CONSTITUTION
WFCS RADIO STATION
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, Connecticut
ARTICLE I: NAME
The name of this organization shall be WFCS Radio Station
ARTICLE II: PURPOSE
The purpose of this organization shall be:
2.1 to provide a student oriented radio station that will maintain and increase school spirit, alumni relations, and community awareness of the University and its activities;
2.2 to promote an interest in radio broadcasting and to teach both the administrative and technical skills of radio broadcasting to interested students of CCSU;
2.3 to offer the University and the neighboring community various programs of including, but not limited to, music, sports, news, educational, etc., thus furthering the image of the University in the eyes of the community at large.
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
3.1 Full membership shall be open to all full-time, matriculated, undergraduate students at CCSU. There will be a one-month period in which a prospective member shall express his/her intent to become affiliated with WFCS by participating in the operation of the station. After this probationary period, the new member will be accorded full membership privileges, including airtime, (if available), voting, and will be issued a station identification card. Full members must be actively involved in a designated department of the station to maintain active status. Inactive members shall not be allowed the privileges of voting, holding office, or having airtime. If a full member wishes to give up active membership voluntarily, but desires to remain affiliated with WFCS as an inactive member, he/she may do so by verbally informing the head of his/her respective department. A department head may place an active member on the station's inactive list without the member's consent if the member has not been actively engaged in aiding with department functions. The department head will give this member written notice of his/her intent and will post a copy of this notice inside the studios/offices in a conspicuous place for a period of one week prior to removing the member from active status. Should an inactive member desire to become active, he/she should make his/her intentions known to the department head in which he/she wishes to participate. A period of one week active participation is required to change an inactive member's status to active.
3.2 Associate membership shall be open to all other members of the University community, including part-time students, graduate students, faculty and staff. Associate members will not be allowed the privileges of holding office or voting. Airtime may be extended to an associate member provided the time slot has first been offered to all qualified full members.
ARTICLE IV: EXECUTIVE BOARD ELECTIONS
4.1 The elected officers shall be a General Manager; an FM Program Director; a Director of Development; and a Public Relations Director; acting together they shall compromise the Executive Board. No person shall assume more than one elected position simultaneously. Should an elected position be permanently vacated for any reason, the Executive Board shall designate a temporary replacement until a special election takes place.
4.2 Nominations for the above offices will be made at the first staff meeting in April. During this meeting, each candidate will be given time to present a campaign speech. In the event that a nominated member cannot be present, he/she may appoint a stand-in to read a prepared statement. Nominations will close at the end of this meeting. A paper ballot will be printed with the names of all nominated candidates. If any office has failed to receive a nomination by the end of the nominating staff meeting, the slate for that office will appear blank on the ballot and a special election for that will be held at a later date. Elections will be held one week from the date of nomination between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. The Public Relations Director shall compile a list of members eligible to vote in conjunction with the Program Director. A station member with voting privileges shall come to WFCS and be issued one ballot to be completed and dropped into a voting box after signing the voting list. Results will be tabulated by the Public Relations Director and at least one other member of the Executive Board the night of the elections and posted the next day. To be eligible for a position on the Executive Board, one must have been a full member in good standing for at least one semester, with two (2) consecutive semesters a requirement for the position of General Manager.
4.3 The terms of office of the newly elected officers shall be for a period of one year and shall commence on the fifteenth day of May. If any office is vacated before completion of the term of office, a special election to fill the unexpired term will be held at the next meeting after the vacancy is announced.
4.4 shall require a simple majority vote of all full-time active members.
4.5 If the General Manager cannot fulfill his/her duties for a period not exceeding 30 days, authorities of the office shall be assumed in the following succession: FM Program Director, Director of Development, Public Relations Director.
