CONSTITUTION and BYLAWS of
The CMU Turntable Crew
Preamble
The goal of the CMU Turntable Crew is to create a community of student DJs to learn, collaborate, teach,
and spread appreciation of DJing and DJ culture through events and activities for our members and the CMU
community.
Article I. Name of the Organization
Section 1.
Name
The name of this organization shall officially be named the “CMU Turntable Crew.”
Unofficially, it may be abbreviated as the CTC or referred to as the CMU DJ Crew
to keep itself current. For all other articles of this constitution, the abbreviation
CTC will be used for brevity.
Article II. Terms used in this Constitution
Section 1.
Unlike a lot of organizations, there is a teaching aspect where there exists a depth of
terminology to the point in which it is required to address definitions in order to be
concise without being ambiguous. Section 2 addresses the ones used in this
Constitution, which are noted later with an asterisk (*). If additional terms are
included that need to be defined in the future, they will be addressed in the
Amendments.
Section 2.
Definitions
Spin: This term, frequently used to describe the technique of record scratching, will
be used instead of “DJ at” to depict the members’ involvement in DJing various
events in keeping with the CTC name.
Acapella: The song vocals alone, without the instrumental. This is not to be
confused with a cappella, which is the actual style of singing vocals without a backing
instrumental, such as with the a cappella groups on campus, like The Originals or
Counterpoint.
Mixtape: A track, often varying anywhere from 10-15 minutes to CD length (80
minutes) or even longer, which consists of a mix of several different songs, usually
in the same genre or depicting a specific theme. This term is often associated with
mixes in hip-hop.
Mixshow: Same as a mixtape, except that this term defines mixes in electronic dance
music genres, such as house music, and usually applies to mixes that are broadcasted
to an audience, such as a mix on a radio station like WRCT.
Special remixes: This category includes a wide variety of remix types, including
extended mixes with an intro and outro, mashups (usually vocal of some song A
over instrumental of another song B), and total reconstructions from the acapella*
(i.e. compose or produce a new instrumental for an existing song and put the vocals
over it).
Remix services: Companies that make special remixes* as defined above.
Electronic Dance Music shall be abbreviated as EDM.
Techno is a specific genre within EDM, and is NOT a substitute for classifying all
EDM. In other words, all techno is EDM, but not all EDM is techno.
Article III. Affiliation with other groups
Section 1.
Professional Affiliation
The CTC has been affiliated with many other organizations through the events and
activities that it holds to promote the importance of DJ culture. Members of the
CTC have DJed for various events on and off campus. This includes, but is not
limited to, several club parties and semiformals held by various organizations,
including fraternities and sororities, athletic events such as the Tartan Olympics,
cultural events such as Bhangra In The Burgh, as well as mixshows* on CMU’s
flagship radio station, WRCT.
Article IV. Purpose, Aims, Functions of the Organization
Section 1.
The CTC shall promote the importance of DJ and remix culture by having its
members spin* at various events, as well as through various parties that the CTC
and other organizations sponsor.
Section 2.
In addition, the creation of exclusive mixtapes*, mixshows*, and special remixes*,
will be made to show an appreciation of the current music scene and to promote the
creativity of CTC’s own DJs. When these special mixes are being made, promoted,
and/or broadcast to a wide audience, they must comply with Section 5, which
supersedes ALL ARTICLES of this Constitution.
Section 3.
Impact on members
The intended impact of the CTC is that it will empower members in the art of
mixing and remixing various songs and, in doing so, he or she can expose the public
to new music and give the member and the public a broader view of music as we
know it today.
Section 4.
Impact on the campus community
The intended impact of the CTC on the campus community is that, through both
the art of DJing and remixing, the community can get exposed to new music and
fully appreciate DJ and remix culture as a concept through the CTC’s own mixes as
defined in Section 2. With the community’s full appreciation of the art of mixing, it
can foster excitement as a result of witnessing some of the creativity in the CTC’s
own DJs through various techniques, some of which are taught by CTC.
