Filipino Cultural Association at Towson University Official Constitution

We believe that the Filipino Cultural Association at Towson is an educational instrument designed to provide actual learning experiences in leadership and opportunities for practicing the qualities of Filipino/Filipino-American heritage throughout Towson University’s campus. 

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ARTICLE I: NAME OF ORGANIZATION 

The name of this organization shall be called the Filipino Cultural Association at Towson (also referred to as FCAT). 

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ARTICLE II: PURPOSE 

    Section 1. FCAT shall represent the interests of, provide guidance for, and foster unity for all the universities, colleges, technological schools and all other secondary higher educational institutions within its respective regional boundaries, in order to bring about meaningful change, and shall promote and articulate the unique needs and issues facing the Filipino and Filipino-American community. 

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    Section 2. FCAT’s mission is to expose the Filipino culture to the Towson student body as a community and to further promote the growth of our members in their cultural awareness.

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    Section 3. The goals of this organization are to: 

        i. Support our members in recognition of their personal and surrounding cultural identities; 

        ii. Promote unity as an integral component of a successful cultural organization; 

        iii. Initiate philanthropic efforts in the Philippines; 

        iv. Create a positive image of FCAT on and off campus and 

        v. Establish relationships with other organizations. 

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ARTICLE: III: AFFILIATION and MEMBERSHIP 

    Section 1. Members will be invited to join FCAT at their leisure and interest. 

        i. To be a member of FCAT, one must pay the membership fees 

            a. Membership requires a $5 fee to join per semester or $8 for the whole year, for support for future events or services 

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    Section 2. FCAT may elect two representatives and appoint up to two proxies (two may be appointed under the circumstances that both D6 Representatives (also referred to as D6 or DVI)  maintain officer positions, otherwise only one proxy may be only be appointed if only one or no D6 Representatives are an officer on D6 Board of the Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue, Incorporated (FIND, Inc.). 

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    Section 3: In order to represent FCAT at an event (D6 semi performances, D6 basketball, D6 turkey bowl, etc.) you must be a due paying member.  

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ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS 

    Section 1. FCAT shall elect new officers at its last annual meeting. The elected officers shall be among the following: 

        i.President 

        ii. Vice President 

        iii. Treasurer

        iv. Fundraising Chair 

        v. Secretary 

        vi. Historian 

        vii. Public Relations Chair (formerly known as FCAT Ambassador)

        viii. Culture Chair(s) 

        ix. D6 Representatives 

        x. Community Service Outreach Chair 

        xi. Sports Coordinator(s)

        xii. Creative Chair 

        xiii. Newcomer Representatives 

            a. Two positions available from the pool of incoming new members appointed by the current Executive Board. 

            b. New members are defined as members who have been part of FCAT for no more than 4 semesters.

            c. No more than one newcomer representative can have been a member of FCAT for more than 4 semesters

        xiv. Webmaster 

            a. May be appointed by the current Executive Board; however, it is not necessary to fill this position. 

        xv. Senior Advisor  

            a. The position of Senior Advisor will be chosen by the newly elected Executive Board. The Senior Advisor must have served on FCAT’s board for more than two terms and must be available to help when needed. The newly elected EBoard will vote on one to three candidates to be their Senior Advisor. 

 

    Section 2. Students who are members of FCAT outlined in this constitution for three consecutive semesters or have served one full term on the Executive Board can run for the position of Treasurer. 

            a. Exceptions may be considered under the supervision of the current Executive Board. 

            b. The Treasurer elect must be a Towson student during the entirety of their term. 

            c. Under extenuating circumstances, the President(s) and Vice President have the ability to waive these prerequisites. 

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    Section 3. Students who are members of FCAT outlined in this constitution for three consecutive semesters and have served one full term on the Executive Board can run for the positions of Vice President and President. 

            a. Exceptions may be considered under the supervision of the current Executive Board. 

            b. The President elect must be a Towson student during the entirety of their term. 

            c. A President can be represented by two candidates that agree to work together, both running as co-presidents.

            d. Under extenuating circumstances, the President(s) and Vice President have the ability to waive these prerequisites. 

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    Section 4. The elected body of FCAT shall have a transitional meeting and will assume office after the school year. 

 

    Section 5. In the case of an officer leaving their position during their term, the Executive Board can appoint another member who previously ran but did not get elected. If those

candidates are not appointed by vote of the Executive Board, the position may be opened to the General Body. 

        i. If no one chooses to run for the available position, the duties of that position will be distributed between the current standing officers.

        ii. In the event that the duties of the unfilled position cannot be distributed, it will automatically fall under the duties of President. 

 

    Section 6. A representative shall not serve as the same officer for more than a total of two terms. 

            a. Under extenuating circumstances, if no representative is willing to run for a position, the representative that has served as the same officer for more than a total of two terms may be offered the opportunity to run for a third term. 

            b. Under extenuating circumstances, the President(s) and Vice President have the ability to waive these prerequisites.

 

    Section 7. Those running for a position will deliver a speech at the annual election General Body meeting. Following each candidate’s speech, there will be a Question-and-Answer session. Anonymous votes will be tallied in private ideally by an executive board member that is not running for a position. 

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    Section 8. If an officer is unable to fully complete their responsibilities as part of the executive board, they may appoint up to 2 proxies (with a maximum of 4 total on board) who will assist them in completing the responsibilities of that officer. Proxies will be considered an officer of the Executive Board, unless the current Executive Board decides against it.

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    Section 9. The newly elected board can vote an executive board member to multiple positions, but this is highly advised to be done as a last resort.

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    Section 10. If a newly elected board member is seen as controversial, two votes need to take place by the current eboard.

• The first vote is to recognize that the nominee is in fact a controversial nominee

• The second vote is to move forward with selecting said nominee for eboard

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ARTICLE V: IMPEACHMENT OF OFFICERS 

    Section 1. For any FCAT elected officer to be impeached, a letter of complaint shall be submitted to the appointed group advisor stating the charges or reasoning for impeachment. 

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    Section 2. The advisor shall notify the accused officer of the complaint. 

        i. The accused may either step down (in which case, refer to Article IV, Section 6). 

OR 

        ii. The accused may request that the case be heard by all of the members of the FCAT Executive Board. 

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    Section 3. If an accused officer requests for a case, the following procedures must be in order: 

        i. The presiding officers shall be the remaining officers not involved in the attempted impeachment. 

        ii. Both parties shall separately state their cases on the subject of Impeachment. 

        iii. The officers shall deliberate privately for no longer than 30 minutes on the accused. 

        iv. The representatives shall take a “No Confidence Vote” 

            a. For the final vote regarding impeachment, the executive board shall only take one vote; there will be no revote. 

        v. A 2/3 Majority Vote is needed for an officer to be impeached. 

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ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS 

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    Section 1. The President shall have the full authority in calling the FCAT Meetings. 

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    Section 2. A General Body Meeting for FCAT shall be held at least biweekly following the first General Body Meeting unless there are extenuating circumstances. 

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ARTICLE VII: AMENDMENTS 

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    Section 1. Proposed amendments to this Constitution are to be submitted to the Executive Board. 

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    Section 2. A majority vote by the Executive Board will be needed to ratify any amendment to the constitution for FCAT. 

   

    Section 3. The President will present the revised Constitution to the General Body. 

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ARTICLE VIII: RATIFICATION 

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    Section 1. This Constitution is in immediate effect following ratification by a 3/5-majority vote by the Executive Board.

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    Section 2. This Constitution takes precedence over BYLAWS and ANY NEW PROCESSES.

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    Section 3. The Constitution must be reviewed every year and must go for updated ratification during the initial review. 

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ARTICLE IX: MISCONDUCT

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    Section 1. FCAT seeks to maintain a safe and healthy environment free from sexual misconduct of any form. Thus, FCAT enforces a zero-tolerance policy upon any form of sexual and gender-based misconduct including but not limited to sexual violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, non-forcible sex act, stalking, and domestic abuse. 

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    Section 2. FCAT has zero tolerance for any form of racism and discriminatory misconduct. Any individuals found in violation of this policy will be subject to one or more of the following consequences. This includes, but is not limited to: Inability to attend FCAT events.