Article 3, Section 4

In order to maintain voting privileges, institutional members must participate in CEDA nationals within the prior four (4) years or submit a monetary hardship exemption to the executive committee detailing the reasons the member school was unable to participate in CEDA nationals within the past four years. Monetary exemptions are valid for one (1) year and schools must re-apply for the exemption yearly if the hardship is ongoing.

Effective date: The rule would go into effect upon passage, but no school would be barred from voting (regardless of past participation- or lack thereof in CEDA nats) until four years after the amendment’s passage.

Rationale: Participating in CEDA nationals is a big part of being a member of the organization and it seems appropriate that in order to be full members schools must participate in the national tournament if they are monetarily able. Given the rotating location of CEDA and the ability of the EC to grant monetary exemptions this should not present any undo strain on member schools, but rather incentivize participation in the national tournament.