Premise: The Constitution of the HKSA was drafted by the Preparatory Committee of HKSA in September, 1994. An amendment to the Constitution was made in April, 1995. The last amendment was made October, 2002.

The Constitution of the Hong Kong Students Association of the Johns Hopkins University

Preamble: We, the students of Hong Kong heritage, are hereby united to establish Hong Kong Students Association of The Johns Hopkins University for the achievement of our common goals, and for the promotion of our culture to the Johns Hopkins University community.

ARTICLE I: Name and Status
Section 1 - The name of this Association shall be Hong Kong Students Association (HKSA)

Section 2 - The status of the Association shall be as specified by the SAC

ARTICLE II: Statement of Purpose

Section 1 - The purpose of Hong Kong Students Association shall be:
a. to promote the culture, language, and history of Hong Kong
b. to provide all Hopkins students and affiliates activities and events that extend our culture
c. to communicate and maintain relationships with other Hong Kong students organizations and alumni.

ARTICLE III: Meetings

Section 1 - HKSA will hold at least three general meetings per academic semester

Section 2 - Meetings will consist of discussion of news, events and topics related to HKSA

ARTICLE IV: Membership

Section 1 - Active membership: Full time students of JHU who have attended at least 2 general meetings during the academic year.

Section 2 - HKSA membership will not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, creed, sexual orientation or national origin.

Section 3 - The quorum required to vote on matters related to HKSA in general meetings is thirty-five percent of all active members.

ARTICLE V: The Executive Board of the HKSA
Section 1 - The following officers shall constitute the Executive Board of the HKSA
a. President
b. Vice-president
c. Secretary
d. Treasurer
e. Public Relations Officer
f. Publication Officer
g. Inter-Asian Council Representative
h. BIA Representative

Section 2 - Permanent positions or offices can be created or deleted by amending the Constitution.

Section 3 - Temporary positions or offices can be created or deleted at the discretion of the Executive Board. The procedure of creating temporary positions and offices shall be determined by the Bylaws of the Association.

ARTICLE VI: Accounting Practices of the HKSA
Section 1 - Definitions
a. Reimbursement: Pay back or compensate (another party) for money spent for HKSA related activities
b. Roll over: Lack thereof of payment for compensation is extended to new officers and the responsibility is then on the new officers for repayment
c. Receipt: Defined as store copy of payment on items deemed necessary for the HKSA. This does not include items that were not approved. Just because of possession of receipt does not constitute reimbursement (See Section 2)

Section 2 - Reimbursement
a. Consensus of 2 other officer for reimbursement of over $10
b. Must reimburse within current officer term, no roll over to next year
c. Must present receipts for reimbursement

ARTICLE VII: Election

Section 1 - In mid-March of each academic year, a general meeting will held for nomination and election of new officers for the upcoming academic year. The Executive Board will determine the exact date of both the nomination meeting and the election meeting and notify all active members of the HKSA.

Section 2 - Eligibility:
a. Candidates must have been active members for at least a semester.
b. Only active members shall be eligible to vote in elections.
c. Nominations can be made by any active member HKSA. Secondary nomination by another active member must be made for that candidate to be eligible for election.
d. For each position, each active member may only nominate or second one candidate.

Section 5 - Election for the positions on the Executive Board shall be held on the General Election Day.

Section 6 - If there is only one candidate for any of the elections, active members will vote to approve the candidate. A plurality of votes is necessary to winning the position.

Section 7 - The terms of all officers shall be one academic year.

Section 8 - In case of vacancy of any office, a special election shall be held.

Section 9 - Winning the office position is defined as majority vote. If a clear majority vote not received based on the combination of ballots, a run-off election between the top two candidates will take place.

ARTICLE VIII - Responsibilities of the Executive Board of the HKSA

Section 1 - All officers shall exercise supervision of activities and shall be responsible for the general operation of the Association. However, a two-thirds quorum vote of active members shall have the right to override any decisions of the Executive Board.

Section 2 - The President shall serve as the chairperson of the Executive Board meetings and be responsible for undertaking and activities. In addition, the President shall represent the Association to the Student Activities Commission (SAC).

