CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA JUNIOR CLASSICAL LEAGUE

Preamble

We, the members of the South Carolina Junior Classical League, in order to promote the cooperation among the local chapters, to establish a basis for order and to increase unity, to promote friendship and to encourage understanding among the several members, do hereby ordain and establish this constitution.

Article I
Name

The name of this organization shall be the South Carolina Junior Classical League.

Article II
Purpose

The purpose of this organization shall be to promote a more thorough knowledge of classical life, history, and literature, to impart a better understanding of the practical and cultural value of the classics; to interest other students in the classical languages, literature, government, laws, and arts, and, as members of this organization, to pattern our citizenship in respect to family, school, and nation after the best examples of classical civilization.

Article III
Parliamentary Authority

This Constitution, in conjunction with the Bylaws and Manual of the National Junior Classical League and Robert’s Rules of Order, shall be the authority for the operation of the South Carolina Junior Classical League.

Article IV
Membership and Sponsorship

A. Membership.

1. Individual Membership. Individual membership in this organization shall be granted to any student that fits the following:

• Any student who is registered in the Classics (Ancient Greek, Latin, or Mythology).
• Any student who is enrolled at the same school as their sponsor and chapter.
• Any student who has paid their dues to both NJCL and SCJCL.

2. Local Chapters. Local chapters are defined as:

• A sponsor and five (5) eligible students registered or employed by the same school.
• A school that pays dues to both NJCL and SCJCL.
• A school that participates in Classics Day and/or the Spring Forum.

3. Members-at-Large. Students of the classics in the state of South Carolina who are unable to join a local chapter because a local chapter does not exist at their school may apply to the State Chair to be a member-at-large in the South Carolina Junior Classical League.

B. Sponsors.

A local chapter must be sponsored by a Latin teacher, a Greek teacher, a teacher of the Classical Humanities.

1. Good Standing of Sponsors. A Sponsor must:

• be a member of the American Classical League of SCJCL and NJCL.
• ensure that the chapter has been approved as bona fide JCL chapter in good standing (Good standing is defined as the chapter’s affiliation with both the state and the National Junior Classical League)
• ensure that all of the chapter’s financial commitments are properly paid each year.
• advise and assist the chapter’s officers when necessary to keep the chapter’s programs functioning smoothly.
• create an atmosphere of shared responsibility through properly conducted business meetings of the organization and implementation of programs and activities.
• promotes interest in attending and participating in state and national meetings, as well as in running for state or national office.
• publicizes chapter activities through local media: newspapers, etc.
• attends and participates with other Sponsors in state and national meetings whenever possible.
• communicates with the State Chair and state officers whenever necessary
• uses resources as Resource Center for further suggestions and guidelines for activities.

2. Any Sponsor or State Chair may be removed from his/ her position for any of the following reasons:

• serious negligence of duties which are assigned in the NJCL or the SCJCL Constitutions.
• inability to prove good standing with his/ her state, with the National JCL or with the ACL.
• moral turpitude at any JCL function, including but not limited to drunkenness, providing drugs or alcohol to students, or condoning consumption of same, sexual relations with a student, and misuse of JCL funds.

Article V
Executive Board

There shall be an Executive Board composed of the State elected Officers, the Co-Chairs (their Sponsors) and the State Chair. This Board shall act as the agent through which SCJCL business between Conventions can be transacted. The President of the SCJCL shall serve as the Chairperson of the Board.

Article VI
State Officers

A. Permanent Offices.

A permanent office is one that MUST be filled by a student who is 9th-11th grade during candidacy (10th-12th while serving); if there is less than one pre-filed candidate for a permanent office, a state of emergency shall be called for by the Parliamentarian for that position during the first general assembly of the Spring Forum. The permanent elected offices of this organization shall be the following: President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Parliamentarian, Historian, and Editor.

B. Junior Representative.

A Junior Representative is an office that may either be filled by up to 2 students who are in 7th-8th grade during candidacy (8th-9th grade during their term) or remain vacant. A state of emergency will be called if no candidates are running for this position.

C. Term of Office.

The term of office for each Officer shall be from 10 days after their election at the SCJCL Spring Forum until 10 days after the next SCJCL Spring Forum.

D. Candidate Eligibility.

To be eligible to run for elective office, a candidate:

• MUST have permission of parent(s) or guardian.
• MUST have permission of their local Sponsor, who must have fulfilled Part IV, Section B.
• if running for a permanent office, MUST be in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade.
• if running for a junior office, MUST be in 7th or 8th grade.
• MUST be currently enrolled in Latin, Greek, or Classical Humanities. However, any student who has completed all available Latin, Greek, or Classical Humanities courses at their school is exempt from this amendment.
• MUST have previously attended one SCJCL Fall Workshop; preference will be given to candidates who have also attended an SCJCL Spring Forum
• MUST be a member of a local chapter in good standing with SCJCL and NJCL. A Sponsor from the candidate’s delegation must be present with them at the Nominations Committee.
• MUST be confirmed by their local Sponsor to be in good academic standing.
• if running for a permanent office, MUST not be running for an office they are holding or have held previously.

