Article I: Name and Purpose
Section 1: The name of this fraternity shall be the Mu Gamma Chapter of Theta Tau
Section 2: The purpose of Theta Tau is to develop and maintain a high standard of professional interest among its members and to unite them in a strong bond of fraternal fellowship.
Section 3: The purpose of this organization shall be the propagation of the ideals of the Theta Tau fraternity at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Section 4: Any student initiated in the Theta Tau Fraternity shall be considered a brother.
Article II: Organization and Government
Section 1: The sovereignty of the Mu Gamma chapter of Theta Tau rests in the chapter meetings of the brothers, open only to brothers of the Theta Tau fraternity.
Section 2: Between the chapter meetings power will reside with the Executive Council. The Executive Council shall hold meetings open to the public. The Regent will decide on the time and place of these meetings.
Article III: Membership
Part A: Pledges
Section 1: A formal atmosphere at which the relevant details and responsibilities of the Pledge Program are discussed with the candidates shall take place each semester. This will include but is not restricted to financial and membership responsibilities and requirements, and the hazing policy of the Mu Gamma Chapter of Theta Tau. The Formal Rush meeting should be held prior to candidate election to the Chapter Pledge Program.
Section 2.a: A candidate for membership must be elected to the Chapter Pledge Program at a regular or special chapter meeting.
Section 2.a.1: Election of the candidate to the Chapter Pledge Program shall be a unanimous, secret ballot of the brothers of the Mu Gamma Chapter of Theta Tau. The votes shall be counted and announced to the chapter by the Scribe after all candidates have been considered and voted upon.
Section 2.a.2: All candidates who have been elected will be notified at least Seventy-Two hours prior to the pinning ceremony. The candidates who have been accepted for entry into the Chapter Pledge Program by the receipt of the bid are to notify the chapter of their acceptance or declination. All bids not accepted by the beginning of the pinning ceremony are considered to be declined.
Section 2.b: A motion to call the reconsideration of a candidate's election to the Pledge Program must occur before the close of the Chapter meeting at which the candidate is first considered for election. The motion must be seconded and will pass by a two-thirds open vote of the active brothers of the Mu Gamma Chapter of Theta Tau. The reconsideration of the candidate will follow the same procedures outlined in sections 2.a.1 through 2.a.2. A candidate may only be reconsidered once.
Section 2.c: The pledge program shall begin with the pinning ceremony at which the persons considered to pledge are pinned with the chapter pledge pin.
Section 3: There shall be no intimate Brother relationships.
Section 3.a: Any pledge in violation of section 3 shall be expelled from the pledge program with no future consideration for membership
Section 4: The Chapter Pledge Program will end with the formal initiation ceremony as prescribed by the Chapter Ritual of Theta Tau.
Section 5: No pledge program may be permitted to be less than 6 weeks long.
Section 6: A secret ballot on the worthiness of any pledge may be requested by any active brother at any chapter meeting. The pledge must receive an 80% favorable vote at that meeting to remain a pledge of Theta Tau. The number of ballots taken on any pledge is limited to two per semester, not including the election to the Chapter Pledge Program, mid-program vote, or the final vote. The Regent may defer a requested ballot until the next scheduled chapter meeting.
Section 7: A vote by the active brothers shall be taken at the midpoint of the pledge program to evaluate the worthiness of each pledge. Any pledge that does not pass this ballot by an 80% favorable vote shall be terminated from the pledge program.
Section 8: A final, unanimous, secret ballot vote is required for each pledge to be initiated. This date shall be predetermined by the Regent and the Marshall and marked in the minutes and “The Final Vote”. There will be no other pledge votes for that pledge class, and all pledges receiving an unfavorable vote will be dropped from the pledging process. This ballot must be taken no more than ten days prior to the formal initiation ceremony. The votes shall be counted and announced to the chapter by the Scribe after all candidates have been considered and voted upon.
Section 8a: If a pledge receives a favorable vote, he shall be invited to be initiated in the Mu Gamma Chapter of Theta Tau.
Section 8b: If a pledge receives an unfavorable vote, discussion will take place, followed by a second round of voting. If the pledge receives another unfavorable vote, another round of discussion will take place, followed by a third and final round of voting. If that pledge receives a third unfavorable vote, that pledge shall be dropped from the pledging process.
Section 9: To be eligible to be initiated a pledge must have successfully completed the Chapter Pledge Program, passed all ballots, settled all debts, met all official requirements set forth by Theta Tau, and have passed both the national and local pledge exams with a score of 80% or better.
Section 10: Any pledge that fails to successfully complete the Chapter Pledge Program or fails the final examination will be dropped from the pledge program.
