PREAMBLE
We, the RIT students with common interests in Asia and Asian culture at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), hereby establish The Asian Culture Society (ACS). Our missions are to help promote cooperation and understanding among Asian Pacific students and among the RIT student body through education and events; to promote, represent, and advocate the interests of Asian Pacific RIT students; and to help provide a conducive environment for encouraging Asian Pacific students to utilize their history, culture and art to foster self-esteem and respect for their heritage through various activities.
ARTICLE I - NAME
The official name of this organization shall be known as the Asian Culture Society, abbreviated as ACS.
ARTICLE II – EXECUTIVE BOARD
The official position holders of the Asian Culture Society at RIT consists of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations Coordinator, and Event Coordinator.
The duties of the Executive Board are as follows:
A) PRESIDENT:
Shall interpret and enforce the Constitution with the consent of the entire Executive Board
Shall take charge of the Organization and conduct any business necessary in the best interests of ACS.
Shall maintain external relations with the officials and faculty at RIT.
Shall approve all major decisions like financial affairs and events.
Shall facilitate all meetings.
Shall prepare agenda for all meetings.
B) VICE PRESIDENT:
Shall assist the President in conducting of business in the best interests of ACS and assume his or her duties in absence of the President.
Shall assist the Treasurer in allocating financial budget for the next academic year.
Shall approve all major decisions like financial affairs and events.
In an event when the President is unable to fulfill his/her duties, the Vice-President shall take over the President’s position. The position for Vice-President will remain open, and the duties shall be distributed amongst the rest of the officers.
C) SECRETARY:
Shall keep accurate minutes of all officers' and general meetings and members' attendance
Shall notify all members in advance when a meeting is called.
Shall manage the ACS email account including updating the mail distribution list, checking and forwarding all important messages daily.
Shall manage all written letters.
Shall keep important contact information.
Shall renew the Recognition Proposal Package with the Student Government at the end of the academic year.
Shall fill out Quarterly reports at the end of every quarter.
D) TREASURER:
Shall be responsible for the monetary affairs of the Organization
Shall prepare financial budget for the next academic year at the end of Spring quarter
Shall be in charge of organizing fund raising activities.
Shall keep only the executive board updated on budget balances throughout the year.
Shall handle all correspondences / transactions with Student Government Bookkeeper.
Shall attend pertinent meetings, such as budget reviews by SG.
Shall keep all financial information confidential and current.
Must be financed certified by Student Government.
E) PUBLIC RELATION COORDINATOR(S):
Shall be responsible for recruiting new members
Shall inform all members and the Institute at large of all ACS's events
Shall be in charge of publicity for the Organization
Shall attend all Student Government's required meetings (notify other officers in case of emergency)
Shall be responsible for contacting outside organizations for publicity, help, sponsorships, etc.
F) EVENT COORDINATOR(S):
Shall be responsible for registering events.
Shall maintain contact with Tech Crew, Facilities Management, Food Service and Campus Safety.
Shall overlook all the necessary details for ACS’s events such as dress rehearsals.
Shall be in charge for the flow processes of all ACS' s events.
Shall come up with or take in new ideas for events.
Shall support committee chairs in execution of events.
Must be Event Registration (EVR) certified
G) WEBMASTER:
Shall update and oversee all electronic media including, but not limited to, the ACS main website and forums.
- Must have knowledge of HTML and CSS. Javascript, PHP and MySQL knowledge preferred.
H) EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT(S):
At E-Boards discretion, an Executive Assistant will come into effect when help is needed.
- Each E-Board member nominates one person that would be suited for the position. A discussion will follow about each nominees' qualifications. Each candidate will be then asked if they would like to accept their nomination. They will then submit an application (resume), and a final discussion and voting will be executed by the E-Board.
- An E.A. shall fulfill an officer's position (with the exception of President & Vice-President) in an event when an officer cannot fulfill his/her duty.
ARTICLE III – MEMBERS
SECTION 1: TYPES OF MEMBERSHIP
A) MEMBER:
Must be a student at RIT
Have an interest in Asian culture.
Must be on the email mailing list.
Not eligible for voting
B) ACTIVE MEMBER:
All of the above AND
A member is active when they attain 50% of accumulated points at any given time.
