THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA SERBIAN STUDENT’S CLUB CONSTITUTION:
 
 

Amended October 25, 2002

Revised





Contents:
 
 

Preamble

Article One: Name of the Club

Article Two: Aims and Objectives of the Club

Article Three: Membership

Article Four: Finance

Article Five: Executives of the Club

Article Six: Meetings

Article Seven: Standing Committees

Article Eight: Elections

Article Nine: Publications

Article Ten: Amendment of the Constitution
 
 

Preamble
 
 

"We the members of this Club seek to promote Serbian culture at the University of Alberta, cultivate interest in Serbian heritage, and organize events that relate to Serbian culture in Serbia and diaspora."
 
 

Article One: Name of the Organization
 
 

This organization shall be known and addressed as the Serbian Cultural Club, whose acronym shall be SCC, hereafter referred to as the Club.
 
 

Article Two: Aims and Objectives of the Club
 

The aims and objectives of the Club are:
 

1. To unite Serbian students and other students who appreciate Serbian culture in an organization

2. To promote awareness of and involvement with Serbian life, culture and tradition at the University of Alberta and within the Edmonton community.

3. To provide a forum for Serbian students and all who are interested in Serbian culture to exchange ideas and share experiences.

4. To familiarize students of other nationalities with Serbian life, culture, and tradition.

5. To establish and maintain educational, cultural and information resources on Serbia for students, faculty and members of the community.

6. To provide recreational and social activities to supplement academic pursuits.
 
 

Article Three: Membership
 
 

1. Membership of the Club is open to all students, alumni and faculty of the University of Alberta, and to any persons within and outside the University who are interested in Serbia and ready to adhere to the aims and objectives of the Club.

2. Membership shall fall into the following categories:

A. Full Members: Persons who are listed on the membership list who are allowed to participate in all activities of the Club. Students of U of A must form at least 2/3 of the Full membership.
B. Honorary Members: Persons who are appointed into honorary positions, such as patrons and advisors.
C. Associate Members: Persons who are neither Full nor Honorary members but are permitted to participate in most activities of the Club.
3. Membership is open to everybody interested in Serbian culture, heritage, and tradition and willing to adhere to the aims of the club and it’s constitution.
4. A Full member is deemed to be in good standing if they are signed up on the membership list and remain steadfast to the objectives and activities of the Club.

5. Rights and privileges of Members:

A) All members may enjoy amenities provided by the Club and attend all its functions.

B) All members are eligible to nominate office bearers of the Club.

C) Only Full Members are eligible to be nominated as members of the Executive Council

D) Only Full members are entitled to vote at all General Meetings.
E) A member who knowingly violates any provisions of the Constitution or acts in a manner that puts the Club in disrepute may be subject to expulsion after due process of free and fair hearing by a disciplinary committee.
F) The erring member shall be duly informed of their offense and be allowed proper self defense through oral or written submissions.
G) Expelled members can appeal and such an appeal shall be heard by a disciplinary appeal committee whose decision shall be final.
H) All disciplinary committees instituted shall uphold the Constitution of the Club in their judgments and shall investigate and hear all reported aspects of breach of the Constitution or alleged misconduct.

I) In cases involving possible criminal offense (such as embezzlement of funds, assault) a disciplinary committee may avail itself of legal opinion.

J) No member shall present, verbally or in a written form, an opinion in the name of the Club, unless such presentation is approved by the 2/3 majority of the existing members.

6. Selection of Honorary Members:

Prospective Honorary members shall be nominated on the floor of general meetings and shall be approved by a simple majority of the members present and voting.
 
 

Article Four: Finance
 
 

1. The Club shall operate a bank account

2. The signatories of the Club's bank account shall be the Coordinator, the Vice-Coordinator, and the Treasurer.

3. Any two of the three signatories above can sign cheques to withdraw money from the Club’s bank account.

4. There shall be monthly financial statements and a comprehensive end-of- term report (i.e. end of tenure of office) submitted at the last general meeting of the year.

