Constitution 

Official Name: Hellenic Society 

Type of Organization:Cultural

 

Registration Date 10/03/2007

Websitehttp://www.yale.edu/hellenic

 

 

Mailing Address

Aryestis Vlahakis, P.O.Box 206014, Yale Station, New Haven, CT 06520

Faculty Advisor

Professor Yiorgos Makris of Electrical Engineering

 

Brief Description of Organization

Society for all Yale students of Greek descent and for all other members of the Yale Community with an interest in Greece and Greek culture.

Statement of Purpose

A. To bring together the Greeks of Yale University with the purpose of facilitating homogenous relationships, upholding Greek traditions, and formulating a support group that will help native Greeks feel more at home in their new country of habitation.

B. To update members of the Hellenic Society, members of Yale University, and members of New Haven on Greek cultural and political events.

C. To work with other Hellenic Societies of American academic institutions and to bond with the Greek community of New Haven.

D. To maintain direct connection with alumni members of the Society in order for the alumni to have a vivid remembrance of their college years and to establish links among older and current members.

 

Membership Requirements

A. Membership is open to all members of the Yale Community.

B. All members are required to pay dues during the academic year. These should be paid at the beginning of the Academic Year but will be accepted later on.  The payment of dues has temporarily been suspended by decision of the board in October 2007.

C. Those members who have paid dues immediately earn the right to cast a vote at meeting elections, but not in the administrative elections.

 

Management

1. The officers make up the supreme organ of the Hellenic Society. For the duration of the school year one meeting every month takes place in a university establishment. The Board maintains the right to call for a meeting whenever the Board decides that is necessary to do so for serious issues. An official meeting takes place only if five or more members attend (board members included). Members should be notified of a meeting at least three working days in advance.

2. The administrative body is composed of seven officers: one president, two vice-presidents, one secretary, one treasurer, one alumni official and one public relations official. All of the Board Members must be currently enrolled undergraduates at Yale University.

3. The President represents the Society and ensures the enforcement of its Constitution as well as tending to its day-to-day running and relations with the University (Registration etc.). The President is required to implement the decisions of general meetings, independently of personal opinions. In the opposite case, resignation is appropriate. This also applies to the other officers.

4. The First Vice-President aids the President's work, and serves as a replacement when needed. In addition, the First Vice-President organizes and directs the society's meetings. 5. The Second Vice-President is not elected by the general meeting for the year that he serves, but instead, the President of the previous year is automatically appointed. If the person does not accept the appointment or the person happens to have graduated, then the position remains vacant.

6. The Secretary keeps the minutes of the meetings, and maintains a complete file with the correspondence and other documents of the Society. The Secretary is required to show the minutes and the files to any member who requests to see them and it is also suggested that the minutes of the meetings are sent via email to the email list of the society within 24hours of the completion of the meeting. The Secretary receives the society's correspondence, and immediately informs those directly concerned and presents all mail at the next meeting.

7. The Treasurer is responsible for the economic activities of the Society. The Treasurer handles the society's funds and keeps an up to date list with names, telephone numbers and addresses of the Society's members. The Treasurer should inform each meeting about fluctuations in the accounts. At the end of the Treasurer's term, the Treasurer and President will present a full accounting of the society's use of funds.

8. The Alumni official will maintain a listing of the society?s alumni members and will send monthly updates of the society?s activities via email. He will be the direct link of the society with its alumni members and will maintain communication and co-operation whenever possible and wherever this is requested by any alumni member.

9. The Director of Public Relations will maintain a listing with the names and addresses of people and organizations of interest to the Society, such as Greeks at Yale and other student organizations, possible speakers, relations with Greek -American communities of Connecticut or Professors of Yale who would be interested in the activities of the Society. The Director of Public Relations is also responsible for informing about and advertising the Society's events.

 

Elections

1. Elections will occur every year in the second half of the spring semester (after spring break) and the elected officers will assume their duties on the first day of the succeeding academic year. The Board of the Society will decide the exact date of the elections.

