Constitution of the Japanese Culture Association of the College of William and Mary
Version 14.0.0 — April 11, 2023
Article I — Name
The name of this organization shall be the Japanese Culture Association (JCA).
ARTIcle II — Mission
The Japanese Culture Association aims to be an open space to engage in and promote awareness of Japanese culture and society at the College of William and Mary. It will also strive to provide a forum to exchange ideas concerning Japanese culture and society and US-Japan exchange. This organization will also work to cultivate multilateral relationships with other multicultural organizations, in particular other Asian multicultural organizations.
ARTicle III — Membership
Membership in the Japanese Culture Association will be open to all students, faculty, alumni, and staff at the College of William and Mary who are interested in Japanese culture and society. Membership will especially be encouraged among Japanese students studying at the College as well as students studying Japanese language and culture. Japanese language skill will not be a prerequisite for membership.
ARTICLE IV — OFFICERS
The executive board of the Japanese Culture Association will consist of the following officers: (Co-)President(s), Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, Public Relations Chair, and Event Coordinator(s), Inventory Manager, Culture Chair(s). When appropriate, the office of Vice-President will also be filled. A Vice-President is typically not elected when there are two Co-Presidents. If, due to low membership or other concerns, not all positions can be filled, the club may function with only a President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and as many other non-critical positions as can be elected. When any non-critical position is vacant, the duties of the vacant position will be filled by one or more of the other officers. In addition to the below descriptions of the positions, all executive board members will be responsible for whatever is decided on at office meetings, including errands for weekly general meetings.
The duties of the officers are as follows:
The duties of the officers are as follows:
(CO-)PRESIDENT(S)The (Co-)President(s) of the Japanese Culture Association shall attend relevant external meetings, including but not limited to the Center for Student Diversity’s Presidents meeting, work with liaisons from outreach programs (service projects, Admissions, Student Activities events, etc.), delegate responsibilities, structure agendas and run general and officer meetings, perform outside planning for events with other officers and organizations, oversee main club events, and motivate members. In the case of Co-Presidents, a co-president may act as a full president if the other president is absent or is failing to perform their duties.
|
VICE-PRESIDENTThe Vice-President, when the office is filled, will preside over meetings in the absence of the president. In the event of vacancy of the office of the President, the Vice-President will assume the duties of the President. The Vice-President will also be in charge of one or more of the (co-)president’s above mentioned responsibilities, to be determined by the Vice-President and president at the beginning of their term. In addition, they will assist the president with all other minor duties, and shall be the head moderator of the club’s Discord server (if it is active during their term).
|
SECRETARYTake minutes at executive meetings and send out weekly meeting reminders, forward information from other organizations and announcements to Listserv, reserve rooms for both general meetings and special activities and events, maintain member database with all information collected throughout year with sign-up sheets, remind officers to attend officer meetings, and manage the JCA Google and Outlook calendars. When asked by (Co-)President(s), the Secretary shall also complete and submit forms, including room reservation forms, and reserve a room for executive board meetings at a predetermined time and place.
|
TREasurerMaintain budget updates throughout the year, write up budget proposals, requests and appeals, apply for funding for events, attend budget hearings and information meetings, set budgetary limits for events, ensure receipts are collected for record-keeping purposes, ensure purchases provided by non-JCA funds are reimbursed, follow reimbursement procedures according to budget office rules, reserve the necessary equipment for fundraisers, collect money after events, and help with fundraising ideas. In addition, the Treasurer is the primary contact between the club and the Organizational Budget Allocation Committee (OBAC). Only the Treasurer may have check-signing power and have access to the club account. Additionally, the Treasurer must approve all expenditures.
|
events coordinator(S)Plan and oversee major annual events, fundraisers, and any other events that are decided upon; create and administrate event committees as needed; work with the Treasurer to determine effective budget strategies for individual events; collaborate with the Historian and Secretary in documenting events and their protocols; write a reflection document after an event is over, and keep track of event sign-up sheets. In the absence of a Public Relations Chair, managing publicity will primarily become the responsibility of one or more Events Coordinators.