5. The Club’s account shall be audited once a year by a duly constituted auditing committee.

6. The Club shall generate its funds through the following means:

A. Membership fees: For the 2002-2003 school year, there are no membership fees.
B. Grants and gifts from educational institutions, governmental as well as non-governmental organizations and individuals.
C. Sale of food, Tshirts, books, pamphlets, stickers, and other materials during seminars and promotional sessions.
D. Fundraising activities.
7. Any Full Member of the Club shall have the right to audit the financial record of the Club at any time and shall have the right to publish his/her findings to all members of the Club.

 

Article Five: Executives of the Club
 
 

1. The Club’s administrative leadership shall rest with a five-member Executive Council elected at a general meeting at the beginning of each year. It shall alternatively be referred to as the Council. The Executive Council shall comprise the following offices:

A. Coordinator

B. Vice-Coordinator

C. Treasurer

D. Social Director

E. Communications Director

2. Selection of Executive

A. The executive shall be elected by the members in an election to be supervised by an Electoral Committee constituted at a general meeting.

B. Contestants who win the highest number of votes shall be deemed elected into office.

C. All Full Members who are in good standing shall qualify to contest for positions during elections.

D. Executive members shall be elected for a duration of one year and may stand for re-election.

E. In the event that a member of the Executive Council resigns, or is unable to perform his or her functions due to unforeseen circumstances, the Executive Council may appoint a member of the Club to temporarily fill in the position until a by-election could be held.
3. Duties and Powers of Executive
A. Coordinator
i. He or she is the head of the Club and as such should provide proper leadership and coordinate the activities of the Club.
ii. He or she shall preside over all Emergency Meetings and Council Meetings.

iii. He or she is a signatory to the Club’s bank account.

iv. He or she is the chief spokesperson of the Club.

v. He or she shall prepare an integrated Annual Report of all the Club’s activities and achievements.

B. Vice-Coordinator

i. He or she keeps records of the Club’s meetings and activities.

ii. He or she manages the Club’s secretariat.

iii. He or she prepares the agenda for every meeting and takes minutes at general meetings, and Coordinating Council meetings.

iv. He or she is a signatory to the Club’s bank account.

v. He or she shall act as the Coordinator in the absence of the Coordinator.

C. Treasurer

i. He or she shall keep records of all financial transactions of the Club.

ii. He or she is a signatory to the Club’s bank account.

iii. He or she is involved in the Club’s financial planning and budgeting.

iv. He or she shall provide monthly financial statements and a comprehensive financial report at the end of his or her term of office.

D. Social Director

i. He or she is responsible for coordinating social events

ii. He or she is the public relations person for the Club.

iii. He or she shall serve as a link between the Club, the University of Alberta constituencies, other educational institutions in Edmonton, governmental and non-governmental groups and the Edmonton community and beyond.

iv. He or she shall promote the Club and its activities.

v. He or she is the chief activist for promoting studies of Serbia at the University of Alberta, and beyond.

E. Communications Director
i. He or she is responsible for notifying the members of upcoming events through e-mail and phoning.
ii. He or she is responsible for taking in any suggestions or concerns from members and communicating those suggestions/concerns to the Coordinator or Vice-Coordinator.
iii. He or she shall keep a register of all members and of the Executive Council.
iv. He or she will coordinate the creating of the web-page and publications.

 

Article Six: Meetings
 
 

1. The Club shall hold the following meetings: Annual General Meeting, Regular Meetings, Coordinating Meetings, and Special or Emergency meetings.
2. The Annual General Meeting shall be held any time during the academic year.
3. Elections of the council executive shall take place at the Annual General Meeting.
4. Any Special or Emergency meetings may be called by the Coordinator of the Club with the approval of the Executive Council or upon request made in writing to the Vice-Coordinator and signed by not less than one quarter of the Full Members of the Club. Any such requisition shall specify the objective of the proposed meeting and no other matter shall be discussed thereafter without the consent of at least three-quarter of the Full Members present at the meeting. Any such meeting shall convene within fourteen days after receiving the request.
5. Regular meetings shall take place once a month.
6. Coordinating meetings, either involving committees and/or council shall take place when needed
7. Quorum:
At Any General Meeting one-half of the Full Members of the Club shall form a Quorum; the quorum shall include someone entitled to preside.
8. Occupying the Chair:
At any General or Coordinating Meeting of the Club, alternating members of the executive shall preside.

