CONSTITUTION OF THE FILIPINO STUDENT ASSOCIATION
The Filipino Student Association
At the University of Florida
300-5 JWRU
Gainesville, FL 32611

ARTICLE I – NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Filipino Student Association at the University of Florida, and hereafter may be referred to as “FSA”.

ARTICLE II – PURPOSE
The purposes of this organization are:

1. To promote the culture, heritage, and unity of Filipino peoples.
2. To promote the values of family, excellence, passion, and experience.
3. To promote the welfare of its members.
4. To enhance interaction between members and other students, faculty, and staff of the University of Florida.
5. To provide a social atmosphere for all FSA members.
6. To sponsor activities in line with the purposes stated above.

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. The membership shall consist of four types:

1. Active – Must be a UF student and fulfill requirements of active membership. Active membership is defined as attending one half of the general body meetings in one academic year.
2. Non-Active – Must be a UF student that has attended less than half of the meetings in one academic year.
3. Associate – Open to faculty, staff, and student spouses of active members except that they may not hold office.
4. Honorary – May be conferred upon an individual provided he or she show a desired interest shared by the members of FSA and is chosen by the executive board for such honor. Such a member is entitled to the same privileges as an associate member.

Section 2. Member Suspension
Any member that is involved in any action(s) which are not beneficial and are deemed destructive to the purposes of this organization may have his/her FSA membership suspended for an indefinite period of time by recommendation of the executive board and two-thirds vote of the membership. A member on suspension forfeits all rights and privileges entitled to FSA members.
Any member placed on suspension may petition, the semester following the suspension, to the executive board to have his/her membership reinstated for a probationary period of time stated by the executive board.

ARTICLE IV – NON-DISCRIMINATION
The Filipino Student Association is open to everyone who is interested in the culture and heritage of Filipino peoples. No one shall be discriminated on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, age, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation. Any such discrimination shall not be tolerated.

ARTICLE V – THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

1. The executive board shall consist of the elected officers.
2. The executive board shall handle the regular business of the organization.
3. Regular meetings of the executive board shall be held prior to each general meeting.
4. A quorum for conducting the business of the executive board shall be one more than half of the members of the board empowered to vote. Only elected officers are empowered to vote.
5. Each outgoing board must pay off all unpaid bills and obligations incurred during its elected term, and shall leave sufficient funds to sustain initial programming for the incoming executive board.

ARTICLE VI – OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIR POSITIONS
Section 1. There shall be the following elected officers:

1. President
2. Executive Vice President
3. Vice President of Finance
4. Vice President of Internal Affairs
5. Vice President of Cultural Affairs
6. Vice President of Mass Communications
7. Vice Presidents of Membership
8. Vice President of Multimedia
9. Asian American Student Union Representative

Section 2. Removal of Office
An officer who does not comply with assigned responsibilities may be relieved of office by a two-thirds vote of the executive board. Appointment of a replacement shall be made by the President with a two-thirds approval of the executive board.

Section 3. Chair Position Appointments
The Executive Vice President may appoint chair positions immediately after installation. Appointments must be approved by majority vote of the executive board. Ad hoc chair positions may be created upon a majority vote of the executive board, to best carry out the purposes of the organization. This chair position is terminated upon the completion of its intended purpose.

1. Achievement
2. Culture
3. Dance
4. Historian
5. Multimedia
6. Rush/Recruitment
7. Semi-Formal
8. Formal
9. Sports

Section 4. Faculty Advisor
The advisor shall be a member of the University of Florida’s faculty or staff. It is the role of the advisor to give any help or input towards achieving the goals of this organization. The advisor shall be chosen by majority vote of the executive board prior to the academic school year and may maintain this position for an indefinite period of time. Should the advisor step down from this position or is not fulfilling his/her duties, then a new advisor may be chosen by majority vote of the executive board.

ARTICLE VII – ELECTIONS
Section 1. Elections Committee

1. An elections committee of three members shall be appointed by the VP of Internal Affairs to conduct the elections with approval by two thirds vote of the executive board.
2. The elections committee shall consist of current or previously elected officers who have forfeited their right to run for an office.
3. The elections committee shall conduct all voting procedures as detailed in Article VII, Section 3.

Section 2. General Elections Details

1. Only active members are eligible to run for office.
2. A member must attend at least one-half of all general body meetings held during the year to vote.
3. All voting members shall each have one vote.
4. Members must be present to cast their vote. There shall no voting by proxy.
5. Elections shall take place during the month of April of each year.
6. Elections shall be by secret ballot.
7. In order to run for the position of President, the candidate must have held a previous executive board position.

