THE CONSTITUTION
Article I: Name
1. The name of the organization shall be the Bryn Mawr African and Caribbean students Organization (BACaSO).
Article II: Purpose
1. The purpose of this organization is to create an awareness of the diverse cultures of Africa and the Caribbean in order to educate the Bryn Mawr community. It is to articulate and promote the needs of students of African and Caribbean descent on campus to the administration. It should foster a community for the latter mentioned students on campus.
Article III: Membership
1. Membership shall be available to any member of the Bryn Mawr College who shares in and is interested in advancing the goals of this group and is interested in learning more about these cultures.
2. Voting members should attend at least half of the meetings per semester and should also be active participants in activities and events.
3. The officers of BACaSO shall consist of: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Social cultural head(s), Publicity head(s), Activism head(s), Intercultural Liaison and Web mistress.
4. Each officer shall be a voting member unless otherwise appointed.
5. Appointments of officers can only take place in the event of emergency elections, unexpected loss of officers e.g. due to Junior Year Abroad, Semester off, family or academic emergency etc.
6. All the officers shall be voted upon or appointed contingent upon the approval of the executive board.
7. All officers shall serve for a term of one academic year or until their successors are elected. They are to take at least 2 weeks to hand over and go over the old business with the new officers to ensure continuity and to ensure an apprenticeship period for new officers.
8. If an officer wishes to terminate her term of office prematurely, she has to submit a letter to the board, which is to be addressed to the members explaining the decision and she has to give two weeks notice of this act.
Article V: Meetings
1. Regular meetings each week shall be held and shall be decided upon by each new executive board before the next semester.
2. Special meetings may be called at any time upon at least two days notice to the members either by publication or individual notices.
3. Each year, at least one meeting should be dedicated to the ratification, review and possible amendment of the constitution.
Article VI: Amendments and ratification
1. Amendments to this constitution may be proposed by any member, and thee amendments shall be voted upon at the next review of the constitution.
2. The constitution may be amended by an affirmative two-third (2/3) vote of the voting membership.
3. Ratification by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members shall be sufficient to establish this constitution and this shall be conducted once every year.
By-Laws. Policies and Procedures of BACaSO
Section A- Officers
1. Board members can have two excused and one unexcused absence. Failure to adhere to this might result in a forced resignation as this indicates a lack of interest and is a disservice to the members.
2. Board members must be willing to commit to a whole year unless other arrangements are agreed upon and a replacement is soon to be found e.g. a co-presidency, which might change due to an absence.
1.1 President
a) Active member for at least 2 consecutive semesters.
b) Must be willing to commit to a whole year unless other arrangements are agreed upon and a replacement is soon to be found.
c) Acts as the official spokes person for BACaSO
d) Coordinate with the co-president or vice president regarding agenda for meetings.
e) Delegate authority where necessary.
f) Must attend one SGA meeting per semester.
g) Commit to obligations consistent with the purpose of and in the interest of BACaSO.
1.2 Vice-president
a) Active member for at least one semester.
b) Presides at meetings in the absence of the president.
d) Create a list of events for the semester to be made available to Secretary for distribution.
1.3 Secretary
a) Active member for at least one semester.
b) Work closely with president and assist in decision-making.
c) Takes attendance each meeting.
d) Organizes executive board elections
e) Takes minutes at every meeting for distribution, storage and for summary in the next meeting. Handles member list serve and information on members.
f) Handles all internal correspondence.
g) Receive and report on all incoming correspondence and file them.
h) May appoint an assistant if necessary
1.4 Treasurer
a) Active member for at least one term
b) Prepare the annual budget in conjunction with the executive board.
c) Must administer and distribute funds for the association. Must also be responsible for processing of receipts for reimbursements etc.
d) Handle all financial affairs of the group and report to the group on the financial standing of the group.
e) Serve as co-chair of events that are of a fundraising nature.
1.4 Social cultural heads
a) Active member for at least one semester
b) Handle the planning and organization of events for the year.
c) Reserve rooms for meetings
d) Co-ordinate with other So-Co heads for joint and co-sponsored events
e) In charge of forming committees to work on events and all committees are to report to the heads.
1.4 Publicity head
a) Post notices for meetings
b) Create interesting advertisements for all events to the general public
c) In charge of printing all advertising
1.5 Activism head
a) Must organize at least one day of community service per semester
b) Must identify and make contact with possible projects and causes for the semester.
c) Must work closely with the Presidents to create a theme for each year. The theme must have a community awareness
component and must aim to be educational
d) Must work with other groups on campus to plan community service and activism events on campus and in the
Philadelphia region.
Intercultural Liaison
a) Be in charge of correspondence with outside persons, organizations and all file all incoming external correspondences in the BACaSO
file/ folder.
b) Must attend sisterhood and Mujeres meetings as well. They should have contacts in other on campus groups and are responsible for
going to other groups to represent BACaSO.
Web mistress.
a) Must maintain and update the website.
b) Must be in charge of placing all minutes and other important information on the web or Blackboard for the members.
c) May be asked to assist with multimedia components of events e.g. lighting and sound of culture shows, assisting with organizing
movie nights.