The Connecticut College Asian/Asian American Student Association (CCASA) provides a supportive environment for Asians and Asian Americans on campus. CCASA seeks to raise awareness of cultural, political, social, and academic issues that concern Asians and Asian Americans, through programming available to the greater College community. CCASA acts as a resource to student of both Asian and non-Asian background and serves as a liaison to other clubs, committees and the administration in order to voice the needs and concerns for the Asian and Asian American students of Connecticut College.

Constitution

THE CONNECTICUT COLLEGE ASIAN/ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION
(last revised Spring 2009)

Article I. NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Connecticut College Asian/ Asian-American Student Association (hereinafter referred to as CCASA).

Article II. PURPOSE
A. To provide a supportive environment for Asians and Asian Americans on campus.
B. To raise awareness of cultural, political, social, and academic issues that concern Asians and Asian Americans, through programming available to the greater Connecticut College community.
C. To support the function of Unity House, the Multicultural Center of Connecticut College.
D. To serve as a resource for students of both Asian and non-Asian backgrounds.
E. To work as a liaison to other clubs, committees, and the administration in order to voice the needs and concerns of the Asian and Asian American students of Connecticut College.

Article III: MEMBERSHIP
A. Membership may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, national, or ethnic origin, visible or invisible disabilities, or status as a disabled veteran or veteran of Vietnam War.
B. Voting membership is open to all matriculated students of Connecticut College. Voting members must be registered with the club before a meeting to cast a vote.
C. Non-voting membership is open to faculty, staff, administration, and their families.

Article IV: EXECUTIVE BOARD
The Executive Board consists of elected officers, who shall come to a consensus regarding decisions for CCASA along with non-Executive Board members
A. The Executive Board shall establish the date, location, and time of general body meetings.
B. The Executive Board shall outline an agenda for general body meetings.
C. The Executive Board shall distribute the minutes of all meetings.
D. Elected officers are the Chairperson, Political/Cultural Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Public Relations Director, Student Activities Council (SAC) Liasion, Admission/Alumni Liaison, and two Freshman Representatives.
E. By approval of 75% of the Executive Board, the following positions may be added to the Executive Board on an annual basis: Office of Volunteer and Community Service (OVCS) Liaison and Webmaster.
F. Sub-committees for each position, except for the Chairperson and Treasurer positions, may be added on an annual basis, if approved by 75% of the Executive Board.
G. All Executive Board members must serve a term that begins at their installation and concludes at the installation of their successor. A term must not be shorter than one semester.
H. All elected officials must attend the annual Unity Spring and Winter retreats, unless otherwise excused.

Article V: DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OFFICERS

A. CHAIRPERSON(S)
As a challenging position in the Executive Board, at most two people may run for co-chair. It shall be the duty of the Chairperson(s) to provide leadership, administrative guidance, and direction to the structuring and programming of CCASA. The chairperson(s) shall:
1. Organize and facilitate meetings.
2. Establish club goals and deadlines with the Executive Board.
3. Work with the officers of the Executive Board to coordinate their efforts and maintain unity in the organization's objectives and programming.
4. Serve as the primary liaison to Connecticut College and local communities.
5. Exercise all powers and duties generally pertaining to the chief executive officer.
6. Strengthen public relations and cooperative relations with other organizations.
7. Recommend to the Executive Board the removal of any elected or appointed officer who fails to perform their duties of office.
8. Be responsible for the coordination and presentation of the mid-year and end-of-year reports, which shall be given directly to the Director of the Multicultural Center, and the Intercultural Program Director.
9. Be responsible for the appointment/approval of all standing committees and subcommittees.
10. Meet monthly with the Director of the Multicultural Center.
11. Enforce the constitution.
12. Train and furnish all records to successor.

