The WESN Constitution

PREAMBLE
The students of Illinois Wesleyan University, in accordance with the license issued by the Federal Communications Commission, do establish a radio station which has the name of WESN, and whose license shall be held by the president of Illinois Wesleyan University.

WESN shall serve both the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University and the greater listening community by providing challenging, innovative programming and fulfilling the service of informing the public of events occurring on campus and in the surrounding community. WESN shall also serve the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University and the greater listening community by sponsoring its own events. WESN shall furthermore serve the Illinois Wesleyan University by providing an educational experience for those students, staff, and faculty who choose to be part of WESN.

WESN shall operate in accordance with the terms of this document and any documents drafted in a manner provided for by this document. This document should be interpreted in line with the Illinois Wesleyan University Charter and Bylaws and the Bylaw Constitution of the Illinois Wesleyan Student Senate. This document should furthermore be interpreted in line with the appropriate rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission. WESN shall strive to be an integral part of a thriving university and shall at times strive to uphold the high ethical standards of broadcast journalism.

ARTICLE I. Membership.

Membership in WESN is open to all students, faculty, and staff of Illinois Wesleyan University, regardless of sex, race, color, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, or handicap.

Individuals seeking membership must fill out a membership application and submit it to the WESN Executive Board. Should membership not be granted upon review of a membership application, an individual may appeal in writing to the WESN Executive Board.

Students shall have first priority for all WESN positions (over faculty and staff) unless a formal exception has been made by the WESN Executive Board.

Members of WESN have the rights to:
Vote during general Station Elections;
Apply for open positions, including Executive Board and DJ positions, except as subsequently noted;
Be properly trained in the use of station equipment when expected to properly operate such equipment;
Appeal decisions of the WESN Executive Board pertaining to their membership status in writing to the WESN Executive Board.
Learn about the operation of WESN in order to better serve the station;
Attend meetings of the WESN Executive Board.

Members of WESN have the responsibilities of:
Fulfilling the terms of this constitution;
Serving on at least one station committee unless specifically exempted by the WESN Executive Board;
Being properly trained in the use of station equipment when expected to properly operate such equipment;
Reporting all problems to a relevant Executive Board member.

WESN membership may be terminated at any time by formal written notice to the WESN Executive Board.

WESN membership may be suspended or revoked by the WESN Executive Board in accordance with the terms of this constitution at any time. Such actions are subject to appeal as stated in this Article, Section 4, Subsection iv.

ARTICLE II. WESN Executive Board - Composure and Duties.

WESN shall be chiefly governed by the WESN Executive Board who shall, in accordance with this constitution, draft a corollary document known as the By-laws of the WESN Executive Board, to provide for efficient governance of WESN.

The Executive Board shall consist of:
Station Manager;
Program Director;
Music Director;
Additional positions provided for in the By-laws of the WESN Executive Board.

The WESN Executive Board shall:
Regularly meet (at least once every two non-holiday weeks) to attend to station business;
Admit members to WESN;
Establish policies and procedures for WESN through the enactment of by-laws or general rules;
Suspend or revoke membership when deemed necessary;
Formulate budget requests to be submitted to the Illinois Wesleyan University Student Senate Financial Advisory Board;
Set dates for regular WESN broadcast.

The WESN Station Manager shall:
Be the primary liaison of WESN with the Illinois Wesleyan University Student Senate, the administration of Illinois Wesleyan University, and the WESN Faculty Advisor;
Be the primary officer in charge of maintaining WESN finances;
Present to WESN members an annual "State of the Station" statement;
Preside over meetings of the WESN Executive Board;
Appoint individuals to fill open WESN positions until the positions can be filled by more formal means;
Review and revise operational documents semi-annually, including but not limited to:
DJ Applications;
DJ Information Forms;
Program Logs;
The DJ Manual.
Perform additional duties as provided for in the By-laws of the Executive Board.

