Cultural Fusion Constitution

Article I: Name and Purpose

Section 1
Cultural Fusion (CF)

Section 2
The mission of Cultural Fusion is to promote awareness, understanding, and tolerance of the many cultures represented by CSB/SJU students.

Section 3
Affiliation: None

Article II: Membership

Section 1: Eligibility for Membership
Any CSB/SJU student interested in promoting the mission of CF is eligible for membership of CF.

Section 2: Voting Member Criteria
A student becomes a voting member of CF by attending 50% of club meetings or assists in organizing and implementing 50% of CF or CF co-sponsored events. Voting members must also attend the meeting prior to the voting meeting and must be present to vote.

Section 3: Removal of Members
Member in poor standing with the club will receive written notice of removal consideration including reasonable cause for removal. Member will then have the opportunity to defend their position within 2 weeks of notice, either written or verbal. After this 2 week period, a meeting will be held to vote on removal of the member. Two thirds of active, voting members must be present to carry out a vote to remove a member from their position. Two thirds majority of those present is needed to remove an officer. Said member will then have 2 weeks to file an appeal, which will be reviewed and re-voted upon by those present at original voting meeting.

Article III: Officers

Section 1: Officer Qualifications
Officers must be in adequate academic standing with the CSB/SJU institution. Experience as a member of CF or other cultural club is necessary. All officers must be current CSB/SJU students. See Article IV for Election procedures.

Section 2: Elected Officers:
Term of Office for all positions is Academic Yera except CSB and SJU representatives may be semester long positions if necessary (study abroad, early graduation). All positions subject to election after April 30th.

  • Co-Chairs (2 officers) Department of Student Activities and JCB Contact Persons. Preside at meetings, call special meetings, primary contact with the institutions, appoint committee chairs, run the election process, schedule meeting facilities, coordinate and delegate duties of other members.
  • Treasurer (1 officer), CFB contact keeps all financial records, submits monthly audit statements to CFB contact (this is a mandatory requirement if you receive CFB funds), submits purchase order requests, notifies organization of financial issues, prepares budget/allocation requests.
  • Secretary (1 officer): takes and distributes minutes of all club meetings, recorder keeper (current and past members, files minutes, etc), notify members of meetings, handles the official correspondence of the club.
  • Historian (1 officer): Keeps record of planning details for each event.
  • Public Relations Representative(1 officer): Responsible for all marketing and advertising of events including designing and sending mass emails, designing and hanging posters, fills out event notification form, coordinating chalking, understands and abides by Student Activities rules regarding emails, posting, chalking, etc.
  • Web Coordinator(1 officer): Designs and updates CF website with photos from past events, accurate events calendar, CF mission, and contact information.
  • CSB Representative(1-2 officers):Must be St. Ben’s student. Attends meetings, assists in event planning and implementation, and assists other positions as appropriate.
  • SJU representative(1-2 officers): Must be St. John’s Student. Attends meetings, assists in event planning and implementation, and assists other positions as appropriate.

Section 3: Duties of Officers
(see section 2)

Section 4: Vacancy in Office
In the event of a vacancy, the co-chair(s) may appoint a CSB or SJU representative to that position until a special election is held. If no CSB or SJU representative is able or willing, the co-chair(s) appoint another officer until a special election is held.

Refer to special election section of Article IV.

Section 5: Removal of Officers
A petition to remove the officer in question must be submitted to another officer. This petition must contain the signatures of 50% of voting members. When such petition is received, the officer shall call a meeting of the club to determine whether or not the officer should be removed. Grounds for removal are to be presented by the officer in charge at a regular or special club meeting. The officer in question shall be provided an opportunity to present a defense either in person or in writing. A quorum shall be present, and a 2/3 vote of the voting members shall decide upon removal.

