Somali Student Association
Last active term
Club Name
The name of the club will be Somali Student Association . We are not agent or representative of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), and our views and actions in no way represent the WUSA.
Governance
The club will uphold the values, mission, and mandate of both the University of Waterloo (UW) and WUSA through following the directives outlined in the WUSA Clubs Manual, all WUSA By-Laws, Policies, and Procedures, as well as all policies and procedures outlined by the UW Secretariat. Furthermore, the club will abide by all laws of the Region of Waterloo, Province of Ontario, and Government of Canada. All club matters will ultimately be governed by the WUSA Clubs Manager.
Purpose
The purpose of the club is to gather University of Waterloo students, staff, faculty and members of the UW community at large to
to connect, share information and socialize in a relaxed and inclusive atmosphere. The club will educate both members and non-members about Somali culture, raise funds for various causes regarding the community on a local and global scale. The club is open to undergraduates and graduates that are either Somali or non-Somali from the University of Waterloo. The SSAUW will not overlap with the African Student Association (ASA) because the ASA focuses on Africa as whole continent and SSA will focus only on Somalia. We plan to hold meetings, educational seminars and social outings; create and execute charity-based events, invite Somali public speakers to give talks at events, raise awareness and funds for Somalia and provide various services to our community.
Club events, activities, and/or initatives will include
all types of events that promote healthy such as but not limited to : Dinners, Movie nights, Fashion Shows, Spoken word events, Somali Trivia, and Meetings
Membership Structure
The club will be fully inclusive and welcoming to both its current and potential membership. New membership is welcome and accepted at any time during a club’s active term. Eligible club members may be current: WUSA Members, as outlined by the WUSA By-Laws; UW graduate students; UW staff or faculty; and/or members of the UW community at large, as defined in the Clubs Manual.
Only current UW students (graduate or undergraduate) may hold voting membership within the club. UW Staff, faculty, and members of the UW community at large may hold non-voting membership within the club. (If Applicable) UW undergrad students who are eligible to obtain voting membership in the club who do not wish to pay the club membership fee at the time of joining may hold non-voting membership within the club. Voting membership can be obtained for said members by paying the membership fee.
At least two thirds of the club's membership must be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate).
Membership Fee
Executive Officers
The majority of executives will be current UW students (graduate or undergraduate). The club president will be a current UW undergraduate student. All club executives will be elected, not hired or appointed. The term of office for all executive positions is one academic term, as outlined by the UW Registrar’s Office. All club decisions will be determined by executive vote, as no executive officer (not even the President) holds decision making power for the collective.
The President ensures that:
- The club operates according to the guidelines of its constitution and some agreed upon guidelines for running a meeting, such as Robert's Rules of Order;
- The club works towards its objectives as agreed upon by the membership; and
- Their successor is trained.
- - Therefore the club will occasionally rotate the role of chairperson among members
- - That the next President is trained. It is important to assure that the person with the most information and/or knowledge in the club is not the full-time chairperson
- - The club works towards its objectives as agreed upon by the membership;
- - The club operates according to the guidelines of its constitution, and some agreed upon guidelines for running a meeting, such as Robert’s Rules of Order;
- - President does not hold power to make decisions for the whole group. Rather, he/she ensures that:
The President is a signing authority.
The Secretary ensures that:
- Records of what the group has done are maintained, distributed, and are accessibile to all the members;
- Meeting minutes/notes are recorded and made available to all voting members;
- All club correspondence is monitored and brought to the attention of the appropriate person(s);
- Their successor is trained.
- • The president, the Secretary and the Officer of Finance will be signing authorities for the club
- • The bank account with the Federation of Students and all financial transactions for the club; and training the next treasurer is taken place
- • The duties of the President are undertaken in his/her absence; and the next Secretary is trained.
- • All club correspondence is monitored, and brought to the attention of the appropriate person(s)
- • Minutes/notes are taken at all meeting;
- • Records of what the group has done are maintained, distributed and are accessible to all the members;
The Secretary is a signing authority.
The Finance Officer ensures that:
- The club's WUSA bank account and all financial transactions for the club are monitored and verified;
- All club revenues are collected, deposited into the club's WUSA bank account, and reconciled correctly and within a timely manner;
- Club cheque requests are submitted correctly and in a timely manner; and
- Their successor is trained.
- • That the next Officer of Finance is trained.
- • To be held responsible for any errors that may exist in the financial summary
- • To plan and provide a detailed account of budget expenditure for future terms, if necessary
- • The bank account with the Federation of Students and all financial transactions for the club;
The Finance Officer is a signing authority.
It is important to assure that the person with the most information and/or knowledge in the club is not the full-time chairperson. Therefore, the club will occasionally rotate the role of chairperson among voting members.
Executive Support Structure
The Website Administrator ensures that:
- • Regulate the content of the club’s Facebook group by updating the section on recent news, sending messages to group members, adding photos, replying messages sent by other members
- and activities
- • Update the club’s website to include information regarding upcoming the club’s events
- • Regulate the content of the club’s Facebook group
- • Regulate the content of the club’s website
- Ensures that the next Website Administrator is trained.
