The Massachusetts Institute of Technology East Campus House Committee By-laws

Article I — Applicability

The rules contained in these By-laws shall govern the Committee in all cases to which they are applicable and not inconsistent with Constitution of this organization.

Article II — Duties of Voting Delegates

  1. Voting delegates to HouseComm shall be the appointed representatives of each Hall. Each Hall may determine its own voting delegates according to its own policies and practices, but no Hall shall have more than three voting delegates. The voting delegates of a single Hall collectively possess one vote at HouseComm.
  2. Each Hall must send at least one of its voting delegates to every regularly scheduled meeting of HouseComm. In the event of an absence, it is the responsibility of the Hall to request an excuse, in writing, from the President, and provide the name of a proxy from that same Hall. If a Hall fails to send a voting delegate or a proxy to three HouseComm meetings in a term, it shall be fined a sum of $100 by the Treasurer, with an additional fine of $100 to be enforced for every subsequent absence at HouseComm during that term.
  3. The voting delegates shall be responsible for communicating the business of HouseComm, including but not limited to policy proposals, topics of discussion, and opportunities for involvement, to their respective Halls. Furthermore, the delegates shall make a good faith effort to represent the ideas and opinions of their constituencies.

Article III — Meetings

  1. Meetings of HouseComm shall occur at least once every two weeks during the Fall and Spring terms and at the discretion of ExecComm.
  2. A quorum of seven Halls present is necessary to conduct any vote at HouseComm. If fewer than seven Halls are present, the meeting of HouseComm may proceed but no votes may be taken.
  3. Meetings of HouseComm may be closed by a majority vote of HouseComm. If a meeting is closed, only members of East Campus (and not associate members) may be in attendance. The meeting can be opened again by another majority vote of HouseComm.

Article IV — Voting

Section 1 — Elections

  1. In all popular elections ballots shall be tabulated by the Election Committee according to the following "instant run-off" voting procedure:
    1. Consider only and all legally cast ballots and only and all legally qualified candidates who appear on them. All elections shall be preferential (i.e. the names appearing on the ballot shall be ranked first, second, etc.)
    2. If only one opening is available for the contested position, tally up all first-place votes. If a candidate receives a simple majority of the ballots, he is elected. If not, retally the ballots of the lowest-ranking candidate, awarding each ballot to the next highest remaining candidate. (If none of the remaining candidates appears on the ballot, it cannot be used for redistribution; it will be voided and discarded.) Continue redistributing the ballots of the remaining candidates with the fewest votes in this fashion until one candidate receives a simple majority.
    3. If a tie should result, either between the final two candidates or between two candidates for redistribution, determine ranking by weighting the ballots. Award three points for a first-place vote, two points for a second, and one for a third. The person with the greater weighted sum shall be the higher-ranking.
    4. If more than one opening is available, use the above procedure to elect the first person. Next, strike their name from all ballots and re-order the preferential listing to account for his absence; elect the second office holder as before. Continue this process until all of the positions are filled.
    5. If in any election the number of candidates is less than or equal to the number of openings, HouseComm may by a vote of seven-out-of-ten Halls suspend the preferential voting restriction in favor of a yes-no vote on each candidate.
    6. In order to make the above system work, it is required that each voter rank at least one candidate on the ballot, although additional write-in candidates are allowed (at any level of ranking). The Election Committee shall ensure that voters are aware of this by reminding voters at the polling station or by providing written instructions.
  2. No electioneering may be conducted within ten meters of the polling place, except that the nomination petitions of all candidates shall be posted on the bulletin board twenty-four hours prior to the election for the duration of the election.
  3. All petitions shall be obtained from and returned to the Secretary. For a given petition, any person may sign once for any office for which they are eligible to vote.
  4. Once all ballots are tabulated, the Election Committee shall announce the results of the election, including the number of ballots won by each candidate in each round of voting.

Section 2 — Referenda

  1. All referenda shall offer the electorate a choice between accepting and rejecting a single given proposal.
  2. Once all ballots are tabulated, the Election Committee shall announce the results of the referendum, including the number of voters accepting and rejecting the proposal in question.

Section 3 — Out of Session Voting

In the event that an urgent matter requiring the attention of HouseComm arises over the summer or IAP, out of session voting procedures may be used as follows, at the discretion of the President.

  1. The voting period shall be open a minimum of three days, and a deadline will be clearly established during the initial call for a vote.
  2. Any Hall that does not place a vote by the deadline shall be recorded as an abstention.
  3. A method of submitting comments will be provided.
  4. Halls may change their vote during the voting period.

Article V — Solicitation

Any general solicitation, sales, or door-to-door canvassing must have the approval of the Executive Committee, subject to the approval of HouseComm.

