Dutch Caribbean Student Association
Constitution

Article I—Organization Name

The name of this organization shall be the Dutch Caribbean Student Association at the University of Central Florida. The organization may also refer to itself as “DCSA.”

Article II—Preamble

The purpose of the Dutch Caribbean Student Association is to create an environment that promotes the Dutch Caribbean culture to the UCF campus and unites students originating from or having an interest in the Dutch Caribbean islands. The Dutch Caribbean islands consist of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Martin, St. Eustatius and Saba. All activities and functions of the Dutch Caribbean Student Association shall be legal under University, local, state, and federal laws.

Article III—Membership

Section 1: Membership Statement
Membership is limited to all students who have paid membership dues, fees and are enrolled with the University of Central Florida. No discrimination shall be made on the basis of gender, race, age, creed, religion, disability, sexual preference, national origin, marital status, parental status or veteran’s status. No hazing or discrimination will be used as a condition of membership in this organization.

Section 2: Recruitment
Recruitment shall take place throughout the year and membership is open at all times. In order to become an eligible member, a student must first pay his/her membership dues for the current semester. 

Section 3: Revocation of Membership
Membership may be revoked without mutual agreement for non-participation, misconduct, or violations of any provisions of the Constitution. The member will be notified in writing of the possible revocation at least 72 hours prior to the vote and will be allowed to address the organization in order to relate to members any relevant defense prior to the voting for removal. Membership can only be revoked upon a 2/3 majority vote of eligible members.

Article IV—Officers

Section 1: Eligibility
All officers of the Dutch Caribbean Student Association shall possess at least the minimum requirements to serve in a leadership position as stated in the most recent The Golden Rule of the University of Central Florida.

Section 2: Titles and Duties
The offices of this organization shall include a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. No officer will be permitted to hold more than one officer position. All officers shall retain voting rights. In the event of a tie, the President’s vote shall be the deciding vote. Any officer may be re-elected however not for more than two consecutive terms. Officers cannot reappoint themselves for a second term they must be re-elected as described in Article V.

The President shall:

1. Supervise and control the activities of the organization.
2. Preside over all meetings and call all meetings to order.
3. Be one of three signers on financial documents.
4. Ensure a request for Activity & Service Fee funding is submitted each fiscal year.
5. Coordinate all conferences and events.
6. Ensure all officers are performing their duties as defined in this Constitution.
7. Assign special projects to officers and members.
8. Appoint officers or members to chair special project committees.
9. Represent the chapter on the board of Opvang USA.
10. Be familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order to conduct meetings.

The Vice-President shall:

1. Assist the President in his/her duties.
2. Assume the President’s responsibilities in his/her absence.
3. Keep accurate records of all meetings in the Secretary’s absence.
4. Plan and be responsible for all retreats and training of the organization.
5. Supervise all special project committee chairs appointed by President. 
6. Perform an audit of all financial transactions of the organization twice a year.
7. Assist in special projects as assigned by the President.

The Secretary shall:

1. Notify members of meetings via e-mail and/or telephone at least 48 hours in advance and provide them with the agenda for the meeting.
2. Keep accurate records of all meetings.
3. Maintain accurate list of members and their contact information.
4. Perform a verbal role call of all members and maintain an attendance record.
5. Prepare ballots for elections.
6. Keep copy of constitution and have it available for members.
7. Retain a copy of all publications for record keeping.
8. Assist in special projects as assigned by the President.

The Treasurer shall:

1. Keep an accurate account of all funds received and expended.
2. Be one of three signers on financial documents.
3. Be responsible for collecting dues and notifying members who are delinquent in their payments.
4. Assist the President in preparing forms requesting Activity & Service Fee funding.
5. Create draft of the organizational budget to be approved by the executive board and members.
6. Be responsible for creating budget reports at the beginning of each Fall and Spring semester and as requested by the President, Vice-President, and/or UCF faculty/staff advisor.
7. Provide financial records sufficient to enable the Vice-President to perform audit.
8. Assist in special projects as assigned by the President.

Article V—Selection of Officers

Section 1: Eligibility to Vote and Hold Office
Active voting membership will be limited to all students who are active members in good standing and currently enrolled at the University of Central Florida. Only active voting members who meet the requirements stated in Article IV, Section 1 are eligible to hold offices.

Section 2: Nomination Process
The nomination of officers shall occur during the third week of March. The Secretary shall be in charge of notifying all members of the nomination period. Any eligible member (as defined in Article III Section 1) may nominate someone or themselves for office by e-mailing his/her nomination to the Secretary. However, the nominee must be considered an eligible member as defined in Article III Section 1).

Section 3: Election Process
The election of officers shall occur at the first meeting held in April. The nominated candidates will be given a chance to address the organization to discuss his/her qualifications and reasons why they should be selected. Once each candidate has had the opportunity to speak, all eligible members (as defined in Article III Section 1) present will have the opportunity to vote by secret ballot. The faculty/staff advisor and current highest-ranking officer not running for office will tabulate all votes. The highest-ranking officer not running for office shall announce the officer with a simple majority of votes cast by eligible members. In the event that no candidate running for an office obtains a simple majority of votes, a run-off election will be held between the two highest vote getters immediately following the announcement of the primary election results. After announcing the new officer the highest-ranking officer not running for office shall ask if any eligible members contest the count. If no eligible member contests the count the new officer shall take office immediately. If an eligible member contests the count the faculty/staff advisor and the highest-ranking officer not running for office will recount all votes. In the event of a tie, the President shall cast the deciding vote for office unless he/she is running for the said office. In that case, the next highest-ranking officer shall make the deciding vote.

