Constitution

CSSA Constitution

ARTICLE I: NAME

Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA).


ARTICLE II: MISSION

CSSA is an independent, non-political, non-profit organization of the Chinese Students and Scholars (CSS), by the CSS, and for the CSS. Our goals are to assist Chinese students and scholars at Washington University and share the Chinese culture with the entire university.


ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP

Membership of the CSSA shall be open to all students and scholars who are currently enrolled in Washington University in St. Louis. Membership of the CSSA is automatically approved upon request by any interested Chinese student/scholar and his/her partner via email or other written means. Membership of the CSSA may also be acquired by other member of the University community, if s/he attends CSSA activities and applies for his/her membership. All CSSA members have the right to vote and stand for election. Each member shall be entitled to one vote.


ARTICLE IV: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE

The Executive Committee will represent CSSA in any event. The Executive Committee shall have and exercise all the powers vested in the organization that may arise between the meetings of the organization except the power to amend the constitution. The executive committee of the CSSA shall consist of the President, the Vice-president, the Treasurer, the Secretary, the Student Coordinator(s), the Scholar Coordinator, the Entertainment Chair, the Sports Chair, the Social Chair, the Legal Chair,and the Webmaster. Additional volunteers are welcome to work for the executive committee, but shall not be recognized as official executive committee members, therefore, are not subject to the benefits and regulations that apply to CSSA executive committee members. New committee members shall be elected annually by regular election (see Article VI). Resignation of any committee member prior to completion of his/her term shall be notified to the Executive Committee two weeks in advance. New committee members can be added and existing committee members can be removed based on the need of the organization. New members shall be nominated by at least two committee members and shall be supported by a majority of all Executive Committee votes. Impeachment of existing committees shall be proposed by at least three committee members and shall only be passed by obtaining at least two thirds of all Executive Committee votes.


ARTICLE V: DUTIES OF THE CSSA EXECUTITVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

The President of the CSSA shall

  • serve as the chief executive committee member and provide overall control over its activities;
  • supervise the operation of all CSSA committee members;
  • prepare meeting agenda and chair CSSA general and committee meetings;
  • have final responsibility, along with the Treasurer, for the distribution of all CSSA funds;
  • maintain contact with Washington University administration and Consuls in Chicago.

The Vice-president of the CSSA shall

  • assist the President in coordinating activities of other committee members;
  • temporarily serve as President during the absence or disability of the President;
  • schedule an election to appoint new President if the existing President leaves his/her office prior to completion of term.

The Treasurer of the CSSA shall

  • receive and disburse funds of the CSSA, subject to the direction and review of the Executive Committee;
  • maintain the financial records of the CSSA;
  • administer the budget of the CSSA in consultation with the Executive Committee;
  • have final responsibility, along with the President, for the distribution of all CSSA funds.

The Secretary of the CSSA shall

  • take minutes for CSSA meetings;
  • maintain official documents of the organization;
  • serve as the editor in chief for publications related to CSSA activities;

The student Coordinator of the CSSA shall

  • Coordinate temporary accommodations for new CSS, including airport pick-ups, temporary housing, answering frequently asked questions by new students, etc.
  • Coordinate with the International Office to facilitate the new student orientation process
  • Be responsible for facilitating students to the resources at Washington University.

The Scholar Coordinator of the CSSA shall

  • Be responsible for facilitating scholars with their involvement in CSSA¡¯s activities.
  • serve as a liaison between CSSA and the local Chinese community in St. Louis.

The Social Chair of the CSSA shall

  • be responsible for maintaining and promoting a good public relationship between the CSSA and other organizations at Washington University;
  • be responsible for maintaining and promoting a good public relationship between the CSSA and local Chinese organization;
  • be responsible for maintaining contacts with Washington University alumni, financial sponsors, lecture speakers, and the news media.

The Entertainment Chair of the CSSA shall

  • be responsible for organizing major parties during the year;
  • be responsible for entertainment-related events, such as movie series, video rentals, etc.

The Sports Chair of the CSSA shall

  • be responsible for organizing sports events during the year;
  • supervise the operation of CSSA-organized sports teams;
  • be in charge of any sports-related CSSA equipments.

The Legal Chair of the CSSA shall

  • protect CSSA’s legal rights on its properties in any form;
  • provide legal opinion and explaination on CSSA activity according to CSSA constitution and other binding laws.

The Webmaster of the CSSA shall

  • maintain an up-to-date homepage of the CSSA;
  • maintain an electronic mailing list and an electronic directory of members of the CSSA.

ARTICLE VI: ELECTIONS

Elections of the Executive Committee shall be held annually, during the last week of March. New Executive Committee shall commence duties immediately following the election.
Any CSSA member shall be eligible to petite and/or to nominate a CSSA executive committee under the restriction of any applicable rules and policies of Washington University.
Petitions and nominations via email or other written means shall be received at least one week before each election. These shall be the candidates for various positions in the CSSA Executive Committee. The names of candidates shall be published and made available for public inspection during the entire election process.
Every CSSA member shall be eligible to vote for his or her desired candidates. Only one vote is eligible for each CSSA Executive Committee position.
Candidates shall obtain a majority of all votes to become an elected committee member. A run-off vote shall be held between the two candidates with the highest numbers of votes in the event that no candidate receives a majority.

ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS

General meetings of the CSSA shall be open to all members of CSSA and shall be held at least once every three months. The meetings shall be called by the President to all members by email. All Executive Committee members are required to attend general meetings.
Committee meetings of the CSSA shall be held at least once every two months and shall be chaired by the President. In the absence of the President, the Vice-president shall preside. Legitimate reasons are required for the absence of any committee members.
Special meetings of the CSSA may be called either by the President, the Executive committee or not less than 25 percents of the eligible CSSA members.

ARTICLE VIII: FUNDS

The funds for CSSA operation shall be obtained via the following channels:

ARTICLE VIIII: AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION

A recommendation for amendment to the existing CSSA constitution must bear the signature of ten or more members. An amendment to the constitution shall be made by written votes only and it requires the approval of two-thirds of eligible CSSA members at a general meeting that the amendment is proposed. An amendment to the CSSA constitution is in effect immediately after its approval.

Drafted and Revised by Huawen Lin, Kai Tan, and Ping Gu, August 26, 2001.  Revised by Li Zou (October 16, 2002), Xiuxia Du (June 20, 2003), Zhenya Wang (March 7, 2005).

Bylaw & Regulation Drafted and Revised by Zhengfeng Liu, Qing Nian, Zhehao Zhang, and Shuo Luo, April 14, 2008.