January 2022 Meeting
Proposed By-Law Changes
Ticket Items & Rationale
Proposed Changes to the By-Laws may be found here as a Google Doc and here on the website.
GROUP 1 – MISSION STATEMENT
We are looking to make structural changes to the organization in March and moving forward in 2023 and beyond in order to address white supremacy, sexism, ableism, etc. To do so, we need to first have an organization mission that clarifies our goals rather than just sets forth the organization’s geography. We recognize that these changes are the start of the work and mean nothing without action, and we fully expect that our mission and vision will continue to evolve.
We have decided to vote on this in the January Special Meeting in order to provide space for the Anti-Racism and Accessibility Committee to bring more nuanced bylaw changes to the conference in March, 2022 that reflect the new aims and goals of the organization (should they pass).
Ticket Item 1: Mission and Vision Statement
- Sections/Clauses
- Article II, Section 1
- Article II, Section 2
GROUP 2 – MEMBERSHIP & DUES
We are formalizing what an MATC “member” is and removing “class” systems of membership. Membership is no longer predicated on conference attendance, and all members regardless of conference attendance will be allowed to vote and will receive member benefits, such as access to Theatre History Studies.
We have decided to vote on these in the January Special Meeting in order to allow for non-attending “members” to vote in the March, 2022 conference and beyond.
Ticket Item 2: Definition of Membership and Dues
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Article III, Section 1
- Article III, Section 2
- Article III, Section 3
GROUP 3 – LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
One of the major areas of harm that has occurred in the organization has been due to the extreme burnout and overworking of individuals in leadership positions. This includes:
- A prolonged service track
- Unclear position descriptions
- Unofficial positions who do work with little to no ability to produce change
- The unequal distribution of labor amongst the EC
- Unclear paths to service that leaves positions unavailable to non-MATC insiders or non-tenure-track faculty
In order to remedy these, we are proposing the following changes:
- Dividing the ten-year leadership structure into two sequential leadership tracks
- Organizational leadership track, including the offices of Vice-President, President, and Immediate Past President
- Conference leadership track, including the offices of the Conference Planner and Associate Conference Planner
- Clarifying:
- Procedures in the Event of Leadership Vacancies
- Requirements of service and meeting attendance
- Terms/Lengths of Service
- Changing two position titles to better clarify roles & duties
- Secretary to Internal Communications Officer
- Webmaster to External Communications Officer
- Adding the position of Accessibility Officer & Graduate Liaisons to the EC
- Throughout these, we are clarifying roles & duties of all positions to better reflect the day-to-day realities of the duties and to share labor.
We have decided to vote on these in the January Special Meeting in order to allow the membership to then run for and be elected for these positions under their new descriptors and/or duties (if they pass) in March of 2022.
Ticket Item 3: Clarifying Sequential and Non-Sequential Positions
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Article IV, Section 1 – Sequential Leadership Tracks & Non-Sequential Leadership Positions
- Article IV, Clause 1.3 – Non-Sequential Leadership Positions
Ticket Item 4: Breaking the Leadership Pipeline
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Article IV, Clause 1.1 – Sequential Leadership Tracks
Ticket Item 5: Clarifying Procedures in the Event of Leadership Vacancies
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Article IV, Clause 1.2 – Vacancies and Resignations within Sequential Leadership Tracks
- Article IV, Clause 1.4 – Vacancies and Resignations within Non-Sequential Leadership Positions
Ticket Item 6: Term Limits for Leadership Tracks and Positions
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Article IV, Clause 2.1 – Term Limits and Conditions
Ticket Item 7: Elections for Leadership Tracks and Positions
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Article IV, Clause 2.2 – Elections
Ticket Item 8: Changing “Conference Coordinator” to “Conference Planner”
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Article IV (Various instances)
Ticket Item 9: Changing “President-Elect” to “Vice-President”
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Article IV (Various instances)
Ticket Item 10: Changing “Secretary” to “Internal Communications Officer”
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Article IV (Various instances)
Ticket Item 11: Changing “Webmaster” to “External Communications Officer”
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Article IV (Various instances)
Ticket Item 12: Add Strategic Planning to Each EC Position
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Section 3 (all position descriptions)
Ticket Item 13: Assigned Committee Service for Vice-President
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Clause 3.2 –
Ticket Item 14: Adding Accessibility Officer
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Clause 3.10
Ticket Item 15: Defining Executive Committee Membership and Expectations
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Article V (Sections 1; Section 2, Clause 2.1, 2.2; Section 3)
GROUP 4 – VOTING
We are proposing changes to the voting procedures to allow for members who cannot physically attend conferences to be able to participate in the decisions that affect the organization. We recognize that digital voting is an issue of access, in terms of the pandemic, parenthood, disability, financial accessibility, and more. Physical attendance should not be a barrier to member participation.
The proposed changes to the voting process include adding a digital method for voting and subsequent procedures.
We have decided to vote on these in the January Special Meeting in order to allow these procedures to be formally adopted for the March 2022 conference, enfranchising those who may not be able to/may not be comfortable attending.
Ticket Item 16: New Voting Procedures
- Sections/Clauses Affected:
- Article VI, Section 4
- Article XVI
Feedback for these changes before the January Meeting may be provided here via Google Form. *Please submit feedback by January 14th, 2022 at 12:00pm PST*