BYLAWS

Article I

Elections and Voting

  1. Election for the Executive Board Officer positions shall be held annually prior to 1 June. A New England Turkish Student Association (NETSA) year is the same as an academic year. Those elected shall take office on 1 July.

  2. In order to be elected as an Executive Board Officer (officer/s), nominee must be physically present for the entire fiscal year (i.e. cannot go abroad or take sabbatical unless the Executive Board decides otherwise). 

  3. Nominations and applications of officers shall be made in writing. Candidates shall be voted upon at the regular meeting following the meeting at which nominations are made. 

  4. In order to be nominated as the president, nominee must have taken an active role in the Executive Board for a minimum of one fiscal year, or equal amount of months, in the previous years. If there is a lack of eligible members during the voting period, an exception to the minimum active period requirement can be made.

    1. Once elected, the president may serve in his/her role up to two (2) fiscal years. Once the maximum duration has been reached, future options for the president are as listed: becoming a part of the Oversight Committee, or becoming a regular member of NETSA.

  5. Election process is as follows:

    1. Nominees for a certain position do their presentation up to 5 minutes.

    2. Nominees leave the room, and Executive Board discusses the pros and cons of each Nominee, as long as the group feels needed.

    3. Voting shall be by secret ballot. Each officer may cast one vote. After the discussion period, officers vote in silence. 

    4. Designated Vote Collector, person who is not part of the Executive Board most likely from a Delegate or Volunteer, counts the votes. Those candidates receiving a majority of the votes of the officers shall be elected.

    5. Nominees are notified of the results the day after the election day, by email, or a similar alternative method, should e-mail not be a viable option for a nominee.  

    6. If an officer cannot be physically present at the time of the election, he/she may attend the elections via phone/Skype and designated representatives who are assigned by the Executive Board will collect their votes and hand them in for the secret ballot. 

    7. In the case that an officer chooses not to attend the election meeting, despite being reminded by the Executive Board to do so, his/her vote will be void. 

6. Voting process is as follows:

  1. NETSA follows the procedure of voting upon any disputes or directions. 

  2. A vote that has been resolved can not be reopened upon further dispute.

  3. All executive board members have the same weight to a vote.

  4. Voting can be open or closed. In the event of a dispute on if the vote shall be open or closed, a closed preliminary-vote will happen to decide if the vote under dispute shall be open or closed.

  5. Each vote shall be opened with three options:

    • Accept

    • Deny

    • Abstain

  6. Abstain votes are counted as neutral (0.5 votes towards both accept and deny).

  7. Each vote will have an expiration time whereas all executive board members that have not voted shall be counted towards abstain.

  8. No one can vote on behalf of an executive board member.

  9. In the event of a tied-vote the president shall decide on the outcome which is not to be abstain.

    1. In the event that the president is not present in a vote, the deciding vote shall be given by the vice-president. 

    2. In the extreme case that neither the president nor the vice president is present in a vote, the director shall decide on the outcome of a tied vote.

  10. All votes shall be saved into writing, either the secretary or the director will log the vote.

  11. The director is responsible for informing the exec board of each vote and making sure the vote completes in a timely manner.

Article II

Duties of Officers

  1. President:

    The president shall preside at all regular and special meetings of the club according to the constitution and shall set the agenda for each meeting. He/she shall, with the approval of the Executive Board, appoint all standing and special committees and, in the event of a vacancy in the Executive Board, shall, with the approval of the Executive Board, fill such vacancy by appointment until the next regular election of the club. He/she shall be an ex officio member of all committees. He/she shall maintain communication with other organizations if necessary. He/she shall keep track of assignments and deadlines, and shall supervise each Executive Board position, making sure they are fulfilling their duties. Additionally, the president shall be responsible for creating a communication channel for the member TSAs Presidents’ Council, and keeping track of the activities of said council. The president shall have unlimited access to all club funds. In the case of a tied vote on any issue, the president shall resolve the vote.

  2. Vice-president:

    The vice-president shall succeed to the office of president in the event or removal of the latter for whatever cause, and, in the absence of the president, shall preside at all meetings of the club. He/she shall be the contact point and leader for all delegates. Additionally, the vice-president shall be responsible for keeping track of the volunteers, their responsibilities, activities and communicate with them directly throughout the fiscal year. 

