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BSU Constitution: The name of this organization shall be the Black Student Union ARTICLE II. PURPOSE SEC 1 To provide the Augustana community with a new or better understanding and awareness of the cultural traditional, and historical background of the Black American. SEC 2 To inspire Black youth to excel to heights not previously known to our people by first aiding them in achieving the mark of excellence in their academic relationship with SEC 3 To establish social and cultural relations with Augustana, and provide assistance as best we can to the underprivileged and unattended to within the Rock Island Black Community. SEC 4 To support and defend the human and civil rights of other minorities at Augustana, and function as a station to which they can come when they feel their rights have been infringed upon. SEC 5 To discourage racial insensitivity through awareness activities, and to react accordingly to racial disparaging language and other violations of our human and civil rights which will interfere with our physical and psychological well-being while we are enrolled at Augustana. ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP SEC 1 Students of Active and Non-Active. TYPE (1) *ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP Active membership shall be conferred upon full-time students who pledge to uphold the ideals and purposes of the organization and will abide by the laws of this constitution. Active membership is granted pending the payment of a specified annual membership fee of $5.00. Active membership is required in order to be eligible to hold an office in the organization and receive the rights and privileges that the organization has to offer. TYPE (2) *NON-ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP Non-active membership is assumed student who, do to circumstances, cannot fully support the organization or its efforts because of other commitments of time or interests. Non-active membership is for those interested students who cannot meet the requirements of Active membership. Non-Active members have no voting privileges and are considered ineligible to hold an elected office or receive any of the benefits and privileges the organization offers. TYPE (3) *HONORARY MEMBERSHIP Honorary Membership may be conferred upon any person who have contributed significantly to the ideals and purposes of the Black Student Union. Persons so honored shall have all the rights and privileges of Active membership except for those of voting and holding office. Section of Honorary members shall require the approval of 3 /4 of the Active membership. SEC 2 If an active member finds that another member has seriously violated the ideals and principles designated in the constitution of the Black Student Union, such recognized member may begin a petition signed by 1 /3 of the active membership. To be official the petition must state the reasons such actions are being taken. After the necessary signatures have been obtained, the petition will be presented to the Parliamentarian who will call a meeting of the Presidential Advisory Committee who will give the accused party an opportunity to speak in their own defense. The committee will vote by simple majority after due process. If the decision of the committee is opposed by 2 /3 of the membership, the decision will be reversed. ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS OF THE BLACK STUDENT UNION SEC 1 To officers of the organization shall be the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Parliamentarian, and the Historian. If necessary, persons will be appointed to the positions of assistant Secretary, and assistant Treasurer. SEC 2 The elected officers of this organization will hold no more than two terms in the same office. SEC 3 To be eligible to hold office in this organization on much first be an active member as designated in ART-III, SEC-2, TYPE-1. One must be a full-time student who has attended Augustana for at least 2 full quarters. Finally, one must have an overall GPA of 2.0 SEC 4 The elected officers shall make up the Executive Board and will serve as members of the Advisory Committee. The President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary will also serve on the Finance Committee. ARTICLE V. DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS SEC 1 The powers and responsibilities of the President shall be as follows: 1) To preside at all regular and special meetings of the Black Student Union, The executive Board, and the Advisory Committee. 2) He/She hall be responsible for coordinating the functions of his/her officers and maintaining a continuum of policy throughout the organization and the structure of its committees. 3) To serve as an ex-officio member of all committees and oversee their functions and their officers. 4) To appoint and dismiss the heads of any committee within the organization if their performance is lacking or ineffective. 5) To effectively carry out the programs of the organization. 6) The President must approve in advance any disbursements of cash to be made. Amounts over $50.00 must be brought to the attention of the Finance Committee. The Treasurer or committee chairperson requesting the funds must call a meeting of the Finance committee or obtain the signature of at least 3 /4 of its members before the disbursements can be made. 7) If for any reason the President must leave to Vice-President shall assume the office of the President and must appoint within ten days, with the approval of the Advisory Committee, a new Vice-President.
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To exercise all powers delegated in this constitution and administer any additional policies that are within the guidelines of this constitution. SEC 2 The posers and responsibilities of the Vice-President shall be as follows: 1) To serve as advisor and assistant to the President in all of his/her duties. 2) To assume and exercise all duties of the President in his/her absence or incapacity. 3) To serve as an ex-officio member of all organization committees. 4) If for any reason the Vice-President must leave office, the President must appoint within ten days, with the approval of the Advisory Committee, a new Vice-President.
