Lebanese Student Association
CONSTITUTION
academic year 2015-2016
LSA Executive
Concordia University
THE CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 1- Name
Lebanese Student Association
ARTICLE 2 - Aims & Objectives
2.1
The objective of the Lebanese Student Association is to promote Lebanon with its cultural and social activities.
2.2
Promoting the Lebanese Student Association's events on a regional, national and international level.
2.3
To act on behalf of Lebanese students in any and all matters which directly or indirectly, are in the interests of the
association.
2.4
To promote a sense of identity among Lebanese students, so as to portray a common image throughout the University.
2.5
To create an atmosphere for bettering academic performance and intellectual development of Lebanese students within
the University community.
ARTICLE 3 - Membership
There shall be associate and regular LSA members.
3.1
Any Concordia Student may become an LSA member by signing the membership form.
3.2
Associate members are graduate students.
3.3
Regular Members are undergraduate students.
Eligibility for membership shall not be determined based on race, color, ethnic or national origin, pregnancy, sexual
orientation, civil status, age, religion, language, social condition, handicap, or the use of means to palliate a handicap.
3.4
Honorary membership is granted to those individuals outside of the Concordia student body who show a common
interest in the association, subject to the approval of the executive committee. This is open to Alumni, students of other
Universities, and the general public. Honorary membership may also be revoked at the discretion of the executive
committee.
3.5
Official members of the association will be put on our e-mailing list and will receive all information stated in Article 2.
ARTICLE 4 - The Executive Committee and Officers
Section I- Composition
The executive committee of the Lebanese Student Association at Concordia University shall be constituted of, one
President, one secretary, one VP Internal, one VP External, one VP Finance, one VP sports, one VP marketing, .
Section II - Role
4.1 President
The President, as Chief Executive Officer, shall represent the members and the association at occasions and in all
official relations with the Concordia Student Union, Concordia university associations in Concordia and in any
Lebanese or other cultural, social, inter-university events on a regional, national and international level.
The president shall prepare an agenda for each meeting, enforce the mandate of the constitution and shall be the cosigning officer with the VP Finance of any requisitions or purchase requisitions of the association. He or she shall be
responsible for outlining and creating a program of activities for the year in conjunction with the Executive Committee,
bearing in mind the aims of the club and wishes of the general members, and shall be responsible for maintain
continuous contact with the umbrella organization above the Association: CSU.
4.2 VP marketing
The Vice-President marketing , shall take care of all advertisements needed for events. He shall also maintain a great
social media image of the association through facebook, twitter, ... Designing the posters or finding an alternatives shall
be a responsibility of his/her.
4.3 VP Internal Affairs
The VP Internal Affairs is the office manager; he or she shall be responsible for the filing of all documents received,
coordination of office hours among the executive and general members, maintenance of the office's resource center,
and other internal administrative matters as deemed necessary. Further, manager shall actively promote the club's
resource center among the Concordia community and shall be responsible for all booking accommodations.
4.4 VP External Affairs
The VP External Affairs shall act as the liaison with the other Lebanese Student Associations in Montreal and other
cities as well as other groups within the Concordia and Montreal communities and outside Montreal with whom the
club may work with, especially in the coordination of joint events
4.5 VP Finance
The VP Finance shall coordinate the preparation of the budget, maintain a ledger of all financial transactions of the
club, act as the financial liaison with the Concordia Student Union, and coordinate any fundraising activities. He or she
shall actively seek funding for the association, take advantage of any grant opportunity and shall be responsible for
presenting the financial report of the year's activities at the end of term of office.
4.6 Secretary
VP Communication shall be in charge of communicating the information from the executive team to the student body
and from the student body to the executive team. He/she has to ensure to keep the executives as well as the members
updated on all current activities. The Secretary will also need to make the executives accessible to the members, and
make them feel welcome and push them to reveal all their aptitudes. As well as being responsible for coordinating days
on which the Association will have a Presentation/ recruitment table on the Mezzanine.