The WESN Program Director shall:
Be the primary officer in charge of broadcast scheduling;
Be the primary officer in charge of ensuring that WESN members on the air are capable of operating their equipment.
Perform additional duties as provided for in the By-laws of the Executive Board.

The WESN Music Director shall:
Be the primary officer in charge of ensuring that WESN receives new releases;
Be the primary officer in charge of ensuring that releases received by WESN are fairly reviewed;
Be the primary officer in charge of ensuring that releases are made available to WESN members;
Compile weekly airplay charts and distribute this information to the relevant trade journals, companies, and other persons;
Perform additional duties as provided for in the By-laws of the Executive Board.

Other Executive Board positions provided for in the By-laws of the Executive Board are subject to the terms of Section 3 of this Article and to the relevant terms of the By-laws of the Executive Board.

WESN shall have a Faculty Advisor, selected by and approved annually by the WESN Executive Board. The WESN Faculty Advisor must be an active faculty or staff member of WESN. The WESN Faculty Advisor is not required to perform standard WESN member duties and is rather intended to act as a pillar of permanence and guidance for the WESN Executive Board.

ARTICLE III. WESN Executive Board - Eligibility, Selection, and Removal.

The term of the WESN Executive Board shall be one year, starting with the second semester of the Illinois Wesleyan University academic year in January.

Eligibility for WESN Executive Board membership shall be as follows:
Persons seeking positions on the WESN Executive Board must be standing members of WESN.
The WESN Program Director and Music Director nominees must have at least one year experience as a member of WESN and one semester of experience as a member of the WESN Executive Board.
The WESN Station Manager must have at least one year experience as a member of the WESN Executive Board.
Under limited unusual circumstances, the limits imposed by subsections ii and iii can be waived by a two-thirds super-majority vote of the WESN Executive Board with directly affected persons abstaining.

Selection of the WESN Station Manager shall be as follows:
The WESN Station Manager shall be formally nominated by his/her predecessor prior to the Thanksgiving break in the academic calendar. If the Station Manager is a junior in standing, then he/she may nominate him/herself to serve another full term. The nomination must be voted on before the end of the first semester of the academic year and may be voted on at the same meeting as the original nomination was made.
The nomination must be approved by a simple majority vote of the WESN Executive Board with the current Station Manager and nominated Station Manager abstaining from the vote. Should the vote result in a tie, the Station Manager may cast the deciding vote.
Should the nominee fail to win a simple majority of the vote of the Executive Board, any member of the Executive Board may nominate a new individual.
If the Station Manager approves the nomination, this individual must receive only a simple majority of the vote of the Executive Board with the nominee and current Station Manager abstaining. The Station Manager may break a tie.
If the Station Manager does not approve the nomination, this individual must receive a two-thirds super-majority vote of the Executive Board with the nominee and current Station Manager abstaining.
If no nominee secures the requisite number of votes provided for above in subsections ii, iv, or v, then the original nominee of the Station Manager shall be declared the next Station Manager.

Selection of the WESN Program Director and WESN Music Director shall be as follows:
At the meeting where the WESN Station Manager-Elect is approved, he/she shall nominate individuals for the positions of Program Director and Music Director.
The nominees must be approved by separate simple majority votes of the Executive Board, with the nominee abstaining and the Station Manager-Elect abstaining except in the case of a tie.
In the instance that a nominee is not approved, any other member of the Executive Board may nominate an individual.
If the Station Manager-Elect approves the nomination, the individual must receive only a simple majority of the vote of the Executive Board with the nominee abstaining and the Station Manager-Elect abstaining except in the case of a tie.
If the Station-Manager Elect does not approve the nomination, this individual must receive a two-thirds super-majority vote of the Executive Board with the nominee and Station-Manager Elect abstaining.
If no nominee secures the requisite number of votes provided for above in sub-sections ii, iv, or v, then the original nominee of the Station Manager-Elect shall be awarded the position for which he/she was nominated.

