College Libertarians of UND

Free Market Analysis of the Current Financial Crisis

2008-10-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/v/pHIlr77NF8I&hl

The War on Drugs, A War on Ourselves

2008-02-25T08:01:00.000-08:00

Few people will argue taking a product out of the violent and shady depths of the black market is a bad thing. However, when the product in question is a drug, most people have a much different response. It’s hardly a secret that the biggest beneficiaries of drug prohibition have always been the drug dealers themselves. Any lessons learned from the epic failure of alcohol prohibition in the last century were apparently forgotten. We are all familiar with the notorious gangsters of the 1920’s such as Al Capone making millions from black market ventures. Today the situation is no different. Every time access to a drug is restricted, the gangs get more power and more money. All of a sudden, these restricted drugs are being sold underground (using more toxic ingredients) and many more people die from overdoses. When the drug dealers are taken off the street today, it merely opens up a new job opportunity for someone else. If a shipment of drugs is seized, the price of the other drugs goes up and the users will just turn to robbery to cover the extra expense. Removing arbitrary restrictions on substances will destroy these gangs and save countless lives. Fortunately, citizens in some states have woken up to this fact but are running into opposition from government. Why could this be? Aren’t those in government supposed to be on our side?

While most law enforcement workers genuinely care for the well-being of the citizenry, the departments they work for care most about funding. This is where the War on Drugs helps these departments. Bureaucracies naturally want to grow larger in staff and in responsibility. Officers working for the government are put in a position where they need to make more drug arrests to maintain funding for their ever-growing departments. After all, what city needs a bloated police department when there is a decrease in crime? The Drug War provides many convenient sources of alternate funding. Police departments can seize the property of anyone they claim to be involved in illicit activities even when no charges have been filed thanks to asset forfeiture laws. These assets can include homes, vehicles, loose cash, drugs, and valuable weapons. In other words, the police get nice cut of the action and don’t want to give that up.

Having a serious discussion about this issue with a politician is like discussing their extramarital affairs; politicians just won’t do it. In fact, an affair is much more accepted by the public than any admitted, past drug use. When politicians talk about the war on drugs, they speak of it in the same terms as the war on terror. This makes sense. Both wars were “declared” against non-human entities, and both were designed to increase support for unpopular presidential administrations. Both wars give excuses for undermining 4th amendment rights and corrupting the justice system. Also, both wars lack clearly defined goals or benchmarks for success. Therefore, it is imperative that the opponents of both wars take a stand together in the name of reason and of decency to question the motives of politicians and authorities.

How to become a Ron Paul delegate

2008-02-12T16:55:00.000-08:00

For Grand Forks County:

District Conventions have already taken place. If you are still interested in becoming a delegate, contact us ASAP as there are still some open seats.

If you are chosen to be a district delegate, you will attend the North Dakota GOP State Convention on March 28-30 at the Holiday Inn in Fargo. During the State Convention, a slate of nominees will be recommended by the Committee on Permanent Organization to be state delegates to the National Convention. Even though the Committee on Permanent Organization has chosen its preferred list of nominees, anyone may motion to nominate additional candidates from the floor. In order to be an eligible candidate for the National Convention, however, you must have submitted a delegate application by March 10, 2008. Twenty-six delegates and twenty-three alternates will be sent from the State Convention to the National Convention.

Finally, the GOP National Convention will be held in Minneapolis, MN, on September 1-4, 2008. The statewide Presidential Caucus results require all North Dakota national delegates to vote accordingly on the FIRST ballot ONLY. After the first ballot, delegates are free to vote for any presidential candidate at their own discretion. This is why it is so important to have Ron Paul supporters as national delegates!

If you are confused and the poorly drawn image below is not helping you, feel free to email me at alyssa.snyder@und.edu.

Meeting for Supporters of Dr. Ron Paul

2008-01-06T13:23:00.000-08:00

Next meeting:
Saturday, January 12, 2008 @ 11:00AM
SWANSON 10-12, basement of Memorial Union

The College Libertarians will be hosting a meeting this Saturday in the Memorial Union. Our guest speaker will be Charlene Nelson, North Dakota State Coordinator of the Ron Paul campaign. Charlene will be explaining the North Dakota caucus process and delegating leadership roles to those who are interested. We also have some campaign materials available.

