Constitution

Constitution last updated on August 22, 2023

Article I. Name

The name of the organization shall be the Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice, known hereafter as HACER.

Article II. Purpose

HACER shall serve as the official student association of Hispanic/Latinx students. Its purpose will be to provide support and understanding of Hispanic issues and culture. It will also serve as a medium of social interaction and communication between its members and with the larger Rice and Houston communities.

Article III. Membership

All members of the Rice community are eligible for membership in HACER. Further restrictions on membership, however, may be imposed by the Executive Board including, but not limited to, the imposition of dues so long as they do not conflict with the Constitution and By Laws of the Rice Student Association.

The right to vote shall be extended to members of HACER who meet the following requirements: Attended two general body meetings and one or more HACER functions, such as: volunteering services, social outings, or any other functions that the Executive Board deems appropriate.

Elected officers are automatically considered HACER voting members from the start to the end of their term. Committee members and college representatives are not automatically considered HACER voting members unless their respective Executive Board higher-up(s) (Committee Chair, Secretary & Vice President, respectively) provide approval.

Article IV. Executive Board

Section 1 – The Executive Board shall be charged with initiating and promulgating the will of its membership as well as enforcing the provisions set forth by this Constitution and its By Laws.

Section 2 – Composition and Duties

(a) The Executive Board shall be composed of the officers of HACER: the President(s), Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Faculty advisors shall serve as ex-officio members.

(b) The Executive Board shall meet periodically, as determined by the President or a majority of the officers, to discuss the activities or projects of HACER.

(c) No commitments or contracts shall be made on behalf of HACER without prior approval by the majority of the Executive Board. Such commitments and contracts will be defined as decisions that impact the shared resources of HACER which include but are not limited to time and money.

Section 3 – Qualifications of Officers

(a) A student on academic or disciplinary probation is not permitted to be a candidate for or to hold office as embodied by the Constitution of the Student Association.

(b) A student must have been enrolled at Rice University at least one semester immediately prior to the election in order to be eligible to run for office. Only a voting member shall be permitted to run for office.

Section 4 – Duties of Executive Board Officers

(a) The President(s) of HACER shall handle all external relationships, such as with faculty and alumni, as well as represent HACER and oversight of the Executive Board. No action may be taken on behalf of HACER monetary or otherwise without the prior consent of a President(s); the decision of the President(s), however, may be overridden by the majority vote by the officer team or the unanimous decision by the remaining members of the Executive Board. President(s) shall be the liaison between HACER and the larger Hispanic community. There can be a maximum of two Presidents if the two candidates campaign as a team rather than as individuals. It is highly recommended that the President(s) serve for only a single one-year term. President(s) will also plan and execute the Hispanic New Student Reception to welcome the incoming Hispanic Freshmen and their families.

(b) The Vice President shall act as President when the President is unable to carry out their duties, shall be in charge of preparing the agenda and running all regular HACER meetings (which includes promoting connections and projects with other organizations within and outside of Rice), and will oversee and regularly meet with Committee Chairs. Other responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the organizing and promulgation of activities that meet the social and academic needs of the membership of HACER.

(c) The Treasurer shall supervise the annual budgeting of funds; be responsible for organizing fund-raisers for the benefit of HACER; and keep an accurate account of all revenues and expenditures, periodically informing the Executive Board the financial status of HACER. The Treasurer shall prepare an annual budget no later than the third week of the Fall Semester (to be presented to the officer team no later than the sixth week). The Treasurer shall have the final say on all expenditures and reimbursements made on behalf of HACER unless overruled by the President and a majority of the Executive Board.

