Constitution of the Swarthmore African-American Student Society (SASS)

Purpose and Goals

Article 1: Membership

Section 1: Composition
Section 2: Voting

Article 2: Organizational Structure

Section 1: Composition of Executive Board
Section 2: General Duties of Executive Board Members
Section 3: Definition and specific Duties of Executive Board
Section 4: Committees
Section 5: Mjumbe

Article 3: Elections

Section 1: Judaciary Committee
Section 2: Platforms
Section 3: Executive Board Elections
Section 4: Special Elections

Article 4:Removal of the Executive Board Members

Section 1: Judiciary Committee
Section 2: Process of removal of Executive Board Members
Section 3: Grounds for the Removal of Executive Board Members

Article 5: Amendment Procedure

Article 6: Black People's Meeting

Article 7: The Black Cultural Center

SASS intends to provide support for its members primarily through political and community building activities. The major goals of the organization are to increase the number of Black students, faculty and staff, infuse a greater Black perspective into the curriculum, improve the quality of life for Black students on campus, advocate for the advancement of Black people outside of Swarthmore and maintain a strong supportive Black community.

As a member of the Black community of Swarthmore College and therefore by extension, SASS, all Black students of Swarthmore College have the right to be a member of the organization.

1. All members have the right to vote in all elections and on any issue that require a consensus by vote from the SASS organization.
2. An issue may be passed if a simple majority of those voting concur unless otherwise specified by the SASS Constitution.

The SASS executive board shall consist of a president, vice-president/ judiciary committee chairperson, treasurer, secretary, IC liason, social coordinator, outreach co-coordinators and an admissions and alumni committee chairperson.

1. Executive Board members must read, understand, and always act according to this Constitution.
2. Executive Board members must serve and represent the organization and its membership to the best of their ability at all times.
3. Regular attendance to all meetings is mandatory.
4. Executive Board members should come to meetings with suggestions for the organization and contribute to the overall direction of SASS by actively working on issues, seeking the opinions and support of the SASS membership as well as keeping them informed on the workings of the Executive Board.
5. Executive Board members should support members of the Black community as SASS is a support group.

1. The President shall set the agenda for and faciliate meetings, maintain communication with the Director of the Black Cultural Center, Black faculty & Staff and other Black organizations on campus, ensure that executive board members carry out their responsibilities, provide guidance for executive board members, maintain relations with other campus groups and represent the orgnanization when neccesary.
2. The Vice-President/Judiciary Committee Chairperson shall assist the president and assume her/his responsibilities in her/his absence, encourage participation in committees and organizations in the larger community, keep up to date with the policies and decisions of Student Council and/or any of its committees and facilitate the actions of the Judiciary Committee which is described below.
3. The Secretary shall advertise all SASS events and meetings, maintain and make public from all SASS meetings in a timely fashion, compile a list of Black students, faculty and staff (Black Pages) to be published in the begin- ning of each semester, maintain a file of SASS events and important information in the SASS office, and keep up the SASS board.
4. The Treasurer shall maintain records of all transactions pertaining to the budget, keep copies of reciepts, money transfer requests, and financial commitments, and recommends a viable budget for the following year. In ad- dition, the treasurer shall report the status of the budget on a monthly basis to the general membership.
5. The Outreach Co-coordinators shall coordinate the Big Brother/Big Sister program, convene the Outreach committee described below.
6. The Admissions and Alumni Relations Committee Chairperson shall faciliate the activities of the Admissions and Alumni Relations Committee which is described below.

The Judiciary, Outreach, and Admissions and Alumni Relations Committees shall be the only standing committees of SASS. The executive board could recommend the creation of any committee which the general body votes necessary to fulfill the purpose and goals of the organization.

Any SASS committee should have at least three members in addition to the chairperson.

The Judiciary Committee must draft and present a viable SASS consti- tution and Student Council charter to the general body every three years, conduct and advertise all SASS elections and convene any impeachment pro- ceedings. The committee shall decide the procedure by which the draft of the constitution and Student Council charter will be presented to and voted upon by the general membership.

The Admissions and Alumni Relations Committee shall work closely with admissions office with Black student recruitment efforts, assist with the planning of Black alumni and minority pre-frosh weekend and maintain relations with Black alumni.

The Outreach Committee shall organize community building, cultural, and social events. Every effort should be made to ensure that the committee plans a balanced calendar of events, both on and off campus.