Section 11: A pledge, having successfully undertaken the ceremonies of initiation as prescribed by the Chapter Ritual of Theta Tau, shall be enrolled as a student member of the Mu Gamma Chapter of Theta Tau Fraternity and shall be called a brother.
Part B: Brothers
Section 1: Membership in this fraternity shall be limited to engineers in a program accepted by Theta Tau Fraternity, who are at least eighteen years of age, possess qualities of brotherhood as determined by its active student brothers, and those who demonstrate a professional attitude beneficial to the organization. A younger student may be pledged provided they turn eighteen before they are initiated.
Section 2: There shall be no intimate pledge/Brother relationships.
Section 2.a: If a brother is found in violation of Section 2, a penalty ordered by the Executive Council, shall be imposed no later than one week following the accusations held against them.
Section 2.b: Special consideration may be taken by the Regent on the individual level for relationships which started prior to rush. This must be addressed prior to the person being admitted to the pledge program.
Section 3: Student membership in this fraternity shall be limited to students that are enrolled and pursuing a bachelor's or higher degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo. To be eligible for membership, a student must have the overall grade point average required for graduation. Upon graduation, a student brother will be classified as an alumnus unless he continues in graduate school, in which case he may elect to remain a student brother.
Section 4: Alumnus membership in this fraternity may be conferred upon a graduated engineer actively practicing his profession or is teaching in a technical field at the State University of New York at Buffalo, has a sincere interest in this fraternity, and is judged by its student brothers to be of service to it.
Section 5: Election to student or alumnus membership is only by unanimous secret ballot vote of all active student brothers. The name of any candidate rejected for membership may be presented again by an active student brother in accordance to the guidelines set forth in Article III, Part A, Section 2.b.
Section 6: No brother of this fraternity (student or alumnus) shall become a brother of any local fraternity that is competitive with this fraternity, or any organization that is considered by Theta Tau to be competitive with it. Brothers of these organizations shall be ineligible to membership in this fraternity.
Section 7: A brother may be granted Inactive Brother status if he feels he will be unable to participate in chapter activities during the course of the semester. This status must be requested by the third meeting of a semester and will be granted upon a 4/5 majority vote of the active brothers. This status may only be granted once in a brother's undergraduate career. Upon obtaining Inactive Brother status, the brother will have to pay any national debts for that semester, but will not be charged any local dues. In the instance where the brother would attend any event, he shall be responsible for any funds that would otherwise be paid for by the fraternity on his behalf.
Part C: Brothers Not in Good Standing
Section 1: Any brother who does not prescribe to the ideals of an active brother shall be designated a brother not in good standing.
Section 1.a: Any brother considered not in good standing shall not be considered an active brother.
Section 2: Any brother that slanders the organization shall be considered a brother not in good standing at the discretion of the Regent. This can be overridden by a three-fourths majority vote of active brothers.
Section 3: A brother must pay all fees levied to them while they are considered not in good standing in order to regain good standing status
Section 4: Any brother may be considered an active brother once the problem that put them not in good standing is resolved and a written apology has been issued to the brothers of the fraternity.
Section 5: A brother in bad standing for a period of three weeks will be brought before the chapter executive council to be issued a proper punishment.
Section 5.a: If a brother feels his punishment is unjust he may appeal to the fraternity, and the punishment can be over turned by a 2/3 majority vote.
Article IV: Chapter Officers
Section 1: The officers of the chapter shall be the Regent, Vice Regent, Scribe, Treasurer and Corresponding Secretary. Each office shall be elected by a secret majority vote of the brothers of the chapter.
Section 2: To hold an elected office, a brother must be in good financial standing with the Chapter.
Section 3: The Regent shall appoint all other officers as required by the Theta Tau Fraternity, including, but not limited to the Inner and Outer Guards.
Section 3.a: For the position of pledge marshal, the Regent must appoint the brother elected by a majority vote of active brothers of Mu Gamma Chapter.
Section 4: All other officers, directors, and chairpersons shall be appointed by the Regent and shall serve a term of one semester.
Section 5: The Executive Council shall consist of the Regent, Vice Regent, Treasurer, Scribe, Marshall, and Corresponding Secretary.
Section 6: Chapter officer elections shall take place with at least two weeks remaining in the semester.
Section 7: Each elected officer shall submit a written report about their term in office at the end of each term, to be submitted in the Mu Gamma Chapter Archives.
Section 8: The offices of Treasurer and Corresponding Secretary shall be held for a period of one year, beginning in January of each year. All other positions shall be voted upon each semester.
Section 9: An attendance policy must be created by the Executive Council by the first meeting of the semester.
Section 10: The Regent shall preside at all meetings, initiate all new brothers, appoint all committees and non-elective officers, and fulfill such other obligations as may be imposed upon him by the fraternity.
