Ethics, Society & Law Students’ Association

Constitution and Bylaws

 

Effective as of September 27th, 2018.

Passed at the Annual General Meeting.

 

Article 1: Name

 

The official name of the organization shall be the “The Ethics, Society, and Law Students’ Association.” The official acronym shall be the “ES&LSA” or “ESLSA.”

Any mention of “the council,” “the group,” “the executive,” or “the club” refers to the ESLSA executive.

 

Article 2: Authorization

 

1. The Ethics, Society & Law Students’ Association Constitution (hereinafter referred to as “the Constitution”) shall serve as an extension of the Arts and Science Student Union (ASSU) Constitution in order to create bylaws and rules for ESLSA functions.

2. If the Constitution does not outline a procedure or bylaw for a specific task or procedure, it is up to the discretion of the executive, and ultimately the President, to carry it out in an appropriate manner.

 

Article 3: Purpose

 

 The purpose of the ESLSA shall be to:

1. Represent the best interests of Ethics, Society & Law students in discussions with faculty and administration

2. Liaison between ES&L students, faculty, administration, and the Faculty of Arts & Science

3. Create academic and extracurricular enrichment opportunities for ES&L students, which may be, but is not limited to:

   1. Academic Panels or Roundtable Discussions

   2. Social Events

   3. Mentorship Programs

   4. Networking Events and Career Seminars

4. Provide support to students in undergraduate and post-degree planning

 

Article 4: Membership

 

Any full-time Arts & Science student who is enrolled in the Ethics, Society & Law major, or is enrolled in any required class in the Ethics, Society & Law major shall be a voting member of the ESLSA. Students may be asked for a copy of their academic timetable and/or online status of enrollment as evidence of their eligibility to vote.

 

Article 5: Elected Positions

 

Each elected executive of the ES&LSA shall be held accountable for completing their responsibilities, as well as the general responsibilities of all executives under Article 5.8.

 

5. 1: President:

The responsibilities of the President are to:

• Be ultimately accountable for all actions decided on and performed by the club as a whole

• Be responsible for the overall direction of the club

• Oversee the work of the Vice-President of Finance with respect to budgeting, spending, and reimbursement

• Oversee all of the events and projects hosted by the ES&LSA

• Oversee all hiring of application-based positions

• Act as the primary liaison between the Ethics, Society and Law Program, the faculty of Trinity College, other course unions, and the Arts and Science Students’ Union

• Attend required council meetings of the Arts and Science Student Union

• Attending and chairing at least 80% of Council meetings

 

5. 2: Vice-President, Finance (Formerly Advocacy and Community Research Partnership in Ethics [CRPE] Chair) (VP Finance)

• Oversee banking responsibilities along with the President

• Develop the ES&LSA budget for submission to ASSU twice per year, once in the fall and once in the Winter

• Maintain ledger and submit receipts and report to ASSU at the end of each semester

• Maintain the financial records of the club through a spreadsheet accessible to all ES&LSA executives

• Provide a report to the executive outlining the budget for each semester at the first meeting of the Fall and Winter terms.

 

5. 3: Vice-President, Operations (VP Operations)

 

The responsibilities of the VP Operations are to:

• Maintain an email list of all members and interested individuals

• Send relevant communications materials to the ES&L Director for distribution through Quercus for all announcements on behalf of the ES&L SA for the purpose of notifying members about events and general ES&L related information

• Keep record of meeting minutes and create agenda for all meetings

• Organizing logistics of executive meetings.

• Chair the September Annual General Meeting

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5. 4: Vice-President, Communications (VP Communications)

 

The responsibilities of the VP Communications are to:

• Run all social media platforms on behalf of the executive

• Create Facebook event pages for each ES&LSA activity, along with promotional banner

• Create posters, pamphlets, and any other printed materials for the ES&LSA

• Circulate and delegate the circulation of printed materials for the ES&LSA

 

5. 5: Vice-President, Social Affairs (VP, Social Affairs)

 

The responsibilities of the VP Social Affairs are to:

• Coordinate room bookings for all ES&LSA social events on or off campus

• Sort out any logistics or catering needs in order to carry out ES&LSA events

• Work in conjunction with the Vice-President, Communications to create promotional materials

• Work in conjunction with the Vice-President, Academics in coordinating overlapping events

• Liaison with other course unions to organize the annual Social Science Semi-Formal

