Southeast Asian Students` Association Constitution

Southeast Asian Students’ Association
Constitution
HKUST Southeast Asian Students’ Association
Constitution
Table of Contents
1. General
2. Objectives
3. Membership (types, eligibility and rights)
4. Executive Committee (size, composition and responsibility)
5. Election
6. General Meeting
7. Finance
8. Resignation
9. Dissolution
HKUST Southeast Asian Students’ Association
Constitution
1.
General
1.1. The Association shall be affiliated to Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology Students’ Union (HKUSTSU). The Association shall not apply or
accept any loan beyond HKUSTSU. The Association shall not apply for any other
affiliation within the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
(HKUST).
1.2. The full name of the association, in English, shall be “Southeast Asian Students’
Association, HKUSTSU” (or in short, “SEASA”).
1.3. The full name of the association, in Chinese, shall be “香港科技大學學生會東南
亞學生會”.
1.4. Southeast Asia is a region that consists of the following countries: Brunei,
Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
1.5. The official language of the association shall be English.
1.6. Each session and financial year of the association shall commence with the
conclusion of the Annual General Meeting and conclude with the conclusion of
the next Annual General Meeting.
2.
Objectives
2.1. To promote Southeast Asian culture in HKUST and provide opportunities for
everyone to know more about Southeast Asia.
2.2. To promote Southeast Asian studies and provide information about going on
holiday or for exchange at universities in Southeast Asia.
2.3. To foster a sense of community and belonging among the members of the
Southeast Asian population at HKUST.
2.4. To let incoming exchange students from Southeast Asia feel at home and get
integrated into the HKUST community more easily.
2.5. To take care of and provide welfare to the Southeast Asians at HKUST, and
especially reach out to students coming from the underrepresented regions of
Southeast Asia.
3.
Membership
3.1. The following conditions should be satisfied in order for a person to be eligible for
SEASA membership:
3.1.1. Be an undergraduate or postgraduate student at HKUST.
3.1.2. Be a member of HKUSTSU.
3.1.3. Holds the passport of any one (or more) of the Southeast Asian countries;
and/or
HKUST Southeast Asian Students’ Association
Constitution
3.2.
3.3.
3.4.
3.5.
4.
Has lived in any one (or more) of the Southeast Asian countries; and/or
Is interested in Southeast Asian culture.
The association shall consist of three types of members:
3.2.1. Citizen membership: For full-time students of HKUST with full SU
membership, entitled to membership status for whole duration of study.
3.2.2. Resident membership: For incoming exchange students to HKUST with
SU membership, entitled to membership status for duration of exchange.
3.2.3. Tourist membership: For all students of HKUST without full SU
membership.
All members of the association have the right to do the following:
3.3.1. Take part in functions organised by the association.
3.3.2. Attend general meetings of the association.
On top of what is mentioned above, only members holding Citizen status are
eligible to do the following:
3.4.1. Raise any concerns, recommendations or appeals to the Executive
Committee of the association.
3.4.2. Vote at all elections and general meetings held by the association.
3.4.3. Stand for election and hold office as an office bearer in the Executive
Committee of the association.
All members have to pay a one-time non-refundable membership fee, and the
membership fees are to be decided by the Executive Committee of the session,
with variations not greater than 10% of the previous year’s membership fee.
Executive Committee
4.1. The Executive Committee shall be the executive body of the Association, and is
subjected to the highest authority of the Annual General Meeting and the
Extraordinary General Meeting(s).
4.2. Responsibilities and Rights
4.2.1. Be responsible for all matters of the association in the whole session
between two successive Annual General Meetings.
4.2.2. Convene all General Meetings of the association for any purpose whenever
necessary.
4.2.3. Prepare and proclaim an Annual Budget and a Year Plan for the current
session.
4.2.4. Have the power to appoint sub-committee whenever deemed necessary.
4.2.5. Have the power to appoint representatives of the Association to participate
in meetings and activities.
