Bylaws of the Black Law Students Association of the University of Chicago Law School

ARTICLE I:  GROUP NAME

Section 1: The name of this organization shall be the “Black Law Students Association ( BLSA ).

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE

Section 1: The purpose of this organization shall be to articulate, promote, and discuss issues of concern to African American law students and to facilitate the interaction between African American law students, African American alumni of the University of Chicago Law School and the Chicago community.

ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: Membership. 

1. Membership is limited to currently registered University of Chicago students.

Section 2: Eligibility. 

1. Currently registered University of Chicago students who are committed to the purpose of this organization shall be eligible for membership.

ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS

Section 1: Officers. 

1. The officers of this organization shall be President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Parliamentarian.

Section 2: Qualifications for office. 

1. Officers shall be currently registered students at the University of Chicago and eligible members of this organization, as defined in Article III, Section 2 of these bylaws.

Section 3: Terms of office. 

1. The term of service for each office shall be one (1) year, beginning June 1 and ending June 1 of the next calendar year.

Section 4: Duties of officers.

1. President: The President shall be the chief executive officer and official voice of this organization.  The President shall preside over all meetings and shall appoint the chairs of all Standing and Special Committees.  The President shall make all efforts to maintain and strengthen communications between the various clubs. The President shall be responsible for all fundraising activities of BLSA.

2. Vice President: The Vice President shall be support and aid the President and other duties as assigned.  In the absence of the President the Vice President will act as President.

3. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall be responsible for seeing that all disbursement, receipts, banking relationships, FPPC statements, and in general, any and all bookkeeping responsibilities of BLSA are performed.  An annual budget shall be prepared for approval.

4. Secretary: The Secretary shall maintain all records of BLSA, serve all required notices, and discharge any other duties at the direction of the President.

5. Parliamentarian: The Parliamentarian is responsible for providing the proper rule of order in disputes over parliamentary procedure at the direction of the President.

Section 5: Selection of Officers. 

1. Officers shall be elected by eligible members, as defined in Article V, Section 1 of these bylaws (“Eligible Voting Members”).  Notice of the election shall be given at least two (2) weeks prior, and the election shall occur during the month of May.

Section 6: Removal of Officers. 

1. The President may remove any officer who is not fulfilling her/his duties, as defined in this Article VI, Section 4.  The President, however, must supply one (1) warning to the officer and allow her/him sufficient time for correction before removing her/him from office.  The sufficient time for correction shall be determined on a case-by-case basis, but shall not exceed thirty (30) days .

2. Any officer may be removed by either, a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the eligible voting members, or a three-fifths (3/5) vote of the officers.  The officer being voted upon may not participate in this vote.

3. Elected officers are required to give notice to the President or Secretary if unable to attend meetings or fulfill other duties.  After three unexcused absences, officers may be removed from office by the President.

ARTICLE V: ELECTIONS

Section 1: Elections.

1. In order to participate in elections, members otherwise eligible to vote under Article III, Section 1, shall also be active.  Active membership shall be a flexible standard.  Attendance at two-thirds (2/3) of the regularly scheduled meetings during the current school year is an example of active membership.

ARTICLE VI: FUNDING

Section 1: All funds collected shall be deposited with BLSA's ORCSA account.

Section 2: The treasurer shall be the primary officer designated to handle this organization's financial matters.

ARTICLE VII - EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section 1: Executive Committee. 1. There shall be an Executive Committee of this organization, which shall have all the powers and duties of this organization when the full membership is not in actual session.

Section 2: Executive Committee Membership.

1.   The Executive Committee shall consist of the following members: a. All Officers of BLSA. b. The chairs of all standing and special committees with all powers except those of voting.

Section 3: Executive Committee Organization

1.  The President shall be the President of the Executive Committee and that  Secretary shall be the Secretary of the Executive Committee.

Section 4: Executive Committee Meetings

1. The Executive Committee shall convene in special meetings in the following manner. a. At the call of the President and at such time and in such place as the President may designate; or, b. Upon request submitted to the President of a majority of the members of the general membership and at such time and in such place as they may designate. 2. The Secretary shall give notice of regular and special meetings by U.S. Mail, fax, or e-mail.

ARTICLE VIII: GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1: Parliamentary Procedure

1. The BLSA general body and executive committee will employ Robert's Rules of Order Modern Edition as our manual of parliamentary procedure

ARTICLE IX: AMENDMENTS

Section 1: Amendments

1. Bylaws may be amended at a regularly scheduled meeting by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the eligible voting members present.

2. The bylaws may be amended at a non-regularly scheduled meeting by a unanimous vote of the officers

Section 2: Notice

1. Notice to amend the Bylaws shall be given fourteen (14) days prior to any meeting at which such a change is to be voted upon.