Article I. Name The name of the organization shall be the Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice, known hereafter as HACER. Article II. Purpose HACER shall serve as the official student association of Hispanic students. Its purpose will be to provide support and understanding of Hispanic issues and culture as well as serve as medium of communication between its members and the larger Rice community. Article III. Membership All members of the Rice community are eligible for membership in HACER. Further restrictions on membership, however, may be imposed by the Executive Committee including, but not limited to, the imposition of dues so long as they do not conflict with Constitution and By Laws of the Rice Student Association. Article IV. Executive Committee Section 1 - The Executive Committee shall be charged with initiating and promulgating the will of its membership as well as enforcing the provisions set forth by this Constitution and its By Laws. Section 2 - Composition and Duties (a) The Executive Committee shall be composed of the officers of HACER: the President, as chairman; the Internal Vice President, the External Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Faculty advisors shall serve as ex-officio members. (b) The Executive Committee shall meet periodically, as determined by the President or a majority of the officers, to discuss the activities or projects of HACER. (c) No commitments or contracts shall be made on behalf of HACER without prior approval by the majority of the Executive Committee. Section 3 - Qualifications of Officers (a) A student on academic or disciplinary probation is not permitted to be a candidate for or to hold office as embodied by the Constitution of the Student Association. (b) A student must have been enrolled at Rice University and a member of HACER at least one semester immediately prior to the election in order to be eligible to run for office. Only a voting member shall be permitted to run for office. (c) Each officer shall serve one year unless removed or replaced by his or her successor. Section 4 - Duties of Executive Committee Officers (a) The President of HACER shall preside and prepare the agenda at all regular and called meetings of HACER, in person or through the Vice Presidents; be the representative of HACER to the administration and the Rice community; prepare an annual budget no later than the third week of the Fall Semester (to be presented to the membership no later than the sixth week). No action may be taken on behalf of HACER monetary or otherwise without the prior consent of the President; the position of the President, however, may be overridden by the majority vote by the membership or the unanimous decision by the remaining members of the Executive Committee. (b) The Internal Vice President shall act as President when the President is unable to carry out his or her duties; shall be in charge of organizing all activities that take place on-campus as well as be responsible for all activities and projects that deal directly with the membership of HACER. Other responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the organizing and promulgation of activities that meet the social and academic needs of the membership of HACER. (c) The External Vice President shall be the liaison between HACER and the larger Hispanic community. Other responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, making connections with other Hispanic organizations, keeping up-to-date on events, issues, and projects concerning Hispanics outside the Rice community, and keeping Hispanic alumni up-to-date on the issues and activities of importance to HACER. (d) The Treasurer shall supervise the annual budgeting of funds; be responsible for the organizing fund-raisers for the benefit of HACER; be in charge of collecting dues and maintain a list of all paying members for voting eligibility purposes; keep an accurate account of all revenues and expenditures, informing periodically the Executive Committee the financial status of HACER. The Treasurer shall have the final say on all expenditures and reimbursements made on behalf of HACER unless overruled by the President and a majority of the Executive Committee. (e) The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings called by the President and the Executive Committee. The minutes will include the names of all those in attendance as well as issues of importance discussed or announced. Other responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, attending to all written correspondence as delegated by other officers, maintaining a directory of all members, and the development of flyers and written paraphernalia deemed necessary by the President. The Secretary shall also maintain an updated record of all the members and of their voting eligibility status so as to ensure that only members that have satisfied the voting requirements are permitted to cast their ballots. The Secretary shall be responsible for the nullification of all ballots cast by a non-voting member or by a voting member that has cast more than one vote per office, but only after having notified the President of such ballots. (f) Any officer of the Executive Committee may ask volunteers to perform any club duty not explicitly assigned by the constitution to any member or officer of HACER. Section 5 - Resignation, Impeachment, and Replacement of Executive committee Officers (a) Resignation from office shall be handled in the following manner: a signed and written statement shall be presented to the highest remaining officer. It will include the following information: office held, reason for the resignation, and when the resignation shall go into effect. (b) An officer may be removed from his or her office for failure to perform the duties prescribed by his or her office, for engaging in conduct unbecoming of an officer, or by breaking the provisions set-forth by this Constitution. The impeachment of an officer shall be handled in the following manner: Once the majority of the Executive Committee has concurred that the officer in question meets one of provisions for impeachment, impeachment proceeding shall be held where the officer