Section 11: The Vice-Regent shall take the place of the Regent when he is unable to fulfill his office. He shall also oversee all committees. The Vice-Regent has all the same powers as the Regent, but can be overridden by decision of the Regent. The Vice-Regent will also be responsible for auditing all finances at the end of each term with the assistance of no less than two active brothers of his choosing.
Section 12: The Scribe shall keep the fraternity records, keep minutes of the meetings, promptly fill out all forms, and perform such other duties as prescribed by the Regent or by the fraternity.
Section 13: The Treasurer shall keep the fraternity funds and financial records, collect fees and dues, make a monthly written report to the fraternity listing any delinquent brothers, and make disbursements from the fraternity treasury. The treasurer shall also present a verbal report of the fraternity finances at each meeting consisting of account balances and outstanding expenditures. The treasurer must also announce all brothers who have outstanding debts with the amount of money that is owed.
Section 14: The Corresponding Secretary shall carry on such correspondence as required by the Regent or by the fraternity, including a newsletter to be sent to all alumni at least once each year, and shall keep a current file on all student and alumnus brothers of the fraternity. The Corresponding Secretary can also serve as the Scribe during the same term.
Section 15: A brother may not hold the office of Regent for more than two consecutive semesters.
Section 16: A brother must have held at least one other elected office, for at least one whole semester, before he is able to be considered for the office of Regent.
Section 17: If an officer is found to be delinquent of his duties, said brother may be removed from office at any time pending a three-fourths majority vote that will follow one week from the request for removal.
Section 17.a: An officer intentionally not following the guidelines set fourth in the Mu Gamma By-Laws and Theta Tau National By-Laws shall be considered in dereliction of his duties.
Section 18: Any officer not in good standing for a period longer than 14 consecutive days shall be removed from office immediately.
Section 19: In the case that an officer is removed, the Vice-Regent shall assume all responsibilities of that office until a new officer is elected according to Article VII, Sections 2 through 6 of these by-laws.
Section 19.a: In the case that the officer removed is the Vice-Regent; no replacement is needed until a new officer is elected according to Article VII, Sections 2 through 6 of these by-laws.
Article V: Chapter Meetings
Section 1: Regular meetings shall be held weekly, beginning the first full week of each semester. By majority vote, the fraternity shall establish days, times and places for these meetings at the end of the preceding semester.
Section 2: The Regent may cancel or change a meeting time provided he notifies the other members of the Executive Council and instructs the Scribe to contact the other brothers at least 48 hours in advance of the scheduled time.
Section 3: A chapter meeting may be called for at any time by a majority of the active brothers.
Section 4: Attendance of the chapter meetings is required by all brothers.
Section 5: During closed session at every chapter meeting a passage shall be read from both the national and local By-Laws, and a short review of the Ritual of Theta Tau.
Section 6: All chapter meetings shall be formal and conducted according to the Chapter Ritual of Theta Tau. Rules of conduct not specified by the Ritual shall follow Robert's Rules of Order.
Section 7: A fifty-one percent majority of active brothers shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from meeting to meeting.
Section 8: Any brother who intentionally disrupts meetings shall be removed from the meeting at the request of the regent. The brother in violation will be considered not in good standing until the issue is resolved
Section 8.a: A fine of $5 will be levied on any brother who allows their cellular phone or similar device to disrupt a meeting.
Article VI: Voting
Section 1: All brothers of the chapter present at the meeting shall have a vote except as provided in these by-laws. These brothers may also be referred to as active brothers. Brothers who have lost their voting privileges shall be referred to as brothers not in good standing.
Section 1.a: All brothers, regardless of standing, cannot be prohibited to vote on officers, pledges, or new initiates.
Section 2: A majority vote shall decide all questions unless otherwise provided by law. The Regent shall have the right to vote only when his vote will affect the result of a question.
Section 3: There will be no voting by proxy.
Section 4: The Regent must announce all official votes, including but not limited to officer elections and pledge votes, at least two weeks in advance.
Section 5: The Scribe shall oversee all votes.
Section 6: All votes taken by secret ballot shall take place in order of roll number.
Article VII: Officer Elections
Section 1: The election date of officers shall be determined within the first three weeks of the semester.
Section 2: Nominations for officers shall be at a meeting at least one week prior to the Elections
Section 3: In order to be eligible for an elected position a brother must be present at both the nominations and elections.
Section 4: A brother must be in good standing with the fraternity in order to be eligible for a nomination.
Section 5: At the meeting in which the officer elections are scheduled to take place a discussion session will precede the elections. During this discussion session, each candidate will have an opportunity to present their positions and answer questions from the brothers without the other candidates in the room.
