Sciences and Engineering Society (SEnS) Constitution

PREAMBLE We, the members of SEnS, in recognition of the need of a governing body in directing the organization to its vision and goals; aware of our responsibilities to our fellow students and to the university; aware of the need for a closer cooperation between the different organizations, institutes/colleges, and the University Student Government; for a closer coordination between the different curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities of the university; for a more fruitful unity between our teachers and ourselves and, desiring to establish a structure which will help implement these goals, and thus promote SEnS and enhance the attainment of the objectives of the university, do hereby set and establish the following Constitution and By Laws of SEnS of the University of Asia and the Pacific - School of Sciences and Engineering in order that our purpose be realized to its fullest extent.

So help us God. Article I Name and Domicile 1. The organization shall be known and recognized as Sciences and Engineering Society or SEnS, and shall be based in the University of Asia and the Pacific - School of Sciences and Engineering located at Pearl Drive, Ortigas Complex, Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Article II Objectives 2. The following are the declaration of principles and purpose of the organization: 1. To act as an independent body that will spearhead projects dealing with the pursuit of knowledge and the development of professional competence in the field of Sciences and Engineering to complement and reinforce the universitys academic doctrines together with the individual and corporate welfare of the members; 2. To address the concerns of its members -- developing a sense of social awareness and consciousness within them; 3. To serve the members of SEnS by promoting common good while adhering to the principle of subsidiarity.

Article III Membership and Qualifications 3. All students enrolled in the University of Asia and the Pacific and pursuing a degree in Information Technology, Applied Mathematics, and Industrial Engineering are automatically official members of SEnS. He or she is encouraged to be involved in SEnS and must therefore act accordingly. Article IV Duties and Obligations of Members 4. Members shall have the following duties and obligations to fulfill: 1. To uphold and honor this constitution; 2. To comply with the retention policy stipulated in the student handbook; 3. To attend to at least 75% of all activities spearheaded by the SEnS Officers during the school year; and to give active and moral support to aforementioned activities unless there are either academic or financial constraints; 4. To be part of one or two committees; 5. To obey all By Laws, abide by all resolutions and other measures passed by the SEnS officers and approved by the administration and the SSE; 6. To obey the rules and regulations of the University and, 7. Move for the betterment of the organization and uplift the morale of the other members through an interest in its objectives. Article V Rights and Privileges of Members 5. Members shall have the following rights throughout the course of their membership in the organization: 1. Exercise their right to suffrage by electing the officers of SEnS and participating in organizational decisions; 2. Query on the decisions and acts of his or her superiors; 3. The right to be elected or appointed in any office for which he or she has the qualifications set down by this constitution; 4. Participate in a committee where he or she has been duly authorized by the SEnS officers;

5. The right to express his or her ideas freely through channels offered by the University and SEnS; 6. Participate in activities and events organized by the SEnS; 7. Participate in lectures, seminars and symposia organized by the SEnS; and, 8. Have the chance to represent UA&P in inter-collegiate activities (i.e. competitions, seminars, conventions) in any course-related industry. Article VI Management 6. The affairs of the SEnS shall be managed by the officers consisting of the President, Internal Vice President, External Vice President, Secretary-General, Finance Officer, Marketing Officer, and four (4) IT Batch Representatives, four (4) AM Batch Representatives, five (5) IE Batch Representatives, each representing one year level. 7. The SSE OpCom will appoint the organizations moderator from amongst the faculty of SSE, who will be in charge of overseeing the conduct of the officers and assisting the officers in planning and executing projects. 8. The officers of the SEnS shall be: I. The President, who shall: a) preside over the meetings of the SEnS officers; b) have the right to call emergency meetings whenever needed; c) oversee all the activities and projects of the organization; d) sign all cheques either single-handedly or with the Internal Vice President with the approval of the officers and, e) have the prerogative to delegate authority to his or her co-officers or qualified members of the organization. II. The Internal Vice-President, who shall: a) take over the prerogatives and duties of the President in the latters absence; b) assist the President in his or her duties; c) manage the affairs of the SEnS -- particularly the projects held inside the university campus; d) sign cheques with the President with approval of the officers and, e) delegate his or her obligations to his or her co-officers or members of the organization III. The External Vice-President, who shall: a) act as liaison officer to other organizations outside the University and manage external affairs;