2. All registered members must be informed at least five working days before the elections. Quorum will consist of one-half plus one of the registered members, and not less than seven individuals. If at the first election meeting quorum requirements are not met, a new election meeting will be called for the following week. Members need not be specifically informed of this new meeting. At the second election meeting, elections will be held with all registered members present participating, as long as there are at least seven individuals voting. If this is not the case, the Members of the current Board will assume the positions of the following year’s board, with the President assigning positions to interested members of the society.

3. Elections will be held by secret ballot as follows: First elected is the President, by a majority of votes. Following this vote, voting for the positions of Treasurer, Vice-President, Secretary, Alumni Official and Public Relations Official will be held, by majority vote. During voting rounds, each member has one vote. In the case of a tie, a second vote is held to choose between the candidates. If the vote is tied again, the departing president will toss a coin to determine the outcome. In case there are more than two candidates for any officer position, there will be a second round of voting with the two candidates that received the most votes in the first round. The winning candidate will be the one that receives at least half plus one of the votes.

4. Every voting member has the right to be a candidate for any officer position, subject to the restrictions for the presidential candidacy. The only exception to this is the Treasurer who, due to University regulations, must be an undergraduate if the President is an undergraduate and a graduate student in the opposite case. In the case where there is no suitable candidate for Treasurer, the voting for the Presidency is repeated without undergraduate candidates or graduate student candidates in the opposite case.

5. Nominations will be made up to and including the day exactly one week before the day of the elections. Candidates for all offices should send their candidacy statements within 48 hours of their nomination to the President. The President of the Society sends the statements via email to all the members of the society, at least three working days before the Election Day.

6. Only members who have attended at least one meeting of the previous year and have paid their dues at least a week before the day of the elections and in any case before the nominations are made, may vote in the administrative elections.

7. Absentee ballots are allowed. The persons who are not present at the elections but desire to vote, and are allowed to, should send an authorization email to the person of their choice and a copy of such an email should be send to the President at least a working day before the day of the elections.

 

Impeachment and Expulsion of Members

1. Impeachment proceedings are initiated by a calling of a Board meeting in which all Board members except the nominee for impeachment are in agreement that impeachment proceedings should be initiated.

2. Notice of a second meeting, to take place no more than two weeks after the initial proposal and for the purpose of voting on impeachment, should be sent to all registered members at least one week before the date scheduled. All members who were registered before the impeachment proposal have the right to vote. Quorum is constituted by one-half plus one of the eligible members, numbering no less than seven. If quorum is not achieved, the impeachment proposal is nullified. Impeachment requires the votes of one half plus one of present voting members, collected using confidential balloting. If the proposal is upheld, the impeached member resigns and elections are held for a replacement who will be chosen by secret ballot and a plurality of votes cast. The elected member will assume office immediately.

3. A second impeachment proposal against an officer may not be submitted before the passing of one month from the time the first impeachment proposal was voted on.

4. The process for the expulsion of a member from the club is the same as that for impeachment.

5. The President maintains the right to call for an impeachment vote against one or more of the elected officers, without requiring the letter in point 1 above, only on the grounds that the officer fails to fulfill his duties as described in this constitution.

 

Amendments to the Present Constitution

1. This Constitution may not be amended more than once every Academic year and only during the fall semester of each year. This is not the case for spelling mistakes, which can be corrected with the approval of the Board.

2. The Amendment Process of this Constitution is as follows: Following a proposal of at least four Board members, the Board Meeting will set a date for the discussion of Amendments to the Constitution. All members must be informed of this meeting at least five working days before it. Quorum is constituted only by the presence of the entire Board, and the approval of any Amendments requires a majority of one half plus one of the Board Members.

 

Dissolution Clause

In the event that the Hellenic Society dissolves, all remaining funds shall be given to UNICEF.

 

How Funds are used

Funds are used primarily to fund events, such as social gatherings and guest speakers.