The Organization of Latinx American Students Bylaws and Constitution
Last Updated: August 2018
Constitution of Organization of Latino American Students
Article I - Name The name of this organization shall be Organization of Latinx American Students (OLAS).
Article II - Statement of Purpose OLAS aims to foster and maintain a spirit of solidarity among students interested in Latinx American cultures, including but not limited to Spanish speaking countries and their descendants. OLAS is an all-inclusive organization committed to promoting awareness of the uniqueness of Latinx American cultures by providing a wide range of opportunities to participate in social, cultural, and community service events for all Davidson students, regardless of ethnicity.
Article III - Membership Membership in OLAS is open to any Davidson College student in good standing with the College, and who subscribes to the objectives and ideals of the organization. In accordance with Article I. A.2, of the Student Government Association bylaws, and the nondiscrimination policy of the college, we will not discriminate against ethnicity, age, gender, disability, national origin, or sexual orientation. Membership subscription entails signing up to the OLAS e-mail list and Wildcat Sync which can be initiated at any time during the year except for one week prior to annual elections. No dues paying commitments are required from OLAS members.
Article IV - Elections Section 1 Executive Board Officer elections for the subsequent school year will occur every March. Nominations are open to all OLAS members that will be present for the entirety of the subsequent school year. The OLAS Black Tie Philanthropic Gala, held annually in April, serves as the official transition between the preceding and succeeding executive boards. Beginning with the Gala, an executive board’s term lasts until the next Gala the following year. All officers will be elected by a simple majority vote amongst all OLAS members on the secretary’s most recent email list (the email list temporarily closes one week before elections until the day after elections are over). Elections will be run by the President and Secretary, and the Executive Vice President will confirm the results. Section 2 The timeline for elections will be as follows:
The process will commence during the first week of March, where an email will be sent out by the OLAS secretary opening sign-ups and nominations for all available Officer positions.
A reminder email will be sent to those who wish to run or have been nominated for a position so that they can send the Secretary a “blurb” to send out to the Organization prior to voting. By Friday, interested students should turn in their “blurbs” by e-mail to the OLAS secretary by a specified time on Friday. Immediately following the closing of the “blurb” submissions, the Secretary must send all members a list of interested students and their “blurbs.”
Over that weekend, votes will be casted via WildCat Sync where a clear time and date will be issued for the beginning and the end of the voting.All members, as indicated by the Secretary’s most current email list, may participate. The President and the Secretary, unless otherwise notified, will be in charge of tabulating the results, and the Executive Vice President must confirm the results. In the case of a tie, the executive board will internally vote one of the candidates to office.
By Monday night, the President will be in charge of announcing the results to the new Executive Board then to the Organization’s general members. If there are open Officer positions, the Executive Board can nominate members and internally vote a member to office.
Section 3
The OLAS Black Tie Philanthropic Gala, held annually in April, serves as the official transition between the preceding and succeeding executive boards. Beginning with the Gala, an executive board’s term lasts until the next Gala the following year.
In the event that an Executive Member has decided to terminate their leadership position within OLAS, they will not be allowed to re-run for leadership for a whole academic year. Exceptions may be made on a case by case basis at the discretion of the Executive Board.
To protect the integrity of the organization, the President of the Organization of Latinx American Students may not simultaneously serve as the President of another student organization or Greek-affiliated organization. In the case this occurs, the President must decide whether they will resign their other position or the OLAS presidency.
In the case the President resigns, the Executive Vice President will assume the role of President.
In the case of other officer vacancies, depending on time and demand, the President has the discretion of holding open elections, internal elections, or appointing individuals to office with approval of the executive board.
Article V - Officers Section 1 The Executive Board of the organization will consist of 1 President, 1 Executive Vice-President, 1 Secretary/ Historian, 1 Treasurer, 2 Social-Cultural Chairs, 1 Liaison, 1 Vice President of Publicity, 2 Social Media Managers, and 1 Faculty Adviser. Additional positions may be added as deemed necessary by the President for the duration of their term. Section 2 Duties of the Officers:
The President shall: preside over all Executive and General meetings, be well informed about the Organization’s events, both past and present, ensure that appointed committees meet their deadlines and provide support for them, be responsible for amending the Constitution and By-Laws with the Faculty Advisor and the Vice-President should the need arise, obtain an appropriate Faculty Adviser with prior consultation with Executive Members, regularly update the Faculty Adviser on current OLAS related events and potential future events, enforce and abide by this Constitution and its Bylaws, organize Executive Board retreats, assist in running elections, and encourage solidarity and teamwork among the members of the Organization.