4.2.6. Have the right to vote in General Meeting(s) and General Polling(s).
4.2.7. Reserve the right of explaining the spirit of the Constitution in General
Meeting(s).
HKUST Southeast Asian Students’ Association
Constitution
4.3.
The following are the names and roles of each of the ten SEASA Executive
Committee members:
4.3.1. President: The Chief Executive and representative of the association,
responsible for administration of the association, and preside at all
Executive Committee Meetings of the association.
4.3.2. Internal Vice President: Assist the President in carrying out his/her duties,
particularly in the internal affairs of the association, and is responsible for
ensuring harmony and good relationship within the Executive Committee
as well as within the association.
4.3.3. External Vice President: Assist the President in carrying out his/her duties,
particularly in the external affairs of the association, and is responsible for
reaching out to and maintaining good relationship with prospective
members as well as other student bodies.
4.3.4. Internal Secretary: Assist the President and Internal Vice President in
carrying out their duties regarding internal affairs, and is responsible for
maintaining all minutes and documents of the association and internal
administrative matters of the association.
4.3.5. External Secretary: Assist the President and External Vice President in
carrying out their duties regarding external affairs, and is responsible for
all paperwork and emails to be sent to members and prospective members
and for maintaining good relationship with members and people outside of
the association.
4.3.6. Financial Director: Responsible for all financial matters of the
association, including bookkeeping, reimbursements, financial reports, etc.
4.3.7. Promotion Manager: Responsible for publicizing the association and its
functions by making posters, leaflets, notices, etc.
4.3.8. Marketing Manager: Responsible for determining marketing strategy for
functions and finding sponsorships for the association.
4.3.9. IT Manager: Responsible for maintaining SEASA’s online presence and
other IT-related matters of the association.
4.3.10. Recreation Manager: Responsible for coming up with creative ideas for
functions, as well as matters concerning operations and execution of
functions.
4.4. General Rules of the Executive Committee
4.4.1. Each Executive Committee shall consist of office bearers from at least 3
nationalities in total, each nationality not exceeding 50% of the entire
Executive Committee.
4.4.2. The principal three office bearers (President, Internal Vice President and
External Vice President) should not all be from the same nationality.
4.4.3. Extra positions can be added depending on the needs of the association.
HKUST Southeast Asian Students’ Association
Constitution
4.4.4.
4.4.5.
5.
A minimum of seven office bearers is needed for each session of the
Executive Committee.
The President, Vice Presidents and Financial Director should not hold any
other positions in the Executive Committee of the association.
Election
5.1. Nomination
5.1.1. Nomination(s) for the Executive Committee of the Association shall be
opened at the end of the Fall semester.
5.1.2. The cabinet shall comprise of at least seven candidates including
President, Internal Vice President, External Vice President, Internal
Secretary, External Secretary, Financial Director and Recreation Manager.
5.1.3. The cabinet shall comprise of Citizen-status members of the Association
only.
5.1.4. In case of absence of nomination, the Annual General Meeting shall
resolve the matter.
5.1.5. An election board shall be set up to handle all matters concerning the
annual election. It shall consist of 4 members of the Executive Committee
and one other full member of the association. All nominators or nominees
cannot be any members of election committee. The election board shall
have one chairperson and the following authorities:
5.1.5.1. To conduct all the activities concerning the election, including
counting of ballots, announcing election results, handling of
election disputes, etc.
5.1.5.2. To verify the eligibility of candidates and voting right of members.
5.1.5.3. To monitor the promotion fees and examine the financial report of
the promotion activities of the nominated cabinet(s).
5.1.5.4. To receive and adjudicate any complaints within twenty-four
hours.
5.1.6. The Election Board shall be set up at least seven days prior to the
nomination period.
5.2. Voting
5.2.1. Only members holding Citizen status in the Association shall have the
right to vote.
