SCI CONSTITUTION

Article I – Name, Purpose and Membership
1.1 The name of the organization is the "Students Council of India", abbreviated as SCI throughout the constitution
1.2 The Student Council of India at the University of Maryland, College Park, is a non-profit voluntary graduate student organization that aims at promoting interaction among Indian students in this University.
  1.2A SCI hosts Indian cultural programs, screens Indian movies and organizes outdoor activities and sport events. It also plays a leading role in welcoming new students and helping them settle down in the campus community.
  1.2B SCI understands and is committed to fulfilling its responsibilities of abiding by the University of Maryland policies.
1.3 SCI openly admits individuals officially connected with the University as faculty, staff and graduate students and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, personal appearance, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, or on the basis of the exercise of rights secured by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
1.3A Onetime fee of $15 will be charged as membership fees and will be referred to as “Life Membership Fee”
1.3B SCI’s committee has the authority to increase the Life Membership fees based on committee’s common consensus and full assessment of internal and external financial condition

 Article II: Committee Members

1. Duties of the Committee Members:

2.1A Committee Members of Students Council of India shall abide by all the policies and duties of the organization, as well as use its own discretion to act in the best interests of graduate students and members of the Students Council of India.

2.1B Committee Members are not limited to the assigned role but are required to perform duties in other roles and responsibilities as required in the best interests of graduate students and members of the Students Council of India.

1. Meetings

2.2A   Committee Members attendance at monthly meetings is mandatory unless for a specific reason (personal work or disability or any other reason) which is in consensus and seen valid by the other committee members.

2.2B   Minutes of all meetings shall be kept and proper record of attendance should be kept.

2.3 Impeachment

Committee by a majority vote of its total present may initiate impeachment proceedings for any just cause, including, but not limited to, neglect, unsatisfactory performance, or misrepresentation of duty against other members of the Students Council of India. Before reaching this stage the accused should be given at least three written warnings in knowledge of the rest of the committee for a fair trial under neglect or unsatisfactory performance charges.
            
2.3A The charge of Neglect is defined as failure to perform basic duties as outlined in the SCI’s constitution

2.3B The charge of Unsatisfactory Performance is defined as any partial performance of basic duties that is judged to be significantly below that of the expected performance

2.3C The charge of Misrepresentation of Duty is defined as actively attempting to mislead SCI, or any part thereof, in matters of SCI governance; and/or serving badly as a member according to the judgment of one’s peers.

2,4 Quorum

2.4A For most of the monthly meetings at least three Committee members should be present, though committee members are free to meet in random numbers to discuss less important issues.

2,4B For voting purposes, votes from all the Committee members should be taken and is mandatory.

Article III: Elections

The current President and Vice President of SCI shall be responsible for conducting a free and fair election for choosing the new SCI committee.
3.1 Scope and authority:
3.1A Present SCI committee is fully responsible and authorized in order to plan and conduct the SCI elections. President and Vice President are the facilitators on the Election Day
3.1B Several weeks before Sparsh – Flagship SCI event, the President would be responsible for sending mails on the SCIMaryland group asking for assistance from the volunteers(can include any current graduate student who is a SCI member)
3.1C After Sparsh ends, a mail would be sent only to the registered volunteers (those who respond to the mails sent prior to Sparsh and who work prior to Sparsh and on the day of Sparsh) asking them to attend the elections to be held. The President is not required to send the election mail to the entire SCI community
3.1D First priority would be awarded to the volunteers to choose the new committee since they have shown enthusiasm for this type of work during Sparsh. The volunteers in many cases are also the participants in the events and since they were able to manage their time doing both and honoring the commitment to volunteer, priority is awarded to volunteers in elections as per SCI tradition
3.2 Election procedure:
3.2A It would be up to the discretion of the President and the Vice-President to choose the strength of the new SCI committee based on their year long experience
3.2B The President and Vice-President would explain the roles and responsibilities of each of the SCI positions to the volunteers once the election starts
3.2C Volunteers would then suggest three positions for which they intend to contest in order of priority
3.2D Each contestant would give a brief candidacy statement for the positions that he/she is contesting
3.2E Voting would then be held amongst the volunteers to choose the new committee
3.2F In case of a tie for any of the positions, the current President and Vice President would also vote in order to resolve the conflict for those position/positions
3.2G New committee is formed out of the volunteers

3.3 Additional Elections (optional):
3.3A If the number of volunteers is less than appropriate size as determined by the current SCI committee, the current President would send a mail on the SCIMaryland group, asking for nominations for the unfilled positions
3.3B Each contestant would also be required to send a brief candidacy statement to the new President for the unfilled positions
3.3C The new committee would vote and choose the members for the remaining open positions in the second round of elections if at all needed
3.3D In case of a tie for any of the unfilled position, the outgoing President and Vice President would also vote and resolve the conflict for those position/positions
3.4 Declaration of Results and Transition:
3.4A Once the new SCI committee is chosen, the outgoing President would introduce the new incoming SCI committee on the SCIMaryland yahoo groups
3.4B Transition would be the next steps with transfer of bank account, STAR memberships, Presidential key and knowledge to the new position holders

Article IV: Finance & Budget

The person bearing the post of Treasurer is responsible for managing the financial holdings of the SCI.