The Executive Vice-President shall: preside at all meetings, assist the President in organizing and implementing Executive Board retreats, conduct official organizational business when the President assigns her/him to do so, confirm election results, and serve in the President's place in the case of the President's absence.
The Vice President of Publicity shall: preside at all the meetings, oversee all publicity aspects of the organization by ensuring the secretary and social media managers abide by their deadlines and responsibilities, approve of all posters and posts ahead of time, assist the President with any organizational matters, and serve in the President’s place in the case both the President and Executive Vice President are absent.
The Secretary/Historian shall: keep official minutes at Executive Board meetings and records via email and google docs at general meetings; process all communications between members, including but not limited to, maintaining an up-to-date email list of General and Executive Board Members, reminding respective officers and members of General and Executive Board meetings, and noting absences of officers at General and Executive Board meetings; be responsible for publicizing General Meetings in the Crier, Wildcat Sync and email; reserve OLAS’ meeting spaces for the academic year; submit all Executive Board Minutes to the archives, create a directory of outside contacts both past and present, and assist in elections.
The Treasurer shall: keep accurate and up-to-date records of all financial matters, ensure the organization abides by all ATC regulations, head the preparation of the Activities Tax Council report/request every year, facilitate all financial transactions between the organization, its members, Student Activities Office, the Union Board, and all other pertaining entities.
The Social-Cultural Chair(s) shall: maintain a record of all OLAS sponsored events in conjunction with the Historian in a list format, and assist in organizing, planning, scheduling and implementing social-cultural events.
The Liaison shall: be the point of contact between the Organization and Davidson College affiliated organizations and departments including, but not limited to, the Admissions’ Office, Patterson Court Committee, and Student Government Association (Common Ground), be in charge of taking minutes at these meetings, communicate messages from the President to the Davidson College affiliated group, be knowledgeable about the involvement of the Organization past and present, appropriately represent the President and the Organization during these external meetings.
The Faculty Adviser shall: provide assistance to the Executive Board with administrative issues. The Adviser will have no vote regarding Executive Board proposals, unless said proposal reaches out the jurisdiction of the OLAS Executive Board. The Adviser is encouraged to attend meetings (general and Executive) if no other time commitments present themselves.
The Social Media Manager(s) shall: be in charge of keeping the OLAS website up-to-date, teach the President and Vice-President how to access and maintain the website should the Webmaster not be able to do so, be in charge of the OLAS board located in Chambers, take pictures at all OLAS events, submit all posters, fliers, and copies of the website Executive Board members to the Davidson College archives, publicize events by, but not limited to, designing and posting posters in building and social media (with mandatory help from all Executive Board members), make PowerPoints for the LCD screen advertisements in the Student Union.
Section 3 If an Officer is showing signs of inactivity, or disregard to Officer duties, or has missed a total of three Executive Board and General Meetings per semester, or has missed a total of three OLAS affiliated events per semester, the Executive Board must vote to send a warning to said Officer. If voting supports, a warning must be given out to the Officer by the President within 24 hours. The Officer has three weeks after the sent date to improve their activity. If the certain act continues, Executive Board members will cast a vote to determine if said officer is to be removed from his or her Executive Board position. Impeachment occurs if a majority of Executive Board members vote as such. Section 4 All Executive Board Officers are required to attend a fall retreat outlining the goals and expectations of the organization and its members, and a spring recommitment retreat. It is suggested that the organizers of the retreat consult the Student Activities Office’s advisors. Section 5 All Executive Board Officers are required to submit all outside contact information (including their specialty) to the Secretary in order to keep in the directory.
Article V - Meetings Regularly scheduled Executive Board and general meetings will be held each semester and when called upon by the President.
Article VI – Finances Section 1 There will be no membership dues to participate, volunteer, or engage in any of the OLAS activities. Section 2 Regarding all specific financial changes towards OLAS’ budget, it is the responsibility of the member(s) causing the change to be approved by the President and the Treasurer prior to said alteration. All purchases must abide by ATC’s regulations.
Article VII - Amendments to the Constitution Section 1 All amendments must be approved through a simple majority vote amongst Executive Board Officers during an Executive Board Meeting.