Constitution of the Baker West Activities Council

May 2003
Revised and Approved April 11, 2016

Advisors and BWAC Bank Account Holders:

Transitioning: New:
Hall Director: Richard A. Broshious Hall Director: Daniel J Kuhlman
Resident Manager: Jenna Pedersen Resident Manager: Madison Owens

Article 1. The Establishment of Student Council

1.1 The residents of Baker West hereby associate into an organization called The
Baker West Arts Council. Authority for the operation of this student government
is given to an Executive Board and General Body.
a. The policy of the Baker West Arts Council is that discrimination against
any individual for reasons of race, color, creed, religion, sexual
orientation, national origin, sex, age, handicap, veteran status et al. is
specifically prohibited.
b. Accordingly, equal access to opportunities and programs is extended to all
persons by the Baker West Arts Council.

1.2 The purposes of the Baker West Arts Council (BWAC) are:
a. To offer opportunities for involvement and leadership development to the
residents of Baker West;
b. To represent the interests of the residents of Baker West by serving as a
funding and information resource;
c. To provide activities that are both educational and social in nature and;
d. To promote Baker West resident participation with the arts in Baker West,
on The Ohio State University campus and in the Columbus area.

Article 2. The Executive Board

2.1 Officers serving as the Executive Board shall be the President, Vice President,
Treasurer, Secretary, Advertising Chair, Social Media Chair, Wellness &
Sustainability Chair, RHAC Representative, BSA Representative, and Red Cross
Representative.

2.2 Executive Board members shall not be paraprofessional (RA) staff members.

2.3 The Executive Board shall be the primary organizational board for the BWAC.

2.4 The Executive Board members shall coordinate projects for the BWAC, as well as
inform and educate all Executive Board members on the current projects of their
respective organization or committee.

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2.5 The term of office for Executive Board and BWAC Committee Members shall be
one academic year, or until their successors are elected.

2.6 The purpose of the Executive Board shall be:

a. To coordinate meetings and activities;
b. Raise awareness for one specific wellness and one specific sustainability
issue through passive and/or active programming for the entire hall each
semester;
cb. To act as a liaison with other student governments and;
dc. To provide a leadership opportunity to residents of Baker West.

2.7 All Executive Board members shall:

a. Attend weekly BWAC meetings.
b. Attend weekly Executive Board meetings.

2.8 The President shall:

a. Facilitate the BWAC Executive Board meetings;
b. Facilitate the BWAC meetings;
c. Assist the chairs of the committees and evaluate the progress of each
committee;
d. Meet weekly with the advisor to BWAC;
e. Develop the agenda prior to the Executive Board meetings upon
consultation with the advisor;
f. Distribute the agenda to the General Body prior to weekly BWAC
meetings.
g. Temporarily fulfill the duties of any officer should a vacancy or absence
occur;
h. Attend RHAC, BSA, and other training sessions as deemed necessary and;
i. Complete administrative paper work as necessary;
i. Complete administrative paper work as necessary;
j. Other duties as assigned.

2.9 The Secretary Vice President shall:

a. Record the minutes of the BWAC meetings and distribute copies to the
President, general membership and Advisor
b. Take and record attendance at the start of each BWAC meeting;
c. Advise members of their attendance record;
d. Distribute record of attendance to the President and Advisor as neededd;

e. Run meetings in the absence of the President

fb. Co-chairSupervise committees as deemed necessary;the Community
Committee with the RHAC Representative;
gc. Other duties as assigned.
f.
g. Other duties as assigned.

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 2.10 The Treasurer shall:
a. Be responsible for the monetary resources of BWAC;
b. Maintain a complete up-to-date record of the finances and transactions of
the BWAC and report those figures at the Executive Board and BWAC
meetings;
c. Be responsible for the disbursement of BWAC funds within a week of
request and approval of allocated funds;
d. Monitor the funds of the BWAC staff and RAs and keep accurate balances
within those accounts;
e. Submit an estimated budget to the Hall Council each semester;
f. Submit a treasurers report to the University Auditor at the end of each
semester;
g. Attend Treasurer Training;
h. Meet biweekly with the Advisor to BWACC;
i. Sign checks distributed from the Hall Council account and;
i. Co-chair the Learning Committee with the Advertising Chair;
j. Other duties as assigned.