Should there be more than one Event Coordinator, the responsibility of designating responsibilities will be decided by the Event Coordinators themselves. Their individual duties should be well enumerated and expressed to the rest of the executive board (ex. an internal and external coordinator, one coordinator for each semester, split all tasks evenly, etc). Finally, Event Coordinator, like other positions, will also carry out tasks delegated to them by the (Co-)President and/or Vice President. |
pr chairManage JCA publicity including flyers, posters, tickets, Facebook Page and organization website, submissions to Student Happenings and Diversity Happenings; regularly update website with current relevant JCA information, upcoming events, officer lists, announcements, and appropriate links; recruit members throughout the year and maintain membership; manage recruitment events (such as Activities Fair and Admitted Students Day); reserve easels for events in Campus Center and Sadler Center; keep in contact with Japanese Language and Japanese Studies Departments to publicize in Japanese language/studies classes.
|
historianIn terms of digital documentation, the Historian shall be in charge of taking photos at all JCA events, uploading photos to the JCA Facebook Page and Instagram, working with the Public Relations Chair to maintain JCA social media platforms, and managing the JCA Google Drive. The Historian will also be in charge of recording attendance numbers and notes during all general body meetings, and maintaining these notes through the JCA Google Drive folder. In addition, the Historian will maintain records of the JCA family tree. Finally, the Historian, like other positions, will also carry out tasks delegated to them by the (Co-)President and/or Vice President.
|
inventory managerInventory Manager shall be in charge of the annual closet cleanup (jointly organizing the closet with other groups in that space). The Inventory Manager shall also keep constant inventory of all JCA belongings in an organized manner. The Inventory Manager will be the primary keeper of the closet and must be familiar with all inventory at all times, meaning that other executive members must report to the Inventory Manager when taking from or adding to the closet. In addition, the Inventory Manager, like other positions, will also carry out tasks delegated to them by the (Co-)President and/or Vice President.
|
Culture chair(s)Culture Chair(s) shall be in charge of heading and consulting JCA on cultural activities and cultural sensitivity. Culture Chair(s) will be in charge of planning internal cultural activities such as culture workshops during general body meetings and guiding other executive board members on cultural sensitivity. For external events, Culture Chair(s) will work closely with the PR Chair to advertise them respectfully. Culture Chair(s) will act as a watchdog on all cultural activities and must alert the executive board on misrepresentations of culture, particularly concerning external events. If necessary, the Culture Chair(s) will work with the Japanese language/Japanese studies faculty to help JCA represent Japanese culture properly. Like other positions, Culture Chair(s) will also carry out tasks delegated to them by the (Co-)President and/or Vice President.
|
article v — elections
Elections for all positions shall take place during the latter half of the spring semester, ideally leaving enough room for new exec to run at least one meeting before summer break. Upcoming elections will be announced via email and official JCA social media pages two weeks before the elections. Each office will be filled from the time of spring elections to the next spring elections the following year. Any unfilled offices shall be filled at the earliest convenience after the subsequent fall semester begins, if at all possible.
Any dues-paying member of JCA may self-nominate themselves or be nominated by another member via email or in person when upcoming elections are announced. Nominations are due by the executive board meeting preceding the election meeting to allow for voting procedure information to be sent to all nominees and so the executive board can resolve any issues that may arise prior to elections. Members may continue to nominate themselves until the officer meeting immediately preceding elections. For elections other than the annually-scheduled elections, nominations may be received until the voting process begins. Members who are unable to attend may still run for an office through a proxy if this is notified to the (Co-)President(s) prior to the officer meeting prior to the election meeting. Every member receives one vote per office, except the case wherein (Co-)Presidents or Events Coordinators are being voted on; in this case, members receive two votes to allot to two different candidates. Absent members forfeit their votes, and votes may not be accepted via email or through other mediums in lieu of members not being present at the election meeting, unless and only in the case that the entire election process must be held electronically (see end of clause). It is recommended that those running for Co-Presidents, or President and Vice-President run as a pair.
