Carleton University Tamil Students' Association (referred as CUTSA hereafter)

Objective

Spread Tamil Culture values year after year through various activities and raise Tamil cultural awareness among other cultures at Carleton University. Grow and preserve the cultural understanding and unity between the Carleton Tamil students. Provide support and assistance to the Tamil students in Sri Lanka.

Members

Only the Tamil students who are registered at Carleton University and the Tamil graduates from Carleton University shall be the members of CUTSA. Each year, the members should pay a fee of $15 to acquire CUTSA membership. The membership is valid for the duration of September to August. Those who have attained the membership by paying the fees by 21:00 hours the day before the Election Day will be eligible to vote in the CUTSA general election.

Executive Committee

The Association's Executive Committee consists of the following positions; President, Vice President, Treasurer, Cultural Coordinator, Sports Coordinator, Secretary and External Coordinator. The Executive Committee members (except for the External Coordinator) for the successive year shall be elected by eligible members every March. Vacancies in the Executive Committee shall be filled in general meeting after two weeks notice. The newly elected Executive Committee will become active during the summer term. During the summer term, if an Executive member is not registered as a student or intends to go on vacation, he/she must nominate an acting member to perform his/her duties with the permission of the other executives. General meetings must be held once every month. Notifications must be given to members three days prior to the general meetings. Executive meetings shall be held in once every two weeks. Special meetings may be held upon need with the approval of both the President and Secretary.

Representatives

Student representatives of first, second, third and fourth year shall be nominated and appointed for each academic year at the first general meeting. The appointed year representatives must be CUTSA members. In every general meeting, the year representatives will bring forward issues concerning their year students to the rest of the students.

Culture Committee

A committee consisting of at least five CUTSA members will be appointed to handle cultural activities. The Cultural Coordinator will lead the Culture committee.

Remark:

Year representative and the Culture Committee members shall not be considered a part of the Executive Committee. They may attend Executive meetings upon request of the president. But they shall not vote in the Executive elections. The President or Vice President shall chair any special meetings arranged by Representatives. The Cultural Coordinator shall chair any special meetings arranged by the Culture Committee.

Elections

All members must be notified about the Executive Committee election in two weeks advance. Candidates of the election must be current CUTSA members and registered Carleton University students. They must also be registering in the upcoming academic year. Candidates willing to run in the election must fill out the nomination form by 21:00 hours the day before the Election day. The current President cannot be a candidate for any positions of the upcoming general elections. The candidate for the President must have been a CUTSA member for at least one full year. The new and the current Executive Committee members will select the External Coordinator. The candidate selected as the External Coordinator must have been a CUTSA member for at least one full year. Election nomination forms shall be given to all members without questions. In the event of more than one candidate contesting for a position, the candidates shall be given the right to withdraw from the election, if and when they wish to do so prior to the actual voting. Otherwise, a secret poll shall be conducted and the candidate shall be appointed for that position. If the results are equal, another election will be conducted on another day. Where the information in the election nomination form violates the rules and regulations of CUTSA or inaccurate, the candidate will be dismissed from the election.

Amendments

Constitutional amendments shall be passed with a 2:3 majority of the members present on the Election day if any. Duties of Executive members

President

The President of CUTSA shall:

Inform all members about the decisions taken by the Executive Committee. Be responsible for all the activities of CUTSA Attend all CUSA meetings. Make every effort to raise funds for the Association Conduct the elections of the Association. Select representatives to represent CUTSA in other Organizations' activities.

Vice President

The Vice President of CUTSA shall:

Execute the duties of the President with his/her approval in the event of his/her absence. Chair the committee of representatives in the event of the absence of the President. Preserve members' name lists and all documents of the decisions taken in meetings. Conduct meetings. Put into practice all resolutions taken by the Executive Committee. Attend CUSA meetings.

Treasurer

The Treasurer of CUTSA shall:

Be responsible for all financial activities of the Association. Deposit cash-in-hand exceeding $50. He/she may later withdraw cash on behalf of the Executive Committee. Supervise all fund raising activities conducted by the Association. Prepare the budget for current year. Prepare the documents to obtain money from CUSA (FAB) if necessary.

Cultural Coordinator

The Cultural Coordinator of CUTSA shall:

Preside the Culture Committee. Establish contacts with associations included in CUTSA's Culture Committee. Make necessary arrangements for cultural programs conducted by CUTSA.

Sports Coordinator

The Sports Coordinator of CUTSA shall:

Arrange, Coordinate and supervise all the sports activities for the year. Select teams representing CUTSA to be sent to sports meets conducted by other Universities and Organizations.

Secretary

The Secretary of CUTSA shall:

Organize general meetings Organize CUTSA Election.

External Coordinator

The External Coordinator of CUTSA shall:

Establish contacts with Carleton University student associations and other University student associations. Select representatives to represent CUTSA in events organized by other Universities and Organizations. Attend Clubs and Societies' meetings at Carleton University. Carleton University Tamil Students' Association will act on behalf of itself. If necessary, CUTSA will join other student organizations in equal coordination for the better of Tamil students and Tamil community.