b) manage the affairs of the SEnS that will be residing outside the university campus and, c) take over the duties of the Internal Vice President in the latter's absence; and, d) head the Sponsorship Committee. IV. The Secretary-General, who shall: a) convene and arrange meetings, organizational gatherings, and other special functions; b) take down the minutes of the meetings and to disseminate it to the other officers and the moderator; and, c) act as custodian of records and keep track of all the changes and resolutions made during the term. V. The Finance Officer, who shall: a) open/maintain the bank account in the name of the organization; b) receive all money on account of the organization; c) sign all cheques with either the President or Internal Vice President with approval of the officers; d) keep an account of the financial records of the organization; and, e) present a detailed Financial report for every event; and, f) present an audited Financial report of his or her present term for the General Assembly; and, g) head the Merchandising Committee. VI. The Marketing Officer, who shall: a) be in charge of the SEnS branding the respective corporate image within and outside of the university; b) be in charge for any marketing-related communications; c) be in charge of marketing to drum up both internal and external interests in the various projects of the organization and, d) be in charge of any task related to a project's marketing; and, e) head the Marketing Committee. VII. The Batch Representatives, who shall: a) disseminate information about the SEnS activities and projects to their respective batchmates; b) encourage their batchmates to fulfill their duties and obligations as members of SEnS; and, c) address issues and concerns of the batch by communicating these with the officers; and, d) uphold the interests of SEnS.

9. The election of officers for the organization shall be held before the end of the school year; excluding the election of the incoming first year Batch Representatives, which will be held during the first General Assembly of the succeeding school year. 10. The entire SEnS student body shall elect the President, Internal Vice-President, External Vice President, Secretary-General, Finance Officer, and Marketing Officer while Batch Representatives will be elected only by their respective batchmates. 11. Election Restrictions 1. Only a student from the incoming fourth or fifth year batch of BSIT, BSAM, and BSIE majors shall be eligible to run for the Office of the President. 2. For the Internal Vice-President and the External Vice-President, the student should at least be an incoming junior. 3. Any student can run for the Offices of Secretary-General, Finance Officer, Marketing Officer and Batch Representatives. 4. The student must have a WA of at least 2.5 for the recent semester. 5. The student must not have been found guilty of violating any University disciplinary or academic rules and principles. 6. Those running for office must not be currently holding any executive position in any other extra or co-curricular organization in the University. 12. The officers shall take office immediately after the last day of the second semester and hold office for a period of one year. 13. In the event that no President, Internal Vice-President, External Vice-President, SecretaryGeneral, Finance Officer, Marketing Officer or a Batch Representative are elected, a committee composed of the SSE OpCom and the incumbent officers shall appoint the officers. 14. The SEnS officers shall have the power to: a. Call general meetings and assemblies of members of the organization; b. Mobilize the members of the organization as a work force when necessary; c. Fill an office or appointment falling vacant during the term of office of any of the abovementioned members; d. Move for the termination of membership/s of (a) person/s that, in their opinion, is/are undesirable to the well-being of the organization;

e. In cases where there is an urgent need for a decision and an organizational assembly cannot be convened, the officers shall have the power to pass resolutions made by the absolute majority of its members. These shall be considered as acts of the organizational assembly; f. Set fees for the benefit of their projects and, g. Utilize the funds and stocks generated by the organization for the fulfillment of its objectives. 15. Meetings of the officers shall be called by the President at least once a week and when needed. 16. All the officers shall be obligated to attend the meetings except during emergencies; should attend at least two thirds (2/3) of all regular meetings and not have five (5) or more absences from emergency meetings. Officers who failed to attend shall have a corresponding penalty decided by the officers. 17. Additional or emergency meetings may be called by the President or in his or her absence the Internal Vice President; or the External Vice President; or the involved Project Head. 18. The committees of SEnS are established due to the need for better delegation of work and to achieve the \desired output of all the activities of the organization. The committees are as follows: 1. The Logistics Committee shall provide all the facilities and services needed for the project such as reservations, food, sounds, transportation and supplies. 2. The Documentation Committee shall be in charge of documenting the projects in terms of photographs, video and write-ups. 3. The Program Committee shall spearhead the overall project with the guidance of the project head. Its functions are, but not limited to, as follows: a. Program Flow b. Host/Speakers/Participants c. Event Planning 4. The Sponsorship Committee shall be in charge of soliciting the finances needed by the project through sponsorships and partnerships. And shall also be in charge of all the communications between the sponsors and the organization. 5. The Marketing Committee shall head all the promotional paraphernalia needed for the projects.

