CUAAS’s aims are:
- To allow atheists, agnostics and other non-religious people in Cambridge (mainly, though not exclusively, members of the University) to meet each other and debate moral, scientific and political issues.
- To inform members about approaches to life that aren’t based on religion through a full and varied selection of talks.
- To encourage students to approach issues on the basis of reason, not superstition.
Constitution
Constitution of the Cambridge University Atheist and Agnostic Society
Section 1
- 1a. The aim of CUAAS is to raise awareness of humanism and to encourage the dissemination and
discussion of humanist views within the student body of the University.
- 1b. Membership of CUAAS is open to all members of Cambridge University.
- 1c. The fee for membership is to be decided by the committee.
- 1d. The committee may under exceptional circumstances, and with the approval of the two-thirds
majority of the committee, revoke membership.
- 1e. At the committee's discretion membership can be extended to persons outside the University.
- 1f. Decisions made in committee meetings by a majority of the committee shall be binding on all the
activities of the society. No member of the committee shall act in contravention of decisions made by a
majority of same.
Section 2
- 2a. The CUAAS committee shall consist of:
- A President
- A Secretary
- A Treasurer
- A Computing Officer
- A Publicity Officer
- Up to three other members
- 2b. Non-members of the committee can be commissioned to do jobs for the society.
- 2c. Committee members can be removed by vote of two-thirds of the committee at a meeting, of which
prior notice has been given, to be replaced by another member of the society by election at the next
society meeting or their duties to be assigned to existing committee members.
- 2d. Persons may be appointed to unfilled committee posts by a majority vote of the committee at any
meeting of which prior notice has been given.
- 2e. The committee shall have the right to elect, by majority vote, at a meeting of which prior notice has
been given, any number of members to the post of 'Associate Committee Member'. These shall have the
right to attend committee meetings but not to vote. They shall have no other rights or responsibilities.
They may be removed in the same way as other committee members.
Section 3
- 3a. The AGM of CUAAS shall be held annually during Easter term. All members of CUAAS are entitled
to attend.
- 3b. During the AGM, the committee for the following year shall be elected via a single transferable vote,
with the incumbent President holding the casting vote if necessary.
Section 4
- 4a. CUAAS shall operate a bank account, under the direction of the President and Treasurer, cheques
from the account require the signature of the Treasurer and the President.
- 4b. The accounts of CUAAS shall be audited by the Senior Treasurer, a resident senior member of the
University.
- 4c. No member of CUAAS shall be personally liable for the debts of the Society except where their actions
have directly caused the account to go overdrawn, in which case they shall be liable for repayment to
the society's bankers.
- 4d. The Treasurer shall present any bank statement to the committee at their meeting subsequent to
receipt of said statement.
Section 5
- 5a. The constitution of CUAAS may be changed at any time by two-thirds majority vote of the Committee at a meeting of which prior notice has been given.
- 5b. In the unlikely event of dissolution of CUAAS, all assets, after payment of debts, shall pass to the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies (AHS), or whatever other bodies decided by the outgoing committee.
Section 6
- 6a. In recognition of the human right to freedom of thought and speech, CUAAS shall not adopt an official position on any political issue or issues, with the exception of those directly related to secularism or humanism.
Appendix
The constitution was last amended on the 30th November 2011. The following changes were made:
- In Section 3, the AGM was moved to Easter Term.
- In Section 5, the beneficiary named in the event of dissolution was changed to the AHS.
- Section 6, regarding affiliation to interested groups, was deleted (so the previous Section 7 became the new Section 6).