ARTICLE V: POWERS AND DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE BOARD
5.1 The General Manager shall:
a. preside at all meetings;
b. oversee and coordinate day to day operations of the radio station, insure that FCC regulations and station policy is being adhered to;
c. supervise station staff;
d. convey to Executive Board suggestions or grievances of general staff;
f. act as liaison in aiding communications between WFCS and the administration of Central Connecticut State University;
g. post notices of each Executive Board meetings;
h. call emergency meetings of all staff if deemed necessary, by notifying all members possible;
i. supervise the appointing of non-elected positions, subject to majority vote of the Executive Board;
j. coordinate the activities of all station departments;
k. be responsible with the FM Program Director for the editorial policy and statements of the station;
l. have a vote in Executive Board meetings, and can cast tie-breaking vote if necessary in Executive Council and general staff meetings;
m. have the power to partially or fully suspend any station member for a period not to exceed eight days;
n. call a special meeting of the Executive Board upon notification of a suspension of a station member. Every effort is to be made that this meeting takes place within eight days of the suspension. If the meeting fails to transpire within the prescribed time, the suspension will be lifted until said meeting takes place;
o. call for an emergency meeting of the Executive Board upon notification that the impeachment process has begun. This meeting will take place within 10 days of the move for impeachment;
p. supervise the review and revision of station policy and Executive Board policy annually in conjunction with the Executive Board;
q. provide assistance on an individual basis of the following departments: programming, music, development, business, promotion, public relations, production, and engineering; and
r. perform such other duties as usually pertain to this office and other such duties as may from time to time be necessary.
5.2 The FM Program Director shall:
a. be responsible for all aspects of programming content other than news and public affairs;
b. print a schedule of all programming;
c. schedule of all on-air announcers;
d. fill all air shifts on the case of absences, lateness and emergencies;
e. monitor, evaluate, and approve all on air announcers;
f. work closely with the Executive Board and general staff to develop an agreeable program schedule in accordance with the station license and FCC regulations;
g. be responsible for the professionalism of all programming;
h. be responsible for the activities relating to the recruitment of new personnel in conjunction with the General Manager;
i. hold a once per semester orientation session for all applicants;
j. arrange workshops pertaining to the training of persons for on air shifts;
k. carry out disciplinary action regarding station policy and procedures. These actions must be carried out in conjunction with the General Manager;
l. inform the staff of all meetings and the taking of attendance at those meetings;
m. keep up to date records on all personnel;
n. appoint a Traffic Director to make sure that logs are prepared each day prior to airtime;
o. be jointly responsible with the General Manager for the editorial policy and statements of the station;
p. aid the General Manager in supervising all departments not falling under the jurisdiction of an elected officer, such as, but not restricted to sports and news;
q. supervise the Music Director and music selected for air play;
r. have the power to partially or fully suspend any station staff member not holding an elected office for a period of eight days; and
s. have a vote in an Executive Board, Executive Council, and general staff meetings.
5.3 The Director of Development shall:
a. be responsible for all fund raising activities with the approval of General Manager;
b. train all underwriting personnel in conjunction with the General Manager and the Program Director;
c. approve all personnel before they are allowed to be involved in any fund raising activity;
d. create all written material used to solicit underwriting;
e. the upkeep of listener demographics information;
f. be responsible for all copy and production used for underwriting announcements. The General Manager and Program Director must also approve all announcements for adherence to FCC regulations and station policy.
g. schedule and log all underwriting announcements;
h. account for all monies received through underwriting;
i. supervise the business department and department head;
j. insure that all underwriting personnel adhere to the station's policy regarding this activity;
k. supervise a promotions department and department head;
l. solicit ads for the monthly program guide in conjunction with the Public Affairs Director;
m. have a vote in Executive Board, Executive Council, and general staff meetings;
n. have the power to partially or fully suspend any station staff member not holding an elected position for a period not to exceed eight days.
5.4 The Public Relations Director shall:
a. be responsible for the creation and distribution of the monthly program guide;
b. be responsible for the creation and distribution of the staff newsletter;
c. supervise the production of all public service announcements, station promotional announcements, and legal identifications both live and carted;
d. appoint a production head for the Public Relations department;
e. appoint a program guide coordinator;
f. maintain the minutes of all meetings;
g. maintenance of a traffic log in conjunction with Program Director;
h. have the power to partially or fully suspend any station staff member for a period not to exceed eight days;
i. have a vote in Executive Board, Executive Council, and general staff meetings.
