Constitution and By-Laws of the Wharton Latino Undergraduate Association

Article I: Name
The name of this organization shall be the Wharton Latino Undergraduate Association.

Article II: Purpose
The purpose of this organization shall be to serve the interests of all University of Pennsylvania students interested in Hispanic business affairs. To this end, this organization will strive to:

- Increase the presence of Hispanics at the University of Pennsylvania, working together with the University's Admissions Office,

- Enrich the Penn experience of Hispanic students and students interested in Hispanic affairs by providing a social forum and by holding events directed towards the creation of professional opportunities,

- Maintain an extensive alumni network geared towards providing members with employment opportunities.

Article III: Membership
Section 1
Any member of the undergraduate body of the University of Pennsylvania who is a full-time, regular student shall be eligible for membership in the Association.

Section 2
Faculty members and students other than full-time, regular undergraduates shall be eligible for membership in the Association, but not permitted to hold elected office.

Section 3
Membership will not require any dues.

Section 4
Active members shall be those who either:

- have registered with the Secretary of the Association for inclusion in the listserv,

- have attended at least three regular meetings or two regular meetings plus one Association-sponsored event during the current academic year, AND

- have attended at least half of the regular meetings during the current academic year, OR

- held active membership status at the end of the previous academic year, AND

- have attended at least half of the regular meetings during the current academic year.

Section 5
Membership and/or participation by an individual in any Association-sponsored event may be revoked or limited by unanimous vote of the Executive Board only on grounds of violations of the University's Code of Student Conduct.

Article IV: Rights of Membership
All members will have the right to participate in and benefit from all Association activities, including meetings, Association-sponsored events, and professional opportunities. Members will also have the right to use the Association as a forum for their free expression.

Article V: Officers
Section 1
The officers of the Association shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary/Admissions Representative, and two Corporate Liaisons. These six (6) officers shall constitute the Executive Board.

Section 2
The aforementioned structure of the Executive Board will become effective for the first elections after the ratification of this Constitution.

Section 3
It shall be the duty of the Executive Board to supervise all activities of the Association.

Section 4
Members of the Executive Board will be democratically elected by the active members of the Association for one-year terms.

Section 5
Candidates for office must be active members of the Association with the intent of maintaining such status throughout the course of the following year.

Section 6
No member may simultaneously hold more than one position on the Executive Board.

Section 7
Should any Executive Board member cease to be an active member of the Association as defined above, or if any Executive Board member were removed from office by the general membership, their Executive Board position shall be considered vacant.

Section 8
If, during the regular term, any of the offices becomes vacant, elections shall be held within two general Association meetings to fill the vacated post(s) for the remainder of the term, unless that remainder is considered too short a time by unanimous decision of the remainder of the Executive Board.

Article VI: Limitations on the Powers of the Executive Board and its Members
Section 1
The Executive Board may reverse any decision of an individual Executive Board member with four (4) votes to overturn if the Executive Board is complete with its six members. If at least one position is vacant, a two-thirds-majority vote will be required.

Section 2
The general membership of the Association may reverse any decision of the Executive Board through a two-thirds-majority vote amongst active members.

Section 3
The general membership of the Association may remove an Executive Board member from office through a two-thirds-majority vote amongst active members.

Article VII: Amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws
This Constitution and these By-Laws may be amended in whole or in part by a two-thirds vote of a quorum of active members present at any general meeting, with due notice of said amendment having been given at a previous general Association meeting.

Article VIII: Ratification
This Constitution and these By-Laws are considered to be ratified if approved by two-thirds of a quorum of active members.

By-Laws

Article I: Duties of Officers
Section 1
It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all general Association and Executive board meetings; to supervise and direct the work of the Association and insure the success of its activities; to insure that all of the functions set forth in this Constitution are achieved; to maintain the finances of the club in conjunction with the Treasurer; and to speak for the Association before the campus and community.

Section 2
It shall be the duty of the Vice-President to insure that all duties of the Executive Board members are being fulfilled; to be the first person to provide help or take over responsibility when another Executive Board member is in need; and to fulfill the responsibilities of the President when he/she is indisposed, including presiding over general or Executive Board meetings when necessary.

Section 3
It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to handle the finances of the Association with the support and approval of the Executive Board; to establish the annual budget and events budgets with the support and approval of the Executive Board; to make disbursements approved by the Executive Board; to maintain accurate records of all financial transactions; to report on the finances of the Association to the Executive Board; and to represent the Association at Student Activities Council meetings.

Section 4
It shall be the duty of the Secretary/Admissions Representative to manage the Association's listserv and maintain record of members and active members; to work with the Admissions Office to gather information of incoming freshmen and to coordinate programs to further the purposes of the Association; and to undertake initiatives to contact incoming freshmen and high school students and thus attract them to the University of Pennsylvania and/or the Association in accordance with its purposes.