1. Roles & Responsibilities

4.1A Treasurer’s primary responsibility is to secure funding from the organizations available on campus and outside campus for the various activities conducted by SCI round the year.
4.1B Accounts and expenses under the name of SCI activities are to be maintained up to date with all details inclusive.
4.1C It is the responsibility of the Treasurer to ensure that any unnecessary expense or personal expenses are not entertained under the name of SCI by any committee member. The money should strictly be used for the SCI events
4.1D The on-going Treasurer will provide necessary information about the sources of funding and procedures for the same to the newly appointed Treasurer. The bank account will be transferred under the name of the newly appointed person and all account details will be handed over to him/her.
4.2 Event related Funding
4.2A Any funding received has to be strictly utilized for the activities carried out under the banner of SCI. Usage of any funding has to abide by the rules and regulations of the organization(s) who is/are sponsoring the event. In case of any discrepancy, proper consent of the President of SCI has to be attained before allocating any fund to the activities.
4.2B Once the committee decides the event to be conducted in near future, the Treasurer has to plan out the major expenses and provide the details for the same to the organizations who are sponsoring the events after careful consideration and consent from the entire committee.
4.2C Treasurer reserves the right to allocate funding to any activity for any event. In case of discrepancy regarding allocating the money, matter should be resolved fully within the committee members only. 
4.2D After the event is conducted, a brief summary of financial resource allocation should be presented in front of the committee members.
4.3 Disputes and settlements
4.3A In case of any dispute in the committee regarding finance allocation or misuse, the President with majority committee consensus reserves the right to make the final decision and all the committee members need to abide by the decision including the Treasurer.

Article V: Orientation of New Indian Graduate Students
5.1 SCI committee members and the Orientation Volunteers arrange for the airport pickups and provide temporary accommodation for the incoming new graduate students

5.2 All the students requesting these services should register by the deadlines set by the SCI committee and SCI committee is not compelled to entertain late or last minute registrations

5.3 SCI is not obliged in providing these services to new incoming graduate students and has a full authority to terminate this service as per the situation or for a particular individual under disciplinary, temporal, financial conditions or under committee decisions.SCI also is not required to give explanation for any such termination or disruption of service.

5,4 SCI is not responsible for any mishap or inconvenience caused during Airport pickups or Temporary accommodations.

5.5 SCI provides temporary accommodation maximum for a week and is solely dependent on the volunteers to keep the individual for a week or more or even terminate the service due to inappropriate behavior of the individual. 

5.6 SCI is not responsible for any damages done by individuals in the temporary accommodation premises

5.7 All the individuals using SCI’s service for Airport pickups and Temporary accommodations should be fully aware of these rules and conditions

Article VI: SCI Events and code of conduct

6.1 All participants of SCI events should agree to conform to the high standards of social behavior.
6.2 SCI has rights to scrutinize the performances before the event to confirm that the performances abide SCI’s code of conduct (refer 6.6). If they don’t, SCI can exclude the performance from the event.
6.3 Performers who have past records of misconduct will not be allowed to perform in any other SCI events.
6.4 The fees for SCI Event(s) will be decided by SCI Committee and SCI Committee will have a say over   which member(s) will get privilege pass for the event(s).
6.5 SCI committee members reserve authority to stop the performance during events for not adhering to the code of conduct(refer 6.6).

1. Code of Conduct

6.6A Obscenity, indecency and use of profane language are strictly prohibited

6.6B Since SCI events have guests such as professors, faculty and families, performers should follow a level of decency

6.6C Possession or consumption of Alcohol is strictly prohibited

6.6D Swearing, abusive language and/or action against another competitor or participant is forbidden during SCI events

6.6E Display of any material, signage and/or wearing of any article of clothing bearing profane, suggestive or improper words or designs is prohibited.

Article VII: Public Relations and Communication

SCI uses various means to communicate to the entire SCI community.

7.1 SCI’s motive is to promote all the SCI events through various forums like mass mails on mailing lists, flyers, posters, etc

7.2 The related communication is not intended to spam
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7.3 SCI’s mass communication is not based on any religious, political beliefs, etc

7.4 SCI should include the contracted advertisers in every communication as per following structure.

7.5 SCI committee can change this structure based on their discretion or sponsor bargains and update the constitution as per Article IX

Article VIII: Website and Content

Roles and responsibility:

8.1A Web Admin would be responsible for maintaining and updating the website as deemed appropriate by the SCI committee
8.2B Web Admin would also be responsible for setting the official mails for all the committee members as well as maintain the spam checks and approval of the mails on the mailing lists
8.2 Mail approval policy:
These mailing policies apply to the mailing list on the SCIMaryland@yahoogroups.com. Following are the policies which need to adhered by the President, Vice President and in special conditions by the Web Admin (moderators)
8.2A Marketing mails from organizations, firms or individuals cannot be approved
8.2B Any mails which advertises sale of articles (cars, etc) cannot be approved. A redirection to the forums on www.scimd.org site is required by the moderators when rejecting such mails
8.2C Any mails for leasing, sub-leasing of apartments, etc cannot be approved. Again redirection must be performed to the forums on the www.scimd.org site while rejecting such a mail
8.2D Approve humanitarian mails. Example: If someone is suffering from life threatening disorder and need mass help. Discretion must be used by the moderators to isolate fake mails from genuine mails
8.2E Any mails which seek endorsement of individuals can be done provided the position is a very high position (Example.: President – Graduate Students Government) and the SCI as an organization has been benefitted by the work of that individual/individuals
8.2F Apart from these mentioned, the moderators must always use their discretion in order to approve or disapprove any mails which do not fit the above mentioned categories
 

Article IX: Amendments to Constitution

9.1 President and Vice-President would be responsible to enforce the rules of constitution on the SCI committee

9.2 President and Vice-President would be responsible to amend the constitution at the end of their term if deemed necessary. Consensus of the committee would be necessary for amendments