Article VI — Expenditures

  1. Expenditures up to the following amounts may be paid by the Treasurer with the following authorizations:
    1. Up to $15 from Miscellaneous without further approval.
    2. Up to $400 for anticipated expenses with the approval of the members of ExecComm.
    3. For any amount with the approval of HouseComm.

Article VII — Auxiliary Committee Regulations

Section 1 — Reporting

All auxiliary committee chairs must make reports to HouseComm when requested to do so by any HouseComm member.

Section 2 — Summer Residence for Specific Committee Chairs

For the following auxiliary committees, the chair (or one of the chairs, if there are multiple) must be living on the MIT campus over the summer, or designate a proxy who will be:

  1. Rush Committee
  2. Social Committee

Section 3 — Appointments

  1. Any member of East Campus may be nominated to chair any auxiliary committee, unless otherwise in the charge or By-laws of that committee.
  2. Members must be confirmed by a majority vote of those present at the HouseComm meeting at which the election takes place.
  3. Unless otherwise stated in the charge or By-laws of the auxiliary committee, the Chair may fill any additional vacancies on the committee at their discretion without the confirmation of HouseComm.
  4. HouseComm shall have the power to remove a member of an auxiliary committee with a vote of seven-out-of-ten-halls.
  5. In the case of a vacancy for the chair of an auxiliary committee, an election must be held at the next HouseComm meeting, unless voted to be postponed by a two-thirds majority of members present.

Article VIII — Committee Charges

  1. The Social Committee (hereafter referred to as "SocComm") shall be responsible for the social programming of the dormitory.
  2. The Rush Committee shall be responsible for the planning and execution of REX events, and for the coordination of East Campus REX activities with DormCon and MIT Orientation activities.
    1. This committee shall be responsible for deciding on REX activities, policies, and a budget.
  3. The CPW Committee shall be responsible for the planning and execution of CPW activities, and for the coordination of these activities with the Dormitory Council and the MIT Housing and Admissions Offices.
  4. The Bad Ideas Committee shall be responsible for the planning and execution of Bad Ideas activities, and for the coordination of these activities with the Dormitory Council and the MIT Housing Office and EHS.
  5. The Concert Committee (hereafter referred to as "ConcertComm") shall be responsible for organizing FredFest annually.
  6. East Campus Historian shall act as maintainer of the dorm's social and physical history, and should encourage further research, outreach, and interest in EC's past.
  7. The Bike Committee (hereafter referred to as "BikeComm") shall be responsible for maintaining EC’s bike maintenance tools and pump.
  8. The Game Room Committee (hereafter referred to as "GameComm") shall be responsible for the management and maintenance of all games and recreational equipment that belong to East Campus.
  9. The Sports Committee (hereafter referred to as "JockComm") supervises EC's IM sports teams.
  10. The Dining Committee (hereafter referred to as "NomComm") shall also be responsible for organizing periodic cooking classes for members of the dormitory.
  11. The Web Committee (hereafter referred to as "WebComm") shall be responsible for maintaining EC's Athena locker and website, as well as the EC server room.
  12. The AV Committee (hereafter referred to as "AVComm") supervises and maintains East Campus’ audiovisual equipment, including sound and light setups, as well as the Talbot lounge projector.
  13. The Alumni Committee (hereafter referred to as "AlumniComm") coordinates alumni communications and involvement in East Campus.
  14. The Weightroom Committee (hereafter referred to as "WeightroomComm") maintains East Campus’ weightroom.
  15. The Camera Committee (hereafter referred to as "CameraComm") produces East Campus' i3 video, and maintains the equipment needed to make this necessary, including EC's video camera.
  16. The Tool Committee (hereafter referred to as "ToolComm") keeps and maintains East Campus' tool collection.
  17. The Piano Committee (hereafter referred to as "PianoComm") is responsible for the management and maintenance of the pianos at East Campus. It is also responsible for the maintenance of other musical facilities.
  18. The Laundry Committee (hereafter referred to as "SudsComm") communicates with the laundry facilities and ensures that machines are functional
  19. The Sewing Committee (hereafter referred to as "SewingComm") maintains and lends out sewing machines that EC owns.
  20. The Talbot Committee (hereafter referred to as "TalbotComm") shall be responsible for the physical and emotional upkeep and improvement of Talbot lounge.
  21. The Sustainability Committee (hereafter referred to as "EcoComm") shall be responsible for educating and encouraging students to minimize waste and develop sustainable habits. EcoComm will act as EC's point of contact for UA Sustainability and other groups on campus.
  22. Thrift Committee (hereafter referred to as "ThriftComm") shall organizes events encouraging residents to reuse and recycle through events such as an IAP and Spring Break flea market, a "thrift fashion" show in Talbot, and donations collection to Goodwill, once per semester.