2018 Constitution of the Gargoyle

I. The name of the publication shall be the Gargoyle, and hereafter referred to as the paper.

II. Definitions
(1) Student - any person who is a student, full-time or part-time, at the University of Toronto.

(2) Staff Member - any member of the paper who maintains more involvement than a regular contributor but may hold
less responsibility than an editor. The treasurers and distributor may be staff members under the guidance of the Editors-
in-chief.

(3) The College - University College at the University of Toronto, Canada.

(4) General Meeting - A meeting of all members of the editorial collective, staff members and regular contributors to the
paper. Special Constitutional review meetings may be called, and differ from general meetings only in that the meeting
will deal specifically with Constitutional review, and regular contributors may vote.

(5) Section Council - An organization consisting of all staff members and contributors working within one section of the
paper (eg. UC Council, Arts Council, etc.)

(6) Editorial Collective - The sum of the Editors-in-chief, treasurers, production manager, all section heads, copy,
graphics, and layout editors.

III. Statement of Principles

(1) Insofar as the staff members of the paper believe in freedom of the press and understand the responsibilities of
running and publishing a newspaper, the paper shall attempt to deal with the interests of the students of the College and
environs, which it believes are:
i) events in and around the college,

ii) issues pertaining to the students of University College as citizens.

(2) In recognition of the responsibility of running and publishing a newspaper, the paper shall not print material which
the Editorial Collective considers discriminatory, or which contravenes Canadian laws on libel or hate literature.
Specifially, this includes discriminatory material based on race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship,
creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital/same-sex partnership status, family status or ability.

(3) In reaching a decision on the publication of controversial content, the paper will follow its own principles as well as the
guidance of the University of Toronto Freedom of Speech Statement, as issued by the Governing Council in January 1992,
which states that “The University’s primary obligation is to protect the free speech of all involved. The University must
allow the fullest range of debate. It should not limit that debate by preordaining conclusions, or punishing or inhibiting
the reasonable exercise of free speech.”

(4) Articles published in the paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors-in-chief, the editorial collective, and
the staff members.

(5) The paper reserves the right to refuse submissions, or edit them for spelling, grammar or discriminatory content.
Before refusing or editing submissions for content, the paper shall attempt to enter into a dialogue with the writer.

(6) The paper shall be accountable to the students who fund it.

(7) The paper shall seek to publish alternative and challenging ideas and shall experiment with new and different styles of
journalism.

IV. Staff Members

(1) A staff member shall be someone who participates in the management and production of the paper. They shall be a
regular contributor who has made at least three contributions to the paper, as defined below. Membership in either
category shall not be restricted in any way. A third category, the editorial collective, shall be made up of the editors-in-
chief, section heads, copy, graphics and layout editors, treasurers, distributors and production night manager. Editorial
positions under these titles are not mutually exclusive.

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(2) A contribution to the paper is defined as any one of the following:
i) Having written one article published in the particular issue of the paper,

ii) Having taken one photo published in the particular issue of the paper,

iii) Having drawn one graphic or comic published in the particular issue of the paper.

iv) Having assisted in the layout of one issue of the paper, either on a whole or by section.

(3) Regular contributors become staff members after attending at least three production nights of the paper. In becoming
a staff member, they are added to the masthead list and become eligible to run to become section heads. Beyond these
requirements, the particular duties of the staff members shall be determined by the editors-in-chief.

(4) The editors-in-chief, are responsible for the management of the paper and for its content. The positions of Editor-in-
Chief for the following year shall be elected at a meeting of all members of the masthead in April, regardless of editorial or
staff status (outgoing or incoming).

(5) The managing editor-in-chief and content editor-in-chief shall are jointly responsible for:
i) The adherence of the operations of the paper to the Constitution,

ii) The selection and training of their successors and the masthead as outlined in this Constitution.

iii) The maintenance of lists of all staff members, regular contributors, and potential staff members in case of
dispute.

iv) Mediating and resolving any conflicts that may arise between editors or staff members.

