Constitution for the Filipino Students Association of the Johns Hopkins University

  1. Name and Status
    1. We shall be called the Filipino Students Association (FSA).
  2. Goals
    1. To promote the culture, language and history of the Philippines.
    2. To provide all Hopkins students and affiliates activities and events that extend our culture.
    3. To communicate and maintain relationships with other Filipino student organizations and alumni.
  3. Membership
    1. Active membership: Full-time undergraduate students of JHU who have attended at least two general meetings each semester for at least one semester.
    2. FSA membership will not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, creed, sexual orientation, or national origin.
  4. Executive Board
    1. List of Offices
      1. President
      2. Vice President
      3. Secretary
      4. Treasurer
      5. Publicity Officer
    2. Permanent positions or offices can be created or deleted by amending the Constitution.
    3. Temporary positions or offices can be created or deleted at the discretion of the executive board. The procedure of creating temporary positions and offices shall be determined by the bylaws of the FSA.
  5. Election
    1. In late April of each academic year, a general meeting will be held for nomination and election of new officers for the upcoming academic year. The executive board will determine the exact date of both the nomination meeting and the election meeting and notify all active members of the FSA.
    2. Eligibility:
      1. Candidates must have been active members for at least one semester.
      2. Only active members shall be eligible to vote in elections.
      3. Nominations can be made by any active member of the FSA. Secondary nomination by another active member must be made for that candidate to be eligible for election.
      4. For each position, each active member may only nominate or second one candidate.
    3. A quorum of members must be present for elections to be valid (a quorum being 50% of the active members plus 1).
    4. Election for the positions on the executive board shall be held on the general election day.
    5. If there is only one candidate for any of the elections, active members will vote to approve the candidate. A plurality of votes is necessary to winning the position.
    6. The terms for each officer shall be one academic year.
    7. In case of vacancy of any office, the current executive board shall appoint an active member whom they see fit to hold that office.
    8. Winning the office position is defined as a majority vote. If a clear majority vote is not received based on the combination of ballots, a run-off election between the top two candidates will take place.
  6. Responsibilities of the Executive Board
    1. All officers shall exercise supervision of activities and shall be responsible for the general operation of the FSA. The executive board may listen to suggestions from active members but are not required to follow them.
    2. The president shall serve as the chairperson of the executive board meetings and be responsible for undertaking all activities. In addition, the president shall serve as the second financial officer.
    3. The vice president shall serve as the supervisor of all committees created by the executive board. In the absence of the president, the vice president shall serve as the chairperson of the executive board meetings. The vice president is also responsible for making reservations for meeting rooms and event venues.
    4. The secretary shall record and be custodian of minutes of the general meetings and the executive board. The secretary shall also maintain permanent records of minutes, correspondence, and other documents in good order for reference at any time. The secretary shall also maintain the e-mail account of the FSA.
    5. The treasurer, as the chief financial officer, shall be responsible for the receipts and reimbursements of all monetary transactions of the FSA. The treasurer shall also maintain a proper bookkeeping system of all receipts and expenditures in an organized manner of reference at any time. The treasurer shall also represent the FSA at the Student Activities Commission (SAC).
    6. The publicity officer shall be responsible for notifying all members of the FSA about all events, meetings, and important announcements from the executive board. The publicity officer shall also be responsible for publicizing FSA meetings and events.
    7. It is the responsibility of all executive board members to attend the executive committee meetings as well as carry out tasks delegated to them.
  7. Impeachment of Officers
    1. A warning shall be issued by the executive board when any officer of the FSA is unable to fulfill the corresponding responsibilities. If the situation is not improved, the officer may be impeached after a hearing. No officer shall be impeached without a warning from the executive board.
    2. The procedure for impeaching an officer shall be as follows: The impeachment may be initiated by a petition with the signatures of at least one third of the active members. The petition must be submitted to the executive board by an active member. The hearing must be held within two weeks after the petition is submitted. During the hearing the charges and/or the reasons for the impeachment of the officer shall be stated. The accused officer (or an authorized representative) shall have the right to address the related issues in the hearing. After the hearing, a voting by active members is held. A two-thirds majority vote is required for impeachment.
    3. An impeached officer may be removed from office by a separate voting of active members. A three-fourths vote of active members is required for removal of the impeached officer. No officer shall be removed from office without formal impeachment.
    4. The vote of removal shall follow immediately after the vote of impeachment.
    5. The duties of any officer will be temporarily suspended during the impeachment process.
  8. Amendment of the Constitution
    1. Proposal of amending the Constitution may be initiated by two thirds of the active members or by two thirds of the executive board members. The proposed amendment shall be discussed in a general meeting.
    2. A three-fourths vote shall be required to ratify the amendment to the Constitution.
    3. All amendments to the Constitution shall be subject to approval of the Student Government Association (SGA).
  9. Activities
    1. FSA will hold at least one executive board meeting and at least one general meeting per month.
    2. At executive board meetings, officers will discuss news, evaluate recent events, and plan new events.
    3. At general meetings, the executive board will present upcoming events to general members to gauge interest.
    4. The executive board shall plan and execute at least one event per month.