LMTN Constitution

Preamble:
In order to promote higher education within the Minnesota Tibetan-American community,
LMTN, a Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM) mentoring and tutoring program,
provides Tibetan high school students with an opportunity to increase academic success through tutoring
sessions and a one-to-one mentoring program.

Article I: Name
LMTN in Tibetan means Guidance. We felt this was appropriate as the tutors and mentors act as
guides for the students on their path towards academic success.

Article II: Purpose:

To promote higher education within the Minnesota Tibetan-American community.

Article III: Membership

Section A: Types
1.) Tutees: Must be Tibetan middle school or high school students
2.) Tutors: Must be enrolled or have graduated from post secondary institution.
3) Mentees: Must be Juniors or Seniors Tibetans in high school.
4) Mentors: Must be of Tibetan origin. Mentors must be pursuing a Bachelors Degree from an

accredited Institution or have already obtained at least a Bachelors Degree.

Section B: Roles
1.) Tutees:

a. All students are required to attend 50% of all tutoring, college preparation and social networking
sessions throughout the year. Failure to do so can result in termination from the program.
b. During the session, students must maintain an environment that is conducive to learning, which
includes but is not limited to, maintaining a quiet area, respecting other students, refraining from
excessive phone use, refraining from use of internet for non-academic purposes, refraining from
discussing non-academic topics, etc.
b. Must stay on task during the tutoring session. Follow advice or referral given by tutors. Must
refrain from talking and distracting others during the session.

2) Tutors:

a. All tutors are not required to attend every Lamton session, however, they are encouraged to
attend as many sessions as possible to ensure cultivation of a strong relationship between the
students and the tutor.
b. New tutors must notify the board or the respective college and university representatives if they
would like to tutor with Lamton. If no prior notification is given, new tutors are not given the
permission to interact with students in any given way.
3) Mentees:
a. Update mentor via email on a regular basis on topics that are relevant to LMTNs mission.

b. Must stay with the mentor for the entire time on all program visits and for the duration of the
mentoring program.
c. Must complete all assignments given by mentors.
d. Refrain from the use of profanity, the use of drugs or alcohol (including tobacco), carrying
weapons, discussion of inappropriate topics, making sexual or emotional advances to mentors or
tutors, selling merchandise in correspondence with mentors and on visits.
4.) Mentors:

a. The responsibilities of a mentor include, but are not limited to, interacting with each high school
student weekly through an email exchange or an in-person meeting and supporting their academic,
social and cultural development.
b. Academic Achievement: Promote academic excellence through interactions with student to
ensure their academic success.
c. Health and Wellness: Provide student with an open space to communicate themselves freely,
resources to utilize and continued positive support to ensure their wellbeing.
d. Student Development: Encouraging, motivating, and inspiring mentees to perform up to their
capability.
Article IV: Board
Section A: Purpose
1) To ensure that the program runs smoothly for the year and that all goals and objectives are being met.
Section B: Structure
1.) The board will consist of the following officers: Advisor, Community Liaison, Secretary, Treasurer and
Mentor Coordinator.
2.) Cabinet members must have a Bachelors degree or be pursuing a Bachelors Degree at an accredited
Institution.
Section C: General Duties and Responsibilities
1.) Board members are strongly encouraged to attend all tutoring sessions, unless prior notice is given a

day in advance to another board member. Failure to do so may lead to termination from the board.
2.) All board members must attend all, 8 in a term, monthly board meetings to organize and execute
Lamton events such as workshops, campus visits, fundraisers, guest speaker talks and/or volunteer
opportunities.
3.) It is critical for all board members to meet once a month to plan out the next month in advance
so as to ensure the future success of Lamton. The monthly meeting dates can be flexible but the
meetings must be attended by all board members.
Section D: Specific Duties and Responsibilities
1.) Advisor
a. Represents LMTN in public and makes all announcements regarding the program.
b) Calls regular meetings of the board.
c) He/she creates the agenda for every monthly board meeting and then leads it according to the

agenda.
d) The Advisor must be fluent in Tibetan.

