Constitution of the

Asian Pacific American Coalition

Preamble
We the member organizations of Asian Pacific American Coalition at the University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, collectively recognize the Asian Pacific American Coalition
(APAC) and the Constitution as stated.

Article I: Purpose
Section 1: Function
A. APAC shall act to maintain and strengthen unity among the member
organizations, encourage the future expansion of membership involvement,
and actively seek to establish relations with non-Coalition groups in the
name of Asian Pacific American solidarity.
B. APAC shall promote awareness of, and an open forum of discussion for Asian
Pacific American issues and concerns to the APA and campus communities.
C. APAC shall serve as the official and collective voice of the member
organizations to the University administration, campus community, and off-
campus communities advocating the development of lasting institutional
change for community needs and the advancement of social justice.
D. APAC shall seek to establish, normalize, and expand relations with other
communities and peoples for the advancement of social justice.
E. APAC will seek to build and uphold a continuous and powerful legacy and
presence on campus.

Section 2: Structure
A. APAC will consist of four different levels:
1. APAC Executive Board
2. APAC Core Board
3. APA Coalition (Affiliate Organizations)
4. Individual members within the Affiliate organizations
Section 3: Powers
The Coalition may enact Amendments and resolutions that do not conflict with the
Constitution, or with each other. Amendments Bylaws and resolutions passed by the
Coalition must be made in accordance with the stated purpose of APAC. Legislation that
conflicts with the Constitution, Amendments, or previous resolution, or that introduces a
conflict into any of these articles, shall be considered voice by vote of the APA Coalition.

Article II: The Coalition

Section 1: Definition
The Coalition shall be the representative body of the UIUC APA community, and with that
responsibility we will seek to develop, improve, and address needed changes within the
Asian American and Asian International community.

Section 2: Membership
A. The Coalition shall consist of Affiliated Asian Interest Registered Student
Organizations with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
B. Voting members of the Coalition shall be:
1. The President and Vice President shall be two representatives
from each of the member organizations. If the President or Vice
President are unable to fulfill this duty, an authorized proxy
shall be chosen at the discretion of the member organization.
The APAC Executive Board must be notified of an authorized
proxy.
2. The APAC Directorate (two Co-Directors, or one President and
Vice President, if chosen) shall possess a single deciding vote in
the event of a tie.
C. Criteria for new organizational members to the Coalition:
1. Seeing that APAC is a Coalition created at the University of
Illinois UrbanaChampaign, organizations seeking membership
must foremost be of this institution and/or community.
2. The president of the organization wishing to join the Coalition
must submit a letter of intent and stand in front of the Coalition
 stating what the organization is, its objectives, and reasons for
membership.
3. Additional representatives from interested parties outside the
Coalition are welcome to attend open meetings, but will
possess no voting privileges. However, if the additional
representatives are acknowledged by either the APAC
Executive Board or an Affiliated APAC member, they will be
allotted a time to express their opinions.

Section 3: Parliamentary Procedure

A. Quorum for vote shall be 2/3 of the Coalition representatives. If a member of
the Coalition attends 2/3 of the year’s coalition meetings, that organization
counts toward quorum. No single representative may vote for more than one
organization at a time. Attendance of one representative of multiple
organizations at coalition meetings does not count toward the attendance
record of more than one organization (a single organization must be declared
for attendance purposes).
B. A 2/3 majority is necessary to pass a motion.
C. All meetings shall be open to the general public excluding meetings where a
vote would take place.
D. All Coalition member organizations must give the names of the President and
Vice President or a proxy representative for the sake of attendance at each
meeting.
E. Any group may present resolutions and proposals for a vote by the Coalition.
F. It is the responsibility of the member organizations to insure that they are
represented in the Coalition by two representatives. Representatives that for
any reason must miss a Coalition meeting must inform the APAC Secretary
48 hours in advance and is responsible for notifying their authorized proxy.
Proxies will have voting privileges. In the event that only one representative
can be sent for a member organization, he/she will have voting privileges.
G. Any motions passed by the Coalition shall carry all the member
organizations’ names, except in cases where the member organizations
justifiably feels that in so doing would compromise their organization’s
objectives and/or reputation.
 H. Any and all resolutions passed pertaining to programming for the APAC shall
entail a commitment of resources and funds from Coalition organizations
that voted in favor of the passage of the stated program.
I. Any and all revisions and amendments to the APAC Constitution must be
submitted in written proposal form one meeting before it can be voted upon.
J. Amendments and revisions shall be passed by a ¾ vote of the Coalition.
K. Any group may abstain from voting. M. All votes shall be recorded in the
minutes.