Section 3 - The Vice-president shall serve as the supervisor of all committees created by the Executive Board. In the absence of the President, the Vice-president shall serve as the chairperson of the Executive Board meetings.

Section 4 - The Secretary shall record and be custodian of Minutes of the general meetings and the Executive Board. The Secretary shall also maintain permanent records of Minutes, correspondence, and other documents in good order for reference at any time.

Section 5 - The Treasurer shall be responsible for the receipts and reimbursements of all monetary transactions of the HKSA. The treasurer shall also maintain a proper bookkeeping system of all receipts and expenditures in an organized manner of reference at any time.

Section 6 - The Public Relations Officer shall be responsible for notifying all members of HKSA about any events, meetings, and important announcement from the Executive Board. The Public Relations Officer shall be responsible for releasing statements on behalf of the Executive Board and the Association.

Section 7 - The Publications Officer shall be responsible for maintaining the quality and content of the HKSA newsletter. Newsletter is defined as the vehicle from which HKSA transmits its activities to the JHU community

Section 8 - The Inter-Asian Council representative shall be responsible for upholding the relationship between HKSA and the Inter-Asian Council. The IAC Representative shall attend IAC meetings and vote on behalf of HKSA.

Section 9 - The BIA Representative shall be responsibility for the coordination of intramural events with other student organizations.

Section 10 - It is the responsibility of all executive board members to fund raise and attend the executive committee meetings.

ARTICLE IX- Impeachment of Officers

Section 1 - A warning shall be issued by the Executive Board when any officer of the Association is unable to fulfill the corresponding responsibilities. If the situation is not improved, the officer may be impeached after a hearing. No officer shall be impeached without a warning from the Executive Board.

Section 2 - The procedure for impeaching an officer shall be as follows:
The impeachment may be initiated by a petition with the signatures of at least one-third of the active members. The petition must be submitted to the Executive Board by an active member. The hearing must be held within two weeks after the petition is submitted. During the hearing the charges and/or the reasons for the impeachment of the officer shall be stated. The accused officer (or an authorized representative) shall have the right to address the related issues in the hearing.
After the hearing, a voting by active members is held. A two-third quorum vote is required for impeachment.

Section 3 - An impeached officer may be removed from office by a separate voting of active members. A three-fourths vote of active members is required for removal of the impeached officer. No officer shall be removed from office without formal impeachment.

Section 4 - The vote of removal shall follow immediately after the vote of impeachment.

ARTICLE X: Committees of the Association
Section 1 - The Executive Board of the Association shall establish as needed. The Executive Board shall decide the term of each committee.

Section 2 - The Vice-president of the Association shall be the supervisor of all committees.

Section 3 - All Committees shall have the right to attend and make motions in Executive Board meetings; however, no committee chairperson shall have the right to vote in Executive Board meetings.

ARTICLE XI: Interpretation of the Constitution
Section 1 - The Executive Board shall have the authority to interpret the
Constitution of the Association.

Section 2 - In case of suspicion of violation of the Constitution, a minimum of ten active members may propose a hearing. The Executive Board may then create an independent Review Committee which shall be responsible for the hearing.

Section 3 - The Review Committee shall consist of five members randomly drawn from all members. Participation in the Review Committee shall be voluntary. No Review Committee members shall be those who propose the hearing. No Review Committee members shall be those who are in charged of violation of Constitution.

Section 4 - The Review Committee shall decide the charges of violation of the Constitution after the hearing and issue an official statement.

Section 5 - In the case of serious violation of the Constitution by the Executive Board, a Review Committee and a hearing with the same procedure described.

Section 6 - If the Executive Board is found to have serious violation of the Constitution, the Review Committee shall propose a referendum of dissolving the Executive Board. A three-fourth cote is required to dissolve the Executive Board. The Review Committee shall then appoint an active member as the chairperson of Temporary Executive and Reorganizing Committee.

ARTICLE XII - Amendment of the Constitution

Section 1 - Proposal of amending the Constitution may be initiated by two-third of the active member or by two-third of the Executive Board members. The proposed amendment shall be discussed in a general meeting.

Section 2 - A three-fourth quorum vote shall be required to ratify the amendment to the Constitution.

Section 3 - All amendments to the Constitution shall be subject to approval of the Student Activity Commission (SAC).