Section 5i.
Legal Notice
All activities and functions of the organization must be legal under University, local,
state, and federal laws. The most recent version of The Word and The Student
Organization Handbook & Resource Guide will supersede all requirement set forth
during the creation and revision of this constitution.
Section 5ii.
Implications of Section 5i
This can apply to mixes or remixes that are posted online by members of CTC. It is
not expressly forbidden to do so, and it can be good for showing the mixing skills of
the member, but it is required that the member be cognizant that there are possible
consequences for doing so from a legal standpoint. If it is determined by a thirdparty owner that it is unlawful for the member to post a specific mix, then the
infringing mix should be removed immediately by the member.
Article V. Membership Requirements
Section 1.
Interest
The top requirement in being a member in this organization is to have some degree
of willingness in appreciating the current state of DJ/remix culture and to have the
mindset that it can be improved and worked upon, possibly through the talent of
our own members. There is no need for a resume detailing the DJing performed
before or prior experience, just a willingness to show interest in the current
DJ/remix culture and to participate in it.
Section 2.
Who is eligible
Undergraduate students and graduate students enrolled at Carnegie Mellon, as well
as community members and alumni, are all eligible in being members of the CTC.
Section 3.
Recruitment
Usually recruitment takes place early in the semester, which could take place during
the activities fair, but members can join at any time. If it is determined that there is
enough interest such that lessons can take place, then they are held as part of the
meetings of the CTC.
Section 4.
Withdrawal or Removal of Members
Members should be removed if it is found that a members’ activities interferes with
the goals and aims of the CTC and if he or she does not show a willingness to take
responsibility for any actions, done intentionally or otherwise, that would facilitate
such an interference. Such actions include, but are not limited to, the breaking of
professional equipment, which can be costly for the CTC to fix, straining the
relationship between the CTC and the other organizations that it is involved with
through its activities, as well as compromising the well-being of its members.
Section 5.
Enforcing Section 4
It is suggested that a three-strike warning system be put into place. Members who
are willing to take responsibility for the offending actions committed at his or her
own expense will have the strike associated with the action removed. After three
strikes, the member is removed unless he or she is willing to take responsibility for
the earlier actions committed at his or her own expense.
Section 6a.
Non-discrimination statement
The CTC is committed to abiding by the CMU statement of Assurance, located at
http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/SoA.html.
Section 6b.
Implications of Section 6a
No member may discourage others from exposing them to specific musical genres
on the basis of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other related ways. In particular,
saying something along the lines of “You are not ABC, so you should not listen to
(a song of) genre XYZ, which has an audience of ABC” violates Section 6a.
Section 7a.
Non-hazing statement
Hazing will not be used as a condition of membership in this organization.
Section 7b.
Implications of Section 7a
If any requirements for membership that are imposed include those that are not
listed in this Constitution, then these requirements are considered grounds for
hazing. For example, it is listed that previous experience with DJing is not a
requirement to join the CTC, so to impose that requirement, without establishing an
amendment to this Constitution, would be considered hazing.
Section 8.
Dues
Dues shall only be required if the member intends to use DJ equipment that is
owned by the CTC. These dues cover any expenses that the CTC may have from
repairs to DJ equipment. Thus, if the member owns his or her own equipment and
can show that he or she would be responsible if he or she finds a need for using
equipment owned by the CTC, then no dues will be required. Typically, new
members will not own the DJ equipment that CTC owns, so dues may be required.
Article VI. Officers
Section 1.
There are various administrative positions that members may take on. They include
President, Vice-President, Head Admin, Publicity Chief, and Principal Instructor.
Members can take on multiple roles, except in the case of President, Vice-President.
Additionally, the Head Admin cannot take on the President or Vice President
positions.
Section 2.