Section 3. Elections and Voting Procedures

1. Ask for nominations for each elected office.
2. Create a list of all nominated members running for an elected position for all members to see. Afterwards, all candidates will be asked to leave the room.
3. Create a discussion and debate atmosphere by asking the voting members for questions to ask each candidate.
   1. All candidates will have the same question asked of them. No deviations from the pre-determined set of questions can occur.
   2. The outgoing officer of each position must create a question to ask the candidates of their position.
4. Each candidate will come in one-by-one to state their case with a pre-determined amount of time set by the elections committee.
5. After each candidate, a pro and con session will occur where members can state their opinions about the candidates.
   1. There must be one pro for every con.
   2. The elections process cannot continue forward if there is not a pro for every con.
   3. There must be at least one set of pro and con.
6. After all candidates have given their speeches, the elections committee will give the voting members a re-cap each candidate’s pro and cons.
   1. An optional discussion amongst all candidates can occur necessary.
7. Hand out ballots.
8. Collect the ballots after the voting process.
9. Count all the ballots and announce the newly elected officers.
10. Once the voting procedures begin, all voting members present shall be accounted for. Should the numbers of votes cast exceed the number of voting members present, then the election is void and the procedures shall start over. Members are elected by a majority vote. In the event of a tie, the voting procedure will repeat between the nominees in question. A recount may be requested by any voting member of FSA.

Section 4. Voting Methods

1. When voting for an office position, eligible voting members vote in one of three ways:
   1. voting for one of the candidates
   2. submitting a vote of no confidence
      1. A vote of no confidence indicates that the member is not confident in any of the candidate(s) for the position and would rather have the position vacated
      2. In the event of a vacated position, refer to Section 7.
   3. abstaining for voting
      1. To abstain from voting indicates that the member is impartial to the candidates and would rather have their vote go to the majority vote.
2. In the event of a tie:
   1. members will re-cast their vote again until a majority vote is obtained.
3. In the event of a non-majority vote:
   1. a run-off between candidates must occur;
   2. the elections committee will convene to determine who are the candidates in the run-off.
4. A “motion to acclimate”
   1. can only occur after the pros and cons session for a candidate if they are running unopposed;
   2. this motion must be seconded and unopposed;
   3. this grants the candidate the position without going into voting procedures.

Section 5. Term of Office
Officers shall be elected for a term of one academic school year to serve from the summer following the elections until the following spring semester. Officers may not serve more than two years in the same office.

Section 6. Transition of Administration
There shall be a meeting of the executive boards immediately following installation. It should include the outgoing and incoming officers. All new business and files are turned over to the newly installed President, who then becomes the presiding officer. All old business must be taken care of prior to the transition by the past President.

Section 7. Vacancies
In the event of the vacancy of an office, a replacement officer shall be appointed by the President with a two-thirds approval of the executive board. This applies to all offices except the office of the President. The Executive Vice President shall take over for an absent President and appoint a replacement Executive Vice President with a two-thirds approval of the board.

ARTICLE VIII – DUTIES OF ELECTED OFFICERS
Section 1. The President shall

1. preside at all meetings of the executive board, general meetings of the organization, and at any special meetings;
2. sign all contracts with the Vice President of Finance after approval of the executive board;
3. serve as an ex-officio member of all committees;
4. call a special meeting when it is necessary;
5. supervise the other officers of the Executive Board;
6. continue any unfinished work from the other officers or chair positions;
7. serve as a liaison to Student Government.

Section 2. The Executive Vice President shall

1. fulfill the duties of the President when absent;
2. be responsible for the week to week operations;
3. appoint and manage the chair positions;
4. oversee and maintain the records of FSA activities.

Section 3. The Vice President of Finance shall

1. have charge and custody of, and be responsible for, all funds and securities of FSA;
2. sign all contracts with the President after approval of the executive board;
3. receive, and give receipt for, monies due and payable to FSA from any source whatsoever;
4. disburse the funds of FSA as may be directed by the executive board, keeping receipts for such disbursements;
5. keep and maintain adequate and correct accounts of FSA’s properties and business transactions, including assets, liabilities, receipts, disbursements, gains, and losses;
6. coordinate and be responsible for the annual Woodser;
7. represent FSA in related budget hearings.

Section 4. The Vice President of Internal Affairs shall

1. coordinate and be responsible for the Annual Def Talent Jam.
2. be the presiding officer and head committee chair during elections;
3. be responsible for Parliamentary procedures;
4. ensure the conformity to the FSA constitution;
5. be responsible for the attendance records at meetings and events;

Section 5. The Vice President of Cultural Affairs shall:

1. promote the culture of Filipino peoples throughout the community and campus events;
2. coordinate and be responsible for Filipino-American History Month;
3. coordinate and be responsible for the annual Barrio Fiesta;
4. coordinate a cultural presentation prepared for each meeting;
5. oversee the Culture Chair(s).

