We, the undergraduate students of Yale University interested in South Asia or South Asian America, put forth this Constitution for the South Asian Society at Yale University:

ARTICLE I
(Purpose)

Section 1 (Purpose)
The South Asian Society shall be an educational, cultural, political, and social organization for all. It shall conduct its business in good faith, always keeping in mind the plethora of backgrounds and beliefs of its community.

Section 2 (Secularity)
SAS shall be a strictly secular organization in that the Executive Board will make an effort in good faith to respect the traditions, events, and beliefs of all religions to which South Asia is home.  Recognizing that religion and culture are intertwined, the sponsoring of religious events for educational purposes is by no means prohibited. 

ARTICLE II
(Meetings)

Section 1 (General Meetings)
General meetings shall be held weekly, announced well in advance and open to all. The time and place for general meetings shall be decided at the first Executive Board meeting of the year, and should be held constant from week to week. The agenda for general meetings shall be set by the President. General meetings shall be run by the President.

Section 2 (Executive Board Meetings)
Executive Board meetings shall be held whenever called upon by the President. The time and place for such meetings shall be decided by the President.  The purpose of Executive Board meetings shall be to adopt a concerted plan of action toward fulfilling the goals of the organization - leaving general meetings for weekly planned events. The last fifteen (15) minutes of each Executive Board meeting will be open to all members.  Executive Board meetings shall only be run by the President.

Section 3 (Closure of Debate)
Debate shall be closed at the discretion of the President at both Executive Board meetings and general meetings. 

ARTICLE III
(Voting Privileges)

Section 1
The South Asian Society shall have no formal membership. Voting Privileges shall be accorded to all individuals on the SAS e-mailing list (sas-list.)

ARTICLE IV
(Executive Board)

Section 1 (Composition of the Executive Board)
The Executive Board shall consist of the President, 1 Vice-President, 1 Cultural Chair, 2 Political Action Chairs, 1 South Asian Society Action Committee (SASAC) Chairs, 1 Outreach Coordinator, 1 Social Chair, 1 Treasurer, and 1 Publicity Chair.  The composition of the Executive Board shall only be changed by amendment to the Constitution.

Section 2 (President)
The President shall serve as the official delegate of the South Asian Society to the Asian American Students Association (AASA). In the event the President is unable to represent SAS, he shall appoint a board member as his representative. The President shall oversee all facets of the organization including events, meetings, etc.  He shall assist in all the duties of the Executive Board as listed below. The President shall preside over both general meetings and Executive Board meetings, and he shall moderate any debates that ensue. The President shall set the agenda at general meetings and call Executive Board meetings. In the event of a tie in any vote at a general or Executive Board meeting, the President shall break the tie.  The President, along with the Treasurer, shall be the only ones to sign checks in the name of the South Asian Society.  The President shall keep and maintain the SAS email list, which is to be used for announcements and, at the discretion of the President, discussion. 

Section 3 (Vice-President)
The Vice-President will assist the President in all matters as determined by the President and in the event of the President’s absence will stand in to perform all functions of the President as described in Section 2. In addition, he will maintain a past and present history of the South Asian Society both on the internet and in the form of tangible documentation. He shall maintain a permanent collection of this history with the Manuscripts and Archive department of Sterling Memorial Library. The Vice-President shall also attend to all clerical matters of the South Asian Society. He shall be in charge of keeping minutes at all meetings, maintaining attendance records at general meetings, compiling lists, communicating with members and the community by phone, e-mail, and newsletters, computing, photocopying, and anything else deemed clerical by the President.

Section 4 (Cultural Chair)
The Cultural Chair shall attend to all cultural matters of the South Asian Society, including organizing dance and music workshops, cultural shows, and other events seeking to promote awareness of South Asian culture on campus.  Duties for the shows include obtaining performers, getting costumes, coordinating practices and rehearsals, designing menus, contacting restaurants, purchasing food, decorating, and anything else deemed cultural by the President.

Section 5 (Political Action Co-Chairs)
The Political Action Chairs shall attend to all political matters of the South Asian Society. They shall be in charge of education the members of the South Asian Society about political issues affecting South Asia and South Asian America. They will be responsible for contacting speakers; organizing forums, discussions and debates; taking political action based on the general sentiment of South Asian Society members; and pursuing anything else deemed political by the President.

Section 5 (SASAC Co-Chairs)
The South Asian Society Action Committee Chairs shall attend to all academic/curriculum-related matters of the South Asian Society.  They shall be in charge of the South Asian Society Action Committee, selecting its members, polling the Yale South Asian community to learn how South Asian studies can serve them better, taking the community's concerns to the Yale administration, contacting speakers, and organizing forums to increase South Asian course offerings and international course offerings at Yale.  As a liaison to the Council on South Asian Studies, they will work to actively promote South Asian studies on campus and in tandem with faculty, they will strive to better serve the academic needs of Yale undergraduates.

Section 6 (Outreach Coordinator)
The Outreach Coordinator shall attend to all matters of the South Asian Society pertaining to outreach to the local community and other organizations on campus.  He shall be in charge of organizing community service events and creating awareness in the New Haven area of South Asian culture and politics.  He shall also be in charge of acting as liaison to other organizations on campus in an attempt to increase coordination between undergraduate organizations.  He shall attempt to assist SAS in becoming involved in the larger pan-ethnic community, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, acting as a representative in coordination efforts with organizations at various schools within and without Yale University.

Section 7 (Social Chair)
The Social Chair shall attend to all social matters of the South Asian Society.  He shall be in charge of organizing events such as shows, dinners, dances, study breaks, etc.  He shall also be in charge of organizing and maintaining the big sib/little sib support network, to assist incoming freshmen and create a comfortable social atmosphere.

