Section 1 Duty of Members (Every Executive Board Member Must Agree)

Updated: March, 2016

By-Laws

Section 1 Duty of Members (Every Executive Board Member Must Agree)

1.1Responsibilities of Executive Members

The President shall:

Preside over the executive board and all scheduled meetings
Be the official liaison between the advisers and the executive board
Act as the official voice of tRAC
Affiliate the Residents’ Action Council as a registered student organization at Ohio University through the Campus Involvement Center
Update and maintain organization information with Event Services and the Campus Involvement Center.
Complete, or appoint an executive to reserve meeting space for the executive and general body meetings.
Be responsible for administering all agreements with outside vendors and all other services provided by the organization with advisers
Develop and maintain a close working relationship with the Department of Housing and Residence Life through regular communication
Actively work with on-campus students, hall councils and Department ofHousing and Residence Life on initiatives that enhance the living environment of the residential community
Work with the Vice President for Finance and Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations to communicate budgetary matters and funding opportunities to Department of Housing and Residence Life staff
Put together the agenda for general body, have executive approval, and make accessible for general body
Provide and seek feedback regularly at general body and executive meetings
Not vote in tRAC general body except in the case of a tie
Work with the NCC to explore best practices at other institutions when necessary.
Attend all conferences: NACURH, CAACURH, and No Frills, unless excused by the rest of the executive board members
Work with Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations, or appoint delegate, to develop and maintain a working relationship with other university organizations.
Form ad hoc committees with the approval of the executive board
Remain aware of actions of all committees by identifying a representative or delegate to attend committee meetings

The Vice President for Administrative Affairs shall:

Be responsible for the maintenance of attendance records.Inquire about absences, by emailing said tRAC representative instructing them of their revoked voting rights and how to get them back. In addition, CC the Hall Council adviser (RD, GRD, or ARD) on the email.
Be responsible for maintaining all voting records
Work with the Vice President for Finance to make sure hall/complex councils meet funding requirements
Record minutes and agenda of each tRAC meeting, update the contact information, and distribute to all members within 48 hours after the general body meeting by uploading minutes to the tRAC Dropbox and by emailing
Upload minutes for executive meetings to the tRAC Dropbox within 48 hours after the executive meeting
Maintain historical records of tRAC
Ensure that the general body is informed of a vacancy and appointment process of an executive position
Assume or delegate to another executive, the President’s duties when the President is absent
Be responsible for coordination and evaluation of all standing committees, the recording of each committee’s schedule and plans

The Vice President for Finance

Oversee all sources of revenue collected
Ensure that all financial obligations of tRAC are fulfilled in a timely manner
Be responsible for the maintenance of the treasury
Work with Advisers to maintain the financial integrity of tRACMaintain communication with the Office of the Bursar
Be responsible for the use of the controlled value card through the Purchasing Card Administration
Furnish up-to-date financial records, such as bi-annual budget reports and financial reports after each major programming event to the general body
Generate a copy and report on the most recent budget available at every meeting, be it an Executive meeting or general body meeting
Coordinate all funding requests, including communication to those requesting funding and prepare requests for presentation
Work with the Vice President for Administrative Affairs to make sure hall/complex councils meet funding requirements
Pass on program information from past funding requests to the Vice President for Administrative Affairs to be archived in the tRAC office
Hold reimbursement funds from a Hall Council until Program Report Form is submitted
Work with President and Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations to communicate budgetary matters and funding opportunities to Department ofHousing and Residence Life staff
Oversee any necessary fundraising activities with fellow executives
Serve, or appoint someone to serve as tRAC’s representative to Senate Appropriations Commission (SAC), if found necessary by the executive board.
Be responsible for preparing and processing a bill for damaged or late return for tRAC equipment in consultation with the Vice President for Student Services
Maintain electronic copies of all financial records

The Vice President for Programming shall:

Oversee, facilitate implementation of, and attend programs and community service programs by tRAC i.e.: tRAC or Treat and Adopt a Family
Act as a resource for hall council activities and/or programs sponsored by tRAC, and delegate tasks as necessary for completion
Collect and maintain all records of tRAC programs
Maintain the Program Report Form
Be responsible to contact the Hall Council within 48 hours of their program date to remind them to submit the Program Report Form and the guidelines to release funds.
Work with Vice President of Finance to receive and review co-sponsorship applications and present them to the executive board
Assess the need for and assist the Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations in the development of additional resources (pamphlets, information, etc.) to be distributed to all councils or general membership
Chair the Programming committee

The Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations

Be responsible for all tRAC publicity
Be responsible for social media pages, if not applicable identify web master for updating the website, social media, and other electronic media
Be responsible for developing membership strategy in conjunction with the executive board
Communicate and publicize marketing needs on behalf of another executive as needed
Serve as the contact person to the media for publicity purposes and maintain frequent communication with the university community