(d) The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings called by the President and the Executive Board. The minutes will include the names of all those in attendance as well as issues of importance discussed or announced. Other responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, attending to all written correspondence as delegated by other officers, maintaining a directory of all members, and the development of flyers and written paraphernalia deemed necessary by the President. The Secretary shall also maintain an updated record of all the members and of their voting eligibility status so as to ensure that only members that have satisfied the voting requirements are permitted to cast their ballots. The Secretary shall be responsible for the nullification of all ballots cast by a non-voting member or by a voting member that has cast more than one vote per office, but only after having notified the President of such ballots. If the Secretary is involved in the election of said ballots, the duty must be passed off to another officer not involved in the election. The Secretary shall send out regular communications to HACER members on the Listserv and create social media posts for any HACER events or meetings.

(e) In addition to the Executive Committee, club officers will include chairs to meet the needs of HACER activities such as Community Outreach Chair, Cultural Events Chair, and Social Events Chair, etc. There can be a maximum of two people for one Chair position if the two candidates campaign as a team rather than as individuals. Chairs will have executive voting rights. It is highly encouraged that students who plan on studying abroad run for temporary chair positions rather than elected positions on the Executive Committee if they are unable to make the full year commitment. Each Chair will have their own committee, composed of a set limit of members at the President(s) and Chair’s discretion, chosen by the Chair through applications. The Community Outreach Chair will be in charge of planning volunteering events for HACER members, finding community partners, and finding volunteers. The Cultural Events Chair will be in charge of planning and executing cultural events such as ¡Ritmo! and the Quinceaner@. The Social Events Chair will be in charge of planning and executing social events, specifically Hispanic Heritage Month events and Latin Pub Night.

(f) Any officer of the Executive Committee may ask volunteers to perform any club duty not explicitly assigned by the constitution to any member or officer of HACER.

Article V. Finances

Section 1 – Club Funds

All funds gathered by the organization should be deposited into the club fund account through the Office of Multicultural affairs within three days of their receipt.

Section 2 – Fund Authority

All Executive Board members shall have spending authority of the club funds. All chairs shall have spending authority of the club funds with approval from Executive Board members.

Article VI. Elections

Section 1 – Time and Duration of Elections

(a) The election of officers shall be held in the Spring Semester of each year to be held no later than the third week of March and no earlier than the first week of March.

(b) All new officers-elect will be required to attend one Executive Board meeting with outgoing officers prior to turn-over. All officers elect shall begin their term no later than the first week of April.

Section 2 – Method of Election

(a) The President shall announce elections at least two full weeks before they are to commence.

(b) Those running for office must submit a statement to the elections coordinator at least three days before the election of their intent to run for office. The statement shall include the office the candidate would like to run for and an affirmation that the candidate has read the constitution, meets its provisions, and agrees to abide by its laws. The statement must be signed by the candidate.

(c) Candidates shall submit a written statement regarding their reasons for running and ideas for their position to the election coordinator. At least one week before the start of the election, all members must be notified to register to vote by requesting HACER membership through OwlNext. The election coordinator is then responsible for creating and publishing an OwlNest Election(s) available only to the members who registered to vote. Results will be announced to the public through the HACER Listserv and general body meeting only after all election rounds have been completed.

(d) All candidates must agree to the following campaigning rules to run for election:

No smear campaigning.
No mass emailing through listservs.
No distribution of marketing materials that cost money, including paper goods like brochures/flyers.
Candidates may NOT campaign at official HACER events/gatherings other than at a formal election event.
Social media rules
1. If candidates decide to use social media as a campaign tool, they may only open ONE account on ONE social media platform of their choosing to campaign on (i.e. Candidates cannot campaign on Instagram AND TikTok. Candidates may only choose one platform.
  1. Exception: GroupMe is not considered social media, so for example, candidates may campaign on Instagram AND GroupMe. However, all GroupMe campaigning may ONLY be done in the official HACER GroupMe.
2. Only a BRAND NEW account tied to the candidate(s) name (i.e. their name must be clearly visible somewhere in the account’s homepage) must be created for campaigning purposes.
  1. NO “anonymous” social media campaigning, including Fizz, will be allowed.
  2. No personal accounts can be used to post campaigning content.
3. No personal accounts may be used to repost or further the reach of campaigning (ex. Reposting posts on personal Instagram Stories).
4. Candidates cannot ask other non-campaigning members to further the reach of their campaign through the member’s social media account(s) (ex. Reposting posts on personal Instagram Stories).

