Mexican American Student Association By Laws 2015 2016 Preamble We, members of the Associated Student Body of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, have gathered for the purpose of forming an organization whose members shall voluntarily uphold its Constitution. The purpose of this organization shall be to assist all students, especially of Mexican American/Latin American descent, in their scholastic efforts, and motivate them into continuing their education and provide opportunities for students to indulge in community service events. Article I Purpose: Section 1. General Purpose The M.A.S.A. exists for the betterment of the California State Polytechnic University Associated Students, Inc. as whole. Section 2. Specific Purpose 1) The main purpose of M.A.S.A. is to help the student population remain in the university 2) Each M.A.S.A. member will be responsible for helping all students in the lower levels of education such as high school, junior high, and elementary school toward continuing their education.
Section 3. Non Discrimination The M.A.S.A. shall not be discriminatory in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, color, age, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, gender, physical or mental ability, marital status, financial status or social status. Section 4. Off Campus Issues The M.A.S.A. shall not take stands on off campus issues that are not within the province of the university community. Section 5. Instructionally Related Activity The M.A.S.A. is an Instructionally Related Activity (I.R.A.) organization and will follow all of the rules and procedures that the I.R.A. committee bestows upon all I.R.A. organizations. Article II. Name The official name of the organization shall be the Mexican American Student Association of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Article III. Membership Section 1. Categories of Membership 1) Those attending the meetings and those who have filled out a membership application 2) Participating in the activities put on by the organization 3) Twenty hours of M.A.S.A. involvement per year. 10% of the time must be done cleaning/maintaining of the House. Two year minimum to get a M.A.S.A. sash for Graduation (1 year pending on Executive Board approval.) Section 2. Eligibility M.A.S.A. members must be Associated Student Inc. members of California State Polytechnic University. Prospective members will become active members when regularly attending meetings (2/3 of all meetings) Section 3. Requirements Membership shall be granted to all those members of the student body of California State Polytechnic University, who voluntarily agree to uphold the Constitution and values of this organization. Section 4. Suspension A petition for suspension of members may be filed for any member of the organization. This petition must contain a specific statement of grounds for removal and must be signed by twenty percent of the total membership. The petition shall be presented to the Advisory Committee, who after reviewing the petition will after one week present their recommendation. The vote on
suspension shall take place not less than one week nor more than two weeks after the petition has been presented to the Advisory Committee. An affirmative vote of a single majority of a quorum present will be necessary to pass this petition. Article IV. Board of Directors Section 1. Categories of Officers and duties Executive Board President 1) Organize M.A.S.A. leadership retreat(s). 2) Involved in all decisions and duties of the M.A.S.A. directors. 3) Represents M.A.S.A. to the campus and off campus community. 4) Leads and/or heads in the following events or committees: a) M.A.S.A. Parent Bilingual Conference. b) Cesar E. Chavez Conference for Higher Education. c) College Leadership Conference 5) Represents or appoints a representative for M.A.S.A. in the following committees; a) Dia De Los Muertos b) Xicano/Latino Heritage Month Festivities 6) To open and preside at the official meetings of the organization. 7) To appoint any special committees when necessary. 8) Work with the Treasurer on the Budget and Budget Proposal Presentation. 9) Is in charge of the Organizational Committee 10) To oversee the following positions a) Vice President b) Treasurer c) Secretary Vice President 1) Assist the President and to preside in meetings in the absence of the President. 2) Involved in all decisions and duties of the M.A.S.A. directors. 3) Represents M.A.S.A. to the campus and off campus community. 4) To oversee the following positions: a) Community Service b) External Affairs 5) Assists the President in the following events and/or committees: a) M.A.S.A. Parent Bilingual Conference. b) Cesar E. Chavez Conference for Higher Education c) College Leadership Conference