1. Mjumbe is the literary magazine of the Black community at Swarthmore College. Any Black student, staff or faculty member may contribute to or assist in the production of the magazine.
2. Two co-editors-in-chief shall be chosen at the same time as the executive board and through the same process.
3. Two co-editors-in-chief shall be responsible for the production of one issue of Mjumbe each semster. They shall solicit members of the Black community to submit articles, poetry, artwork, etc., to the magazine and arrange for the printing of the magazine.
4. The co-editors must report the status of the magazine to the executive board bimonthly.

1. The Judiciary Committee must conduct all SASS elections.
2. No member of the Judiciary Committee may conduct the elections if they are running for any positions in that election.
3. If all members of the Judiciary Committee are running for positions in an election then the Judiciary Committee must get at least two people to conduct the elections in their absence.

1. All candidates for any SASS election must present a platform to the Judiciary Committee Chairperson at the designated time determined by Judiciary Committee.
2. Copies of the platforms shall be made available to the SASS membership and placed on the SASS board and inside of the Black Cultural Center at least week days prior to the election.
3. All platforms shall include the candidate's name, position the candidate is running for, any pertinent experience, reason for running, and the class to which the candidate belongs.

1. Elections for the Executive Board positions shall be held during the month of April on a date chosen by the Judiciary Committee.
2. All candidates must be present at the meeting during which elections are to take place. If a candidate is unable to make the meeting for some uncontrollable reason the she/he must notify the Judiciary Committee Chair Person at least 24 hours prior to the meeting or else she/he will be
3. Each candidate will be given the opportunity to present themselves to and field questions from the general body on the date chosen by the Judiciary Committee.
4. A candidate needs only to receive an affirmation vote from at least a simple majority of those voting in order to win her/his particular race.
5. If a position is not filled in the April election, then the Judiciary Committee shall select a later date when the special elections for that position will take place.
6. The Executive Board may postpone elections if they feel that a significant portion of SASS members are not in attendance at meetings.
7. SASS members may not vote by proxy.

1. All special elections shall follow the same procedure as normal Executive Board Elections.
2. In the event that an Executive Board member resigns or otherwise relinquishes his or her seat, a special election shall be held to fill the seat if a vacancy occurs when there are six or more weeks remaining in the semester or when there is a pressing reason to fill the seat, as determined by the Executive Board of which he or she was a member otherwise, the seat shall remain vacant until the next regular election.
3. Any person elected in this matter shall serve until the term of that seat would have normally expired.

1. The Judiciary Committee shall conduct all impeachment proceedings.
2. Any member of the Judiciary Committee must remove themselves from the committee for the duration of the impeachment proceedings if they are directly involved with the case.

1. The impeachment charge must be presented to the Judiciary Committee chairperson.
2. The Judiciary Committee chairperson must notify the person(s) being charged within 48 hours and provide her/him with a copy of the official charge.
3. Each of the parties involved must agree upon a date and time to conduct the impeachment proceedings set by the Judiciary Committee and open to the entire SASS membership.
4. Each of the parties must be given a sufficient amount of time to present their arguments to the Judiciary Committee.
5. After the conclusion of the proceedings the general membership must then take a vote. The agreement of a simple majority of those voting determines the outcome of the proceedings.
6. The decisions of the general body shall be final.

1. An Executive Board member who does not carry out her/his duties as defined in Article 2 of this Constitution or as determined by the Executive Board, may be removed from her/his seat.
2. Any Executive Board who misses more than two SASS meetings, except in the case of illness or circumstances beyond her or his control, as determined by the Executive Board or the President, may be removed from her/his position. A person shall be considered to have missed the meeting is she or he does not provide notice to the SASS president at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

1. Any member of SASS may propose an amendment to the SASS constitution.
2. The general body of the organization may vote for any proposed amendment. 2/3 of those voting must vote affirmatively for the amendment to pass.
3. Proposals to amend the Constitution must be submitted to the Executive Board and made available to the entire SASS membership at least one week prior to the proposal being voted upon.
4. The Judiciary Committee Chairperson shall update the constitution should the proposed amendment receive an affirmative vote by at least 2/3 of those voting in a timely fashion.

The SASS Executive Board shall call for a Black People's meeting if they deem an issue necessitates the immediate action of the organization.

No drinking, smoking or sex is permitted on the grounds of the Black Cultural Center in order to preserved the space as a safe haven for all members of the Black community. Moreover, these rules and their purpose along with a brief history of the BCC must be discussed at the first SASS meeting of the year to orient the incoming class.