(e) All officer elections shall be conducted by secret ballot.

(f) All votes shall be cast with each voting member casting only one vote per office. If a voting member casts more than one vote per office, their votes shall be nullified.

(g) A candidate for office must secure at least 50% +1 of all the votes cast in order to win the office in question during the first round of elections. In the event that no candidate for office meets the 50% +1 requirement, another round of elections for the office will be held with the candidates receiving the two highest number of votes competing in a run-off. In a run-off, only a simple majority will be required to win. In the event of a tie for an office with only two candidates, a simple-majority vote by the Executive Board shall decide the winner of the office in question.

(h) No candidate for office will serve as elections coordinator. All candidates can ask to be provided information regarding the number of votes cast and received for their office once their round of election has concluded. Members may petition the Executive Board for the release of the total number of votes cast and received for each candidate upon approval by the candidates running for that office. In the event that all current officers are running as candidates, two voting members shall be chosen by the faculty advisor to count the ballots.

(i) The right to vote shall be extended to members of HACER who meet the requirements listed in Article III.

Article VII. Meetings

Regular meetings of HACER shall be held at least once a month during the academic year. An official meeting can only be conducted under the supervision of the President or a Vice President and one other officer.

Article VIII. Committees

Section 1 – Standing Committees

(a) A Standing Committee may only be formed with majority approval of the Executive Committee.

(b) All standing committees must meet the following criteria: statement of purpose and mission must be written and publicly stated at an official meeting of HACER and someone must agree prior to its promulgation to chair the committee.

Section 2 – Ad Hoc Committee

Ad Hoc Committees will be formed at the discretion of the President or at the request of ten percent of all members and will be dissolved once their function has been completed.

Section 3 – Progress

All standing committees shall give a progress report at least once a month or at the request of the Executive Board.

Article IX. Nondiscrimination Policy

This organization shall not discriminate against individuals or groups on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, disability, or veteran status.

Article X. Anti-hazing Policy

This organization shall not engage in any form of hazing, as defined by the Code of Student Conduct and any other applicable Rice University rules or regulations.

Article XI. Constitution

Section 1 – The constitution shall be provided to each member of the HACER no later than the first month of the Fall Semester.

Section 2 – All members reserve the right of proposing amendments to the constitution by sending their proposals to the Executive Board. The amendment must be voted on by the full membership within at least one month of the proposal receipt by the Executive Board.

Section 3 – All amendments to the HACER Constitution require the approval of at least two-thirds of all full members. Amendments approved by the membership shall be submitted to the Student Association Parliamentarian. Amendments may not take effect until they are approved by the Parliamentarian or the Student Senate in accordance with the Constitution of the Student Association. The Date of Last Revision on the title page of this constitution shall be updated to reflect the date of approval by the Parliamentarian or Senate.

Article XII. Club Sponsor

Section 1 – The organization must have a sponsor who is a member of the Rice faculty or staff and who plans to be at Rice for the full academic year.

Section 2 – The sponsor shall be selected at an officer meeting by a majority vote of Executive Board and Committee Heads.

Section 3 – The sponsor shall serve until their resignation or replacement.

Section 4 – The sponsor must meet the training criteria set by the Office of Student Activities by the deadline determined by that office.

Section 5 – If the sponsor resigns, is replaced, or is otherwise unable to continue serving as the sponsor for the remainder of the academic year, the organization shall select a new sponsor and notify the Office of Student Activities of the change within 15 class days.

Article XIII. Primacy of the Student Association

Section 1 – This organization shall recognize the primacy of the Student Association Executive Branch, the Student Senate, and ultimately, the Student Association.

Section 2 – This organization shall be bound by the requirements of the Constitution of the Student Association and any associated rules and regulations.

Section 3 – This constitution and any bylaws or policies adopted by this organization are subordinate to the Constitution of the Student Association.