ARTICLE VI: EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
The Executive Council shall consist of the Executive Board as outlined in Article V and the following positions which shall be decided on through letter of intent.
6.1 The Business Manager shall:
a. be responsible for all business transactions of the station;
b. set up and maintain a system of accounting, keeping permanent records of all station expenditures, coordinating the purchases of various departments after consultations with individual department heads;
c. help to prepare the annual budget in conjunction with the Executive Council. Present the budget to the general staff and the administration if necessary;
d. be a part of the Director of Development's staff and be directly responsible to the Director of Development;
e. have a vote in Executive Council and general staff meetings.
6.2 The Music Director shall:
a. be responsible for maintaining a permanent library of recorded music for the station;
b. have the authority with the Program Director to see that general format is followed for each show as it pertains to music;
c. make available to air personalities for use in their programs, as soon as practicable, new recordings received by the station;
d. coordinate with the Business Manager record purchases and other supplies necessary to maintain the record library;
e. maintain contacts with record labels in order to promote better service, this includes maintaining playlists and the mailing of such information to the record labels and other interested parties;
f. assist the General Manager and Program Director with live music promotions and events for the station;
g. have a vote in Executive Council and general staff meetings.
6.2 The News Director shall:
a. be responsible for assigning News Department personnel to fill all news shifts as designated by the Program Director;
b. be responsible for a continuing training program for the news staff;
c. organize and be responsible for a regular system of news gathering to include campus and community events;
d. maintain and be responsible for all equipment and/or machinery assigned to the News Department, such as microphones, tape recorders, or the newswire Teletype machine;
e. have a vote in Executive Council and general staff meetings.
6.4 The Sports Director shall:
a. be responsible for assigning Sports Department personnel to fill all sports slots designated by the Program Director;
b. be responsible for a continuing training program for the Sports Department;
c. assign personnel including engineers and announcers to cover each sports event;
d. maintain and be responsible for any equipment assigned to the Sports Department, such as microphones, tape recorders, or remote broadcasting equipment;
e. have a vote in the Executive Council and general staff meetings.
ARTICLE VII: DEPARTMENTS
WFCS shall be divided into the permanent departments of: Promotions, Music, Programming, Business, Production, Development, Public Affairs and Engineering. Other departments may be instituted as deemed necessary by the Executive Board. Every station member must work in a department to be considered an active member. Each department head will submit a list of active members in their department to the Public Relations Director upon request.
7.1 Department Heads
The filling of Executive Council positions as pertains to the above outlined departments and as outlined in Article VI shall be decided as follows: A letter of intent for an Executive Council position must be submitted to the Executive Board of the year they intend to serve within one week after the date that the Executive Board has been elected or that the position has been announced as open. If more than one letter of intent is received for any office as outlined in Article VI, a general staff meeting will be held where the submitters may express their views, after which a secret ballot will be held to determine who will hold the position. The Executive Board will post the names of the new department heads the next morning.
7.2 To be eligible for a LETTER OF INTENT position on the Executive Council, a person must be a full member of the station in good standing for at least one semester. In the case that no letter of intent is submitted for a position, the Executive Board member under whom the position falls will perform the duties of that position until a full member(s) expresses interest.
7.3 Should the Executive Board deem it necessary to have other departments, the departments shall be created and department heads appointed with appropriate functions to be designated in the station's Standard Operating Procedures. These department heads shall not be considered members of the Executive Council.
ARTICLE VIII: EXECUTIVE BOARD
The Executive Board shall:
8.1 meet when deemed necessary by the General Manager or at request of the majority of the Executive Board. At least three days notice will be given by the General Manager unless deemed an emergency.
8.2 conduct business only when a quorum is present. A simple majority of Executive Board members shall represent a quorum.
