom candidate will be removed and another vote taken. This shall proceed until one candidate receives a simple majority.
Section 5. Special Elections
Special elections to fill unexpired officer terms shall proceed in the same manner as regular elections except that the duty to post notice on elections will only be one week by the Prytanis and Grammateus via all available forms of communication.
Section 6. Officer Transition
(a)The transition of officers shall be planned in order to coincide with the fiscal year.
(b) The transition must be done by the prescribed ritual in the Silver Book and no officer –elect shall assume or exercise the duties of any office until having undergone such ritual. The officers will then officially take office on the date that coincides with the fiscal year.
(c) During the time between elections and officer transition the outgoing officers and officers-elect must have a meeting. The topic of this meeting will be to discuss the state of the chapter and to ensure that each new officer understands their duties and is familiar with all the resources available to him in fulfilling those duties. Also, at this meeting officers and officers-elect should hand over any documents, papers, and effects pertaining to their office: such as chapter bank account information, access to membership payment services and chapter social media accounts.
Article 4
Officers and Committees
Section 1. Prytanis
The Prytanis has all the duties and powers of a President and serves as the Chief Executive of the chapter. The powers and responsibilities of Prytanis are:
1. Oversee the Chapter as the presiding officer at all meetings, including but not limited to, meetings of the Chapter officers, formal Chapter meetings, informal chapter meetings, social events, fundraisers, rush events and rituals.
2. Enforce the constitution, laws, traditions, rituals, and local bylaws and rules, at all times.
3. Appoint all committee chairmen; removing ones who do not fulfill their responsibilities. Appoint a delegate to Conclave.
4. Ensure communications between chapter, the school, and other fraternities; between the chapter and the Offices of the Grand Chapter; the chapter and your alumni.
5. Be the spokesman for the chapter.
6. Represent the chapter at Conclave, and see that the chapter participates in TKE educational conferences and programs.
7. Attend Alumni Association meetings as the chapter representative.
8. Coordinate an officer retreat with the Chapter Advisor and a chapter retreat with the Chapter Advisor.
9. Prepare chapter budget to be agreed upon with Crysophylos and Chapter Advisor.
Section 2. Epiprytanis
The Epiprytanis has all the duties and powers of a vice president. In the absence of the Prytanis, he performs all of his duties. The responsibilities of Epiprytanis are:
1. Assist the Prytanis as required.
2. Hold copies of The Black Book and the chapter Constitution and Bylaws. Be familiar with their contents, bring copies to meetings, and be prepared to answer or secure answers for any question or interpretation of them.
3. Keep the chapter Constitution and Bylaws up-to-date.
4. Review Bylaws at least annually; look for updates needed to keep them current.
5. Coordinate and oversee the activities of all committees.
6. In the event that the Prytanis is unable to perform his duties and is removed from office or otherwise resigns, the Epiprytanis will assume the office of Prytanis and will hold a Special Election of Epiprytanis as the first order of business.
Section 3. Grammateus
The Grammateus has all the duties and powers of Secretary. The responsibilities of Grammateus are:
1. Keep the list of chapter officers on file with the Offices of the Grand Chapter updated. Do this using the TKE Maintenance Module and chapters site; www.njcutke.org
2. Keep a permanent record of all proceedings of the chapter, sharing the minutes with the Chapter Advisor, Campus Advisor and Board of Advisors, and passing these records on to successor.
3. Attend to all correspondence not otherwise delegated, keeping a file of all official chapter correspondence with the Offices of the Grand Chapter, the college or university, and other interested parties.
4. Develop a new contact list, including but not limited to phone number, e-mail, social network page, and address every semester and provide a copy to each member
5. Assist the Prytanis in preparing the Annual Report and any applications for Chapter awards, both due to the Offices of the Grand Chapter each spring.
6. Retiring Grammateus shall notify the Offices of the Grand Chapter with a roster of the newly elected officers within 5 days of officer elections.
7. Post all event and chapter activity on official chapter website
Section 4. Crysophylos
The Crysophylos has all the duties and powers of Treasurer. The responsibilities of the Crysophylos are:
1. Disburse chapter funds, timely paying chapter obligations.
2. Prepare accurate monthly financial reports of cash receipts and disbursements. Distribute to the Chapter Advisor, Board of Advisors, and post one for all members of the chapter to read.
3. File an Annual Report with the Offices of the Grand Chapter as required by the Black Book.
4. Make sure that all candidates register and pay their candidate fee on-line, so that they may promptly receive their candidate kits.