Section 6. The Vice President of Mass Communications shall

1. record and communicate to the executive board the minutes of all its meetings;
2. handle the correspondence of the organization;
3. keep membership records including the names and addresses of all current members;
4. be custodian of the seal of FSA and affix the seal to duly executed documents of FSA;
5. produce the Barkada newsletter for every general body meeting.

Section 7. The Vice Presidents of Membership shall

1. be responsible for the recruitment and retainment of members throughout the semester;
2. plan events, meetings, and socials in order to retain new members and integrate them into the rest of the membership;
3. assign new members with returning members;
4. coordinate and be responsible for Ate/Kuya/Ading Week and Reverse Ate/Kuya/Ading Week;
5. plan the Icebreaker for each general body meeting;
6. oversee Rush/Recruitment Chair(s).

Section 8. The Vice President of Multimedia shall:

1. keep a record of and be responsible for all FSA memorabilia;
2. produce videos for meetings, events, etc.
3. oversee the Historian and Multimedia Chair(s).

Section 9. The Asian American Student Representative shall:

1. act as a liaison to the Asian American Student Union (AASU);
2. attend AASU Meetings and inform executive officers and members at general body meetings of current AASU events;
3. promote the relationship between FSA and AASU sub-organizations.

ARTICLE IX – MEETINGS

1. There shall be at least ten general body meetings during the academic school year of the fall and spring. Notice of such meetings shall be given at least one day before the meeting.
2. Special meetings may be called by the President or the executive board. Upon written notice by 30 members, the President shall call a meeting. Notice of special meetings shall be at least 3 days in advance.
3. Two thirds (2/3) vote of the entire membership present is required for FSA to take action upon any issue.

ARTICLE X – FINANCES
Section 1. General Funds

1. Activities may be financed by existing Student Government funds, fundraising activities, and donations.
2. If there exists an ongoing liability that extends past the elected term, the outgoing executive board must inform the incoming executive board of its existence.

Section 2. External Funds

1. External funds may be used for the designated purpose only and must be kept in a separate account.

ARTICLE XI – FSA AND THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
The Filipino Student Association shall adhere to the Student Guide and the other laws, rules, and regulations governing the University of Florida and its students. Hazing of any form is not permitted, nor will it be tolerated in FSA.

ARTICLE XII – AMENDMENTS
Section 1. The bylaws may be amended or revised by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of all voting members present at a meeting designed for that purpose.

Section 2. Proposed amendments must be provided to the student organization in method at the discretion of the executive board for at least three weeks for the members to discuss amongst themselves.

Section 3. During the meeting for such a vote, the proposed amendment(s) shall be announced, discussed, and then voted upon. After two years, an amendment written into the bylaws may be inserted in the Constitution by amendment.

AMENDMENTS

ARTICLE I – Membership And FSA Freshmen Involvement Alliance (MAFFIA)
Section 1. The Executive Vice President shall oversee MAFFIA. These responsibilities include:

1. creating rotational and final groups among Culture, Mass Communications, and Multimedia;
2. coordinating MAFFIA meetings and exiting ceremony;
3. ensuring efficient execution of the program as a whole.

Section 2. Vice Presidents of Culture, Mass Communications, and Multimedia responsibilities include overseeing Culture, Mass Communications, and Multimedia MAFFIA groups during the rotational and final groups.

ARTICLE II- Reassignment of Chair Positions
Section 1. Article 8, Section 2C will be removed from Executive Vice President Responsibilities.

Section 2. Achievement, Semi-Formal, and Formal Chair positions report directly to the VP of Finance.

Section 3. Culture Chair(s) report directly to the VP of Culture.

Section 4. Multimedia and Historian Chairs report directly to the VP of Multimedia.

Section 5. Rush/Recruitment Chairs report directly to the VPs of Membership.

Section 6. Dance and Sports Chairs report directly to the Executive Vice President.

Section 7. Ad hoc chair positions will report to the appropriate executive board member.

Rewritten by the Executive Board of 2010-2011
Joshua “Josh” Vasquez
Sherwin Rivera
Mae “Mawi” Mercado
Jenna Timtiman
Theodore “Theo” Urbano
Camille Mallari
Jeremiah Adriano
Kulnipa “Annie” Unanan
Brea Alotaya
Samantha “Sam” Caballero