in question and the Executive Committee shall present evidence of their position. If a majority of the entire membership of HACER concurs with the findings of the Executive Committee, the officer shall hereby be terminated. (c) In the event of the resignation or impeachment of an Executive Committee Officer, he or she will be replaced in the following manner: if the officer to be replaced is not the President, the President will nominate a replacement which must be confirmed by the majority of remaining Executive Committee. In the event the President resigns or is impeached, the highest remaining officer under his or her volition will assume the Presidency or call for elections. An officer may not fill a vacant office until they have resigned their former office. All vacant offices must be filled within three weeks from the date of resignation or impeachment. Section 6 - Faculty Sponsors Faculty sponsors shall be approved every year by a simple-majority of the Executive Committee. All sponsors are required to make an annual address to the entire membership at least one meeting per year. Article V. Elections Section 1 - Time and Duration of Elections (a) The election of officers shall be held in the Spring Semester of each year to be held no later than third week of March and no earlier than the first week of March. (b) All new officers-elect will be required to attend one Executive Committee meeting with outgoing officer prior to turn-over. All officers elect shall begin their term no later than the first week of April. Section 2 - Method of Election (a) The President shall announce elections at least two full weeks before they are to commence. (b) Those running for office must submit a statement to the President at least three days before the election of their intent to run for office. The statement shall include the office the candidate would like to run for and an affirmation that the candidate has read the constitution, meets its provisions, and agrees to abide by its laws. The statement must be signed by the candidate. (c) Candidates shall attend a meeting to be set aside for presentation of each candidate's platform, which shall be held at least one week before elections. No proxies shall be permitted to speak on behalf of the candidate and no candidate will be allowed to engage in defaming discussions. (d) All officer elections shall be conducted by secret ballot. (e) All votes shall be cast with each voting member casting only one vote per office. If a voting member casts more than one vote per office, his or her votes shall be nullified. In the event that a voting member chooses to vote absentee, he or she should send their ballot in a sealed envelope, with their name signed on the outside of the envelope, to the highest officer not running as candidate in the election at least one day before the election. In the event that all current officers are running as candidates, absentee ballots shall be submitted to the faculty advisor. No e-mail ballots shall be accepted. Absentee ballots shall remain sealed until all ballots are counted at the meeting set aside for elections. (f) A candidate for office must secure at least 50% +2 of all the votes cast in order to win the office in question during the first round of elections. In the event that no candidate for office meets the 50% +2 requirement, another round of elections for the office will be held with the candidates receiving the two highest number of votes competing in a run-off. In a run-off, only a simple majority will be required to win. In the event of a tie for an office with only two candidates, a simple-majority vote by the Executive committee shall decide the winner of office in question. (g) During a meeting set aside for the elections, ballots will be counted by at least two officers in private after the Secretary has confirmed the eligibility of all the ballots. No candidate for office will be allowed to count ballots. All candidates will be provided information regarding the number of votes cast and received for his or her office. Members may petition the Executive committee for release of the total number of votes cast and received for each candidate upon approval by the candidates running for that office. In the event that all current officers are running as candidates, two voting members shall be chosen by the faculty advisor to count the ballots. (h) The right to vote shall be extended to members of HACER who meet the following requirements: (i) Paid their dues. (ii) Attended four or more HACER functions, such as regular meetings, volunteering services, social outings, or any other functions that the Executive Committee deems necessary. Article VI. Meetings Regular meetings of HACER shall be held at least once a month during the academic year. An official meeting can only be conducted under the supervision of the President or a Vice President and one other officer. Article VII. Committees Section 1 - Standing Committees (a) A Standing Committee may only be formed with majority approval of the Executive Committee. (b) All standing committees must meet the following criteria: statement of purpose and mission must written and publicly stated at an official meeting of HACER and someone must agree prior to its promulgation to chair the committee. Section 2 - Ad Hoc Committee Ad Hoc Committees will be formed at the discretion of the President or at the request of ten percent of all members and will be dissolved once their function has been completed. Section 3 - Progress All standing committees shall give a progress report at least once a month or at the request of the Executive Committee. Article VIII. Constitution Section 1 - The constitution shall be provided to each member of the HACER no later than first month of the Fall Semester. Section 2 - All members reserve the right of proposing amendments to the constitution by sending their proposals to the Executive committee. The amendment must be voted on by the full membership within at least one month of the proposal receipt by the Executive Committee. Section 3 - All amendments to the HACER Constitution require the approval at least two-thirds of all full members. last updated: July 16, 2001