Group Constitutions
Black Sisters of Barnard and Columbia
Constitution

Article I. Name

Section 1. The name of this organization shall be officially acknowledged as the Black Sisters of Barnard and Columbia, hereafter referred to as BSBC.

Article II. Purpose

Section 1. The purpose of BSBC shall be to raise the collective consciousness of women of color throughout the campus community by 1). creating educational and cultural activities for the campus community pertaining to women of color, and 2). establishing and continuing the Celebration of Black Womanhood Week which will be considered the primary annual cultural even of BSBC. The celebration fund will be petitioned independently of the BSBC annual budget and appropriated by the Student Government Association of Barnard College

Article III. Membership Criteria

Section 1. Membership shall be open to all female students of Columbia University.

Section 2. Requirement of active membership shall be attendance at three-fourths (3/4) of meetings annually.

Article IV. Officers

Section 1. The Executive Board shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Recording Secretary, a Corresponding Secretary, a Treasurer, a Social Chair, a Celebration chair, a Librarian, and an Educational/Political Chair.

Section 1a. The President shall represent the organization and articulate and oversee the position and policies of BSBC. She shall also oversee the progress of all committee meetings.

Section 1b. The Vice-President shall be responsible for correspondence with campus and external organizations, as well as alumnae. She will also represent BSBC at the Committee on Race, Religion, Identity, and Ethnicity, (CORRIE), and the United Students of Color Council meetings.

Section 1c. The Recording Secretary shall be responsible for recording the minutes of all BSBC meetings and ensuring that they are properly typed and filed in the Zora Neale Hurston Lounge. She shall also be responsible for managing the Zora Neale Hurston Lounge and maintaining the organization's stationary supplies.

Section 1d. The Corresponding Secretary shall be responsible for forwarding phone messages to the general body and representatives of other organizations. She shall also maintain an updated list of BSBC alumnae and assist with all mass mailings to both alumnae and incoming first year students. The corresponding secretary shall also attend to all BSBC mail and maintain the office phone mail.

Section 1e. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the financial bookkeeping of BSBC and all financial transactions of BSBC. All monetary measures shall and must be reported to the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall also report to Barnard's Student Government Association (SGA) and SGA's treasurer on a regular monthly basis. The Treasurer shall also present monthly reports to the Executive Board.

Section 1f. The Social Chair shall be responsible for all cultural activities of BSBC. She shall also coordinate the social committee responsible for planning the annual BSBC Welcome Tea for first year and new students, planning the Senior Dinner, and planning an annual alumnae event.

Section 1g. The Celebration Chair shall be responsible for planning activities and petitioning funds for the Celebration Week. A proposal of events and funding must be presented before the Executive Board. The Celebration Chair shall also oversee a Celebration Committee and assign duties to the members on the committee.

Section 1h. The Librarian shall maintain and update the Zora Neale Hurston Memorial Library. She will also be responsible for collecting and securing the Contractual Agreements for use of the Zora Neale Hurston Lounge. Request for donations of books from various publishers shall only come from the Librarian. Section II. The Educational/Political Chair shall be responsible for keeping BSBC informed of past, present, and future political developments and educational opportunities and resources pertinent to women of color.

Article V. Voting and Election Procedures

Section 1. Each General Body and Executive Board member of BSBC shall receive only one (I) vote in elections.

Section 2. Decisions for BSBC are only to be made by the Executive Board of BSBC but are subject to the approval of the General Body.

Section 3. Two-thirds (2/3) of the Executive Board must be Barnard College Students for the sole purpose of maintaining the historical establishment of the organization at Barnard College.

Section 4. All officers must be active members nominated and elected by active members of BSBC at a General Body meeting.

Section 5. Nomination for office on the Executive Board must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the election date which shall be the first General Body meeting in April.

Section 6. Nominations for the position of President must go to individuals who have held previous office on the executive board of a BC or CU recognized club or organization

Article VI. Maintaining Office in the Executive Board

Section 1. An officer may only hold one elected position in BSBC per school year.

Section 2. Officers must attend three-fourths (3/4) of the BSBC General Body meetings and three-fourths (3/4) of the Executive Board meetings.

Section 3. Officers who remain absent from the required percentage of Executive Board meetings shall submit a written resignation.

Article VII. Removal of Officers

Section 1. If an officer does not fulfill her duties, as stated as officer responsibilities in Article IV and in Article VI, Sections 1,2, and 3, or fails to uphold the Constitution of BSBC, she is subject to impeachment.

Section 1a. Formal motions of impeachment of an officer must be made at a BSBC Executive Board Meeting.

Section 1b. A motion for impeachment against any member of the Executive Board must be motioned and supported by at least five Executive Board members who will state and support in writing the reasons for such motion before the General Body.

Section 1c. The officers moving to impeach and the officer being impeached shall present their respective arguments and cases before the general membership.

Section 1d. After discussion, the General Body shall then vote on the motion. In order for the motion to be passed: 1) the Executive Board must be notified, and 2) a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the General Body is required.

Section 2. Vacancies must be filled by application, which must be in the form of an essay stating intent and commitment. To fill a vacancy for President, the individual must have previous experience on the Executive Board of a BC or CU recognized club or organization.

Section 3. Officers voluntarily resigning must submit a written resignation at least two weeks before the end of their officership.

Article VIII. Meetings

Section 1. General Body meetings shall be held weekly.

Section 2. All BSBC meetings, General Body and Executive Board, shall be held in the Zora Neale Hurston Lounge with the exception of planned and scheduled events.

Section 3. All BSBC meetings, General Body and Executive Board, shall be announced at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to each meeting with the exception of emergency meetings to be called by the President.

Section 3a. In order for a General Body member or Executive Board Member to call and emergency meeting, the President shall be immediately notified and shall approve such meeting.

Section 4. Executive Board meetings shall be held weekly.

Section 5. The Executive Board must meet with BSBC's Club Advisor at least once monthly.

Article IX. Amendments

Section 1. Amendments to the Constitution can be proposed only at BSBC Executive Board meetings.

Section 2. Amendments will be voted on by the General Body and require a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote for passage.

Section 3. The Constitution shall be submitted for ratification annually. Ratification will be by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the General Body present at election time.




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