In order to advance interest in culture, increase cultural awareness, and to promote

education and growth through participation in cultural pluralism by and among all

community members of St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict, we the

students, hereby establish this constitution of the Cultural Affairs Board of Saint John's

University and the College of St. Benedict.

The name of this organization will be the Cultural Affairs Board (Cultural Affairs Board).

Section A:

The purpose of the Cultural Affairs Board is to act as a representative for the St. John's

University and College of St. Benedict student bodies on cultural issues. The organization

will assist in articulating the students' views, and will pursue cultural pluralism in

cooperation with the St. John's University Student Senate (SJS), the College of St.

Benedict Student Senate (SBS), the administration and faculty of both schools, other

students and the organizations of the university and college. The Cultural Affairs Board

agrees to follow all rules and regulations designated by Saint John’s University, which

includes the “J-Book”, and the College of Saint Benedict, which includes “Every

Woman’s Guide.” Furthermore, the Cultural Affairs Board will coordinate cultural

activities for both campuses in conjunction with the aforementioned groups.

Section B:

The Cultural Affairs Board will maintain a continuous exchange of ideas and opinions

between the students and other interested groups of the university and college in the area

of cultural pluralism in conjunction with the Multicultural Student Programming Office,

and the International Student Office.

Section C:

The Cultural Affairs Board will request funding from the St. John's University Student

Senate and the College of St. Benedict's Student Senate.

Section D:

The Cultural Affairs Board is recognized as an advisory board to the St. John's University

Student Senate, the College of St. Benedict's Student Senate, and the students of the

university and college on cultural issues.

Section E:

The primary goals of the Cultural Affairs Board are:

1. To establish a relationship with the Multicultural (Programs) Student office and

the International Student Office aimed at discussing issues related to culture and

to better coordinate the cultural opportunities offered by all of these entities.

2. To advocate and implement consistent cultural programming.

3. To advocate the acceptance and promotion of diversity among students,

administration and faculty.

Section A: Executive Board Membership

The Cultural Affairs Board shall consist of:

a. Two Co-Chairs.

b. Treasurer.

c. Two Events Chairs.

d. Public Relations Representative.

e. Academic Affairs Liaison.

f. Secretary.

g. Student Activities Representative.

h. Joint Events Council Representative.

i. Residential Life Representative.

j. An Associate Advisor.

k. St. John’s University Senate Representative.

l. College of St. Benedict Senate Representative.

Section B: General Membership

a. No member shall hold more than one position within the Cultural Affairs Board

unless appointed temporarily to do so by the Co-Chairs.

b. The term of office follows the academic year with the newly appointed Cultural

Affairs Board, and is called to order by the chair of that meeting. The term of

office ends following a joint meeting with the newly appointed Cultural Affairs

Board at the time of transition.

c. Members are required to attend all Cultural Affairs Board events and assist at

these events as decided by the board.

Section C: Qualifications

a. A member must be a full time undergraduate student of the College of St.

Benedict or St. John's University.

b. The student must not be on academic or disciplinary probation.

Section D: General Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of all members shall be:

a. To act as a representative of cultural pluralism on the campus of St. John's

University and the College of St. Benedict.

b. To attend and be on time to all Cultural Affairs Board meetings or face formal

action as stipulated in the Constitution (Article 6).

c. To submit Cultural Affairs Board reports of decisions, actions, and discussions to

the St. John's University Student Senate and the College of St. Benedict Student

Senate, and vice-versa, via the senate representatives.

d. To fulfill the responsibilities established under the descriptions of their respective

positions as described in this Constitution (Article 4).

Section E: Vacancies

a. If any vacancy occurs more than five weeks before the end of the Cultural Affairs

Board term, the Chair and a majority of all other voting members must occupy

that position upon appointment.

b. If the position of either of the Co-Chairs becomes vacant at any time, the Cultural

Affairs Board shall elect the new Co-Chairs from its existing members. The

vacated position must then be filled through an interview process. The new Co-

Chair must fulfill his/her previous duties until the position is filled or the duties

temporarily passed unto another position.

Section A: Co-Chairs

The Cultural Affairs Board through nominations and voting will decide upon the two Co-

Chairs of the Cultural Affairs Board. The Co-Chairs must be members of the Cultural

Affairs Board before nominations and voting takes place. Only one Co-Chair must be

elected from the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University.

