Cultural Affairs Board Constitution

Preamble

In order to advance interest in culture, increase cultural awareness, and to promote education and growth through participation in cultural pluralism by and among all community members of St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict, we the students, hereby establish this constitution of the Cultural Affairs Board of Saint John's University and the College of St. Benedict.

Article 1: Name & Purpose

Section A:
The name of this organization will be the Cultural Affairs Board (CAB)

Section B:
The purpose of the Cultural Affairs Board is to act as a representative for the St. John's University and College of St. Benedict student bodies on cultural issues. The organization will assist in articulating the students' views, and will pursue cultural pluralism in cooperation with the St. John's University Student Senate (SJS), the College of St. Benedict Student Senate (SBS), the administration and faculty of both schools, other students, and the organizations of the university and college. The Cultural Affairs Board agrees to follow all rules and regulations designated by Saint John's University, which includes the "J-Book", and the College of Saint Benedict, which includes "Every Woman's Guide." Furthermore, the Cultural Affairs Board will coordinate cultural activities for both campuses in conjunction with the aforementioned groups.

Section B:
The Cultural Affairs Board will maintain a continuous exchange of ideas and opinions between the students and other interested groups of the university and college in the area of cultural pluralism in conjunction with the Intercultural Center and the International Student Program Office.

Section C:
The Cultural Affairs Board will request funding from the St. John's University Student Senate and the College of St. Benedict's Student Senate.

Section D:
The Cultural Affairs Board is recognized as an Advisory and Programming board to the St. John's University Student Senate, the College of St. Benedict's Student Senate, and the students of the university and college on cultural issues.

Section E:
The primary goals of the Cultural Affairs Board are:

To establish a relationship with the Intercultural Center and the International Student Program Office aimed at discussing issues related to culture and to better coordinate the cultural opportunities offered by all of these entities
To advocate and implement consistent cultural programming
To advocate the acceptance and promotion of diversity among students, administration and faculty
To foster a collaborative relationship with the Intercultural Directions Council so as to promote cultural competency among the faculty and administration of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University

Article 3: Membership

Section A: Executive Board Membership

The Cultural Affairs Board shall consist of:

Two Co-Chairs
Secretreasurer
Two Campus Activities Liaisons
Two Student Life Liaisons
Public Relations Representative
College of St. Benedict Senate Representative
St. John's University Senate Representative
Associate Advisor

Section B: General Membership

No member shall hold more than one position within the Cultural Affairs Board unless appointed temporarily to do so by the Co-Chairs.
The term of office follows the academic year with the newly appointed Cultural Affairs Board, and is called to order by the chair of that meeting. The term of office ends following a joint meeting with the newly appointed Cultural Affairs Board at the time of transition. Ends with the newly selected Cultural Affairs Board Co-Chairs, the CSB Senate Representative and the SJU Senate Representative.
It is mandatory that members attend all Cultural Affairs Board events and assist at these events as decided by the board.

Section C: Qualifications

A member must be a full time undergraduate student of the College of St. Benedict or St. John's University.
The student must not be on academic or disciplinary probation.

Section D: General Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of all members shall be:

To act as a representative of cultural pluralism on the campus of St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict.
To attend and be on time to all Cultural Affairs Board meetings or face formal action as stipulated in the Constitution (Article 6).
To submit weekly board reports of decisions, actions, and discussions to the CAB SharePoint site at least 48 hours in advance of each regularly scheduled meeting.
To fulfill the responsibilities established under the descriptions of their respective positions as described in this Constitution (Article 4).

Section E: Vacancies

If any vacancy occurs more than five weeks before the end of the Cultural Affairs Board term, the Chair and a majority of all other voting members must occupy that position upon appointment.
If the position of either of the Co-Chairs becomes vacant at any time, the Cultural Affairs Board shall elect the new Co-Chairs from its existing members. The vacated position must then be filled through an interview process. The new Co-Chair must fulfill his/her previous duties until the position is filled or the duties temporarily passed unto another position.

Article 4: Officers

Section A: Co-Chairs
The Cultural Affairs Board through nominations and voting will decide upon the two Co-Chairs of the Cultural Affairs Board. Only one Co-Chair must be elected from the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University.

