SOCH Mental Health UW
Last active term
Club Name
The name of the club will be SOCH Mental Health UW. 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
The purpose of the club is to gather University of Waterloo students, staff, faculty, and members of the UWaterloo community at large to break the stigma around mental health in the South Asian community. By providing resources and creating a community of alike mindsets who share similar cultural mental health narratives, students at the University of Waterloo will feel the strength of community connectedness through storytelling. This club will be providing a sense of cultural belonging and a safe space for mental health conversations by building a strong community which would be difficult to establish in a normal lecture setting. Stigma around mental health, specifically in the South Asian community, will be addressed by using common grounds and scenarios that a large population of UW students undergo.
Club events, activities, and/or initatives will include
Club events, activities, and/or initiatives will include mental health promotion efforts which include and will not be limited to social media engagement, mental health workshops, and club member meetups. These community workshops will aim to bring in a network of mental health professionals or those individuals with lived experience who can foster positive mental health promotion among South Asian UW students. To spread the message of SOCH, the club will work to endorse its mission using workshops that will allow students to direct their energy into a positive place. Workshop topics may include and are not limited to goal-setting seminars, wellness topics such as meditation and yoga, stress management workshops, and even events to navigate around the current events impacting the South Asian community (for example: The Farmer’s Protest). Through social media platforms, SOCH Mental Health UW will continuously provide resources to the UW community on various mental health stigmas, self-management, coping, and professional supports. The club will be open for members to bring their ideas and thoughts to ensure that students are feeling taken care of, and heard within the SOCH community.
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.
- Keeping in touch with SOCH organization to ensure teachings and events are up to par
- Ensuring all executive members receive Mental Health 101 & Facilitation training by SOCH Mental Health
The President is a signing authority.
The Vice President 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 Vice President is a signing authority.
The Executive of Finance 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.
The Executive of Finance is a signing authority.
The Director of Social Media ensures that:
- Maintaining all Social Media platforms with up-to-date information regarding club events and activities
- First responder to messages received through social media platforms
- Active on Facebook, Instagram, and up to date with emails
- Ensures that the next Director of Social Media is trained.
The Officer of External and Internal Affairs ensures that:
- Connecting with other UW clubs for possible collaborations
- Connecting with other universities for collaboration of events
- Sending event emails to members
- Keeping track of member attendance
- Ensuring well being of members, and answering questions posed by members
- Ensures that the next Officer of External and Internal Affairs 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. Therefore, the club will occasionally rotate the role of chairperson among voting members.
Meetings
General Meetings
The club will hold termly 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 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
External Affiliations
The club is affiliated with SOCH Mental Health.
SOCH Mental Health has been co-founded by two mental health nurses Maneet Chahal & Jasmeet Chagger. This organization aims to empower South Asian community members to recognize and accept mental health as an essential part of their wellness through education, prevention, and building resilience. Their vision is to create an open space for conversations around mental health in person and in virtual settings. (https://www.sochmentalhealth.com/partners/)
View the letter from the affiliate
The club itself is internally responsible for ensuring adherence to any applicable By-Laws, policies, conditions, etc. outlined by the external affiliation. However, all policies, procedures, By-Laws, etc. of both UW and WUSA supersede any By-Laws, policies, conditions, etc. outlined by the external affiliation. The Clubs Manager, not the external organization, is the final authority on all club business. Other than the authority to end the affiliation, the external organization has no authority over the club whatsoever. Furthermore, the Clubs Manager is not responsible for ensuring the club abides by any additional stipulations between the club and the external organization. The club may choose by general vote to sever the affiliation, with notice given to the Clubs Manager.
Emphasis on the South Asian Community
The University of Waterloo is known to be a very culturally and religiously diverse community. With over 40,000 students on campus, the South Asian community is continuously growing. Not only are there students that migrate from many Asian countries, but there are also domestic migraters that face huge levels of change when attending university. The migration and settlement of first and second-generation South Asian Canadians have caused an increasing alarm to the mental health state of this growing minority. Per the 2006 Census, over 1.26 million people from South Asian populations called Canada home (4.0% of the total population), making it the largest minority group nationwide. (Islam et. al, 2014) In 2011, BMC Psychiatry posed a survey to the South Asians of Canada which revealed high numbers indicating the drastic levels of stress South Asians feel in Canada. Majority of this stress is accumulated from set expectations, or the need to overachieve when migrating to a new country from less developed countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, etc. Parents and guardians move their families to well developed countries like Canada, hoping to see great success and flourishment for their future generations. As these new generations are born as first or second Canadian generations, they feel the real wrath to be successful or fulfill the dreams their parents or guardians had set. Migrating to a new country also accounts for a reset of economic status, creation of a stable income, and constant thoughts on hoping settlement is successful. (Islam et. al, 2014) It is this extreme level of stress that causes this population to have continuously growing anxiety disorders, or generally perceived poor mental health. Individuals of the South Asian community with depressive episodes reported the largest proportion of unmet mental health needs and the highest perception of mental health care barriers, when compared to eight other large ethnic groups in Canada. (Islam et. al, 2014) Almost 50% of South Asians with personality disorders or depressive symptoms were left undiagnosed, simply because the stigma of mental health in the South Asian community is deemed a myth. (Islam et. al, 2014) There is a cry for help by the South Asian community and as an individual of the new generation it is my goal to support and educate the SA UW community on how important mental health is.
Islam, F., Khanlou, N. & Tamim, H. South Asian populations in Canada: migration and mental health. BMC Psychiatry 14, 154 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-14-154