The Officers of Communications /Advertising ensures that:
- • Collaborate closely with the Website Administrator(s) in distributing up-to-date information relating to the club and its events or activities over the club’s website
- • Distribute information about upcoming the club’s events or activities electronically through email mailing list(s) of the club website, and/or through other advertising means (e.g. poster distribution)
- To be familiar with the marketing resources provided by UW and the Feds
- • Develop marketing materials and strategies for the club’s events and activities
- • Collaborate closely with the Website Administrator(s) in distributing up-to-date information relating to the club and its events or activities over the club’s website
- • Assist the Program Coordinator and/or Director of Marketing with developing marketing materials and strategies for club events and activities
- • Responsible for booking rooms through event forms Create and/or maintain a system regulating communication among the members of the club, and with other programs or individuals affiliated to the university. This may include maintaining the functioning mailing list(s), internet group or forum (e.g. Facebook group), etc.
- Ensures that the next Officers of Communications /Advertising is trained.
Meetings
General Meetings
The club will hold monthly general meetings. Quorum for general meetings will be 15 voting members of 20% of voting membership (whichever is more).
Executive Meetings
The club will hold bi-weekly executive meetings. Quorum for executive meetings will be 2 executives or at least 51% of the executive body (whichever is more).
The first meetings (both general and executive) of the following term will be arranged by the outgoing executive. At said meetings, subsequent meeting dates and locations will be set. Meeting dates and times will be forwarded to voting members by:
Emergency meetings can be called by an executive via:
and must be sent to the appropriate members at least 48 hours prior to the meeting time.
ELECTION PROCESS
Elections shall take place at the end of each term for the following academic term. Only University of Waterloo students who are members of the club can vote. Club members must be notified, by email, two weeks in advance of the meeting where executive elections will take place. The term of office shall be for one term. An executive can only hold office (any position) for a total of up to three terms.
Nominations for executives can be made from any club member. The majority of executives must be undergraduate University of Waterloo students. The successful candidate will be the one with the most votes. In the case of a tie, a re-vote will take place until the tie is broken.
IMPEACHMENT AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
A movement to impeach an executive officer may be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. When the motion is made the Clubs Manager will be informed. An emergency general meeting will be called as soon as is reasonably possible. No club funds will be spent until the issue is resolved.
At the impeachment meeting, the individual(s) who initiated the process will state their case. Afterwards, the officer(s) under impeachment will have an opportunity to defend their position(s) on the matter.
There will then be a question and answer period followed by the selection process for a Chief Returning Officer (CRO) who will oversee the voting process to ensure the decision is fair and democratic. Any executive officer who is neither the initiator nor subject of the impeachment may volunteer as CRO. If there is no such officer, then any voting member of the club present at the meeting may volunteer. If there are multiple volunteers, then the CRO will be selected based on a simple majority vote cast by secret ballot and tallied publically by the chairperson of the meeting. If there is no such volunteer for CRO, then the meeting will be at a standstill until either an eligible executive officer or voting member volunteers.
The vote will be by a “YES/NO” secret ballot, tallied publically by the CRO. If at least two thirds of the votes are for impeachment, then said officer will immediately be stripped of their position. The remaining executive may choose to call an immediate by-election to replace the newly vacant executive officer position.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A claim against any executive officer or club member regarding a potential conflict of interest can be made by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. If such a claim arises, then said individual(s) under suspicion have the opportunity to remove them self (or themselves) from said potential conflict without acknowledging intention of wrongdoing. In the event the claim is contested, then the Clubs Manager will be informed and an emergency executive meeting will be called to determine the validity of the claim. Executive officers who have a claim against them cannot vote to determine the validity of said claim. If executive quorum is not possible due to the removal of said vote(s), then an emergency general meeting will be called and the same proceedings described for impeachment will be used to determine the validity of the claim.
If the claim is validated and there is suspicion of intentional wrongdoing, an immediate impeachment proceeding may be called by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members, of whom are not named in the claim. If it is determined that a club member is involved in intentional wrongdoing, the impeachment proceeding will be called to determine said member’s club status.
AMENDMENTS
Constitutional amendments may be proposed by any executive officer or by petition of at least five voting members. The amendment will then be voted on by referendum. The voting procedure will be the same as for the impeachment process. If the vote passes, the amendment and the vote will be forwarded to the Clubs Manager for final approval. If the Clubs Manager approves, then the constitution will be amended and any changes will be inserted into the constitution.
A motion to officially close the club will follow the same procedure as a constitutional amendment. If such a motion passes, then the club will be purged from the clubs system.
AFFILIATIONS
Internal Affilations
The club is affiliated with UWASA (University of Waterloo African student Association). The nature of the affiliation, including the conditions required by both parties, is outlined as follows:
They serve as the overhead organization for the SSA and they help oversee club activities as well as the club finances. UWASA do not have direct control over the SSA club activities and the two clubs maintain a flat structure that works around collaboration and support to represent Africa and raise awareness for African culture and African issues.