9. Notices and agenda of all meetings shall have been served at least five days in advance.

10. The proceedings of the General and Coordinating meetings of the Club shall be recorded by some member of the Executive appointed by the occupant of the chair.

11. Voting methods:

At any General or Executive Committee Meetings of the Club shall be made by ballot of a show of hands. All motions, except where amendments of the constitution are concerned, shall be carried through by a majority of votes cast (Abstainers not counted as votes.).

12. The official language used in all meetings shall be English. Any speeches in Serbian from the floor are acceptable and the Executive Committee shall provide translation into English. Whenever possible, English shall also be the official language in notices, circulars, memorandum, etc. distributed by the Club.
 
 

Article Seven: Standing Committees
 
 

1. There shall be standing and ad-hoc committees for the Club which shall be accountable to the Council and the general membership.

2. The following Standing Committees shall be constituted by the Coordinator in consultation with the Coordinating Council and approved at a general meeting:

A. Programs Committee

B. Public Relations Committee

3. There shall be ad hoc committees for specific assignments, e.g.:

A. Disciplinary Committee
B. Disciplinary Appeal Committee
C. Audit Committee
D. Special Events Committee

E. Electoral Committee

4. The term of office of Standing Committees shall be the same as for the Coordinating Council. However, ad hoc committees shall cease to exist after completing the specific duty assigned.

5. Every committee shall keep minutes of its meetings.

6. Each committee shall have a minimum of three members but not exceeding five members.
 
 

Article Eight: Elections
 
 

1. There shall be an independent Electoral Committee to be constituted at a general meeting.

2. The Electoral Committee shall appoint its own chairperson.

3. The Committee shall draw rules for the election in accordance with the provision of this Constitution, and make such rules known to members.

4. The Electoral Committee shall conduct election into offices in September of every year.

5. The Electoral Committee shall conduct by-elections when a position becomes vacant.

6. The Electoral Committee shall organize the handing over from the outgoing Council to the incoming one.

7. A vote by proxy shall be allowed provided a letter of intent is submitted to the Electoral Committee giving valid reasons for the member's absence prior to the voting.

8. Notwithstanding sub-section (7) above, if in the opinion of the chairperson of the Electoral Committee the member's absence could be excused due to a compassionate reason, a formal letter of intent may not be necessary.
 
 

Article Nine: Publications
 
 

1. The publications of the Club shall include a periodical and any other publications approved by the Executive Council.
2. The Editor of the periodical shall be elected from and by the Full Members of the Club.
3. The Executive Council had the right to suspend publication of the periodical for one issue if necessary should the majority opinion of the Executive Council be that the subject matter in the periodical is contrary to the taste, welfare, goodwill, and image of the Club.

 

Article Ten: Amendment of the Constitution
 
 

1. The Constitution is subject to amendment if such a move is supported by two thirds majority of the members present at a general meeting. Or two thirds of the entire membership of the Club, whenever a mailing method is utilized, i.e. e-mail or letters sent by post.

2. A proposal for amendment to the Constitution shall be submitted in writing and presented to members by a member of the executive

3. Notice of the proposal to amend the Constitution shall be given at least seven (7) days prior to the general meeting where such a proposal shall be part of the agenda.

4. The voting for an amendment shall be by secret ballot.

5. Any clause or section of the Constitution can be suspended only at a general meeting with a special motion made by a Full Member. Such a motion shall specifically address an emergency; it shall be duly discussed and carried by a two-thirds members present at the meeting.

6. The duration of suspension of a clause or section shall not proceed beyond the next general meeting unless it is duly proposed as an amendment and duly carried as per Article 10 sections 1, 2, 3, and 4.