This will be a combined meeting with the College Republicans, the UND Students for Ron Paul Facebook group, the Grand Forks Ron Paul MeetUp Group, and Grand Forks community members that support Ron Paul.

We really hope you can attend. We are expecting a large turnout!

If you have (or decide to make) a Facebook account, you can RSVP here.

How the Justice System Works

2007-12-15T15:54:00.001-08:00

by Jeffrey A. Tucker

"If you think about it, it is inherently implausible that the state could be an effective administrator of justice, for which there is a supply and demand like any other good. Shortages, inefficiencies, arbitrariness, and underlying chaos all around are going to be inherent in the attempt.

Because we are dealing here with the meting out of coercion, we can add that inhumane treatment and outright cruelty are also likely to be an inherent part of the system."

Full Article @ LRC

Dakota Free Press

2007-11-12T09:33:00.000-08:00

We are looking for contributors for the College Libertarian Newspaper and Website (name not finalized yet). Anyone is welcome to submit content, we have had several volunteers so far. Topics will include, but are not limited to:

Education
Gun Rights
Health care
Middle East
Internet censorship/activism
War on Drugs

Also, perhaps a section on Music and Film and international news...

Meeting

2007-09-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

Just to yet everyone know, there will be a meeting next week on Wednesday the (26th) to discuss our formal response to the smoking ban. It will be in the Alumni room in the Union at 7:00pm.

The next week on the 1st, we have a meeting scheduled with the student body president and vice president to give our group's opinion regarding the ban. It will be at 11am at the student government office. Anyone in the group can attend to give their viewpoints.

Why Does NASA continue to exist?

2007-09-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

Google Sponsors Lunar X PRIZE To Create A Space Race For A New Generation

"The Google Lunar X PRIZE will challenge and inspire engineers and entrepreneurs from around the world to develop low-cost methods of robotic space exploration. The X PRIZE Foundation, best known for the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private suborbital spaceflight, is an educational nonprofit prize organization whose goal is to bring about radical breakthroughs to solve some of the greatest challenges facing the world today."

....and NASA continues to spend billions doing the same mission over and over again in the "international" space station. In fact, providing jobs for an army of bureaucrats is their main mission. They get paid the same whether they launch 50 rockets in a year or just 2. It's taken a few decades, but companies and private foundations are beginning to make satellite launches and space travel more affordable for the average man and woman. The exploration of space is awesome and exciting to a large majority of people. These are the people that should be funding it since they will make the best use of their own money. They'll actually get a chance to ride to earth orbit in their lifetime with new commercial space ventures such as Virgin Galactic instead of just watching some videos on television.

The bottom line is the development of space technology is far too important to be left to any government.

Ron Paul at "Values Voters" Debate

2007-09-19T02:42:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best debate performances Ron's given so far. Maybe it was because they let him speak for more than 30 seconds without cutting him off...

According to this Gallup poll, Ron's at 4%, which is within the margin of error of Romney's 7%. I don't have too much faith in polls like this. It's interesting, none the less.

College Libertarians in the Dakota Student

2007-09-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Garrison Canter, President of the College Libertarians, for a publishing of his letter to editor in the Tuesday, September 18th edition of the Dakota Student newspaper! You can read his letter below or find the online version of it here.

DS Letters: Smoking ban just plain stupid
Garrison Canter

Issue date: 9/18/07 Section: Opinion

More Enforcement Needed for Smoking/Tobacco Ban? No.
I submit to you that the problem is not a lack of enforcement of the rule but the rule itself. Aren't the adverse health effects smokers experience punishments enough? What happened to the notion that people should take care of disputes on their own? With all due respect, let's be reasonable about this people. Politely ask nearby smokers to move if they are bothering you. If they aren't bothering you, leave them the hell alone. The campus will be a much better place if we would act like adults and not get the university administration involved. I know this is contrary to everything you were taught in elementary school, but "Second-hand" smoke is not going to kill you. The studies showing that normal exposure to second-hand smoke causes lung cancer (such as the often-cited 1993 EPA report) have been refuted many times. Their conclusions were found to be full of bad data and faulty science. The connection between casual "second-hand" smoke and cancer is tenuous at best. The statement in the DS that the research supporting their case is "overwhelming" only reveals a lack of research on their part. In fact, it was only a few years ago that a much wiser group of DS editors wrote a more well informed editorial against city and state indoor smoking bans. Of course, none of this matters, because we are talking about smoking outdoors, where even the most outrageous pro-ban zealot hasn't tried to make an actual adverse health claim! The real problem, though, is that arbitrary control of behavior like this always leads to more control. Whatever you may enjoy may be prohibited next because it will lower someone's insurance costs or because it annoys some obnoxious busybody. This is why I encourage everyone to stand up and fight this ban even if you detest smoking.

