Association for Bangladeshi Students (ABS) at Virginia Tech

Association for Bangladeshi Students (ABS) at Virginia Tech CONSTITUTION Prepared & proposed by: ABS Constitution Committee on February 26, 2006 Approved by: Absolute/ Three-fourth majority of all members on March 24, 2006

Article I. NAME Section 1.01 The name of the organization shall be Association for Bangladeshi Students at Virginia Tech. It can be conveniently abbreviated as ABS at Virginia Tech or simply ABS when necessary. Article II. NATURE OF ORGANIZATION Section 2.01 The organization will be a union of students, enrolled at Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University), who closely cherish the desire as outlined by the purpose of the organization in Article III. This will be a non-profit student organization. The organization can not promote any particular political view, religious faith and racial discriminatory doctrine of any kind (All Virginia tech, state and federal nondiscriminatory policy applies). The organization will not engage in any activity against the interest of Bangladesh. Article III. PURPOSE The purpose of ABS at Virginia Tech will be: Section 3.01 To form a platform to unite all students and alumni of Virginia Tech, and friends and families around the surrounding areas who belong to ( either by citizenship or family heritage) or are interested in Bangladesh and share closeness to the cause of the birth of the great nation, Bangladesh and her prosperity. Section 3.02 To represent Bangladesh (History, Culture, Literature, Social values, Scholarly achievements, Concerns & Prospects) in all aspects in a formal way (as permitted by regulations for student organizations) at Virginia Tech. Section 3.03 To uplift the uniting spirit of freedom of the great nation by offering tribute to all martyrs (including but not limited to those during Language movement and Liberation war) who laid the foundation to give birth of Bangladesh. Section 3.04 To help in the development of Bangladesh in all possible means such as (but not limited to) donations, technical assistance, intellectual contribution on a priority basis. Section 3.05 The organization can also extend its assistance (in any form) to any other cause (not related to Bangladesh). However, considering the limited scope of the organization, issues related to Bangladesh will have clear priority over other issues. 2

Article IV. MEMBERSHIP Section 4.01 Any person, irrespective of gender, race, religion and disability, (Nondiscriminatory principle stated in Article II also applies here) who share vision similar to those outlined in Article III will be eligible for a member of the organization. Section 4.02 Being a registered student organization at Virginia tech (Virginia Tech student organization regulations applies), ABS will have two major categories of membership. Any student enrolled at Virginia Tech who complies with each section of this constitution will be accepted as Student Member of this organization. ABS will also extend its membership offer to any other person (excluding an enrolled student at Virginia Tech and an alumnus of this organization) who complies with each section of this constitution. This type of membership will be termed as Non-student Member. Spouse of any student member will automatically fall into Non-student member category. Section 4.03 Membership (both student and non-student) of this organization will be subjected to the payment of a Membership fee. The amount of the fee will be set and modified by the Executive Board (Executive Board defined in Article V) based on recommendations of each member during general meeting. The Executive Board also reserves the right to propose different amount of membership fee for each category and subcategories (such as graduate / undergraduate student, spouse, and community member). Alumni of this organization will not be asked to pay the membership fee but free to contribute any amount whenever applicable. Section 4.04 New Members will have to pay an annual membership fee and fill out a membership form of the organization with a pledge of compliance to the rules of the organization set forth by this constitution. Section 4.05 Existing members have to renew their membership each year. Members will be notified by the Executive Board to pay their dues and failure to pay the due by the set deadline will result in cancellation of membership. 3