The duties and responsibilities of the Co-Chairs shall be:

To be present at, and alternately chair all Cultural Affairs Board meetings, and to direct all administrative responsibilities.
When a Co-chair is not acting as the chair of a meeting, they will act as a Cultural Affairs Board member at-large.
To alternately serve as presiding officer at meetings and to interpret the rules of order at those meetings. The Chair's interpretation can be appealed by any other Cultural Affairs Board voting member, and be overruled by a 2/3 vote of the Cultural Affairs Board members present.
To participate in the appointment of students to fill all open Cultural Affairs Board positions as established under this Constitution. These students shall serve for a term of one academic year, but may be removed from office as established under this Constitution.
To evaluate the Cultural Affairs Board performance and appointed representative efforts, and to preside over sanctions and/or impeachment procedures where necessary.
To call special meetings of the Cultural Affairs Board as necessary.
To be accountable for the actions of the Cultural Affairs Board.
To investigate the unexcused absences of Cultural Affairs Board members from meetings and/or activities and enforce the attendance policy as is necessary.
To delegate responsibility when deemed necessary.
To meet prior to every general Cultural Affairs Board meeting.

Section B: Secretreasurer

The duties and responsibilities of the treasurer shall be:

To perform roll call at CAB meetings and events and keep track of CAB members' attendance.
To be responsible for all written tasks necessary for the function of CAB and archive any CAB documents.
To review and present the annual budget prepared by CAB and submit it to the Co-Funding Board.
To chair the annual Constitutional Review committee.
To be responsible for all financial transactions CAB is involved in.
To keep an updated contact list of CAB members' personal contact information.

Section C: Campus Activities Liaisons

The duties and responsibilities of the Campus Activities Liaisons shall be:

To compile and distribute a monthly cultural affairs newsletter.
To collaborate with the Inspiring Leadership Certification Program (ILCP) and keep members of the Cultural Affairs Board informed of certificate training opportunities.
To act as a liaison between the Student Activities Office, Joint Events Council, Intercultural Center, International Student Program Office and the Cultural Affairs Board.
To act as a resource to the Student Activities Office, Joint Events Council, Intercultural Center, and International Student Program Office to provide culturally fulfilling programs for the student population.

Section D: Student Life Liaisons

The duties and responsibilities of the Student Life Liaisons shall be:

To plan and implement training sessions and materials for the Cultural Dialogue Team.
To coordinate all class visits and workshops on campus.
To act as a liaison between Residential Life, Academic Departments, and the Cultural Affairs Board.
To assist and advise Residential Life with diversifying campus programming and training workshops for Residential Assistants on both campuses.
To attend meetings with Residential Life and Academic Departments as necessary.
To review and promote a diverse institutional curriculum in joint efforts with the Joint Academic Board and the Common Curriculum Committee.

Section E: Public Relations Representative

The duties and responsibilities of the Public Relations Representative shall be:

To inform campus publications of the scheduled CAB activities and co-sponsorships.
To plan the annual Cultural Affairs Board Public Relations Week.
To be responsible for updating and maintaining the CAB website.
To be responsible for incoming and outgoing CAB communications; outgoing CAB communications from the CAB account must receive prior approval from the Co-Chairs.
To plan and promote CAB general and special elections.
To be responsible for the Cultural Affairs Board booth, including, but not limited to the events at Involvement on the Mall and the Festival of Cultures.

Section F: College of St. Benedict Senate Representative

The duties and responsibilities of the College of St. Benedict Senate Representative shall be:

To be a voting member of the College of St. Benedict Senate.
To be the represent Cultural Affairs Board and the student body on cultural issues in collaboration with the College of St. Benedict Student Senate.
To remain informed of the works of the College of St. Benedict's Student Senate on all cultural issues and inform the Cultural Affairs Board of these issues.
To remain informed of the works of the Cultural Affairs Board representatives, and the works of the student organizations that promote multiculturalism, and the works of the administration and faculty on multiculturalism.
To meet with administrators from the offices of Admissions and Student Development.
To meet with the directors from the International as well as Multicultural Student Program Offices.
To be a resource to the Senate regarding Senate driven initiatives that promote multiculturalism in academics or programming.
To maintain a collaborative relationship with, and attend all meetings of the Intercultural Directions Council.

Section G: St. John's University Senate Representative

The duties and responsibilities of the St. John's University Senate Representative shall be:

To be a voting member of the St. John's University Senate.
To be the represent Cultural Affairs Board and the student body on cultural issues in collaboration with the St. John's University Student Senate.
To remain informed of the works of the St. John's Student Senate on all cultural issues and inform the Cultural Affairs Board of these issues.
To remain informed of the works of the Cultural Affairs Board representatives, and the works of the student organizations that promote multiculturalism, and the works of the administration and faculty on multiculturalism.
To meet with administrators from the offices of Admissions and Student Development.
To meet with the directors from the International as well as Intercultural Affairs Offices.
To be a resource to the Senate regarding Senate driven initiatives that promote multiculturalism in academics or programming.
To maintain a collaborative relationship with, and attend all meetings of the Intercultural Directions Council.

