Constitution of ISA
Indian Student Association at Mississippi State University
Constitution
ARTICLE I
Section A. Name and address of the Association:
The name of the association shall be "The Indian Student Association at Mississippi State University", hereafter referred to as the "ISA". The address of ISA shall be that of the President of the given term.
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ARTICLE II
Section A. Aims and Objectives
ISA is a non-profit, non-political, social organization having the following objectives:
1) To bring together Indian nationals and persons of Indian origin to a common platform, to provide them with a forum for discussion, and to promote their interests.
2) To create a better understanding between India and USA.
3) To promote interest in Indian culture in all its aspects. To assist Indian nationals in general and students at MSU in particular, as appropriate.
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ARTICLE III
Section A. Affiliation
ISA shall be affiliated as a student organization of Mississippi State University. ISA shall abide by the rules and regulations of Mississippi State University, and the constitution of the Association.
Section B. Membership
Membership in ISA shall be governed by the rules and regulations of Mississippi State University. Student Members: All currently enrolled students of Mississippi State University are eligible for student membership. All dues-paid student members shall have voting rights. Associate members: All persons not eligible to become student members under Article III, Section B, (2), who are in agreement with the aims and objectives of ISA shall be eligible for associate membership. Associate members shall not have voting rights.
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ARTICLE IV
Section A. General Body
The General Body shall consist of all student members and associate members.
As the policymaking and legislative body of the Association, the General Body shall make all decisions in respect of policy. It shall adopt rules for conduct of its business in harmony with the constitution, and shall elect an Executive Committee to conduct the day-to-day business of ISA. Any member of the General Body may make proposals in respect of policy, but voting rights shall be restricted to student members defined under Article III, Section B, (2). The General Body shall meet at least twice during an academic year, generally at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. A quorum shall consist of 20 voting members or one-third of the voting membership whichever is less. All decisions shall be by a simple majority; however, to pass any motion dealing with the conduct or discipline of any or all officers of ISA shall require at least two-third of the votes of the student members present. The President, duly elected, shall have a casting vote only in the event of a tie. Members shall be notified of General Body meetings at least seven days in advance of such meetings through posters on campus and advertisements in Reflector. The Executive Committee may invite the Advisor of ISA and other persons, at its discretion, to attend any meeting of the General Body or the Executive Committee. General Body may in the interest of ISA, consider affiliation of ISA to other organizations.
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ARTICLE V
Section A. Advisor:
A faculty or a staff member of the MSU shall be the Advisor of the Association. The appointment of the Advisor shall be decided solely by the Executive Committee.
Section B. Executive Committee:
Only student members may be elected to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a General Secretary, a Treasurer, a Social Secretary, a Cultural Secretary I, and a Cultural Secretary II to be elected as provided in Article VI. The Executive Committee shall solicit members of ISA to volunteer to serve on the Support Committee in its business activities. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once every week from the beginning of their term.
Section C. Duties of the Office Bearers:
The President shall be the Presiding Officer at all the meetings and shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association. The Vice-President, apart from the normal operational work assigned by the Executive Committee, shall perform the duties of the President, and shall have all the responsibilities of the President when the President is absent. The General Secretary shall act as the Coordinator of the various activities of ISA, shall be responsible for issuing calls of notices of all meetings, shall keep a record of all meetings and shall maintain a membership list. The Social Secretary shall be responsible for organizing all social activities of ISA. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the financial records of ISA. The Cultural Secretaries shall be responsible for coordinating the different events put on by ISA. The Executive Committee, at its discretion, may re-assign among themselves some of the duties and responsibilities stated in Article V, Section C, (1,2,3,4,5) for operational efficiency.
Section D. Financial Powers:
The President, in the interest of the Association, may spend up to a sum of $25.00 without the prior approval of the Executive Committee, which will be reported at the next meeting of the Executive Committee. The General Secretary, in the interest of the Association, may spend up to a sum of $20.00 without the prior approval of the Executive Committee, which will be reported at the next meeting of the Executive Committee.
Section E. Term of Office of the Executive Committee:
The Executive Committee for ISA shall be elected within 30 calendar days before the last program, Maroon Vibes, organized by ISA. The term of the Executive Committee shall be for a period of one year.
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ARTICLE VI
Section A. Election of the Executive Committee:
All student members who have paid the dues prior to the General Body meeting called for the election purposes shall be eligible to contest for any of the offices. However, students nominated for President or Web Master must meet the following qualifications: The nominations for President must have prior experience in the committee of a Student Association. The web master must be familiar with common computer applications and web designs. Nominations for each of the offices must be made 15 days before the General Body meeting and accepted by the candidate. On floor elections will not be excepted unless the person has not received information about nominations via email. This must be confirmed by the General Secretary who is in charge of sending nomination information via email. The President may appoint two or more non-contesting members to form an Electoral Committee to assist the President in the election process. Nominees shall be elected by secret ballot based on the information to be provided by the Executive Committee. If there are no nominations for an office or offices, the Executive Committee shall nominate a member to the vacant office or offices. During the term of an Executive Committee, except for the position of Vice-President, the Executive Committee may appoint a member to a vacant Executive Committee position. Should the Vice-President position become vacant during the term, a new Vice-President shall be elected through a General Body meeting as provided in Article VI, Section A, (1,2,3,4,5). No person shall hold more than one office during the same term. The quorum for the Executive Committee shall be four. The Executive Committee may invite others to attend its meeting, but such persons may not vote. The faculty advisor shall oversee the elections. The faculty advisor may appoint an observer in his absence.
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ARTICLE VII
Section A. Code of Conduct
Punctual attendance at all meetings is mandatory for all Executive Committee officers. If an officer knows that he/she will be unable to attend the meeting, it is his or her duty to notify the officers of the absence 24 hours in advance. If an officer has more than 2 unexcused absences and 3 excused absences, the remaining officers may hold a discussion about the officer in question and may vote with a simple majority to remove the absent member from the Executive Board.
Section B. Resignations
Resignation from an executive position will be considered under special circumstances. All resignations must be submitted in writing to the ISA advisor and executive committee members.
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ARTICLE VIII
Section A. Finances:
The funds of ISA shall be kept in BancorpSouth in Starkville, Mississippi. The Treasurer shall be responsible for collection of all receipts and disbursements. The out-going Executive Committee shall maintain a financial record covering the entire period of the Committee's operations, report to the General Body at the last meeting of the academic year and indicate the same on the ISA homepage. The Treasurer or the President and the Advisor shall sign the checks for payments or withdrawal of money from the bank. The executive committee shall inform the members about the current assets of the association through the ISA homepage.
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ARTICLE IX
Section A. Dues:
The executive committee along with the support committee shall decide at the start of the elected term, the annual membership fees for students and families. The annual membership fees shall be prorated to half the amount decided under Article VIII, Section A, (1), for the spring semester. All members shall be informed of the annual membership fees via e-mail and the ISA homepage.
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ARTICLE X
Section A. Special meetings:
Special meetings of the General Body may be called by the President, or upon a written request of at least one-third of the voting members of ISA to the General Secretary, provided that the members have been given ten days advance notice of such a meeting.
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ARTICLE XI
Section A. Amendments:
Amendments to the constitution of ISA shall be made by the Executive Committee by at least a two-third majority vote of the voting members present.
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ARTICLE XII
Section A. Non-Discrimination policy:
The Association shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, handicap/disability, or veteran status.
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Approved by the Executive Committee in August 2011.
(Mukti Patel, President
Lokesh Shivakumaraiah, Advisor)