Constitution of the Indian-American Association

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Article I
Name and Affiliation

The name of this organization shall be the Indian-American Association at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
This chapter is not a part of any other organization on campus, but holds all rights to become affiliated for the betterment of itself and the University of Tennessee.

Article II
Nature and Purpose

This student organization shall be a non-secret, non-profit, educational and cultural union for students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The purpose of the Indian-American Association at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is to unify and educate all students of the "cross-cultural" entity of Indian-Americans to maintain and preserve Indian Heritage and culture through organized gatherings of social and educational festivals.

Article III
Qualification of Membership

The Indian-American Association opens membership to all University of Tennessee, Knoxville students who are interested in participating in the present, planning the future, and preserving the past of India's culture and history.

Article IV
Officers and Elections

The election of officers of the Indian-American Association shall be conducted by nomination and then democratic voting at a Spring meeting. Each office must be won by a majority regardless of the number of members present at the meeting. These rules conduct the elections for undergraduate students for the offices of President, Vice President, Correspondent Secretary, Recording Secretary and Treasurer.

The duties of the President shall be: to preside at the meetings; to appoint committees for the needs of the organization; to appoint a Historian; to guide the activities and administer the policies based on the Constitution; to be the official representative of this organization when necessary or desirable. The President also has the option to appoint and OFF-SITE Advisor who will be a non-student or Alumni who helps in linking the campus organization to the community.
The duties of the Vice President shall be; to preside at the meetings when the President is absent; to assume the duties of the presidency should the President be unable to serve; to assist in administrating the affairs of the chapter.
The duties of the corresponding Secretary and the recording Secretary is one of joint ventures; to keep the record of membership; to carry on the correspondence of the organization; to aid the officers in all means when needed at meetings.
The duties of the Treasurer shall be; to collect, safeguard, and disperse the funds of the organization; to keep a complete and accurate record of all financial transactions; to complete a financial report prior to each meeting; to pass on to the succeeding Treasurer all funds remaining in the treasury and to release funds under the guidelines provided by the President and/or Vice President on behalf of the members.
The duties of the appointed Historian shall be: to keep photographic records of the organizations activities; to submit articles and pictures to compile into a scrapbook that must be submitted to the Advisor or President.
Advisor. The Indian-American Association shall also elect an Advisor every Spring and by the same rules set for the election of the officers.

Article V
Meetings

The Indian-American Association at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville will conduct at least three announced meetings per semester and at least three Executive Board meetings for all officers per year. All meetings will be on campus unless they are otherwise planned in advance.

Article VI
Financial Statement

The membership dues are very important for the organization to exist and carry out its purpose. Each new member must pay $15 (fifteen dollars) for their first semester. Then an additional $5 (five dollars) will be paid for each semester thereafter, excluding the summer semesters. Therefore, for one full year for a new student member a total of $20 (twenty dollars) will be collected by the organization. A balanced financial statement will be provided by the Treasurer to all Executive Committee members at the beginning of every meeting. Also a final yearly report on the finances of the organization will be submitted to the Executive Committee and to the Advisor.

Article VII
Advisor

The Advisor of the organization will have full access to all monetary dealings of the organization upon each meeting and upon any request by the Advisor. The Advisor will aid in all business that the organization has with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. If the Advisor commits to the organization and in the mist of the commitment he/she cannot fulfill his/her service, a replacement will be nominated by the Advisor and then voting of only the Executive Committee members need only be held on the nomination. Additional nominations can be made by the Executive Committee.

Article VIII
Amendments

Any and all changes to the Constitution of the Indian-American Association must be submitted into the constitution in the form of an amendment. The passing of the Amendment must be done through standard Parliamentary procedures consisting of an introduction to the change, a motion of opening discussion, a motion to discuss, a motion to close discussion, a motion to vote and finally a passing of the amendment by the majority of attending members at a meeting. The motion must be announced at least 2 weeks prior to the voting. Each motion above must he acknowledged by a second in order to continue. All other Parliamentary procedures will follow the most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order.

Article IX
Dissolution

In the event that the Indian-American Association fails to carry on as an organization, the money raised by the students in the form of a checking account will be donated to the Hindu Community Center of Knoxville.

Article X
Alumni

In the event that Alumni of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville wish to join the organization, guidelines for membership are as follows. All Alumni of the university may join under the same restrictions that are set forth for student membership. The fees will be a $10 contribution for each year of membership. An alumni may be considered as an OFF-SITE Advisor helping with affairs with the community of Knoxville in performing tasks and coordinating events.