Constitution

Constitution in Word Format

THE CONSTITUTION

of the

South Asian Law Students Association

The University of Pennsylvania Law School



ARTICLE 1

Statement of Purpose and Goals


1.1 Purposes

The purposes of SALSA shall include the following:

      1. To organize and assist law students of South Asian descent.

      2. To promote communication and cooperation among law students who share similar goals by providing the channels and by acting as the forum to facilitate communication and cooperation on issues of importance to the group.

      3. To further the goals as set forth in the Constitution and the goals of the members.

1.2 Goals

The goals of SALSA shall include the following:

      1. To provide support for its members.

      2. To promote a deeper understanding of the political, economic and historical role and status of South Asian Americans.

      3. To promote minority faculty appointments and invitation of minority visiting professors.

      4. To influence and bring awareness of South Asian American issues to the legal and law school community.

      5. To coordinate public service efforts to aid the South Asian American community.

      6. To promote minority student recruitment.


ARTICLE 2

Defined Terms


    1. "SALSA Member” or “Member”

Any student enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania Law School committed to the purposes enumerated in Article I, and who pays annual dues shall be eligible for membership in SALSA. Students financially unable to pay the annual dues may request a waiver from the President.


    1. “Elected Officer”

The elected officers of SALSA shall include but not be limited to the President, the Vice President of Academic Affairs , the Vice President of Social Affairs, the Secretary, and the Treasurer.


    1. “Non-elected Officer”

The non-elected officers of SALSA shall include but not be limited to the Community Service Representative(s), the Conference Director, and the Admitted Students Liaison.


    1. “SALSA Board” or “Board

The elected officers and non-elected officers (collectively, “the officers”) shall comprise the Board.



ARTICLE 3

Officers and Board Members


    1. Officers, Officer Duties, and Election of Elected Officers


3.1.1 The elected officers of SALSA shall include but not be limited to the President, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the Vice President of Social Affairs, the Secretary/Treasurer, and the Conference Director.

3.1.2 The officers shall comprise the Board.

3.1.3 The duties of each officer include but are not limited to the following:

        1. The President shall represent SALSA at all official functions. The President shall call and preside over board meetings and general meetings. The President shall also determine the agenda and exercise overall leadership. The President shall also maintain a constant and continual relationship with BLSA, LALSA, SALSA, Feminist Working Group, LAMBDA and similar organizations, as well as the National Asian/Pacific American Law Students Association, Philadelphia-area SALSAs, the National Asian/Pacific American Bar Association, the Asian American Bar Association of the Delaware Valley, and similar organizations.

        2. The Vice –President of Social Affairs shall assist the President in overseeing functions which occur within the SALSA community, including fund-raisers, study breaks, meetings, and annual SALSA events. The Vice President of Social Affairs shall maintain a constant and continual relationship with organizations within the Law School and the University, including CSR and GAPSA. The Vice President of Social Affairs will also maintain relations with SALSA Alumni.

        3. The Vice President of Academic Affairs shall assist the President in overseeing events that reach beyond the SALSA community. The Vice President of Academic Affairs will help the President coordinate activities and maintain a constant and continual relationship with BLSA, LALSA, APALSA, Feminist Working Group, LAMBDA and similar organizations, as well as the National Asian/Pacific American Law Students Association, Philadelphia-area SALSAs, the National Asian/Pacific American Bar Association, and the Asian American Bar Association of the Delaware Valley, the South Asian Bar Association of Philadelphia, and similar organizations. The Vice President – External will also help the President maintain relations with other Asian American/ Asian student groups outside of the Law School. If an SALSA Conference is planned for the year, the Vice President - Academic Affairs shall help the Conference Director plan and fund-raise for the Conference.

        4. The Secretary shall maintain records, keep SALSA members informed of upcoming events, keep minutes of board meetings and general meetings, and coordinate correspondence. The Secretary will be required to post a typed summary of each board meeting and each general meeting within one week after each meeting. Such postings will be transmitted electronically via e-mail and hardcopy placed on the SALSA bulletin board. The minutes will note the individuals present at each board meeting and general meeting.

        5. The Treasurer shall manage finances, submit the annual budget request to CSR, organize fundraising events, and coordinate reimbursements. The Treasurer will submit to the board a current monthly expense report and financial statement by the end of each month. The Treasurer will also keep an official membership list of all members and the date upon which the members have submitted their dues.

        6. The Admitted Students Liaison shall be elected the previous Spring term during the general election of Elected Officers. Responsibilities of the Admitted Students Liaison shall include the following:

• Act as a liaison between SALSA members and Admissions office.

• Call accepted students and have lunch with them in the spring.

• Recruit SALSA members to do same

• Attend or recruit SALSA members to attend law school forums or similar recruiting events.

• Help plan/ provide input for event in the spring for admitted students of color.

• Provide feedback to admissions office about recruitment ideas.

3.1.4 Election of Elected Officers

        1. The outgoing President shall preside over the election of Elected Officers. In the event the President is running for a second term in office, the next highest officer (as ranked in Section 3.1.3) not running for an office, shall preside over the election of Elected Officers.

        2. The Elected Officers of SALSA shall be elected on the first Tuesday after Spring Break, unless it is deemed inconvenient by a majority of the board and presider of elections. (Spring Break as determined by the Law School Registrar’s office for the given year.) Once elected, the officers shall take office immediately. The entire membership must be given at least one week advance notice of the date and location of the election. The date and location of the election must be reasonable.