2.) Communication Liaison

a) Keeps the TAFM Education committee up to date with LMTN
b) Keeps in contact with parents and students and updates the board members about things
discussed with TAFM, Parents and Students.
c) The communication Liaison must be fluent in Tibetan.
3.) Secretary/Historian:
a) Takes Minutes during all meetings and shares them with the rest of the members.
b) Updates the LMTN website, manages the LMTN Facebook group page, advertises events,
manages documents on Google docs, and takes attendance of all meetings and events.
c) Reserves space for all meetings, tutoring sessions and gatherings.
4.)Treasurer:
a) Keeps track of all financial transactions
b) Organizes monthly treasury reports and updates all members
c) Organizes fundraisers, at least one every year.
5.) Mentor Liaison:
a) To match Mentors with Mentees based on similar interests and career aspirations.
b) Organizes mentor/mentee team building events.
c) Ensure meaningful relationship between mentor and mentees by keeping a record of all
interactions.
Article V: Meetings

1) Duration of the program

a) LAMTON tutoring session begins in September and ends in May.
Section A. Board member meeting:
a) Board members will meet once a month, in total of 8 meetings, for the duration of the program.
b) Board members will organize events and plan activities for the upcoming month.
c) Active members and tutors are encouraged and invited to attend this meeting.
d) The officers must meet 15 minutes prior to every meeting.
Section B. All Member meeting:
a) A total of three all members meetings are held in a year.
1) The first meeting is held after the informational session in the beginning of September.
a) Board members will introduce mentors and tutors with the annual goals for LAMTON.
b) Opportunity for those interested mentors to pair up with a mentee of their choice based
on their interest and academic background.
2) Second meeting is held in January, we will call this the Mid-Year Conference.
a) Board members are required to update the mentors and tutors on the latest changes
made for the program and current financial situation.
b) Mentors and tutors will have the opportunity to bring forth new ideas that could be
implemented for the following semester.
c) Help the board members assess the quality of the program.
3) Final all member meeting is held in late May.
a) This is a celebration to recognize all the active members for their commitment
and dedication to LMTN.
b)Current board members will present a concise yearly report and pass down their
responsibility to the new elected board members.

Article VI: Election

Section A: Requirements of Positions
1.) An individual with at least Bachelors degree or currently pursuing a Bachelors degree at an accredited
Institution.
2.) Must be in good academic standing to run for board positions
3.) Participated in organization for 1 year or more.
4.) Some positions require fluency in Tibetan (see Article IV. Section D.)
Section B: Procedure:
1.) By midnight on the last day of April, all active members interested in running for board must submit their
platform to the current Secretary. The secretary will make the platforms available via email to all active
members.
2.) In addition to meeting the requirements of an active member as outlined in Article III. Membership, all
interested candidates must have completed one year of the LMTN Program as a Tutor and/or a Mentor.
3.) All interested candidates that meet the above requirement will present their platform to all the members at
the end of the year gathering (mid-May). Voting will take place following this presentation.
4.) Only active members defined in Article III are eligible to vote.
5.)Votes will be counted by two members, who are non-candidates chosen by the present board members.

6.) The candidates with the greatest number of votes will be elected on the board at the end of the meeting.
The elected members will distribute the positions within themselves.
7.) In the event where there is a lack of interested candidates, a survey will be set up electronically by the
Secretary to gather nominations from all active members. The individuals with the highest number of
nominations will be contacted and given a week to decide whether they would like to accept a board member
position.
8.) In an event of a tie, all active members will vote again to break the tie or one of the candidates will be
selected randomly.
Section C: Active Members
1) To be an active member you must attend majority (more than 50%) of the events/meetings. The ones you
cannot attend, you must notify the board members prior to the absence.
2)Only active members can vote for board members.

Article VII: Finances

Section A: Expenses
1.) Expenses shall be recorded by the Treasurer.
2.) All purchases for Lamton will be made by the Treasurer. If a purchase is made on behalf of Lamton, by
another board member the purchase must be verified, the receipts must be turned in to the Treasurer before
the end of each month for reimbursement.
2.) Paid for by funds in the TAFM account for Lamton Mentoring Program
Section B: Funds
1.) Funds are obtained through TAFM or fundraising organized by the Treasurer. A fundraiser must be
organized every year.

Article VIII: Amendments

Amendments to the constitution are made by unanimous vote of the board.