• Hold at least 2 social events throughout the year, 1 per semester in conformity with ASSU rules

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5. 6: Vice-President, Academics

 

The responsibilities of the VP Academics are to:

• Coordinate room bookings for all ES&LSA academic events on campus

• Sort out any logistics or catering needs in order to carry out ES&LSA events

• Work in conjunction with the Vice-President, Communications to create promotional materials

• Work in conjunction with the Vice-President, Social Events in coordinating overlapping events

• Manage and maintain all mentorship responsibilities, including training, dismissal, and communications with mentors and mentees

  • If the second or third year representative wishes to dismiss a mentor or mentee, they must bring up the dismissal at a council meeting where it will be put to a vote

• Liaison with faculty members in carrying out panels, discussions, and other academic events

• Hold at least 3 academic events throughout the year, at least 1 per semester in conformity with ASSU rules

  • Of the career-oriented events put on by the VP Academics, at least 1 a year must be related to fields other than law

 

5. 7: Second Year Representative and Third Year Representative

 

• Member must be entering their first or second academic year as officially enrolled in the program, making them either a second or third year student at the University of Toronto

• Act as a representative of their respective cohort of the Ethics, Society, & Law program. All concerns will be directed to the year representative who will in turn communicate concerns and comments to the council

• Exist for the purpose of encouraging proliferation of the ES&LSA

• Assisting with miscellaneous event and project planning as decided by the rest of the executive.

 

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5. 8: General Responsibilities

In addition to the responsibilities outlined in Articles 5.1-5.7, all executives will be held accountable for completion of the following responsibilities:

• Each executive will be responsible for maintaining their respective e-mail accounts

• Any executive can act as a liaison between the council and sponsors as necessary

• Assist with the planning, execution, and facilitation of events hosted by the ES&LSA

• Must be available to attend at least 2 Council Meetings of the Arts and Science Student Union a year

  • This is with the exception of the second and third year representatives, who are expected to be available for at least 1 meeting a year

• Attend at least 50% of ES&LSA meetings, and 50% of ES&LSA events.

 

Article 6: Impeachment and Dismissal

ES&LSA Executives may be impeached or dismissed from their positions according to the following rules:

1. If an executive member or the member at large consistently fails to perform all or some of her/his constitutional duties for an unreasonable period of time, she/he will receive a written warning.

2. If the member continues to not perform all or some of her/his duties for a reasonable period of time (at the discretion of council), she/he will be considered for impeachment by the executive.

3. Members may also request impeachment, by providing written request to any executive member, in addition to providing reasonable evidence surrounding the request for their removal.

4. A vote for impeachment can only pass with at least 5 executive voting members choosing to remove the executive from their office.

5. The executive will then call a meeting for all executives members, by providing one week notice, where the majority vote decides the outcome. This meeting will be open to all members, where the chair, being the second and third year representatives, will take comments and concerns from members in before the vote.

6. If the position becomes open, the remaining executives must provide two weeks notice for another meeting, where the election will take place.

7. If the President of the ES&LSA is either impeached, dismissed, or unable to perform their duties, one of the Vice-Presidents, at the discretion of a council vote shall become the acting President in the interim before an election takes place.

• The acting President will be chosen through winning a plurality of council votes through a secret ballot chaired by the second and third year representatives.

 

6.1: Resignation

1. If a member of the executive resigns, they may do so by providing written notice to the President. If the President is the one resigning, they must provide written notice to another elected executive member.

2. In the event of a resignation, the remaining executives must provide two weeks notice to the general membership of a by-election where a new executive will be elected to fill the role.

 

Article 7: Elections Procedure

 

7.1: Spring Elections Procedure

1. The Elections period will take place during the last two months of the Fall/Winter term of each year, before the last day of classes.

2. In order to hold the Spring Elections, the Executive must:

   1. Notify ASSU and membership at least 2 weeks in advance of the end of the voting period.

   2. Advertise elections via e-mail and social media.

3. A CRO must be chosen  by the outgoing executive. The CRO must be a current or former Arts & Science Student, but cannot be a current ES&L student.

4. The CRO must release a report detailing the breakdown of votes immediately following the voting period.

5. A member of ES&L may run for 1 out of 6 available positions described in Article 5. Candidates must declare their intention to run for the position to the CRO by the chosen deadline.

6. The voting period will take place for a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 5 days and all votes will be cast online.

