CONSTITUTION FOR THE FLYING VIRGINIANS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA Article I: NAME. The organization will be called The Flying Virginians. Hereafter the organization will be referred to as The Flying V s and colloquially known as The V s. Article II: PURPOSE. The Flying V s aim to combine rock and a cappella music in fresh and exciting ways. The Flying V s are a student-run organization at the University of Virginia whose purpose is to provide a new perspective on rock music by highlighting its choral elements in arrangement and a cappella performance. The Flying V s will perform covers of favorite rock songs. The Flying V s are dedicated, above all, to the love of music and the performance of music for live audiences. Article III: MEMBERSHIP. Membership as a singer is by audition only and shall be selected based on their performance during vocal auditions. All members will be treated as equally integral to the running of the group. The Flying V s does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic class, gender, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. All members should expect to attend meetings and rehearsals regularly. If there is a conflict with meetings or rehearsals, whether academic or personal, the member of the group must meet with the president and the music director to discuss the nature of these absences. If the member is missing more than a quarter of rehearsal time for the semester, their options are: 1. Take a semester off from the group with the understanding that they may re-join the group, without any audition necessary, the following semester unless there are special circumstances. 2. Coordinate with the president and the music director to figure out an action plan to make up rehearsal hours missed either a) with the music director and/or assistant music director(s) alone, b) with the majority of their voice part section, or c) with some combination of the above two options. Under extreme circumstances if a voice part section is low on numbers, emergency auditions will be held. Excused absences include: contagious illnesses, family emergencies, and academic emergencies. All other absences are considered unexcused. If a member is ill but not contagious, he or she is expected to be at rehearsal and participate to their fullest ability. All absences, excused and unexcused, of any kind will be reviewed by the executive board on a weekly basis. After three absences of any kind, it is the responsibility of the president and the music director to check in with the member with more than three absences to make sure everything is alright. The amount of rehearsal time missed should be made up with a) the music director and/or assistant music director(s) alone, b) with the majority of their voice part section, or c) with some combination of the above two options.
If someone is going to be late to rehearsals on a weekly basis due to an academic or other commitment for less than the one quarter of rehearsal time as specified above, they must meet with the president and the music director to have their late arrival cleared. The attendance record of any member is subject to review by the executive board at any time. Any member concerned about her/his or another member's absences should contact the president and music director directly. All members should come to meetings and rehearsals prepared with whatever assignments they have been given and ready to participate. Article IV: OFFICERS. President: will be responsible for booking spaces including rehearsal spaces and concert space; serving as a liaison and representative of the group to the UVA community; contacting organizations to participate in gigs and respond for requests for gigs; directing and informing members about administrative aspects at rehearsal; and sending administrative emails with reminders about gigs, where rehearsals will be located, weekly social events, and the concert. Vice President: shall aid the president in his/her duties. Will serve as the second event requester along with the president; manage the administrative aspects of rehearsal if the president is not present; responsible for managing alumni connections; and responsible for recording the attendance of all members and leading reviewing member attendance at executive board meetings. Music Director: reviews all arranged music; conducts songs at rehearsal and concert; directs musical aspect of rehearsals; complete rehearsal summaries of musical aspects to send out after rehearsals; responsible for planning retreats with the assistance of the social chair and concert week; and leading the planning of the next semester s concert themes, songs, and concert dates. May choose to elect up to 2 Assistant Music Directors who will help conduct songs and help with what the Music Director sees fit. Treasurer: will be responsible for keeping track of the funds received by the organization; collecting membership dues and creating a budget for all semester expenses to present to the group; reporting to the other officers weekly about any transactions completed that week; and communicating directly with the publicity chair and social chair to help run fundraising and social events. May choose to elect 1 Assistant Treasurer to help with what the Treasurer sees fit. Secretary: will be responsible for minutes during executive meetings. Will be responsible for assistance with monetary bookkeeping alongside the treasurer. Also responsible for sending out polls to the group in regard to preferred times to meet for weekly rehearsals, social events, or any other gathering requiring the group as a whole. Assistance in alumni relations alongside the Vice President Publicity Chair: will be responsible for making the University community as well as the general public aware of The Flying V s performances and events. Will be responsible for planning and running any fundraising efforts, as well as ticket sales for performances, alongside the treasurer. Will also be responsible for overseeing the design production of any publicity materials (flyers, t-shirts, sweatshirts,
