HISPANIC CULTURAL
ORGANIZATION
BAJO EL MISMO SOL
CONSTITUTION
Hispanic Cultural Organization Constitution
2008-2009
Co-President: Maria Zarate and Emily Powell
Article I: Name
The name of this organization
shall be the Hispanic Cultural Organization, hereafter referred to as HCO. The
principal location of this organization shall be in
Article II:
The Hispanic Cultural
Organization is a non-profit organization exclusively for charitable and
educational purposes, including the making of distributions to qualifying
organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code, or a similar section of any future federal tax code. It resides within the structure of the
1.
Serve the
Hispanic community in
2.
Provide support
to other multicultural organizations with the focus of promoting Hispanic
culture.
3.
Raise awareness
in the William and Mary community about Hispanic culture.
4.
Unite the
Article III: Membership
1.
The membership of
the HCO is open to all persons of the
2.
Members will be
required to pay dues as determined under Article V and only after paying the
dues will they be considered an HCO Member.
3.
Quorum is 2/3 of
all Members.
Article IV: Impeachment
Procedure
1.
If a member of
the Executive Board fails to complete a term in office he/she must submit a
resignation to the president and the election process will begin at the next
general meeting.
2.
If an Executive
Board Member does not perform his/her duties, obligations, and/or
responsibilities to HCO, he/she can be impeached from the office if all the
following procedures for impeachment are met:
a) An
Executive Board Member must bring a motion to impeach because of conduct
contrary to the purpose of his/her office as stated under Article VI during an
Executive Board meeting, and for the motion to continue a second must be voiced.
b)
The accused Executive Board Member and the plaintiff have the opportunity to
present
their cases; a closed Executive Board discussion will follow.
c) A
vote for impeachment shall become effective if there is a unanimous
vote in
favor of impeachment.
d) If
the vote for impeachment is adopted against an
Executive Board Member, that individual will be removed from any position
he/she may hold in the organization.
e) If
the vote for impeachment is not adopted, the Executive
Board Member tried
shall
retain all privileges empowered to him/her as before.
Article V: Dues
1.
A membership fee shall be established at the discretion of the Executive
Board. The fee shall be collected at the beginning of
the Fall Semester or Spring Semester if necessary.
a)
All of the membership fees collected shall belong to the organization.
b) The membership fee shall
be incorporated into the financial reports
of the
treasurer.
2.
A person wishing
to participate in the club, but cannot do so because of financial need, may
obtain a due waiver by contacting the president.
3.
Only dues paying
members have voting rights.
Article VI: The Executive
Board
The executive board shall
consist of the following: President, Vice-President, Historian, Secretary,
Treasurer, Recruitment Officer, Public Relations, Web Master, Banquet Director,
and Conference Chair. Officers shall be elected by the
general membership and are endowed with certain duties. Any alteration in these
duties requires a ¾ vote of the general members, including the executive
officers.
1.
President
a)
Shall preside at
both the general membership and executive meetings;
b)
Shall prepare the
agenda for executive board meetings;
c)
Shall be
responsible for keeping the Office of Multicultural Affairs
informed;
d)
Shall be the
official spokesperson and representative for HCO;
Shall assign the responsibilities to the
Executive Board;
e)
Shall be
empowered to create any committee as he/she sees fit;
f) Shall be responsible for keeping a journal
throughout his/her term, which
he/she will
submit at the end of each semester and relinquish to the
incoming
President.
2.
Vice-President
a)
Shall act for the
President in case of his/her absence;
b)
Shall be directly
responsible to the President;
c)
Shall be for
responsible for the entertainment for any event, including programming of
general meetings;
d)
Shall be the head
of speaker committee. Shall be in charge of acquiring and contracting speakers
of interest for HCO.
e)
Shall look for
service/social opportunities to be sponsored by the organization;
f)
Shall be
responsible for keeping a journal throughout his/her term, which he/she will
submit at the end of each semester and relinquish, to the incoming
Vice-President.
3.
Treasurer
a)
Shall be directly
responsible to the President;
b)
Shall be the
signer of all checks along with the President and Vice-President;
c)
Shall prepare
written financial reports at the end of each month;
d)
Shall be the main
coordinator of all fundraisers throughout the year and is obligated to have at
least one per semester and announce these events in the beginning of October
for Fall Semester and again in February for the Spring Semester;
e)
Shall be required
to obtain approval from the Executive Board before making purchases or issuing
reimbursement;
f)
Shall be
responsible for keeping a journal throughout his/her term, which he/she will submit
at the end of each semester and relinquish, to the incoming Treasurer.
