Constitution of the Trent African and Caribbean Students’ Union:
I. Name of Organisation:
Trent African and Caribbean Students’ Union, referred to in this document as TACSU
II. Mission Statement:
TCASU exists to promote, preserve and protect African and Caribbean culture by providing a cultural outlet and safety net for its members
III. Symbol/ Logo
I. Name of Organisation:
Trent African and Caribbean Students’ Union, referred to in this document as TACSU
II. Mission Statement:
TCASU exists to promote, preserve and protect African and Caribbean culture by providing a cultural outlet and safety net for its members
III. Symbol/ Logo
The visual symbol/ logo representing TACSU will be shown on page 1. This logo shall be used only to represent TACSU in an official capacity.
IV. Membership
The membership of this organisation is open to all members of the Trent University committee
V. TACSU Guidelines
Guideline V a – Principles under which TACSU is guided
As TACSU is an organisation that is comprised of various individuals, freedom of expression is guaranteed, provided it does not infringe upon the rights of others. No form of discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious affiliation will be tolerated.
Guideline V b –Meetings
i) Meetings should follow the ‘Robert Rules of Order’
ii) TACSU shall meet no less than twice every month
General Meetings
i) At least four members of the executive should be present at all meetings including the President and the Public Relations Officer
ii) At the first meeting for the academic year, each executive should give a mandate of what they plan to do for the year for the acceptance by the TACSU members
iii) Tentative dates for general meetings for the academic year should be presented at the first meeting
iv) There shall be four bi-semester formal meetings
v) General meetings should serve the purpose of addressing issues within Trent, current affairs, debates, cultural events, presentation from members etc.
Annual General Meeting
There should be an annual meeting during the last week of March to review the performance of the outgoing executive. This is going to serve as a measure of accountability to TACSU members by the outgoing executive
Executive Meetings
i) The executive shall never meet no less than once a week
ii) There must be 50% +1 executive members (4 members) present at executive meetings, members should strive to be present at all times.
VI. TACSU Executive
A) The TACSU executive will consist of the following members:PresidentVice PresidentSecretaryTreasurerPublic Relations OfficerEvents Coordinator
B) Eligibility
i) To be eligible, candidates must be of African and/ or Caribbean descent and must have attended general meetings and participated in club activities- If a candidate does not meet the above criterion, they will be eligible to run upon nomination by a TACSU member if seconded by at least nine other members
ii) Must be a registered student of Trent University, inclusive of both undergraduate and graduate students
iii) Each individual is eligible to hold only one executive position at one time.iv) Candidates will be elected on an annual basis
C) Responsibilities
1. The President:
i) Must have knowledge of constitutional procedure - To maintain order and decide procedure- To ensure the execution of tasks delegated to the executive- To remain impartial and vote only in the event of a tie
ii) To acts as a spokesperson and official representative of TACSU, expressing viewpoints and decisions made by the organisation
iii) To act as liaison between TACSU and other student organisations within Trent University
iv) To act as financial co-signer with the Treasurer
v) To actively solicit the opinions and ideas of the TACSU membership through surveys or other means regarding executive performance and TACSU events
vi) To ensure good two-way communication between TACSU membership and the executive
2. The Vice-President
i) To serve as acting President should the President be unable to complete his/ her term of office
ii) Should any executive member be temporarily/ permanently unable to fulfill his/ her duties, the Vice –President shall ensure that said duties are performed until that member of the executive is able to resume his/ her position or a new member is elected to fill the vacancy
iii) To actively solicit the opinions and ideas of the TACSU membership through surveys or other means regarding executive performance and TACSU events
iv) To ensure good two-way communication between TACSU membership and the executive
v) To act as financial co-signer with the Treasurer
3. The Secretary
i) To be responsible to TACSU for all verbal or written communication between the executive and members. These include e-mail, agendas for meetings, details of TACSU events and notices
ii) Ensuring continuous updating of all records
iii) To submit minutes of the previous meeting to TACSU members prior to the next meeting
iv) To keep a file of all documents so that they will be passed unto the following year
4. The Treasurer
i) To be responsible for the management of TACSU funds
ii) To be responsible for monthly treasurer reports that should be submitted to the executive and members prior to monthly meetings
iii) All funds being released to other organisations and persons should be released by cheque. A receipt is to be obtained and documented
iv) The Treasurer will, in the absence of the secretary, maintain effective, efficient and informative minutes
v) The treasurer is responsible for collecting and documenting all receipts
5. Public Relations Officer
i) Responsible for forming a subcommittee consisting of representatives from each college whose duties will be:
a) Plan effective strategies for advertising and promotion at the beginning of each semester
b) In charge of printing and posting of posters and all other promotional plans
ii) Strictly in charge of all information flowing from the TACSU executive to the members
a) Chairperson/ Facilitator of TACSU general meetings
b) Is responsible for the agenda of the meeting
iii) Acts as a link between:
a) The Executive and members
b) TACSU and the Trent community
c) TACSU and the Peterborough community
iv) Is responsible for the weekly updating of all mediums of communication including but not limited to the website
6. Events Coordinator
i) Responsible for coming up with and brainstorming creative ideas for TACSU
ii) Ensures that all necessary to carry out planned events are available
a) Presenting a proposal and budget to executive as well as members
b) Coordinating the designated people to specific to each event
iii) Work simultaneously with the Public Relations Officer
iv) Responsible for forming Sub-committees to assist in the planning of events as required
Executive Election
i) Executive Members must read and sign the constitution upon election
Executive Resignation
i) In the event that an Executive member wishes to resign, he/ she is expected to submit a letter of resignation at least 4 weeks prior to the resignation date
Elections:
The TACSU Executive Body will be elected by the general body of the union at the Annual Election
Notice of Elections:
i) Elections must be publicly announced at least two weeks prior to the set election date
Annual Elections:
i) Elections will be conducted by an Elections Committee comprised of 4 members of the out-going Executive and an Electoral officer
ii) The Electoral Officer will be nominated by the general member body to observe the elections and ensure elections are conducted in an orderly and appropriate manner
iii) Members are required to register in order to vote in the Annual Elections. Registration should be carried out at least one week prior to the election date
By-Elections:
i) Any vacant office shall be filled by carrying out a by-election which shall be held at least 4 weeks following the stated date of resignation
Ratification of Elections:
i) The Elections Committee is charged with the responsibility of ratifying the election results and the release of the official results to the general body
Voting Procedure:
i) Each TACSU member is permitted only one vote
ii) Only members that have attended general meetings and participated in club activities are permitted to vote
iii) Voting shall be carried out by secret ballot
iv) Any motion garnering less than 60
v) % majority will be held over until the next meeting and a revote, pending discussion. If the motion still garners majority support (50%), the motion will pass as voted upon
vi) Any member of TACSU ( Executive or otherwise) can rise/ submit a motion
Financial Activities
i) The executive is required to provide a full disclosure of TACSU’s financial activities in the form of financial statements at the end of each year to be passed on to the new executive. Past executives are to be held responsible for the financial position of the organisation
ii)At least $500 should be left in the account and carried forward to the next year to ensure continuity of club activities
Check of Executive Power
i) All grievances with regard to Executive activity must be submitted in writing to the Executive Members. Upon submission complaints will be evaluated and brought forth to the following meeting for discussion and ratification