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To perform any additional duties that are assigned by the President of designated in this constitution. SEC 3 The responsibilities of the Secretary will be as follows: 1) To be responsible for a written record of all meetings of the organization to be placed on file and delivered to the officers of the succeeding administration. 2) To be responsible for all Executive correspondence within the organization and interschool relations. Also, the Secretary will be responsible for all Executive correspondences with other persons, schools, and organizations. 3) To keep a record of each member, and to inform the Executive Board when a member becomes active or inactive.
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To perform any additional duties and tasks assigned by the President SEC 4 The duties and responsibilities of the Treasurer shall be as follows: 1) Upon proper authorization as designed in ART-V, SEC-1, NO-6, the Treasurer shall make financial disbursements and keep records of all expenditures and receipts. 2) He/She shall be the chairperson of the Finance Committee and function in the capacity designated in ART-VIII, SEC-3. 3) Will make a bi-monthly report to the membership on the state of the treasurer. Also, present an income statement monthly to the active members. 4) Will be responsible for all monies of the organization and will be responsible for obtaining proper authorization before disbursing any money.
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Will perform any additional duties assigned by the President SEC 5 The Responsibilities of the Parliamentarian will be as follows: 1) Shall preside over the Advisory Committee during the receipt of a petition of suspension of impeachment. If absent or a personal conflict is involved the President will conduct the meeting. 2) Shall be responsible for distribution and counting ballots during the election of officers. 3) Shall be in attendance at every meeting of the Black Student Union, the Advisory Board, and the Executive Board. 4) Is responsible to bring to the attention of the Executive Board when an active member is in violation of the ideals and purpose of the organization and of this constitution and recommending the appropriate action.
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Will perform and additional duties assigned by the President SEC 6 The responsibilities of the Historian will be as follows: 1) To write a detailed and accurate history of the organization to be kept on file in the Library of the Black Culture House. 2) To keep a written record of the membership, the officers, and the activities during his/her term. 3) To keep a scrapbook containing photographs and newsletters and newspaper clippings pertaining to the activities occurring during his/her term.
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Will perform any additional duties assigned by the President. ARTICLE VI. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS SEC 1 The election of officers will be held during the first week of May. No one person will hold more than two consecutive terms in the same office. SEC 2 Only recognized active members shall be eligible to run for an office. Also, only recognized active members shall have fill-voting privileges at elections. SEC 3 Active members interested in being candidates for any office of the Black Student Union must file an application with the President two weeks before the scheduled day for candidate platforms. The following week, the application will be officially nominated and seconded as candidates. SEC 4 The application for nomination will contain the following: 1) The candidates name and running mate 2) The position for which he/she is applying 3) His/her class, and membership status 4) List of prior BSU offices held
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His/her signature. SEC 5 The week following nominations, each candidate is required to submit a statement of policy of platform before the entire membership. Elections will be held Friday of the week of platforms. SEC 6 All elections shall be by ballot. Hand-voting and proxy voting is prohibited. ARTICLE VII. THE EXECUTIVE BOARD SEC 1 The Executive Board shall consist of all the elected officers and those appointed by the President. SEC 2 The Executive Board shall meet at least twice monthly at the call of the President who will be Chairman of the Board. SEC 3 The Executive Board will be responsible for carrying out the resolutions and policies of this constitution, and is solely responsible for analyzing any particular problems in the organization and bringing about changes in policy and preparing amendments and revisions to this constitution as necessary. ARTICLE VIII. THE FINANCE COMMITTEE SEC 1 The Finance Committee shall consist of the President, the Vice-President, the Treasurer, the Assistant Treasurer (if any) and one representative from each of the five major committees. SEC 2 The Treasurer shall preside as chairman of the committee. SEC 3 The Finance Committee will be called to meet when the Chairman of a committee comes to request money for an activity or program. The requesting committee shall present a detailed budget for the amount needed. The request shall be voted on by 3 /4 of the members on the committee and approved by simple majority. The vote is to be kept on file with the Treasurer. SEC 4 In the event the Committee cannot meet, the requesting party must obtain the signatures of at least 2 /3 of its members. SEC 5 Besides meeting to approve committee request, the Finance Committee will meet to approve disbursements of $50.00 or more and disbursements the President cannot approve because of absence, personal interest of conflict. ARTICLE IX. PRESIDENTIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE SEC 1 The Presidential Advisory Committee shall consist of the members appointed by the President, the Executive Board members, and the Chairman and Co-Chairman from each of the five major committees. SEC 2 The President shall serve as chairman of the committee as designed in ART-V, SEC-1, No-1. SEC 3 The Committee shall meet at least twice per month to discuss the success and failures of programs and activities and to make plans to improve upon the structure of the organization, its policies and activities. SEC 4 The committee shall serve as judicial bard upon the receipt of a petition for a members suspension (ART-III, SEC-2), or impeachment of an elected officer, as stated in ART-XI, SEC-1. SEC 5 The committee shall advise the President on the issued of relevance, and suggest changes that need to be made. ARTICLE X. ORGANIZATION COMMITTEES AND THEIR DUTIES SEC 1 The five major committees of the Black Student Union shall be; The Academic Committee, The Cultural Committee, The Social Committee, The Service Committee, and The Fund-Raising Committee. SEC 2 *ACADEMIC COMMITTEE is required to meet at least once per week of at the call of the Chairman of the President. The duties of the committee shall be as follows: 1) To meet with the Freshman and advise them on the classes they should take, also to set them up with tutors as necessary. 2) In conjunction with the Cultural Committee, will have at least a bi-monthly presentation of Black History or issues concerning Black Americans today. 3) To provide help and assistance to students with any academically related situations.