5.2.2. Upon nomination(s), an election must be held before the Annual General
Meeting, and the confident votes must exceed the non-confident votes for
the cabinet to become the new office of the Association.
5.2.3. The total number of votes in the voting shall be at least half of the total
number of Citizen-status members, which is to be reported in the Annual
General Meeting.
HKUST Southeast Asian Students’ Association
Constitution
5.2.4.
The result of the election shall be prepared by the Election Board and shall
be posted within seven days.
5.2.5. The time limit for filing complaints about the selection is 24 hours after
the notice.
5.2.6. All complaints shall be handled by the Election Board within one week
and any further action decided by the Election Board shall be reported to
all members.
5.3. Vacancies and Resignation
5.3.1. In case of any Executive Committee Member wishing to resign, he/she
must submit a resignation request letter to the Executive Committee of the
association at least one month before the official termination of
appointment.
5.3.2. In the case that the President resigns or receives more non-confident votes
than confident, an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be held to elect a
new President. Before the election of a new President, the Internal Vice
President shall take over the position temporarily.
5.3.3. In the case that an Executive Committee Member other than the President
wishes to resign, an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be held to
approve of the resignation.
5.3.4. Any vacancies in the Executive Committee other than the President can
either be filled by any Citizen-status member of the association appointed
by the Executive Committee, or kept vacant.
5.3.5. In case of any changes in the office bearers of the Executive Committee, a
public notice shall be posted within seven days.
5.3.6. The Executive Committee shall be automatically dismissed when half of
the office bearers resign from the office.
6.
General Meeting
6.1. Authority
6.1.1. The highest authority in the Association shall be rested on the Annual
General Meeting or any Extraordinary General Meeting(s).
6.2. Quorum
6.2.1. No less than half of the Executive Committee of the Association shall form
a quorum of a General Meeting.
6.2.2. No less than 15% of the Citizen-status members of the Association shall
form a quorum of the Annual General Meeting.
6.2.3. No less than 10% of all Citizen-status members of the Association shall
form a quorum of the Extraordinary General meeting.
6.2.4. If a quorum is not reached after half an hour of the time scheduled for the
commencement of the General Meeting, the meeting shall be postponed
HKUST Southeast Asian Students’ Association
Constitution
for a week. If at that meeting, a quorum is still not reached, all Citizenstatus members present shall form a quorum.
6.3. Annual General Meeting
6.3.1. The date of Annual General Meeting shall be decided and announced by
the Executive Committee at least seven days in advance.
6.3.2. The public notice and the agenda of the Annual General Meeting shall be
prepared by the Internal Secretary of the Executive Committee and shall
be posted at least seven days in advance.
6.3.3. The procedure of the General Annual Meeting shall be:
I.
To call to order;
II.
To count the quorum;
III.
To commence the meeting;
IV. To introduce the newly elected Executive Committee of the
association;
V. To consider and if thought fit to amend the Constitution;
VI. Proceed to the agenda of the meeting;
VII. To adjourn the meeting.
6.3.4. The agenda of the General Annual Meeting shall be:
6.3.4.1. To receive and adopt the minutes of the previous Annual General
Meeting together with the minutes of all Extraordinary General
Meetings, which may have been held since the previous Annual
General Meeting.
6.3.4.2. To receive and adopt the Annual Report of the Internal Secretary
for the current session.
6.3.4.3. To receive and adopt the Financial Report of the Financial
Director, the audited statement of Accounts and the Balance Sheet
of the Association for the current session.
6.3.4.4. To receive and adopt the Year Plan of the Executive Committee for
the coming session.
6.3.4.5. To pass the proposed membership fees.
6.3.4.6. To receive and adopt the Annual Budget for the coming session.
6.3.4.7. Any Other Business specified in the agenda of the meeting.
6.4. Extraordinary General Meeting
6.4.1. All Extraordinary General Meetings shall be convened by the President of
the present session or upon requisition of at least half of the Executive
Committee Members or upon requisition of ⅓ of total Citizen-status
Members.