The National Communications Coordinator (NCC) shall:

Attend all conferences: NACURH, CAACURH, and No Frills, unless excused by the rest of the executive board members. If the NCC cannot attend, the NCC will find and train a proxy
Select the Ohio University’s delegation to conferences, with the approval of advisers
Coordinate Ohio University’s delegation to NACURH, CAACURH, No Frill and any additional conferences
Maintain records of conferences
Be responsible for re-affiliating Ohio University (tRAC, NRHH) with NACURH annually
Be responsible for maintaining contact with the National Association of College and University Residence Hall, Inc. (NACURH) as well as with the Central Atlantic Affiliate (CAACURH) of NACURH. In addition, will continue to be a liaison with Regional Board of Directors
Attend online chats for regional meetings, bids and legislation
Collaborate with Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations to participate in CAACURH and/or NACURH social media challenges.
Coordinate the writing and submission of any bids to CAACURH, NACURH and/or No Frills, and keep records of bids
Communicate votes at regionals and nationals to executive board
Take on the minute-taking responsibilities, if the Vice President for Administrative Affairs’ absent
Be a liaison with NRHH

Vice President for Student Services shall:

Assess the need for, research and recommend options for additional equipment to be provided by the organization
Be responsible for maintaining a record of and coordinating all rentals of tRAC equipment and materials
Coordinate equipment pick-up and drop-off
Be responsible for maintenance and organization of equipment and the tRAC storage room
Keep record of office and equipment supplies up to date
Keep rental guidelines up to date and available
Promote equipment rentals to other organizations
Responsible for communicating with Vice President for Finance in instances where tRAC equipment is returned damaged or late.

Section 2Adviser

2.1 The eligibility of an adviser is defined by the Campus Involvement Center in its guidelines for student organizations.

2.2 The adviser(s) to the Residents’ Action Council shall be selected by a two-thirds vote of the executive board.

2.3 At least one adviser is encouraged to be present during all scheduled meetings of tRAC.

2.4 The adviser(s) and executives shall set forth an agreement, to be at the executive retreat, which will consist of expectations of both adviser(s) and executives. Both parties will work to the best of their abilities to fulfill the expectations.

2.5 At least one adviser is encouraged to be present at each conference: NACURH, CAACURH, and No Frills.

2.6 The adviser(s) will approve delegates to conferences.

2.7 Work with On-Campus Marketing, Bedlofts.com, and additional vendors.

2.8 Work with Vice President for Finance to maintain the financial integrity of tRAC.

2.9 At the end of each academic year, the executive board will review the adviser(s).

Section 3Committees

3.1There shall be four standing committees of tRAC:

Finance Committee
Programming Committee
Recognition Committee
Marketing Committee

3.2Responsibilities of Committees

The Finance Committee shall:
Be responsible for allocation of funds to committees
Oversee expenditures
Present a bi-semesterly financial report
Oversee hall council funding process
The Programming Committee shall:
Plan and implement tRAC’s programming, including community service activities
Attend all tRAC programming events
Record evaluations of tRAC programming
The Recognition Committee shall:
Recognize the exceptional achievements of residence hall organizations and/or residents
Recognize the exceptional achievements of members of tRAC
Recognize regular attendance for any hall/complex council and for their annual participation
The Marketing Committee:
Design, produce and distribute all public notices, except election materials

Section 4Attendance

4.1No executive officer shall havemore than five excused absences from a scheduled meeting and/or office hours per semester.

4.2 In case of an absence, the reason of the absence must be told to the president, at minimum, 24 hours in advance.In addition, absent executives are responsible for being caught up on the missed agenda.

4.3The President must inform Vice President of Administrative Affairs of absence, 24 hours in advance. In addition, delegate meeting tasks to an executive.(Reference section 1 subsection B, point 8)

4.4An absence of office hours that is excused and is covered by another executive will not be considered as an absence.

4.5Any executive member who has more than three unexcused absences or more than five total absences per semester will be reviewed by the executive board, with the possibility of removal from office, as stated in Article IV, Section 5 of the constitution.

4.6Attendance at the executive retreat is mandatory for all newly elected executive members unless an excuse is submitted to and approved by the incoming executive board.

4.7In the event that an executive member’s presence at the retreat is deemed detrimental to the development of the group and its future, a simple majority of the executive members present may decide to revoke that privilege and ask that he/she not attend the retreat.

