Synapse Issue 9 | Page 12

writing would be added or removed. The only notable change between an amendment of several words and an amendment of paragraphs is the motion to strike out and insert words, called a substitute when applied to paragraphs. When you move to substitute, you are moving to replace a paragraph or paragraphs in the main motion with one or more amended paragraphs.

While the process remains the same, it is important to be aware of the terminology change.

Now let’s make things fun. Let’s say that Lizzie has just moved to insert the words ‘and Mars’ after ‘Moon’ and before ‘next month’ into our original main motion, but you don’t agree with her and wish to amend her amendment. Enter secondary amendments. I’ll go into secondary amendments a bit more in a later edition, as they can get very complicated very quickly, but - by using the terminology previously introduced - you can make wording amendments to the primary amendment. Note that you cannot make an amendment to secondary amendments, because no chair wants to deal with amendments to the amendment of the amendment!

If you want to keep things a bit simpler, the highly recommended path is to vote down an amendment you disagree with, and then propose a new primary amendment. Speaking from experience, amendments in amendments can get incredibly convoluted incredibly quickly.

That just about covers everything this month. With the school year up and running, it’s highly likely that you’ll find a need to use amendments in your HOSA meetings. Just remember the three types of amendments and the basic rules, and you should be set! Next month, we’ll close out our discussion on the basics of a meeting by going over committees and a few more types of motions. I now adjourn this edition of “Parli Pro With Ryan O!”

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Enjoyed Chapter Leadership Camp?