Current MSA Constitution (Spring 2000)
Muslim Student Association at UTD Constitution
We, a group of Muslims at the University of Texas at Dallas have agreed to establish an organization to be known as Muslim Students Association, hereafter called the Association.
ARTICLE I
Aims and Purposes
SECTION 1.
The aim and purpose of the Association are as follows:
- Provide an atmosphere in which members can experience a sense of fellowship according to the best teachings of Islam.
- Arrange for guest speakers and scholars to address pertinent issues.
- Promote friendly relations between Muslims and non-Muslims.
- Endeavor to make Islamic teachings known to those who are interested.
ARTICLE II
Membership
A member shall be any student or faculty at UTD who has paid the required dues, if any (to be determined by the Executive Committee), and filled out a membership form, and agrees to accepted the general practices of the Association.
ARTICLE III
Office Bearers
SECTION 1.
The elected officers shall be President, Vice-President, General Secretary, Finance Secretary, Social Secretary, Publications Secretary, and Women's Affairs Coordinator.
SECTION 2.
The term of the Executive Committee shall be one year.
SECTION 3.
The President shall be responsible for:
- The general management of all the activities of the Association.
- Directing and coordinating of all the activities so as to achieve the purpose of the Association.
- Calling and presiding over meetings of the Executive Committee and the General Body.
- Forming various Special Task Committees with the approval of the Executive Committee.
- Controlling funds and expenses of the Association as defined in Section 4 of Article IV.
- Presenting written reports on the state of the Association to the annual meeting and in its newsletter.
- Being the spokesman, representative and correspondent for the Association in external activities.
- Establishing an efficient link between the association and the MSA of the U.S. and Canada by his active involvement.
- Suggesting available speakers and organizers from the members of the association to the MSA headquarters.
SECTION 4.
The Vice-President shall be responsible for:
- Carrying out the management of the activities in the chapter, in the absence of the President.
- Directing and coordinating the activities of the campus representatives.
- Assisting the President in accomplishing the purpose of the Association.
- Temporarily assuming the functions of the President when requested as such by him, or if the President is incapacitated. In the latter case, the Vice-President shall assume Presidency for the remaining period of the term.
SECTION 5.
The General Secretary shall be responsible for:
- Preparing, circulating within thirty days, and maintaining the minutes of all the Executive and General Body meetings.
- Preparing the agenda for the Executive Committee and General Body meetings and notifying the members of the Executive Committee and the General Body, respectively, of it.
- Maintaining the list of members and the volunteers for various functions of the Association.
- Directing and supervising the activities of the various Committees.
- Presiding over the Executive Committee meetings when both the President and the Vice-president are absent.
- Presenting at the beginning of every Executive Committee and General Body meeting the minutes of the previous meeting for approval by the Executive Committee/General Body.
- Posting on the bulletin board in the Mosque/Islamic Center a list of the members with their names, addresses and telephone numbers, and up-dating the list at least once in a period of three months.
SECTION 6.
The Finance Secretary shall be responsible for:
- Maintaining the record of all the financial transactions of the Association. He/she shall be responsible for systematic up-keep of books and writing disbursements, receipts, banking, reconciliations, and showing of increase of funds in statements to be made public.
- Collecting and depositing all the funds received on behalf of the Association.
- Countersigning all withdrawal checks on behalf of the Association in accordance with Article V, Section 7.
- Presenting before the Executive Committee a quarterly report on the status of the Association financial affairs, including in it anonymous donations and total donations received by the Association.
SECTION 7.
The Social Secretary shall be responsible for:
- Directing and supervising all arrangements for celebration of religious festivals and social programs such as picnics, dinners, lectures on Islamic topics, etc.
- Informing the members about the time, place and details of the festivals and social events through the Publication Secretary.
SECTION 8.
The Publications Secretary shall be responsible for:
- Preparing circulars, bulletins and newsletters and presenting them before the Executive Committee for its approval.
- Circulating the Association's publications with the help of the campus representatives, if any.
- Editing and publishing literature on behalf of the Association.
- Sending a copy of each major publication to the MSA headquarters.
SECTION 9.
The Women's Coordinator shall be responsible for:
- Acting as a liaison between the Executive Committee and the female members of the Association.