(i)Individual duties of the Managing Editor in Chief include:

(a)Distro
-oversee the training and progress of the distributor
-pay the distributor a honorarium of $250/semester

(b)Archives
-maintain archives
- five copies of each issue into main archives, one copy into "finances: weller" folder.
-ensure that these issues are not damaged in any way

(c) Office Maintenance

-maintain the cleanliness and safety of the Gargoyle office

(d) Editor Meetings

-ensure collective knows about meeting times and dates
-make agenda, try to keep meetings on track
*note: if managing editor is not present, meetings should still happen.
-follow-up with various editors about items discussed at meetings

(e)Events
-ensure events are not planned on production thursdays
-make sure they are properly advertised, well in advance
-oversee events, such as movie nights and zine fairs
-clean up after events
(f)Finances
-Oversee Finances
-sign cheque requisition forms

(g)LIT Relations
- Talk to Lit, bimonthly

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 (ii) Individual duties of the Content Editor in Chief include:
(a)Mail
-email: clean up inbox, label things properly, respond to general emails, send out
biweekly update to general email list informing them of deadlines, events,
etc
-snailmail: check mailbox in admin office frequently, ensure bills from weller go into the
proper folder/are put aside for payment, put any received flyers up/in the right place for
publishing

(b)Content
-writing or commissioning an editorial for each issue/in charge of editorial page
-selecting a letter or letters to be printed for each issue
-solicitation of articles

(c)Production night execution

-ensure content is copyedited unless otherwise stated
-oversee content, read every article with an overly-scrutinizing eye to ensure that it
a. conforms with principles and commitments laid out in constitution
b. conforms with unwritten principles extrapolated from const (i.e. if const
doesn't specifically say "we pledge not to put writers in danger" but says "we
pledge not to incite hatred against groups" make assessment depending on article
in question)

(d) Staff Meetings

-ensure staff knows about meeting times and dates
-make agenda, try to keep meetings on track *note: if content editor is not present,
meetings should still happen.
-follow-up with various staff members about items discussed at meetings

(6) The duties of the production night manager shall be:

(i)Production night prep
-make sure there are enough supplies (paper, toner, gluestix, pens)
-lay out flats on pool table sometime during production week
-ensure cheque is written for the amount of last publication

(ii)actual night:
-decide upon how many pages, order of sections, how many pages per section.
-ensure money for taxi, pizza and drinks is located and that receipts are given to treasurers for
reimbursement

(iii)Production night execution

-oversee layout, ensure layout is left the way section heads have arranged it, once pasted down
-be present until the end of production night to send the flats off
-make sure the paper gets finished

(7) The duties of the treasurers shall be:

-create budget at beginning of year, make sure budget is followed-make sure that finances are kept up to date
(oversee treasurers)
-cheques are signed by treasurers in timely fashion-ensure frequent contact with lit regarding finances/audit
schedule-submit requests for capital fund $$

(8) The duties of the distributor shall be:

-ensure distro is done in a timely fashion
-ensure distro is done across campus
-ensure old papers are removed
- the distributor shall be given a honorarium of $250/semester

(9) The editorial collective shall consist of the editors-in-chief, the heads of the paper's section councils, the production
night manager, as well as any copy, graphics and layout editors. The membership of the editorial collective shall be
determined as follows:
i) Candidates for membership in the editorial collective, after the written receipt of their intentions, shall be
advertised in at least one issue of the paper. Candidacy for an editorial position shall be open for no less than three
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 weeks. Candidates shall then be elected by a simple majority of votes at the next general meeting. If the position of
editor of a given section is already filled, and someone else expresses their desire to become editor of that section,
the staff may vote on electing the interested party as co-editor of the section in question.

ii) Membership in the paper's editorial collective may be terminated by a two-thirds majority vote at two
consecutive general meetings.

iii) In the event of the resignation of any member of the editorial collective, or in the event of their termination as
a member of the paper, staff members and remaining editors shall elect a replacement volunteering from among
the members of the editorial collective at the next general meeting.

(10) The editorial collective as a whole shall be responsible for ensuring the following:
i) That the paper is published according to a bi-weekly schedule,

ii) The contributions are actively solicited and welcomed from the College community,

iii) That students are provided the opportunity to participate in producing an alternative newspaper.

iv) That the paper is distributed throughout the St. George campus in a timely fashion.

V. Staff Training
(1) Subsequent to the election of the editorial collective, and before the end of the winter scholastic term, the incoming
editorial collective shall be provided with mandatory transition training. This training shall include the following:

i) Training for newspaper management, including scheduling, editing, layout, and distribution as well as a briefing
on the history and constitution of the paper,

ii) Training for editorial responsibility and journalistic integrity, including libel, hate law, and awareness of what
constitutes discriminatory material,

iii) Training for organizational management, including meeting facilitation, volunteer management, membership
communication, finances, budgeting, and conflict resolution.

(2) The paper shall make use of existing resources to plan and deliver training sessions, including former or outgoing
members of the editorial board, the College's Coordinator of Student Life, and any other university and community
resources.