Section 6: Appeal of Removal of Officers
If the officer in question objects to removal, they may express their grounds for disagreement in writing or in person. They may also provide evidence of unjust cause. This must be submitted to the Co-Chair(s) and Club advisor within 2 weeks of removal. The co-chair(s) and club advisor must then call a special meeting for the club to review the appeal and vote (2/3 majority) if the officer was removed on unjust terms or has demonstrated a commitment to change questionable behavior.

Article IV: Elections

Section 1: Nomination Process
Officer candidates will be nominated by a current officer or by self-nomination no sooner than 2 weeks before election meeting either in writing or verbally to co-chairs.

Section 2: Election
Election meetings will be held prior to April 1st. A quorum of 2/3 voting members must be present. Voting will be done by secret ballot. The candidate will be elected on a majority vote. A member may serve up to 4 years in any officer position except one may only serve as co-chair for 2 consecutive years.

Section 3: Special Elections
Within 2 weeks of officer leaving/being removed from their position, special elections will be held. The special elections will be opened to the entire student body, including those in CF. A quorum of 2/3 voting members must be present and voting will be done by secret ballot.

Article V: Advisor

Section 1: Selection
CF will select an advisor from the CSB/SJU faculty who has demonstrated an interest in student activity on campus, cultural diversity promotion, and leadership qualities. A majority of 2/3 officers must be in agreement of the selection of an individual advisor.

Section 2: Duties
Meet with the executive board as often as necessary, explain institutional policy/procedure, offer financial management advice, provide continuity for the club/organization from year to year, act as a resource to the group, attend programs that may potentially have liability/risk for the institutions, intervene when knowledge of illegal activity/activities contrary to CSB/SJU policy occur.

Article VI: Meetings

Section 1: Regular Meeting/Club Activities
The club will hold all club meetings every month and as needed. The executive board of officers will attend these meetings and also hold meetings as needed. Members of the club will be notified of meeting time, date, and place via email one week prior to meeting to allow for scheduling changes as necessary.

Section 2: Special Meetings
Any officer of the club may call a special meeting as he/she sees necessary. This may include discussing further organization and planning of an event, special elections, a concern about a club event/issue/member, or to debrief after an event. One co-chair must be present at special meeting.

Section 3: Parliamentary Authority
One of the co-chairs will call the meeting to order. The agenda (prepared by secretary, historian, or co-chair) is distributed along with minutes from previous meeting (prepared by secretary). After all matters have been addressed and next meeting has been scheduled, the co-chair may close the meeting.

Section 4: Quorum
When decisions must be made or official business voted upon, 2/3 of voting members must be present.

Article VII: Committees

Section 1: Committee Structure
Committees may be formed each year at the discretion/need of the club. A committee may be appointed a leader who is an active member of CF, but does not need to be an officer. A committee may be formed short term in response to a need for an event. For example, when planning a large event, committees may be formed that focus on different aspects of the event such as advertising, catering, etc.

Section 2: Special/Ad-Hoc Committees
Committees for programming such as movie discussion, book discussion, or any other special interest group may form and plan events/meetings related to their group.

Article VIII: Finances

Section 1: Co-Funding Board
CF will apply for CFB monies and follow all institution regulations and policies. CF will not have any type of off-campus account.

Section 2: Honorariums
No officers or members will receive honorariums from the CF generated account.

Section 3: Dues (optional)
No dues are to be paid by members to the CF generated account.

Article IX: Amendments

Section 1: Ratification
A voting member of Cultural Fusion may submit a ratification proposal to the CF executive board. This must be reviewed and discussed by the board and vote upon at least 2 weeks and no more than 4 weeks after submission. A 2/3 majority of voting members must vote, and 2/3 majority of those present is needed to accept the amendment into the constitution.

Section 2: Submittal to Department of Student Activities and Joint Club Board
Any changes made to this constitution must be submitted to the Department of Student Activities and the JCB.

Article X:

The following is a required statement for all organizations:

Cultural Fusion 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 XI:

The following is a required statement for all organizations:

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