The Triumvirate Administrative Positions
Because the President, Vice President, and Head Admin are considered the most
important roles within the organization, it will be referred to as the Triumvirate. If
there is a dispute with sufficient disagreement at the top level, a 2/3 vote will be
required to resolve it if the individual members do not need to be involved.
Section 3.
The President
While it is not required that the President have advanced DJing experience, he or
she should possess a zeal in the top requirement mentioned in Article V, Section 1,
to the point where the members of CTC can be inspired to share that ideal. In
particular the president is required to:
a. Be a member of the CTC for at least one semester prior if there are no
vacancies for both the President and Vice-President positions and no one can
fill them.
b. Remain committed to the CTC and meet all deadlines imposed by the CTC
itself and by Student Activities and COSO.
c. Organize meetings for the CTC if no one else intends to do so.
d. Act as a liaison for ideas proposed by the members of the CTC.
e. Be the final arbiter of decisions in the existence of a tie.
Section 4.
The Vice President
The Vice President is intended to be roughly similar to the President in terms of
role, but primarily serves the purpose of taking on the roles of President should the
President not be able to remain committed under Section 2. The Vice President can
still perform the roles of President, but it must be to a lesser extent.
Section 5.
The Head Admin
The Head Admin is the most important role after the President and Vice President.
The Head Admin is required to:
a. Be a member of the CTC for at least one semester prior.
b. Attend all meetings and ensure that the meetings take place as scheduled.
c. Ensure that every meeting has sufficient content, especially in the lessons.
d. Be a chief enforcer of the rules of the Constitution to ensure that it is followed
properly.
e. Take on the role of the President and Vice President when pressing issues are
unresolved, either internally or externally through Student Activities or COSO.
f. Ask the President or Vice President for approval before taking any extreme
measures that could potentially compromise the CTC aims and goals, which
would typically require Triumvirate majority approval.
g. Be an Authorized Signer (see the Student Organization Handbook for details) if
neither the President nor Vice President currently takes on that role. Thus, any
actions done on the financial end must, at the very least, be approved by at least
the Head Admin and one member of the Triumvirate, which implies a
Triumvirate majority.
Section 6.
The Publicity Chief
When those occupying higher level positions cannot find events for its members to
spin* at or it is required to publicize the CTC and communicate to people the
importance and role of the CTC so that its members can spin* at various events,
this is where the Publicity Chief takes over. The Publicity Chief is required to:
a. Be a member of the CTC for at least one semester prior.
b. Have good relations with other organizations on campus, which can include
fraternities, sororities, various departments or organizations that sponsor
campus-wide events, such as those documented in Article III, as well as
contacts at outside venues who may be used to help recruit the CTC’s own DJs.
c. Be able to expand the CTC’s own horizons possibly beyond the organizations
currently listed in Section III.
d. Communicate these events to members in a timely manner when they come up.
e. Raise awareness of the CTC throughout campus by publicizing any events in
which CTC is a participating organization.
f. Be in charge of the external distribution and broadcast of any media when it is
allowed to do so by Triumvirate majority approval.
Section 7.
The Principal Instructor
This role is considered very important, because without a head instructor, no lessons
will take place and as a result, the learning aspect of the CTC’s goals will be
compromised. The Principal Instructor is required to:
a. Be a member of the CTC for at least one semester prior if no member exists
possessing requirement 7b.
b. Be advanced to the point that he or she can communicate the concepts of
mixing, remixing, and/or DJing efficiently and effectively from lesson plans that
are continuously developed, revised, and revisited. Also, the Principal Instructor
must be current with popular music of as many genres as possible so he or she
can make suggestions for what songs should be used.
c. Be able to convince the previous Principal Instructor by some form of
assessment that he or she deserves to take on the role of Principal Instructor
based on qualification b) if a potential vacancy is realized.
d. Develop lesson plans for each meeting, and be sure that the overall concept of
what is being taught is not hard-coded in only one particular setup or software.
