An Updated Constitution for Students for a Free Tibet Chapter at UMASS, Amherst for

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1 An Updated Constitution for Students for a Free Tibet Chapter at UMASS, Amherst for Name: Students for a Free Tibet. Mission Statement: Students for a Free Tibets main mission is to educate and bring awareness to people in the local communities, especially students, about the current situation in Tibet through non-violent political, economic, and social campaigns. SFT works with a coalition of peace and social justice, interfaith and human rights organizations to accomplish its goals and foster dialogue and understanding within our global community. Purpose: The main purpose of the Students for a Free Tibet Club at UMASS, Amherst is to educate individuals or groups in the local communities about the present situation in Tibet. We will bring about awareness and promote actions against the colonial occupation, human rights violations, environmental devastation, cultural genocide, and religious persecutions currently occurring in the world and specifically in occupied Tibet. Membership: 1. Voting Membership: lii order to be a Voting Member within the Students for a Free Tibet organization one must a.) be a UMass undergrad student, b.) be registered in the organization including given name and surname, address, and student s ID number, c.) have a record of attendance in at least five SFT meetings. 2. Common Membership: All those interested are encouraged to join and participate in SFT. Common Membership is open to all men and women, including students of the Five College program, regardless of race, color, religion, creed, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, mental or physical handicap, political belief or affiliation. It is not required that one registers with the organization but strongly advised for more accurate record keeping. Students for a Free Tibet recognize free speech and expression of opinions Officers: Students for a Frè Tibet shall have three elected officers including the SFT President, Secretary, and Treasurer. These positions are only open to Voting Members and are attained by the candidate who receives the majority of votes. There is no limit on the number or candidates for each position. Elections will be held in the second week of the beginning of each semester. The term of office will be throughout the semester. If one

2 ,rs is no longer able to perform hisher duty there will be an emergency vote suitable replacement. President: The President s duties include but are not limited to being the official representative of SFT, ensuring the well being of the organization, ensuring that the organization adheres to the SFT Constitution. The President carries the Signature of Responsibility. It is the Presidents duty to present matters that need to be voted on to the Voting Members during each meeting. The President has exclusive veto power but is not afforded a vote unless in a tie-vote that needs to be decided in which case the President is afforded one vote. 2. Vice President: The duties include but not limited to creating, assessing, storing and safekeeping of all SFT documentation and documentation associated with the organization. It is also their duty to keep records of the activity of SFT. In case where the President is not able to perform hisher duties the Vice President shall fill both positions until a suitable replacement can be elected. 3. The Treasure: The duties of the Treasurer include but are not limited to the righteous handling of all SFT monetary transactions. It is their duty to keep a precise record of all these transactions. If for any reason an officer does not perform hisher duties heshe can be removed from the position if the majority of the members votes against him!her. If there are disputes among members, they can talk it out among themselves, the President and the other members. Amendments: Opinions or concerns raised by any member regarding the established constitution will be taken into consideration as long as it does not impede the progress of our goals. Approval of 50% + 1 majority vote submitted to the Secretary of the Registry. Ratifications: Shall be voted on upon majority vote of the organization, approved by the Secretary of the Registry and a copy must be made available to all members. Contact Person: Tenzin Nyesang Phone: tnyesangaol. corn F

3 Students for a Free Tibet The Students for a Free Tibet Constitution was drafted on October 7, 1998 by Sergiusz (Sergio) M Paluch. Name: This student organization shall be officially named Students for a Free Tibet and employ the acronym SFT. Mission Statement: Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) is dedicated to promoting awareness, education, and political action concerning the issues facing the region formerly known as Tibet which is now claimed by the People s Republic of China. On the eve of the Chinese invasion in 1950 Tibet was a free and independent country, governed by the Tibetan people. Most United Nations member countries condemn China s aggression and invasion. In addition, in 1959, 1960, and 1961 the UN General Assembly passed resolutions 1353-XIV, 1723-XVI and 2079-XX which called on China to respect and implement the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Tibetan people, including self-determination. China has repeatedly failed to comply. Tibet has an ancient culture that has had paramount influences on forming and influencing many other diverse and unique cultures. The people of Tibet have the same common rights as all the citizens of this globe, and these rights must be protected. 1. Raising Awareness: The foremost goal of SFT is the raise awareness within the University and surrounding community of the unlawful actions being and having been committed in the region known as Tibet which formerly comprised of three regions now renamed as parts of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan and the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), all under the sovereignty of the People s Republic of China. The goal is to vilify the People s Republic of China but rather to show that illegal actions have been committed and are being committed against Tibet and its peoples which need to be halted and righted before the consequences of these actions become un-rectifiable. 2. Education: Once more, it should not be SFT s intent to vilify the People s Republic of China but rather to provide accurate and unbiased information about the various events surrounding Tibet. It should be the aim of SFT to put forth relevant information about the political, social, and economic situations in Tibet and the consequences of these derived from the rule by a foreign government. 3. Action: It should be SFT s aim to extend political pressure to members of the United States government, the government of the People s Republic of China, leaders of other nations of the world and private companies that may contribute to the aforementioned situation in hope of restoring all three regions of Tibet to its natural and legally-coherent state of independence and to ensure the protection of it s people s rights and to force the People s Republic of China to adhere to the guidelines set forth by the UN General Council. S