Article V. STRUCTURE OF ORGANIZATION Section 5.01 The members will be the core element of the organization while a group of distinguished members will form the administration. Section 5.02 The administration of the organization will comprise of three officers: President, Secretary and Treasurer. Collectively they will form the Executive Board and can be conveniently referred as ABS Board. The members of Executive Board will represent and be the spoke person of the organization wherever applicable. Section 5.03 Members can decide upon appointing a Faculty Advisor of the organization. According to regulations of Virginia Tech student organizations, this appointment is not mandatory. Section 5.04 The Executive Board will have the right to appoint anyone from members as Webmaster to help maintain the official website of the organization. The Webmaster will be an optional non-executive position based on the need of the Executive Board. Section 5.05 An Executive Position will be considered vacant permanently if any of the following happens: the officer resigns, absent for more than 7 month, lost Virginia tech student status due to graduation or violation of university laws or impeached. Otherwise, it will not be considered as vacancy and will be considered as temporary absence of the officer. Section 5.06 If President is absent temporarily (less than 3 month), he/she may or may not choose to confer responsibilities to Secretary. In case of temporary (less than 3 months) absence of either Secretary or Treasurer, responsibilities may or may not be conferred to President. In case of temporary absence of more than 3 months, responsibilities must be conferred as describes in this section. Section 5.07 In case of permanent vacancy of President, Secretary will assume additional responsibility of the Interim President position until next election. In case of permanent vacancy of Secretary, President will assume additional responsibility of the Interim Secretary position until next election. In case of permanent vacancy of Treasurer, president will take over responsibilities. Section 5.08 If any two of the three executive positions are vacant permanently at the same time, the other officer will bring the issue to the members and members collectively can appoint an interim officer to assist the functioning of the organization. 4

Article VI. RESPONSIBILITIES OF EXECUTIVE BOARD Section 6.01 The Executive Board is entitled to lead the organization s progress in their preferred style of planning (as long as consistent with every section of this constitution) to meet the purposes. Each executive board member will be accountable to the members of the organization for their activities. Section 6.02 Whenever possible, the Executive Board members are encouraged to consult, with the Faculty Advisor, if appointed one, to have his/her suggestions to move the organization forward. Section 6.03 President will have the responsibility of formulating general policies and plans for different activities commensurate with the organizational nature and purpose as outlined in this constitution. President alone can not enforce any plan without consultation with other Executive Board members. President reserve the right to call and preside over all meetings of the Executive Committee and the organization as a whole. Section 6.04 Secretary will assist the President in implementing the policies and cocoordinating the activities of the Association. Secretary will keep the records of the Executive Board and General meetings, and submit reports of the activities of the Association during annual general meeting of the organization and at other instances depending on any specific request by any member (Accountability provision in Section 6.01). Section 6.05 Treasurer is the financial bookkeeper of the Association who will be responsible for all collections and payments in conjunction with the activities of the organization. He/She will prepare and submit reports of financial activities of the Association at the General meetings. If any member raises the question of accountability, the report shall be audited by a nominee of Student Members of the organization not affiliated with the Executive Committee. Section 6.06 Members of the Executive Board are expected to maintain good coordination among them. If there is any difference in opinion among them on any strategic issue, they can seek opinion of Student Members. Section 6.07 ABS will continue maintain an alumni database to have a close interaction with all the alumni of this organization. The organization will always welcome active participation, recommendations and donations to every event of the organization. Section 6.08 Executive Board will have to arrange at least one General meeting and one Student Member meeting each semester to ensure smooth functioning of the organization based on members views and suggestions. Other than that Executive Board may choose to communicate with members on various issues using appropriate electronic medium. Section 6.09 Any member can demand explanation of any activity of the organization if he/she thinks that is inconsistent with some section of this constitution or simply demand accountability and transparency of the activity. 5

Section 6.10 In extreme case, any member can raise point of Impeachment against any member of the Executive Board and The Executive Board has to call for a general meeting within 30 days. During Impeachment meeting, each side will be first given a chance to defend themselves and based on that all members will decide upon whether to go with impeachment or not. For Impeachment three-fourth majority of the Student Member vote will be required. Article VII. CANCELLATION OF MEMBERSHIP Section 7.01 Any member (Student, Non-Student) can loose membership due to nonpayment of membership fee prior to the deadline set by Executive Board. Section 7.02 Any Student Member will loose his/her membership if absent from 75% of the meetings stated in section 6.07 of this constitution. Any Non-Student member will loose membership if absent in 100% of the General meeting as stated in section 6.07 of this constitution. Section 7.03 Any person whose membership has been cancelled can reinstate his/her membership as a new member (as stated in Section 4.05). 6

