HEALTH ORIENTED LATINO ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTIONAugust 1999
Article I
A. Name
1. The name of the organization shall be the Health Oriented Latino Association at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Article II
A. Purpose
1. The purposes of this organization shall be to (1) foster and encourage students of Latino and non-Latino origin in their pursuit of health-oriented professions thereby increasing their numbers, and to (2) give students a sense of community within the University.
Article III
A. Membership and Dues
1. Membership
a. Annual membership in this organization shall be open to all U.I.C. students who are interested in health-oriented professions. To be qualified as an active member, that person shall be required to attend at least three meetings per semester, have and active member status, participate in at least three of the organization's activities, and pay the entire annual due.
2. Dues
a. Annual dues shall be established by the executive board. Dues are expected of all members including the executive board.
3. Active Member Status
a. A member will be considered Active upon earning 5 pts/semester. Points will be earned through participation is H.O.L.A. sponsored events such as general meetings, bake sales and/or sport activities, conferences or trips, or donation of goods for sale.
b. Allocation of points will be determined by the executive board.
4. Section IV Rights and Privileges
a. Only active members shall have the right to vote and hold office. All new members shall be required to obtain a copy of the H.O.L.A. constitution and understand its bylaws.
5. Section V Expulsion
a. Officers
(1) Any officer failing to perform their duties or fulfill their responsibilities as specified by the constitution shall be given two verbal warnings by the executive board. After the second warning, no third warning will be issued and immediate expulsion shall ensue only within the time period of one semester. Any officer receiving a verbal warning within one semester time will be evaluated by the executive board. The executive board will then consider the status of the officer by a unanimous vote. Appeals can only be made within time of the first and second warnings only, they will not be granted to the officer after expulsion. Any officer losing their position is still regarded as a member of H.O.L.A.
b. General member expulsion: automatic expulsion
(1) Any action by a member which is regarded as detrimental to the organization, such as but not limited to stealing any property from H.O.L.A. or its members, will be grounds for expulsion.
c. Destruction of H.O.L.A. property with malicious intent
(1) Any blatant act committed by a member which is harmful to the organization will be grounds for expulsion. Their status will be immediately determined at the following general meeting where vote will take place. The vote (simple majority: 50% plus one) will determine the status of that individual.
Article IV
A. Meetings
1. General Meetings
a. General meetings shall consists of discussions of planned activities and or upcoming events. There shall be at least three general meetings per semester. Advisors and guest speakers are welcome during any of the general meetings.
2. Executive Board Meetings
a. Executive board meetings shall be held at the discretion of the President or as requested from two or more officers.
3. Special Meetings
a. Special meetings shall be called at the discretion of the President or by two or more officers. The purpose of the meeting must be established before the special meeting is called. Members must be informed of this purpose before the special meeting takes place, weather it be a general or executive board meeting.
Article V
A. Officers
1. Chain of Command
a. The chain of command for the officers of H.O.L.A. shall be as follows:
President, Vice-President, Project Coordinator, Treasurer, Secretary, Publicity Chair, S.O.L Representative, and Historian.
2. Qualifications to Hold Office
a. Active member for at least one year.
b. Minimum of a 3.50 G.P.A. on a 5.0 scale.
c. Junior of Senior standing for the following offices: President, Vice-President, and Project Coordinator.
3. Term of Office
a. The office term shall be one year in length, beginning and ending the first day of the summer session.
4. Office Policies
a. Each officer is required to have a minimum of three office hours a week during the fall and spring terms.
b. Officers are responsible for their own keys and are thereby subject to the fines set by the university in the event that they are lost.
c. Link cards for phone privileges are to be used by the executive board for H.O.L.A. purposes only.
5. Replacement of Officers
a. Upon resignation, removal from office, physical disability or death of any officer, the resulting vacancy shall be filled by election during any general meeting. If the President's office is vacated, the Vice-President automatically becomes President for the remainder of the year.