8.3 ratify the appointments for appointed positions;
8.4 be responsible for establishing and maintaining Standard Operating Procedures for itself and the staff, in writing, at the beginning of each term;
8.5 dissolve old departments or create new departments as needed, other than permanent departments as specified under Article VII;
8.6 assign personnel to specific departments as needed;
8.7 bind the station by its decisions unless overturned by a three-fourths (3/4) majority of the full member staff;
8.8 be responsible along with the Executive Council for approving the WFCS budget as drawn up by the Business Manager in conjunction with the Director of Development;
8.9 meet to act as a hearing board, along with the Executive Council, upon notification by the General Manager that a suspension has taken place or that impeachment proceedings are underway;
8.10 by a simple majority vote, accept or reject a member's request to bypass the usual requirements for the school of broadcasting after seeing that an equivalency test with at least seventy-five percent (75%) correct has been passed and that an acceptable demonstration tape has been made;
8.11 perform with the Executive Council other duties necessary for the proper fulfillment of matters of the Executive Board and operations of WFCS.
ARTICLE IX: MEETINGS
9.1 The General Manager shall preside at all general staff meetings. The General Manager shall call all meetings, giving at least four (4) days notice to the staff.
9.2 Regular staff meetings shall be held no less than once, nor more than twice in a four (4) week period.
9.3 A quorum for any regular staff meeting shall be necessary. A quorum shall consist of fifty percent (50%) of active staff members, including fifty percent (50%) of Executive Council and Executive Board members.
9.4 Special meetings may be called by a petition of a majority of the staff. The General Manager will schedule said meeting, giving one (1) weeks notice to the entire staff. A quorum must be present of the staff members, but a majority of Executive Board and Executive Council members is not required.
9.5 Meetings shall be run by Robert's Rules of Order. When not in conflict with this Constitution, the General Manager may entertain a motion to suspend Robert's Rules of Order and to conduct an informal meeting.
ARTICLE X: SCHOOL OF BROADCASTING
10.1 The School of Broadcasting under the supervision of the Program Director of his/her appointed Broadcast Class Instructor, shall commence as soon as feasible at the start of each semester.
10.2 Membership of the School of Broadcasting shall be mandatory for all station members without prior broadcasting experience that desire air time. Membership requirements shall include attendance of its classes in preparation for a final exam covering station policy and information contained in Elements 1, 2 and 9 of the FCC Broadcaster's Handbook and engineering of a regularly scheduled series of practice programs, as scheduled by the Broadcast Class Instructor.
10.3 Any member of WFCS, with broadcasting experience, desiring to bypass the School of Broadcasting must have passed with at least seventy-five percent (75%) correct. A tape must be submitted to the Executive Board indicating the individual's air proficiency. The decision of the Executive Board shall be final in accepting or rejecting the member's request.
ARTICLE XI: RESIGNATIONS
11.1 Any member of WFCS, full or associate, active or inactive, can resign from its membership by submitting to the Public Relations Director a letter of resignation, clearly stating the date which the resignation is to take effect.
11.2 Any elected or appointed officer of WFCS can resign from the position held by submitting a letter of resignation to the Public Relations Director, clearly stating the date that the position will be vacated. The officer resigning should state if the intent is merely to vacate the office or if the resignation is from WFCS altogether.
ARTICLE XII: SUSPENSION
12.1 Initiation
a. Any duly elected member of the Executive Board may partially or fully suspend any staff member, active or inactive, full or associate, for a period not to exceed eight (8) days, if the member in question has acted in a manner to inhibit the operating efficiency of WFCS, or has violated its Constitution or Standard Operating Procedures, or any rules or regulations of the University, the City of New Britain, the State of Connecticut, or the Federal Communications Commission.
b. A partial suspension may include, but is not limited to, a loss of air time or a cessation of elected or appointed duties, while a full suspension would include a temporary ban of the person in question from the station and offices of WFCS.
c. The suspension cannot exceed a period of eight (8) days. If by that time a hearing of the Executive Board has not taken place, the suspension will be lifted until further action by the Executive Board transpires.
d. The suspending officer must give notice as soon as possible to both the General Manager and the member's departmental head that the suspension is in effect.