E. Duties of the Officers.

1. Duties of all SCJCL Officers.

• Attendance at all Officer meetings.
• Attendance at SCJCL Fall Workshops, Spring Fora, and NJCL Convention unless unforeseeable event (e.g. death in the family, etc.).
• Enthusiasm for Latin/Greek and the Junior Classical League.
• All Officers are expected to cooperate among themselves and other Executive Board members to keep in regular contact with the State Chair and the other Officers.
• MUST submit a monthly report stating a list of accomplishments of the previous month and a list of goals for the next month.

2. Duties of the President.

• Presides over all meetings as Chairperson of the SCJCL Board. Announces the date, time, meeting place, and agenda at least one (1) week prior to meetings. Meetings are required to be held at least one (1) time a month, with the only exceptions being voted on by the SCJCL Board.
• Assign each Officer jobs to do throughout their term. (community service, fundraising, etc.)
• Works with the Parliamentarian in order to revise the SCJCL Constitution if needed.
• Hosts the SCJCL Spring Forum at their school unless they are unable to. The President also creates the agenda and sends the official Spring Forum invitation to all sponsors throughout the state.
• Remains in contact with all Officers at least once a month after elections.

3. Duties of the First Vice President.

• Sees that the state fulfills its obligations to the National Junior Classical League and remains in contact with it and other JCL states.
• Sends state publicity materials to the NJCL First Vice President.
• Assists the President in all their undertakings and be ready to assume charge in their absence.
• Is chairperson of the community service committee.
• Chooses, organizes, and presides over a fundraising activity to benefit travel to the National Convention. This includes running the community service project at the Spring Forum.
• Determines and plans the community service project that all chapters participate in at the Spring Forum.
• Hosts the fall Classics Day. This includes contacting a host school, creating an agenda for the day, and working closely with the State Chair in order to create a fun learning environment.

4. Duties of the Second Vice President.

• Serves as a resource for local JCL Officers to contact concerning suitable programs for their chapter.
• Is in charge of the Spirit Contest at the NJCL Convention.
• Runs the Spirit and Roll Call contests at the Spring Forum.
• Executes the duties of the President whenever both the President and First Vice President are unable to serve.

5. Duties of the Parliamentarian.

• Is responsible for and shall make all decisions concerning the correct observance of the rules of parliamentary procedure according to this organization’s parliamentary authority, which is stated in Article I, Part VI of this constitution to be Robert’s Rules of Order.
• Executes the duties of the President in the event of, the First Vice President, and the Second Vice President’s inability to serve.
• Presides at any meeting of the South Carolina Junior Classical League that involves the SCJCL or NJCL Constitution and/or Bylaws, or the election process of the SCJCL or the NJCL.
• Is responsible for receiving filing papers of SCJCL Candidates and/or applications for vacant SCJCL offices.
• Works with the President and State Chair as co-chairperson of the Constitutional Advisory Committee in order to edit the SCJCL Constitution as needed.
• Creates and distributes the ballots for the SCJCL Constitutional Amendments.
• Plans and runs the Open Forum and Candidates Corner at the SCJCL Spring Forum.

6. Duties of the Editor.

• Creates and edits the Back to School: Torch SC, the Winter: Torch SC, and the Spring: Torch SC.
• Works alongside the Junior Representative(s) for the Torch.
• Works alongside the Historian in order to write captions for any public posts.

7. Duties of the Historian.

• Files all Junior Classical League materials of historical interest.
• Creates and edits the SCJCL Scrapbook, which will be submitted the following summer at the NJCL Convention.
• Works alongside the Editor for the Torch and also any public posts.

8. Duties of the Junior Representatives.

• Aid in communication between the Board and middle school chapters.
• Write an article for each version of the Torch: SC.
• Works alongside the President to help plan middle school-friendly activities.

