HELLENIC STUDENTS ASSOCIATION
OF UIC
BY- LAWS
Article I.
Name
The
name of this organization shall be the Hellenic Students Association.
The
Hellenic Students Association seeks to foster a sense of Greek culture by
bringing together undergraduate and graduate students of Hellenic background as
well as other members of the student community interested in the Greek culture.
The Association will have as a primary goal to contribute to the cultural,
social and intellectual life on campus. The purpose of the association will be
(a) to promote fellowship among members of the Greek student community, (b) to
provide for the welcoming and counseling of all newly arrived Greek students,
(c) to promote cultural, social, and educational activities among the Greek
student community, (d) to promote and sponsor cultural, intellectual, and
educational activities that will further the awareness of the modern Hellenic
heritage in history and culture, and (e) to work with the Greek community of the
greater metropolitan area in furthering these purposes.
This
Association shall have only one class of members. Members of this Association
may be any undergraduate or graduate student of Hellenic background as well as
any member of the student community interested in Greek culture and history.
A) To become a member, one must attend at least one general
meeting, fill out a form given by the Executive Committee for recording
purposes and pay the $5 enrollment dues of the Association.
B) All
members shall enjoy the following privileges:
1) Attendance at all General Meetings and other
HSA events.
2) E-mail contact of all upcoming events inside
and outside of school.
3)
The
right to review the minutes and reports of General and Executive Committee
meetings, except those meetings defined as private.
3)
The
right to make motions and object to proposals on the floor at general meetings.
4)
The
right to nominate and elect HSA members for election as officers to serve on
the Executive Committee.
5) The right to nominate and elect HSA members to serve on various committees that shall be brought to existence in General Meeting.
C) To be a member in good standing, a member shall be required to
(a) attend at least one General Meeting per semester, and (b) pay the $5
membership due per yearly term.
There
shall be seven Officers that shall comprise the Executive Committee, who shall
be elected by the General Meeting of Members, every spring semester. They shall
consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Treasurer, a Secretary, and three
(3) Associate Officers. Each shall hold his or her position for one term. A
term is defined as two (2), sixteen-week semesters, beginning in the Fall
following elections, and the summer semester.
A) Both undergraduate and graduate student members may be
considered for the Committee. Any member on the Executive Committee must have
at least two semesters at this university and must not be in danger of failing out of the university, preferably having a cumulative GPA of
3.5/5 or higher, to be eligible.
B) The President shall
be the official representative of the organization and shall function in
accordance with the stated mission of the organization. The President shall
also have the following duties:
1) The
President shall be the chief executive officer of the organization and shall
see to the faithful execution of all club functions and activities.
2) The
President shall have general supervision of the group's activities and
programs.
3) The
President shall organize meeting schedules for at least the current semester,
with advice and consent of Executive Committee.
4) The
President shall set agendas for meetings, with advice and approval of the
Executive Committee, and shall have the responsibility of carrying out the
agenda. The President shall set order and time limits of topics for discussion
and presentation.
5) The
President shall be responsible for all passwords, keys, or any club property.
6) The
President shall be elected no more than once and shall serve no more than three
(3) sixteen-week semesters.
C) The Vice-President shall assist the President in two main
duties: (a) planning and preparing meetings and (b) planning and preparing any
club activities or committees.
The Vice-President shall assume the
President's duties when the President is unable to serve, and shall appoint a
new Vice-President from the Associate Officers or from a member approved by the
Executive Committee.
D) The Treasurer shall have general charge of the financial
affairs and responsibilities of the Association. The Treasurer is expected to
be present for the collection or payment of monies at club activities, and must
keep accurate records of the group's financial transactions. The Treasurer is
required to give a financial report at least once a semester and when requested
by the Executive Committee.
E) The Secretary shall keep a record of all meetings of the
Association and of all activities and programs. He or she will handle all
formal correspondence and filings
between members or third parties and officers of the group.
F) The Associate Officers shall help organize, supervise, and
carry out, any activities and meetings, and shall be responsible to inform the members
of any such meetings and activities.
G) At the beginning of each term, there shall be held an
Executive Committee meeting where the officer positions will be offered, after
discussion, to members of the Executive Committee by the President and following
tasks shall have responsibility awarded to members of the Executive Committee:
i.
General
email correspondences and announcements
ii.
Web
page maintenance
iii.
Membership
records
iv.
Publicity
v.
Committee
heads, if any
Any of the above
allocations of responsibility shall be subject to the approval of the General
Assembly.
H) Any Officer may be impeached if he/she has (a) engages in
activity contrary to the purpose of this Association or detrimental to the
Association, (b) misuses or abuses his/her authority, or (c) fails to fulfill
his/her responsibilities.
I) In order to impeach an executive board member, a motion
must be made on the floor of a general meeting. The person making the motion
must state his/her reasons for the member's impeachment. The Executive Committee
will vote at the next Executive Committee meeting as to whether the reasons are
just cause for impeachment. The Officer that is being voted on will be required
to leave the room and not be within audible range of the meeting. A vote will
commence. If 4/7th of the Executive Committee find just cause, then that member
will be impeached. Regardless of the executive board decision, a 2/3rd majority
vote of members at the next General Meeting can overturn the decision of the
Executive Committee to keep or impeach this Officer.