6) Is in charge of the Community Service Committee. Secretary/Scheduler 1) Acts as liaison between Executive Board/Cabinet members and M.A.S.A. members. 2) Write agenda for General and Executive Board Meetings. Must have agendas approved by the President or Vice president. Also assist in maintaining a database of agendas. 3) E mail reminders for meetings and events at least 5 working days in advance to all members. 4) Send out any e mail as requested by Executive Board or Cabinet. 5) Keep record of new interested members by retrieving e mails from sign up sheets and adding to the e mail account. As well as retrieve new applications 6) Keeps checking M.A.S.A. e mail account for any new e mails or urgent information. 7) Assist President in conducting meetings. 8) Must be in charge of keeping M.A.S.A. Records. 9) Everyday sign up sheets to be regularly placed in folder in order by quarter. 10) Must work closely with Executive Board and Cabinet members and communicate important information to M.A.S.A. members. 11) Take minutes at all meetings and send them to all Eboard and Advisor. 12) Be in charge of MASA weekly emails sent out to all current MASA members, as well as prospective members. Must be approved by President or Vice President before being sent out. 13) Sits on M.A.S.A. s Organizational Committee. 14) To oversee the following position a) Internal Treasurer 1) Prepare Annual Budget Presentation to IRA Committee and have approved by the President. 2) Keep record of expenses per quarter. 3) Make disbursement requests, get advisor s signature, and turn in to ASI Business Office (located in 2nd floor of Bronco Student Center). 4) Make checks and pay individuals or any company that provides us with a service. 5) Reimburse members for items purchased with Executive Boards PERMISSION. 6) Keep the Executive Board and Cabinet aware of budget situation. 7) Is in charge of the Fundraising Committee 8) To oversee the following positions: a) Publicity b) Keeper of the House Community Service Director 1. To publicize M.A.S.A. s tutoring program. 2. To lead and run M.A.S.A. s tutoring program. 3. Get volunteers to help with the tutoring program. 4. Collaborate with Secretary on weekly M.A.S.A. s emails to make sure all members are informed of M.A.S.A events.
5. Collaborate closely with the EWS 280S and Instructor in order to maintain and strengthen the connection between M.A.S.A. and EWS 280S. 6. Sits on M.A.S.A. s Community Service Committee. Events Director 1) In charge of Recreational Sports and conducting socials throughout the year. 2) Conduct a minimum of 2 mixers throughout the year with other on campus organizations. 3) Collaborate with Treasurer to collect fees from all members participating in sports activities. 4) Enforce M.A.S.A. code of conduct while participating in sports and remove any person who does not meet these guidelines. 5) In charge of Annual Soccer Tournament with ASI Recreational sports. 6) Collaborate with ASI Recreational Sports Director. 7) Sits on M.A.S.A. s Organizational Committee. External Affairs Director 1) To appropriately represent M.A.S.A. at all outside events and activities. 2) Attend La Union Meetings as each quarter requires. 3) Act as liaison between M.A.S.A. members and La Union/CESAR E. CHAVEZ CENTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. 4) Report back any information to M.A.S.A. members at General and Executive Board Meetings. 5) Keep contact with CESAR E. CHAVEZ CENTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION for any events M.A.S.A. s representation would be needed. 6) If unable to attend any meeting, need to contact President and/or Vice President at least 48 hours in advance. 7) Work alongside Events Coordinator to put together Socials with other on campus Organizations. 8) Act as Xicano/Latino Heritage Festivities Month Representative at Meetings. 9) Attend Multi Cultural Council meetings 10) Sits on the M.A.S.A. s Community Service Committee Publicity Director 1) Publicize M.A.S.A. to the general Cal Poly Pomona population. Get volunteers to help out throughout the year. 2) Be in charge of making flyers for all upcoming M.A.S.A. events. 3) Make and post banners for promotional materials stamped by Office of Student Life prior to copying and advertising. 4) Be in constant communication with Executive Board and Cabinet members for promotion of upcoming events. 5) In charge of recruiting new members. 6) Document all M.A.S.A. events by taking pictures and writing a brief summary on each event. 7) Create an archive of photos and put together a scrapbook from events throughout the year. 8) Work on Power Point presentation with President and Treasurer for IRA Presentation.