F. Nomination Procedures.

1. Filing for Office. Any eligible person who wishes to run for South Carolina Junior Classical League office may become a prospective candidate by filing the designated forms with the SCJCL Parliamentarian before SCJCL Spring Forum.
2. Nominations Committee. A candidate shall be nominated by a Nominations Committee which shall consist of two previously selected voting delegates from each chapter attending the Spring Forum. The SCJCL Parliamentarian shall serve as the chair of Nominations Committee.
   All candidates must be approved by the Nominations Committee, including those nominees who have pre-filed forms and they must be presented first in the committee meeting. There can be no nominations from the Spring Forum floor unless there is a state of emergency. When the Nominations Committee has at least one pre-filed nominee for an elective office, additional nominations will not be accepted at the Nominations Committee Meeting. If more than two nominees for an office have pre-filed, the Nominations Committee will vote to select only two candidates. If only one candidate has pre-filed for a SCJCL office, then that pre-filed candidate will automatically fill the seat for that office. For the nominations, the Nominations Committee shall select the required number of nominees to have no more than two candidates. In case of a tie, the SCJCL Parliamentarian shall cast the deciding vote. The State Chair (or their representative) shall meet with the committee to act as an advisor.
   A campaign speech limited to three (3) minutes on behalf of the state candidate shall be allowed before the Nominations Committee at the SCJCL Spring Forum.

G. Election Procedures.

Each candidate may campaign at the SCJCL Spring Forum only after the candidates' speech screening. Each candidate must submit their speech to the SCJCL Parliamentarian at the date set at least two (2) weeks prior to the Spring Forum.

1. Expenses. Expenses for the campaign shall not exceed $30 per candidate, including both the estimated value of donated material and actual expenses.
2. Candidate Screening. At least one week prior to the State Convention, each candidate selected by the Nominating Committee must submit his or her speech to the Parliamentarian for screening. The Parliamentarian, in cooperation with the State Chair, will suggest whatever changes are necessary to ensure that the speech holds to acceptable bounds of appropriateness and that it does not conflict with the purpose of the organization.
3. At the SCJCL Spring Forum, prior to campaigning, each candidate shall present his or her campaign materials and all applicable receipts to the Parliamentarian. The candidate will be required to give a speech limited to three (3) minutes at the General Assembly I of the SCJCL Spring Forum.
   There shall be at every Spring Forum a meeting of candidates and chapter delegates in which the delegates may question the candidates on relevant topics. The SCJCL Parliamentarian shall be in charge of the format and administration of this meeting.
4. Voting delegates shall vote by secret ballot. Each SCJCL chapter which was represented by two (2) delegates at the Nominations Committee meeting shall have two votes; each chapter which was represented by only one delegate will have one vote. Each chapter which was not represented at the Nominations Committee shall have no vote. The voting delegates must vote in accordance with their chapter’s decision. Only members which are in good standing may vote in the chapter delegation. A candidate must receive a majority of votes eligible to be elected to an office.

H. Campaign Honesty

Any instances of dishonesty displayed by a candidate during their campaign can put their position as a candidate and potentially their position as a future SCJCL Officer in jeopardy. Some instances of dishonesty include:

• Falsifying/editing documents required to be submitted
• Intentionally submitting a record of expenses that is deflated in order to stay under the budget
• And bribing voting delegates to receive their vote against their chapter’s decision.

Upon an instance of dishonesty from the candidate during their campaign being discovered and verified, the candidate in question may face the following penalties:

1. Immediate disqualification from the current election race.
2. Barred from running for a SCJCL Officer position for the remainder of their membership in the SCJCL.
3. Barred from becoming a voting delegate for the remainder of their membership in the SCJCL.
4. Possible barring from running for an NJCL Officer position, up to the discretion of the SCJCL Executive Board (should the candidate not be connected to any sort of chapter, the decision will be given by the current President of the SCJCL)
5. Possible revoked membership of the SCJCL, up to the discretion of the State Chair.

Upon an instance of dishonesty from the candidate during their campaign being discovered and verified during the Spring Forum after the voting ballot has taken place, but the candidate has not yet been sworn into office, the following may happen to the election:

1. The second most-voted candidate for the office (if applicable) will be the candidate to receive the Officer position.
2. The voting process will be completely redone for the office, only if there were at least three (3) total candidates running for the office prior to the disqualification of the dishonest candidate.

Should an instance of dishonesty from the candidate during their campaign be discovered and verified following the candidate being sworn into office, not only may the new Officer be removed from office without any sort of vote being required, but they may also be barred from running for a SCJCL/NJCL Officer position or becoming a voting delegate for any future elections in the SCJCL and NJCL.

G. Annual SCJCL Spring Forum.

The annual SCJCL Spring Forum shall be located at the chapter of the SCJCL President; if the President is unable to host the Spring Forum the location will be determined by the board.

Article VII
Removal from Office

A. Grounds for Removal.

The South Carolina JCL will be entitled to remove any officer, Sponsor, Co-Chair and State Chair from office. Grounds for removal will include an officer’s infraction to the SCJCL rules at a state, or national convention, and/or serious negligence in the discharge of the duties of their office as defined in this constitution.