4.
Secretary
a)
Shall be directly
responsible to the President;
b)
Shall keep the
minutes of both the Executive Board and General Membership meetings and present
them to the respective bodies;
c)
Shall keep a
record of attendance of all Executive and General Membership meetings and
incorporate it as part of the minutes;
d)
Shall be
responsible for disseminating important information to all members through
email;
e)
Shall notify
members of all general and Executive Board meetings in advance;
f)
Shall be
responsible for keeping a binder with everything affiliated with HCO in their
respective order.
g)
Shall be
responsible for keeping a journal throughout his/her term, which he /she will
submit at the end of each semester and relinquish, to the incoming Secretary.
5.
Historian
a)
Shall be directly
responsible to the President;
b)
Shall, in absence
of the Secretary, take minutes and send out notices;
c)
Shall keep
memorandum of all events through photos and other memorabilia and create a
scrapbook of all events for the end of the year;
d)
Shall take
records of events (flyers, programs, etc) to the Archives in Swem Library at the end of the year.
e)
Shall be in
charge of maintaining relations with alumni through the Alumni Network;
f)
Shall be in
charge of contacting alumni and informing them of events;
g)
Shall be in
charge of maintaining the Alumni database.
h)
Shall be
responsible for keeping a journal throughout his/her term, which he/she will
submit at the end of each semester and relinquish to the incoming Historian.
6.
Recruitment
Officer
a)
Shall be directly
responsible to the President;
b)
Shall be
responsible for recruiting members from the campus population;
c)
Shall work
closely with the Office of Admissions and various academic departments
including the
d)
Shall direct the
organizations participation in any recruitment activities;
e)
Shall be
responsible for keeping a journal throughout his/her term, which he/she will
submit at the end of each semester and relinquish, to the incoming Recruitment
Officer.
7.
Public Relation
Officer
a)
Shall be directly
responsible to the President;
b)
Shall be in
charge of design and creation of posters, table tents, and any other publicity
that pertains to HCO or any HCO event; Shall complete SARA training;
c)
Shall be in
charge of directing publicity activities (SIN, easels, banner, table tents,
flyers, TV, newspapers, radio stations, etc.);
d)
Shall be
responsible for publicizing all events through all applicable forms of
advertisement and is in charge of creating programs, and tickets for these
events as necessary;
e)
Shall maintain
relationships with other Multicultural Organizations;
f)
Shall be
responsible for keeping a journal throughout his/her term, which he/she will
submit at the end of each semester and relinquish, to the incoming Public
Relations.
8.
Web Master
a) Shall be
directly responsible to the President;
b) Shall be responsible of maintaining and
updating the HCO website as new
information is received or at least weekly, including the
officer pages,
pictures,
etc;
c)
Shall be
responsible for keeping a journal throughout his/her term, which
he/she will submit at the end of each semester and
relinquish, to the
incoming Web Manager.
8.
Banquet
Coordinator(s)
a)
Shall be directly
responsible to the President and all of the Executive Board from the time of
election in the spring until the Banquet is over in the fall.
b)
Shall present
weekly reports on Banquet progress at the executive board meetings and general
meetings and be open to comments and suggestions.
c)
Shall be
responsible for selecting committee chairs with the approval of the executive
board.
d)
Shall facilitate
coordination and communication between all of the committees
e)
Shall schedule
practice times and direct rehearsals. Shall be in charge of planning all
aspects of the show and dinner;
f)
Shall be
responsible for keeping a journal throughout his/her term, which he/she will
submit at the end of each semester and relinquish, to the incoming Banquet
Coordinator.
9.
Conference
Chair(s)
a)
Shall be directly
responsible to the President and all of the Executive Board from the time of
election until the end of the Conference.
b)
Shall present
weekly reports on Conference progress at the executive board and general
meetings and be open to comments and suggestions.
c)
Shall be
responsible for selecting committee chairs with the approval of the executive
board.
d)
Shall facilitate
coordination and communication between all of the committees
e)
Shall facilitate
coordination and communication between all of the committees;
f)
Shall be
responsible for keeping a journal that will be passed on
to the incoming Conference Chair(s).
