Constitution of the Arab Students Association University of Manitoba The Constitution of the Arab Students Association Article 1 Definition and Aims and Purposes Article 2 Affiliation Article 3 Membership Article 4 Office Bearers Article 5 Duties of Office Bearers Article 6 Directorships Article 7 Finances Article 8 Meetings Article 9 Amendments Article 10 Elections Article 11 Resignation or Removal from Office Article 12 Transition of the Executive Article 1 Definition and Aims and Purposes The Arab Students Association ( ASA ) shall be a recognized student group at the University of Manitoba (U of M), registered with the University of Manitoba Student Union (UMSU) or equivalent. The Aim and Purpose of ASA shall be to serve as a representative body of Arabs on campus which caters to their needs, while striving to be a vibrant, integrated and contributing body within the campus community.. The objectives of ASA are: 1. To serve as the representative voice of Arabs at the University of Manitoba; 2. Promote the history and heritage of the Arabs. 3. To cater to and accommodate the intellectual, and social needs of Arab students; 4. To build a cohesive and unified community of Arabs on campus; 5. Spreading awareness of the Arab world and its culture on campus and provide better understanding for the general student body of U of M. 6. To expand ASA s scope of work and influence within the larger campus community; 7. To provide opportunities for leadership development within ASA s student body; and 8. To participate in community initiatives that complement ASA s mission.
ASA shall be a student organization. Article 2 Affiliation and Compliance 1. The ASA shall only be affiliated with UMSU and no other organizations. 2. The ASA will follow all bylaws, policies and procedures of UMSU and the Student Group Promotion and Affairs Committee (SGPAC). Article 3 Membership Guidelines for membership in the ASA: 1. Undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Manitoba are allowed to be full members of the ASA with voting and office holding rights. 2. Faculty, alumni, staff and members of the community at-large are allowed to be members of the ASA but may not vote in elections or run for office. 3. Membership is open to any International College of Manitoba. Article 4 Office Bearers Only U of M students are eligible to run for an Executive position. Students must be enrolled in a degree program and be full-time students. To be nominated for any position on the Executive, a nominee must have been a full ASA member for at least one year and the President must ve been a member of the executive council previously or an active volunteer with the ASA. The term of office for Office Holders shall be May 1 st of one year to April 30 th of the following year.
The elected officers shall be six (6) in number with one Senior Advisor appointed by the elected Executives. Executives shall be primarily responsible for the overall administration of the ASA. The Executive of the ASA shall consist of: President Vice President External Vice President Finance Vice President Communications Vice President Events (two) Senior Advisor The Executive shall oversee the work of the ASA. The Executive shall approve of all plans which are executed under the ASA name. Article 5 Duties of Office Bearers The President shall be responsible for: The general management of all the activities of the ASA; Being the spokesperson for the ASA and acting as the representative of the ASA Executive; Presiding over meetings of the ASA Executive; Administering the overall strategic development of the ASA; Act as a signing authority for ASA; Ensuring that ASA activities remain within the boundaries of Arab culture The Vice President External shall be responsible for: Assisting the President in accomplishing the purpose of the ASA and implementing ASA policies; Liaising and strengthening relationships with other student clubs, the University Administration, and the wider community; Representing the ASA at functions held by external parties, including meetings called by the University Administration, UMSU and others;
Overseeing and coordinating the work and activities associated with external communication, such as outreach to the wider community; Ensuring that any formal agreements and collaborations between ASA and external groups be agreed upon and documented by ASA; The Vice President Finance shall be responsible for: Assisting the President in accomplishing the purpose of the ASA and implementing ASA policies; Maintaining the record of all the financial transactions of the ASA; Systematic bookkeeping for the ASA; Collecting and depositing of all funds on behalf of ASA; Preparing the annual budget of the ASA for the upcoming year in consultation with the Executive; Presenting, before the Executive, reports on the status of the financial affairs of the ASA at least once a month; Managing ASA finances and overseeing fundraising initiatives; Approving and reimbursing properly documented expenses. The Vice President Communications shall be responsible for: Calling meetings of the ASA Executive; Preparing and circulating the minutes of all ASA Executive and General Body meetings; Presenting at the beginning of every ASA Executive meeting the minutes of the previous meeting for approval by the ASA Executive; Preparing the agenda for the ASA Executive and General Body meetings and notifying the members of the ASA Executive and the General Body of it; Developing and implementing new strategies to improve organizational efficiency; Maintaining the list of members of the ASA; Maintaining liaison with the University administration, UMSU and other bodies on any secretarial matters, with the cooperation of the External Relations Manager; Supervising website management and development; Approving of and monitoring notices from the Executive to the community, including the email list, Facebook and other web-based forums; Overseeing and coordinating the work and activities associated with advertising, website management and ASA publications; Approving all press releases and advertisements.