  3. Secretary:

    The secretary shall maintain all club records, he/she shall keep meeting minutes and provide access to the copies to all officers. If he/she was unable to attend a meeting, he/she shall find a replacement for his/her duties. He/she shall arrange the upcoming weekly meetings by distributing the agenda and sharing the calendar with the members. He/she shall make the announcement of the board-related activities. He/she shall maintain the membership database, mailing lists and communication software. He/she shall also keep track of meeting attendance. The secretary shall log the votes.

  4. Treasurer:

    The treasurer shall have custody of all club funds, maintaining all necessary records and depositing all such funds in a bank approved by the Executive Board. He/she shall report on the club’s financial status at each meeting of the club and shall hold all records available for inspection by any board member. All disbursements shall be by check and with the signature of two authorized officers. For events, he/she shall keep detailed records of the financial transactions, including but not limited to collecting Expenditure Request Form (ERF) - an itemized list of expected spending - and Proof of Expenditure Form (PEF) - a form collected after the event, filled by the event host, presented with any receipts of event related expenditure- to later compare the two forms for any reimbursements. The treasurer shall work with the Director to fill Tax forms and any related government required document. 

  5. Director:

    The Director shall maintain all legal and official documents. He/she must be present in all discussions with any legal counsel. He/she must audit processes within the organization to make sure nonprofit status is attained. The director is responsible for starting any voting process and is responsible for making sure all exec board members have been notified. The director is responsible for making sure the vote has been logged by the secretary.

  6. Event Coordinator:

    The Event Coordinator shall be in charge of general planning and arrangement of events. He/she shall be responsible for arranging A/V, catering, accommodations and all other related matters on event organization.

  7. Marketing Coordinator:

    The Marketing Coordinator have responsibilities in two main fields: social media accounts and website activities. He/she is responsible to promote upcoming events, increase subscriptions and post material for the special days(e.g. May 19th, Oct 29th, Mothers’ Day…) in appropriate social media platform. Additionally, he/she shall maintain all the website activities, create posts, announce upcoming events on time and provide polls to engage visitors. In order to organize marketing processes, he/she should collect pictures and other audiovisual media during each event. It is also his/her responsibility to collaborate with the Event Coordinator and organize on-site activities during events. The processes of designing and distributing samples (e.g. pencils, bags, notebooks), creating visuals (flyers, posters), recording videos and preparing other visuals are in the control of Marketing Coordinator and he/she may collaborate with other board members as needed. 

  8. Outreach Coordinator:

    The Outreach Coordinator is mainly responsible for initiating and maintaining outside contacts (e.g. companies, representatives, NGOs, college Turkish Student Associations). He/She has the right to involve or assign other general board members with the permission to get in contact with prominent members of the local Turkish-American society according to their field of expertise as needed. He/She may also proactively search for potential opportunities that allow NETSA to expand its reach within different communities and organizations.

Article III

Membership

There are 5 levels of membership in New England Turkish Student Association. Membership requirements are stated below.

  1. Active Members

  • The active members shall maintain harmonious and efficient relationships within New England Turkish Student Association.

  • Active members must thoroughly read and sign off on the Constitution at the start of their membership.

  • Each member must be part of the New England Turkish Student Association Listserve and thus provide their email addresses.

  • Each member must attend and participate in at least three events in a fiscal year.

  • In order for an active member to maintain their status, they must fulfill their requirements.

  1. Inactive Members

  • A member going inactive should inform the President in a written letter. If one is inactive and wishes to become active again, one should address a letter to the President. These letters should be presented to the Executive board and Judiciary board at the following Chapter meeting.

  • Inactive membership includes those active members of the chapter who have ceased to pursue a regular course of study (i.e. gone abroad, taken a semester off). 

  • An inactive member may not attend meetings or events.

  • She may retain all rights and privileges to New England Turkish Student Association paraphernalia. 

  • Any member may not hold an inactive status for more than two consecutive year. After this, one will become automatically disaffiliated.

  1. Alumni Members

  • Alumni Members must graduate while they were affiliated with New England Turkish Student Association’s Executive board.

  • Alumni Members may attend all events.

  • Alumni Members may attend Chapter and Executive board meetings as advisors only, they have the right to comment during the ten minutes designated to them at the end of the meeting. 

  • If an Alumni Member is disruptive to the meeting structure methodized by the President and the Executive Board sees it fit, they will be asked to leave the meeting and not attend any further meetings until declared otherwise.

  1. Honorary Members

  • Honorary members must be elected with 2/3 votes of the Executive Board and Judiciary board.