Article VII: Elections
1.
Elections of the
Executive Committee Members shall be held yearly
during a General Membership meeting in the month of March as a two-step
process. In the first week of elections nominations will be
held. In the second week of March, speeches will be
heard followed by a vote.
2.
The process will
be conducted in the following manner with the current President presiding:
a)
The Executive
Board shall inform the prospective Executive Board Members of their
responsibilities, as stated in this constitution;
b)
Dues-paying
members and incumbent officers may either nominate themselves or be nominated,
both with seconds, for the offices in the following manner;
i.
President
ii.
Vice-President
iii.
Treasurer
iv.
Secretary
v.
Historian
vi.
Recruitment
Officer
vii.
Public Relations
Officer
viii.
Web Manager
ix.
Banquet
Coordinator(s)
x.
Conference
Chair(s)
c)
Shall coordinate the voting for each office in order described above;
d)
All prospective Executive Board Members have an option of running as
a partnership.
e) All
nominees are required to provide a speech about themselves, their
ability to be an
effective officer, and their interests for the future of
HCO;
f)
All prospective Executive Board Members have an option of running as a
partnership.
g)
All nominees will have the opportunity to participate in a question and
answer period
facilitated by the current President.
h) Shall
distribute and collect secret ballots for each office;
i) After
voting has taken place, an officer, not participating in the election
as a candidate,
shall count and present the results.
3) In the event of a tie, another vote will be held between the top two candidates.
4) After elections are concluded,
the new Executive Board Members are to work under present Executive Board
Members for the rest of the Spring Semester in preparation for their term,
which will begin the day of the OMA’s leader transition
program or on the first Sunday of April, which ever comes first.
Article VIII: Meetings
1.
The executive
committee shall have at least one meeting before each general meeting or as
often as they or the President deem necessary.
2.
General meetings
shall be weekly or biweekly as decided by the Executive Board;
3.
The general
meetings shall fulfill the mission of HCO as stated in Article II.
Article IX: Amendments
1.
The Executive
Board shall review the Constitution annually at the first Executive Board
meeting.
2.
Ratification of
the updated Constitution, requires 3/4 vote of general membership for approval.
3.
During
preparation and presentation of the alterations, the former articles will
remain in effect.
4.
Ratification of
this Constitution requires a quorum of general membership for approval and shall be reviewed annually.
Article X: Financial
Procedures
1. Net
earnings of this organization shall never benefit or be distributable amongst
its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons.
2. No
substantial part of this organization will be dedicated
to activities which attempt to influence legislation or use propaganda, and
this organization shall not participate in nor intervene in any political
campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.
3. This
organization shall not participate in activities not permitted by an
organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a similar section of
any future federal tax code, or by a corporation, contributions to which are
deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a similar
section of any future federal tax code.
4. Upon the dissolution of the organization, assets
shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes (to be decided at the time
of dissolution) within the meaning of section 501(c)(3)
of the Internal Revenue Code, or a similar section of any future federal tax
code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local
government for a public purpose. Any
such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by a Court of Competent
Jurisdiction of James City County, exclusively for such purposes or to such
organization(s) as said Court shall determine, which
are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.
Founding Executive Council of
the Hispanic Cultural Organization for 1999 is as follows:
President of La Organizacion
de Hispanos Unidos (OHU): Ana Luisa
Pinto
President of Latin American
Club (LAC): Maria Borda
Vice -President of Social
Affairs (OHU): Angela Barbieri
Vice- President of Social and
Public Affairs (OHU): Dan Perez-Lopez
Vice-President (LAC): Arlene
Pinto
Treasurer (OHU): Alicia Tio-Messina
Treasurer (LAC):
Secretary (OHU): Lisa Stolberg
Secretary (LAC):
Historian (OHU): Jonathan Weiss
Social Chairs (LAC): Daniela
Parra and Chris Mercer
Constitution submitted for
review on January 27, 1999.
Reviewed and Altered on April
2002.
Updated and Amended on May
2005.
Updated and Amended on December
2007.
Updated and Amended on September
2008.
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This page was updated
on October 19, 2008 at 3:50pm.
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