chalkings, promo pictures, tickets). Also responsible for maintaining and updating website and uploading videos to YouTube and SoundCloud. It is possible to have either a) up to two (2) co-publicity chairs or b) a publicity chair and an assistant publicity chair. It is up to the discretion of the publicity chair(s) how to divide the responsibilities of social media and graphic design. Social Chair: will be responsible for planning all social events including but not limited to: concert after party, date functions, mixers, welcome week for new members, intermission acts for the semester concert, and finding photographer(s) and videographer(s) for the semester concert. Will also be expected to work with the fundraising chair to determine a social budget. Article V: ELECTIONS. Each officer shall be elected at the end of the fall semester. Officers are elected for one calendar year. 4th years will not be able to be on the executive board their final semester at the University unless there are no other qualified members capable of taking on the position. Elections shall be conducted through an online ballot, or in person secret ballot. Each potential officer must submit their desire to run for office through email to the president by a specified due date along with a blurb of their qualifications. If the president is running for re-election, a graduating 4th year will conduct elections. At the end of his/her term, the president or the graduating 4th year will lead the group in a group discussion at rehearsals to discuss important points to keep in mind when considering potential officers during elections. The president or the graduating 4th year will send out the election blurbs for each candidate before releasing the election ballot online. All ballots must be turned in for elections by a specified date and time to be considered complete. All active members of the group are required to vote. Article VI: SOLO AUDITIONS. Solo auditions will be held during one rehearsal time during the semester. This solo procedure will be followed for all songs except for any songs chosen for Rotunda Sing. Harmony auditions can be on a separate day if need be. All members are expected to be present at auditions, whether or not they intend to audition. If a member has an unexcused absence on the day of solo auditions, they will not be allowed to audition for any solos or harmonies that semester and their absence will be reviewed by the executive board. Solo auditions will be lead by the music director. Each potential soloist will sing the selected portion chosen by the song arranger ahead of solo auditions. After the potential soloists have finished auditioning, they will leave the room for the remaining members of the group to discuss. There will be up to 5 minutes of discussion for each potential soloist with motions to extend, moderated by the music director and/or assistant music director(s) or otherwise appointed member. Three-quarters of the group must be present to vote on the final soloist. If more than a quarter of the group has auditioned for the song, there must be a three-step selection process: 1. Narrowing down the soloists to the top 2-3 potential soloists, 2. The rest of the auditioners will be brought in to discuss again for up to 5 minutes moderated by the music director and/or assistant music director(s) or otherwise appointed member with motions to
extend. The final 2-3 potential soloists may be asked to sing the selected portion again if need be, and 3. There will be a secondary vote on the final soloist. All soloists will be announced only after all songs have been auditioned. If a member has received more than one solo, that member along with the backup soloists will leave the room while the remaining members discuss the allocation of the solos. A member is allowed to have more than one solo but this discussion will be made at the discretion of the remaining members. Article VII: COMMITTEES. The group has no planned committees, unless chosen and delegated by the executive board. We work as collaboratively as possible, to encourage a "rock band" mentality and open communication. Members are highly encouraged to be involved in all aspects of the Flying V s. Article VIII: MEETINGS. Rehearsal times will be kept the same each semester on Wednesdays and Sundays unless a significant portion of the group s members can t meet at that time. The executive board will be expected to held weekly meetings that will be lead by the president. All assistant positions will not be expected to attend executive meetings, unless their chair is unable to attend. All assistant positions will not be able to vote at executive meetings, unless they are attending in place of their head chair. Article IX: FINANCE. The treasurer will decide allocation of funds received. Major anticipated sources for funding include ticket sales from performances and the SAF, although additional fundraising efforts may result in additional funds. All funds received by the organization will be monitored by the treasurer, as will any spending. The group may hold various social events in addition to rehearsals, meetings and performances. At the discretion of the treasurer, members may be charged up to (but no more than) thirty (30) dollars per semester in social dues. Any member who wishes to participate in any group social event must first pay their dues, which will be collected at the beginning of each semester for which they are required. If a group member is unable to pay social dues because of her/his financial situation, she/he should contact the treasurer to work out a reduced fee or nonpayment, as required. This will be considered a private matter between the treasurer and the member in question and will not affect the group member's standing or ability to participate in social events. It is expected that any member able to pay social dues will pay them promptly. Article X. AMENDMENTS AND BY-LAWS. The president is responsible for adding amendments/by-laws or changing the constitution. All changes to the group constitution must be approved by a two-thirds majority.
Article XI. NON-DISCRIMINATION The Flying Virginians does not restrict its membership, programs, or activities on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family and genetic information.