Prior to accepting nominations for offices, outgoing executive officers of JCA will decide what offices will be occupied during the next school year, including: whether Co-Presidents or President and Vice-President will be elected, how many Events Coordinators will be elected, and whether or not any of the non-critical positions will be elected.
Voting shall be performed by a heads-down, hands-up procedure. Only dues-paying members are eligible to vote. Any member who is not expected to be an active member of the club in the semester following the vote must forfeit their vote. Any executive officer wishing to administer the voting process must have another officer co-administer the voting to ensure integrity. Effectively, votes will be anonymous. Only dues-paying members may speak on behalf of a nominee during the election process (including the Q&A and debate portions). Furthermore, JCA members are discouraged from talking about the statements made of the candidates after the election process. This voting procedure shall apply to any formal election conducted at any time during the academic year. For offices that have two or more positions open, the candidates with the highest number of votes shall be awarded said position. Voting-eligible members may choose to vote to re-open nominations (RON) if they believe no candidates running for a position are qualified.
In the event of a tie during voting, the vote may be recast to include only the two candidates who tied. If this does not resolve the tie, the voting-eligible members of the executive board alone will vote between the two candidates. If there are an even number of voting-eligible members on the executive board and the incumbent officer for that position is not currently voting, then the incumbent officer may vote even if they are not returning to the club; otherwise, with an even number of possible votes, the vote from the incumbent officer shall count twice to avoid a further tie.
In the case that, due to exceptional circumstances, there is no choice but to vote entirely in a remote format, voting may take place online via the TribeLink system. Voting eligibility remains unchanged.
Any dues-paying member of JCA may self-nominate themselves or be nominated by another member via email or in person when upcoming elections are announced. Nominations are due by the executive board meeting preceding the election meeting to allow for voting procedure information to be sent to all nominees and so the executive board can resolve any issues that may arise prior to elections. Members may continue to nominate themselves until the officer meeting immediately preceding elections. For elections other than the annually-scheduled elections, nominations may be received until the voting process begins. Members who are unable to attend may still run for an office through a proxy if this is notified to the (Co-)President(s) prior to the officer meeting prior to the election meeting. Every member receives one vote per office, except the case wherein (Co-)Presidents or Events Coordinators are being voted on; in this case, members receive two votes to allot to two different candidates. Absent members forfeit their votes, and votes may not be accepted via email or through other mediums in lieu of members not being present at the election meeting, unless and only in the case that the entire election process must be held electronically (see end of clause). It is recommended that those running for Co-Presidents, or President and Vice-President run as a pair.
Prior to accepting nominations for offices, outgoing executive officers of JCA will decide what offices will be occupied during the next school year, including: whether Co-Presidents or President and Vice-President will be elected, how many Events Coordinators will be elected, and whether or not any of the non-critical positions will be elected.
Voting shall be performed by a heads-down, hands-up procedure. Only dues-paying members are eligible to vote. Any member who is not expected to be an active member of the club in the semester following the vote must forfeit their vote. Any executive officer wishing to administer the voting process must have another officer co-administer the voting to ensure integrity. Effectively, votes will be anonymous. Only dues-paying members may speak on behalf of a nominee during the election process (including the Q&A and debate portions). Furthermore, JCA members are discouraged from talking about the statements made of the candidates after the election process. This voting procedure shall apply to any formal election conducted at any time during the academic year. For offices that have two or more positions open, the candidates with the highest number of votes shall be awarded said position. Voting-eligible members may choose to vote to re-open nominations (RON) if they believe no candidates running for a position are qualified.
In the event of a tie during voting, the vote may be recast to include only the two candidates who tied. If this does not resolve the tie, the voting-eligible members of the executive board alone will vote between the two candidates. If there are an even number of voting-eligible members on the executive board and the incumbent officer for that position is not currently voting, then the incumbent officer may vote even if they are not returning to the club; otherwise, with an even number of possible votes, the vote from the incumbent officer shall count twice to avoid a further tie.
