Student OrgsLanguage Buddies

CONSTITUTION OF THE LANGUAGE BUDDIES STUDENT ORGANIZATION OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE PURPOSE We, the members of the Language Buddies Student Organization (LBSO) of Gustavus Adolphus College, in an effort to foster transcultural competence between multilingual/multicultural (mainly Latino and of Francophone African and Somali) individuals and the status quo (white majority) do hereby agree to promote and mediate Global Diversity both on campus as well as within the St. Peter Community. We are a co-curricular organization with ties to the Language Buddies community engagement program embedded within the Spanish Program’s (Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures) Curriculum. ARTICLE I - Membership: QUALIFICATIONS Any student who wants to promote global citizenship and who preferably speaks French, Somali or Spanish though not limited to that. A student with previous experience in English Language Learning instruction, an international student or anyone who has learned English as a non-native language. Any existing member, or entering, who cannot acquiesce to the Constitution of LBSO shall be mercilessly excused from the organization. New members will give their information to the secretary who will then give them a copy of the constitution. Once a member, the student will treat the other members as they themselves would like to be treated: with respect and tolerance. ARTICLE II - Officers: All officers must be full time Gustavus Adolphus College students, who are in good standing with the School. Officers will have regular meetings throughout the month to discuss finances, information about the public schools, activities, and other, but essential, general information. There are no excused absences for board members, unless there is a legitimate reason. CO-PRESIDENTS: Brian Pérez & Michelle Agyen a. To be eligible for President one must have actively participated in the club for at least one semester. b. The President will apply for the position and be appointed by a majority vote with the approval of the Faculty Advisor at the end of each academic year. c. The President is responsible for organizing events d. The President is responsible for remaining in constant contact with the Faculty Advisor. It is the responsibility of the co-presidents to run the board meetings. It is the responsibility of the co-president to make sure that the rest of the board members are following up with their duties. The co-presidents must approve anything that is being sent to persons outside of The LBSO organization. SECRETARY: Angie Ramírez The secretary shall be responsible for keeping the minutes of every meeting in the general assembly. The secretary may appoint up to 2 assistants to aid him/her in performing duties. The secretary shall be responsible for getting all information to all members, including the minutes of the general assembly and a copy of the constitution as well. The secretary shall be responsible for writing all letters sent to other campuses and/or organizations but must be approved by the co-presidents. Upon introducing to the organization of an upcoming conference, the secretary will send out notices in good time (within two weeks), and make confirmations on intention to attend a conference. The secretary is responsible for taking attendance at every general assembly. TREASURER: Karrin Becker The treasurer is responsible for organizing a sound network for the organization. The treasurer must give a full report of the organization’s financial status at every meeting. The treasurer’s signature must be on all checks issued by the organization. LIAISON: Neida Juantos (Spanish LEAD Liaison) Benissa Uwamwiza (French), Hanan Mohamud (Somali) The liaison is responsible for communicating between the St. Peter Public Schools and LBSO. French and Somali Liaisons will communicate via Spanish liaison due to a history of previous contact and familiarity. The liaison must check and answer to messages on the LBSO google phone email messaging system in an ongoing basis and reply within 24-48 hours of receipt of the message. The liaison is responsible for networking student tutors. Once the sign-up sheet of tutors has been completed it must be given to Spanish liaison to submit officially to the Schools on behalf of LBSO. MINISTER of TRANSPORTATION The minister of transportation will be in charge of acquisition and the distribution of all automobiles obtained by the organization. The minister of transportation will settle all mileage disputes, and will be responsible for conduction questioning pertaining to the misconduct and the misuse by LBSO members in regards to vehicle privileges. The minister of transportation is responsible for the safe pick-up and the timely return of all vehicles. SERGEANT-AT-ARMS All forms of conflict shall be brought to the sergeant-at-arms who will present the conflict to the executive committee or help resolve them in a timely fashion. The sergeant-at-arms is responsible for keeping order at meetings ( i.e. curbing unrelated discussions, etc). ARTICLE IV - ELECTIONS and VOTING Selection I: Elections will be held each year during the second week of April, and newly elected members will take office the following year. Each person nominated for office must express why he or she wishes to take that office to the general assembly. Each officer will be elected for a period of one year. Elections will be counted by closed ballots, which will be counted by the co-presidents or an impartial person. Section II: Each member has the power of one vote. In the general assembly, a majority vote is required to carry a decision. The co-presidents may not vote; however, in the case of a tie, the co-presidents may cast the deciding votes. If it is determined that any officer has not sufficiently performed the duties of his/her office, he/she may be impeached with a 2/3 vote of the board, upon prior notification and request for volunteer resignation. Section III: All proponents made by any committee must be introduced and then voted on by the general assembly. ARTICLE V - CONFERENCES If a member has confirmed that he/she will be attending a conference, that LBSO paid the price for and does not attend the conference, the member will be held responsible for all expenses incurred by LBSO. The only exception to this rule is proven sickness, family death, and educational dilemma. ARTICLE VI - ABSENCE A member of the board may not have more than ten unexcused absences. Three lateness with a valid reason equal one absence. If a board member knows he or she will be absent ahead of time, it is the responsibility of the board member to tell the co-presidents, in writing the reason for their absence. If it is an unseen situation, a letter explaining the reason for your absence is expected. The co-presidents must also follow this rule, only submitting their letters to a higher more impartial person (i.e. LBSO’s advisor) ARTICLE VII -MISCELLANEOUS The creation or adoption of other codes, status or policies may be made part of this organizations by a 2/3 vote of the general assembly. Each member may extend an invitation to any outside party or to the general assembly upon the advanced notification of at least one week, to the organization. All general decision making will be decided by the majority vote of the general assembly with the execution of those explicated in this document. Each member has access to equipment; materials and facilities in the VH room, designated as the LBSO room, with the understanding that all borrowed materials must be returned. ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENTS This section is reserved for amendments or alterations to the constitution. Amendments are only valid upon 2/3 approval by the general assembly.