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To organize Honors Banquets and any academic related award presentations. SEC 3 *CULTURAL COMMITTEE is required to meet at least once per week or at the call of the Chairman or the President. The duties of the committee shall be as follows: 1) To actively promote and create programs to typify the meaning and purposes of the organization and provide to all concerned a new or better understanding of the Black American past and present. 2) TO coordinate and publicize such events as Black History Month, Kwanzaa, Martin Luther Kings birthday, etc…
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In Conjunction with the Academic Committee will present at least a bi-monthly presentation of Black History or issues concerning Black Americans past and present. SEC 4 *SOCIAL COMMITTEE is requires to meet at least once per week or at the call of the Chairman or the President. The duties of the committee will be as follows: 1) To unite the membership in programs and activities indicative to the Black culture. 2) To sponsor social events with the entire Augustana Community.
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To coordinate and properly publicize at least bi-monthly activities to raise money. SEC 5 *SERVICE COMMITTEE is required to meet at least once per week of at the call of the Chairman or the President. The duties of the committee will be as follows: 1) The committee shall find through whatever means possible, worthy causes to which the organization can make financial contributions. 2) The committee will find school, church, or cultural groups that can use our services.
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The committee will plan at least one noteworthy service project that will give Augustana and the Quad-City community a positive image of the Black Student Union. SEC 6 *FUND-RAISING COMMITTEE is required to meet at least once per week or at the call of the Chairman or the President. The duties of the committee shall be as follows: 1) The committee will sponsor activities, programs, and speakers that will be arranged in such a way as to provide substantial income for the organization. 2) The committee will judiciously solicit in an above board manner for the purposes of providing income to the organization.
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The committee will work to provide the organization with a specified amount announced by the President or Treasurer at the start of each quarter. ARTICLE XI. IMPEACHMENT OF OFFICERS/REVOCATION OF MEMBERSHIP SEC 1 The impeachment of an elected officer shall be handed in the following manner; Charges for the impeachment shall be presented to the Advisory Committee who will act in a judicial capacity to hear the case. The accused officer shall be permitted to speak to the committee on his/her own defense. The committee will weigh all the evidence presented and make a judgment as to whether an official impeachment trial be held in the presence of the active membership. The Advisory Committee will not make a final decision, but s judgment or opinion of the guilt or innocence of the accused. If the committee decides there is not evidence to warrant an impeachment, the charges will be dropped. SEC 2 Impeachable offenses: 1) Unauthorized use of misappropriation of the money or property belonging to the BSU
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Malfeasance of Neglect of the duties of an officer as designed in ART.V of the Constitution. SEC 3 If with substantial reason, the Executive Board makes a decision to revoke the membership of an active member, for reason stated in ART-III, SEC-2, or other reasons, the members will be disqualified to further receive any of the rights and privileges of the organization. If the revocation takes place within eight weeks of the payment of the membership fee, the money will be refunded. SEC 4 If for personal reasons an active member decides to disassociate him/herself from the BSU within the first two weeks after the payment of the membership fee, the money will and can be refunded. For reasons afterward, the member will have to request a refund before the Advisory Committee. ARTICLE XII. RATIFICATION / AMENDMENTS AND REVISIONS SEC 1 Ratification of this constitution shall occur upon the approval of the active membership of the Black Student Union by a majority vote of 3 /4 of the active membership. SEC 2 Amendments and revisions to this constitution shall be presented at a regular meeting of the Black Student Union, discussed, and then voted on at a sub sequential meeting. SEC 3 Proposed amendments and revisions shall be presented for the approval of the active membership which will require 2 /3 vote. 1983-84 Note: Amendments and contextual revisions to this document must be approved by the Student Personnel Committee of |
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