12.2 Hearing
a. The Executive Board shall meet within eight (8) days of the date that the suspension was imposed, with all parties involved being present if possible.
b. The Executive Board shall hear both sides of the case, with both sides having the right to bring witnesses to substantiate or refute the charge(s).
c. At this meeting, by a simple majority vote, the members of the Executive Board shall jointly decide on one of the following courses of action:
(1) they may dismiss the case, restoring the suspended member to his/her previous standing;
(2) they may impose the sanction of probation for a period of time;
(3) they may move for permanent suspension.
12.3 Permanent Suspension
a. When the Executive Board move for permanent suspension, a general staff meeting must be held within two (2) weeks, the member in question remaining suspended until this time.
b. A quorum must be present at this meeting for the results to be binding.
c. Both sides of the case must be presented to the general staff.
d. Discussion will be entertained from the floor.
e. A two-thirds (2/3) vote, by secret ballot, of the general staff and Executive Council present, is necessary for permanent suspension, based on the evidence. This evidence must conclusively prove beyond reasonable doubt that the presence of this person in question in the studios and offices of WFCS constitutes either a danger to the property of WFCS or a hazard to its programming efforts. The permanent suspension shall be immediate.
f. A station member who has been permanently suspended shall be prohibited from future membership in WFCS in any capacity, and shall be banned from entering the studios and offices of WFCS for any reason in the future.
g. A written account of permanent suspension will be forwarded to the Student Affairs Office in the Administration Building.
ARTICLE XIII. IMPEACHMENT
13.1 Initiation
a. Any full active member of the staff, the Executive Council, or Executive Board, may move for the impeachment of any elected or appointed officer of WFCS.
b. The name of the person to be impeached must be submitted in writing, signed and dated by the initiator, and given to the General Manager with a list of all charges involved.
13.2 Hearing
a. The Executive Board shall meet within ten days of the date the move for impeachment was received with all parties involved.
b. The Executive Board shall hear both sides of the case, with both the initiator and the person being impeached having the right to bring witnesses to substantiate or refute the charge(s).
c. At this meeting by a simple majority vote, the members of the Executive Board shall jointly decide on one of the following courses of action:
(1) they may dismiss the case;
(2) they may move for impeachment.
13.3 Impeachment
a. When the Executive Board moves for impeachment, a general staff meeting must be held within two weeks.
b. A quorum of active members must be present at this meeting for the results to be binding.
c. Both sides of the case must be presented to the general staff.
d. Discussion will be entertained from the floor.
e. A two-thirds (2/3) vote, by secret ballot, of the general staff and Executive Council present is necessary for removal from office based on the impeachment evidence. Removal from office will be immediate.
f. A station member who has been impeached and removed from office shall be eligible for election to any office for which he/she meets the qualifications.
ARTICLE XIV: ENGINEERING
14.1 Paid Engineer/Chief Operator
The Paid Engineer shall:
a. be responsible for maintaining all broadcast equipment;
b. coordinate and/or call for the preparation of reports to the FCC and check all items before forwarding them to the FCC office in conjunction with the General Manager and the Dean of Student Affairs;
c. notify the General Manager, the Program Director, and the Dean of Student Affairs of any major engineering changes, particularly to the antenna or transmitter;
d. arrange for all special measurements, repairs or tests of equipment when necessary;
e. keep a permanent log of all repairs in accordance with FCC rulings;
f. prepare a proposed engineering budget in conjunction with the General Manager;
g. recommend purchase of new equipment to General Manager;
h. be the Chief Operator as defined by FCC regulations.
14.2 Engineering Technician
The Engineering Technician shall:
a. be responsible for the efficient operation of all equipment on a day-to-day basis;
b. notify the General Manager when equipment is being improperly used;
c. aid in the operational end of live interviews, live remote broadcasts and other programming where engineering personnel will be needed in conjunction with the appropriate director;
d. be available in the case of emergencies relating to the technical operation of the station and working with the General Manager and the Paid Engineer to resolve the problems;
15.1 Coordinator of WFCS
The position of Coordinator of WFCS shall be a full-time faculty member appointed by the President of the University.
a. The Coordinator's position shall be primarily in the capacity of an advisor and a liaison between the station and the Administration. The Coordinator may control what is aired to the degree that nothing be broadcast which might impair the image and/or better interests of the station and CCSU. The Coordinator may suggest a course of action to the Executive Board in an advisory capacity; however, all ultimate decisions lie with the Executive Board. The Executive Board will be responsible to the Coordinator and the University for all of their actions, and the performance of their duties.
b. In the event something of major importance should arise, on which the Executive Board and the Coordinator cannot agree, the only way that the Executive Board may be overridden is by a directive from the President of the University. This directive may be forthcoming only after a meeting of the General Manager of WFCS, the Coordinator, and the President of the University or an appointed representative.