Extra points shall be given based on activity attendance and performance at E-Board’s discretion.
Has preference to go to special events.
Has voting rights.
Any discrepancies on who is an active member will be settled with a majority vote from the executive board.
ARTICLE IV- MEETINGS
SECTION 1: MEETING RULES
All business to be conducted at meetings will be listed in a prepared agenda.
The minutes of the meeting shall be provided four (4) days after meeting by the secretary to the e-board via email.
Meetings will be conducted in the following order:
discussion of old business
committee reports on old business/updates
discussion of new business
committee reports for new business
new business for next meeting
open discussion
conclude
SECTION 2: TYPES OF MEETINGS
A) GENERAL
Meetings will be held at least every other week during the academic year.
Meeting dates and time will be scheduled by the executive board.
Exact date, location, and time are to be emailed to members two (2) full days prior to the meeting.
There must be at least four (4) general meetings per quarter.
B) EXECUTIVE BOARD
Officers must meet to discuss agenda(s) preceding the general meetings.
These meetings are mandatory for all executive board meetings.
Exact date, location, and time are to be emailed at least one (1) full day prior to the meeting.
ARTICLE V - NEW OFFICERS
This process will begin in mid-April of each year.
SECTION 1: CANDIDATES
Candidates must be an RIT student for at least 1 academic year with at least a 2nd year status.
Must be in good standing with RIT.
Must be an active member as specified in the Constitution.
Candidates running for the President and Vice-President positions must have been an active member for at least 3 quarters, while the rest of the officer positions must have been active for at least 2 quarters.
Nominees will be required to fill out an application which must be handed in to the executive board two (2) week before elections.
Must prepare a written statement to be addressed to the executive board and active members of why he/she wants the position and how he/she can become an asset to the ACS E-board.
After all the candidates have addressed the executive board and active members, they must leave the room, where an open discussion will be held, discussing the pros and cons about the candidates.
All E-board are bound to these requirements (except for the Executive Assistant).
If there is a need to do so, discussions shall be done after the candidates’ speeches.
SECTION 2: NOMINATION
Candidate must be nominated by candidate, e-board, or active member.
All nominations must be at least seconded by another active member of the Organization one (1) week before election.
Candidates must accept nominations in order to run for their respective position.
SECTION 3: VOTING
Election will be held at the latest, two (2) weeks prior to the final exam week of Spring quarter.
A ballot must be typed up by the Secretary with the candidates’ names and desired positions. This implies that the candidates must decide on their desired position by a date the current Executive Board decides on.
Executive board officers and active members will vote under secret ballots by a simple majority of members present at the meeting. The winners of this vote will win the respected position.
There are no make ups for voting.
The Executive Board will always try to maintain a fair election.
Advisor and president will count the votes and conduct a fair election.
SECTION 4 : TERM OF OFFICE
Each officer shall serve a one-year term starting the first day of Summer quarter to the last day of Spring quarter.
ARTICLE VI: LEAVE OF OFFICE
SECTION 1: RESIGNATION
Under exceptional circumstances an officer may resign. Two (2) weeks in advance of the resignation, the resigning officer must personally present reasonable excuse(s) to the Executive Board.
SECTION 2: FORCED RESIGNATION
The Executive Board has the power to remove any officer if he or she endangers the normal functioning, violates the Constitution or missions of the Asian Culture Society.
At the consensus of the Executive Board, if an officer is unable to fulfill his/her duties, then he/she will be requested to resign.
Refer to Article II for chain of command’s officer replacement.
If needed, possible re-elections may be required.
ARTICLE VII: AMENDMENTS
SECTION 1: PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
Any officer can propose a revision to the constitution.
Members shall be informed of the proposal at the general meeting.
A constitutional amendment requires a consensus of all the e-board member.
The advisor must be consulted.
SECTION 2: EXECUTIVE PROCEDURE
In instances where the Constitution is unclear, the Executive officers reserve the privilege to interpret it in order to make decisions for the best interest of the Asian Culture Society. The e-board should collectively reach a decision and run it by the advisor.
Article VIII - RATIFICATION
This constitution is clearly understood and accepted by the facilitators and all present liaisons of ACS and will take effect with the induction of the charter member organizations of 2006.
