1.3 The club and its subsidiary societies will not hold nor express any political, religious or racial opinions, nor will it be associated with any organisation that does.

Eligibility for membership

2.1 Membership of the club is open to people meeting one or more of the following criteria:

• those who hold a degree or equivalent educational qualification;
• those who hold equivalent professional qualifications;
• those who can otherwise satisfy the committee that they will fit into and make a useful contribution to the club.

2.4 If an application is refused, the committee is under no obligation to give reasons as to why such a decision was made. Under normal circumstances however the committee will discuss those reasons with the individual concerned and, at their discretion, allow the applicant to re-apply at a later date.

Subscriptions

3.1 The subscription for ordinary members or for the partner of an ordinary member will be fixed by the Annual General Meeting in line with the club constitution.

3.2 If any member fails to pay his or her subscription within one month of it falling due, their membership will lapse immediately.

3.3 If any such lapsed member wishes to renew his or her subscription within twelve months of the renewal date, he or she will be liable to the full subscription in force on the date on which his or her request was received.

3.4 If after twelve months a lapsed member wishes to renew his or her subscription it will be necessary to submit a new formal application in writing to the committee.

3.5 If a member wishes to leave the club before the end of their membership period or should a member be expelled as a result of disciplinary action being taken against them, the member shall forfeit all rights to and claim upon the Club and its property and funds other than those provided for under article 15 of the Club Constitution.

Accessibility to events

4.1 The club operates a policy of non-discrimination. All events organised by the club are open for the enjoyment of all members irrespective of age, sex, race, creed or any other ground for discrimination.

4.2 Members of other IVCs are welcome to attend events organised by Basingstoke & North Hampshire IVC in accordance with the terms of the Association of Inter-Varsity Clubs Reciprocal Membership Agreement. Should they wish to have a copy of the Basingstoke & North Hampshire IVC bulletin, there may be a nominal charge to cover the printing, postage and packing costs.

Confidentiality of member information

5.1 All personal information given to committee members will be treated in confidence and where requested, will only be made available to the members of the committee.

5.2 Personal information will not be passed on to any third party without the express permission of the individual to whom that information relates.

5.3 The Club reserves the right to pass on any information it may hold about any member to any third party where it is required to do so in order to comply with the law and / or due legal process.

5.3 The Club issues at least twice per year, a Club Address List of all current members names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses to all full members. Only the member's name is required to be included in the list.

5.4 Inclusion of member details other than name in the Club Address List are deemed optional, with the instructions for such inclusion being taken from the details entered on the member's full membership application form. Requests for changes in the information to be included in the Club Address List must be made in writing to the Club Secretary.

5.5 Data Protection Act: The information supplied on all the Clubs membership application forms will be stored on a computer to facilitate bulletin distribution and club administration. Your signature on any such membership form will be taken as permission for this.

5.6 Personal information, in whatever form, made available to committee members will only be used for the purpose of legitimate club business such as distribution of the bulletin or other mailings or the compilation of statistical information.

5.7 The committee may from time to time publish statistical information about the membership. This will be in a form which does not allow the identification of any individual or contain any personal information about any given individual.

Events

6.1 The success of our club is dependant on the willingness of our members to get involved with organising events. We therefore encourage and expect all our members to organise at least two events each throughout the year.

6.2 To ensure compliance with our public liability insurance, all member organised events will be hosted by only fully paid up ordinary members of the club.

6.3 The committee will have the right to request the alteration of either the date or content of events to ensure that there is a balanced programme. If this is necessary, the committee will consult the relevant organiser(s) and explain why this is being done and obtain their consent for any such changes.

6.4 Booking for events which require pre-payment may not be guaranteed until full payment is received by the organiser.

6.5 If any member has booked for an event, and tickets have been bought, or other monies spent on their behalf by the organiser or any other member, they will be liable for the full amount whether or not they actually attend that event.

6.6 The committee reserves the right to refuse the publication of, or to change the wording of, any event which it feels does not comply with the rules or constitution. Before doing so however, the committee will first discuss this matter with the organiser(s) and see whether the original idea can still be used but in a modified form.

6.7 The Committee undertakes not to modify the wording of event details submitted by members for publication in the Club bulletin(s) except where necessary for clarity, completeness or to comply with any of rules above. If this is necessary, the committee will consult the relevant organiser(s) and explain why this is being done and obtain their consent for any such changes.

Special interest groups

7.1 IVC members have a wide range of interests and it is permissible to set up special interest groups within the club. Confidential membership information made available to Basingstoke & North Hampshire IVC may not be used for this purpose. Advertising in the monthly bulletin may, at the discretion of the committee, be acceptable.

Committee members

8.1 The committee is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the club, representing the interests of the members and defining and interpreting the club rules in line with the constitution.

8.2 Committee members are elected by ordinary members of the club.

8.3 Other members may be co-opted in accordance with article 20 of the club Constitution who might have specialist knowledge or be otherwise expected to assist the decision-making process. Such a co-opted member will not have the right to vote at any meeting.

8.3 If a committee member stands down from the committee, a member may be co-opted by the committee under the terms of articles 20 and 28 of the club Constitution to take their place until such time as a new member can be elected. This co-opted member will have full voting rights within the committee. The Committee shall give 7 clear days notice of any intention to co-opt a new Committee member or hold an election to elect such a Committee member.

8.4 The Club Committee may continue to act despite any vacancy thereon.

Standards of behaviour

9.1 All members will behave in a responsible manner which allows other members to enjoy their membership of the club. They will treat other members with due courtesy and consideration and respect the property and belongings of other members, especially when attending events in people's homes.

9.2 The committee will consider acting to discipline or expel any member if they receive a formal complaint of unacceptable behaviour from any other member.

9.3 Examples of unacceptable behaviour include:

• Harassment - acting towards any other member in a manner which is intended, or could reasonably be expected, to cause distress and thereby harm their enjoyment of the club. Examples might include bullying, preventing someone from attending events, passing on or improper use of confidential or personal information or spreading malicious rumours or gossip, unwanted persistant soliciting of favours of a sexual nature, unwanted persistant communications with another member of an explicit or offensive nature;
• Unruly behaviour - behaving at events in a manner which could reasonably be expected to offend other members or the general public such as excessive drunken, disorderly or abusive behaviour;
• Bringing the club into disrepute - behaving in a manner, or publicising opinions which damage the image of the club.

9.4 The committee may at its discretion, request that evidence be provided to substantiate any complaint made against another member. The committee may also at its discretion raise or use any such evidence during a grievance process with either party involved in such a process.

Grievances

10.1 Any member who has a grievance concerning the club or any other member must raise the matter with the committee. Grievances should not be discussed with anyone other than a committee member.

10.2 The complaint will be raised at the next committee meeting where it will be investigated and, if appropriate, dealt with in accordance with the relevant guidelines.

10.3 Where the complaint concerns a member, or members, of the club, the committee will consider the member, or members, 'innocent until proven guilty' and will make every effort to deal with the grievance in a fair and unbiased manner.

Discipline

11.1 On receipt of a formal complaint the committee may decide to instigate disciplinary action against a member. Grounds for this include: unacceptable or unruly behaviour, bringing the club into disrepute, non-payment of monies owing to the club or disregard for the club rules or constitution.

11.2 Any member who is the subject of disciplinary action will have the right to defend themselves in front of the committee in accordance with the terms of the Constitution.

11.3 If a complaint against a member is upheld, the committee may issue a reprimand, require an apology, order the payment of any monies owing or ban that member from the club for a period of time or on a permanent basis.