9) Work on Power Point presentation for End of the Year Banquet. 10) Meet with former Advisors and Alumni to obtain and document information on M.A.S.A. s History. 11) Update the Wall of Fame. 12) Collaborate with the Keeper of the House on the decorations and photo updates within the M.A.S.A. house. 13) Be in charge of updating and maintaining Instagram profile. 14) Collaborate with M.A.S.A. Executive Board and Cabinet to be in constant communication and up to date with events and announcements. 15) Update all M.A.S.A. positions and photos of positions. 16) Keep the website and all other interactive social medias updated and current. 17) Write the instructions on how to run the new website and how to change it. 18) Sits on M.A.S.A. s Fundraising Committee. Keeper of the House 1) In charge of constant clean up and maintenance of the house. 2) Collaborate with Treasurer Director to maintain and check in and check out of the grills. 3) Make sure the grill check out rules and regulations are upheld. 4) Organize members to assign duties for clean ups and taking out the trash. 5) Collaborate with Executive Board and Cabinet to follow up on volunteer hours. 6) Keep record of volunteer cleaning hours. 7) Collaborate with Publicity to decorate and maintain updated photos within the house. 8) Sits on M.A.S.A. s Fundraising Committee. 9) Clean the fridge every Friday 10) Food sale fridge vacancy notification. Alumni Director 1) Maintain and update Alumni database. 2) Establish connections with current M.A.S.A. undergraduates and M.A.S.A. Alumni. 3) Participate in the Parent Bilingual Conference by assisting and asking for Alumni volunteers. 4) Attends or is informed of M.A.S.A. Executive Board Meetings. 5) Collaborate with current Events Director in order to unite, communicate, bond members, and conduct Alumni Social. 6) Keep in constant communication with Advisors to get more Alumni involvement. 7) Have 1 Alumni Social/Dinner a year. 9) Invited Advisors and Alumni to PBC and Banquet. Section 3. Eligibility All Executive Board members must have a G.P.A. of 2.5 or higher. All Cabinet members must have a G.P.A. of 2.0 or higher. Article V. Mandatory Conferences and Workshop
Due to M.A.S.A. s status as an I.R.A. organization, it is mandatory that there be 3 conferences held a year promoting higher education. These conferences are to be the Parent Bilingual Conference in the fall quarter, the Cesar E. Chavez Conference for Higher Education in the winter quarter, and the College Leadership Conference in the spring quarter. Also, in order to enhance M.A.S.A. s involvement with the greater Cal Poly Community, there will be one workshop held in the spring quarter addressing an issue that the committee feels is important to the Cal Poly students. These conferences and the workshop are mandatory and not only must go on but must be successful. Section 1. Parent Bilingual Conference In the fall quarter, the Parent Bilingual Conference will be held to promote and educate local parents about the possibilities and opportunities available to them for their students to seek higher education. At this conference, there will be 4 workshops: a workshop on Financial Aid, a workshop on Admissions, a workshop on EOP, and an AB 540 workshop. Child care is also provided for the parents. Entertainment and lunch is also provided to the attendees. Also, campus tours are given to the attendees in order for them to get a sense of what the school can offer and the assets of the university. Every section of the conference will be the responsibility of a particular member of the Board of Directors. Leading this conference and in charge of the decision making will be the President and/or any person on the Board of Directors that is appointed by the President Section 2. Cesar E. Chavez Conference for Higher Education In the winter quarter, the Cesar E. Chavez Conference for Higher education will be held to promote higher education to local high school students. This event is held in collaboration with the Cesar E. Chavez Center for Higher Education and MEChA. In this conference, high school students are given 3 workshops promoting college and the college life. Lunch, entertainment, and campus tours are also provided in order to enhance the experience. The President and/or any person on the Board of Directors that is appointed by the President will sit on the planning committee for this conference and report back to the Board of Directors what needs to be done and what M.A.S.A. s responsibilities are. Section 3. College Leadership Conference In the spring quarter, the College Leadership Conference will be held to promote higher education for Cal Poly Pomona to community college transfer students. At this conference, there will be workshops held about admissions, and EOP as well as leadership workshop promoting involvement in the university community. Lunch will be provided as well as campus tours to promote and enhance the university experience. Every section of the conference will be the responsibility of a particular member of the Board of Directors. The President and/or any person on the Board of Directors that is appointed by the President will lead this conference and be in charge of the decision making. Section 4. Workshop In the spring quarter, there will be a workshop held on campus for Cal Poly students addressing any issue that the workshop committee feels is important to the Cal Poly community. The
