About Us
Current Members and Officers
History of the Group
Constitution and Bylaws
Current Members and Officers
The Current officers are:
- President/Chairperson: Bri Lance, '06, bjl34(a)cornellmedu
- Co-President: Adam Hymans, '06, ath27(a)cornellmedu
- Treasurer: Katie Burns, '07, kmb75(a)cornellmedu
- Web-person: Jeff Wong, '05, jmw92(a)cornellmedu
History of the Group
Axis Mundi is the most recent incarnation of a student group founded in Spring of 2004 known as SERA, the Student Earth-based Religions Alliance. SERA was created by a group of undergraduates who felt that while there were many Pagan students on campus, many of whom were involved in various local pagan groups, there wasn't a student-run organisation which brought them together. So SERA was founded with the idea of creating community between students and between Cornell and Ithaca Pagans, and for providing a place where alternative spiritual ideas could be openly discussed in a friendly environment.
In the summer of 2005 we decided to change our group's name to Axis Mundi, reflecting our love of and commitment to spiritual and cultural diversity. The name Axis Mundi means "World Axis," and it represents the connection between Heaven and Earth, or this world and the Otherworld. The idea of this connection exists in nearly every culture and mythology worldwide. It is often shown as tree, such as the Tree of Life in Judaism, or Yggdrasil in Norse mythology. See the Wikipedia article.
Constitution
PREAMBLE
We, the Pagan students of Cornell University, have organized for the purpose of promoting the development of Pagan community, networking, and education in the Cornell community and at large. We will provide a supportive, non-threatening environment, promote religious tolerance and open discussion of ideas, and facilitate student access to Pagan events in the wider community.
ARTICLE I — NAME
The name of this organization shall be Axis Mundi.
ARTICLE II — AFFILIATIONS
Axis Mundi is an independent organization and a project of Cornell students; we are not affiliated with any other national, state, or local group.
ARTICLE III — PURPOSE
The purpose of Axis Mundi shall be to encourage the development of Pagan community among students; to help link Cornell Pagans to people and resources within the larger Pagan community; and to facilitate and promote Pagan education within Cornell and at large.
ARTICLE IV — MEMBERSHIP
Membership is open to Cornell students; non-students are welcome to attend events and can be affiliated with a "volunteer" status.
We welcome anyone with a sincere interest in our goals, without regard to race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, or socio-economic status. No member shall be required to pay dues as a condition of membership.
Members are encouraged to participate actively. Specific roles are detailed in the bylaws.
Members must abide by University and State laws, and the provisions in our constitution and bylaws.
ARTICLE V — OFFICERS
There shall be four officers as outlined by Cornell Student Independent Organization policy: A President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and one other. These individuals shall be members of Axis Mundi and registered Cornell students in good standing.
The functions of these positions shall be specified in the bylaws.
Additional functional or honorary positions may exist as specified in the bylaws.
The length of term for all positions shall be one year, to begin at the conclusion of the spring semester of each year and to end at the conclusion of the spring semester of the following year.
Annual elections for all officers and other positions shall take place spring semester of each year. There shall be at least one week between nominations and elections, during which time the names and contact information of the nominees shall be made available to all members.
If an officer position is vacated before the next election period, another election will be held as soon as possible to establish an interim Officer, who shall serve the remainder of the term.
There shall be no limit to the number of terms an individual may serve.
No individual may simultaneously hold more than one officer position within Axis Mundi. There is no limit to the number of other functional or honorary positions an individual may hold.
If it is necessary to remove an officer from duty, it shall be put to a vote according to the usual democratic procedure.
ARTICLE VI — ADVISOR
In accordance with the Cornell Student Organization policy, Axis Mundi shall have an Advisor, who shall be a faculty or staff member at Cornell who is willing to work with the group and support its goals.
There shall be no limit to the length of the Advisor's term. The Advisor shall serve on a volunteer basis as long as she/he meets the requirements of the Advisor position and is willing to serve, or until the group chooses to appoint a new advisor.
New Advisors shall be selected if necessary by finding an interested person and then bringing it up before the group for discussion and a vote. If possible, the Advisor should meet with the group before the decision is made.
ARTICLE VII — MEETINGS
Axis Mundi should make every effort to meet on a regular basis, with once a week being the ideal, while school is in session.
Meetings devoted to group business and planning should be held as necessary, and may be called by any member. However, binding decisions may not be made at a meeting unless at least one officer is present.
ARTICLE VIII — QUORUM
All official group meetings must be announced and made public at least one week in advance.
No official business may be conducted with fewer than three Members present. No official business may be conducted without at least one Officer present.
ARTICLE IX — DECISION MAKING
Major decisions shall be made by a democratic process involving all present members, with the option to revisit the decision as necessary to respond to concerns and objections. A reasonable attempt shall be made to achieve consensus, but if consensus is not possible, the matter shall be put to a vote and decided by majority rule. No vote is required if consensus is achieved.
Officers will be elected by the process detailed in Article V of this Constitution.
ARTICLE X — AMENDMENTS
Any voting member may propose an amendment to the constitution or bylaws.
Amendments will be discussed and voted on through the normal decision making process.
Once discussed, the proposed amendment must be made available to all members for a period of one week before it may be ratified at the following meeting.
Bylaws will be reviewed each fall, in the beginning of the school term.
ARTICLE XI — RATIFICATION
This Constitution shall be ratified by its acceptance by the group through the typical democratic process.