Section 8 (Treasurer)
The Treasurer shall attend to all financial matters of the South Asian Society. He shall be in charge of maintaining an accurate balance of the SAS account, reporting figures when necessary at all meetings, fund-raising, collecting money at all events, keeping track of all SAS debts and credits, making financial reports to the Yale administration, and anything else deemed financial by the President. The Treasurer, along with the President, shall be the only ones to sign checks in the name of the South Asian Society.

Section 9 (Publicity Chair)
The Publicity chair shall be in charge of publicizing all SAS events. This includes making posters and banners, coordinating co-sponsorships, and publicizing events by any other means.

Section 10 (Freshman Liaisons to the Executive Board)
There shall be two (3) freshman liaisons to the Executive Board.  Selection of Freshman liaisons shall be by majority vote of the freshmen in the general South Asian Society membership in an election conducted within the first month of the school year. 

Section 11 (Role of the Executive Board)
The Executive Board shall be the primary decision making body of the South Asian Society.  Executive Board decisions should be made by consensus moderated by the President. The Executive Board shall be in charge of determining the goals of the organization during their term, setting the time and place for events, creating ad hoc committees and selecting their chairs, establishing temporary positions, and all other matters related to fulfilling the purpose of the organization. 

ARTICLE V
(Elections)

Section 1 (Terms of Office)
The Executive Board and freshman liaisons shall serve a term of one school year (fall semester followed by spring semester). All Executive Board members shall be eligible to run for reelection or for a new office at the end of their term.

Section 2 (Time of Elections)
Elections shall be held when called by the President during the spring semester.  The newly elected board shall take office at the board dinner, to be hosted by the outgoing board during the spring semester reading period.

Section 3 (Eligibility)
All those with voting privileges shall be eligible for office. 

Section 4 (Nominations)
Nominations shall be accepted from all South Asian Society members.

Section 5 (Method)
Each Executive Board member shall be elected independently of the others in the order listed in Article IV, Section 1: President, Cultural Chair, Political Action Co-Chairs, South Asian Studies Action Committee Co-Chairs, Outreach Coordinator, Social Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary/Historian/Publicity Chair. The process shall include nominations, speeches, and voting for each office. Speaking time shall be determined by the President, who will preside over the entire process.

Section 6 (Voting)
All voting for Executive Board members shall be conducted by a closed ballot simple plurality system. In the event that there is a tie in the voting, there shall be a run-off between the tied candidates. If there is still a tie, the outgoing President shall cast the tie-breaking vote.

ARTICLE VI
(Resignation and Replacement)

Section 1 (Resignation)
All Executive Board members, freshman liaisons, and temporary positions wishing to resign shall present a formal letter of resignation to the remaining Executive Board stating their reason(s) for resigning. The letter shall be read publicly at the next general meeting.

Section 2 (Replacement)
Upon vacancy of any Executive Board positions, the Board will have discretion to decide how to fill the spot, either through Emergency Elections within one week or an application process.

Section 3 (Removal From Office)
An Executive Board member may be removed from office by a 2/3 vote at a general meeting.

ARTICLE VII
(Voting)

Section 1 (Limited use of Formal Voting)
Organizational decisions should be reached by consensus at both general and Executive Board meetings.  The President, however, may use his discretion in calling for a formal vote on a matter if a consensus cannot be reached.

Section 2  (Requirements to Prevail in a Formal Vote)
Formal voting shall occur in a manner prescribed by the President.  A simply majority, open-ballot system is preferred.  The President shall break any tie. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted in any case. 

Section 3 (Public Nature of Formal Votes)
The results of all formal votes shall be recorded by the Secretary.

ARTICLE VIII
(Finances)

Section 1 (Account Accessibility)
Only the President and the Treasurer shall have access to SAS bank accounts and have the right to sign checks in the name of SAS.

Section 2 (Fund-Raising)
Funds shall be raised through donations, contributions, and ticket sales at events. The Executive Board shall make all decisions regarding fund-raising after proper consultation with the Treasurer.

Section 3 (Disbursement)
The President shall make all decisions regarding disbursement of funds so as to best achieve the organization's purpose after proper consultation with the Treasurer.

Section 4 (Personal Financial Involvement)
The Executive Board shall approve all personal spending on behalf of SAS after proper consultation with the Treasurer. If personal money is spent and if it was approved by a simple majority of the Executive Board, then the money shall be reimbursed within the fiscal year. If personal money is spent and if it was not approved by a simple majority of the Executive Board, then it shall officially be considered a private donation and shall not be reimbursed.  However, the board will make an effort in good faith to reimburse for such spending.

Section 5 (Inactivity)
If in any year SAS fails to register or becomes inactive, the University shall hold the funds in trust for a period of five (5) academic years. If the organization fails to reorganize within that time period, its funds shall be turned over to and belong to the South Asian Studies Committee (c/o Dr. Pravin Bhatt.)

ARTICLE IX
(Amendments and Precedents)

Section 1 (Amendments)
Amendments shall serve as permanent changes to the constitution. They shall be introduced at a general meeting, and voted on at the subsequent general meeting. Amendments shall require a formal vote with the support of two-thirds (2/3) of the members present and voting.

Section 3 (Precedents and Constitutional Vagueness)
The President shall serve as the primary interpreter of the constitution.

Section 4 (Implied Powers)
The Executive Board shall be empowered to perform all acts deemed necessary and proper in order to fulfill the goals of the South Asian Society.

ARTICLE X
(Ratification)

Section 1 (Method of Ratification)
By interpretation of the amendment procedure of the current SAS Constitution adopted in 1996 a 2/3 vote at a general meeting shall be required for the ratification of this constitution.  The current SAS Constitution, adopted in 1998 shall be declared null and void upon ratification of this constitution. This constitution shall replace the current Constitution.