Article I. Purpose
The purpose of the Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS) has three parts:
To serve as a general support group for its members and all undergraduate and graduate Latino students at the University of Chicago.
To educate its members and the university community about the diverse Latino cultures.
To foster awareness of ourselves as students, citizens, Latinos and active participants in our several communities, relations and community service.
Article II. Membership
Section 1. Every registered student in the university shall be eligible for membership.
Section 2. Associate members shall include all persons involved with OLAS who are not registered students; these may include faculty members, university staff and alumni. Incoming students and students who have previously not been active members are considered associate members until they fulfill the requirements for active membership. Associate members may not vote.
Section 3. Active Members of OLAS must attend at least three general or committee meetings as well as assist in at least one OLAS sponsored event per quarter. Attendance will be documented. Only active members are allowed voting privileges.
Section 4. Fulfilling membership requirements grants voting privileges for the following quarter.
Article III. The Executive Board
Section 1. The nine person Executive Board shall include the following positions:
President, Vice-President or two Co-Chairs, Secretary, Treasurer, Community Service Chair, Social Chair, Political Chair, Culture Show Chair, and publicity chair. Each member of the Executive Board shall be responsible for fulfilling his or her duties within the scope of the position as outlined by Article III, Section II and assist OLAS with any other needs. They are elected by the active membership during the sixth week of spring quarter of the previous year and take office during seventh week. All Executive Board members must have at least one quarter of active membership to be elected. The Executive Board is responsible for ensuring that the organization recognizes and celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month. The executive Board shall meet before each general meeting to draw up its agenda. The Executive Board shall prepare proposals on matters of policy and action for the consideration of the general membership. It shall execute the policies of the general membership and perform any other functions the general membership may delegate to it. The Executive Board may be convened by the President or by a majority of the members of the Board.
Section 2. The general descriptions of each of the aforementioned board positions are as follows:
A) The President is the chief executive officer of OLAS. This description applies to the position of Co-Chair as well, where two active members will share the responsibilities to fulfill this role.
B) The President/Co-Chairs with the consent of the Executive Board and general membership, may establish additional committees and appoint Chairs to those committees. The President/Co-Chairs shall have the primary responsibility of ensuring that all necessary steps have been taken for the efficient and timely execution of all major OLAS events, general and board meetings. He/she shall remain informed of all OLAS related activities. The President/Co-Chairs are responsible for acting as a liaison between OLAS and Student Government.
C) The Vice-President, shall work closely with the President and assist him or her. In the absence of the President, he or she shall run general or board meetings. Additionally, the Vice-President shall be the liaison between the organization and the undergraduate admission office.
D) The Secretary must take accurate minutes and attendance during all general and Executive Board meetings, and keep minutes accessible to all members through e-mails and posts on OLAS’ website. Furthermore, the Secretary is responsible for generating and collecting content (notes, summaries, write-ups, reflections, pictures, recordings, blogs, articles) to be posted on the website and on social media outlets, and will form part of the media committee. The secretary is also in charge of keeping the Google Drive folders, Google calendar and contact sheet maintained throughout the year. In addition, the secretary is responsible for completing clerical duties as outlined in the Bylaws.
E) The Treasurer, shall maintain a ledger of all OLAS related financial activities and issues, especially retaining accurate records and issues, especially retaining accurate records of all receipts. He/she shall also produce a financial status report that shall be reported at every Executive Board meeting, and once a quarter during general meetings.
F) The Community Relations Chair shall be responsible for creating, expanding and maintaining communities that OLAS is interested in being involved with. This implies brainstorming strategies for creating and strengthening a Latina/o community on campus that extends beyond OLAS, networking and building relationships with other RSO’s OLAS might potentially collaborate with, being informed (and informing OLAS) about important current events affecting the University of Chicago community as well as the Latino/a community on a larger scale. They will need to email contacts, stay in tune with social media and other news sources, attend important campus events, and be involved with community life in general in order to come to each OLAS meeting with important community updates. They are also responsible for planning one community event per quarter.
G) The Social Chair shall be responsible for planning and carrying out OLAS sponsored events (e.g. study breaks, excursions and trips, lectures, and other activities throughout the quarter). And will also be responsible for making the new members feel welcomed and part of the group by promoting social interaction between new and old members as well as inviting new members to OLAS social activities.
The Social Chair holds the explicit duty of interacting with student interested in joining OLAS.