Section 5.a: No brother shall speak on the behalf of any candidate during the election process.
Section 6: All officer elections shall take place by secret ballot.
Article VIII: Finances
Part A: Pledges
Section 1: Each pledge will be required to pay pledge dues as set by the chapter.
Section 2: Any pledge whose bill becomes overdue will have his membership in the pledge program terminated without refund.
Section 3: No pledge will be permitted to participate in the formal Initiation Ceremony until his account has been settled, without exception.
Part B: Brothers
Section 1: Each brother will be required to pay the current amount of National Dues as well as local dues set by the chapter.
Section 2: Each brother will be required to pay the amount that is determined by a two-thirds vote of the active brothers at the first meeting of the semester.
Section 3: Upon graduation, each alumnus shall donate a sum of no less than $500 within five years after his graduation. This donation will be placed into an account controlled by a board of directors comprised of alumni brothers from the Mu Gamma Chapter of Theta Tau, to dispense as they see fit.
Section 4: A brother may request his dues be waved for a semester by a favorable four-fifths majority vote of the active brothers, upon showing just cause.
Part C: Collection Procedures
Section 1: All bills must be paid no later than October 15th and March 1st for the fall and spring semesters respectively.
Section 2: All overdue accounts shall incur a fine of $10.
Section 3: Any brother past due by more than thirty days on his account will be considered financially delinquent and must show cause to the chapter why he should not be expelled from the fraternity.
Section 4: The Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection of all funds, including pledge fees.
Section 5: Any brother that has not promptly settled his account in the allotted time shall be considered a brother not in good standing.
Section 6: Any brother or that has an outstanding debt for more than 12 months shall be immediately referred to a collection agency to collect the amount that is more than 12 months over due.
Section 6.a: Any debt that is owed to the Mu Gamma Chapter of Theta Tau upon passage of these by-laws shall be settled by the first meeting of the Fall 2004 semester or the brother in question will immediately be referred to a collection agency for the amount owed at that time.
Section 7: A brother may pay dues by credit card, however, the brother will be assessed a fee equivalent to any service charges charged by that service.
Part D: Budget
Section 1: The Executive Council shall prepare a budget to be voted upon no later than the first chapter meeting of the semester.
Section 2: Each committee shall submit a proposed budget to the Executive Council at least one month before the budget is to be prepared.
Article IX: Standing Committees
Section 1: The Regent is responsible for appointing all committee chairs, and directors.
Section 2: The Regent shall select and name all standing committee chairs by the first chapter meeting of the semester.
Section 3: The Vice Regent is responsible for meeting with all committee heads at least once a month, and shall oversee and coordinate all committees.
Section 4: Committee chairs are responsible for presenting the business of their committee at each chapter meeting
Article X: Hazing
Section 1: The hazing policy of the Mu Gamma Chapter of Theta Tau shall be as follows:
“Hazing is defined as ‘any action taken or situation created, intentionally, whether on or off fraternity premises, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule.' Such activities may include, but are not limited to the following; use of alcohol; paddling in any form; creation of excessive fatigue; physical and psychological shocks; quests; treasure hunts, scavenger hunts, road trips or any other activities carried on outside or inside the confines of the chapter house; wearing in public apparel which is conspicuous and not in normally good taste; engaging in public stunts and buffoonery, morally degrading or humiliating games and activities; and any other activities which are not consistent with fraternal laws, ritual or policy or the laws and policies of the educational institution”
Section 2: Hazing by any brother of Theta Tau, active or inactive, pledge, student, alumnus, or honorary, is absolutely forbidden. Any incidence of hazing must be reported to the members of the Executive Council immediately, failure to do so will result in punishment, to be determined by a disciplinary hearing. A disciplinary hearing will be held at the next chapter meeting. If there is no chapter meeting within 14 days of the report, an emergency chapter meeting must be called to take place no later than 14 days after the report.
Article XI: Pledging
Section 1: Any pledge enrolled in the Mu Gamma Chapter pledge program shall adhere to the Mu Gamma Pledging Policy. Failure to adhere to the policy shall result in removal from the program
Section 2: Any change to the pledge program shall require a three-fourths majority vote of the active brothers.
Article XII: Ratification & Amendments
Section 1: These by-laws supersede all previous Chapter by-laws and will become effective upon approval of a three-fourths majority of the active brothers.
Section 2: These by-laws may be amended at a chapter meeting by a three-fourths vote of the active brothers, provided a copy of the proposed amendment has been submitted to the Scribe at least one week prior to the vote and copies have been distributed to all the brothers at least one week prior to the consideration of the amendment. Notice of the time and place of the vote must be given to all of the brothers.
Section 3: Each brother, upon joining this fraternity, agrees to obey all parts of these by-laws.