ISA CONSTITUTION
Constitution of the India Students Association
The constitution of the India Students Association, in addition to laying down the ground rules for the organization, it provides the fundamental spirit of what the ISA stands for. The entire ISA constitution is provided here for the benefit of the ISA members, so that each member is aware of his or her rights, privileges and responsibilities"SATYAMEVA JAYATE" (TRUTH ALWAYS PREVAILS)
Article I (Names)
The name of the organization shall be INDIA STUDENTS ASSOCIATION of Texas Tech University, hereafter referred to as the Association.Article II (Objectives)
The Association shall be a non-profit organization with the following objectives: 1. To promote international understanding and goodwill among the students and the staff of Texas Tech University and the community of Lubbock, through educational and cultural activities; 2. To address the challenges encountered by the members of the association; 3. To coordinate and cooperate with other organizations on campus and in the city of Lubbock in activities of mutual interest; 4. To promote, advance and spread the awareness about India and its heritage.Article III (Official Language)
The Association shall use 'ENGLISH' as the language of official communication.Article IV (Membership)
The membership to India Students Association is open to anyone who is willing to play an active part in the association. The association shall not discriminate on the basis of religion, race, sex, or national origin. The executive committee of ISA is empowered to take decisions regarding the membership fee. All members are required to pay the membership fee each semester. Active membership in the ISA gives members the power to voice their opinion and concerns regarding the activities of the Association. All members in the Association have equal rights. The executive committee members function as a liaison between the members of the Association.Article V (Executive Committee)
Section A:
The association shall have the following eight Executive Committee Members (henceforth, referred to as 'Officers'): President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Activities Coordinator, Editor, Public Relations Officer, and Webmaster. The Officers shall be elected by a majority vote of the members, run-off elections will be held whenever necessary. Elections shall be held once a year. Free and fair polling preceded by a period of active campaigning within a specified time frame must be adhered to.It is disallowed to commence electoral procedures unless and until all the eight executive committee member posts are not unopposed. Under special circumstances, the unanimous ascension by any aspiring candidate shall be left to the discretion of the executive members of the current committee.
The Executive Committee is formed on the basis of 'ONE PERSON, ONE POST' principle.
Section B:
The term of office shall be for a period of one year.A member cannot hold office for more than 'TWO' consecutive or interrupted terms.
A current office bearer can contest only one more time.
Section C:
All Officers shall have the duties, responsibilities, and powers stated in this constitution.The President: By virtue of this office, the President shall:
- Be the Association's interface to the rest of the world.
- Preside at all meetings and conduct the elections.
- Delegate authority whenever deemed necessary.
- Serve as the official spokesperson for the Association.
- Strive to instill the sense of good citizenship among ISA members
- Conduct new student orientation.
The Vice-President: The duties of the Office of Vice-President shall be to:
- Be responsible for membership management, including membership drives and collection of membership dues.
- Execute tasks as assigned by the president.
- Work with the treasurer on budgeting for events.
- Create sub-committees when necessary.
- Preside at meetings in the absence of the president.
- Respond to queries from potential students from India.
The Secretary: The duties of the office of secretary shall be to:
- Organize committee meetings, prepare the agenda, and record minutes of meeting.
- Inform the members about meeting in a timely manner.
- Assist the president in conducting the annual election.
- Gather and compile reports on ISA events.
- Compile an annual report using information provided by all Officers.
- Respond to ISA members on behalf of the committee.
- Arrange for help to new students from India.
- Gather volunteers for various events.
The Treasurer: The duties of the office of Treasurer shall be to:
- Manage the finances of the Association.
- Maintain good record of all the financial transactions.
- Allocate funds only upon sanction of the Officers.
- Prepare and present the budget timely manner.
The Activities Coordinator: The duties of the Office of the Activities Coordinator shall be to:
- Organize movie shows, cultural events and sports events for ISA members.
- Determine the programming for various events.
- Spot artistic and athletic talents among ISA members and encourage participation.
- Work with ISA participants as well as external agencies in smooth functioning of ISA events.
- Interface with the Texas Tech sports community, and Student Recreation center to facilitate sports activities.
- Keep record of cultural events and sports events
The Editor: The duties of the office of the Editor shall be to:
- Ensure publication of the Association Newsletter 'BHARATI' once a month.
- Ensure that the contents and quality of 'Bharati' reflect the objectives of the Association.
- Maintaining the Association's electronic mailing list.
- Interface with the University Daily, and the local media in Lubbock.
The Public Relations Officer: The duties of the office of the PRO shall be to:
- Serve as the representative of ISA at the Student Organization Advisory Committee (SOAC) and Student Government Association (SGA) meetings.
- Serve as a liaison between the Association, Texas Tech University and other organizations on and off campus like the SASA, IAWT and FAAI.
- Promote Association's causes to the University community and to the Lubbock community.
- Work with the Activities Coordinator to interface with other regional sports enthusiasts (from Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland etc).
The Webmaster: The duties of the office of the Webmaster shall be to:
- Design and manage the contents of ISA website.
- Provide computer based and Internet based solutions that facilitate smooth functioning of other committee members? tasks.
- Interface with the Texas Tech?s IT organization in technical matters concerning mail server, news server, web server and other computer related services.
- Manage and administer the Association?s database.
Section D (Vacancies)
Termination Policy: This policy is to terminate Non functioning and Non active ISA committee members from their office- A committee member can be terminated from his office when there is a 2/3 majority within the committee supporting his/her termination.
- If a committee member does not function according to his duties in the constitution and five written complaints against his incompetence to hold office are filed with the faculty advisor, it calls for the committee to meet and observe Rule 1 after scrutinizing the claim and defense.
- The committee member can voluntarily give up on his/her office by calling a committee meeting and the committee along with the faculty advisor gives their consent.
Section E (Membership Dues)
Each member shall pay the Membership dues by the deadlines set by the Organization.Section F (Guest policy)
All ISA events are only for members. For Non-ISA Members the price of entry will be twice that of a member price.Article VI (Code of Conduct for Officers)
All officers shall attend all Executive Committee meetings. Any Officer who fails to attend three consecutive meetings without prior notification shall be subject to expulsion from his/her office at the discretion of other members of the Executive Committee.Article VII (Meetings)
Section A (Time):
Official meetings of this organization shall be held at least twice a semester, unless otherwise determined. Date and time shall be established by the members of the Executive Committee.Section 2 (Special Meetings):
Special meetings shall be approved by the Executive Committee or 1/3 of members and shall be held when necessary. Members shall be notified of such meetings at least 72 hours before the meeting.Article VIII (Auditing)
Auditing of all accounts of the Association shall be done by a member elected by the members present at general body meeting called for that specific purpose. This auditor shall not be a member of the Executive Committee or a member of any advisory committee during that year.Article IX (Advisor)
Section A (Selection):
An advisor can be nominated by any member. The same person cannot be nominated for more than two consecutive years. The nomination should be approved by two-thirds majority of members of the Executive Committee.Section B (Responsibilities):
- An Advisor should provide advice to members on pertinent matters.
- An advisor's signature must be on any organizational account.
- Advisor must be a faculty or administrator of Texas Tech.
- Advisor should be aware of all meetings executive or otherwise.
- Advisor should approve of any activities taken up by the organization.
- Advisor shall be responsible for settling any discrepancies arising amongst the Executive Members.