committee for this workshop will consist of the Vice President as the chairperson., the Publicity Director, the Events Coordinator, and the External Affairs Director. This committee will report back to the President for final approval of the idea and updates on the progress and what is needed to be done will be given to the Board of Directors. Article VI. Decisions and Amendments Any decision or amendment with regards to the day to day operations will be made one of two ways; through legislation and/or executive decision. Section 1. Legislation If there is a decision or an amendment that must be added or approved, any member of the Board of Directors can propose it. Once the motion has been proposed, time is allocated by the President and Secretary for debate. Facilitating the debate will be the President while the Secretary takes the minutes. Any time during the debate, the motion can be amended by a member of the Board of Directors. Once time is called, the President will facilitate the vote. Every member of the Board of Directors present votes except for the President. In order for the motion to be approved or denied, there has to be a clear majority, which means there has to be 50% plus one for approval or denial. If a motion is approved, the President has the right to veto the approved motion. If there is a Presidential veto, the Board of Directors can only override the veto with a two thirds majority. The overriding vote will be taken a week after the initial vote. If the veto is overridden, then the motion stands. If it is not overridden, then the veto stands. In an event of a tie, the President will vote to break the tie. Section 2. Executive Decision There are some decisions and amendments that due to their nature or because of time constraint must be made by executive decision. In this event, the President will give an order in writing that is signed by the President and Vice President and handed out to everyone. If and/or when Executive Decisions are made, they must be followed and cannot be overridden whatsoever. Section 3. Motion of Impeachment If, for any reason, the elected president for the current year has shown signs to be unable to fulfill his/her position, the Executive Board and Cabinet have the right to remove him/her from office. First, the current president must be made aware of all issues the Executive Board and Cabinet have openly during a Board of Directors meeting and will be given 1 week to show that these issues are being amended. If the president does not amend their ways, the Executive Board and
Cabinet have the right to call for a motion of impeachment during a Board of Directors meeting and must be seconded to be valid. Once a motion of impeachment is called, the president has 1 week from the time the motion is called to convince the Board otherwise. Within the week, the Board must make the advisors aware of the motion and must write up a petition of impeachment providing all reasons for the motion of impeachment. This petition must be signed and approved by the Executive Board and Cabinet. Once the week has passed, the Executive Board and Cabinet will meet in the presence of one of the advisors and read the petition to the president. They will then give the president 5 minutes to persuade the Board to alter their decision. Once the time is up, the president will leave the Board to vote. The vote must have a two thirds majority in order for the motion of impeachment to be validated and the petition must be signed by the advisor present as proof of the vote. The president will then be made aware of the decision. If the motion is approve, Article VII. Section 6. will be followed. Article VII. Elections Section 1. Nominations Nominations sheets will be posted by the 2nd General Meeting of the Spring Quarter in the M.A.S.A. House. At this point, members can nominate themselves or other who they deem as a good candidate for that particular position. The sheets will be taken down one week prior to the elections. At this point, if there people nominated for multiple positions, they will be contacted to inquire on which position they would prefer to run for because a member can only run for one position on the Board of Directors. Any Executive Board member nominees must have at least one year of experience on the Board of Directors. Section 2. Time of Election The elections will be held during the 4 th General Meeting of the Spring Quarter. Section 3. Procedure Elections will be held by using Robert s Rule of Order. The nominees for the Cabinet positions will all go up and give a 3 minute speech and then the votes will be taken by secret ballot and collected. For the Executive Board elections, each position s nominees will be allowed a 3 5 minute speech then will have to take 3 questions max. from the voters on any issue that the voters feel must be addressed. After this, the votes will be taken by secret ballot for each Executive Board position and collected. The elections will be facilitated by the advisors. Results will be known only to the advisors and the Alumni Director in order to maintain fairness in case of re election. Section 4. Assumption of Office The new Board of Directors will be announced at the end of the year banquet. The new Board of Directors will take office at the beginning of the summer quarter. All positions will serve a term of 1 year. President will serve a term of 2 years.