At the end of the ASA term, facilitating the process of handing relevant ASA documents to the next Executive; Performing general administrative duties of the ASA Section 5 The Vice President Events shall be responsible for: Assisting the President in accomplishing the purpose of the ASA and implementing ASA policies; Generating feedback from Arab students on their social needs; developing, in coordination with Directors, strategies to meet students needs; Overseeing and coordinating the work and activities of ASA Directorships which advance student life on campus, such as special events, sports, cultural and social activities; With the cooperation of the Vice President Communications, maintaining an ASA Volunteer Database, and overseeing activities related to volunteerism, such as volunteer recognition; Assisting committees with the recruitment and deployment of ASA volunteers; Presiding over meetings between the Executive and Directors, and ensuring that a proper agenda and minutes are completed for Directors meetings; Be responsible for booking equipment from UMSU depending on the event. Be responsible for booking and arranging meeting rooms, organizing and drafting agendas for ASA general meetings. Acknowledging inquiries to the ASA and forwarding to appropriate parties within 48 hours. Section 6 The Senior Advisor is: An appointed (See Article 10 7) member of the executive committee who was a previous ASA executive or an active volunteer. The Senior Advisor is responsible for: Helping the executives by providing continuity with the organization s history. The Senior Advisor may not vote in executive decisions but may provide guidance and direction to the Executive.
Article 6 Non-Executive Directorship Positions Definition: Each Directorship shall be responsible for carrying out projects and events of the ASA in accordance with ASA policies and the ASA Constitution. Directorship positions and the duties and responsibilities of each Director are decided on by the Executive each year. Directors must be members of the ASA as specified in Article 3. Following the Appointment Period, the Executive may change the duties and description of each Director, as they see fit for the current ASA term. A change in the duties and description of a Directorship may take place if ratified by the majority of the Executive. The Directorship positions as well as the duties and description of each position must be announced to the members of the association. The opening of the application process for a new Directorship shall occur as decided on by the Executive. Section 5 Each Directorship shall report to a designated executive. The designated ASA Executive shall be responsible for overseeing and ensuring the success of the directorships which report to him/her. An executive will not oversee more than 4 directorships in one term. The Executives shall report to the Executive Committee on the Directorships which they are responsible for. Directors shall submit all plans to the ASA Executive for approval by the ASA Executive. Section 6 The Executive may add and remove Directorships as it deems necessary.
Article 7 Finances Membership fees, if any, shall be determined by the ASA Executive. Finances will follow all applicable laws and U of M rules on financial dealings. The ASA may accept contributions in any form from any source consistent with the purposes of the ASA as long as no applicable laws are violated. All funds collected for a specific cause shall be used for that cause unless a majority of the ASA Executive authorize its use for a different purpose consistent with the goals and objectives of the ASA. All proposals for expenses shall be authorized by the Vice President Finance or an Executive member appointed by the Vice President Finance. Section 5 All check or cash withdrawals from the bank account shall be signed by no less than two of the members of the Executive. Article 8 Meetings The decision on all matters presented to the Executive shall at first be attempted to reach through consultation, with the aim of attaining consensus. If the issue at hand appears to be irresoluble via consensus, any member of the executive committee can request a vote. A majority of the Executive must be in favour of terminating discussion and passing decision. In the event of a tie the president will break the tie. Members of the Executive shall be deemed present if able to participate in discussions in the meeting.
The ASA shall have at least one General Body before the end of fall term. The Executive shall meet at least once every two weeks at such a time and place as is most convenient and suitable to the majority of committee members. Section 5 The President may call emergency Executive meetings in addition to the regular meetings when considered necessary. Section 6 The presence of at least five members of the Executive shall constitute quorum for the Executive meeting and for the purposes of decision-making. Article 9 Amendments Proposals for amendments to the ASA Constitution may be submitted by any ASA Member who has been a member for at least one year, with a minimum of ten (10) signatures of other ASA Members who endorse the proposal(s). A voter turnout of thirty percent (30%) of the General ASA Membership or 75 ASA Members (whichever is less) must be present for referenda on constitutional amendments. To be eligible to vote, an ASA member must have been a member for at least one full semester. For a proposed amendment to be passed, a simple majority of the voter turnout must vote in favour of the proposed amendment(s). Article 10 Elections Annual elections shall be held within the last two months of the University of Manitoba Winter Term, in order to elect the Executive for the following academic year. The exact date and time of elections shall be announced by the Elections Committee at least 7 days prior to the date of the election.