Bylaws
1. Membership and Voting Status
Anyone who so desires may be considered a "general member" of this group, so long as they meet the membership requirements laid out in the Constitution. However, voting and decision-making privilege is reserved to those specifically designated as "voting members". Any general member may become a voting member by attending two consecutive weekly meetings, or a minimum of three weekly meetings within two months.
All general members shall have the rights and privileges granted to that group, including the right to attend group events and meetings, to propose suggestions and questions to the voting members and officers, and to receive advance notice of all group events, meetings, and activities.
All voting members shall have the rights and privileges given to general members, as well as the right to cast one vote per person on all issues that are brought before the group for a vote. Voting members have the duty to take their status seriously, to participate in discussions and debates and actively work to achieve consensus on issues, and to consider the best interests of the group in their voting.
2. Officers´ Duties
Duties of the President may include, but are not limited to, the following: recording the attendance at events and keeping track of the voting membership of the group; helping to plan and publicize group events; working to register the group as quickly as possible at the beginning of the school year; dealing with Cornell in any official capacity as a representative of the group; delegating any of these duties as necessary to other responsible persons in the group.
Duties of the Vice President may include, but are not limited to, the following: assisting the President in her/his duties and taking over her/his functions as necessary due to absence or other unforeseen events; taking over the duties of any functional position as necessary, or finding other responsible persons to do so; ensuring that all necessary tasks are being taken care of by an appropriate person.
Duties of the Treasurer may include, but are not limited to, the following: overseeing the raising, storage, and dispersal of funds as the group deems necessary; keeping accurate accounts of the group´s funds and expenses; dealing with banks and other financial institutions as necessary; overseeing any applications for funding that the group may decide to pursue, including but not limited to SAFC funding; ensuring that all proposals to spend or raise money are brought before the group and decided democratically in accordance with the group´s Constitution.
Duties of the fourth officer shall encompass at least one of the functional positions listed below; her/his exact title and duties shall be determined in the spring at the time of officer elections.
No person shall hold more than one of these officer positions during the same semester.
All officers shall be selected according to the process defined in the Constitution.
3. Functional Positions
The voting membership of the group has the right to set up and empower any functional positions as necessary. These may include, but are not limited to:
- Webmaster — responsible for the design, upkeep, and maintenance of the group´s website, and for keeping all information on it up-to-date and accurate
- Publicity Chair — responsible for coordinating publicity and advertising for group events, and for ensuring that all members are informed of group meetings, events, and activities
- Event Coordinator — responsible for anchoring the planning, publicity, and other necessary tasks for a specific event or activity of the group
- Liaison — responsible for facilitating the flow of information and communication between this group and any other group that we have chosen to work with, for attending the meetings of both groups as necessary, and for accurately representing any opinions or decisions of this group to the other group
- Press Secretary — responsible for anchoring all communications with media and all public representations of the group, and for ensuring that the group´s image is not misrepresented in any way during that process
- Fundraiser — responsible for brainstorming and coordinating ways to raise funds for the group as necessary for group projects, events, or activities, and for securing all necessary permits and supplies to do so
All functional positions shall be held by voting members of the group, and a member may hold any number of functional positions, so long as they are able to adequately fulfill all necessary roles.
Functional positions may be assigned temporarily, for a certain event or duration of time, or they may be given for the length of a semester or school year at the discretion of the voting body of the group.
4. Voting Procedures and Quorum
All votes shall be brought before the group in person, at an official group meeting. A meeting shall be defined as an official group meeting if: a) it has been publicized at least a week in advance to all members, b) there is at least one officer present, and c) there are at least three voting members present. This third requirement may be revised at any time to reflect changes in the group´s membership numbers.
Provision shall be made for absentee voting before, but not after, the official vote is taken. This will generally involve the absent member giving their vote beforehand to one of the officers or another voting member of the group.
If a decision needs to be made at any time when it is not possible to hold an official meeting, such as over the summer, a proposal shall be made via email to the group and at least a week shall be given for comments and discussion. If there are no objections and a consensus seems to exist, the proposal may be adopted at that time, subject to revision at the next official meeting. If any voting member raises strong objections to the proposal which cannot be satisfied, the proposal must be tabled until the next official meeting, where it may be brought before the body for discussion and a vote.
5. Meetings
The group shall make its best effort to hold meetings once a week during the school year, at such a time and place as is accessible to the largest number of people possible. Meetings shall be balanced between three categories: Educational, Social, and Business.
At least one business meeting shall be held during any full month of school. At business meetings, proposals may be raised and debated, and votes may be taken, provided they meet the definition of an "official meeting" given above. Any necessary planning should also be accomplished at that time.
Educational meetings may consist of discussion of a topic or topics of interest, a presentation on a certain subject, or a workshop/demonstration of a practice or technique. Topics shall be of general interest to members of the group as much as possible, and shall be appropriate to the group´s goals and missions as listed in the Constitution.
Social meetings shall provide time for members of the group to get to know each other, to relax, and to have fun. Every attempt should be made to make these meetings accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial means.
6. Bylaw Ratification and Amendment
These bylaws must be reviewed at the first business meeting of every year, and may be adopted for the year at that time by group consensus or, failing that, a vote by the voting body.
Amendments and alterations may be proposed at any time during the year, by any voting member. The proposed amendment or alteration must be made available to all voting members for the duration of one week, and then it may be decided upon using the normal decision-making process outlined in the Constitution.