6. The Merchandising Committee shall manage the sales of all School of Sciences and Engineering merchandise items. Article VII General Assembly 19. There shall be two General Assemblies to be held in the first week of July and first week of March, organized by the SEnS officers. 20. All members of the SEnS are obliged to attend each General Assembly. 21. The following shall be tabled at the first General Assembly; a. b. c. d. e. The presentation of the new batch of the SEnS officers; Assignment of committees; Presentation of the organizations Vision and Mission Discussion of possible organizational projects for the year; and Any matter for which the required notice period is met. Article VIII Relief, Impeachment, and Expulsion 22. The ad hoc committee shall be defined as a distinguished commission composed of three (3) officers appointed by the SSE OpCom and the SEnS moderator. 23. Grounds in relief in office shall be: a. Impeachment due to: i. absence, in accordance with Article VI; ii. misconduct or any act unbecoming of an officer; iii. lack of commitment towards his/her duty as an officer; or iv. negligence of duty as an officer. b. Resignation. 24. Impeachment procedures shall have four (4) stages: 1. Application of complaint, where the officers shall need evidences for its validity; 2. Notification of complainant, where he/she is asked to prepare a defense; 3. Formation of an ad hoc committee, who shall investigate and process the case and render a decision on the case and, 4. Execution of decision, done only after a thorough investigation of the case and with at least a two-thirds (2/3) decision for/against the complainant. 25. If there shall be a case of relief from office: a. Only the elected Internal Vice President may occupy the office of the President;

b. A re-election will be called by the officers for the position of Internal Vice President; c. The SEnS members may be co-opted by the officers-elect to occupy non-office positions. 26. A member of the organization shall be a candidate for annulment of membership through: a. Resignation; b. Misconduct or any act unbecoming of a SEnS member; c. Non-compliance with the retention policy stipulated in the student handbook; d. Negligence of duties as a member; e. A petition of at least fifty percent (50%) of the total members of the organization or, f. The recommendation of the officers through Article VI. Any person whose membership has been terminated may appeal in writing to the ad hoc committee composed of the representative of the officers. Article IX Regular Projects 27. Upon establishment and recognition, the SEnS organization should conduct, but is not limited, to the following: a. A semi-annual publication for its members (e.g. online magazine, pamphlets, documentation) to be handled by the documentation committee; b. Trainings, seminars and symposia for the benefit of its members and, c. At least two (2) General Assemblies; d. Outreach; e. Sports-fest; f. Recognition night; g. Other projects that the incumbent officers see proper for the betterment and continuity of the organization (e.g. premieres and concerts). 28. The officers shall have a minimum of five (5) minor projects or two (2) major projects a year to ensure the functionality of the organization. 29. Project Classification a. Major projects are those projects with projected and/or actual expenses amounting to three times the minimum monthly wage or greater. b. Minor projects are those projects with projected and/or actual expenses amounting to less than three times the minimum monthly wage.

Article X Amendments 30. Amendments to the Constitution may be suggested by any member, and may only be ratified in a SEnS officers meeting, called specially for that purpose. 31. Notice of amendments must be given to the voting members of the officers at least five (5) days before the above-mentioned meeting. 32. At such a meeting, a vote of fifty percent of the total members shall suffice to amend and ratify the Constitution. 33. Amendments to the constitution can only be implemented after the term of the officers, which the amendments were ratified has expired. Article XI Dissolution 34. The SEnS may be dissolved only in a general meeting duly called for that purpose provided that two-thirds (2/3) of the total members of the organization vote in favor of the motion. 35. On dissolution of the SEnS, any surplus after liabilities have been met in full, shall be donated to any other institution(s), or charitable organization(s) duly selected by the body. 36. In the event that the SEnS suffers a deficit on dissolution, the current officers will be liable for this deficit. Article XII - Provision 37. In the event that the SEnS is registered, this Constitution is subject to approval by the proper authorities of the University of Asia and the Pacific and may be amended accordingly by the same with the consent of the organizations representatives.