The elections shall be conducted by an Elections Committee appointed by the Executive. The Elections Committee may not run in elections and must be appointed at least 3 (three) weeks prior to the date of the election. The Elections Committee is responsible for ensuring that: All candidates are eligible, by the constitution, to run Campaigning is done in a way that no harm befalls other candidates Posters are not placed inside the place of prayers Voting is done by secret ballot and/or online and only ASA members are allowed to vote Ballots are counted with at least one other representative for each candidate present who is not on the Election s Committee ASA funds are not used in campaigning for any candidate The Elections Committee will not have any other roles and may not create additional rules other than the rules mentioned in the constitution. The Elections Committee shall have one chairperson. The Elections Committee shall comprise at least two persons. The Elections Committee shall not include any candidate contesting the election. Section 5 There must be a mandatory meeting held between the Elections Committee and the candidates on the final day of nominations. In this time the Elections Committee must read out the rules and guidelines for the upcoming elections. Section 6 The Elections Committee may seek assistance in administering the Election from any persons not contesting the election. Section 7
The members of the Election Committee shall not campaign on behalf of or against any candidate standing for election or comment on, favorably or unfavorably, any of the candidates standing for election. If it is shown that a member of the Elections Committee has violated these rules he/she will be removed from his/her position and replaced by another member. Section 8 The period to nominate candidates for the Executive Committee must remain open for at least five (5) days, and must be announced to the members of the Association via regular mail or email. Students may not submit nomination forms once the date is set and the date may not be changed. Section 9 The elections must take place at the University of Manitoba Fort Gary campus and be open for at least two (2) business days and/or online. 0 A candidate may be nominated for no more than two positions on the ASA Executive. All candidates must be U of M members. 1 A candidate requires two nominators in order to be nominated to the Executive. The nominators must both be voting members of the ASA. 2 The Elections Committee may not reject any nomination unless the nominee fails to meet the judgement criteria (see Article 3). 3 An ASA member who is not registered as a member (as per Article 3) within 1 (one) month prior to the date of the election shall have no right to vote nor the right to be a candidate in the election. An ASA member is eligible to vote and to run for office if he/she is a U of M member. A list of ASA members must be sent via email and/or printed and displayed in a public place at least one month prior to the date of the election. 4 If a candidate is elected to more than one position he or she must select one position and withdraw from the other position. In that case the candidate attaining the
second-highest number of votes in the withdrawn position is elected to that position. 5 The Elections Committee may disqualify any candidate who violates the Constitution or the rules of the Election. 6 The Senior Advisor is not voted on by the General Body and is appointed by the other members of the Executive a maximum of one week after the Executive is elected into office. The Senior Advisor position cannot be campaigned for and is not included on the ballot. Article 11 Resignation or Removal from Office An Executive member may be removed from office for: Committing a serious violation of the Constitution; Failing to fulfill the duties of office; Failing to attend three meetings without being excused by the Executive. If a member of the Executive commits a serious violation of the Constitution, or fails to fulfill the duties of his office, or fails to attend three meetings without being excused by the Executive, he/she shall be asked to give an explanation for his/her behaviour to the Executive. If the Executive does not find the explanation to be satisfactory, the Executive shall vote to dismiss the member. A vote to dismiss a member requires a 2/3 majority vote. A member of the Executive wishing to resign from office shall present the reasons for resignation in writing to the Executive committee. If a member of the Executive resigns or is dismissed from office, the Executive shall appoint the second ranking candidate from the previous elections within two weeks of the resignation or removal of office.
Section 5 If the second ranking candidate is unavailable or rejects the nomination, and there is no third ranking candidate, the Executive shall appoint an eligible ASA member based on majority vote of the Executive. Section 6 The general members shall be informed of any changes in office of the members of the Executive. Article 12 Transition of the Executive After the new Executive are being elected, it is the responsibility of the departing Executive to orient the newly elected executive officers to their jobs. This includes teaching the incoming executive about student group and Students Union policies and procedures, transitioning custodianship of the association records and materials (including office, locker combinations and all passwords to all student group emails and accounts), and preparing the new Executive to be effective in their roles for the next year's work. It is the responsibility of the departing President to ensure that all student requirements to the Students association, including submission of a complete annual report and the removal of all student group records and materials, have been fulfilled before the incoming Executive assumes office. It is the responsibility of the departing President and VP Finance to bring all accounts up to date to the end of the fiscal year, and to prepare any required financial statements of the association. In addition, the outgoing President and VP Finance must arrange with the respective incoming Executive for the transition of the student group bank accounts into the incoming President s and VP Finance s names. These tasks are to be completed and their outputs delivered to the new Executive no later than a week after the new executives are elected. It is the responsibility of the incoming Executive to assume custody of all student group records and materials and accountability for all financial activities of the student group and for all of the association requirements.