The Iota Chapter Constitution of
Armenian Sister’s Organization
ASO
University of California Santa Barbara
ARTICLE I: NAME AND PURPOSE
Section 1: NAME
Part A. The official name of this organization is Armenian Sister’s
Organization.
Part B. This organization will use the name or its acronym, ASO, in all
publicity materials and correspondence
Section 2: PURPOSE
Part A. The purpose of this organization is to unify students to work
towards the advancement of Armenian causes, our college community,
and the greater community at UCSB. Through this organization we will:
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Spread and further the Armenian culture and aid in Armenian
causes
Guide fellow sisters in academics, life decisions, and social
relationships while building life-long ties
Help in the establishment of future chapters
Part B. All activities of this organization must be directed towards this
purpose.
Part C.ASO has not affiliation with any political organizations.
ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: REQUIREMENTS
Part A. All currently enrolled UCSB female students, both undergraduate
and graduate, are eligible to be voting members.
Part B. All UCSB members are required to demonstrate support for the
purpose of this organization.
Part C. Membership decisions will not discriminate on the basis of age,
race, religion or creed, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or
sexual orientation.
Part D. All active members must met the GPA requirement of a 2.0 each
quarter. Failure to meet GPA requirement will lead to academic probation
which includes loss of voting rights, and ineligibility to participate in
social activities. However, the sister will still be obligated to pay dues and
attend all meetings.
Part E. All active UCSB members must pay membership dues prior to
taking part in any ASO activities. Dues will be collected at the first
meeting of each month. Dues are forty dollars a month or one hundred and
ten dollars per quarter
Part F. All active members are obligated to attend at least eighty-percent
of all events which are planned at least a minimum of a week prior.
Failure to meet the 80 percent requirement will result in probation which
starts after the 10th week of the present quarter until the 10th week of the
following quarter. Probation includes loss of voting rights, and
ineligibility to participate in social activities unless otherwise stated.
However, the sister will still be obligated to pay dues and attend all
meetings. In the case that a sister must/needs to take a leave of absence or
become inactive, at the time of return all conditions apply prior to their
leave. For a sister to become reactive, she must meet her eighty percent
requirement for the activities that she is allowed to attend.
Section 2: RIGHTS
Part A. All members are eligible to attend all meetings and events of this
organization unless under the specific circumstances of academic
probation.
Part B. No voting member shall be denied the right to vote unless absent
from the meeting at which voting took place or if a member is on
probation.
Part C. Upon transfer from one chapter of ASO to the UCSB chapter all
membership rights are sustained.
Part D. Members can continue to be voting members for the full four
years of their undergraduate education (two years for transfer
students) or while they are a current student.
Section 3: WITHDRAWAL OF MEMBERSHIP
Part A. Members may have their membership revoked for failure to
adhere to membership requirements as stated above and/or failure to
uphold the sorority image and/or name. A simple majority vote of the
quorum of membership at a regular or special meeting shall be sufficient
to withdraw membership. Members to be voted upon in this regard will be
notified of the intention to do so in writing at least one week prior to the
meeting at which the vote will be taken.
Part B. Members may withdraw their membership permanently at
any time, but must give two weeks formal notice to the UCSB chapter,
and must sign a formal document stating their permanent withdrawal. No
re-entry to the sorority will be accepted.
Part C. Members may become inactive due to any personal reasons with
approval from the respective chapter for a limit of one year (starting from
the day they leave). If individual’s leave extends the one year grace
period, the re-entry process will consist of re-taking all exams and present
a formal plea to the members of the UCSB chapter of ASO.
ARTICLE III: OFFICERS
Section 1: OFFICER TITLES AND DUTIES
The UCSB chapter must have an executive cabinet composed of President,
Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Pledge Master, Senate
Representative, Social Chair, Philanthropy Chair, Fundraising Chair and
Historian.
President – Must have held a position as an officer in a previous term.
Shall chair all general and executive meeting of ASOcall special
meetings as needed, and shall oversee all activities. The President will
vote on ASOmatters only in case of a tie, except during yearly elections
where the president is running for a position. In this case, she will be
granted the right to vote for that position only. The President must also
attend Greek Presidents Council meetings every Monday at 12:00 p.m.
Furthermore, the President has the authority to set budgets for purchases
and specific activities along with the treasurer. The President will have
signing authority for the sorority.
Vice-President – Shall oversee any ad hoc committees or task forces of
the organization and will assume all powers of the President in her
absence. If Senate Representative in unable to attend Senate meetings, the
Vice President shall attend in her place.
Secretary – Shall keep record of all activities of the association
throughout the year, shall take minutes at all executive, special and
general meetings, file meeting minutes, add any and all amendments and
bylaws to the constitution and produce all official correspondence for the
organization; secretary also is a signatory for room reservation. The
secretary must submit meeting notes from the previous meeting to the
sisters by midnight Saturday before the next general meeting.
Treasurer – Shall record, maintain records and report on all financial
transactions of the organization. In addition to collection dues, the
Treasurer has the authority to set budget for purchases and specific
activities along with the President.
Pledge Mom – Shall be in charge of overseeing the pledges to assure that
pledges follow through with all assigned tasks and duties. The Pledge
Mom will shadow all pledge meetings and serve as a link between the
sisters and pledges. The Pledge Mom is in charge of scheduling all pledge
activities and notifying sisters of mandatory events. If conflict arises of
pledge activities, the majority of sister votes will settle the dispute.