Section 5
It shall be the duty of the Corporate Liaisons to maintain an alumni network to open employment opportunities for current members; to contact corporations and establish ongoing relationships to open further employment opportunities for members; to use those relationships to coordinate corporate-sponsored events in accordance with the purposes of the Association; and to lead in the planning and execution of such events with the support and approval of the Executive Board.

Article II: Meetings
Section 1
It will be the responsibility of the President of the Association to call general meetings. Frequency and dates of the meetings will be decided according to need, but will occur no less than five (5) times per academic semester. Members will be notified of the time and place of general meetings by email at least twenty-four (24) hours before the meeting time.

Section 2
The agenda for a general meeting will be established by the President of the Association. Members may add items to the agenda by contacting the President. The President will lead conduct the meeting according to the established agenda.

Section 3
Quorum at a general meeting shall be defined as one-fifth (1/5) of active members.

Section 4
All general membership votes must be conducted within general meetings. Only active members will have the right to a vote. Any voting procedure will require quorum.

Section 5
It will be the responsibility of the President of the Association to call Executive Board meetings. Frequency and dates of the meetings will be decided according to need, but will occur no less than eight (8) times per academic semester.

Section 6
The agenda for an Executive Board meeting will be established by the President of the Association. Executive Board members wishing to add items to the agenda may do so by contacting the President.

Section 7
Quorum at an Executive Board meeting shall consist of half of the members of the Executive Board plus one, amongst which must be either the President or Vice-President (unless both positions are vacated). Such a quorum is required for the Executive Board to make any decision requiring a vote.

Article III: (Non-electoral) Voting procedures
Article 1
A vote in the general body must be brought forth by a motion from and must be seconded by active members of the Association. Depending on the nature of the motion, the President shall decide whether the general membership of the Association should vote on the matter during the meeting when the motion is put forward, or during the next general meeting. Only under extenuating circumstances, or if the motion is withdrawn, would a vote not occur within one meeting of the motion.

Article 2
All voting procedures in a general meeting will require discussion time, to be set and moderated by the President. The discussion time must be adequate to cover the principal issues behind the vote, and must be allocated evenly to the different sides involved. The discussion must be open to all Association members.

Article 3
In the case of a motion and vote to appeal a decision by the Executive Board, statements will be issued by the member who brings forward the motion and by the President (on behalf of the Executive Board). Discussion will follow according to the aforementioned guidelines.

Article 4
All votes require quorum. Abstentions are not counted towards simple or two-thirds majority, but are counted towards fulfilling quorum requirements.

Article 5
Voting procedures on the Executive Board will follow the guidelines established in Articles 2 and 4. Discussion for Executive Board votes must be open to all Executive Board members, but not necessarily to all Association members.

Article 6
If a vote in a general or Executive Board meeting results in a tie, there will be a re-vote. If the tie is repeated, the President will cast a final tie-breaking vote.

Article IV: Elections
Article 1
Regular elections for Executive Board positions will be held no later than six weeks after the start of the spring semester each year.

Article 2
Nominations for positions on the Executive Board will start in the meeting previous to the elections, and will be open until the beginning of electoral procedures for the given position. If there are several candidates for each position, elections can be conducted in two separate meetings.

Article 3
Elections will run in the following order: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary/Admissions Representative, and two Corporate Liaisons.

Article 4
An active member can only accept a nomination for one position. A nomination can be accepted for the original position proposed with the nomination, or for any other position towards the end of the aforementioned order (thus a member nominated for President can accept the nomination as a candidate for Treasurer).

Article 5
Candidates who lose an election may still run for a position towards the end of the aforementioned order (thus a candidate who loses the election for Vice-President may then run for Corporate Liaison).

Article 6
To elect each officer for a given position, the Association will hear remarks (with equal time limits) from each of the candidates (selected in random order). There will time for questions to the candidates. If time allows, there will be multiple rounds of both candidate-specific and general questions. If there are constraints on time, there may only be a single round of general questions. All candidates will answer an equal number of questions with equal time limits, and will rotate the order in which they answer questions for each round. Time and question limits will be established by the President and announced at the beginning of the electoral process. All candidates will remain in the election room at all times.

Article 7
Active members will vote through closed ballot. Except in the case of Corporate Liaisons, a candidate will be proclaimed victorious by attaining over 50% of the vote. If there are more than two candidates and the first round does not provide an immediate winner, there will be a runoff between the top two candidates. In the case of Corporate Liaisons, all voters will be given two ballots. The top two candidates from the consequent vote will immediately be proclaimed victorious.

Here ends the Constitution and By-Laws of the Wharton Latino Undergraduate Association.______________ [Top]