In the case that, due to exceptional circumstances, there is no choice but to vote entirely in a remote format, voting may take place online via the TribeLink system. Voting eligibility remains unchanged.
article VI — officer absences and removals
If an office becomes vacant during the year, the (Co-)President(s) will immediately inform all members and a special election must be held at the next regular meeting.
If any dues-paying member of JCA believes that an officer fails to perform their duties, that member must inform the executive board. A motion for the officer’s removal will be debated at the next executive board meeting. The motion must receive a 75% or greater vote of board members present to pass, not including the defending member.
If an officer believes that they will be unable to fulfill the duties of their office due to being removed from campus or any other reasons for an extended period of time (i.e., greater than six weeks), the officer in question is asked to notify the (Co-)President(s) and submit notification in writing to the exec board at large as soon as possible (preferably as soon as they become aware of this circumstance). If they fail to do this, the other executive officers are empowered to formally remove them from office through standard removal procedures.
In the event of an officer’s removal, a new election must be held as soon as possible to fill the position. If the outgoing officer was a President, then the contingencies regarding Presidency are in effect. If the officer was a Co-President, then the other Co-President becomes sole President (no other changes in executive positions, unless formally decided upon). If the Vice-President assumes the role of President, the Secretary may accept the office of Vice-President. In this case, a new Secretary may be elected in accordance with typical office vacancy rules.
If any dues-paying member of JCA believes that an officer fails to perform their duties, that member must inform the executive board. A motion for the officer’s removal will be debated at the next executive board meeting. The motion must receive a 75% or greater vote of board members present to pass, not including the defending member.
If an officer believes that they will be unable to fulfill the duties of their office due to being removed from campus or any other reasons for an extended period of time (i.e., greater than six weeks), the officer in question is asked to notify the (Co-)President(s) and submit notification in writing to the exec board at large as soon as possible (preferably as soon as they become aware of this circumstance). If they fail to do this, the other executive officers are empowered to formally remove them from office through standard removal procedures.
In the event of an officer’s removal, a new election must be held as soon as possible to fill the position. If the outgoing officer was a President, then the contingencies regarding Presidency are in effect. If the officer was a Co-President, then the other Co-President becomes sole President (no other changes in executive positions, unless formally decided upon). If the Vice-President assumes the role of President, the Secretary may accept the office of Vice-President. In this case, a new Secretary may be elected in accordance with typical office vacancy rules.
article vii — committees
If there are to be the creation of committees within the organization, they shall be made fit for the best benefit of the organization. The executive board shall appoint initial members of a committee, and, if they accept the appointment, the committee members shall decide the frequency of committee meetings, report to the executive board regularly, and suggest new members to the committee. The executive board and committee members will confer on the structure of each committee, including, but not limited to, its status as a temporary or permanent committee, expansion, and dissolution.
article viIi — meetings
JCA shall hold at least two general meetings each month, open to both members and those interested in membership. The scheduling of these meetings shall be determined annually by the incoming executive officers elected during the spring semester.
Officer’s meetings will be held a few days before each meeting to discuss the agenda and other important issues. General membership is permitted to attend these meetings, but should first contact the Secretary to inquire about the meeting agenda and to state their purpose for attending.
Officer’s meetings will be held a few days before each meeting to discuss the agenda and other important issues. General membership is permitted to attend these meetings, but should first contact the Secretary to inquire about the meeting agenda and to state their purpose for attending.
article iX — dues
Dues for the Japanese Culture Association are to be decided by the officers by the first meeting. If it is decided that there shall be no dues that year then membership will be those who regularly attend at least 50% of the Japanese Culture Association meetings and events. If it is decided that there shall be dues, only paying members may take part in elections, and other important decisions to the association. If the issue of dues has not been decided by the end of September, then there shall be no dues for that year.