VI. General Meetings

(1) General meetings shall be held monthly during the school term. All of these meetings shall be publicized through the
paper and by its staff. All members of the editorial collective, staff and regular contributors may attend and may speak, but
only the editorial collective and staff may vote.

(2) The group convened at the general meeting shall decide on matters of general concern to the paper. By means of a
simple majority vote, it shall determine the specific publishing schedule of the paper, and decide on expenditures over
$100.00 (not including production costs). Furthermore, the assembly may discuss and vote against any decisions made by
the paper's editor-in-chief(s), and may defeat editorial decisions by a two-thirds vote.

(3) Anyone may attend a general meeting, but shall not be accorded speaking rights or voting rights until they are a
recognized member of the staff or the editorial collective. A staff member may pass their speaking rights to anyone who is
not a staff member.

VII. Section Councils

(1) The editors of the paper shall attempt to organize content into coherent sections which may change depending on the
content received. Each section must be overseen by one or more editors, who have been elected to the position at a general
meeting, and who are part of the editorial collective. All section heads have decision-making power equal to the Editor-in-
chief.

(2) The section councils shall manage the day-to-day running of the sections of the paper, make decisions on matters
involving less than $50.00, and care for the assigning, editing, layout, and production of their section. They are required
to contact their contributors on a frequent basis and solicit and compile articles for their particular section.

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(3) The following sections should be included in each issue. However, other sections may be added as the collective sees
fit:
i) Arts & Culture: Including concert, film, music, and art show reviews, as well as interviews and opinions on
similar topics. The section head is responsible for keeping an updated list of record labels, production companies,
publishing houses, as well as any other important associates that they are in contact with.

ii) Politics/Opinion: Including articles written about popular culture, current events, university proceedings,
and anything that is generally opinion-based. The section head is responsible for properly labeling and editing
articles in this section.

iii) UC: Including content that pertains to the affairs of University College, such as messages from the UCLit,
messages and advertisements from UC groups, and anything pertaining to UC residences or UC student life. The
section head is responsible for keeping in contact with the UCLit and for communicating with and maintaining an
updated list of frequently contributing student groups.

iv) Avant-Garg: Including poetry, prose, short stories, and book reviews. The section head is responsible for
preventing copyright infringement, maintaining any subscriptions the paper has, and keeping a list of publishers
they are currently in contact with. They are also in charge of promoting the bi-annual zine fairs, and maintaining
and promoting the Gargoyle zine archive.

v) Comics

VIII. Finances
(1) The paper's managing editor in chief and two treasurer(s) are tasked with the management of funds. They shall
administer the funds according to the decisions made at the paper's biweekly staff meetings with the editorial collective.

i) They shall ensure that accurate and up-to-date records of all money received and spent by the paper are kept.
Any discrepancies shall be brought to the attention of the staff at the earliest possible moment.
ii) Any College member may examine the financial records of the paper during office hours.
iii) All cheques required in the course of the paper's production shall be signed by both the managing editor-in-
chief and the treasurer(s), who are registered as account signatories with the paper's bank.
iv) The treasurers shall bring staff up-to-date on the paper's financial situation at bi-weekly staff meetings.

IX. Complaints
(1) The paper encourages dialogue between dissenting parties and the editorial collective, and pledges to deal with
complaints in the fastest, fairest and most satisfying manner.

(2) In order to be considered valid, formal complaints regarding editorial decisions or the content of the paper must be
submitted in writing to the editorial collective no later than two weeks after the establishment and/or publication of the
offending decision and/or piece. Complaints received after this period will no longer be considered formal complaints and
will be dealt with informally, through communication between the Editors-in-chief and complainant.

(3) Complaints received within the two week period of publication will be considered and responded to formally by the
editorial collective. If necessary, a meeting may be set up between the complainant and relevant members of the collective
as well as the Editors-in-chief, in order to resolve the conflict. It is expected that before registering a formal complaint, the
complainant is familiar with the paper’s Statement of Principles and provides a reasonable explanation for her/his
complaint in relation to the Principles.

X. Amendments
(1) Amendments to this constitution shall be made by a two-thirds vote at one special general meeting that is specifically
designated for the purpose of Constitutional review. This meeting may be attended by the editorial collective and/or staff
members, all of whom retain one vote of equal value.

XI. Publication of the Constitution

(1) After a constitutional review session, which must be attended by all members of the editorial collective and staff, an up-
to-date version of the Constitution shall be published in the paper at the beginning of every scholastic year, no later than
October 31.