B. POLITICAL/CULTURAL CHAIR
The Political/Cultural Chair shall:
1. Collect and report data and information about current political/cultural issues and trends, which reflect the goals and objectives of the organization, for use in program structure.
2. Fill in the duties of the chairperson in his/her/their absence.
3. Coordinate and report the activities of subcommittees under his/her jurisdiction.
4. Act as an Administrative Liaison by writing letters to and meeting with appropriate faculty and administrators.
5. Act as a liaison to the Diversity Committee.
6. Be responsible for maintaining communications with other Unity House clubs.
7. Train and furnish all records to successor.

C. TREASURER
The Treasurer shall:
1. Be responsible for the financial affairs of the club.
2. Outline budget reports for each event, compiling this information into a mid-year and end-of-year Treasury report.
3. Be responsible for submitting budget proposals to the Student Government Association's Finance Committee and the Student Activities Council Co-Sponsorship Committee.
4. Be responsible for maintaining financial records and good financial status with SOFO and the Student Government Association Finance Committee.
5. Generate ideas and coordinate fundraising activities.
6. Coordinate and report activities of subcommittees under his/her jurisdiction.
7. Train and furnish all records to successor.

D. SECRETARY
The Secretary shall:
1. Record, distribute, and maintain files of minutes from all meetings in a timely fashion.
2. Take attendance at all meetings for records.
3. Be responsible for official correspondences and mail distribution and retrieval including checking the CCASA email and mailbox.
4. Coordinate and report activities of subcommittees under his/her jurisdiction.
5. Keep the official membership roster updated along with mailing and phone/voicemail list.
6. Be responsible for the distribution of constitution and bylaws to new members.
7. Be responsible for maintaining a voting list.
8. Maintain the CCASA archives in an orderly and timely fashion along with submitting CCASA archives to the Connecticut College archives.
9. Train and furnish all records to successor.

E. PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR
The Public Relations Director shall:
1. Be responsible for the advertising of events and activities.
2. Be responsible for maintaining relationships with other schools and their Asian/ Asian American student organizations.
3. Coordinate and report activities of subcommittees under his/her jurisdiction.
4. Submit articles and information to all campus publications.
5. Oversee the distribution of thank you notes to guests and speakers.
6. Train and furnish records to successor.

F. STUDENT ACTIVITIES COUNCIL (SAC) LIASION
The Student Activities Council (SAC) Liasion shall:
1. Be responsible for organizing and planning social events.
2. Keep abreast of and announce local and campus social events.
3. Be responsible for identifying any event conflicts with other campus organizations.
4. Work with Treasurer on all SAC co-sponsorship proposals.
5. Be responsible for reserving rooms and equipment for events. 6. Obtain and keep records of all event location and equipment confirmation notices.
7. Coordinate and report activities of subcommittees under his/her jurisdiction.
8. Train and furnish all records to successor.

G. ADMISSION/ALUMNI LIAISON
The Admission/Alumni Liaison shall:
1. Be responsible for gathering and reporting data on diversity of applicant pool and admitted students and obtaining information concerning alumni from Alumni Relations.
2. Coordinate hosts for prospective students throughout the year. Keep CCASA alumni informed about CCASA events, as well as keeping CCASA informed about CCASA alumni.
3. Be responsible for coordinating recruitment activities with the Admission Office and other Unity Admission Liaisons on a consistent basis (i.e., phone-a-thons, letter writing, hosting).
4. Meet with other Unity clubs' Admission Liaison on a consistent basis.
5. Plan and coordinate activities and housing for prospective students for Explore Weekends with other Admission Liaisons.
6. Train and furnish all records to successor.

H. FRESHMAN REPRESENTATIVES
The Freshman Representatives shall be elected in the fall semester. The primary purpose of this position is to serve as a liaison between the Executive Board and the freshman club members. He/She shall:
1. Be responsible for collecting and reporting information about the concerns and suggestions from the freshman club members.
2. Serve as motivator and model for freshman participating in planning, facilitation, and attendance of events and activities.
3. Assist every member of the Executive Board, to gain experience in each position.
4. Coordinate and report activities of subcommittees under his/her jurisdiction.
5. Train and furnish all records to successor.