Article x — Harassment
W&M JCA has a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment, including but not limited to sexual misconduct, coercion, power harassment, etc. W&M JCA follows W&M’s Title IX regulations. A member accused/convicted of harassment will have due process before the President, Vice President, Secretary, and/or the entire executive board. The executive board will subsequently deliberate as early as possible whether the member can stay a general member and/or attend JCA-related events. Should a suspension of any duration and/or termination of membership occur, dues will not be refunded. Return of a suspended member will be dealt with on a case by case basis and voted upon by the executive board.
article xi — amendments
Amendments to the Constitution may be presented at any time during the school year as a motion by any member, and voted on at the next regular meeting. In order to take effect, an amendment must have the support of at least 75% of dues-paying members present during that meeting. Any new amendments will be recorded in the Constitution by the Secretary.
article xIi — powers not enumerated
Any situation not listed or described herein is to be deliberated upon by the executive officers and a course of action shall be determined by achieving a consensus within the executive board. A formal vote is not required in this case.
If executive officers should determine that the Constitution prescribes a course of action that is not in the best interests of the organization, a President or Co-President may initiate a vote on the matter at a regularly-scheduled executive meeting and specify an alternative course of action at the time of proposal. If all executive officer votes are unanimous in the affirmative, then that course of action should be taken as though it had been specified by the Constitution. Following this process, the Secretary should describe the matter in the section at the footer of this document. In this way, future amendments to the Constitution can be suggested by a history of executive action and total administrative transparency can be achieved.
If executive officers should determine that the Constitution prescribes a course of action that is not in the best interests of the organization, a President or Co-President may initiate a vote on the matter at a regularly-scheduled executive meeting and specify an alternative course of action at the time of proposal. If all executive officer votes are unanimous in the affirmative, then that course of action should be taken as though it had been specified by the Constitution. Following this process, the Secretary should describe the matter in the section at the footer of this document. In this way, future amendments to the Constitution can be suggested by a history of executive action and total administrative transparency can be achieved.
article xiii — mandatory annual constitutional review
The Constitution of the JCA must be reviewed every spring semester by all current officers, or by one or more officers appointed to the task. The reviewing officer(s) may propose amendments to the Constitution to be ratified by the entire JCA. The reviewing officer(s) must then note their review of the Constitution at the end of the Constitution, with the date of review and the date of ratification (if revisions are made).
article xiV — version nomenclature
This document will be versioned in the following format: JCA_X.Y.Z. “X” denotes changes made for an annual Constitutional review (i.e. if this document is edited during the 7th annual revision, “X” will be “7”). “Y” denotes changes ratified outside of these scheduled reviews, and typically include minor to moderate changes. “Z” denotes internal drafts for record-keeping purposes.
For example, 4.0.0 was the first draft of an annual review proposal. After correcting a typographical error, the document became 4.0.1. With minor changes in wording, it became 4.0.2. After making further changes using input from other officers, it became 4.0.3. This will continue until the document is deemed complete and ready for voting, and it will bear these numbers on ratification. (4.0.X) Once it has been ratified, if further changes were proposed outside the annual review, it would be drafted as 4.1.0, then 4.1.1, then 4.1.2, etc. until it was ratified.
For example, 4.0.0 was the first draft of an annual review proposal. After correcting a typographical error, the document became 4.0.1. With minor changes in wording, it became 4.0.2. After making further changes using input from other officers, it became 4.0.3. This will continue until the document is deemed complete and ready for voting, and it will bear these numbers on ratification. (4.0.X) Once it has been ratified, if further changes were proposed outside the annual review, it would be drafted as 4.1.0, then 4.1.1, then 4.1.2, etc. until it was ratified.
article xv — ratification
This document will take effect immediately upon its passage by 75% of the voting members of the JCA. Previous ratifications and revisions are summarized as follows:
- This Constitution was originally written on February 27, 1997.
- The Constitution was most recently revised on April 11, 2023. It was most recently ratified on April 11, 2023.