Gary is a junior Air Traffic Control major and President of the College Libertarians of the University of North Dakota.

Fair Tax

2007-09-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

Lately there's been a well-funded effort to gain support for the "Fair Tax". Fred Thompson, John McCain, Ron Paul, and Mike Huckabee have all expressed interest in instituting it. What exactly does this Fair Tax entail? According to the Fair Tax's website:

"The FairTax Plan is a nonpartisan national grassroots campaign to replace the federal income tax system with a progressive national retail sales tax. It provides a "prebate" to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue replacement and, through companion legislation, repeal of the 16th Amendment."

Abolishes the IRS
Closes all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation
Ensures Social Security and Medicare funding
Brings transparency and accountability to tax policy
Allows American products to compete fairly
Reimburses the tax on purchases of basic necessities
Enables retirees to keep their entire pension
Enables workers to keep their entire paycheck

The growing number of supporters of this movement tout the fact this will eliminate the IRS. Ok, but won't there need to be another agency created to enforce this new tax? Surely cooperation won't be voluntary. It will need to audit businesses frequently to make sure they are collecting the right amount. The main problem with this whole proposal is the feds would still be taking the same the same amount of money from us as they are currently (or as the fair tax people call it, "revenue neutral"). Where are the incentives to actually cut spending? The only difference is it would just be taken as a 23-30% national sales tax. Fair tax supporters make sure to tell us the less wealthy i.e. everyone in the middle class will receive welfare ("prebate") checks to compensate for these new taxes. That sounds like a new bureaucracy to me. Turns out the people leaving the IRS will still have jobs after all...

"Workers will keep their entire paychecks"

For an extra day or two. These workers will need to go shopping eventually.

Supporters of the "Fair" Tax have their hearts are in the right place on this, but taxes are like cancer. They should be eliminated not replaced.

Welcome to the Fun-Free University

2007-09-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

Reason Magazine ran this piece a few years ago. Of course, it is still as relevant now.

David Weigel, Oct. 2004

The Return of In Loco Parentis is Killing Student Freedom.

"Many college administrators throughout the country are taking great pains to keep their students under tight control. Yet in the late 1960s and '70s, whether colleges could rein in students was an open question. Previously, America's universities had operated under the doctrine of in loco parentis ("in the place of a parent"). By the start of the '70s, thanks to a series of legal rulings and cultural shifts, courts and colleges were tossing out that policy, and universities that had been dealing with students as wards struggled to find a new approach."

"That didn't last. In loco parentis has been rejuvenated and returned. Administrators have tapped into the devaluation of personal responsibility illustrated by smoking bans and fast food lawsuits, coupling it with bullish political correctness. The resulting dearth of individual liberties on campuses would have seemed impossible to college students of 25 years ago."

September 12, 2007 Meeting

2007-09-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

Our first meeting of the fall semester will be this coming Wednesday, September 12th in the Governor's room of the Student Union (2nd floor) at 7:00pm. Bring your friends! The meeting will include an introduction to our cause, welcome of new members, and an overview of our plans for the year. Hope to see you all there!

RSVP via facebook!

Our Fundraising results

2007-03-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hey all, thanks to everybody who helped out with the popcorn fundraiser last week, these members and non-members alike took time out of their schedules to help raise money for future College Libertarian events. We managed to raise over $150 for our cause, spread our message of liberty, and attract some additional members.

Special thanks to:
Brent Bartsch
Garrison Canter
Sarah Stam
Luke Heisterman
Ben Ehrics
Matt Myrick
Steve Schmidt
...and of course, thank you to everyone who donated, we couldn't have done it with out your support.

Fundraiser!

