Mission Statement and Bylaws

Article 1: Mission Statement
The mission of the Disability Rights, Education, Advocacy, and Mutual Support Club is 1) to provide a place of peer support to those with disabilities, regardless of disclosure or formal diagnosis. 2) to provide a link between students who are passionate about disability rights awareness and those who are going into professions where disability awareness is vital part of a future career, in particular the Nursing, Education, Early Childhood, Human Services, American Sign Language, and Psychology fields, but in no way is limited to those areas of study. 3) to provide peer mediation and support in any appropriate situation, as deemed necessary by the student(s) governing that section of the club, or as deemed necessary by Disability Services in any needed situation where better awareness would promote a more supportive environment for a member or members of the club or disabled community at Santa Fe Community College.  4) to work with Disability Services to help build a better understanding of the importance of knowing and following the federal laws in place, the vocabulary, the resources, and etiquette, etc. among all faculty, staff, and students at Santa Fe Community College and 5) to create leadership opportunities for students with disabilities on campus.

Article 2: Membership

Section 2.1: Membership
SFCC Students:
Any student registered at SFCC may be an official member of the D.R.E.A.M.S. Club, and allowed to hold an official position.

Community Members:
Any non-current SFCC student and any member of the community, which includes but is not limited to those attending the Higher Education Center (HEC), and any other college can be a member of the D.R.E.A.M.S. Club.  These community members must disclose their non-SFCC status, and cannot hold official positions as per SFCC rules governing clubs.

For this reason all students being appointed to or seeking official positions (President, Secretary, Treasurer, Senators, and any other official position) MUST be verified with the director of the Office of Student Development as a current registered student of SFCC taking at least 1 credit hour.

Section 2.3: Governance

The club Sponsor/Advisor will be a faculty or staff member at Santa Fe Community College.

Section 2.3: Dues

There will be no fee or membership dues required of any D.R.E.A.M.S. Club member.

Section 2.4: Membership Requirements

Any member of the D.R.E.A.M.S. Club must abide by the rules of the SFCC student handbook for behavior and conduct.  As it is not the focus of this club to share personal information, any personal information, including but not limited to the sharing of disabilities or symptoms, and all personal and identifying information will be considered confidential and will not be shared outside of the group unless professional intervention or mediation is determined to be necessary.

Article 3: Officers

Section 3.1: Positions

Elected positions are as follows:

President, Vice-President, Secretary/Historian, Treasurer/Budget Manager, Senator, and Advisor.

Section 3.2: Elected and Appointed Officers

All officers who are elected will remain in the position unless they are either determined to not be fulfilling the required duties, or unless they request of the president or advisor of the club to be removed from the position, upon which the position will be opened to all members of the club who are in good standing academically with a 2.0 or higher GPA, to be verified by the advisor of the club.

Section 3.3: Voting Rights

The president of the D.R.E.A.M.S. Club cannot vote unless there is a tie.  All members will have equal rights, and voting on club activities will be open to all members.  The president of the club holds equal voting rights with other elected members only in the case of bylaws amendments.

Section 3.2: Duties of members

All elected members must fulfill the duties that are required of them for their position, or, in cases of illness are temporarily unable to perform the task, or unable due to disability, elected members can request of all members in the club to elect to perform that duty in their absence.  At no point will any club member be required to perform any duty they are incapable of doing due to disability.

Article 4: Club Rules and Activities

Section 4.1 Rules and Activities
1. All members will exhibit respect towards all other members, or they will be denied ability to participate with the club until they are able to do so.

2. All club members must contribute to a supportive environment.

3. Two written notifications of behavior and club rules violations will suspend that member from being eligible for any elected position for one full semester.  Three written notifications of behavior and club rules violations will be grounds for removal of membership in the club for one full semester.

Section 4.2: Meetings

The D.R.E.A.M.S. Club will meet on a regular basis, as determined possible by available space or room, time, and purpose for a meeting.  Every effort must be made to make the meetings accessible to all students with disabilities who can attend.  For this reason meetings must be posted in advance in order to provide accommodations.

Section 4.3: Campus and community activities

The D.R.E.A.M.S. Club will be an active part of Santa Fe Community College student life and peer support and will promote disability awareness and etiquette through campus activities and workshops as well as general awareness of related topics through tables, distribution of information regarding disabilities and student and community resources, and related items or activities as deemed necessary to promote the mission of the D.R.E.A.M.S. Club.

Article 5: Finances

Section 5.1: Financing

The Santa Fe Community College student activities office will provide an annual budget for this club as long as it remains active.  Additional resources may be sought through Student Government, GROW, private fund raising in the community (with prior SFCC approval), and PDAC (President's Diversity Advisory Committee), as well as any other legal means of obtaining club funds as allowed in accordance with the rules governing all clubs at SFCC.

Section 5.2 Records

The D.R.E.A.M.S. Club budget manager will keep records of all remaining funds and all expenditures of the club.  Meeting minutes will be kept by the Secretary.  All other relevant records will be kept in the D.R.E.A.M.S. Club file or notebook at SFCC and will be available for review by any member of the club.

Article 6: Amendments

Sections of the bylaws may be amended as needed by group decision and are open to any member to propose a change.  While proposals to change bylaws are open to all members, only elected members can vote to accept the proposed changes to the constitution and bylaws.  Upon any proposal it must be discussed with all members.  All elected officers of the D.R.E.A.M.S. Club will then hold a vote to accept or deny the proposed changes.  The president of the club holds equal voting rights only in the case of bylaws amendments. After any amendment, a physical copy of the new bylaws and a summary of changes with the date the changes were made must be provided to the Office of Student Development, and a digital copy must be provided to all current members.