The
Catholic Student Association
By-Laws
November
1, 2005
The By-Laws of the Catholic
Student Association outline the procedures by which the Association carries out
its business.
Article One: Elections
Members of the Catholic Student Association may be elected as officers on
the Executive Committee, including the Chair, Vise Chair, Treasurer, and
Secretary. Officers shall be
elected each April for a term of one year.
An officer may be re-elected for up to four (4) total terms.
Members shall be elected by filling out the application for membership as
an Executive Officer and submitting it to the Secretary of the CSA before the
predetermined date in April. By
submitting the application the member is stating that he/she has read both the
Constitution and By-Laws and agrees to fulfill all responsibilities outlined in
the Constitution and the By-Laws. Members
currently serving as officers on the Executive Committee may reapply, just in
case they have not already served a total of four terms.
After the predetermined submission date all the applications shall be
made available to the general membership. The
membership shall then be polled to determine the preference of the membership.
Following the poll the applications and poll results are to be reviewed
by the Executive Committee at a formal meeting.
Following the review the voting members of the Executive Committee shall
select those who will become officers the following year.
The results of the election will be announced by May 1.
Those selected to serve as officers must read both the Constitution and
the By-Laws in their entirety, and will be given a copy of both the Constitution
and the By-Laws.
Just in case there are no applicants for a particular position on the
Executive Committee, the person currently serving that position may serve a
second term with the assent of the entire Executive Committee, provided that
he/she has not already served a total of four terms.
Just in case an executive resigns a special election will be held to fill
the vacant position. If the Chair
resigns the Vice Chair will assume the position of Chair making the Vice Chair
position vacant. Special elections
will have the same format as regular elections except that the executive
committee will have one week after the close of the poll to announce who will
fill the vacancy.
Article Two: Executive Committee
Meetings
A.
Location and Frequency: The
Executive Committee shall meet at least twice monthly, normally, but not
exclusively, at the Catholic Center at UVM.
B.
Attendance: The Chair, Vice
Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary shall be in attendance at all meetings.
If the Chair cannot attend a meeting the Vice Chair may fulfill the
responsibilities of the Chair, as well as his/her own responsibilities.
In the absence of the Vice Chair, Treasurer, or Secretary the Executive
Committee may appoint a member of the Executive Committee to fulfill the
responsibility of the person in absence. At
least three voting members of the executive committee must be present at all
Executive Committee meetings, including the Chair or Vice Chair.
A meeting may not commence in the absence of both the Chair and
Vice-Chair.
The
Faculty Advisor(s), Chaplain, and the current campus minister on faculty with
the Catholic Center at UVM are invited to attend the Executive Committee
meetings, though their attendance is not required. The voting members of the Executive Committee may meet in the
absence of the non-voting members
C.
Structure: Each meeting shall
follow this outline:
1.
Opening Prayer
2.
Voting and Non-Voting Members Report on Unfinished Business
3.
New Business
4.
Communications
5.
Date and Time of next meeting determined
6.
Closing Prayer
D.
Voting: Voting is the only
method by which a formal decision can be made concerning the governance of the
CSA. Voting is the normal method by which general decisions are
made. A vote may be called at
anytime during a meeting by the Chair (Vice Chair in the absence of the Chair).
All voting Executive Committee members in attendance may request the
Chair to call a vote and all voting Executive Committee members in attendance
may vote. A vote is passed if and
only if all voting Executive Committee members in attendance vote unanimously in
favor of that which is in question. Those
in attendance who are not voting members may not vote, nor impede or prevent a
vote from occurring that has been called by the Chair.
Votes
shall be made by show of hand, or when deemed appropriate by the Chair, votes
may be made by anonymous ballot.
Article Three: Duties of Officers:
A.
The Chair: The Chair will be a
club signer in accordance with SGA. He/she
will generally be present at all CSA meetings and it is his/her responsibility
to call each meeting to order as well as to oversee the orderly progression of
the meeting in accordance with Article Two C. The Chair is the only executive member who can call a vote at
a meeting. In his or her absence
the Vice Chair may call a vote.
B.