6.4.2. A public notice of Extraordinary General meeting and the agenda
specifying the business to be executed shall be prepared by the Internal
HKUST Southeast Asian Students’ Association
Constitution
Secretary of the Executive Committee and shall be posted at least five days
in advance.
6.5. Rules and Regulations
6.5.1. The Chairperson of the General Meeting(s) should be the President (or
Internal Vice President if the President is absent) of the Executive
Committee of the current session. If both of the respective parties are
absent, the Chairperson of the General Meeting(s) shall be elected by
members who are present.
6.5.2. The Secretary of the General Meeting(s) should be the Internal Secretary
(or External Secretary if the Internal Secretary is absent) of the association
of the current session. If both of the respective parties are absent, the
Secretary of the General Meeting(s) shall be elected by members who are
present.
6.5.3. Only Citizen-status members shall have the voting and speaking rights,
and the right to raise a motion. The Chairperson shall have no right to
participate in debates of any form.
6.5.4. A simple majority of the vote cast from the quorum is required to pass
resolutions except for the resolutions involving any amendment of the
Constitution for which two-thirds of the vote cast is required.
6.5.5. At any General Meeting a resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be
decided on a show of hand, unless the meeting decides on a procedural
motion to vote on the resolution by secret ballot, or unless the Chairperson
decides to do so in which a vote by secret ballot shall be held.
7.
Finance
7.1. Membership Fees
7.1.1. Citizen membership fee shall last for the whole duration of the member’s
undergraduate/postgraduate studies on payment of membership fee.
7.1.2. Resident membership fee shall last for one semester or one year, which is
mainly targeted at exchange students.
7.1.3. Tourist membership fee shall last for the specific number of semesters as
indicated by the member when joining the Association. Membership fee
will vary according to the duration of membership.
7.1.4. The membership fee shall be revised by Executive Committee and passed
through the Annual General Meeting.
7.1.5. No membership fee shall be refundable.
7.2. Income
7.2.1. Income of the Association shall consist of membership fees, subscriptions,
subsidies, donations, and revenues from the services provided by the
Association.
HKUST Southeast Asian Students’ Association
Constitution
7.2.2. The Association should not apply or accept any loan beyond HKUST.
7.3. Association Funds
7.3.1. Association funds shall be used solely for administrative and activity
expenses of the Association. All members of the Executive Committee for
the current session shall be responsible for any loans owed in that session.
7.3.2. The financial account must be held jointly by the Financial Director and
the President.
7.4. Budget
7.4.1. Financial budgets with detailed explanation concerning activities
organized by the subcommittee shall be submitted to the Executive
Committee for prior approval.
7.4.2. All receipts shall be handed in to Financial Director within 3 days after the
purchase.
7.5. Financial Report
7.5.1. Financial Director shall prepare the annual financial report and present
them in the Annual General Meeting.
7.5.2. The Financial Director shall be responsible for keeping the books of
account.
7.5.3. The Financial Report shall be posted within one week after each function.
7.5.4. The Financial Director should keep the detailed financial reports as records
by the activity organizing sub-committee within two weeks after the
activity held.
8.
Dissolution
8.1. The dissolution of the association shall only be passed by a resolution made in a
General Meeting or Referendum with a three-quarter majority.
8.2. After dissolution, members of the Executive Committee shall be responsible for
all matters of the dissolved body.
8.3. Notice of dissolution shall be posted in the Official Notice Area within 24 hours
for not less than seven consecutive days.
8.4. Upon dissolution, the Executive Committee is required to submit and distribute to
all members of the Association a full report stating the current financial position
of the Association and the effects of the dissolution on the Association within one
calendar month.
8.5. The treatment to any remaining assets and liabilities of the Association shall be
discussed at the Extraordinary General Meeting.