H) The Political Chair is responsible for researching and educating the college community on issues concerning OLAS members as students, citizens and specifically as Latinos. Also responsible for organizing various lectures throughout the year which inform students of political issues concerning Latinos.
I) Culture Show Chair is responsible for informing members and the university community about the annual culture show which takes place during the spring quarter of every academic year. He/she works closely with the treasurer to organize various fundraising events throughout the year to fund the culture show. He/she also works closely with the social chair to recruit performers from the university community as well as surrounding communities. He/she is also responsible for making sure that preparations are done in a timely manner.
J) The Publicity Chair shall be in charge of organizing members to help in advertising OLAS events that will occur both on and off campus, this includes meetings, fundraising events, social events and political events that OLAS will be hosting. This entails the responsibility of developing effective marketing strategies, both short and long-term. Additionally, the Publicity Chair will form part of the committee primarily responsible for maintaining OLAS’ media outlets, keeping them updated with content from past events and information about future events. Generally, this position is charged with keeping OLAS visible, memorable and relevant in the University of Chicago community.
Article IV. Committees
Section 1. Organization of the Committees: The committees shall consist of general OLAS members. Each committee must have a minimum of three members, including the chair. All members have equal status but have individual responsibilities. Each spring, the newly elected Executive Board will be informed of committee activities by taking minutes and attendance of all committee meetings and making them available to the board by saving information on the RSO server or through the OLAS files. The committees are responsible for ensuring that the organization recognizes and celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month. In addition, all committees must be aware of what the other committees are planning and must be able to work together on events.
Section 2. The responsibilities of each of the five committees are as follows:
A) The Community Service Committee shall be responsible for maintaining relations between OLAS and the surrounding communities and it will hold various meetings throughout the year with the intention of having a service event at least once each quarter.
B) The Social Committee shall be responsible for planning and carrying out OLAS sponsored events such as study breaks and lectures.
C) The Political Committees is responsible for researching and educating the college community on issues concerning OLAS members as students, citizens, and specifically as Latinos. The committee is responsible for presenting both sides of an issue. IN addition, the committee is responsible for inciting political awareness, change, and presenting the opportunity of participation in community political efforts. It will hold an Annual political event. A member within the committee will coordinate the event.
D) The Fund Raising Committee is responsible for researching and maintaining a directory of all restaurants, businesses, SG budgets, volunteers, and organizations that can donate or sponsor to the group’s events. They are also responsible for organizing various fundraisers throughout the year.
E) The Publicity Commitee will be in charge of advertising all OLAS events and publicizing through listhosts, setting up banners, and making flyers to be distributed throughout campus. They must be advertising through listhosts at least 3 days before an event, and put up a banner in the Reynolds Club for major events such as study breaks, political events and the annual culture show. When the time comes for the culture show, the committee will work very closely with the Culture Show Chair.
Article V. Meetings, Elections, Removal from Office, and Amending the Constitution
Section 1. Elections will be held by the sixth week of the spring quarter. The newly elected shall assume its responsibilities during the seventh week, after a period of training from the outgoing Executive Board.
Section 2. All Chairs shall automatically be members of the Executive Board and be assigned to their respective committees.
Section 3. Should a board member resign or be impeached, the Executive Board may appoint a proem until official elections are held.
Section 4. The entire membership shall meet at least three times per quarter throughout the academic year.
Section 5. The Executive Board shall meet at least every other week, this includes those times when the Executive Board needs to meet before a general meeting.
Section 6. There must be a quorum and a majority of votes for the adoption of a measure during general and Executive Board meetings.
Section 7. All Executive Board and Advisory Committees meetings are open to all general members.
Section 8. Members of the Executive Board and other individuals holding positions within OLAS may be removed from office for neglect of duty or abuse of office by a majority vote of the general membership, after having been offered a hearing. Such abuse may include a violation of the Constitution.
Section 9. All Executive Board positions are open to the active members interested in being closely involved with OLAS. All Executive Board members must have at least one quarter of active membership to be elected.
Section 10. The chief executive office of OLAS can be led in two ways: President and Vice President or Co-Chairs. The week before the election members with voting rights may vote for what type of leadership is best suitable for OLAS. A majority vote will decide whether the chief executive office of OLAS will be led by a President and Vice President or Co-Chairs.
Section 11. Prospective Co-Chairs/Presidents to attend at least 9 meetings per quarter for the year leading up to elections.
Section 12. The Constitution of OLAS may be amended with a simple majority vote during a meeting of the general membership
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