Constitution of Kasamahan:
The Filipino-American Student Association
of the University of San Francisco

I. Name

Kasamahan: The Filipino-American Student Association of the University of San Francisco

II. General Purpose

The general purpose of Kasamahan is to promote the unity and solidarity of the

Philippine American community by creating a campus wide environment that assertively

affirms the richness and uniqueness of the many cultural experiences of members and by

actively involving educational and pre-professional programs that aid the group in the

assessment, development, and actualization of each member’s human potential and

personal talents. Kasamahan also strives to share, encourage participation, and educate

others of the Filipino culture.

III. Membership

A. Kasamahan is open to all registered students and alumni of the University of San

Francisco. Membership is classified by:

a. Paid Member: Member registered on the roster that has paid the

predetermined membership due in full. Paid member will receive

predetermined discount on all club events.

b. Active Member: Member registered on the roster that has attended at

least three meetings/events.

c. Non-Active Member: Member registered on the roster that has not paid

the predetermined membership in full and attended at

least three meetings/events.

B. The registration deadline for membership is the day after the annual Philippine

Cultural Night (PCN).

C. Voting is exclusive to paid and active members registered in the club roster.
IV. Affiliation

Kasamahan is involved with organizations within University of San Francisco and the

local Filipino community. Kasamahan is involved with organizations such as:

A. Northern California Filipino American Student Organization (NCPASO):

NCPASO is a group composed of Filipino college student organizations. NCPASO

members send a representative to attend meetings with other representatives to

share announcements, events, and activities, as well as plan events together.

B. Barangay Dance Company : The Barangay Dance Company is a dance company

devoted to teaching traditional dances of the Philippines to its members.

C. Circulo : Circulo supports Kasamahan as a co-club on campus, co-sponsoring

events on occasion.

D. Culture Focused Club Council (CFCC) : All culturally focused clubs on campus

are affiliated with the CFCC to update one another with each organizations’ events.

E. Freedom Alliance of Culturally Empowered Students (FACES) : FACES is a

campus organization that Kasamahan collaborates with regarding events involving

issues that students of color encounter.

F. Kababayan: Kababayan is an organization comprised of Filipino faculty and staff

at the University of San Francisco. Kasamahan co-sponsors events and uses

Kababayan as an occasional resource.
V. Elective Office

A. Elected Officers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Cultural

Director, Cultural Chairs (2), Activities Director, Publicity Director, Historian, and

Public Relations/Political Affairs Officer.

a. All elected officers are expected to actively participate in all club functions

and facilitate club growth and development.

b. Officers must be well informed of all school and club policies and

procedures.

B. Election Procedures: Each candidate must make a speech before the entire club

and prepare a written platform. All candidates must run independently. Voting

privileges are granted only to all active and paid members. Voting begins

immediately after all the speeches are concluded and will continue for one week

thereafter. Voting booths are to be placed in visible locations on campus with the

candidates’ written platforms posted clearly on the voting tables.

a. Speeches: President, Vice-President, and Cultural Director candidates are

allotted 4-5 minute speeches. All other candidates are allowed 2-3 minutes.

A timekeeper will strictly enforce time limitations.

b. Platforms: Platforms must be posted at all voting booths for members to

review during and after speeches are concluded. President, Vice-President,

and Cultural Director candidates are allowed a written platform of no more

than two typed double-spaced pages. All other candidates are allowed one

typed double-spaced page.

c. Campaigning: Vocal and telecommunication campaigning is allowed. There

will be no printed campaigning for elections (i.e. flyers). Campaigning is not

allowed fifteen feet within the voting booths after speeches have concluded.

C. Terms of Office: Terms begin at the end of the previous Spring semester and lasts

one full academic year. Incumbent officers may be re-elected.