5. Ensure that all initiate fees are remitted to the Offices of the Grand Chapter in a timely manner.
6. Assist in making the chapter budget on a semesterly basis.
Section 5. Histor
The Histor has all the duties and powers of a Historian. The responsibilities of the Histor are:
1. Produce newsletters for chapter members and alumni and forward a copy to the Offices of the Grand Chapter.
2. Provide information for The Teke magazine about chapter activities.
3. Take photos or videos of chapter events to record chapter history for each term.
4. Cooperate with local alumni associations, where they exist, to provide programming for Teke alumni.
5. Post pictures on official chapter website www.njcutke.org
6. Update Facebook chapter account, Facebook like page, and develop strategies for chapter website.
Section 6. Hypophetes
The Hypophetes serves as the Chaplain. The responsibilities of the Hypophetes are:
1. Develop a calendar for rituals, in conjunction with the Hegemon and Prytanis.
2. Make an inventory of all chapter rituals equipment
3. Administer the oath of officers elect.
4. Counsel with any member about his academic progress and difficulties, arranging for further help, tutoring and counseling as needed.
5. Participate on the scholarship committee.
6. Preside as the successor in the absence of Prytanis and Epiprytanis.
Section 7. Pylortes
The Pylortes has all the duties and powers of a Sergeant-at-Arms. The responsibilities of the Pylortes are:
1. Be the primary risk management representative for the chapter.
2. Act as doorkeeper at meetings, maintaining order as directed by the Prytanis.
3. Work with the chapter to develop a risk management event twice a semester and report participation to the Grand Office.
4. Set up before chapter meetings.
5. Be custodian of all flags, properly displaying them whenever customary.
Section 8. Hegemon
The Hegemon is the chapter educator, primarily concerned with the preparation of Candidates. The responsibilities of the Hegemon are:
1. Prepare a written program covering all aspects of the new member education program and supervise the program.
2. Implement a Membership Development Program, "The Blueprint" for all members.
3. Be in charge of Candidate activities, which should stress scholarship, recruitment, active participation, and leadership.
4. Constantly monitor the progress of new members.
5. Cooperate with the Prytanis in the selection of Big Brothers.
6. Cooperate with the chapter in the selection of nicknames.
7. The Candidate Education Process may include, but is not limited to, classroom educational events on Chapter and International Fraternity Operations. The Hegemon or another designated member who is knowledgeable on the subject MUST be present to facilitate. They shall include:
a. Education on the bylaws of the chapter and what they include; also a copy of the bylaws must be distributed to each candidate at the beginning of the Candidate Education Process.
b. Education on the International Constitution and Bylaws (Black Book); also an electronic copy of the Black Book (available on the TKE website) must be distributed to the candidates at the beginning of the Candidate Education Process.
c. Education on the duties of each officer and committee chairs. Also, the candidates at the collective discretion of the Hegemon, Prytanis and other officer or committee chair, may assist with the duties of any officer or committee.
d. Education on chapter meeting procedures, rules and etiquette.
e. Education on the history and traditions of the International Fraternity as provided in the TEKE Guide and Blueprint.
f. Education on chapter history; also a copy of their Family Tree must be distributed to each candidate at the beginning of the Candidate Education Process.
g. Failure by the Hegemon to ensure that the above is carried out is dereliction of duty and is grounds for his removal from office by any method described in these bylaws.
Section 9. Duties, Rights, and Responsibilities
The duties, rights, and responsibilities of Officers and Committee Chairman are:
1. Chapter officers are to serve from May to the following May, exercising the duties as defined in the International Constitution and Bylaws of TKE and further defined in these Bylaws. The Chapter officers shall be known as the Executive Committee
2. The Chapter may remove any of the officers by a two-thirds vote of the members in good standing attending any regular meeting at which a quorum is present;
3. The Prytanis shall appoint, after consultation with the Executive Council
4. Each committee chairman is responsible for the successful functioning of his committee, and may be replaced at any time by the Prytanis, who shall report any such changes to the Chapter at the next regular meeting.
5. Each officer may appoint such members as he may see fit to assist him in proper and successful carrying out of the duties of his office.
