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c. foster and encourage an attitude of academic and
professional competence;
d. focus upon the relationship of the Black Law Student to the
American legal structure and the Black community;
e. serve as a source of information for Seton Hall Law Students and
for prospective applicants;
f. implement ways and means, and programs to bring our legal
training to bear upon the problems, legal and non-legal, in the Black
community;
g. instill a greater awareness in the Black community and to
encourage a greater commitment to answering those needs;
h.
provide service to the underprivileged community;
i.
influence Seton Hall Law to use its expertise and prestige to bring
about changes which will make it more responsive to the needs of the Black
Law Student, the Black community and society in general; and
j.
assist Seton Hall Law in its efforts to diversify its student body.
Article I – Title
This organization shall be
referred to as the Black Law Students Association (“Association”) of Seton
Hall Law as of the amended date of September ____, 2005.
Article II – Membership
Section I Membership is open to all
students of Seton Hall Law.
Section II All active members of the Association shall have the
authority to adopt such by-laws, rules and regulations, to appoint and
empower such officials and agents to create and empower committees and in
general, to take such action as it shall deem necessary and expedient to
carry out the purposes of the Association.
Section III All active members shall have access to the
Association’s outline bank.
Section IV The Association shall attain annual membership in the
National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA). All active members of the
Association shall have the rights of membership associated with the National
Black Law Students Association and shall be members of the Northeast Region
of said Association. The rights include the following:
a. The Association has the right to vote at national, regional and
sub-regional meetings. Absentee voting shall be by signed proxy form
submitted to the respective Regional or Sub-Regional Secretary at or before
the meeting.
b. Active members shall be eligible to be appointed or elected to
any committee, office, or delegation which represents the Association and/or
Region in any official capacity.
c. Persons of inactive chapters may serve on standing and other
committees but they may not chair any committee, nor may they be a part of a
delegation which represents the Region in any official capacity.
ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP DUES
Section I Amount. The annual amount of membership dues
shall be determined by the Treasurer in accord with the annual fees of the
National Black Law Students Association.
Section II Privileges. Payment of dues shall be a
prerequisite obligation of active membership and the rights incident thereto
Article IV – Officers
Section I
The officers of the Association shall be a President, Vice-President,
Evening Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Events Coordinator, Academic
Coordinator and Northeast Black Law Student Association Metro-Combined
Chapters Representative (MCC Representative).
Section II At the general meeting held within the month of
March, election of officers will take place. The officers shall be elected
by ballot to serve for one year. Their term of office will begin at the
beginning of the fall semester and will end at the end of the following
spring semester. The new E-Board will be announced at the annual cocktail
reception.
Section III No member shall hold more than one office at a time,
and no member will be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms in
the same office, unless such re-appointment is deemed necessary to carry out
the purposes of the Constitution.
Section IV Officers of this Association, President,
Vice-President, Evening Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Events
Coordinator, Academic Coordinator and MCC Representative shall preside at
every meeting held by the Black Law Students Association. A total of more
than two (2) unexcused absences will subject an officer to removal upon
majority vote. A motion for removal must be made in writing and signed by
at least one-fourth (1/4) of the Association’s active members and submitted
to the President. Upon request, the removed board member will be afforded a
fair hearing before the executive board.
Section V Officers of this Association shall actively seek out
Executive Board members of Black Law Student Associations in the metro area
for the purpose of networking and coordinating events.
Article V – Duties of Officers
Section I The President shall preside at all general and
executive board meetings, appoint and empower committees and agents subject
to the advice and consent of the membership, and shall be an Ex-Officio
member of all committees. The President shall abstain from voting except in
cases where tied ballots are cast. The President, with the help of the
E-Board, shall also establish protocol for joint concerted efforts with
other organizations to further the benefit of those concerned.
Section II The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the
President in her or his absence. The Vice-President shall also be the
chairperson of all grievance committees set up by the membership to handle
any problem of direct concern. The Vice-President shall coordinate the
Association’s Annual Cocktail Reception.
Section III Evening Vice-President shall perform, at the
direction of the President, the duties of the Day Vice-President as
described in Section II. The Evening Vice-President will not be responsible
for coordinating the Annual Cocktail Reception.
Section IV The Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining the
records of the Association. She or he shall be responsible for the
maintenance and distribution of minutes and agenda for all meeting of the
Executive Board and the General Assembly. The Secretary shall keep a
complete file of the minutes of all meetings held by the Association and
shall maintain an up-to-date record of the members in all committees. She
or he shall also keep the membership’s email list serve and update the BLSA
website as necessary.
Section V The Treasurer shall pay all authorized bills and keep
books of account for the Association. She or he shall be responsible for
collecting dues and paying annual membership fees to the National Black Law
Students Association. The Treasurer shall maintain the scholarship and
endowment accounts. The Treasurer shall make quarterly and annual reports
of the budget, including but not limited to expenditures, receipts and
balances. In addition, she or he shall adhere to the budget requirements of
the Student Bar Association (“SBA”) and file an annual budget with the SBA
Treasurer.