Vice Chair: The vice chair will generally be present at all CSA meetings and will
fulfill the responsibilities of the Chair in his/her absence.
If the Chair resigns before the end of his/her term the Vice Chair will
assume the position of chair.
C.
Treasurer: The treasurer will be a club signer in accordance with SGA.
He/she will generally be present at all CSA meetings.
It is the responsibility of the treasurer to manage the associations
monetary assets including but not limited to the SGA budget and revenue account.
The treasurer will be responsible for coordinating all monetary
transactions and balances. He/she must become familiar with SGA procedures and attend
all required SGA meetings.
D.
Secretary: The secretary
will generally be present at all CSA meetings.
It is his/her responsibility to record and distribute the minutes of the
meeting. It will be the
responsibility of the secretary to maintain the association’s electronic
inbox, list-serve, and website. Just
in case the secretary requests not to maintain the website, the executive
committee may appoint another member or non member to maintain it.
The secretary will be the official correspondent of the CSA and is
generally responsible for communications with any other entity.
E.
Faculty Advisor(s): Faculty advisors are non-voting members of the
CSA, and are invited to attend all meetings and functions, though their
attendance is not required. They
are welcome and encouraged to provide guidance and support in all aspects of the
CSA, as this is their primary role. The
Student Government Association requires that faculty advisors not publicly
represent the CSA without explicit permission from the officers.
Finally the faculty advisors are encouraged to pray for the CSA and its
members in all their endeavors.
F.
Chaplain: The
chaplain’s main role is to guide, counsel and instruct the CSA officers in the
tradition of the Catholic Church. He
is encouraged to participate in any and all CSA sponsored events. His blessing
will be sought by the association and his counsel is to be considered by the
executives in CSA matters. The
chaplain is a non-voting member of the executive committee.
Article Four: The Relationship of
the CSA and the Catholic Center at UVM
The CSA and Catholic Center at UVM are both Catholic institutions and
should therefore have common goals as outlined by the Catholic Church.
The CSA should seek the blessing and support of the Catholic Center staff
in its endeavors and should maintain clear, open, and organized communications
with them. Both institutions are
encouraged to work closely in cooperation and collaboration to promote the
mission of the Church. The CSA is very fortunate and grateful to have the Catholic
Center and its staff as a resource. The
CSA gives its support to the ministries of the Catholic Center.
In requesting Catholic Center support for specific events, functions, and
fundraisers the CSA may be expected to fill out a simple “Who, what, when,
where, why” form to assist in maintaining clear, open, and organized
communications.
Article Five: Electronic Inbox,
List-Serves, and Website
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Electronic Inbox: The electronic inbox is CatholicStudents@uvm.edu,
and is the official email of the CSA. All
incoming e-mails will be automatically forwarded to the Chair, Vice Chair,
Treasurer, and Secretary. Only
the secretary will have access to the inbox (to prevent confusion regarding
what has been read and what has not been read).
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List-Serves:
There are two list serves for the CSA.
CatholicGroup@list.uvm.edu
has only the Executive Committee, Faculty Advisor(s), and the Catholic Center
staff as subscribers and each may “mail to the list.” The list is a convenient, official form of communication
between the Catholic Center staff, the Executive Committee, and the Faculty
Advisor(s).
CatholicStudents@list.uvm.edu
has the entire membership as subscribers, but only the Executive committee may
“mail to the list.” This list
is, in general, used for informing the general membership of events, functions,
and meetings. The general
membership must reply to CatholicStudents@uvm.edu,
as they cannot reply to the list.
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Website: The
website is a convenient way to publicize the CSA, its events and functions.
The website must be in accordance with the UVM Communications and
Information Technology codes. Normally
the website will be maintained by the secretary, however, the Executive
committee may appoint another member or non-member to maintain it.
In general, the website should be used to make announcements and
promotions. The CSA
constitution and By-Laws shall be posted on the website.
Article Six:
The CSA logo (below) may be used only by permission of the Executive
Committee. The logo has been
approved by SGA for print on correspondence, apparel, pens,
and other promotional distributions. The
logo may be printed on items for sale by the CSA for fundraising.
Items with the printed logo sold as fundraisers are not subject to UVM
royalties.
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