The duties and responsibilities of the Co-Chairs shall be:

a. To be present at, and alternately chair all Cultural Affairs Board meetings, and to

direct all administrative responsibilities.

b. When a Co-chair is not acting as the chair of a meeting, they will act as a Cultural

Affairs Board member at-large.

c. To alternately serve as presiding officer at meetings and to interpret the rules of

order at those meetings. The Chair's interpretation can be appealed by any other

Cultural Affairs Board voting member, and be overruled by a 2/3 vote of the

Cultural Affairs Board members present.

d. To participate in the appointment of students to fill all open Cultural Affairs

Board positions as established under this Constitution. These students shall serve

for a term of one academic year, but may be removed from office as established

under this Constitution.

e. To evaluate the Cultural Affairs Board performance and appointed representative

efforts, and to preside over sanctions and/or impeachment procedures where

necessary.

f. To, along with the Secretary, prepare the agenda for the Cultural Affairs Board

meetings.

g. To call special meetings of the Cultural Affairs Board as necessary.

h. To be accountable for the actions of the Cultural Affairs Board.

i. To investigate the unexcused absences of Cultural Affairs Board members from

meetings and/or activities and enforce the attendance policy as is necessary.

j. To delegate responsibility when deemed necessary.

k. To meet prior to every general Cultural Affairs Board meeting.

Section B: Treasurer

The duties and responsibilities of the treasurer shall be:

a. To attend to all financial transactions of the Cultural Affairs Board, including, but

not exclusively:

o Allocations.

o Complete and deliver monthly audits to the Co-Funding Board.

o Monitor and assess the use of these allocations by all clubs that comprise

o Expenditures.

a. To inform the community members of St. John's University and the College of St.

Benedict about the activities of the Cultural Affairs Board.

b. To assist the public relations representatives (or members similar to that position)

in student organizations in informing the community members of both campuses

of the activities sponsored by these organizations and co-sponsored by the

Cultural Affairs Board.

c. To inform campus publications of the scheduled activities of the Cultural Affairs

Board, and the activities sponsored by student organizations and assisted by the

Cultural Affairs Board.

d. To ensure the public relations officers for cultural clubs are promoting activities

in the most effective manner possible.

e. To be responsible for the Cultural Affairs Board booth at Involvement on the Mall

and the Festival of Cultures.

f. To plan the annual Cultural Affairs Board Public Relations week.

g. To prepare and submit a detailed annual Public Relations budget to the Events

Chair at a deadline determined by the Events Chair.

Section E: Academic Affairs Representative

The duties and responsibilities of the Academic Affairs Representative shall be:

a. To work along with the Associate Advisor to review institutional curriculum and

promote diverse faculty as needed through joint efforts with St. John’s University

and College of St. Benedict Management, the St. John’s University and College

of St. Benedict’s Student Senates’ Joint Academic Board Co-chairs.

b. To work with the Center for International Education in a capacity agreed upon by

the department and the Cultural Affairs Board.

c. To assist the Senate representative in College of St. Benedict and St. John's

University Senate initiatives to promote cultural educational programming.

Section F: Secretary

The duties and responsibilities of the Secretary shall be:

a. To be responsible for all written tasks necessary for the function of the Cultural

Affairs Board. These include, but are not exclusive to:

o Being present at the agenda setting meeting.

o The taking of the role at all Cultural Affairs Board meetings.

o The recording and distribution of the minutes of each session of the meetings

o The publishing and distribution of the approved agenda at least 48 hours prior

o Policies

o Procedures

o Amendments

o Any other legislation enacted by the Cultural Affairs Board.

h. To seek co-sponsorship opportunities between the Cultural Affairs Board and

other clubs and organizations.

Section G: Student Activities Representative

The duties and responsibilities of the Student Activities Representative shall be:

a. To act as a liaison between the Student Activities Office and the Cultural Affairs

Board.

b. To act as a resource to the Student Activities Office’s programming to provide

culturally fulfilling programs for the student population.

Section H: Joint Events Council Representative

The duties and responsibilities of the Joint Events Council Representative shall be:

a. To act as a liaison between the Joint Events Council and the Cultural Affairs

Board.

b. Purpose of establishing communication between the Joint Events Council and the

Cultural Affairs Board.

c. Maintain attendance at both the Joint Events Council and the Cultural Affairs

Board meetings.

d. To assist and advise Joint Events Council with diversifying campus programming.

e. Assist with co-sponsorship between the Joint Events Council and the Cultural

Affairs Board.

Section I: Residential Life Representative

The duties and responsibilities of the Residential Life Representative shall be:

a. To establish a relationship between Residential Life and Cultural Affairs Board.

b. To assist and advise Residential Life with diversifying campus programming.

Section J: Associate Advisors

The duties and responsibilities of the Associate Advisor shall be:

a. To organize and initiate at least one campus wide Speak Out a semester pertaining

to those issues decided upon by the Cultural Affairs Board.

b. To review institutional curriculum and promote diverse faculty and administration

as needed through joint efforts with St. John's University and College of St.