Senate Representative – Shall be in charge of communication in all
matters between the UCSB chapter and the Senate. The representative will
attend all regularly scheduled Senate meetings.
Social Chair – Shall be in charge of planning all social events with other
Greek Life Sororities and Fraternities, including other Alpha Gamma
Alpha chapters. The Social Chair will also be in charge of all the planning
for parties, mixers and all other types of social events.
Philanthropy Chair – Shall be in charge of planning community service
and outreach projects in order for the active members to participate in
volunteering and give back to the community. The Philanthropy Chair is
required to plan a minimum of one Armenian oriented philanthropy event
per quarter.
Fundraising Chair – Shall be in charge of heading projects in order to
raise funds for ASO.
Historian – Shall be in charge of taking pictures of all pledge activities,
social events, philanthropy events, and any other event ASO participates
in.
Section 2: TERMS OF OFFICE AND VACANCIES
Part A. The term of office shall be from the last meeting of each spring
term until the end of the second-to-last meeting of the subsequent spring
term.
Part B. Should a vacancy in office occur, there will be another nomination
procedure and election for the vacant office. A vacancy in office is defined
as an open position resulting from: removal from office, resignation, or
leave of absence.
Part C. In the meantime, the Vice President will assume the duties of the
President, the Secretary will assume the duties of the Vice President, and
the Secretary/Treasurer will interchangeably assume the duties of the
Secretary/Treasurer should those offices be vacant
Section 3: NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
Part A. Nominations for all offices will be taken from the floor of the
third-to-last meeting of the spring quarter each year.
Part B. Any member may nominate any other member, including herself.
Part C. Elections will be held at the second-to-last meeting of the spring
quarter.
Part D. The candidate receiving the most votes will be elected as an
officer. In case of a tie the president will vote. In the circumstance that the
current President is running for an office for the next term, then the
President will have equal voting rights solely for that position. In case of a
tie, a revote will take place.
Part E. All voting will be done by a secret ballot. Votes will be counted
by graduating seniors.
Section 4: REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
Part A. Officers may be removed from office for failure to perform
duties or for violation of membership clause. Prior to removal, the sister
will be put on probation for a quarter. During this time if the sister
continues to fail in her responsibilities, the she is subject to removal from
office by majority vote. Otherwise, the probation is terminated and the
sister will continue in her position.
Part B. Officers to be voted upon in this regard will be notified of the
intention to do so in writing at least one week prior to the meeting at
which the vote will be taken.
Part C. A two-thirds majority of quorum present at a meeting shall be
sufficient for removal from office.
ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS
Section 1:
ASO meetings will be held on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. at the University of
California, Santa Barbara campus every week excluding finals week.
Section 2:
Special meetings may be called by any combination of three of the
officers. Notice of special meetings must be communicated to all
members at least 28 hours in advance of the meeting.
Section 3:
To conduct business at any meeting, one half plus one of the entire voting
memberships must be present to form a quorum.
Section 4:
Any member who is more than 15 minutes late from the time the president
call the meeting is considered to be absent. They will still obtain their
voting privilege. Failure to attend more than 2 meetings per quarter will
result in probation. During this time all membership rights will be
revoked.
Section 5:
Only due to the fact that many holidays fall on Monday and campus
facilities are closed, ASO meeting date will be changed to Tuesdays at
7:30 P.M. The regular meeting date and time cannot be changed in the
middle of the year.
ARTICLE V: COMMITTEES
Section 1: COMMITTEES
Part A. Committees may be appointed by a majority vote of the members
at a regular meeting of ASO.
Part B. In appointing such committees, ASO members must specify the
purpose and chair or co-chair of that committee, and establish its duration.
ARTICLE VI: AFFILIATIONS
Section 1: UCSB
Part A. This organization is a recognized student organization at the
University of California, Santa Barbara but is not part of the University
itself.
Part B. In all correspondence and business transactions, it may refer to
itself as an organization at UCSB, but not as a part of UCSB itself.
Part C. ASO accepts full financial and production responsibility for all
activities it sponsors
Part D. ASO agrees to abide by all pertinent UCSB policies and
regulations. Where UCSB policies and regulations and those of ASO
differ, the policies and regulations of UCSB will take precedence.
Part E. This organization recognizes and understand that the University
assumes no legal liability for the actions of the organization, and that the
University is not providing blanket indemnification insurance coverage for
any activities of the organization, unless those activities expressly benefit
and further the goals of the University, and have received prior review.
Section 2:
Part A. ASO is in hopes to be the Iota chapter at the University of
California Santa Barbara.
Part B. Where ASO guidelines, regulations, or policies differ from those
of UCSB, UCSB’s policies regulations, and guidelines take precedence.
ARTICLE VII: BY-LAWS AND AMENDMENTS
Section 1: BY-LAWS
Part A. By-laws can be added to this constitution by a simple majority
vote of the entire membership at a regular meeting of ASO.
Part B. This constitution takes precedence over any and all by-laws
Section 2: AMENDMENTS
Part A. This constitution can be amended by a two-thirds vote of the
entire membership at a regular meeting of ASO.
Part B. Notification of such a motion must be made to members at least
one meeting in advance of the one in which the actual vote is taken.
Lilliana Karadavoukian
Atina Manvelian
Astkhik Hakopyan
Shushan Tigranyan
Anita Tokatyan