4 Future Goals: It is the aim of SFT to: 1. Raise awareness surrounding the situation of Tibet through rallies, demonstrations, visual and audio presentations, etc. 2. Put forth information about these issues through literature, visual and audio presentations, seminars, speeches, etc. 3. Be active in supporting and proliferating the aforementioned ideals. 4. Have meeting for all members every two weeks. Membership: 1. Voting Membership: In order to be a Voting Member within the Students for a Free Tibet organization one must a.) be an UMass undergraduate student, b.) be registered in the organization including given name and surname, address, and student s ID number, c.) have a record of attendance in at least five SFT meetings. 2. Common Membership: All those interested are encouraged to join and participate in SFT. Common Membership is open to all men and women, including students of the Five College program, regardless or race, color, religion, creed, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, mental or physical handicap, political belief or affiliation. It is not required that one registers with the organization but strongly advised for more accurate record keeping. Structure: Students for a Free Tibet shall have three elected officers including the SFT President, Secretary, and Treasurer. These positions are only open to Voting Members and are attained by the candidate who receives the majority of votes (over fifty percent). There is no limit on the number of candidates for each position. Elections will be held in the second week of the beginning of each semester. The term of office will be throughout the semester. If one of the officers is no longer able to perform hisher duty there will be an emergency vote to elect a suitable replacement. 1. The President: The President s duties include but are not limited to being the official representative of SFT, ensuring the well being of the organization, ensuring that the organization adheres to the SFT Constitution. The President carries the Signature of Responsibility. It is the President s duty to present matters that need to be voted on to the Voting Members during each meeting. The President has exclusive veto power but is not afforded a vote unless in a tie-vote that needs to be decided in which case the President is afforded one vote. 2. The Secretary: The duties of the Secretary include but are not limited to creating, assessing, sto,ing and safekeeping of all SFT documentation and documentation associated with the organization. It is the duty of the Secretary to keep records of the activity of SFT. The Secretary is responsible for amassing and recording proposals to be voted on and presenting them to the President. The Secretary is afforded one vote. -a

5 In the case where the President is not able to perform hisher duties the Secretary shall fill both positions until a suitable replacement can be elected. 3. The Treasurer: The duties of the Treasurer include but are not limited to the righteous handling of all SFT monetary transactions. It is the Treasurer s duty to precisely keep records of these transactions. The Treasurer will also hold the Signature of Responsibility. The Treasurer is afforded one vote. In the case that the Secretary should not be able to carry out hisher duties the Treasurer will fill both positions until a suitable replacement can be elected. Amendments: Amendments can be made to the constitution. Each amendment must be drafted by the Secretary and presented to the President. The President then has the duty of presenting the proposal to the Voting Members who then will vote on it. A majority vote (50% + 1) is required to pass the amendment. The President then has the right to veto the amendment. If the amendment passes through both processes then it is the duty of the Secretary to record the amendment into the SFT Constitution. All amendments must be approved by the Secretary of Registry. Ratification: During the first meeting of the Students for a Free Tibet there shall be a vote to ratify the SFT Constitution. Only those who are undergraduate UMass students are afforded a vote. At least ten votes and a majority of votes (50% +1) are required to ratify the SFT Constitution. An official copy must be made available to the Secretary of the Registry who requires to approve the constitution and the ratification vote before it can be implemented. A copy of the Students for a Free Tibet Constitution must be made available to every member. F