4.7 VP Sports
VP Sports shall be in charge of the preparations and organization of any event of a competitive and athletic nature,
within Concordia University and outside in case of joint events with other external associations. The VP Social and
Leisure events shall be responsible of duties such as writing event's name and full descriptions, as well as purposes.
Furthermore, the VP Social and Leisure events will have to set the income of the event with the VP finance.
In case of a draw during an executive board voting, the president's vote shall count as 1.5 and the votes of all other
Vice-Presidents shall count as one.
ARTICLE 5 - Finances
The president and VP Finance shall act as signing officers for the association.
ARTICLE 6 – Elections
6.1 Election Process
6.1.1
The president and the board of Vice –Presidents of the LSA may run for elections for only two years for
any executive board position, in a fair way to keep the chance for new talented and devoted students to
drive the LSA into a better level.
6.1.2
Elections for the board of executives or any election of an executive should be communicated 30 days in
advance to the voting members.
6.1.3
Elections Candidates and voting members must be informed at least 7 days in advance of the Election Day.
6.1.5
The public, meaning LSA members (regular and associate), have the right to complain to the CSU judicial
board which subsequently would do what is necessary based on flagrant derailment from constitution by
the executive board.
6.1.6
If possible, a debate session for the candidates of executive positions should be prepared by the current
executives in order for the candidates to debate. The LSA members should be invited, and the debate
should take place at least 7 days in advance.
6.1.7
In case the board or any executive in power is a candidate for a second year term in the elections of an
executive board or an executive, the CSU would set a debate session where new candidates and the old
board of any executives from the old board will debate and also where the LSA members would be invited.
6.2 Electoral Committee
6.2.1
The Executive Committee is responsible for the forming of an Electoral Committee, made of two persons,
having no intention to run for any position and preferably from the current Executive Committee.
6.2.2
The Electoral Committee is responsible for enforcing and ensuring election laws outlined in this
constitution are maintained and respected during the election process.
6.2.3
The Electoral Committee is responsible for distributing, collecting, as well as counting the cast ballots.
6.3 - Candidates
6.3.1
The candidate running for the President position shall be a Concordia undergraduate student, and active
member of the LSA for two semesters at least, consecutive or not.
6.3.2
The candidates for the VP positions in the board of the LSA shall be undergraduate Concordia students,
regular members of the LSA for at least one semester.
6.3.3 Election Campaign
6.3.3.1
The candidates must submit their candidacy at least 10 days in advance to the association’s executive
committee.
6.3.3.2
The candidates should not have access to the LSA contact list, not even through the executive committee or
the President.
6.4 - Voting
6.4.1
The officers must be elected by secret ballot at a general meeting in the month of March and supervised by
the CSU Chief Electoral Officer.
6.4.2
The winning candidate for each position must receive a plurality of all valid votes cast. In case of an
equality vote there would be reelections for the concerned position.
6.4.3
Any candidate running solely for a position must receive a plurality of valid YES votes cast.
6.4.3
Only LSA regular members, having been members for more than a period of 7 days may vote during the
elections. Due to fairness for all candidates, members that have not been adequately informed, due to not
having received the required information of the elections and all the processes of the elections, are
considered ineligible to vote.
6.4.4
The CSU Judicial Board has the right to overrule any electoral disputes.
6.4 The Elected Board
6.4.1
The term of office shall be a one year term.
6.4.2
The LSA board in power must hand over all rights and responsibilities to the newly elected board by the
first week of April and notify and make official with the CSU.
Article 7 - Opening Positions in the Board of Executives
The LSA board of executives has the right to open at any time a new Vice President position or other
positions that seem necessary for the functioning of the association.