- Arranging lectures and educational programs aimed at addressing issues of special concern to women.
SECTION 10.
The decision on each and every matter in the Executive Committee meeting shall be reached in a parliamentary way, with each member of the Executive Committee present in meeting voting on the matter. The President may exercise veto against simple majority. However, 2/3 majority of the members present, not counting the President or the member presiding in his absence shall override any presidential veto. The President, or the member presiding in his absence, shall not vote in any election nor shall his vote be counted. The members not attending the meeting shall not be able to vote on any issue.
SECTION 11.
The Executive Committee may invite past Executive Committee member(s) and/or any other member(s) to an Executive Committee meeting in order to know the history of the past decisions and/or to seek their views on the items on the agenda of the meeting. However, none of the invitees shall have the right to vote on any Executive Committee decision.
ARTICLE IV
Finances
SECTION 1.
Membership dues shall be determined by the Executive Committee. Association dues may be different for earning and non-earning members. The dues may also be omitted altogether based on the decision of the Executive Committee.
SECTION 2.
Annual membership dues shall not be increased more than 25% (twenty-five percent) in any year without the approval by the majority of the members.
SECTION 3.
Any member whose dues are three months or more in arrears after the beginning of the fiscal year shall lose all membership privileges. Furthermore, in order to vote in the elections the member shall have paid his/her dues before the election. Privileges cannot be forfeited unless the member has been notified in writing 10 days in advance regarding his/her failure to pay the dues and the possible effects thereof if not cleared in 10 days.
SECTION 4.
Withdrawal of Funds:
All check withdrawals from the Expense Account shall be signed by the Finance Secretary or the President or the Vice-President in the absence of the President.
SECTION 5.
Authorization of Expenditures:
The President shall not authorize expenditure of more than $50.00 on a single expense without the approval of the Executive Committee; nor shall he authorize total expenses of more than that amount without the prior approval of the Executive Committee.
SECTION 6.
The Executive Committee shall nominate as auditors for the following fiscal year, two members who shall not run for posts in the Executive Committee or the Board of Trustees for the year and who have basic knowledge and understanding of accounting and audit procedures. The auditors shall audit the Association accounts continuously and submit a quarterly report to the appropriate Committees and present a final report to the General Body.
ARTICLE V
Special Task Committees
SECTION 1.
The General Body of the Association, during a General Body meeting and/or the executive Committee at any other time may appoint a Special Task Committee in order to carry out an assignment. The tenure of these Committees may vary from a fraction of an hour to more than a year, depending upon the nature of the assignment.
The assignment given to the Special Task Committee shall be precisely defined in a memorandum from the Executive Committee to the Special Task Committee. The limit on the expenditure, if any, that may be incurred in carrying out the assignment, shall be specified in the memorandum.
SECTION 2.
The Chairperson of the Committee shall be elected by the Committee and shall call, preside over, and adjourn the Committee meetings and plan and conduct the Committee's work.
SECTION 3.
No person shall be the Chairperson of more than two Special Task Committees at the same time.
SECTION 4.
The Committee shall be allowed to continue its work uninterrupted by anybody till it completes the assignment for which it was formed. Only the President of the Association or Chairperson of the Committee shall dismiss the Committee after the assignment has been accomplished and he/she has submitted to the President a report to that effect.
SECTION 5.
The recommendations of the Committee shall be honored and carried out unless a simple majority of the members present in a General Body meeting-called to discuss the votes for any change(s).
SECTION 6.
None of the Committees shall be open. They shall have a fixed number of members.
SECTION 7.
None of the Committees shall bypass the Executive Committee in calling General Body meetings.
ARTICLE VI
Meetings
SECTION 1.
The Association shall have at least one General Body meeting during the year.
SECTION 2.
An emergency meeting of the Executive Committee may be called by a petition signed by 10 or 10% (ten or ten percent) of all members, whichever is larger. Such a meeting shall be held within a week after the written petition is presented to the President.
SECTION 3.
The Executive Committee shall meet at least once every month at such a time and place as is most convenient and suitable to most of the Committee members.
SECTION 4.
The President may call Executive Committee meetings in addition to the regular monthly meetings whenever he considers it necessary.
