The official name of the organization shall be 'Student Game Developers at UVA'. This name may be abbreviated as ‘SGD at UVA’ or ‘SGD’.
Student Game Developers at UVA is established for the expressed purpose of Bringing together students interested in game development Providing opportunities for students to gain experience in game development through team projects Exploring and increasing knowledge of the game development industry Establishing networking connections for its members Not simply playing games, but to be actively involved in the art and science of creating them, whether as a hobby or as preparation for a career
While anyone (students, faculty, staff, community members) is welcome to attend general body meetings of SGD at UVA, MEMBERSHIP shall be limited to persons who have paid their dues for the academic year or had them waived.
The following is an enumeration of the officer positions (i.e. the executive board):
The President shall maintain the overall health of the organization by holding core events and instructing and overseeing the other officers. The President is responsible for being the face of the club and planning the full semester schedule. The President shall be aware of, check, and assist with all book-keeping and paperwork done by the Treasurer to ensure competency. The President should hold weekly meetings with the rest of the executive board to arrange activities and give final say when needed. Finally, the President is responsible for dealing with any issues that arise that are not explicitly stated to be the responsibility of other officers.
The Vice President (VP) shall assist the President with the organization of the club and any miscellaneous responsibilities. The VP is responsible for the maintenance of all physical assets belonging to the club (i.e. the club locker). The VP is responsible for conducting elections and overseeing the electoral process. The VP is also responsible for ensuring that important club events are advertised to non-members. The VP shall also be responsible for overseeing all travel efforts (such as to GDC, Pax, and ECGC). Finally, the VP shall administrate, organize, and advertise at least one game jam per semester (such as GGJ, Ludum Dare, or a club specific game jam).
The Head of Directors (HOD) is responsible for communicating with directors and monitoring the status and progress of all ongoing game projects. The HOD is responsible for holding meetings with directors to ensure they are making sufficient progress and to assist them with any issues they may encounter. The HOD shall oversee and execute the director application process and selection, as well as the project signup process for non-directors. Finally, any member who would like to join a team after the initial project signup process must contact the HOD.
The Treasurer shall manage the finances and funding of the club. This includes ensuring that dues are collected from members, managing the club bank account, applying for funding, and purchasing anything required for club functions. The Treasurer shall handle all reimbursement forms for external funding and have discretionary power to waive dues for members on an individual basis. Finally, the Treasurer is responsible for maintaining a list of due paying members for the current academic year.
The External Relations Officer (ERO) shall oversee the contact and general scheduling of events featuring members of the game design industry; this shall include inviting at least one guest speaker to workshop or lecture for SGD members per semester. The ERO shall also act as the chief liaison between SGD and its executive board to other entities inside and outside UVA, including but not limited to CIOs at UVA and other institutions, game-industry experts, career center contacts, and so on. The ERO will be responsible for organizing any “external” events; meaning travel events, events organized with other entities or persons outside the club, or otherwise any event that requires SGD to have significant public-facing interactions with any other entity or person. The ERO is also responsible for monitoring the club email for any communications with the club. Finally, the ERO shall be responsible for all alumni relations including administration of the alumni Discord channel.
The Internal Relations Officer (IRO) shall manage internal communications with its members about all club events via email and Discord. The IRO is responsible for organizing at least one social event per semester. Finally, the IRO is responsible for maintaining, monitoring, and moderating the club’s Discord server.
The Webmaster is responsible for maintaining the SGD website and documenting club activity via photographs or video. The Webmaster is responsible for managing the location of SGD projects (currently held on Itch.io). The Webmaster is also responsible for maintaining and expanding our social media presences on platforms such as Instagram and LinkedIn.
New officer positions may be added or removed by a unanimous vote of the executive board. Any changes made in this way will take effect when the next year's executive board stands for election.
The responsibilities of officers may be changed by a unanimous vote of the executive board.
Elections are to be held at the beginning of Crunch Night during the Spring semester. All officer positions shall be open for voting in the Spring, whereas only positions that are vacant at the end of the Fall semester may be voted for in the Fall during a special election under extenuating circumstances.
In elections, any member who has participated in a game project for at least one semester may stand for election to any officer position being voted on. The positions will be voted on in the order they appear in this constitution, as listed in Article IV. No person may hold more than one officer position at any one time - that is, someone elected to a position may not stand for another position. Newly elected officers will be transitioned into their roles by their respective predecessors and will take full responsibility for their positions in the club after the semester ends.
For each position, candidates shall give a short speech and answer questions, time allowing, from any members who wish to do so. After all candidates for a position have spoken, they will leave the room so that the remaining members may briefly discuss them. Afterward, present members will vote on which candidate to elect to said position. Voting will be conducted as follows:
All present members, except for the President and Vice President, shall vote anonymously on each candidate. Voting members may not vote for multiple candidates. After all candidates have been voted for, the President and Vice President shall total the votes, decide the winner by majority, and announce the winner to the club. In the event of a tie, voting will be conducted between the tied candidates. If another tie occurs, the President and Vice President will decide a winner amongst themselves.
Only voters present at the meeting during the time of voting may have their votes counted, unless a member submits a request to an executive board member to vote in absentia prior the beginning of Crunch Night.
Any officer may be impeached at any time by any other officer, in accordance with the following procedure: the PROSECUTING OFFICER, who is the officer who wishes to impeach, must provide justification to the entire executive board of the unsuitableness of the DEFENDANT OFFICER for carrying out their duties. The defendant officer must be present for this justification. Following the prosecution's justification, the defendant officer is given the opportunity to offer a rebuttal. A vote is then called. The defendant officer may request a recess of up to one hour before this vote is held. The vote requires an all but one unanimous vote from the executive board (not including the prosecuting and defendant officers) to impeach the defendant officer. If this succeeds, the defendant is removed from their position immediately and the highest ranking officer on the board may nominate another member to fill in until the next election. This nominee must be confirmed by a simple majority vote of the remaining officers. In the event that the impeachment vote fails, the prosecuting officer may not attempt to impeach any other officer until their term has ended.
General body meetings will occur on a weekly basis. Individual teams are encouraged to hold team specific meetings on a weekly basis.
SGD will maintain a bank account. Only the Treasurer may access the funds contained therein, and they may only do so with the express consent of the president. The due amount will be assessed and set on a yearly basis by the executive board. The usage of said dues is entirely up to the discretion of the relevant year’s executive board. Members shall pay the said dues regardless of when they join the club within the academic year.
There are no by-laws.
Amendments to this constitution must be proposed and broadcast to the club by any officer at least seven days prior to the club-wide event where voting shall be held. A two-thirds majority vote by the voting club members is required to ratify any changes, unless otherwise stated in this Constitution. Any changes made are effective immediately, unless otherwise stated in this Constitution.
Following the completion of the game at the end of the semester, all components used in the final build of the game, such as assets and code, shall be in a publicly available repository under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC-BY-NC-SA) license.
No profits shall be made from any projects produced in this club.
Student Game Developers at UVA does not restrict its membership, programs, or activities on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family and genetic information.