KTRU Constitution

Article I

Name: KTRU - Rice University Student Radio

Article II

Purpose/Mission:

The mission of KTRU as a student organization and a 50,000 watt radio station is to educate the station membership, the greater Houston community, and the students of Rice University through its progressive and eclectic programming in the spirit of the station's non-commercial, educational license. Musically, KTRU programming will endeavor to solely feature genres and/or artists who are unexposed, or unavailable on, the Houston commercial radio dial. Non-musical programming will focus on content with clear merit and of practical value to a significant segment of the communities served by KTRU.

Article III Membership

1. Members are those regularly contribute to the station in either on or off air operations. There are two classes of members, voting and non-voting members.

2. Each director will maintain a list of current members. These lists will be forwarded to the Station Manager, who will compile a full and complete list of voting members.

3. Voting members must be students at Rice University.

4. Voting Members only may vote on issues and elections that are outlined in the Constitution and By-Laws of KTRU.

5. If there is a conflict over the status of a student, the student may approach the appropriate director for clarification. If the student is not satisfied with the outcome, the student may appeal the decision of the director to the Station Manager, whose decision is final.

Article IV KTRU officers (directors)

1. The station manager shall be elected through campus-wide undergraduate student elections under the following stipulations:

1. All candidates must have had at least two full semesters as a KTRU general shift DJ (summer and winter schedules excluded) to be eligible to run for office.

2. No person may be eligible to run for the station manager position if he/she has been previously found in violation of KTRU policy and/or been fired from the station.

3. All candidates must agree to hold a general shift at KTRU during their tenure as station manager.

4. All candidates must meet in advance of his/her decision to run with the outgoing station manager (should the candidate not be the incumbent) to determine whether he/she is willing to commit the level of dedication associated with the position.

5. All candidates must meet the university's minimal academic standards. Candidates must also have no previous record of University Court and/or Honor Council sanctions.

6. All candidates must solicit a minimum of twenty signatures from KTRU student DJs as a sign of organizational support before being allowed to run for the position of station manager. These signatures need not be a different set than those collected by another candidate.

1. Station Management shall be current students enrolled at Rice during the duration of their directorship. Station Management is defined as the station manager, the program director(s), music directors, and DJ directors.

1. The Board of Directors shall be current students enrolled at Rice during the duration of their directorship. The members of the Board of Directors are specified in the Bylaws to this Constitution.

1. The outgoing station manager shall appoint the remaining director positions, including the remaining members of the Station Management and The Board of Directors. These appointments are required to meet the approval of the voting station members, given in an annual election, which is held after the new station manager is elected in the spring. The directors should consist, at least, of those directors outlined in the KTRU Constitution and Bylaws.

1. Should the case arise wherein a director decides to step down from his/her position, is fired from his/her position by the station manager, or no longer meets the qualifications required of his/her position, the station manager in charge at the time of the incident shall appoint an interim director. The tenure of the interim director shall last until the next election is held.

1. Should the station manager be removed from office by the SA, the program director shall assume the vacant station manager position in the interim until a student body election can be held.

1. Should the station manager resign, he/she shall appoint an interim station manager from the current pool of student directors. This selection must be approved by a majority vote of the Director Board, whose specific membership is outlined in the Bylaws. This interim station manager shall remain in place until a permanent station manager is elected in a student body election.

1. All candidates for station management positions (specified in clause 2 above) must agree to hold a general DJ shift during their tenure.

1. If the there is feeling that the station manager is not adequately fulfilling his/her duty to the station, Director Board may make a petition for the Station Manager's removal to the SA. A majority of the members of the Director Board must agree to make the petition.

1. descriptions of positions

Station Manager (elected by the SA)

The station manager (SM) shall be in charge of the day-to-day operation of the station and shall approve all programming initiatives, station sponsored events, and budget allocations. The SM shall also be involved in all other departments (music department, personnel, promotions, etc) but shall uphold their decision-making autonomy.

Program Director (appointed by the SM)

The program director shall be in charge of fielding programming ideas/events and will work jointly with the station manager to implement initiatives/changes to the programming schedule. The program director will also be in charge of requirements associated with the Emergency Alert System.

DJ Directors - there must be a minimum of 2 (appointed by the SM)

The DJ directors shall be in charge of and will develop criteria for the hiring, monitoring, and firing of all volunteers at the station. All personnel issues including, but not limited to, scheduling, policy violations, and internal disputes shall be resolved by the DJ directors. The DJ directors shall also be responsible for the training of all new DJs.

Music Directors - there must be a minimum of 2 (appointed by the SM)

The music directors shall be in charge of insuring that the musical programming on KTRU is consistent with the non-commercial, educational mission of the station. They shall be responsible for maintaining the merit and integrity of the station's musical library and shall also monitor and develop all policy relating to the musical programming of the station. The music directors shall also reserve the power to forward all violations of musical policy to the DJ directors for appropriate remedy.

11. All other titled positions shall be created and/or dissolved by the station manager and shall be filled though appointment by the SM. Removal of the above directors, or any directors appointed by the SM can occur by a 2/3 vote of the Station Management.

11. The term of Station manager is one year, and shall be from spring semester until the following spring semester. Turnover of station manager will occur within two weeks after the results are announced.

13. The terms of other directors should be one year, beginning near the end of spring semester, and lasting until the following end of spring semester. The Station manager should determine the exact dates of turnover.

Article V Meetings

1.A meeting for all KTRU staff (Student DJs, community DJs, and all other members of KTRU) should be

held once a semester at minimum.

2. Board of Directors meetings should be held frequently, at the discretion of the Station manager, but not less than once monthly during the academic year.

Article VI Financial Authority

The station manager shall have the power to oversee and allocate the station's budget. Other parties may be given check-signing power as the station manager sees fit (typically including the Music Directors), though the total number of check-signers must not exceed 4 members from the station.

Article VII Faculty Advisor

The KTRU directors shall seek out petitions from the volunteers at the station regarding whom they would like to see as faculty advisor (FA) for the organization. After names have been fielded, the directors will approach all named parties to determine if they are interested in the position. If numerous faculty members express interest, the final decision shall be made though an organizational vote. The person receiving the most votes shall be the faculty advisor. This person shall continue to serve as faculty advisor until the voting members of the station decide to pick a new faulty advisor, or alternatively, until the FA resigns. At this point, KTRU directors shall seek out petitions to determine who should be chosen as the new FA.

Article VIII General Manager.

KTRU must have a General Manager who is a member of the Rice staff and reports to the Vice President for Student Affairs. The General Manager is responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable FCC rules and regulations and advising and supervising student station management regarding operations, all within applicable station policies and guidelines. The GM will also serve as a liaison to the administration of Rice University. Should the GM be in disagreement with the Station Manager regarding station compliance with policies and guidelines, the GM may appeal to the Student Association Senate. A final appeal may be made to the President of the University.

Article IX. Amendments to the KTRU constitution

Motions to amend the KTRU constitution must come from members within the organization and must meet two criteria to legitimize enactment:

Any motion must be approved by a 2/3 vote of the station management. The motion must then be passed by a 2/3 vote from an at-large vote from the voting station members.

Amendments that meet the above criteria will then be passed on to the Student Senate and the Student Association for approval before becoming binding.

1. X. Other Relevant Documents

Station decisions and policies shall be made in compliance not only with this Constitution, but also with its Bylaws and with the KTRU operating policy, all consistent with KTRU's noncommercial and educational mission and license. Additionally, the DJ manual contains the station's internal guidelines for station operation.

The Bylaws to this Constitution may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the Board of Directors.