ARTICLE XVI: AMENDMENTS
A motion to amend this Constitution may be made by any staff member at any meeting providing it does not conflict with any University or FCC regulations. A three-fourths (3/4) majority vote of the entire active members of the staff present is necessary to pass the motion.
ARTICLE XVII: SPORTS PROGRAMMING AND SCHEDULING
17.1 The following is the plan that will be carried out each sports season to determine a fair and reasonable schedule of sports broadcasts to be be fair to both Disc Jockeys (D.J.s) and Sport Department Members.
17.2 For the Fall Football Schedule
(As of April 27, 1992 there is no more football team at CCSU. As soon as the team is reactivated, the following scheduling procedures will be in use. As long as there is no team, this scheduling procedure will not be in effect):
a. There are ten football games per season. (This number is as of March 1992. This number may change from season to season, this must be taken into consideration).
b. Each game will be broadcast with all the Sport Department Members getting a chance to work as both engineer/producer and game commentator. The Sports Department Head can decide if he/she wants to eliminate any of the ten games.
c. The Program Director will be responsible for posting an accurate schedule for all D.J.s that will be posted in the A Studio. The Sports Director will keep the Program Director updated if there are any changes.
d. If there is an unseen emergency (i.e. broken equipment or lack of phone service) the game will not be broadcast at a later date nor made up. The schedule decided on at the beginning of the season is the schedule that will be followed.
17.3 For Fall/Spring Basketball Schedule
Since this is a long season, prior to the start of the season the Sports Director and the Program Director will negotiate the schedule that will consist of re-designing the schedule so it is fair to the D.J.s and the Sports Department Members. Some games not over an unreasonable amount will be eliminated. The unreasonable amount will be determined by the Sports Director and Program Director of that year if need be. If a reasonable amount cannot be agreed on, then it will go to an Executive Board and Executive Council vote at an emergency meeting.
a. All Sports Department Members will get a chance to be both engineer/producer and game commentator.
b. The Program Director will be responsible for posting an accurate schedule for all D.J.s that will be posted in the A Studio. The Sports Director will keep the Program Director updated if there are any changes.
c. If there is an unseen emergency (i.e. broken equipment or lack of phone service) the game will not be broadcast at a later date nor made up. The schedule decided on at the beginning of the season is the schedule that will be followed.
d. Schedule changes can be added during the end of the basketball season only if either the men's or women's teams make the finals. These changes must be mentioned at least one week in advance so enough notice is given to D.J.s.
17.4 For The Spring Baseball Season
The Sports Director and the Program Director will negotiate the schedule which will consist of re-designing the schedule so it is fair to the D.J.s and the Sports Department Members. Some games not over an unreasonable amount will be eliminated. The unreasonable amount will be determined by the Sports Director and Program Director of that year if need be. If a reasonable amount cannot be agreed on, then it will go to an Executive Board and Executive Council vote at an emergency meeting.
a. All Sports Department Members will get a chance to be both engineer/producer and game commentator.
b. The Program Director will be responsible for posting an accurate schedule for all the D.J.s that will be posted in the A Studio. The Sports Director will keep the Program Director updated if there are any changes.
c. If there is any unseen emergency (i.e. broken equipment or lack of phone service) the game will not be broadcast at a later date nor made up. The schedule decided on at the beginning of the season is the schedule that will be followed.
d. Schedule changes can be added during the end of the baseball season only if the men win for the year and make it into the finals.
2/4/94
Last updated: Monday December 08, 2003