Section VI The Events Coordinator shall organize community
service and networking events. The Events Coordinator shall establish a
committee for and coordinate the annual Halloween Party.
Section VII The Academic Coordinator shall develop programs to
enhance the academic experience beyond the classroom. She or he shall
coordinate the student mentor-mentee program for First-Year Students. The
Coordinator shall work in conjunction with the Northeast Black Law Students
Association to provide members with the opportunity to attend academic
programs including the Annual Academic Retreat and the Judicial Friends
Program.
Section VIII The MCC-Representative shall be the point of contact
for the Northeast Black Law Student Association (NEBLSA) and the
Metro-Combined Chapters Committee (MCC). She or he shall attend meetings of
the NEBLSA and MCC and report back to the Association. The
MCC-Representative shall coordinate attendance of members to the NBLSA
National Conference and the NEBLSA Conference. She or he shall also
organize participation in the Annual Frederick Douglas Moot Court
Competition held at the NEBLSA Conference.
Article VI – Meetings
Section I General meetings of the Association shall be held on
a monthly basis. When deemed necessary, meetings may be set up on a weekly
or bi-weekly basis. Emergency meetings may be called by the president at
any time.
Section II The general meeting held in March shall be for the
purpose of electing officers and any other pertinent business.
Section III The executive board meeting shall be held on a
monthly basis or an as needed basis, before the general meeting. A total of
more than two (2) unexcused absences will subject an officer to removal upon
majority vote. A motion for removal must be made in writing and signed by
at least one-fourth (1/4) of the Association’s active members and submitted
to the President. Upon request, the removed board member will be afforded a
fair hearing before the executive board.
ARTICLE VII – COMMITTEES
Section I Executive Board Committee. The Executive
Board Committee (E-Board) shall have the power to administer any and all
programs or business matters concerning the Association. The E-Board shall
have the power to make decisions on such matters. In addition, the E-Board
shall have the power to create such other committees as it deems necessary
to carry out the business of the Association.
Section II Standing Committees. In addition to the
E-Board, the following shall be Standing Committees of the Association. The
Committees must account by written report to the E-Board and the General
Assembly on a monthly basis or at the close of each semester.
A. Admissions
B. Academic
C. Annual Cocktail Reception
D. Events
E. Scholarship Writing Competition
F. Political Action
Section III Admissions Committee. Chaired by the
President, the committee will assist the Dean with diversity recruitment
efforts.
Section IV Academic Committee. Chaired by the Academic
Coordinator, the committee shall develop academic programs to foster success
in law school.
Section V Annual Cocktail Reception. Chaired by the
Vice-President, the committee is in charge of the honoree selection
process. The process shall begin in August of the year prior to the
Reception to satisfy the requirements of Seton Hall University. Criteria
for the selection is dedication to the goals and aims of BLSA and the Black
community.
Section VI Events Committee. Co-Chaired by the Events
Coordinator and Treasurer, the committee is charged with coordinating
community service, social and fundraising events. The Treasurer shall
oversee all fundraising events.
Section VII Annual Scholarship Writing Competition.
Composed of the E-Board and faculty advisors, the committee will select the
topic of the competition. The topic will be announced two weeks before the
Annual Cocktail Reception. The committee will select and announce the
winner at the Reception.
Section VIII Political Action Committee. The Committee shall
foster awareness of state and federal elections.
Article VIIi – Impeachment
Section I Any officer of the association may have impeachment
proceedings brought against her or him for misconduct in carrying out the
duties of his elected office.
Section II Proceedings for impeachment may be instituted by any
member of the Association.
Section III A motion for impeachment must be made in writing and
must be signed by at least one-fourth (1/4) of the Association.
Section IV The President, in the event of a motion of impeachment
is made, will appoint a committee with the consent of the Association to
handle all impeachment proceedings. This committee shall be composed of
three (3) members, one of which will be a member of the executive board. In
the event that the President is indicted, the Vice-President will preside
for the remainder of the term. Neither the accused nor those who initiated
the charges will be members of the committee.
ArtiCle Ix – Parliamentary
Authority
The rules contained in the current edition of
Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Association in all
cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent
with this Constitution and any special rules of order the Association may
adopt.
Article X – amendments TO this
constitution
This Constitution may be
amended at any general meeting of the Association by two-thirds (2/3) vote,
provided that adequate notice of proposed amendment is submitted in writing
at the previous meeting. This excludes meetings held during the months of
May, June, July and August.
ARTICLE XI – RATIFICATION
This Constitution shall be
deemed ratified and immediately, put into effect upon the approval of the
majority of the voting membership.
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