B. Removal Procedures.

The following procedures will be followed in the event that an Officer is considered for removal: the Officer must be notified in writing that they are in dereliction of duty or that the Executive Board has been made aware of a serious local, state, or national JCL infraction, a “call for a vote” for removal from office will be presented to the Executive Board. A vote of a two-thirds majority is required to remove any Officer, Sponsor, Co-Chair, or State Chair from office. Should the reason for the Officer being in question for removal be repeated, the Officer can be removed without a vote if they fits all of the following:

• Has been through the removal process at least one (1) time prior.
• Has missed a minimum of three (3) mandatory Officer meetings.

C. Post-Removal Officer Duties

Upon an Officer being removed from office, they are required to do the following of which applies to the removed Officer:

1. Reimburse all and any financial accommodations received by the removed Officer in full.
2. Return any property given by the SCJCL or NJCL for temporary use.

Article VIII
State Chair and Co-Chairs

A. State Chair

The State Chair will be elected by the Sponsors of the chapters of the South Carolina JCL. The term of office of the State Chair will be three years, beginning at the conclusion of the SCJCL Spring Forum. The State Chair may be re-elected. During the third year of the State Chair's term, the Executive Board will send out an application form to all eligible Sponsors. This form must be submitted two (2) weeks prior to the Spring Forum by any Sponsor seeking the office of State Chair. A candidate for the office of State Chair must be in good standing with the American Classical League, the National JCL, and the South Carolina JCL. The election of a State Chair will be conducted by secret ballot during the Sponsor’s meeting at the SCJCL Spring Forum.

B. Duties of the State Chair

The State Chair will:

• serve as a liaison to facilitate communication with the individual chapters and Sponsors, and to disseminate pertinent information to these chapters and Sponsors.
• advise the State Officers.
• supervise State events.
• attend State JCL, National JCL events as a representative of the South Carolina JCL.
• work carefully with officers for the good of the SCJCL.
• maintain an up-to-date active list of all chapters who are in good
• attend State JCL, National JCL events as a representative of the South Carolina JCL.
• assist the SCJCL President when they organize the SCJCL Spring Forum.
• assist the SCJCL First ​Vice President when they organize the SCJCL Fall Workshop.

C. Co-Chairs

The Co-Chairs shall be the Sponsors who have an elected State Officer. They are required to attend the SCJCL Classics Day and the SCJCL Spring Forum. They are also required to attend the NJCL Convention with their Officer. Failure to do so will result in their removal from the Executive Board. Co-Chairs shall also get yearly reports on the financial situation and the growth of SCJCL.

Article IX
Amendments

Suggested amendments may be submitted in writing to the SCJCL Parliamentarian or State Chair at least six (6) weeks before the annual SCJCL Spring Forum. Copies of proposed amendments must be sent to all SC chapters at least four (4) weeks before the annual Spring Forum. These amendments shall be read at the General Assembly 1 of the Spring Forum and voted on at the General Assembly 2. Two-thirds votes of the voting delegates present shall be sufficient for the establishment of this constitution.

Article X
Ratification

Following the ratification by a two-thirds vote of all the chapters, this constitution shall become effective after the adjournment of the SCJCL Spring Forum at which it was adopted. By a three-fourths vote of the chapters, it may likewise be abolished. A copy of the SCJCL Constitution will be submitted yearly to the NJCL Constitutional Advisor by the SCJCL President and State Chair.

BYLAWS

A. Dues

1. Proper payment consists of payments of the annual dues (NJCL and SCJCL) on or before February 1st. To meet payment requirements, all chapters must pay the three (3) dollars per student fee. The ten (10) dollars for the chapter registration fee will be waived for all chapters registered on or before December 1st.
2. Chapters that fail to meet the date of required payment(s) will have all privileges nullified such as attending Forums, running for State Office, hosting the Spring Forum, and attending the National Convention.
3. Fees for new chapters will be waived until the Spring Forum. The proper payment of three (3) dollars per student must be paid at Spring Forum for new chapters.

B. SCJCL Spring Forum

The time of the Spring Forum shall be fixed to suit the convenience of the school year. The SCJCL President and their Co-Chair will make this selection. A Spring Forum informational packet must be submitted by the President and their Sponsor to the SCJCL State Chair before January 1st.

All chapters in good standing shall receive information about the SCJCL Spring Forum through the State Chair or the President. Chapters not in good standing may neither participate in the contests nor run a candidate for office.

C. SCJCL Fall Workshop/Classics Day

The Fall Workshop/Classics Day must be announced to all chapters at least two (2) months in advance of this event. This event will be hosted by a college that has a Classics program. The First Vice President will be in charge of planning and hosting the event alongside the State Chair and Classics program of a college.