7. Candidate statements must be released online by the CRO through Facebook and email at least 5 days before the voting period begins.

8. Campaign materials must be sent and approved by the CRO at least one week before the voting period.

9. The campaign period will take place from the end of the deadline to declare one’s candidacy to the start of the voting period.

10. If a member is running uncontested for a position, they will be placed on the ballot. Out of the total amount of votes that are cast, at least 50% must be a “yes” in order for the person to be part of the executive.

11. If no one runs for one or more of the positions, a by-election must be held during the Fall AGM to fill these positions.

12. A candidate must win more votes than other candidates in order to win their respective position. If only one person runs for any given position, they must win a majority of “yes” votes to acclaim their position.

13. If there is a tie for any position, a tie-breaking by-election must be held immediately. The by-election and voting period will continue over the following 2 days. No campaigning may take place, but candidate statements will be redistributed.

 

7.2: Fall Elections Procedure

1. Fall elections will occur in September or October of each school year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

2. Candidates may run for 1 of 2 positions.

3. Only second year students may run for second-year representative, and only third year students may run for third-year representatives.

4. Candidates must inform the President of the ESLSA by e-mail of their intention to run at least a week before the AGM. They may also include a candidate statement, which cannot total over 250 words as well as campaign materials.

5. In order to hold the Fall Elections, the Executive must:

   1. Notify ASSU at least 2 weeks in advance of the end of the voting period.

   2. Advertise elections via e-mail and social media.

 

7.3: Campaign Rules

1. A candidate will be disqualified from Spring ES&LSA elections if the CRO  finds that they have done one or more of the following:

   1. Campaigning after the end of the campaign period. This includes asking for endorsements, posting in Facebook groups, canvassing voters.

   2. Running negative campaigns against another candidate in any way.

   3. Endorsing other candidates officially or unofficially, or participating in the creation of a slate of candidates.

   4. Using Facebook group administrator privileges to endorse or increase exposure of someone’s campaign materials. This includes pinning a post in a group or deleting posts by other candidates.

   5. Any other action deemed comparable to the above by the CRO.

2. A candidate will be disqualified from Fall ES&LSA Elections if the President finds that they have done any of the actions under Article 7.3.1.

3. If a candidate commits an act that, at the discretion of the CRO, is a clear violation of electoral fairness, but does not alone warrant an instant disqualification, demerit points may be be assigned. A total of 3 or more strikes will result in disqualification.

4. If a candidate wants to appeal a disqualification or  a strike, they may send a written appeal request to the outgoing President, who will reach a decision with the consensus of the outgoing executive.

5. If a candidate is unsatisfied with the appeals process, they may pursue an appeal through the ASSU elections appeal process, outlined in their constitution.

 

Article 8: Finances

1. It is the responsibility of the executive, chiefly the VP Finance, to apply for sources of funding for the association.

   1. Possible sources of funding include the Arts and Science Student Union (ASSU), the Trinity College Meeting, the Ethics, Society & Law Program, as well as The University of Toronto Students’ Union

2. All expenses must be approved by the President prior to reimbursement.

3. All funding will be deposited into the Ethics, Society & Law bank account, which requires two signatures for all transactions.

   1. The two signing authorities required for reimbursement will be the President and VP Finance.

4. Signing authorities will be signed over to the new authorities after each Spring Election or changeover of Presidents or Vice-Presidents of Finance.

   1. This changeover will occur before the ASSU Fall Budget deadline.

 

Article 9: Meetings and Attendance

1. There shall be a minimum of one meeting per month per term.

2. There shall be a minimum of two general membership meetings during the academic year, one per semester. At least two weeks notice must be given to all students. Notice shall be given through e-mail and social media to as many members as possible.

3. Executive members have an obligation to attend and to help facilitate ESLSA events. If an executive member cannot attend, they must provide the President with notice with a reason why they cannot attend. Executive members cannot fail to attend more than half of the events per semester.

4. Executives are responsible for making alternative arrangements for their responsibilities when they are unable to attend or fulfill their role in person at an event. It is their responsibility to do so in advance, and to inform their fellow executives of any changes to their arrangements.

 

Article 10: Constitutional Amendments

1. Amendments to this constitution require approval by two-thirds majority of the voting members at a scheduled general membership meeting.

2. All meetings require two weeks notice to general membership.

3. All future amendments must be put in writing, and must be followed by the date it went into effect.