Section H: Associate Advisors

The duties and responsibilities of the Associate Advisor shall be:

To organize and initiate at least one campus wide Speak Out a semester pertaining to those issues decided upon by the Cultural Affairs Board.
To review institutional curriculum and promote diverse faculty and administration as needed through joint efforts with St. John's University and College of St. Benedict Management, the St. John's University and College of St. Benedict Student Senates' Joint Academic Board Co-chairs.
To support, train and work with the members of the Cultural Affairs Board.

Article 5: Meetings

Section A: Frequency
The Cultural Affairs Board shall convene weekly unless special circumstances deem otherwise.

Section B: Time
The Cultural Affairs Board shall decide upon a meeting time at the beginning of their term. This time may be changed by a consensus at any subsequent meeting.

Section C: Motions
The Cultural Affairs Board shall act only upon motions on the agenda, or presented by a member at the meeting.

Section D: Quorum
A quorum of the Cultural Affairs Board shall be two-thirds of all representatives. If quorum is not present, a formal meeting may not be called to order and voting may not occur.

Section E: Voting

All actions of the Cultural Affairs Board require approval by the majority of the voting quorum.
No member may vote unless they are present at the meeting.
The Secretreasurer does have the right to vote.
The presiding chair may only cast a vote in the case of a tie.

Section F: Attendance

All meetings are mandatory. Members who have any unexcused, or two excused, absences will face formal action.
Members should allow at least one hour for Cultural Affairs Board meetings.
A member must inform the co-chairs and secretreasurer at least 24 hours in advance of a scheduled meeting if he or she is unable to attend that week's meeting. Excused absences are at the discretion of the co-chairs.
Absent members must still post board reports 48 hours in advance of each meeting, (in accordance with Article 3, Section D, letter c).

Article 6: Appointments, Impeachment/Removal, and Replacement

Section A: Appointments

The procedure for selecting the Executive Members of the Cultural Affairs Board shall be:

All applicants must submit the required material by the deadline specified by the Cultural Affairs Board. The required material shall be available on both campuses.
The previous members of the Cultural Affairs Board shall conduct interviews and vote for Co-Chairs.
The previous Co-Chairs and the previous Senate Representatives shall unite and choose by election all Executive applicants for membership. Along with this election, they shall choose alternates. Selection of the new CAB board will occur during the end of the Spring semester.
All Executive appointments shall be made at the same time and in accordance with the guidelines stated above.

Section B: Impeachment/Removal

Any Cultural Affairs Board member may be impeached for the following reasons:
- Incompetence or negligence
- Failure to comply with any of the official duties as listed in the constitution of the Cultural Affairs Board
- Absenteeism
- Being placed upon disciplinary probation at College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University
- Failure to complete the ILCP's Opal Certificate program within one semester of appointment to the Cultural Affairs Board
Impeachment proceedings shall proceed as follows:
- Convening a confidential meeting of the Cultural Affairs Board, by the Chair and only upon request by any other Cultural Affairs Board member.
- Presentation of all charges against the Cultural Affairs Board member.
- An open floor discussion in which the said party is present for orderly defense.
- A confidential discussion and vote by the Cultural Affairs Board membership in the said party's absence, with removal requiring the approval by two-thirds of all voting members present.

Section C: Replacement

Any vacancy on the Cultural Affairs Board shall be filled within two weeks of the position's opening, with the exception of the Co-Chairs.
The procedure for replacement shall be the same as the appointment proceedings described in this Constitution (Article 6, Section A, without the former Co-Chairs as is listed in number 2).

Article 7: Interpretation

This Constitution shall supersede all previous Cultural Affairs Board Constitutions.
The Co-Chairs of the Cultural Affairs Board shall be the final judges of the interpretation of this Constitution.

Article 8: Amendments

Any part of this Constitution may and can be amended by the following process and are effective immediately:

The proposed amendment(s) shall be presented to the board by one of its members only.
A confidential discussion and a vote according to the Cultural Affairs Board guidelines of two-thirds of all voting members present must approve the amendment.

Article 8:

The Cultural Affairs Board admits students without regard to their race, religion, color, sex, age, sexual orientation or national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and other activities, generally accorded or made available to members of the organization.

Article 9:

The Cultural Affairs Board considers hazing to be a degrading and destructive activity which is inconsistent with the standards of this student organization. The Cultural Affairs Board recognizes the dignity of every person and opposes all forms of hazing.

Date of recognition/revision: September 10, 2010