2006-12-01T14:55:00.000-08:00

Recently the College Libertarians were chosen from a lottery of student groups to operate the Memorial Union popcorn machine March 5-8 as a fundraising event. For those who are able to volunteer, please bring your availability information to our first spring semester (tentatively February 13th) meeting, or write us at UNDlibertarians@hotmail.com

College Libertarians in the Herald

2006-11-29T18:57:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Mike Peterson, an associate member of the College Libertarians, for a publishing of his letter to editor in the Wednesday, November 29th edition of the Grand Forks Herald! You can read his letter below or find the online version of it here.

IN THE MAIL: Basic freedoms take bashing
Published Wednesday, November 29, 2006

MAYVILLE, N.D. - Today, the most basic fundamentals of any democracy are quickly fading. The basic right for the American people to ask questions and seek the truth is ridiculed and scorned. Anyone who questions the government's perspectives on national and world events is laughed at.

In 2005 and 2006, our very cornerstones of democracy and liberty were outright eliminated, and one could just hear the average American yawning as this has happened in our very own congress.

The year 2005 saw the Real ID Act, which creates a de facto national ID for all Americans; however, it's voluntary except that without it, you cannot enter an airport, a federal building or access any other government services without it!

Readers of the Grand Forks Herald should full well know what Real ID is after an entire year's worth of praise for it.

What advocates of the act are not telling you is that you'll basically be deemed a noncitizen without it. Excuse me. This is the kind of invasive government involvement in peoples' lives you see in Third World countries, not the United States, the greatest nation in the world.

This year saw its own mass destruction of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in the Military Tribunals Act and John Warner Defense Act of 2007. The former bill eliminates habeas corpus, which is in the end the basic democratic right to a fair trial by jury.

Instead, any accused person labeled an “enemy combatant” (which the very loose definition does not exclude Americans) must face military court, will be unable to see the evidence against him or herself and the right to defend himself in court will be a thing of the past (note this is dictionary.com's definition of “martial law”).

The latter bill, the John Warner Defense Act of 2007, gives the president authority over any state's National Guard in the event of an emergency without the consent of that state's governor. This, combined with the Military Tribunals Act, all happened this past mid-October.

Combining these two bills alone rip the Constitution to shreds without even considering any other of the numerous liberty-destroying bills the federal government has passed since 9-11.

This is an outrage for anyone who values freedom and liberty. Habeas corpus was a traditional right that began in 1215 in Europe.

Now, out of all the various styles of government in this world, it was a democracy that destroyed this. It was a democracy that declared any of its own citizens could be called enemy combatants. It was a democracy that absorbed all the power it could from the people and the states into the federal government most notably the executive branch. It was a democracy that turned into a hypocritical imperial nation and it was a democracy that no longer believes in the value of something called freedom and liberty over false temporary safety.

We should be ashamed of our federal government because we have become a nation ruled by fear. It is time to restore real freedom to where it belongs - the people.

Mike Peterson

Mike Peterson is a junior at Mayville State University and an associate member of the College Libertarians of the University of North Dakota. Visit his website at http://www.libertybell-news.com/

News from the North Dakota Libertarian Party

2006-11-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

Libertarian Party of North Dakota
November 4, 2006

Dear College Libertarians:

We have successfully completed the signature drive that allows us to petition the Secretary of State of North Dakota, to establish the Libertarian Party of North Dakota! I would like to thank all those who donated time or financial support to the project.

The petitions were delivered to the Secretary of State on October 25, 2006. We are now waiting for the validation of the signatures and the official establishment of the Libertarian Party of North Dakota.

All your efforts were greatly appreciated.

Yours in Liberty,

Richard Ames, Ph.D.
State Chair

Constitution Approval

2006-10-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

Long awaited good news for the College Libertarians: our constitution was approved today by the Student Policy Committee! Following a few minor changes and final approval by the membership and our advisor, an official copy of our constitution will be submitted and we will have officially recognized status as a student organization at UND.

The final constitution approval meeting will be held Tuesday, November 14th at 7pm in the Governor's Room of the Student Union. We must make quorum to approve the final changes, so please plan to attend.

A thousand thanks to those who helped with this process!

College Libertarians on staff of the Dakota Student!!

