UTURK - Bylaw

Case Western Reserve University

Union of Turkish Students

Constitution

Article I. General

Section 1: The name of the organization shall be the Union of Turkish Students at CASE, hereafter referred to as UTURK.

Section 2: UTURK shall be a non-profit, non-sectarian, non-religious body formed to work towards meeting the objectives as listed in Article II of this Constitution.

Section 3: UTURK shall abide by the standards outlined in the University policy & regulations.

Article II. Objectives

1. Represent and promote Turkish culture and heritage;

2. Help new Turkish students at Case Western Reserve University to adjust to campus life;

3. Provide opportunities for meeting and networking with professionals, local and otherwise.

4. Address the challenges encountered by the members of the organization.

5. Cooperate with other Turkish organizations in Ohio.

Article III. Membership and Voting Rights

Section 1: Membership to UTURK is open to anyone who shares the goals listed in Article II of this Constitution subject to the following condition: at least fifty percent (50%) of the members shall be graduate students full-time or part-time at Case Western Reserve University.

Section 2: No discrimination shall be made by the organization on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin, but it reserves the right to disallow the presence of certain/any individuals into UTURK events if the purpose, peace, and/or security of any of its events is, or may be compromised by said individuals.

Section 3: All eligible voting members and officers of UTURK must be currently enrolled at Case Western Reserve University and must have paid their dues and assessments. Membership will cease to be accepted 14 days prior to elections every year.

Article IV. Administration

Section 1: Officers

a. The panel of officers of UTURK (Executive Committee) shall always consist of President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary.

b. UTURK officers shall be elected annually by the members, as set forth in the bylaws, and will form the Executive Committee to govern UTURK.

c. UTURK officers shall perform such duties as are specified in the bylaws.

Article IV. Faculty Advisor

a. UTURK shall have a Faculty Advisor from the faculty of Case Western Reserve University at all times.

b. In the event that the Faculty Advisor resigns, the Executive Committee shall nominate a new Faculty Advisor.

c. The duty of the Faculty Advisor is to promote harmonious existence of the organization and to guide the officers when and where it is necessary; however, the members of UTURK will make the final decision in all matters concerning the organization.

Article V. Amendment

a. Any executive committee member may propose an amendment to this constitution.

1. The proposed amendment shall be submitted to the vice president at least two (2) weeks before it can be considered.

2. The vice president shall distribute copies of the proposed amendment to the executive committee members within one (1) week of its receipt.

b. Any amendment to this constitution shall require approval of the executive committee meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) majority, in person or by proxy.

c. Any amendment which receives approval shall become effective immediately after adjournment of the meeting in which it is approved unless the motion to amend specifies a time that the amendment shall take effect.

Case Western Reserve University

Union of Turkish Students

BYLAWS

Article I. Election of UTURK Officers/EC

Section 1: Qualifications of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Cultural Chair, and Webmaster.

Each officer shall be an enrolled full or part-time graduate student at Case.

Section 2: Term of Officers

a. Each officer shall serve a term twelve (12) months in duration, beginning October 1 and ending the following September 30.

b. Terms of officers elected or appointed after October 1 shall also expire on September 30.

Section 3: Election Procedure

a. Elections will be held in the last week of September, every year.

b. Nominations for officers shall be accepted beginning two weeks after first day of classes and will close one week prior to elections.

c. An election committee of two current committee members and two non-members shall conduct elections, count votes, and name the newly elected officers. No individual involved in conducting elections may be a potential candidate.

d. At least 30% of the active members should be involved in voting for the potential candidates. Voting will take at a location that will be publicized for at least two weeks before the event. In the event that a quorum is not reached, elections will be rescheduled. In the event that no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, a runoff election between the top two candidates will be held immediately.

e. In the event of a lack of nominations towards new officers for the ensuing year, the present officers along with the faculty advisor shall have the power to nominate an ad-hoc committee to discharge the duties of the association until new officers are elected.

Article II. Duties of Officers

Section 1: The President of UTURK shall preside over meetings, appoint committees, and have authority and responsibility of conducting the activities of UTURK with consent of the membership. The President shall also be responsible for fulfilling the criteria for recognition of UTURK by the Graduate Student Senate.

Section 2: The Vice-President/Secretary shall assist the President in her/his duties and shall assume the duties of the President in her/his absence or incapacity. She/he shall be responsible for all correspondence, recordings, reports, minutes, and announcements, which may be required by the members and officers of UTURK. The Secretary shall also be responsible for forming an agenda for every meeting.

Section 3: The Treasurer shall be responsible for monetary transactions for UTURK; keeping an account of all dues and assessments and of all receipts and expenditures; and shall make no payments without the order of the president or vice-president; and upon retiring from office, to present a written report of receipts and expenditures during her/his term of office. The Treasurer will also have the responsibilities of The Cultural Chair. The Treasurer shall be responsible for planning and coordinating the cultural and social programs, and informing other cultural groups of events and ideas from UTURK.

Section 4: The Webmaster shall be responsible for the maintenance and the upkeep of the UTURK webpage. She/he will also update the webpage with news on current/potential events. Also amongst the Webmaster’s responsibilities will be moderating the newsgroup information.

Section 6: The chair for New Student Concerns will form committees that will look into the pick-up and hosting of new graduate students arriving at Case, conducting an orientation and mentoring them to introduce to campus life.

Article III. Termination of UTURK Officers:

Section 1: An officer may be terminated if she or he has:

a. Failed to fulfill the duties specified in these bylaws;

b. A conflict of interest due to outside employment or academic commitment;

c. Failed to maintain registered status;

d. Been involved in illegal activity in the conduct of their position, or;

e. Violated the standards outlined in the University Policies and Regulations.

Section 2: Any declaration of termination requires a three-fourths (3/4) majority vote of eligible Executive Committee members.

Section 3: The Executive Committee may appoint an interim replacement until the time a replacement is elected by 2/3^rdmajority vote within the Executive Committee to serve any unfinished tasks/ remainder of that officer’s term.

Article IV. Meetings

Section 1: The Executive Committee shall meet at least once a month during the Fall and Spring semesters, and all available members shall meet at least once during the summer.

Section 2: Quorum: An executive committee meeting shall not be called to order unless and until a minimum of one-half (1/2) of all voting members of the executive committee are present in person.

Section 3: No business shall be voted upon unless a minimum of one-half (1/2) of all voting members of the executive committee are present in person.

Section 4: Voting: Amendments to the UTURK Bylaws and/or constitution shall require approval at an Executive Committee meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of those voting members present, in person.

Section 5: Meetings shall be run in accordance with the following procedure:

a. Officers shall resent their reports concerning their activities and duties performed.

b. Open Student Forum will then take place to allow any person in attendance of the General Body Meeting to address a particular concern, in the beginning of the session.

c. All decisions will be made at the discretion of the executive board, taking under advisement the concerns raised during Open Student Forum.

Section 6: At meetings, members will address each other in a civil and respectful manner. The chair is empowered to take reasonable action to restore order or remove people who have become disruptive during the course of a meeting. Before each meeting, the chair will be appointed by the execution committee.

Article VI. Membership Fee

Section 1: An annual membership fee of five (5) dollars will be assessed to each member of UTURK.

Section 2: Increases of the Membership Fee shall require approval at an Executive Committee meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of all voting members present in person.