Article 8 – Replacement and Impeachment Procedures
8.1 Impeachment
At any time, in the opinion of the executive committee, in the event of a misdemeanor or misconduct, the
executive in question shall be impeached. Impeachment is defined as casting doubt or challenging the
credibility of the individual in question, leading to removing him/her from the executive committee
especially for misconduct or behavior that is not suitable for the association’s interests and that does not fit
the association’s aims and objectives.
8.1.1
In the event any member of the executive committee not acting in good faith and honesty, or becoming
negligent of his/her responsibilities, or acting in a manner that is contrary to the stated aims and objectives
of the association, he/she may be impeached at the next General Assembly by a two-third majority vote of
confidence of those present.
8.1.2
In the event of probable impeachment, if and only if the simple majority of the executives agree, they shall
schedule an urgent General Assembly meeting during which the vote of confidence will take place.
8.1.3
A minimum of 25% of active LSA members may submit a request to hold a General Assembly meeting, if
they believe that the executive committee or an individual on the executive committee has failed to respect
the association’s constitution.
Upon request, the Executive board is forced to hold a General Assembly meeting during a vote of
confidence takes place.
8.2 Replacement
In the event the Presidency becomes vacant during the year, the Vice President shall assume the position of
President. Any other vacancy shall be filled by means of a by-election.
The President may appoint a temporary officer to fill a vacancy on the executive committee (other than the
presidency) until a by-election is held.
8.2.1
A by-election must be held at the first general meeting following the vacating of the post.
8.2.2
All members wishing to run for an Executive position must fill out a Nomination form and have it signed
by five members of the association. Those members must have been a part of the LSA prior to the election
date being set.
8.2.3
Subject to Articles 8.1 and 8.2 General Elections shall be held at a general meeting at a time and place
approved by the executive committee.
8.2.4
All by-elections shall be held by closed ballot.
8.2.5
In the event that the by-election day has not been set, then any member may request that this day be set.
8.2.6
On by-election day all nominees are expected to present themselves to the Union Members and explain
why they should be nominated for the position they are running for. The members running for President
will be expected to do the same and a question and answer period should be reserved for members to get
more information from them.
8.2.7
Following by-elections, the previous Executive Committee should meet more than once with the new
Executive Committee presenting detailed reports of past events and advice on what to expect and how to
approach the intricacies of the association in the new school year.
ARTICLE 9 - Meetings
9.1
The association shall hold a general meeting at least once a month
9.2
A quorum for an election shall consist of one quarter of the registered membership.
9.3
A quorum for an executive meeting shall consist of four of the executive officers including the President or
his/her designated representative.
9.4
A special meeting may be called by the President or by request in writing signed by at least 10% of the
membership of the association. Such a letter must be in the hands of the Executive Administrative Assistant
no less than two days before the date of the requested meeting, and shall stipulate the purpose for which the
meeting is being called. The quorum for a special meeting shall consist of no less than 25% of membership
and the President or his/her representative.
Article 11 – Discipline
Any member who, in the opinion of the executive committee, acts in a manner contrary to the stated aims
and objectives of the association shall be suspended by the executive committee. A decision as to the
revocation of membership shall be made at the next general meeting based on a two-third majority vote of
those present. In the event that a decision is made to revoke membership, such communication must be
forwarded to the Dean of Students Office within seven days.
Article 12 – Amendment of the Constitution
12.1
The Constitution may be amended from time to time as is deemed necessary.
12.2
Amendments can only be made at a duly constituted general meeting provided that notice of such
amendments has been given at least one whole month before the meeting.
12.3
In order for an amendment to be valid, there must be at least 25% of the membership present at the
meeting, and must receive no less than two-thirds majority vote.
Article 13 – CSU Constitution
Where items are not defined in this constitution or there are inconsistencies with the CSU’s By-Laws,
regulations, and policies shall be take effect
Article 14 – Date of Last update
Article 15 – Amendment dates
This Lebanese Student Association Constitution of Concordia was written by Jalal
Dagher, President of this association for the years 2006-2007, and modified by Jason
Georges president of this association for the year 2015-2016