J) The Executive Committee shall meet at least once during or
before the first week and at regular intervals in a semester to discuss the
affairs and issues of the HSA. Resolutions of the Executive Committee shall
require a majority vote of quorum in Committee.
Officers
shall be elected annually by the members. Elections shall be held every spring
semester. A newly elected officer's term in his or her elected position begins
at the beginning of the Fall semester following elections.
Two
types of elections may be held, as proposed in resolution by the Executive Committee.
1) In vivo election at assembly
2) Electronic correspondence elections.
Members
eligible to vote are those who have registered one week prior to the day of elections
and have paid their dues by that day.
A) A nomination is a motion on the floor of a meeting or a
written statement by a member expressing his or her desire to have the member in
good standing mentioned in his or her statement on the ballot for the position
of President or Committee member or both.
B) Nominations procedures shall begin two weeks prior to
elections by a nomination's officer selected by the Executive Committee.
C) Any undergraduate or graduate member of the organization may
be nominated for election.
D) Nominations for President and other officers must be accepted
by the person mentioned and recorded by the elections officer in order for the
member to be placed on the ballot.
E) An election meeting must consist of at least twenty-five (25)
members, including the current officers. If this number is not obtained on
elections day, the President may postpone elections by no more than two weeks
and only once, and shall notify the members of the new date.
F) The election procedure will be as follows:
1) An Electoral Committee presides over the election. It consists of two active members elected from the members by open ballot after a quorum has been established and the club sponsor, if possible.
2) First,
there will be an election for President.
3) An election for the other six officers
will follow immediately (on the same day). The six candidates who receive the
most votes will be elected to the Executive Committee.
G) All members shall have one vote by secret ballot. Members may
not vote by written proxy. The President shall be responsible for informing all
members of the election date and the election procedure at least one month
before the elections.
H) An electronic election shall be
organized by the Executive Committee.
I) If a motion in opposition is not raised, the main organizer of the election will be the President, and shall be
the sole viewer of ballots. If the President is on the ballot for any position,
another member, either from the Executive Committee or general membership who
is not seeking office selected by the Executive Committee, shall function as
the elections officer.
J) The President shall send a
correspondence to all eligible members and shall prepare a ballot, stating the
candidates for President and for Committee.
K) Eligible ballots shall be received
during an election period, which shall last two school days. The email ballots
shall be counted after time expires. If twenty-five (25) valid responses are not received,
the President shall inform the members, and the balloting may be extended by
one (1) school day if so requested by a candidate or deemed necessary by the
President.
L) The President shall announce to the
members the newly elected officials of the organization after the results are
certified, along with the tally.
M)
The member who gets the most votes for President
shall be named President-elect and the six members who get the most votes for
committee shall be named Executive Committee-elect members.
N)
In
the case of tied voting and no withdrawal of candidacy, a second round of
tiebreaker voting, under previously stated rules, shall commence. Only the
candidates receiving equal number of votes shall be on the second ballot for
the positions they received tied votes for, and shall be held immediately for
assembly elections, or extended one (1) school day for electronic elections.
The
General Meeting of Members shall be the primary and principle decision-making
body of the HSA.
A) General meetings are to be held at least four times every
semester. All club business and general meetings will be conducted in English.
B) Members must be informed of general meetings at least one
week prior to the date of the meeting. In the event that a scheduled meeting
needs to be canceled, all members should be informed as soon as possible. No
meeting can be set during summer semesters.
C) If any voting must take place at a general meeting, then the
members must be notified. The general meeting of members may pass a resolution
with a majority vote of quorum.
D) Any motion on the floor must be made at a general meeting and
seconded by another member. If voting on this motion by members is necessary,
then voting will take place at the same or next general meeting, as dictated by
the measure and/or attendance.
E) The first semester general meeting shall always take place
during the first or second week of each semester, the date, time, and place of
which shall be decided by the Executive Committee.
F) The times, dates, and places of all other required semester
meetings shall be decided upon by the Executive Committee, generally following
a three to four week schedule.
G) Special meetings of the General Assembly may be called by the
Executive Committee.
H) Notice of regular and special meetings and topics to be
discussed and voted on shall be communicated to all members of the group by the
officer responsible for correspondences at least one day in advance for special
meetings and two days in advance for general meetings.
I) The President shall chair all meetings. In the absence of
the President, the Vice-President or another officer may chair the meeting.
J) All members shall have one vote with respect to any
resolutions put forward during a meeting. Members may vote by written proxy, if
necessary, filed with the Secretary. Any objections to resolutions shall be
subject to the decision of the majority.
K) The Executive Committee shall meet at least two (2) times a
semester with the Faculty Advisor to discuss affairs and issues concerning the
HSA.
L) A quorum is constituted by more than 1/2 of all members
present. In order for any objection or resolution to be voted on, be it in Executive
Committee or General Assembly, a quorum must be present.
M) Resolutions may be passed without a majority vote if there
are no objections when the item is presented to and fully discussed by the
General Assembly at a general meeting.
This
constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the HSA. Any three
members of the group may propose an amendment. Proposals shall be filed in
writing with the Secretary prior to a meeting, so that the group may debate the
proposal. Amendments may be voted on at regular or special meetings.