2006-09-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Luke Heisterman, College Libertarian Secretary, for recently being hired by the Dakota Student as an Opinion Columnist! Look forward to some great, thoughtful articles by him in the future. Pick up a paper at the many locations on and off campus, or read online: here. Congrats Luke!

College Libertarians in the Herald

2006-08-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Brent Bartsch for a publishing of his letter to editor in the Sunday, August 27th edition of the Grand Forks Herald! You can read his letter below or find the online version of it here.

Posted on Sun, Aug. 27, 2006
VIEWPOINT: Editorial misses the mark
By Brent Bartsch

GRAND FORKS - A recent editorial rightly takes Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., to task for failing to embrace trade.

Surprisingly however, after having read the critique, I was left feeling that the senator actually deserved a qualified defense.

First, there is the issue of free trade versus "free trade" agreements. The last time I checked, there was no good reason for mercantilist policies (unless you represent a producer who wants government protection at the expense of fellow citizens). Free trade agreements, of course, amount to government-managed trade and, thus, it's not surprising that they contain hundreds of pages of special-interest legislation, complete with newly created international commissions and bureaucracies.

In contrast, genuine free trade exists between North Dakotans and the citizens of the other 49 states in the union and between the citizens of Grand Forks and the citizens of Fargo. Notice also that Fargo officially could boycott Grand Forks businesses, yet it still would not be in the best interests of Grand Forks' citizens for the Grand Forks government to legally ban them from shopping in Fargo.

The Herald is hardly a consistent voice for genuine free trade.

Second, the editorial fails to address Dorgan's argument about spending in the economy. The senator's argument essentially is this: Spending on consumer goods drives the economy, but with more "cheap labor" employed "overseas" (at the alleged expense of employment opportunities here in the United States), there will be less spending here, and the U.S. economy will implode.

But Dorgan fails to appreciate that the demand for goods really is what drives the economy. This demand drives people to produce (work) and trade with each other in the first place; and only after a consumer good has been produced by someone can it be consumed by anyone.

The problem of wealth creation is, therefore, not a problem of maximum "spending," but of maximum production. As a result, any reduction in the costs of production furthers the goal of increasing production - so "shipping jobs" to where they can be done for less makes it possible for increased consumption (increased wealth).

A final point: Dorgan absolutely is correct about the yearly deficits and the total debt (though, ironically, his consistent votes for more spending obviously contribute to their existence).

The Herald, citing an economics textbook no less, forwards a basic fallacy that government deficits don't matter. I beg to differ. It's hardly comforting to know that governments have the ability to print (legally counterfeit) money in order to pay for their activities, but that is the "proof" the Herald offers as to why we shouldn't care about hundred-billion-dollar deficits.

Well, I have news for the Herald: Many governments already have used the printing press to get themselves out of financial trouble, and they went bankrupt anyway (think about Germany after World War I).

In contrast with the Herald, I conclude that any "Econ 101" student should know that as the supply of money goes up, the "price" or purchasing power of money generally goes down. Destroying the value of the dollar is an entirely dangerous and outrageous cost to impose upon the American citizenry and, as such, it should not be looked upon as any kind of real solution to the government's financial woes.

Bartsch is a graduate student at UND.

Involvement Expo!

2006-08-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

The Involvement Expo was a great success.

Dozens upon dozens of buttons, bumper stickers, pamphlets, and even books were handed out, questions were answered, and many students were recruited to the ideas of liberty. Our biggest "sellers" were the "I Ain't No Senator's Son" bumper sticker, "Lowering your Taxes" pamphlet, and "Libertarianism in One Lesson" book.

For those of you who were unable to stop by, any of the items are the table (except for "Why Government Doesn't Work" by Harry Browne, which is now out-of-stock) are available, as well as answers to any questions to may have by emailing us at UNDlibertarians@hotmail.com.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped, we couldn't have done it without you!

Constitution

2006-07-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

College Libertarians of the University of North Dakota Constitution
We, as students of the University of North Dakota, in order to raise awareness of classical liberalism or libertarianism; to encourage and actively support any person or organization that seeks to promote ideas on liberty, and to provide social opportunities for all persons interested in the philosophy of freedom, do hereby ordain and establish this constitution for the College Libertarians of the University of North Dakota.