Article VIII. Section 8.01 organization. ELECTION PROCEDURE FOR EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS Executive Board will be elected by voting from Student members of the Section 8.02 The term of office of the elected Executive Board will start from the day of subsequent general meeting after the election and end with election of the next Executive Board. Section 8.03 No existing members can vote if he/she has any dues (from previous years) uncollected. New members have to pay the membership fee prior to the voting. Section 8.04 Executive Board will announce the voting date conveniently within 30 days after the school year starts and there will be a general meeting after that where newly elected members will be introduced. Executive Board is hereby asked to be knowledgeable about the school deadline of Student Organization Registration while announcing date of election and general meeting. Section 8.05 Each candidate can be either self nominated or nominated by any other person upon prior approval from nominee. Section 8.06 ABS board will conduct the election by secret ballot method. Each candidate or any one else can express views on what kind of person he/she might want to elect as board member. Section 8.07 There will be election on each position separately in the following order: President, Secretary and Treasurer. Section 8.08 If any member of the Executive Board wants to run for re-election on the same or different position, he/she has to resign before the vote. Section 8.09 If the entire Executive Board is nominated by any member to be re-elected, there will be decisive vote on the panel as a whole ( yes to re-elect the whole panel or no to consider individual election) and this will be conducted by any member representative. 7

Article IX. COLLECTION AND DISPOSITION OF FUNDS Section 9.01 ABS fund will be called Mahmud Memorial Fund in honor of Mahmudur Rahman Khan, a loving member of ABS, who passed away on April 9, 2003. Section 9.02 Executive Board will formulate plans to collect membership fee. Section 9.03 Executive Board will continuously look for innovative ideas to raise funds through participation in different activities, launching fund raising events and voluntary contributions from friends and alumni. Section 9.04 Executive Board will reserve the right to spend funds in its own organizational events but will be held responsible to ensure transparency and accountability if raised by any member. The events must not contradict any of fundamental principles stated in any section of the constitution. If there is any confusion, Executive Board is encouraged to consult with its members for clarification. Section 9.05 Executive Board will try to minimize its own expenses and rather give priority in donations as stated in this constitution. Executive Board will follow a Donation Policy approved by members of this organization and in unavoidable circumstances, may seek permission from its members to supersede the Donation policy. This will require three-fourth majority vote from student members. Article X. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Section 10.01 This constitution authorizes ABS to formulate any contemporary guidelines or supplementary policy documents to further facilitate functioning of the organization. All such supplementary documentations must be consistent with every section of this constitution and Constitution will supersede in any case of overlap or contradiction. To amend all such documents will require three-fourth majority vote of student members. Article XI. AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION Section 11.01 A three-fourth majority of the Student members will be required in a general meeting to amend any section of this constitution except as stated in section11.02. Section 11.02 All sections under Article II (Nature of Organization) and Article III (Purpose of Organization) of this constitution can not be removed at any time. However, addition can be made but should not contradict with existing sections. 8

APPENDIX A. ABS CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS The following persons served as a member of the ABS constitution committee: S.M. Shajedul Hasan (Moderator, ABS constitution committee) Mahin Khan (Member, ABS constitution committee) Prasun Kanti Majumdar (Member, ABS constitution committee) Chowdhury MR Shahriar (Member, ABS constitution committee) Ridwan Bin Abdul Quaium (Member, ABS constitution committee) Mahjabeen Zaheda (Member, ABS constitution committee) B. MEMBERS OF THE ABS BOARD 2005-2006 The following persons were the members of the ABS Board during the formation period of ABS constitution: S.M. Shajedul Hasan (President, ABS Board 2005-2006) Nazia Sabrina Majumder (General Secretrary, ABS Board 2005-2006) Mahmud Harun (Treasurer, ABS Board 2005-2006) 9