I. OFFICE OF VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY SERVICE (OVCS) Liaison
The Office of Volunteer and Community Representative acts as a liaison between the Office of Volunteer and Community Service and CCASA. He/She shall:
1. Be responsible for gathering and reporting about local and campus volunteer and community programs.
2. Be responsible for planning group community service activities throughout the campus and/or local community.
3. Coordinate and report all activities of subcommittees under his/her jurisdiction.
4. Train and furnish all records to successor.

K. WEBMASTER
The Webmaster shall:
1. Maintain the CCASA web site on a regular basis.
2. Implement new ideas to make the web site more useful and interactive.
3. Work with the Secretary to put CCASA minutes and information on the website.
4. Train and furnish all records to successor.

Article VI: ELECTIONS AND VOTING
Section 1. Time of Voting
A. Elections shall take place biannually at the end of each semester.
B. The election of the Freshman Representatives shall take place at the beginning of the fall semester, at the first general body meeting. The voting process shall proceed as stated in Article VI.
C. The Executive Board may, where circumstances warrant, authorize the holding of an election at another time.
D. The Executive Board shall notify the general body of the date set for elections along with a description of the nomination and voting procedures, and the duties of office at least two weeks before the date of the election.
E. The organization’s rules of order may provide for a period between election and actual assumption of office by the newly elected officers.

Section 2. Nomination
A. Nominees may be self-nominated, with the support of one other eligible voting member. Other members of the club may also nominate a person for a position, provided that there is support from another eligible voting member. He/She may decline the nomination.
B. Nominations for an office shall be accepted from first announcement of the election two weeks prior to the date of election and shall close at the beginning of the election meeting.

Section 3. Methods of Voting
A. A simple majority shall choose elected officers.
B. The Political/Cultural Chair of the current Executive Board shall lead elections. If the Political/Cultural Chair is absent, the Chairperson shall lead elections.
C. Elections shall be determined by secret balloting.
D. The outgoing secretary shall tally ballots. If outgoing secretary is running for a position then the Political/Cultural Chair may chose an impartial observer to tally the ballots.

Section 4. Installation
A. Officers shall be installed by the outgoing Political/Cultural Chair or a designee of his/her choice at close of election meeting.
B. All Executive Board members must serve a term that begins upon their installation and ends the conclusion of the respective semester.
C. The organization's rules of order may provide for a period between election and actual assumption of office by the newly elected officers

Section 5. Eligibility Requirements
A. All candidates must have previously read the position descriptions and understand the duties of the position.
B. All candidates are required to make a short speech about why they are running for the position. If unavailable to do so, the person must assign another member to read his/her speech.
C. Applicants should be in good academic standing.

Section 6. Succession
A. In case of resignation, the Executive Board shall call forth nominations or self-nominations at the next general body meeting. The voting process shall proceed as stated dictated in Article VI, Sections 1-4.
B. When a vacancy in the office of the Chairperson occurs, the Political Chair shall become Chairperson for the remainder of the unexpired term.

Section 7. Vacancies
A. Vacancies may be filled throughout the year if eligible applicants come forward.
B. Elections for vacancies must be held as dictated in Article VI, Sections 1-4.

Section 8. Impeachment
A. The removal of an officer requires a 75% vote of no confidence by the Executive Board.
B. Any officer impeached shall be ineligible for election to any future position.
C. Vacancies shall be filled according to Article VI, Section 7.
D. A vote of confidence in the Executive Board shall be held each semester, once in November and once in March. If there is a 75% vote of no confidence of the Executive Board by the General Body, new elections shall be held immediately. These elections must meet the requirements stated in Article VI, Sections 1-4.

Article VII: AMENDMENTS
1. Amendments to the constitution must be presented first to the Executive Board. The Executive Board must approve the amendment by a simple majority.
2. The General Body shall then vote on the amendment. A simple majority must approve the amendment.
3. The Student Government Association must then approve the amendment.

Article VIII: RATIFICATION
1. The Executive Board must ratify this Constitution by a 75% majority.
2. The General Body must then ratify this Constitution by a 75% majority.
3. The Student Government Association must then ratify this Constitution.