        3. Candidate statements must be sent via electronic mail or by written notice to the presider of elections, as determined in Section 3.1.4.1.

        4. Nominations for the Elected Officers of SALSA may be made by the candidate himself/herself so long as he/she is an SALSA member, or a candidate may be nominated by another SALSA member.

        5. Once nominated, the candidates for Elected Offices must submit a one-page written “Candidate Statement” describing himself/herself, relevant experience, and goals for SALSA. The Candidate Statement must be submitted by the end of the nomination period,. The Candidate Statements will be sent via e-mail to SALSA members. Only those candidates who submit Candidate Statements will be considered candidates.

        6. Only members of SALSA may vote during the election.

        7. At the time of elections, each candidate (in alphabetical order by last name) will be given three minutes to speak. Write-in candidates will not be accepted. SALSA members will be given the opportunity to question the candidates for a reasonable period of time to be established by the presider of elections. Then, a vote will be taken for that office. Results will be tallied and the winner will be declared prior to proceeding with the election for the next office or agency. The elections will begin with President, then Vice President of Academic Affairs, Vice Presidnet of Social Affairs, Secretary, and Treasurer.

        8. A candidate who loses an election may run for any subsequent elections as a write-in candidate.

        9. If no single candidate achieves a simple majority in an election, the two candidates receiving the most number of votes will participate in a run-off election to be held immediately without any more time given to the candidates to present themselves or answer any further questions. In the event of a three-way tie or a multiple-way tie for the largest number of votes, a runoff election will be held and those candidates who receive less votes will not participate in a runoff election. All runoff elections will continue with the top two vote-getting candidates until one candidate receives a simple majority.

        10. Absentee ballots are not accepted, but proxy votes will be accepted via e-mail to the presider of the elections, for the President position. This vote must be sent by noon on the day of the election, assuming that the member has received the election packet at least 24 hours prior to the vote. Proxy votes will be accepted for “legitimate” reasons (i.e. class conflicts, medical or family emergencies), and are at the discretion of the presider of the election. If a majority of the executive board deems that the presider is abusing his or her discretionary power, however, the executive board may make the decision in lieu of the presider, by a simple majority to either allow or not allow a proxy vote.

        11. If there are no candidates for a given office or agency, or an insufficient number of candidates for a given agency, then nominations will remains open up to the time of general elections. If there are still no candidates (or an insufficient number of candidates for a given agency) when the general elections begin, all candidates nominated thereafter and up to the time of voting will be considered write-in candidates. There shall be no limit imposed on the number of write-in candidates. A simple majority vote will still be required as discussed in section 3.1.4.9. If there are still no candidates at the time of voting, the presider of elections shall schedule a special election at a future date for the unfilled offices and agencies.


3.2 Board Members and Board Member Duties


3.2.1 All SALSA Board Members shall have the following general responsibilities:

        1. All Board Members must attend monthly board meetings and respond to all board electronic mails that function as board meetings. If he/she can not make a meeting, he/she must inform the President by electronic mail, note/letter, phone, or in person. A board member who misses two or more meetings without notice may be removed from office by a two-thirds majority of the Board.

3.2.1.2 All Board Members shall plan at least one activity in the fall semester and one activity in the spring semester.


3.3 Term of Office


All Board Members shall hold their respective offices until the election or determination of new Board Members.



3.4 Vacancies


      1. The President shall have the sole discretion and authority to appoint members of SALSA to fill any vacant posts for a term of appointment to last until a special election is held if the vacancy arises before the first day of February of the Spring term, or the general election referred to in Section 3.1.4.2, if the vacancy arises on or after the first day of February of the Spring term.

      2. In the event that the Presidency falls vacant, the Vice President of Academic Affairs will assume all Presidential duties as Acting President until a special election is held if the vacancy arises before the first day of February of the Spring term or the general election referred to in Section 3.1.4.2, if the vacancy arises on or after the first day of the Spring term.

      3. In the event that the Presidency falls vacant and the office of Vice President of Academic Affairs is vacant, the Vice President for Social Affairs will assume all Presidential duties as Acting President until a special election is held if the vacancy arises before the first day of February of the Spring term or the general election referred to in Section 3.1.4.2, if the vacancy arises on or after the first day of the Spring term.

      4. In the event that the Presidency and both Vice-Presidencies fall vacant, then a special election will be called within two weeks to fill these three positions. The election will be presided over by the highest-ranking officer not seeking office in the special election. The rank of officers is to be determined by the order in which they are listed in Section 3.1.3.


3.5 Removal from Office


Any officer may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the entire Board, at any general Board meeting or special Board meeting called for that purpose.



ARTICLE 4

Ratification and Amendments


4.1 Adoption


The Constitution of SALSA shall be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the members.


4.2 Constitutional Amendments


      1. Additions or repeals to this Constitution shall require a two-thirds vote of the members.

      2. The following procedures shall be applied to amend the Constitution:

        1. The amendment must be approved by an SALSA member and signed by at least one-half of SALSA members.

        2. The proposal must be submitted in writing to the Board one week prior to the general meeting where the amendment is being considered for adoption.

        3. Votes on Amendments may be conducted via email in order to achieve the required two-thirds vote of SALSA Members.

4.3 Effective Date


The Constitution and any amendment thereof, shall be effective immediately upon ratification, except where an alternative date is specified therein.