6. Transfer of Office
a. At least three of the newly elected officers must attend the officer orientation session in order to register H.O.L.A. through the Student Organization Resources (S.O.R.), located in 300 Chicago Circle Center. The new officers must fill out the Student Organization Registration form and submit it to S.O.R. for approval and processing. A copy of the H.O.L.A. constitution must also be submitted to S.O.R. A mandatory orientation must take place between the old and newly elected executive board. The purpose of this meeting will be so that instructions and information will be given to new officers so that a smooth transition of power may take place.
Article VI
A. Officer Duties
1. Duties of the President
a. The President shall:
(1) Preside over all the organization's executive board and general meetings.
(2) Be responsible for keeping the organization focused on its goals, stimulating and initiating activities and programs.
(3) See to it that all the officers perform the duties assigned by their respective offices and be able to enforce the bylaws of the H.O.L.A. constitution.
(4) Handle the H.O.L.A. Listserv.
2. Duties of the Vice-President
a. The Vice-President shall:
(1) Work with the President or in the absence of, perform all the duties, and exercise all the powers of the President's office.
(2) Be responsible for contacting and reserving guest speakers for the general meetings.
3. Duties of the Project Coordinator
a. The Project Coordinator shall:
(1) Work in cooperation with the President and Vice-President to coordinate the activities and events that the organization may host.
(a) Make room reservations for meetings.
(b) Reserve fundraising locations.
(c) Oversee social outings or gatherings.
(d) Organize any sporting events.
(2) Act as a liaison between the executive board and the general membership to make events and activities possible.
(3) Work in cooperation with the S.O.L. representative.
(4) Handle the web page.
4. Duties of the Treasurer
a. The Treasurer shall:
(1) Be responsible for keeping full and accurate records of all funds and financial transactions including making complete reports at each executive board meeting.
(2) Be active in those activities and events requiring funds from the C.O.F. account.
(3) Be familiar with the information printed in the Financial Officer's Handbook.
(4) Be the primary officer to manage the C.O.F. account.
5. Duties of the Secretary
a. The duties of the Secretary shall be:
(1) To maintain an updated, alphabetical list of all members and their membership status.
(2) To keep track of attendance at all general and executive board meetings.
(3) To maintain and be the official custodian of the minutes and agendas.
(4) Create (with the help of the executive board) an agenda for all general meetings.
(5) To bring a copy of the constitution to all meetings.
(6) To record the proceedings of each meeting and file them in a minutes book.
(7) To allow inspection of the minutes by members at any posted office hours.
(a) Purpose of Minutes
i) Minutes are recorded:
a) To refresh the memory of the members who attended the last meeting.
b) To inform those who were absent.
c) To compile a history of proposals, reports, and decisions made by the members.
d) To keep track of the member point system.
6. Duties of the Publicity Chairperson
a. The Publicity Chairperson shall:
(1) Be responsible for the organization's publicity.
(2) Act as a liaison between the organization, with its purposes and activities, and all the U.I.C. newspapers.
(3) Be responsible for creating and posting notices in regard to meetings and or activities sponsored by the organization, with the aid of the rest of the executive board.
(4) Begin Posting notices five days prior to any organizational meeting. Such notices shall be posted at the following locations: H.O.L.A. office, CCC, Main Library, SES, SEL, UH (main floor), Lecture Centers (A,B,C,D,E,F), BSB, AH, TH, SH, LH, BH, GH, DH, PEB, SEO, and L.A.R.E.S.
7. Duties of the S.O.L. Representative
a. The S.O.L. Representative shall:
(1) Act as a liaison between the executive board and S.O.L. in order to make club interests coincide.
(2) Work in cooperation with the Project Coordinator.
8. Duties of the Historian
a. The Historian shall:
(1) Maintain the scrapbook.
(2) Take pictures for the scrapbook.
(3) Keep track of H.O.L.A. events for the scrapbook.
Article VII
A. Nominations
1. Nominating
a. Nominations will be held during the two meetings prior to election day.
b. Nominations will start by first recognizing those members who want to nominate themselves to any of the positions.
c. Any active member can nominate another active member.
d. If a potential candidate is unable to attend the nominations, that member must submit their nomination in writing.
e. The candidate has the right to accept or refuse their nomination orally or in writing.
f. Members may be nominated for more than one office, but may only accept one office.
g. All interested parties should speak on their behalf for no more than five minutes at the election meeting.
Article VIII
A. Elections
1. Annual election
a. Election of officers shall be held annually at the last meeting of the spring semester.
b. The order of the election will be the reverse order of command.
c. Ballots will be accepted two school days prior to the election by active members unable to attend the election meeting.
d. Counting of ballots will take place in front of all members attending the election meeting so that the results will immediately be known.
e. If a member is running unopposed, no election will be necessary; this person will automatically be given the office.
f. Election to office will be determined by a simple majority vote (50% plus 1).
B. Plurality Vote
1. Plurality takes place only when three or more candidates are on the same ballot.
2. A plurality of votes, which is one more vote that the nearest competitor, but less than the majority, does not elect a candidate. For example, if there were 25 members, a majority would be 13. If three candidates were running and the votes ran 5, 9, and 11, there would be a plurality but not a majority. The candidate with the fewest votes is dropped from the ballot and the election would have to be held again.
C. Vacancies
1. If after elections, there is still a vacancy, nominations and elections to fill that vacancy will take place during the first semester meeting. While there is still vacancy, the officers mutually will assume the responsibilities of the vacated position until a suitable candidate is elected into office.
Article IX
A. Advisor
1. Specifics
a. To be registered with S.O.R. student organizations are required to have an advisor to sign the registration form. Advisors serve in a voluntary capacity and may accept, decline, or withdraw from their role in the organization.
2. Criteria for selection
a. The advisor must be a member of the University's full time faculty or academic staff. The advisor must be a person that works in a health-related profession.
3. Duties
a. The advisor's job is to render advice and guide the organization in its functions. The advisor is welcome to supervise finances, attend social activities and organizational meetings. Advisors may not have access to the student organization's funds, or engage in any financial transactions on behalf of the organization.
4. Changing Advisors
a. Lack of an advisor will place the organization in an unregistered status. If the advisor leaves the University or the organization is changing advisors for other reasons, a new registration form must be completed and submitted to S.O.E. for processing.
Article X
A. Handling of Funds
1. All funds collected on the U.I.C. campus must be deposited in the student organization's C.O.F. account. The Treasurer shall be the primary officer designated to handle the organization's finances and manage the C.O.F. account. As indicated on the registration form, only the President is authorized to be the secondary officer in charge.
Article XI
A. Amendment and Revision of the Constitution
1. Definitions:
a. A constitutional amendment is a formal statement added to the constitution addressing a certain issue where previously there was none. An amendment serves to improve the scope of the constitution in order to fulfill its purpose. A constitutional revision is a formal statement intended to substitute a part of the constitution in order to clarify its message in an objective way. Retyping or adding that portion will be necessary in order to submit the new revision.
2. Constitution Revisions
a. It is the purpose of the executive board to make certain that all the bylaws of the H.O.L.A. Constitution are functional and practical. The executive board shall meet in order to propose any amendments or revisions to the constitution's bylaws.
3. Procedures
a. These bylaws may be amended or revised at any general meeting provided that:
(1) Those members proposing an amendment or revision have met to crate and submit their proposals to the general membership.
(2) Advance notification to the organization of any amendments ore revisions to the constitution shall be performed one meeting or three weeks prior to the meeting during which the actual voting is to take place.
(3) Advance notification consists of every active or voting member receiving a copy of the full text of the proposed amendment revision.
(4) At least 2/3 of the voting membership must approve the amendment or revision.
(5) If the organization enacts a constitutional amendment S.O.R. requires a copy of the amendment for its file. Should a revision of the constitution occur, re-typing and submitting the new version will be necessary.
Article XII
A. Order of Business
1. The order of business for all board and general meetings shall be:
a. Pass out and sign the attendance sheet.
b. Pass out the agenda to all those present.
c. Discuss old business.
d. Discuss new business.
e. Announcements.
f. Adjournment.
Article XIII
A. Amendment I
1. Selection of participants to special events.
a. If there is a limited number of members that can participate in any of the special events that may be sponsored by H.O.L.A. or by any other outside organization, the President and Vice-President shall exercise full power in the selection of active members to participate in these events.
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