FELLOWSHIP OF FAITHS AND CULTURES

CONSTITUTION

PREAMBLE

We, the Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures club, propose to establish a non-profit, educational, cultural, interfaith, and creative organization.

ARTICLE I - NAME

The name of this organization shall be: Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures.

ARTICLE II - OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this organization shall be:

1. to promote dialog among faiths.
2. to provide fellowship among different cultures and communities.
3. to provide opportunities for people to better understand beliefs of one another.
4. to gather students and faculty members of the community within a diverse interest.
5. to promote friendship, cooperation, and understanding of various student groups and organizations of the university,
6. to deal with issues related to students in general,
7. to facilitate communication between various communities and student associations nationwide.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

1. Membership in this association shall not be based on race, handicap, age, religion, political opinion, sexual orientation, national origin, and color.
2. Active membership shall be limited to persons officially connected with the University as students. The following requirements are necessary to constitute active membership:
1. enrollment for at least one (1) semester hour of university credit at ASU,
2. payment in full of financial obligations as determined by current Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures board.
3. Membership shall be renewed and reviewed at the beginning of each Fall semester.
4. Only active members of the FFC club have the right to vote.

ARTICLE IV & V - OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

All officers shall be elected among the active members. Term for office shall be two years. The officers of the association shall be: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Public Relations Officer. An individual may run for the office maximum of three consecutive terms.

THE PRESIDENT;

1. shall preside over at least 75% of the Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures Board meetings.
2. shall be responsible for the implementation of all the decisions made by Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures Board.
3. shall call all meetings.
4. shall counter-sign all checks issued in connection with expenses incurred on behalf of the association.
5. shall appoint other officers to represent the association.
6. shall hold the meetings according to the procedures as described in this constitution.
7. shall construct committees for a specific Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures activity.

THE VICE PRESIDENT;

1. shall be present in at least 75% of the Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures Board meetings.
2. shall have all the president's rights and responsibilities in the absence of the president. In case where the president cannot attend, the vice president has the authority to select an acting president for the meeting or planned activities.
3. shall be actively involved in various ad-hoc committees throughout his/her term.
4. shall be involved in budget proposals, and attend the related hearings at ASASU with the treasurer.

THE SECRETARY;

1. shall be present in at least 75% of the Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures Board meetings.
2. shall inform members of all functions and meetings of the association.
3. shall maintain the records of the association, including minutes of all meetings, association activities, and membership list.
4. shall report minutes of all meetings to members.
5. shall handle all new membership applications.

THE TREASURER;

1. shall be present in at least 75% of the Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures.
2. shall keep an up-dated record of the accounts of the association and display this at all meetings.
3. shall collect funds and contributions for the association.
4. shall counter-sign all checks issued in connection with expenses incurred on behalf of the association.
5. shall prepare budget proposals and attend the hearing at ASASU with the vice president.
6. shall be responsible for all IRS correspondence.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER;

1. shall be present in at least 75% of the Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures Board meetings.
2. shall promote membership
3. shall facilitate communication with other organizations
4. shall be responsible for maintenance of the web page and the list server.
5. shall follow the media for the Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures.
6. shall initiate social, interfaith and cultural activities.

ARTICLE VI - ELECTIONS

VOTING ELIGIBILITY

Those members meeting all requirements of active membership as set forth in Article III will be granted voting privileges. Those who are enrolled for at least (1) credit hour at ASU, and paid their membership fee in full are eligible to run for the officer position.

ELECTION PROCESS

1. Election shall be announced two (2) weeks in advance, and the active candidates shall be determined prior to the elections.
2. All officers shall be elected by a 2/3 majority vote of those voting. If the required vote can not be reached, the election will be repeated every other week until the position is filled. For each position, only those two candidates with the highest votes in the first election will be eligible for the candidacy.
3. President shall take nominations from the floor, the nomination process must be closed and the movement seconded. The nominated parties will be allowed to vote.
4. Voting shall be done by closed ballot to be collected and tabulated by the Secretary and one active member of Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures club appointed by the outgoing President.
5. If an active member cannot physically participate in voting, s/he shall submit his/her vote to any of the members by using any written form of communication.
6. If an officer leaves his/her position, an election will be announced in the immediate Board meeting. The same election process listed above shall be pursued. If the removed officer is the president, then the vice president will take over the duties.
7. All the elections will be held on a year basis.
8. Election shall take place anytime in the Spring semester.

REMOVAL

Any officer and member of the Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures in violation of the association's objectives or constitution may be removed from the office and/or membership by the following process:

1. A written request by at least three active members of the Organization shall be presented to the Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures Board.
2. The Board shall provide a written statement to the active members regarding the case, within one (1) week of notification.
3. Hearing will take place during the Board meeting.
4. A 2/3 majority vote of those voting is necessary to remove an officer or a member.

ARTICLE VII- MEETINGS

All Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures Board meetings shall occur on a monthly basis at a time selected by the Board, and will follow the procedures set forth below.

1. Attendance
2. Report by the president
3. Committee reports
4. Vote on all committee motions and decisions
5. Any other business put forward by the Board members.
6. Dismissal by president

The Secretary will announce the agenda of the meetings at least one day in advance.
Board meetings shall be open to everybody.

ARTICLE VIII- FACULTY ADVISOR

There shall be one faculty/staff advisor with no voting privileges.
The Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures Club Board shall choose the faculty/ staff advisor.
His/her duty is to express his/her opinions and suggestions on current issues.

ARTICLE IX- AMENDMENTS

The constitution is binding to all members of Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures; however the constitution is not binding unto itself.
Following is the process for amendments;

1. Amendments to the constitution may be proposed in writing by any active member of the Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures.
2. Amendment proposals shall be presented at a Fellowship of Faiths and Cultures Board meeting.
3. These amendments will be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.
4. Following the board's decision, voting may be carried out over e-mail.
5. This constitution and by-laws may be amended by a 2/3 majority vote of those voting.
6. Voting on amendments must be conducted after a minimum notice of two weeks.

BY-LAWS

1. MEETINGS: Meetings shall occur on a monthly basis on Sundays at MU.
2. OFFICERS: All of the duties of officers are covered in the Constitution.
3. COMMITTEES: Committees will be finalized after the club has been established.
   The proposed committees are: Cultural, field trip, public events, inter-belief programs committee...etc.
4. FINANCIAL: There shall be $5 member fee annually. Thereafter, fund raising programs shall be organized. A bank account for FFC Club shall be opened.
5. ELECTIONS: All steps for the election rules and procedures are clearly mentioned in the Constitution.
6. AMENDMENT OF BY-LAWS:
   1. Amendments to the By-laws may be proposed at the regular board meetings by any active members of the FFC Club.
   2. By-laws may be amended by a 2/3 majority vote of those voting.