Section 5Ethics

5.1the Residents’ Action Council shall operate under this Code of Ethics:

Avoid conflicts of interest
Be responsible and accountable for your actions
Be objective
Be honest and transparent
Respect others and yourself
Be supportive of the organization
Follow university policies and applicable laws

5.2Violation of Ethical Standards

Violation of the Code of Ethics, as stated in Section V, Subsection 1, shall be grounds for impeachment according to the procedures stated in Article III, Section 5.
A member or executive officer may be impeached for public unethical actions, behaviors and/or speech that does not pertain to tRAC, tRAC business or the position that he/she holds on tRAC.
If an unethical action, behavior or speech is made aware;an adviser must address this.

Section 6Rules of Order

6.1 Standard Procedure

tRAC meetings shall be conducted in a round table format with the President presiding and maintaining order.
All questions that require a decision by tRAC shall be decided by a simple majority of voting members present.
No business that requires a decision by tRAC shall be conducted unless a quorum is present. A quorum shall be a 1/3 vote of halls/complexes with voting rights.

6.2 Hall Council Funding Request

A. Guidelines to an acceptable funding request

1. The request must be submitted on Wednesday prior to the Monday meeting at which the Hall Council hopes to present, no exception.

2. There must be an alternate funding source, a funding source covering 20% or more of the total cost, will be looked at more favorably

3. The maximum a hall council can ask for is $1000.

4. To be able to present a funding request, the hall council must have membership. (See: Membership)

5. If the funding request is not completed, the request will be sent back.

B. Voting Procedure

1. Vice President of Finance will bring a funding request to the floor. If the Vice President of Finance is absent, President will conduct the funding request.

2. Once to the floor, an individual from the requesting Hall Council will present the funding request.

3. After the presentation there will be a Q&A session by the general body. At the end of the Q&A session, those who are associated with the funding request must step out of the room.

4. There will be a Pro-Con discussion.

5. After the Pro-Con discussion the Vice President for Finance will conduct a vote among the Hall Councils that have membership.

6.The Vice President for Finance will ask for those with membership(See: Membership) to raise their hand for their vote; beginning with for, against, and then abstention.

C. Release of Funds

1. To receive funds, an itemized receipt must be turned in and Program Report Form must be completed.

2. Receipts and the Program Report Form are due at the same time; they are due two weeks from program date, if they are not turned in, the hall council will not receive the money.

6.3 Co-Sponsorship Funding Request

A. Guidelines to an acceptable funding request

1. The request must be submitted two weeks prior to the event.

2. There must be an alternate funding source.

3. The maximum an organization can ask for is $500

4. The request must come from a registered organization.

5. A student organization can only be granted one co-sponsorship per semester.

6. If the co-sponsorship form is not completed, the request will be sent back.

B. Voting Procedure

1. Vice of Finance will bring a funding request to the floor. If the Vice President of Finance is absent, President will conduct the funding request.

2. Once to the floor, an individual from the request will present the funding request.

3. After the presentation there will be a Q&A session by the general body. At the end of the Q&A session, those who are associated with the funding request must step out of the room.

4. There will be a Pro-Con discussion.

5. After the Pro-Con discussion the Vice President for Finance will conduct a vote among the Hall Councils that have membership.

6.The Vice President for Finance will ask for those with membership(See: Membership) to raise their hand for their vote; beginning with for, against, and then abstention.

C. Release of Funds

1. To receive funds, an itemized receipt must be turned in and Program Report Form must be completed.

2. Receipts and the Program Report Form are due at the same time; they are due two weeks from program date, if they are not turned in, the hall council will not receive the money.

6.4 Voting for Non-Funding Issues

A. In order for a non-funding issue to be presented, it must be approved by the executive board.

B. An executive officer or tRAC Representative will prepare a brief presentation about the issue.

C. After the Presentation there will be Q&A and discussion session by the general body.

D. At the conclusion of the discussion session the President will call for a vote.

E. After a tally is made of the final votes the Vice President for Administrative Affairs will announce whether the issue is approved or denied.

6.5 Other Voting Circumstances

In the instance where the members of tRAC decide that a vote needs to be taken of all residents living on campus, the following guidelines will be followed:
Each hall council will have one week to take the issue back to their hall council for a vote of the members in attendance.
The resulting vote will be brought back to tRAC the following week, and each tRAC representative will vote according to the hall council decision.
After a tally is made of the final votes the Vice President for Administrative Affairs will announce whether the issue is approved or denied.

6.6 Voting by Secret Ballot.

A motion to have a secret ballot may be brought forward by any executive officer or by any present tRAC member.
The general body may vote to have a secret ballot if the majority of attending members agree by a vote.
Voting members will then be asked to submit their votes via paper ballot.
Both Advisers will count secret ballots, if there is not an Adviser, the President will count;then so on down the executive chain.