ARTICLE I. NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1. Name:
The name of this organization established by this constitution shall be the College Libertarians of the University of North Dakota (hereinafter referred to as College Libertarians).

Section 2. Purpose:
The purpose of this organization shall be to raise awareness of classical liberalism or libertarianism; to encourage and actively support any person or organization that seeks to promote ideas on liberty, and to provide social opportunities for all persons interested in the philosophy of freedom.

Section 3. Affiliations:
This organization shall be affiliated with the North Dakota Libertarian Party. The rules and regulations of the national constitution shall be followed when not inconsistent with the rules and regulations of the University of North Dakota. When inconsistencies are present, this organization shall adhere to the rules and regulations of the University of North Dakota. A letter of affiliation is attached to the constitution.

ARTICLE II. NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT

Section 1. Non-discrimination Statement:
Membership in this organization shall be without regard to race, religion, age, color, sex, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, veterans’ status, or political belief or affiliation.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Requirements for Membership:
A. Membership shall be open to all registered students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the University of North Dakota, as well as citizens of the surrounding communities, who support the purpose of the College Libertarians and who register with the Secretary of the College Libertarians. There shall be two types of membership: associate membership and voting membership.
B. An associate member is any registered student, faculty member, staff, or alumnus of the University of North Dakota, or citizen of the surrounding communities, who supports the purpose of the College Libertarians and has registered with the Secretary of the College Libertarians.
C. A voting member is any student associate member who has paid dues, should any dues be required. Only voting members shall be allowed to hold office and vote, including, but not limited to, voting on the election or removal of officers, removal of members, amendments to the constitution or bylaws, and all financial matters.

No member shall be required to be a member of any other organization, including the national Libertarian Party or any state Libertarian Party.

No academic credit shall be offered for participation and/or membership in this organization.

Section 2. Removal of Members:
Associate and voting membership shall be terminated immediately if:
A. a member notifies the Secretary of the College Libertarians that he or she no longer wishes to be a member, or
B. by a two-thirds majority vote of all voting members during a general meeting, a member is deemed to have exhibited irresponsible or unruly conduct at a College Libertarians meeting or College Libertarians-sponsored event, violated university policy, or violated the UND Code of Student Life, or
C. by three-fourths majority vote of the Executive Committee, a member is deemed to have exhibited irresponsible or unruly conduct at a College Libertarians meeting or College Libertarians-sponsored event, violated university policy, or violated the UND Code of Student Life.
A voting member, including an officer, shall be free to vote against his or her own removal.
Upon termination of membership, the former member shall return any College Libertarians’ belongings in his or her possession to the President or Vice President of the College Libertarians. Any dues paid for the current semester by a member removed via a vote of the Executive Committee or voting membership shall be returned to the former member within one week of his or her removal.

Section 3. Appeal of Removal of Members:
Former members may appeal the termination of their membership.
If a former member was removed via a two-thirds majority vote of all voting members during a general meeting, the former member may petition an appeal to the Secretary or President of the College Libertarians and, within one month, the Executive Committee shall meet and hear the appeal from the former member. The former member may then be reinstated by three-fourths of the Executive Committee.
If a former member was removed via a three-fourths majority vote of the Executive Committee, the former member may petition an appeal to the Secretary or President of the College Libertarians and, at the next general meeting, the appeal shall be heard by the voting membership present. The former member may then be reinstated by a majority vote of all voting members present and voting.

ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS

Section 1. Elected Officers:
There shall be four offices: the President, the Vice President, the Treasurer, and the Secretary. No member shall hold more than one office simultaneously. The Executive Committee shall consist of these four offices.

Section 2. Qualifications for Holding Office:
In order to be eligible to hold an office in this organization, the candidate must be a voting member of the organization.

Section 3. Elections:
A. The officers of the organization shall be elected for a term of one year
B. There will be no restrictions placed on the number of terms of office a member may hold.
C. Elections will be held during a designated general meeting in the month of April
D. Election to office will be by simple majority vote of the members present. If, in the case of multiple candidate elections, no one candidate achieves a majority of the votes cast, the candidate with the least number of votes will be dropped from the ballot and another voting round will commence until a majority vote is achieved. No new nominees may be accepted in these subsequent ballots.