Other WESN Executive Board positions shall be filled in accordance with the By-laws of the Executive Board.

The WESN Station Manager may be removed either of the following ways:
A motion to remove the Station Manager must be raised and seconded at an Executive Board. The motion will be voted on at a meeting called specifically for the motion and a two-thirds super-majority vote of the Executive Board with the Station Manager abstaining shall be required for removal. The meeting shall be chaired by the Faculty Advisor.
A recall meeting may occur if three-fourths of the active members of WESN verifiably sign a formal grievance against the Station Manager. The Executive Board must approve the recall by a two-thirds super-majority vote with the Station Manager abstaining. The meeting shall be chaired by the Faculty Advisor.

The WESN Station Manager shall have the authority to suspend a WESN member or to suspend a WESN Executive Board member at his/her discretion, with justifiable cause, until such time as the WESN Executive Board can meet to decide on the matter.

Suspension and removal of other WESN Executive Board members from their positions shall be handled in accordance with the By-laws of the Executive Board.

The WESN Station Manager should appoint an Acting Station Manager from the Executive Board if the Station Manager is unable to fill his/her duties for an extended set period of time of more than three days when WESN is on regular or summer broadcast. Such periods would include being off-campus for May Term or the summer. The Acting Station Manager shall have full Station Manager authority as provided for in this Article, Section 3, except in the case of decisions involving Executive Board personnel, unless extreme circumstances warrant such action.

If the WESN Station Manager is unable to perform his/her duties for any reason, the Executive Board must appoint an officer as Acting Station Manager until either the Station Manager resumes his/her duties or the WESN Executive Board determines that the Station Manager will no longer be capable of performing his/her duties (which shall require action as described in this Article, Section 6.) The Acting Station Manager must meet the requirements for WESN Station Manager specified in Section 2 of this Article. During this time, the Acting Station Manager shall have full Station Manager authority as provided for in this Article, Section 3, except in the case of decisions involving Executive Board personnel, unless extreme circumstances warrant such action.

If the position of WESN Station Manager should become vacant for any reason, the WESN Executive Board shall appoint a new Station Manager to serve the remainder of the current semester. If this should happen in the spring semester, Station Manager selection must be done in accordance with the terms of this Article, Section 3 prior to the end of the spring semester.

All alterations in the composition of the Executive Board, as well as all annual personnel changes to the Executive Board, shall be reported, within one week of said alterations, to the Media Commissioner of the Illinois Wesleyan University Student Senate.

ARTICLE IV. Amendment of this Document.

An amendment to this document may be proposed by any standing WESN Executive Board member at any Executive Board meeting. An amendment requires a two-thirds super-majority vote of the Executive Board to be implemented.

An amendment to this document may be proposed by petition. A petition with the verifiable signatures of one-third of the members submitted to the WESN Executive Board is sufficient for the proposed amendment to be considered at the subsequent WESN Executive Board meeting. The proposed amendment must be voted on within one month of its being submitted to the WESN Executive Board and at that time must receive a two-thirds super-majority vote of the Executive Board to be implemented.

Any amendment to this document shall be reported, within one week of implementation, to the Media Commissioner of the Illinois Wesleyan University Student Senate.

ARTICLE V. Ratification and Implementation.

This constitution shall be implemented upon the approval of two-thirds of the WESN Executive Board.

The WESN Executive Board, upon ratification of this document, shall undertake to ensure that a steady, effective transition to the terms of this and any corollary documents will be implemented. To this effect, there shall be a one-semester period of transition, after which this document shall become the unquestioned code of law for WESN 88.1 FM.

ARTICLE VI. Document Age and Evaluation.

This constitution and all amendments and corollary documents shall expire five years to the day after the ratification of this document. The WESN Executive Board may vote to extend the life of this document for an additional five years or may vote to form a new constitution with new corollary documents. The terms of this Section shall apply at the end of any extension periods approved by the WESN Executive Board.