Article 5
Finances
Section 1. Candidate and Initiation Fees
After receiving a bid, each candidate shall pay his Candidate Fee to the Offices of the Grand Chapter. Prior to his initiation, each candidate shall pay to the Offices of the Grand Chapter the appropriate Initiation Fee. The chapter may also level a local candidate fee which is to be due by the candidate on the date he receives his bid. These funds are to be held by the Crysophylos who shall require receipts for all money spent on this fund. No extension of time may be granted, nor shall any candidate be initiated until all fees are paid in full.
Section 2. Member Dues
Dues are set by the Chapter based on the requirements of the approved chapter budget. The budget must include all fees and assessments due to the Offices of the Grand Chapter, including Annual Membership Fees and Risk Management Fees.
Section 3. Special Assessments
Special assessments may only be levied by a two-thirds vote of the Chapter.
Section 4. Rendering Bills
The Crysophylos shall, prior to the first meeting, give each member a statement for the monies owed and monitor GreekBill, Inc. account.
Section 5. Suspension for Non-Payment
Any member who shall be delinquent shall be automatically suspended from all Chapter events that include social parties, events including candidates and shall have no privileges until he shall have satisfied the indebtedness. In case the suspended individual is an officer, the Prytanis shall appoint another Frater to fill the office until the suspended officer is either reinstated or removed.
If a brother, who is suspended from all social events and parties, still knowingly attends a social event or party he will have a $10 fee added to his account. This includes parties at any other TKE chapter. There will be a $10 fee for each social event or party that the suspended brother has attended.
Section 6. Expenditures
No expenditure shall be made, indebtedness incurred, by any person not expressly authorized to do so within these Bylaws. No person authorized to spend or incur indebtedness shall exceed his authorized budget.
Section 7. Bills, Payments, Disputes
No dues shall be paid with cash. All payments must be made through GreekBill, Inc. All disputes over accounts shall be referred to the Executive Committee who, after review, may further refer them to the Board of Advisors.
Article 6
Membership
Section 1. Kinds of Members
The membership of the Fraternity shall consist of collegiate, inactive, alumni, honorary members and Chapter Corporations which hold title to real or personal property for use by a collegiate chapter.
Section 2. Collegiate Member Defined
A collegiate member is a male student in good standing at the institution which he is attending, who shall have been regularly initiated by a collegiate chapter, and who shall not have been granted inactive or alumni status. Alumni members may revert to collegiate status while attending graduate school, but are not required to do so.
Section 3.Inactive Member Defined
An inactive member is a regularly initiated member in good standing who shall be:
1. A collegiate student at a school where no chapter of this Fraternity is established
2. An unaffiliated collegiate student in attendance at a school where a chapter of this Fraternity is established and is a regular initiate of a collegiate chapter at another school;
3. A collegiate member whose participation in chapter activities has been precluded because of:
a. An extended illness, injury or other extreme and unexpected reason.
b. Not being enrolled as a student
c. Not residing in the metropolitan area where his chapter is located because of participation in an internship, co-op program, foreign exchange student program or student teaching program.
An inactive member shall have none of the rights or privileges of an active, honorary or alumni member.
Section 4. Voting on Candidates for Membership
Selection and voting shall proceed in the following manner:
1. Immediately after a recruitment activity, the Chapter shall meet to determine which prospective members should receive a membership interview.
2. The Hegemon may individually refer a prospective member for a screening interview.
3. If a prospective member is approved, he shall be presented with a bid to join the Fraternity.
4. After accepting the bid, the candidate shall be inducted as a candidate of Tau Delta.
Section 5. Probation
Any member of the Chapter may be placed on a probationary status for failing to meet the Member Standards established by the Chapter. While on probation status, members may lose specific privileges. Some of the privileges that may be taken away include: voting rights, the right to participate in social programs, the right to serve as a Big Brother, the right to select new members, and the right to hold office.
Section 6. Descrollment
Should the Chapter be unsuccessful in securing settlement of the debt, the Chairman of the Board of Advisors (or his designee) shall commence action under The Black Book to remove the individual’s membership and turn the indebtedness over to a collection agency.
Article 7
Amendments to Bylaws
Section 1. How Made
Proposed amendments to these Bylaws shall be submitted in writing to the Epiprytanis who shall post and present the same to the Chapter at the next regular meeting under new business for discussion after which the proposed amendment shall lay on the table until the next regular meeting when, if duly seconded and receiving a two-thirds favorable vote, it shall be declared adopted.
Section 2. Duty of Epiprytanis to Enter
It shall be the duty of the Epiprytanis to immediately enter in all copies of the Bylaws all amendments thereto.