Section 4. Duties of the Officers:
A. The President shall be the principal executive officer and shall have the following duties:
1. To preside at all meetings of the organization.
2. To call special meetings of the organization, when required.
3. To submit an Officer Roster Card at the beginning of each semester to the Coordinator of Student Organizations.
4. To schedule all practices, classes, and other activities of the organization, and to obtain appropriate facilities for these activities and notify all members of meetings.
5. To prepare and file any report required by the University.
6. To appoint committee chair people subject to the approval of the Executive Committee.
7. To act as the College Libertarians’ liaison to other organizations, including the Libertarian Party
8. To perform other duties as specified in the bylaws.
9. To prepare and maintain a manual/binder related to the office and to review all materials in the transition of the incoming President prior to giving up the office.
10. and faithfully execute any action or directive approved by the voting membership

B. The Vice President shall have the following duties:
1. To assume the duties of the President (until a special election can be held) in the event of a vacancy in the office.
2. To serve as an ex-officio member of the Standing Committees of the organization.
3. To plan the officers' orientation and organization retreats.
4. To be the College Libertarian’s liaison to the University of North Dakota Student Government’s Student Activities Committee (SAC).
5. To perform other duties as assigned by the President or as specified in the bylaws.
6. To prepare and maintain a manual/binder related to the office and to review all materials in the transition of the incoming Vice President prior to giving up the office.
7. and faithfully execute any action or directive approved by the voting membership

C. The Secretary shall have the following duties:
1. To keep record of all votes and attendance of general meetings,
2. To register the names and contact information of any eligible persons who wish to be associate or voting members
3. To notify fellow officers and voting members of new members.
4. To keep and distribute minutes of each meeting of the organization.
5. To handle all official correspondence of the organization, and keep all organizational records and the official copy of the constitution
6. To perform other duties as assigned by the President or as specified in the bylaws.
7. To prepare and maintain a manual/binder related to the office and to review all materials in the transition of the incoming Secretary prior to giving up the office.
8. and faithfully execute any action or directive approved by the voting membership

D. The Treasurer shall have the following duties:
1. To keep all financial records of the organization.
2. To collect dues and donations from members and others and notify the Secretary when members have paid any required dues
3. To prepare and submit financial reports to the members.
4. To prepare the annual budget and all budget requests for funds.
5. To submit financial records for an annual audit to the Coordinator of Student Organizations at the end of Spring semester.
6. To become familiar with University accounting procedures and policies.
7. To perform other duties as assigned by the President or as specified in the bylaws
8. To prepare and maintain a manual/binder related to the office and to review all materials in the transition of the incoming Treasurer prior to giving up the office.
9. and faithfully execute any action or directive approved by the voting membership

Section 5. Vacancy of an Office:
If an office becomes vacant, it shall be filled by special election at the next general meeting. The procedure for regular elections shall apply. The winner of the special election shall serve in office until the next regular elections have concluded.

If all offices are simultaneously vacant, membership rules shall be temporarily waived and all registered students of the University of North Dakota who support the purpose of the College Libertarians shall be considered voting members for the purpose of conducting a special election. There must be at least five voting members present and voting at all times in order for this special election to be valid. Any voting member may nominate himself or herself to be chair for the purpose of presiding over the special election. Candidates for chair or office may vote for themselves. The chair shall be elected by plurality vote, conducted by open ballot, of the voting members present and voting. The procedure for regular elections shall then apply. After the officers have been elected, membership rules shall again apply and the next general meeting shall be considered the first general meeting of the semester.

Section 6. Removal of Officers:
Officers shall be removed from office immediately if:
A. by a two-thirds majority vote of all voting members during a general meeting, a member is deemed to have exhibited irresponsible or unruly conduct at a College Libertarians meeting or College Libertarians-sponsored event, violated university policy, or violated the UND Code of Student Life, or to have broken the letter or spirit of this constitution or
B. by three-fourths majority vote of the Executive Committee, a member is deemed to have exhibited irresponsible or unruly conduct at a College Libertarians meeting or College Libertarians-sponsored event, violated university policy, or violated the UND Code of Student Life or to have broken the letter or spirit of this constitution.
Upon removal from office, the former officer shall return any College Libertarians’ belongings related to his or her former office to a member of the Executive Committee.