Benedict Management, the St. John's University and College of St. Benedict

Student Senates’ Joint Academic Board Co-chairs.

c. To support, train and work with the members of the Cultural Affairs Board.

Section K: St. John's University Senate Representative

The duties and responsibilities of the St. John's University Senate Representative shall be:

a. To be a voting member of the St. John's University Senate.

b. To be the represent Cultural Affairs Board and the student body on cultural issues

in collaboration with the St. John's University Student Senate.

c. To remain informed of the works of the St. John's Student Senate on all cultural

issues and inform the Cultural Affairs Board of these issues.

d. To remain informed of the works of the Cultural Affairs Board representatives,

and the works of the student organizations that promote multiculturalism, and the

works of the administration and faculty on multiculturalism.

e. To meet with administrators from the offices of Admissions and Student

Development.

f. To meet with the directors from the International as well as Multicultural Student

Program Offices.

g. To be a resource to the Senate regarding Senate driven initiatives that promote

multiculturalism in academics or programming.

Section L: College of St. Benedict Senate Representative

The duties and responsibilities of the College of St. Benedict Senate Representative shall

be:

a. To be a voting member of the College of St. Benedict Senate.

b. To be the represent Cultural Affairs Board and the student body on cultural issues

in collaboration with the College of St. Benedict Student Senate.

c. To remain informed of the works of the College of St. Benedict's Student Senate

on all cultural issues and inform the Cultural Affairs Board of these issues.

d. To remain informed of the works of the Cultural Affairs Board representatives,

and the works of the student organizations that promote multiculturalism, and the

works of the administration and faculty on multiculturalism.

e. To meet with administrators from the offices of Admissions and Student

Development.

f. To meet with the directors from the International as well as Multicultural Student

Program Offices.

g. To be a resource to the Senate regarding Senate driven initiatives that promote

multiculturalism in academics or programming.

Section A: Frequency

The Cultural Affairs Board shall convene weekly unless special circumstances deem

otherwise.

Section B: Time

The Cultural Affairs Board shall decide upon a meeting time at the beginning of their

term. This time may be changed by a consensus at any subsequent meeting.

Section C: Motions

The Cultural Affairs Board shall act only upon motions on the agenda, or presented by a

member at the meeting.

Section D: Quorum

A quorum of the Cultural Affairs Board shall be two-thirds of all representatives. If

quorum is not present, a formal meeting may not be called to order and voting may not

occur.

Section E: Voting

a. All actions of the Cultural Affairs Board require approval by the majority of the

voting quorum.

b. No member may vote unless they are present at the meeting.

c. The Secretary does have the right to vote.

d. The presiding chair may only cast a vote in the case of a tie.

Section F: Attendance

a. All meetings are mandatory. Members who have any unexcused, or two excused,

absences will face formal action.

b. Members should allow at least one hour for Cultural Affairs Board meetings.

Section A: Appointments

The procedure for selecting the Executive Members of the Cultural Affairs Board shall

be:

a. All applicants must submit the required material by the deadline specified by the

Cultural Affairs Board. The required material shall be available on both

campuses.

b. The previous members of the Cultural Affairs Board shall conduct interviews of

the new applicants.

c. After the senates appoint their Cultural Affairs Board representatives, they shall

assist in the interviewing of the applicants.

d. Upon completion of the interview, the Cultural Affairs Board Co-Chairs shall

unite and choose by election (including the old and newly elected Senate

Representatives), all Executive applicants for membership. Along with this

election, they shall choose alternates.

e. All Executive appointments shall be made at the same time and in accordance

with the guidelines stated above.

f. The new board shall elect the Co-Chairs, the spaced vacated by the Co-Chairs

shall be filled by the interview alternates.

Section B: Impeachment/Removal

a. Any Cultural Affairs Board member may be impeached for the following reasons:

o Incompetence or negligence

o Failure to comply with any of the official duties as listed in the

o Absenteeism

o Being placed upon disciplinary probation at St. John's University or the

o Convening a confidential meeting of the Cultural Affairs Board, by the

o Presentation of all charges against the Cultural Affairs Board member.

o An open floor discussion in which the said party is present for orderly

o A confidential discussion and vote by the Cultural Affairs Board

a. This Constitution shall supersede all previous Cultural Affairs Board

Constitutions.

b. The Co-Chairs of the Cultural Affairs Board shall be the final judges of the

interpretation of this Constitution.

Any part of this Constitution may and can be amended by the following process and are

effective immediately:

a. The proposed amendment(s) shall be presented to the board by one of its

members only.

b. A confidential discussion and a vote according to the Cultural Affairs Board

guidelines of two-thirds of all voting members present must approve the

amendment.