CONSTITUTION OF BHAKTI YOGA CLUB AT IU
Last updated 12 July, 2019
Preamble
Bhakti Yoga Club at IU (BYC) is a nondiscriminatory, nondenominational organization that
advocates for philosophical and spiritual discussions. All BYC events are free and open to the
public. Our objective is to serve the student community at Indiana University by spreading
awareness about ancient Vedic wisdom, Yoga and Meditation practices. Such practices can
help us, as students, to cope better with stress, anger, fear, anxiety and depression by gaining
healthy positive engagement. These practices will also help us achieve peace of mind and
experience inner happiness. A healthy mind will be beneficial personally as well as
academically.
Article I: Membership
Members of BYC are not obligated to attend all meetings, or have an extensive background of
the knowledge presented in the session. Members of BYC are asked to be respectful of
speakers, the classroom and all University property, and each other. There are no membership
dues. Guests and friends are always encouraged to join.
Article II: University Compliance
This organization shall comply with all Indiana University regulations, and local, state and
federal laws.
Article III: Executive Officers
The committee may consist of a president, vice-president, treasurer, and committee members.
All committee members have a duty to help plan, prepare, and present sessions with BYC, and
to encourage engagement during sessions. The president has additional responsibility of
scheduling/reserving rooms for BYC sessions, leading BYC sessions, leading team meetings,
managing the BYC beInolved page, and the BYC email/gmail account. The vice-president helps
the president with leading sessions, helping with administrative work that needs completed, and
presiding in the absence of the president. The treasurer has the responsibility of keeping track
of any donations (although we have not received considerable donations in past years), and
requesting funds through the IU Funding Board when/if necessary. Committee officers are
voluntary positions, which should be held for the duration of at least one semester if taken.
Members can request to join or resign at any time. President will be re-elected at the end of the
academic school year. The president will initiate committee meetings with agendas, and decide
on a location and time with other committee members.
Article IV: Advisor
An advisor for BYC is selected based on an alignment with the mission and objective of
increased health and wellness for students, alignment with advocacy of Vedic wisdom, Yoga or
Meditation, has an interest in the BYC organization, or has an expertise in the area topics of
BYC. The advisor is not required to hold responsibility or duty on the committee, but is welcome
to attend all meetings and sessions. The advisor is welcome to present during sessions. The
advisor will be renewed or reselected each academic school year by filling out the Advisor
Agreement Form.
Article VI: Elections
Due to the small size of the BYC organizations, elections will be announced throughout the last
month of the semester in the description section of each BYC session, and elections will be held
on the last session of the academic school year. Elections will be done informally through a
CONSTITUTION OF BHAKTI YOGA CLUB AT IU
group discussion and organic nominations. Members and attendees may request to have a
position. If a position has more than one interested person, a more formal election decision
making process will be made. If no one requests a position that needs to be filled, elections may
be called to request or nominate a person for that position. If that position is denied, members
will nominate a temporary member to fill that position. A call-out will be placed to seek new
interested persons for the positions to be filled.
Article VII: Non-Hazing
Hazing is strictly prohibited. Hazing shall be defined as any conduct which subjects another
person, whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or psychologically, to anything that may
endanger, abuse, degrade, or intimidate the person as a condition of association with a group or
organization, regardless of the person's consent or lack of consent.
Article VIII: Dues and Budgets
There are no membership dues or session charges for attendees. All sessions are free and
open to the public. Donations may be made by volunteer time, supplies for sessions, or by
monetary means. All session activities are created to be done with no monetary need.
Committee members are always welcome to create their own session activity and volunteer
their own supplies and efforts, but is not required. Due to a history of no donations and no major
expenses, there is currently no formal budget. A budget and request for funding may be
approached by committee members with dedication to pursue this opportunity.
Article IX: Finances
The president and treasurer are in charge of finances. Due to a history of no donations, no
major expenses, no budget, and no funding requests, there has not been a need to apply for a
student organization account, or maintain finances. This organization does not currently collect
funds. A budget and requests for funding may be approached by committee members with
dedication to pursue this opportunity.
Article X: Personal Gain Clause
This organization, if raising funds, shall ethically raise and distribute profits from organizational
functions to either the organization or to members who provide a service that directly benefits
the organization. Individual members may not receive compensation from for-profit companies if
acting as a representative of a student organization.
All student organizations are expected to comply with all Indiana University policies and
regulations, including the Student Code of Conduct. The committee of BYC will work to uphold
these policies and regulations as an organization. A complete copy of the Student Code of
Conduct is available online at http://www.iu.edu/~code. For more information about University
Policies, visit http://policies.iu.edu/policies/categories/index.shtml.