Section 4: Term of Office
The length of office shall be no longer than one calendar year. Newly elected officers shall take office the first week of the Summer semester and their term will end at the end of the Spring semester.

Article VI—Officer Vacancies

Section 1: Removal of Officers
Any officer may be removed from office upon a 2/3 majority vote of eligible members. The officer will be notified in writing of the possible termination or removal at least 72 hours prior to the vote and will be allowed to address the organization in order to relate to members any relevant defense prior to the voting for removal.

Section 2: Resignation
Officers no longer wishing to serve on the board must submit their resignation to the President at least two (2) weeks in advance. Prior to the officers final day he/she shall provide all documents relating to the organization and brief his/her replacement of current projects in his/her care.

Section 3: Filling Vacant Officer Positions
In the event an officer is removed or resigns, the President will appoint someone to fill the vacant officer position. In order for the appointee to assume his/her officer responsibilities, he/she will have to be approved by a majority vote of the remaining officers. This vote is to be conducted at the next scheduled meeting following the appointment. The newly elected officer’s term shall end at the end of the Spring semester.

Article VII—Meetings

Section 1: Executive Board Meetings
The quorum required to conduct business is fifty (50) percent of the officers. The President will be in charge of calling executive board meetings and the Secretary will be responsible to notify all officers and provide them with the agenda for the meeting. Officers must be notified of executive board meetings at least 48 hours in advance and shall be notified via e-mail and/or telephone. The President shall preside over all executive board meetings and shall follow Robert’s Rules of Order in conducting organizational meetings.
Section 2: General Meetings
The quorum required to conduct business is fifty (50) percent of the officers and fifty percent (50) of the organization’s active members. The President will be in charge of calling meetings and the Secretary will be responsible to notify all members and provide them with the agenda for the meeting. Members must be notified of meetings at least 48 hours in advance and shall be notified via e-mail and/or telephone. The President shall preside over all meetings and shall follow Roberts Rules of Order in conducting organizational meetings.

Article VIII—Advisor

Section 1: Nomination and Role
The advisor shall be selected by the officers of this organization and must be approved by a simple majority vote of eligible members. The advisor shall serve as a mentor to the organization providing guidance to the officers and members. The advisor has no voting rights. The advisor position has no term limit other than he/she must be a current UCF faculty or staff member.

Section 2: Removal and Replacement of Advisor
The advisor will be notified in writing of the possible removal at least 72 hours prior to the vote and will be allowed to address the organization in order to relate to members any relevant defense prior to the voting for removal. Upon a 2/3 majority vote of eligible members the advisor will be removed from his/her duties. In the event that an advisor is removed or resigns, a new advisor shall be elected within 30 calendar days.

Article IX—Finances

Section 1: Membership Dues
Membership dues shall be ten (10) dollars per year or five (5) dollars per semester. Membership dues will be collected at the first meeting of the Fall and Spring Semester. No membership dues will be collected during Summer terms. All members including officers and affiliate members are required to pay membership dues. Only the UCF faculty/staff advisor shall be exempt from membership dues.

Section 2: Additional Funding
In addition to the membership dues collected, organizational funding may include but not be restricted to any of the following:

1. Funding from the Activity & Service Fee budget allocated by the University of Central Florida Student Government Association.
2. Funding obtained through fundraising events held by the organization.
3. Donations received by the organization

Section 3: Spending Organization’s Money
For the protection of the organization and its officers it is required that two authorized signatures sign all monetary transactions. Only the President, Treasurer, and UCF Faculty/Staff Advisor can be signers on the organization’s account. Organizational funds may be spent on items such as office supplies, events/activities, publicity, travel expenses, conference fees, etc., but will not be used for anything illegal under University, local, state, and federal laws.

Section 4: Officer Transition
It shall be the responsibility of all account signers to change contact information as well as assisting in the update of new account signatures after each election with the organizations financial institution. In addition, the Treasurer will be responsible to pass along all information from previous year’s budget and current budget.

Section 5: Budget Approval
Upon taking office the Treasurer shall be responsible for creating a draft of the organizational budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The organizational fiscal year shall run from July 1st to June 30th. In order for the budget to officially take effect, the draft must first be approved by a majority vote of the officers, followed by a majority vote of eligible members. The budget approval process must be completed by the end of the first general meeting of the Fall semester. In the event that the budget is not approved by the above mentioned deadline, an extension must be approved by a majority vote of eligible members.    

Section 6: Dissolution of Organization In the event that the organization ceases to exist, any funds remaining in the organization’s account shall be donated to the organization's charity—“Aruba Scholarship Foundation.”

Article X—Publications

Section 1: Compliance
All publications of the organization must comply with the Golden Rule “Advertising and Signs” section, Student Organization Guidelines “Advertising” section, and the University Identity and Standards Manual.

Section 2: Approval
The President must approve all publications, shirts, flyers, etc. prior to duplication and distribution. The Secretary must retain a copy of all publications for record keeping.

Article XI—Amendments

Amendments to the constitution must be proposed in writing to the President. The amendment must then be presented to the organization during a scheduled meeting and should include a full explanation and/or rationale for the amendment. The amendment must be voted on at the next scheduled meeting. The amendment shall not take effect until approved by a 2/3 majority vote of eligible members of the organization.

History of Constitution
 
Created: 3rd day of June in the year 2004
Revised: