Mission:The mission of the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) at Rutgers University is to promote an awareness and appreciation of the Vietnamese culture. VSA is open to people of all cultures , ethnicities, and backgrounds, and encourages any person that is interested in Vietnamese culture to join. VSA serves to create culturally, socially, and educationally significant events that stimulate understanding among the Vietnamese people and their communities. Furthermore, VSA provides its members with an opportunity to interact and exchange ideas vital to the growth and prosperity of their communities. VSA is a student organization, which offers guidance and provides a support network for any and all students; VSA is dedicated to serve the public through community service, teaching of the Vietnamese language and culture.
Constitution:Organization Name:
Vietnamese Student Association - VSA (Cultural Organization)Organization Purposes:
1. To educate and increase the awareness of the Vietnamese culture, traditions, and history of the Rutgers community
2. To maintain and strengthen the unity of the Vietnamese students at the diversified University of Rutgers
3. To support members through network of tutors and mentors in their educational, personal and cultural growth
4. To smoothen the transition of new university students to a large and diversified environmentSelection of Officers/Members/Advisor:
Membership shall be open to all Rutgers University Students and must comply with federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, disability, marital status, familial status, affectional or sexual orientation, or veteran status.
Officers of this organizations hall only be Rutgers College students or Rutgers College affiliates (i.e. College of Pharmacy, Mason Gross School of Arts, School of Business and College of Engineering), unless the organization is chartered at more than one undergraduate college, in which this case officers may be from any undergraduate college. The minimum number of officers of the above named organization shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
The advisor to the organization must be a full-time member of the Rutgers University faculty or staff. The advisor must have the rank of Instructor or above.Election:
The Executive Board shall consist of the above named officers and the advisor. The advisor is a non-voting member. It shall be the responsibility of the Executive Board to supervise the nomination and election process.a. The method of nominations from the floor and self-nominations shall be used to nominate all candidates for the following academic year: the officers nominated shall include the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
b. The officers will preside over the election and will tabulate the results, unless an incumbent officer is a candidate and in such cases he/she shall not tabulate the results.
c. Nominations for officers should be made at the meeting prior to the elections.
d. No student may hold more than one office on the Executive Board at the same time.
e. If, after the close of nominations, there are no candidates for a given office, the present Executive Board shall appoint an individual to fill the vacancy with the present membership's approval within three weeks of the elections.The above mentioned officers shall be elected by a plurality of votes cast by secret ballot.
Should a vacancy occur in any office except the presidency, the vice-president shall assume the duties of the president until the next regular scheduled election. If the vice-president cannot assume the duties, a special election shall be held to fill the vacancy.
Voter eligibility shall be determined by most current membership list on file or with the Student Activities Office, at the same time of elections. Membership list updates or additions submitted less than 30 working days prior tot he date of election are not valid for such election.Removal of Officers/Members:
Impeachment proceedings may be brought against any officer of the organization by any (3) three members of the organization.
These members must file charges in writing, with all Executive Committee members. These charges must also be filed with the Student Activities Office where chartered.
The organization must then have a special meeting to discuss the changes two weeks from the date the charges were filed.
Removal from office requires a 2/3 vote of voting members.Programs/Committees/Branches of Organization:
The organization shall remain responsible for the ecological consequences of its actions and take steps to insure that any of the actions of this organization shall not further adversely affect the environment.
All posters and other paraphernalia used to advertise activities will be removed from the area to which they were affixed after the expiration of said activities.
Rutgers College requires that all moneys (including but not limited to dues, donations and student fee allocations of student organizations registered at Rutgers College and receiving more than 50% of its funding from Rutgers College must keep its funds in the Rutgers College Student Fund Accounting Office. Otherwise, all moneys must be maintained in an account at one of the residential undergraduate colleges were it is registered. Organizations must hold their funds at only one college. The following officers: President and Treasurer shall be the only authorized people to withdraw funds.
This organizations hall abide by all applicable rules and regulations of the University and under the privileges as granted by the Office of Student Leadership, Involvement & Programs, Deans, and Dean of Students where chartered. This organization shall also abide by the rules and regulations of the Board of Governors, the University, and the colleges as provided by the Board of Governors and the Deans of the Colleges.
This Organization shall abide by all applicable laws of the State of New Jersey and the Unites States.Duties of Officers/Members:
I. President
1. Shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer
2. Shall be the official Spokesperson for VSA
3. Set long and short-term strategies, goals and objectives for the Association
4. Shall be responsible for organizing and running all organization meetings
5. Oversees all directors and committee activities.
II. Duties of the Vice-President Internal
1. Presides over the general and e-board meetings.
2. Shall take over the office of the President, if the position becomes vacant.
3. Shall assist the President and coordinate the efforts of the organization's committees
4. Shall be responsible for room reservations for events and meetings.
III. Duties of the Vice-President External
1. Presides over the general and e-board meetings.
2. Shall take over the office of the President, if the position becomes vacant.
3. Shall assist the President and coordinate the efforts of the organization's committees
4. Shall be responsible for room reservations for events and meetings
IV. Duties of the Secretary
1. Take minutes of e-board and general meetings
2. Disseminates meeting minutes and agendas to all members and e-board through e-mail
3. Keep and updated roster of VSA members, their phone and school addresses and phone numbers.
4. Call/e-mail VSA members to remind them about meetings.
V. Duties of the Treasurer
1. Keeps track of all monetary transactions.
2. Shall work with the Event Coordinator and Fundraiser chair for social events and fundraising that may involve money.
VI. Duties of the Social Chair
1. Shall act as a representative of VSA to the public
2. Responsible for advertisement of general meetings and events
3. Coordinate committees specializing in public relations
4. Attend all Asian Student Council meetings
VII. Duties of the Event Coordinator
1. Coordinates community service events
2. Responsible for special guests or honorariums during events
3. Plan social events for club members to participate in
VIII. Duties of the Webmaster
1. Shall update the VSA website bi-weekly
2. Shall keep track of all current/future events
3. Shall design all membership cards
IX. Fundraiser Chair
1. Ensures that VSA is an active participant in Rutgers University fundraising events as well as others outside the Rutgers community
2. Shall work with the treasurer concerning budget information
3. Shall make sure that VSA members play an active role in fundraising events
X. Dance Troupe Captain
1. Oversee dance practices and dance groups
2. Recruits members into the dance team
3. Choreographs dances (including cultural and modern) dances for upcoming shows and/or fundraisers
XI. Historian
1. Acts as the photographer for VSA’s events and general meetings
2. Shall work with the Webmaster to update the VSA websiteAll officers are responsible for organizing and running the organization. All members (including officers) are expected to attend all meetings.
Decision-Making:
All officers make decisions concerning upcoming events/activities. Decisions are then carried out to members within the organization and are voted on. The President makes the final decision.
Officers can make an appeal/overturn decisions with a 3/4 vote.Amendments:
a. Any member may propose an amendment to its constitution. A written copy of the proposed amendment shall be submitted to the Executive Board which shall give written notification to the membership at the meeting following the receipt of the proposed amendment.
b. The constitution may be amended by a 2/3's vote of the membership, provided the amendment was submitted in writing at a previous regular meeting and notice was given to tall members at least one week before the meeting on the constitutional amendment. The amendment will go into effect after it has been present to and approved by the Students Activities Office where chartered.
