Note: This document is no longer in force. It has been superseded by the new constitution.
This document records the Constitution of the Open Computing Facility, as ratified or amended by votes of the OCF membership or by the Board of Directors:
We, the computer using community of the Berkeley campus of the University of California, provide by this Constitution an organization dedicated to the pursuit of obtaining and managing open computing resources. The intent of this organization is to provide an environment where no member of Berkeley's campus community is denied the computer resources he or she seeks. This group's spirit can be traced directly to the former Undergraduate Computing Facility, however this organization's membership is much more widely open. It is also the intent of this group to appeal to all members of the Berkeley campus community with unsatisfied computing needs and to provide a place for those interested in computing to fully explore that interest. It is the intention of this group that no small number of people ever control the accessibility of any OCF sponsored computing facility.
This organization shall be called the Open Computing Facility and may also be referred to as the OCF.
Any UC Berkeley student, faculty or staff member may be an OCF Member.
Only currently registered students, faculty, and staff may be active members in a registered student organization. Only active members may vote or hold office.
[As amended at the General Meeting of September 1, 2015, with effect from June 26, 2015.]
Any member of the OCF shall be an Active Member by physical presence at an OCF General Meeting.
Any OCF Member who has attended an OCF General Meeting in either this semester or the one preceding shall be an active member.
Any OCF Member who is not an Active Member shall be considered an Inactive Member.
The only elected offices are General Manager and Site Manager(s).
[Repealed September 1, 2015 for redundancy with section 2.2.1.]
The officers shall be elected at each OCF Elections Meeting.
The officers' terms shall begin immediately after election and last until the next election.
An officer shall be removed from office if, at a General Meeting, the members vote to remove him or her.
If any elected position becomes vacant, a General Meeting will be called to elect a replacement.
The General Manager is the chief political and executive officer of the OCF and shall chair all meetings.
The Site Manager is the chief system manager of a particular installation of computing equipment. In the absence of the General Manager, a Site Manager shall chair meetings.
The General Manager and Site Manager are ex officio members of the Board and shall have no more and no less power than any other member of the Board.
Other Directors shall be appointed and removed through the OCF Decision Making Process.
The term shall expire at the next Elections Meeting.
Directors shall normally be responsible for the creation, implementation and discussion of the majority of OCF actions. Also the Board shall review all of the actions of the General Manager and Site Manager at its discretion.
When the OCF is not formally in session, or any other time when there is a temporary vacancy in an elected office, the OCF Decision Making Process shall designate a member or members to see to it that the OCF functions properly.
The OCF is formally in session during the Fall Semester and the Spring Semester. This is the only time General Meetings can take place. The OCF is informally in session between the semesters. During this time the Faculty Sponsors and the Interim Managers are responsible for the functioning of the OCF.
The OCF Decision Making Process can call a General Meeting at any time. When possible, one week's notice shall be given.
The Elections Meeting shall, in this order,
The OCF shall meet to elect officers during the third week of classes of the Fall and Spring Semesters.
[As amended at the General Meeting of March 21, 1990.]
Ten OCF members can call a Special General Meeting when the normal process for calling a General Meeting is not feasible.
These ten members must notify the General Manager if possible, provide prominent public notice of the meeting at least one week beforehand and must try to contact all members of the OCF.
By definition a quorum exists at these meetings.
Quorum consists of 25% of all Active Members prior to the meeting.
Quorum consists of 2/3 of the Board of Directors or five Board members, whichever is greater.
[As amended at the General Meeting of November 21, 1991]
The election of officers shall be by secret ballot. A simple majority of those casting votes (including abstaining votes) is required. If on the first ballot no candidate receives a simple majority, then there will be a runoff between the top two candidates. The voting will continue until one candidate receives a simple majority.
All other votes require a simple majority to pass.
An OCF Member must be present at a meeting to vote.
The OCF Faculty Sponsors shall consist of a faculty member or faculty members who are dedicated to the functioning of the OCF. These Faculty Sponsors shall be selected by the OCF Board of Directors and shall be subject to selection by the OCF at the Elections Meeting.
The Faculty Sponsor or Faculty Sponsors shall have ultimate authority over any OCF actions except for constitutional amendments and the approval of the Faculty Sponsors.
The OCF Active Membership shall have authority over any OCF actions except where such action conflicts with Article 6.1.
The OCF Board of Directors shall have authority over any OCF actions except where such action conflicts with Articles 6.1 and 6.2.
The OCF General Manager shall have authority over any OCF actions except where such action conflicts with Articles 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3.
OCF Site Managers shall have authority over any OCF actions except where such action conflicts with Articles 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 and 6.4.
The OCF shall not restrict membership based upon race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth), physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer related or genetic characteristics), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or service in the uniformed services (including membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation for service in the uniformed services.)
[As amended at the General Meeting of September 29, 2014.]
The OCF shall not restrict membership or otherwise discriminate in any way against any person or group on the basis of college major or field of study. However, this section shall not be construed as restricting the OCF from providing separate facilities for different uses, as long as the availability of such facilities is proportionate to demand among the OCF's current and potential users.
The OCF shall not restrict membership or otherwise discriminate in any way against any person or group on the basis of political activity.
[As amended at the General Meeting of February 8, 2000.]
The OCF shall not haze, in accordance with California state law.
Any individual who has a grievance with the OCF shall first contact the General Manager. He or she may then appeal to the Faculty Sponsors and then finally to the University of California through established channels.
All users of OCF managed facilities shall comply with University of California regulations, including the UC Berkeley Student Conduct Code and any OCF regulations.
All official OCF documents must be provided to interested parties without undue delay and the OCF may not charge above cost to do so.
Individuals' rights of privacy shall not be violated without reasonable cause.
The enumeration in this Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights retained by individuals.
A proposed amendment to the Constitution must be presented at a Board of Directors meeting at least one week before the General Meeting at which it is to be discussed. A list of proposed amendments must be made accessible to the general public of the OCF as soon as they have been presented to the Board of Directors. At the general meeting, a discussion period on the amendment may be held until it is moved to a vote. A 2/3 majority of all Active Members is required for approval.
[This section was changed by amendment on May 14, 1991.]
When the OCF is not formally in session, the Board of Directors may, with a 2/3 majority vote, directly enact amendments whose only function is to bring this constitution into compliance with requirements set by the University.
[This section was introduced by amendment on September 22, 2015.]
Whenever this Constitution is amended, an annotation of the date of ratification shall be added to the beginning of this document and shall be further noted immediately following the new amendment.
All amendments, additions or deletions to this document must be filed with the LEAD Center in 432 Eshleman Hall.
[Originally amended at the General Meeting of September 1, 2015, with effect from June 26, 2015.]
[This section was amended on May 13, 2016.]
Bylaws may be created or modified as needed, through the OCF Decision Making Process.
The assets of the OCF constitute a continuing trust for the benefit of all members of the Berkeley campus community interested in open computing facilities.
If the organization is ASUC or GA Sponsored, all unspent ASUC funds shall return to the ASUC; all Graduate Assembly funds shall return to the Graduate Assembly. If the organization is defunct for five (5) or more years, any privately obtained funds (including any funds left in miscellaneous accounts) shall be donated to the following nonprofit organization: The Electronic Frontier Foundation. In the event that the designated nonprofit organization no longer exists or has ceased to be a nonprofit, then the unspent funds shall be donated to the ASUC.
[This section was amended on May 13, 2016.]