D. Duties of each Officer :

1. President - will conduct all executive meetings and will serve as the

representative for the club in all activities and events. The President will

facilitate club development and affirm the club’s purpose and mission,

overseeing all operations and approving all decisions made by the executive

board. The President will delegate responsibilities appropriately. If

immediate executive decisions must be made, the President must consult

and have the agreement of two other executive members including the Vice-

President. The President is responsible for co-signing all checks that are

paid by the treasury.

2. Vice-President - will take the place of the President, in the President’s

absence. The Vice-President will serve as chair to all general meetings and

facilitate discussion. The Vice-President also will serve as a spokesperson

for the club and an active cultural chair under the Cultural Director.

3. Treasurer - will handle all monetary transactions of the club. The Treasurer

will hold the checkbook and will create and monitor the club budget; all

monies will be distributed through the Treasurer. All checks must be co-

signed by the President. The Treasurer must create a monthly report and

prepare a budget for each club activity. Club expenditures must be approved

by the Treasurer in order to be reimbursed.

4. Secretary - will be responsible for taking minutes at executive meetings,

checking the club mailbox and distributing mail to appropriate officers,

supervising club duplicating, reserving rooms and school equipment

(i.e. overhead projector), and creating and updating the club roster. It is the

Secretary’s duty to establish member participation by monitoring

attendance at meetings and events in order to distinguish paid, active and

non-active members (refer to Article III, Section A). In addition, the Secretary

will also hold the club letterheads and club copy card.

a. Roster : Must include every student who has filled an application for

membership for that academic year. The roster will be updated until

the day after the annual Philippine Cultural Night (PCN).

5. Cultural Director - will be responsible to produce the annual Philippine

Cultural Night (PCN). The Cultural Director will supervise all duties

necessary in its production, delegating responsibility to the Vice-President

and the Cultural Co-Chairs.

6. Cultural Chairs (2) - will assist in the production of the annual Philippine

Cultural Night (PCN), under the supervision of the Cultural Director.

7. Activities Director - will develop social and community service programs in

the interests of club entertainment and growth.

8. Public Relations/Political Affairs Director - will develop educational

programs or presentations that will educate members about Filipino culture

and history as well as inform the members of current issues facing the

Filipino community. The PR/PA Director is responsible in representing the

club in CFCC and NCPASO by attending all CFCC and NCPASO meetings,

informing them of Kasamahan events and relaying relevant information back

to the club.

9. Publicity/Telecommunications Director - will publicize all club events and

activities to Kasamahan members and the campus at large by

telecommunications, flyers, posters, Foghorn ads, ASUSF calendar, etc.

Publicity/ Telecom. Director will update the club hotline and delegate duties

to the appointed class representatives.

a. Class Representatives : Representatives will be appointed for each

class to voice members’ issues and to assist the Publicity/Telecom.

Director. Nominations for representatives will be taken and evaluated

by the elected Executive Board. The Executive Board will appoint

class representatives based on participation and commitment to the

club within the first month after nominations.

10. Historian - will record and document club events and activities through

photography and/or video. The Historian will prepare a photo album/video

documenting club activity during the year and is responsible for keeping

past photo albums/videos.
VI. Meetings

A. Executive meetings will be called by the President, at a time convenient to all

officers. General meetings will be set by the Executive Board at a time deemed

convenient to all members.

B. Quorum to conduct executive meetings : President, Vice-President, Treasurer,

Secretary, and two other officers.

Quorum to conduct general meetings : At least five officers.

Quorum to voting at executive meetings : President and seven other officers.
VII. Amendments

Amendments must receive a two-thirds majority vote of paid and active

membership. Upon approval, the amendment shall immediately take effect.
VIII. Enabling Cause

These Bylaws shall become the official governing document of Kasamahan: The

Filipino-American Student Association of the University of San Francisco upon

ratification of a two-thirds majority vote of the paid and active membership.


