The Constitution contained below is the most current copy available to us. It was last revised in 1981. Some of the requirements and articles have been updated, modified, or removed, due to regional and time differences.

Chapter 1

Membership

SECTION I. ELECTION.  Election to membership shall be by secret ballot. A candidate shall be accepted for membership by a three-quarters majority of the members voting.

 SECTION II. TIME FOR ELECTIONS. Names of persons to be voted upon for membership in the Fraternity may be considered and elections may be held at any meeting of the chapter announced specifically for this purpose.

 SECTION III.  TRANSFERS. Members may be transferred from one chapter to another upon consent of the chapter to which the transfer is sought.

 SECTION IV.  CERTIFICATES. A certificate of membership shall be issued free of charge by the National Office to each member upon payment of initiation fees and this certificate shall be countersigned by the National President and National Historian.

 SECTION V.  ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.  To be eligible for membership in this Fraternity a student must fulfill the following requirements:

(A)       RANK. Be in the sophomore or higher class in the institution where a chapter of Theta Alpha Phi is maintained.

(B)       REQUIREMENTS.  Be duly approved by the Faculty adviser and successfully meet any one or any combination of two or more (which shall be the equivalent of one) of the following requirements in connection with plays publicly produced by groups officially recognized by the local chapter of Theta Alpha Phi within the institution.

(1)       Author of one (1) full-length play which has been produced.

 (2)      Director or designer of two (2) full-length plays which have been produced.

 (3)      Major role, stage manager, technical director, business or publicity manager, assistant to the director, or major crew head of three (3) full-length plays.

(4)       Crew member or minor role in six (6) full-length plays.

(5)      Fifteen (15) semester hours or the equivalent with no grade less than "B" in academic courses in theatre arts. These may be counted as no more than half of the total requirements. Where academic credit is given for work in production, such work may be counted only once in meeting eligibility requirements.

(C)       STANDARDS. Any play running less than a full sixty minutes of playing time shall be considered a one-act play and shall be worth no more than one-half the value of a. full-length play in meeting requirements. Minor acting roles and crew work may be evaluated on a proportional basis depending on the size of the role or the duties involved but in no case may credit given for such a role or work exceed one-half that given for a major role or a crew head. Minimum standards of quality as determined by the Faculty Adviser shall at all times be met. When, in the opinion of the Adviser or faculty instructor the quality of work done by a candidate is worth less than a "B" grade, the work shall be eliminated from consideration for meeting membership requirements.

(B)              TRANSFER OF CREDITS.  Qualification credits shall be recognized from any other college or university at the discretion of the individual chapter, and then only from a college or univer­sity having a chapter of this Fraternity or, in the opinion of the National Council, qualified to have a chapter.

SECTION VI.  ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP. To be eligible for associate membership in Theta Alpha Phi, a student must fulfill at least one-half the requirements established for Active Members in Section V above.

Chapter II

Charter Petitions

SECTION I. HOW PETITIONS SUBMITTED. When any group of students meeting the requirements of this constitution shall desire a charter of this fraternity, they shall prepare a petition in a manner prescribed by the National Council and shall present the same for the consideration of the National Council.

 When a petition has been presented by a group qualified to have and to hold a charter of the fraternity, the National President shall designate a member of the National Council or some other faculty member of the Fraternity to visit personally and inspect the institution and the petitioning group and require the person so designated to report his findings in writing to the National Council.

 If a majority of the members of the National Council shall favor the granting of a charter to a petitioning group, a copy of the petition together with a copy of the report made by the chapter visitor shall be mailed to each active chapter in the Fraternity for its vote upon the petition.  Every such petition must be voted upon by the active chapters within (10) days after the receipt of the copy of the petition by the chapter and it shall require an affirmative majority of votes received from the Fraternity-at-large to accept a petitioning group.

 SECTION II. EXPENSES.  Each petitioning local chapter shall be required to deposit with the National Council a charter fee, the amount of which shall be set by the National Council, and will be required to pay all expenses incidental to the installation ceremony.  In case of an unfavorable vote, the charter fee will be refunded.

SECTION III.  SUSPENSION OF CHAPTER. Any chapter of this Fraternity may be suspended by the National Council for good cause shown, which cause may be inactivity or failure to make necessary reports, or for mismanagement of chapter funds, or for any official act which tends to discredit the Fraternity in the eyes of the local student body or of the Fraternity nationally.

SECTION IV.  INSTALLATION OF CHAPTERS. The installation of all chapters shall be under the direction of the National Council.

Chapter III

Fees, Dues, and Bonds

SECTION I.  ACTIVE MEMBER INITIATION FEES.  Each initiate shall remit to the National Secretary-Treasurer a membership fee set by the National Council.  The fee shall include the cost of a certificate of member­ship, a badge, and a subscription to THE CUE during the term of active membership.

 SECTION II.  ANNUAL CHAPTER FEE.  Each active chapter shall pay annually to the treasury of the Fraternity a chapter fee the amount of which shall be determined by the National Council.  This sum is due on November 1. A chapter shall be declared in arrears if its chapter fees have not been paid by April 1 of the year following the official notification of delinquency.

 SECTION III.  BONDING THE NATIONAL SECRETARY-TREASURER.  The National Secretary-Treasurer of this Fraternity upon assuming the office shall provide a suitable surety bond for twice the amount of money in the treasury of the fraternity, such bond to be approved by the National Council.

Chapter IV

Disbursement of Money

SECTION I. ANNUAL BUDGET. The National Council shall prepare for each year a suggested budget of expenses which shall include an annual appropriation of expenses for the National Secretary-Treasurer and "CUE" budgets.  This budget is to be on file in the office of the Secretary-Treasurer.

Nothing in this section shall be deemed as restricting the National Council to the money so appropriated in the budget if incidental expenses necessary to the efficient administration of the Fraternity arise, and the National Council is hereby authorized to pay such necessary expenses.

Chapter V

Fiscal Year

SECTION I. The fiscal and official year of this Fraternity shall be from September first to August thirty-first.

Chapter VI

Official Jewelry, Colors, Publication

SECTION I. BADGE. The official badge of this Fraternity shall be a gold pin or key bearing the insignia of the Fraternity.

 SECTION II.  COLORS.  The colors of this Fraternity shall be Purple and White.

SECTION III. PUBLICATION.  The official publication of this Fraternity shall be "THE CUE" published by the National Editor assisted by an editorial board under the direction of the National Council.

Chapter VII

Editorial Board

SECTION I. The National Council shall have the power to appoint a board of associate editors of "THE CUE."

Chapter VIII

Regions

SECTION I. The National Council shall delineate geographic regions from time to time as may be practicable.

SECTION II. Each chapter in a region shall have one vote in regional matters.