Section 4: Sanctions
A. Organizations that do not comply with the stated provisions of this
Constitution will face sanctions administered and executed by the APAC
Executive Board in conjunction with the Coalition.
B. Violations of meeting requirements (e.g. chronic absence from board
meetings) will be recorded and warnings issued
C. Violations also warrant suspension of voting privileges in conjunction with
warnings upon standards agreed upon by the APA Executive Board and
Coalition.
D. Chronic violators shall be subject to review and by ¾ vote of the Coalition
membership shall be terminated.
E. Officers of the APAC Executive Board are subject to impeachment for
violations of the established Constitution, Amendments, and decisions made
by the Coalition in accordance with goals and objectives of APAC.
Impeachment shall require a ¾ vote of the Coalition.

Section 5; Core Board Committees

A. The APAC Executive Board and Coalition shall have the authority to create
Core Board Committees, and empower them to oversee an activity or group
of activities of the Coalition.
B. All committees shall be held accountable to the APAC Executive Board and
Coalition and shall keep them informed of their actions.
C. Committee membership shall be open to interested volunteers.
D. Committee Chairs must be selected by the incumbent APAC Executive Board
 Article III: The APAC Executive Board
Section 1: Structure and Duties
A. The APAC EB shall consist of the Directorate (two Co-Directors, or if the
Coalition deems necessary, President and Vice-President), Secretary, and
Treasurer to be present at all Coaltion meetings also.
B. Shall serve as the official voice of APAC and must accurately and respectfully
represent APAC in accordance with stated functions.
C. Each member of the EB shall have an equal voice in decisions concerning
executive matters.
D. The APAC Directorate shall possess the right to veto motions passed by the
Coalition if both Directors agree to exercise the privilege. The Coalition has
the right to override a veto with a ¾ majority vote.
E. The Directorate vote as a single unit, if and only if a tie results.

Section 2: Qualifications and Selection Process

A. Candidates must be unbiased, diplomatic, and educated in APA issues and
concerns as well as University affairs.
B. Nominations for EB positions are to be submitted two weeks prior to
elections. A written platform is to be submitted stating reason for candidacy
and an agenda for the term applied for.
C. Voting shall be done by secret ballot by the incumbent APAC EB, Coalition
and Core Board Chairs.
D. Candidates must garner a 2/3rds voting majority to be eligible for election.
The lead candidate in each of the positions shall be the members-elect of the
EB for the term applied. In the event of a tie between multiple eligible
candidates each earning an equal proportion of the vote, the APAC
Directorate shall cast the tie-breaking vote. If the election in question is for
the two-seat position of Co-Director, candidates that achieve election
eligibility by 2/3rds vote will be seated in order by the percentage of votes
they receive. In the event of an exact tie between eligible candidates, a runoff
election amongst those candidates will take place immediately.
E. If the voting electorate does not elect any of the candidates the candidate
search is postponed to a second round.
F. No EB member may apply for the same position more than two terms unless
approved by ¾ vote of the Coalition.
 G. Elections will be held under the discretion of the incumbent APAC board
members. This overseeing body must be composed of a minimum of two
APAC EB not running for reelection. The order of preference for this
overseeing body is the following:
1. Graduating EB members (by seniority),
2. Other EB members (by seniority),
3. Other Core Board Chairs (by seniority). In the event that this
body can't be filled, coalition will select three senior executive
members of the Coalition that they feel are most objective.

Article IV: Funding

A. APAC shall have its own account separate from any individual organizations that
comprise the Coalition.
B. Access to the account and the account itself shall be maintained by the Treasurer.
C. The account shall be supplemented by any University funding source deemed fit,
APAC fundraisers, and donations.
D. If APAC at any time finds itself being approached by an outside financial sponsor,
this sponsor must be researched before acceptance of financial sponsorship is made.
The Sponsor must embody or support the purpose of APAC.
E. The Coalition and EB shall decide how money is spent. If conflict arises funds shall
be spent by 2/3 votes
F. In the event that money is to be divided, it shall be divided equally among all
groups.

We the member organizations of the Asian Pacific American Coalition ratify the revised
Constitution on this day By signing, we understand that we:
1. Recognize the importance APAC represents historically, in the present and
for future generations.
2. Commit ourselves to the Charter as stated.
3. Renew our commitment to each individual member organization of APAC.
4. Recognize and will collectively act on the purposes as stated by this Charter
towards the growth and unification of the Asian Pacific American community
 in order to provide services and advance social justice for Asian Pacific
Americans at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and beyond.
5. Recognize that we are APAC.