Preamble:
Due to the need to facilitate the dialogue among Asian and Asian American student leaders throughout the East Coast and to address all pertinent issues affecting Asians and Asian Americans, it is deemed necessary to establish a network to support and to encourage community building, networking, and education among Asian and Asian American students and their surrounding communities along the East Coast. The East Coast Asian Student Union is hereby established by this constitution.
Article I: Name
A. The name of this network shall be the East Coast Asian Student Union
Article II: Mission
A. Mission Statement
- Build and strengthen Asian and Asian American student organizations to serve the social, political and educational needs of Asian and Asian American students.
- Promote the unity of Asians, greater understanding of Asian experiences in America.
- Pursue social, cultural, economic Asian Americans, and multi-racial Asians from different nationalities and backgrounds through, educational, and political equality of Asians and Asian Americans as an under-represented group in the United States.
- Strengthen relations and build coalitions between Asians, Asian Americans, and all peoples of color.
Article III: Structure
A. Institutional/University Representatives
1. Each institution shall select one representative who embodies the vision, goals, and philosophies of the institution in relation to ECASU.
2. This representative shall have the responsibility of acting as a liaison between the Asian and Asian American organizations of his or her respective institutions and other Institutional Representatives region-wide.
3. The Institutional Representative shall have the power to form committees and appoint committee members as deemed necessary in accordance with achieving the goals of ECASU.
4. Selection of their representatives shall be left up to the individual institutions.
5. The selection of the university representative should occur with the most representative body of the Asian and Asian American community within the institution.
6. Institutional representatives shall be delegates during the annual ECASU conference and shall cast the vote for their respective institutions for the regional representative.
7. Institutional Representatives must participate in bi-monthly (once every two months) regional meetings of official business at a common, physical location.
8. Each Institutional Representative within a region must provide the Regional Representative with a minimum of one monthly report on the current status of his or her institution.
B. Regional Representative
1. Regional representatives shall represent the following regions:
a. Upper New England – Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire
b. Lower New England – Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
c. New York
d. Upper Atlantic – Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware
e. Mid-Atlantic – Washington, D.C., Virginias, and Maryland
f. Carolinas – North Carolina, South Carolina
g. South East – Georgia, Florida, Alabama
2. Regional Representatives shall be elected by their Institutional Representatives during the annual ECASU conference and shall serve a term of a full calendar year.
3. Regional Representatives must hold bi-monthly (once every two months) regional meetings of official business at a common, physical location.
4. Each Regional Representative must provide the National at a minimum of one monthly report on the current status of his or her region.
5. Each Regional Representative should also embody and work to achieve the vision, goals, and philosophies of their state in relation to ECASU.
6. Each region shall have the responsibility of acting as a liaison between the institution of his or her region and ECASU among other regional representatives.
7. The Regional Representative shall have the power to appoint committee chairs to facilitate in the development of communities within his or her region.
8. The Regional Representative shall work proactively to increase participation within ECASU.
9. If a particular region does not have representatives, the region shall be left open until the next ECASU conference.
10. In the event of dire circumstances, a Regional Representative may select a fellow Institutional Representative to serve as an acting, interim Regional Representative with all powers and responsibilities of said position. The acting Regional Representative, however, shall not have the privilege of appointing another interim Regional Representative.
C. Executive Board
1. The Executive Board shall be elected from and by the Regional Representatives.
2. Two Regional Representatives from the same region are not allowed to hold two Executive Board positions
3. The Executive Board shall consists of: Chair, Internal Chair, Finance Chair, External Chair, Secretary, Conference Liaison:
a. Chair:
i. sets direction of group
ii. oversees board
iii. non-voting
iv. keeps contacts with advisory board
v. keeps contacts with alumni
b. Internal Chair:
i. oversees responsibilities of Regional Representatives
ii. communications within board
iii. takes duty of chair when he or she is not able to fulfill duties
iv. receives reports from Regional Representatives
v. compiles regional reports and brings them to each exec meeting
c. Finance Chair:
i. keeps records of National Board finances
ii. responsible for giving reports of finances at every Executive and National Board meeting
iii. responsible for proposals of funds and grants writing
iv. responsible for maintaining relations with Corporate Sponsors
v. should work with conference committee about funds
d. External Chair:
i. maintains public relations with the ECASU general body
ii. responsible for annual ECASU directory
iii. maintain any ECASU listserv
e. Secretary/Historian:
i. takes detailed minutes of board meetings
ii. maintains records of board meetings for archives
iii. distributes minutes to the National Board once approved by the acting Chair
iv. keeps archives as a physical copy, by disk, and on the webpage
f. Conference Liaison:
i. must be selected by the Conference committee
D. National Board
1. The National Board shall be comprised of the Regional Representatives and Executive Board officers.
2. Technology/Webmaster: in charge of putting information on website and maintaining any technological aspect of ECASU
E. Conference Committee
1. The Conference Committee shall be established by the group that wins the bid during the annual ECASU Conference.
Article IV: Voting Procedures
A. Conference Bid Process
1. Eligibility
a. Any Asian Pacific American student organization at a college or university in an ECASU region may enter a bid for the ECASU Spring Conference. States in the ECASU region are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
b. The present hosting organization is ineligible for a bid for the ECASU Spring Conference.
2. Procedure to Bid
a. In order to become the institution to host the next annual ECASU Conference, the institution must declare its intention to bid at least three weeks prior to the immediate ECASU Conference to the immediate ECASU Conference Committee and to the Executive Board.
b. In order to further their eligibility, the institution must send in the following profile one week before the conference to the ECASU chair or the ECASU conference chair. A declaration of contention to be the next annual ECASU Conference must include the following:
i. College/University Profile: college/university location, student body size and make-up, general attributes
ii. Organization Profile: name of sponsoring organization, mailing address, link to website, brief history, past programs
iii. Possible dates for ECASU (generally in late February)
iv. Essay of 500 words about why the next conference should be hosted by the applying school, a statement of 250 words about their purpose and primary goals, and a statement of 250 words explaining the themes. All word limits are the upper bound.
v. Sample conference program: potential keynote speakers, performers, workshops, and panels
vi. List of potential facilities for ECASU, including capacities
vii. Line-item conference budget, including estimated funding, sources of funding, and registration fee
viii. Contact information for the chair and executive planning committee including phone number, e-mail address, mailing address, etc.
c. Copies of this declaration of contention must be available for review during the immediate ECASU conference in paper and to those attending bid procedures. A two-paragraph summary of the bid is also due to the immediate conference board.
3. Electorate of Conference Host Institution
a. Each ECASU institution in attendance shall have one vote to decide the conference host location.
b. The voting process shall be overseen by one pre-determined members of the ECASU Conference committee and one pre-determined member of the ECASU National Board.
i. These overseers shall not be eligible to vote.
c. In the event of a tie, the current national board shall hold the single tie-breaking vote.
i. Any National Board member attending a bidding university shall be ineligible to vote.
d. The bid institution receiving the most votes shall be the following year’s Conference Host Institution.
4. Responsibilities of Elected Conference Host Institution
a. Select a location to host the ECASU conference.
b. Implement programming pertaining to the visions, goals, and philosophies of the East Coast Asian Student Union
c. Organize a conference with duration of two-day
d. The host institution is solely responsible for all conference financial gains and losses.
B. Voting Privileges of National Board
1. Institutional Representatives shall hold the power to vote upon:
a. The annual conference host site
b. Their respective Regional Representatives
c. Any collective direction, purpose, and/or goal of the member institutions within that region.
2. Regional Representatives shall hold the power to vote upon:
a. Executive officers of the Executive Board
b. Constitutional Revisions
c. Initiatives that maintain or support the goals of ECASU
C. Amendments to the standing rules, by-laws, and Constitution of ECASU
1. Can be suggested by any member of ECASU
2. The National Board shall vote on amendments
3. A three-fourths vote to approve such changes shall be required of that quorum present
a. Quorum must be 50% +1.
D. Impeachment
1. Each Regional Representative of ECASU shall have the power to bring impeachment charges against any other representative of ECASU;
2. At the next meeting of the National Board, the representative in question shall be presented and he or she may defend his or her case;
3. Quorum of the meeting is 50% +1;
4. Impeachment requires a two-thirds vote of the quorum;
5. If the charged representative is impeached, the National Board shall appoint a new individual from that Region within two weeks to be the new Regional Representative.
E. Possibility of Question
1. All those rules in question with procedure can refer to Robert’s Rules of Order.
2. All questions regarding any aspect of the constitution should be addressed to the Executive Board for interpretation.