In other words, the Principal Instructor should be able to think of other ways to
implement a unique software or hardware feature elsewhere, or ask other
members to provide those ways if the Principal Instructor is unfamiliar with
them.
e. Approve lesson plans that other members propose if it is deemed that the
Principal Instructor is not familiar with a given subject.
f. Provide a scenario every meeting (called “The Weekly Mix”) of how to mix two
or more particular songs in a given situation, starting from introductory material
in early meetings to advanced material towards the end.
g. Teach mixing techniques, not features, except as noted in d).
h. Be very familiar with all of the terms in Article II of the Constitution.
i. Know how to use remix services*.
j.
Report to the Head Admin prior to the meeting if he or she cannot teach a
lesson on a particular day.
k. Be able to provide enough material so that members can help accomplish the
goals set forth in this Constitution.
Section 8.
Becoming an Officer
To become an officer, the member should make his or her case (5 minutes at a
minimum) on behalf of the members and Triumvirate. Voting will then proceed by
simultaneous majority member and majority Triumvirate, as documented later in
Article X, Section 1.
Article VII. Finances
Section 1.
Finances using the CTC’s funds can be used in the purchasing of equipment, songs,
subscriptions (to record pools), or other organization related aspects. They shall not
be used for personal means or for anything illegal under Article IV, Section 5.
Section 2.
Purchases must be approved by the Head Admin, who will check if there are
sufficient funds, and at least one member of the Triumvirate. The Head Admin will
proceed to be the Authorized Signer.
Section 3.
Dues are discussed in Article V, Section 8.
Article VIII. Faculty Staff/Advisor
Section 1.
The advisor will be chosen with Triumvirate approval and will serve to assist the
CTC in whatever capacity possible.
Article IX. Meetings
Section 1.
Meetings for the CTC shall occur on a weekly basis.
Section 2.
They shall consist of 3 parts. The first part is the “The Weekly Mix” (see Article VI,
Section 7e). The second part is “Music Exchange,” where members exchange music
based on them in keeping with the new music exposure goal in Article IV, Sections
3-4, as well as discuss events that are going on that the DJs within CTC could get
involved with. The third part is “The Lesson,” in which the Principal Instructor or
other member (approved by the Principal Instructor) teaches a mixing/remixing/
DJing lesson for that meeting.
Section 3.
After the 3 parts are done, the meeting is officially adjourned except for the officials,
who will critique the lesson, as well as discuss administrative affairs.
Section 4.
Meetings must be balanced between the three parts in Section 2, follow a strict time
limit, and meet on a consistent day.
Article X. Quorum, Referendum, Recall, Voting, and Constitution Specifics
Section 1.
Levels of business
There are two types of business that need to be approved: Upper-level and CTCwide business. Upper-level business approval requires only a majority Triumvirate
vote. CTC-wide business, including voting in new members, requires simultaneously a
majority vote by the members and a majority vote by the Triumvirate. If the member
vote is satisfied but the Triumvirate vote isn’t, it is a veto and changes must be made
to fix the offending issue.
Section 2.
Constitution Ratification
Constitution ratification requires full triumvirate approval, i.e. all triumvirate
members must approve of the Constitution. The new Constitution will take effect
immediately after it is approved.
Section 3.
Constitution Amendments
Any changes to be made to the Constitution can be proposed by any member at any
time during the school year. However, for the Amendment to be official, there must
be a simultaneous 2/3 (not just majority) approval by the members and a majority
Triumvirate vote. All amendments will be written in Article XI, “Amendments,” and
shall be approved immediately after approval.
Article XI. Amendments
Section 1.
No Amendment Placeholder
There are currently no Amendments at this time. When writing Amendment 1,
Section 1 should be replaced by Amendment 1 and have sections relating to it, like
in the Articles above. All other Amendments should follow according to the same
rules.
Article XII. Triumvirate Signatures
____________________________
Signature
____________________________
Signature
____________________________
Signature
Revision Date: 11/16/2010
_______________
Date
_______________
Date
_______________
Date