Section 5. Executive Board Requirements In order to run for a position on the Executive Board, a person must have at least 1 year (3 quarters) of experience on the Board of Directors, exceptions will be discussed and approved by Executive Board. Section 6. Vacancies In case of a vacancy in the Cabinet, any member of the Board of Directors can nominate a person as a replacement. Once a person is nominated, the same procedure for legislation is followed. In case of a vacancy in the Executive Board other than the President, any member of the Board of Directors can nominate a person. However that person must be approved by the President before a discussion and a vote can be done. If approved by the President, then the procedure for legislation is followed in electing an Executive Board member. In case of a vacancy at the Presidency, the Vice President is the next in line of succession, followed by the Treasurer, then the Secretary. Article VIII. Meetings Section 1. General Meetings This organization shall meet officially every other week. The first and last meetings of the quarter will be headed by the President and Vice President. All other meetings will be held by members of the Board of Directors appointed by the Board of Directors. Section 2. Executive Board Meetings The Executive Board President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall meet prior to the the Board of directors Meetings to discuss current issues. Section 3. Board of Directors Meetings The Board of Directors will meet once a week to discuss everything that is going on with the organizations and to enact any legislation that needs to be enacted. The time of these meetings are to be determined at the leadership retreats. Attendance will be heavily enforced for these meetings. It is understandable that because this is a student organization and academics are priority number one, reasonable excuses will be allowed for tardiness and/or absences. However, unreasonable or unexcused tardiness and/or absences will not be tolerated. The first offense will lead to a warning in front of the whole Board of Directors. The second offense will lead to losing the ability to vote on legislation for two meetings. The third offense will lead to an automatic review by the Board of Directors which will follow the rules of legislation. If the person is not removed, he/she will be on zero tolerance policy for the rest of the quarter. If there is a violation during this probation, the person will be automatically removed from office. Article IX. Leadership Retreats
At the beginning of every quarter there will be leadership retreats. At these retreats, the Board of Directors will go over all the upcoming events for the upcoming quarter and go over all that has gone on in the previous quarter. Also, the time and day of the Board of Directors Meetings will be assigned at these retreats. These retreats are mandatory for all Board of Directors. Article X. Committees Section 1. All Committee chairmen shall have a 2.0 GPA All committee directors shall have a 2.0 GPA or higher. Article XI. Dues Section 1. Dues There are no fees to be paid to be a member of M.A.S.A. Article XII. Advisor Section 1. Eligibility M.A.S.A. shall have an advisor who shall be a member of the California State Polytechnic University faculty, administration, or staff. Section 2. Selection The advisor will be elected by the organization. Section 3. Duties To attend meetings, club functions, signing of disbursement requests, and advise in any problems that may occur. Article XIII. Committee Community Service Committee (Vice President is in charge of leading this committee) Community Service and External Affairs will be a part of this committee. 1) Discuss updates on Tutoring Program 2) To publicize M.A.S.A. s tutoring program. (External Affairs) 3) Organize minimum of 1 beach or park clean up a quarter. (Community Service) 4) Organize other community service events (Collectively)
5) Conduct a minimum of 1 drive a quarter. (Vice President) 6) Organize and maintain records of all community service volunteers and hours (Collectively). 7) Organize and maintain all community service volunteer hours including M.A.S.A. members (Collectively). Fundraising Committee (Treasurer is in charge of leading this committee) Publicity and Keeper of the House will be a part of this committee. 1) Collaborate with MASA Executive Board and Cabinet on budget to determine how much fundraising will be needed. (Treasurer) 2) In charge of TV tapings during the Summer (collaborative) 3) In charge of 3 food sales on campus per quarter. 4) Be in charge of running all aspects of the food sales. 5) Organize and run Opportunity Drawings (Publicity) 6) Organize any fundraising events that do not violate IRA and Cal Poly Pomona rules and regulations. 7) Be in charge of doing all paperwork for food sales, including getting signatures and turning in paperwork to proper offices. (Treasurer) 8) Collaborating with Secretary to get volunteers and donations for food sales. (Keeper of the House) 9) Maintains check in and check out of grills. (Keeper of the House) 10) Keep MASA Executive Board and Cabinet informed of all dates for food sales. 11) Plan two fundraisers per year. 12) Must conduct one additional fundraiser per quarter to fund sports. Organizational Committee (President will be in charge of leading this committee) Secretary and Events Director will be a part of this committee 1) Works with the Executive Board to organize the Annual Big Bear Winter Retreat. 2) Be in charge of End of the Year Banquet. 3) Be in charge of 2 internal socials per quarter to promote unity and bonding of MASA members. 4) Collaborate with Alumni Liaison to plan 1 Alumni social/dinner a year. Ratification The above By Laws have been approved and ratified by the 2015 2016 Mexican American Student Association of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Board of Directors. With this ratification, all members of the Board of Directors are in agreement that these By Laws
will be followed and cannot be modified during the 2015 2016 fiscal year. Any violation of these By Laws are in direct violation of this ratification and will have to deal with the consequences per the By Laws and/or any reprimands thought fair by the Board of Directors and/or Academic advisors.