Section 7. Appeal of Removal of Officer:
If an officer is removed via a three-fourths majority vote of the Executive Committee, the former officer may petition an appeal to the Secretary or President of the College Libertarians. At the next general meeting, the appeal shall be heard by the voting membership present. The former officer may be reinstated by a majority vote of all voting members present and voting.

Section 8. Changes in Officers.
All changes in officers or mailing addresses shall be submitted to the Coordinator of Student Organizations within two weeks of such a change.

ARTICLE V. ADVISOR

Section 1. Advisor Selection.
A. The Advisor to this organization must be a member of the UND faculty or staff.
B. The organization Advisor shall be appointed by the Executive Committee.

Section 2. Role of the Advisor.
A. The Advisor must co-sign all financial transactions of the organization.
B. The Advisor shall assist the officers and the members in accomplishing the purpose of this organization.
C. The Advisor shall regularly review the financial records of the organization and forward mailings to the appropriate officers.

ARTICLE VI. MEETINGS

Section 1. Meetings:
A. Business meetings of the organization shall be called by the President at least once a semester during the academic year.
B. Non-business meetings for the purpose of instruction, practice, or other activities shall be held upon one week notice to the members.

Section 2. Special Meetings:
A. Special meetings may be called by the President upon one week notice to the members.
B. The President shall call a special meeting when requested by 50% of the voting membership.

Section 3. Quorum:
A. A quorum at business meetings shall consist of simple majority of the voting membership present.
B. Quorum is not required to hold non-business meetings (such as instruction, classes, or other activities).

Section 4. Parliamentary Authority:
The Parliamentary Authority for this organization shall be Sturgis Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure.

ARTICLE VII. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section 1. Responsibility:
Management of this organization shall be vested in an Executive Committee responsible to the entire membership to uphold this constitution.

Section 2. Membership:
Membership shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and the Advisor.

Section 3. Meetings:
The Executive Committee shall meet before each business meeting to organize and plan future activities and agenda items for meetings.

Section 4. Quorum:
A quorum of this committee shall consist of simple majority

ARTICLE VIII. COMMITTEES

Section 1. Authority to Establish Special Committees:
The President shall have the authority to appoint any special committees, with the approval of the Executive Committee, as well as meet the needs of the organization.

Section 2. Special Committees:
These committees may include, but are not limited to the following:
A. Membership Committee
B. Program Committee
C. Publicity Committee
D. Conference Committee
E. Fund-raising committee

ARTICLE IX. FINANCIAL STRUCTURE

Section 1. University Account:
A. All funds from University sources must be deposited and maintained in a University of North Dakota account.
B. The President and/or the Treasurer shall be authorized to sign all financial transactions dealing with organization funds.
C. The Advisor of the organization must co-sign all financial transactions of the organization.
D. The financial records/ledger of the on-campus account must be submitted for an annual audit to the Coordinator of Student Organizations at the end of the Spring Semester.

Section 2. Dues:
The amount of dues, if any, for the current semester shall be agreed upon by a two-thirds majority vote of those officers and student associate members present and voting at the first or second general meeting of the semester. Failure to agree upon the amount of dues within the first two general meetings of the semester shall result in the waiver of the dues requirement; at that time, all student associate members shall be considered voting members for the remainder of that semester. All officers shall pay any required dues to retain voting membership status and remain in office.

ARTICLE X. BYLAWS

Section 1. Provision for Bylaws:
A. The organization may approve bylaws for the specific operation of the organization.
B. No bylaw shall be adopted that is contrary to the provisions of this constitution.

Section 2. Vote Required:
A. The organization may adopt, amend, or rescind any bylaw by simple majority vote of the membership.
B. Any proposed bylaw must be publicized to the members at least one meeting prior to the meeting at which it is going to be voted upon.

ARTICLE XI. AMENDMENTS

Section 1. Ratification:
A. A proposed amendment to this constitution shall be presented to the members at least one meeting prior to the first meeting at which the vote shall be held. This constitution may not be amended at summer meetings.
B. Ratification of an amendment to this constitution shall require a three-fourths majority vote of the members present at two consecutive regularly scheduled business meeting of the organization and all amendments to this constitution shall be approved by the Student Policy Committee before they take effect.