Election Procedures

I. The Election Chair

Prior to the elections, the President shall appoint the Election Chair at the Executive

Board Meeting prior to the Nominations. This individual shall be responsible for

running the elections and is expected to be fair to all parties running. The Elections

Chair does not have to be an Executive Board member, however it is expected that a

nominee/candidate cannot serve as the Elections Chair.
II. Introduction of Procedures

Prior to any introduction of elections, the Elections Chair shall advise the

membership of the procedure of elections. The membership shall be read the process

by which the candidates are nominated, allowed to present platforms and speeches,

given the opportunity to answer questions set forth by the voters, and ultimately the

method in which candidates are voted into position and the way in which they are

notified.

The purpose of the information being shared is so that membership and candidates

are clear about the process and understand what is expected in what time frame. III. Position Definitions

Each of the current position holders will present to the membership a description of

the duties that they were responsible for during the term of office. This is not a time

for the individual to share their activities for the year; it is an explanation of duties.

The first office that will read for shall start, in order, with the office of Public Relations

until the President.
IV. Nominations

The current Secretary will then take nominations from the membership and

board, which is then seconded by another member. At this time, the

nominator will indicate which office they wish the nominee to run for. Upon the

second motion, the nominee will either accept or decline the nomination. This

period can go until there are no more nominations.

Nominations from the membership and board can also be taken utilizing the club

hotline. Nominees can call the hotline stating their name and position they wish to

run for.

Upon closing of the nominations, the nominee's names and office shall be

read to the voting members.

At any time after the closing of the nominations, a nominee can decline the

nomination, provided that the Election Chair and the membership is notified

immediately.
V. Speeches

Speeches will be given one week after the nominations are made. During this time,

nominees are free to campaign within all reasonable limits outlined in the ASUSF

Fogcutter Student Handbook. Speeches will be limited to a five minutes whereupon

at the seven minute limit, the nominee will be asked to stop regardless of completion

of the speech. The first speech will be given by the nominee(s) for the office of Public

Relations, and continue in order, until the President.

During speeches, the Election Chair will designate a board member to create the

ballots and run off enough copies of the ballots such that there will be enough for the

members present and the expected turn out for the voting period. The Elections Chair

shall secure the ballots once they are created as well as the receptacle that the

ballots will be placed in. This is to ensure fairness in the voting procedure.
VI. Questions and Answers

At the completion of the speeches, the Election Chair will open the floor to questions

from the membership and current board. This period of time is set by Elections Chair

and is subject to change dependent on the number of nominees. Each nominee will

be given the opportunity to answer a question, however, rebuttals by the nominees

towards other nominees will not be allowed. The reasoning behind this is to allow the

membership to ask as many questions as possible of the nominees without worrying

about the rebuttals of nominees unto each other.
VII. Voting Procedures

Upon completion of the question and answer period, the membership and current

board will be allowed to vote. The definition of a voting member is the 1) registration of

the member on the roster created at the beginning of the school year by the

Secretary, and 2) designation of the member as “active” per the Constitution.

Voting will take place during the hours and at a site determined by the Election

Chair. Individuals selected by the Elections Chair will complete the vote

tally. The vote tally will be verified a second time by the Elections Chair and the

President.

A candidate is elected if he/she earns a majority of the vote.
VIII. Notification of Election

After the votes have been tallied and verified, the Elections Chair will announce and

post the election results, that is the winners of each office, no more than 48 hours

after the nominations.
IX. Swearing in of Officers

Officers will be sworn in and officially assume duties at the End of the Year Banquet.
X. Amendments to the Elections Process

Any amendments to the Elections Process shall be presented to the Executive

Board. These changes must also indicate the date from which the amendment is

effective and shall be subject to vote by the membership in order to gain approval.

The specifics and truths of Kasamahan
	the constitution, what we follow, how we do it

	Name		Enabling Cause
	General Purpose		The Election Chair
	Membership		Introduction of Procedures
	Affiliation		Position Definitions
	Elective Office		Nominations
	Meetings		Speeches
	Amendments