SECTION 5.
Written or printed notice of a General Body meeting shall be mailed to all the members of the Association at least two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.
SECTION 6.
An emergency Executive Committee meeting may be called at the request of at least 1/3 of the Executive Committee members. Such a meeting shall be held within one week after the written request is made to the President.
SECTION 7.
The presence of one-half of the members of the Executive Committee members shall constitute a quorum for an Executive Committee meeting. Otherwise, the decisions of a Committee with less than half of the members will be non-binding unless there is no objection about the decisions reached in the next meeting of more than half.
ARTICLE VII
Amendments
SECTION 1.
An affirmative vote by 2/3 of the members present shall be necessary for the adoption of all amendments.
SECTION 2.
If 50% (fifty percent) of members are not present in a General Body meeting called for voting on the proposed amendment(s), another General Body meeting shall be called for the same purpose within four weeks after the meeting, in which the quorum requirement as stated in Section 3., of this Article shall be waived and the proposed amendment(s) shall be discussed and adopted by a 2/3 majority of the members present.
ARTICLE VIII
Elections
SECTION 1.
Annual elections shall be held at the end of the spring session in order to elect the Executive Committee for the following year.
SECTION 2.
The elections shall be conducted by an Election Committee of three persons nominated by the Executive Committee and approved by the General Body.
SECTION 3.
The nomination for the elections must reach the Elections Committee two hours before the specified time for election.
SECTION 4.
The nominators as well as the seconders of the nominations shall be members of the Association.
SECTION 5.
The nominee for each post shall be a member who has not been holding the same post for two consecutive terms including the current year. The nominee for Women's Affairs Coordinator shall be a female member.
SECTION 6.
A member who is not active by having attended at least two MSA functions and who was not a member of the Association in the previous year (except for those who are members of the Association in its first year) shall have no right to vote in the election.
SECTION 7.
The election officers shall not campaign in favor of or against any candidate from two hours before the election till the end of the election.
SECTION 8.
All the election officers shall have the right to vote as members.
ARTICLE IX
Miscellaneous
SECTION 1.
The Association shall be registered as a Non-Profit, Religious Organization in the State of Texas. It shall be the responsibility of the General Secretary to do all the necessary paper work in order to keep the registration active.
SECTION 2.
An Executive Committee member other than the President who has failed to attend, three consecutive Executive Committee meetings without being excused by the President prior to the meetings, shall be asked to give his/her explanation for the absence in writing. If he/she fails to do. so or if his/her explanation is not satisfactory to the Executive Committee, the latter shall consider his/her dismissal from the post he/she is holding. The Executive Committee shall grant him/her a hearing so as to enable him/her to defend his/her explanation for absences. If he/she refuses to appear before the Executive Committee within a period of two weeks, the Executive Committee shall decide an action based on the situation at hand.
The President shall give to the Executive Committee his/her reasons for his/her failure to attend Executive Committee meetings. If the Committee does not find his/her explanation for having missed three consecutive meetings to be satisfactory, the Vice-President shall recommend his/her dismissal from office. The Executive Committee shall grant him/her a hearing so as to enable him/her to defend his/her explanation for the absences.
SECTION 3.
In case of ambiguity regarding the interpretation of any sections of the constitution or possible conflict between two or more sections, the interpretation of the Executive Committee should deliberate to clarify such ambiguities.
SECTION 4.
If a member of the Executive Committee resigns or moves away from the area or is dismissed, the Executive Committee shall co-opt a member to fill the vacated office.
ARTICLE X
Constitution Adoption and Enforcement
SECTION 1.
The Constitution shall be adopted and in force, effective immediately after it has been signed by a simple majority of the total members on the roll of the Association.
SECTION 2.
Registration in the State Texas, opening the accounts, and implementation of other matters as required by the constitution shall be accomplished within three months after the constitution has been adopted.
ARTICLE XI
Dissolution
If a situation arises which makes the dissolution of the Association inevitable, the Board of Trustees shall call upon the MSA of the U.S. and Canada to handle the process of dissolution with the assistance of the Board of Trustees. Any assets left after meeting all liabilities shall be transferred to the Muslim Students' Association of the U.S. and Canada.
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