  • Honorary members shall be those persons who have never been affiliated with New England Turkish Student Association before being elected.

  • Honorary members shall be those persons who sponsor, support and contribute to the mission of New England Turkish Student Association.

  1. Disaffiliated Membership

  • Disaffiliated members are those who have chosen to break all ties with New England Turkish Student Association.

  • At the time of disaffiliation, the member may no longer attend chapter meetings or social functions.

  • If members desire to disaffiliate, they must write a letter addressed to the entire association.

  • Those members who have not fulfill their membership requirements and who have misrepresented the mission of New England Turkish Student Association will be disaffiliated, if 2/3 of the Executive and Judiciary boards vote for their disaffiliation.

Article IV

Duties of Other Positions

All members of the executive board can form subcommittees for a specific task at hand and invite other members of the general board. Participation in these subcommittees are not required but encouraged. Subcommittees can only be formed for a limited time (i.e. a board member cannot assign roles to another member for an indefinite length).

General Board

General Board is made of Executive Board and Volunteers. (Collaboration and cooperation is encouraged.)

Executive Board

All members must be under the age of 30 and students of New England area. Position responsibilities are mentioned in Article II. 

Volunteer

A volunteer is a student from the New England area who demonstrated an interest in assisting the Executive Board in planning and holding NETSA activities and events. The requirements and duties for volunteers are listed below: 

  • Having an active role in his/her school TSA is recommended but is not necessary for qualification.

  • Volunteers have the right to discuss and evaluate the candidates in the board elections, but they don’t have voting power.

  • Volunteers are considered active members; thus, they are eligible to apply for Executive Board positions for the following year. 

  • Each volunteer shall be assigned to work with an Executive Board officer.

  • These assignments shall be approved by all members of the Executive Board officers. 

  • Each Executive Board officer except President and Vice president will have a volunteer assigned to them to work with. Volunteers’ work will consist of the Executive Board officers’ duty. 

  • The assignments to each volunteer shall be given by the respective Executive Board officer based on their workload and shall be approved by either the President or the Vice President.

  • This assignment shall be done in an order of priority: 

  1. Marketing Coordinator and Event Coordinator shall have the priority in working with volunteers.

  2. In order for an Executive Board officer to have more than 2 volunteers assigned to him/her, each Executive Board officer shall have at least one volunteer assigned to him/her.

Advisory Board

The main goal of the Advisory Board is to bring NETSA members closer to people who share the mission and vision of NETSA. Members of the Advisory Board shall serve NETSA as partners for organizing events, meetings and partnerships that lead towards the main goal. Advisors on this board serve the Executive Board as consultants.

  • Eligibility: Past NETSA Executive Board members, business people, academicians, and professionals who are in connection with NETSA are eligible to join the Advisory Board after being selected by the Executive Board.

  • Voting Rights: The Advisory Board won’t have any voting rights.

  • Other Rights: The Advisory Board cannot veto any decisions that the Executive Board votes on, or decides otherwise.

  • Election & Duration of Service: The upcoming Advisory Board will be elected by the current fiscal year’s Executive Board. There can be additional members added to The Advisory Board, by voting majority of the Executive Board, without rerunning the election. Advisory Board elections will be rerun each year. A member who is already on the Advisory Board may be reelected.

  • Termination of Advisory Committee Members: The Advisory Board members service might be terminated by the Executive Board members anytime during the fiscal year at the request of the Advisory Board member themselves or by voting majority of the Executive Board.

  • Reporting and Meetings: At the beginning of each semester the executive board will give a report to the advisory board on what events are being planned.

Presidents’ Council

Presidents’ Council consists of the current presidents of the school TSA’s in the New England area. The requirements of the presidents’ council are as listed:

  • Communication: The communication in the Presidents’ Council will be achieved with an open source of communication channel, which will include all the presidents of school TSAs that are active and are member schools of NETSA.

  • Responsibilities: Presidents in this council will have an active role in communicating and planning for the joint events with their school TSA and be in contact with the members of the Presidents’ Council about their events to prevent overlapping of events throughout the school year.

Article IV

Amendments 

1.   All amendments to the constitution must be documented on paper and presented to the Executive Board at least five (5) business days prior to the vote.

2.    All amendments shall be tabled until the week after being presented, following a five (5) minute introductory discussion.

3.    All amendments and Executive Board meeting notes will be kept in the NETSA database.