2.11 The Vice President shall:

a. Run meetings in the absence of the President
b. Supervise committees as deemed necessary;
c. Other duties as assigned.

2.112 The Advertising Chair shall:

a. Complete the task of designing and producing publicity and
advertisements for BWAC events and programs in coordination with
the Social Media Chair;
b. Distribute and hang up advertisements within the building and promote
BWAC events and programs to Baker West residents;
c. Co-chair the Learning Committee with the Treasurer;
dc. Other duties as assigned.

2.12 The Social Media Chair shall:

a. Complete the task of designing and producing publicity and
advertisements for BWAC events and programs in coordination with the
Advertising Chair;
b. Distribute advertisements on social media like Twitter, Facebook, and
Instagram and promote BWAC events and programs to Baker West
residents;
c. Lead or delegate the responsibility of taking photographs and recording
videos for use in advertisements and awards submissions like Hall of the
Year;
d. Co-chair the Diversity Committee with the BSA Representative;
e. Other duties as assigned.

2.133 The Wellness & Sustainability Chair shall:

a. Generate awareness among Baker West residents on wellness and
sustainability through BWAC practices and programs
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 b. Be responsible for raising awareness of wellness and sustainability issues
in the residence halls including acceptable materials for recycling,
emotional wellness care, energy efficiency, financial responsibility, etc.;
c. Raise awareness for one specific wellness and one specific sustainability
issue through passive and/or active programming for the entire hall each
semester;
cd. Be responsible for knowing the policies of The Ohio State University on
wellness and sustainability issues;
d. Co-chair the Wellness Committee with the Red Cross Representative;
ee. Other duties as assigned.

2.144 The RHAC Representative shall:

a. Serve as a liaison between BWAC and RHAC;
b. Communicate programs, activities, and relevant RHAC information to
BWAC, and vice versa;
c. Serve on committees of their choice in in both BWAC and RHAC;
d. Co-chair the Community Committee with the Vice President;
Assist in the completion and submission of RHAC grants; e. Assist in the
completion and submission of RHAC grants;

fe. Other duties as assigned.

2.155 The BSA Representative shall:

a. Serve as a liaison between BWAC and BSA;
b. Communicate programs, activities, and relevant BSA information to
BWAC, and vice versa;
c. Serve on committees of their choice in both BWAC and BSA;
d. Co-chair the Diversity Committee with the Social Media Chair;
ed. Other duties as assigned.

2.166 The Red Cross Representative shall:

a. Serve as a liaison between BWAC and the Red Cross;
b. Facilitate the administration and promotion of blood drives at least twice a
year;

c. Co-chair the Wellness Committee with the Wellness & Sustainability

Chair; c. Complete administrative paperwork pertaining to
blood drives;
dd. Other duties as assigned.

2.17 Floor Representatives shall:

a. Serve as the representative for the floor on which they live;
b. Communicate programs, activities, and BWAC information to their floor;
c. Bring community issues and ideas to BWAC meetings;
d. Assist in the recruitment of membership in BWAC and the participation of
residents in BWAC sponsored events;
e. Serve on committees of their choice and;
f. Other duties as assigned.

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Article 3. The Appointment of Officers

3.1 The offices of President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Advertising Chair,
Wellness & Sustainability Chair, RHAC Representative, BSA Representative, and
Red Cross Representative shall be filled by a selection process consisting of a
majority vote of the BWAC membership.

3.2 Criteria for selection for office will be determined by the BWAC Advisor in
conjunction with the Executive Board of the preceding year.

3.3 Voting will be completed by the fifth week of the Autumn Semester.

3.4 The Executive Board can, as needed, add positions to the Executive Board. This
will be done in consultation with the Advisor(s). These positions will be filled by
a vote of the current General Body members.

Article 4. The Baker West Arts Council Membership

4.1 Membership in the BWAC is open to any resident of Baker West, excluding
paraprofessional (RA) and Senior Staff.

4.2 The BWAC may form committees to do work on specific projects and it will be
expected that BWAC members actively participate in these efforts.

4.3 The Executive Board and BWAC members must be in good standing with the
university, which includes a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0.

4.4 The Advisor(s) to the BWAC shall be the Hall Director, Assistant Hall Director
and/or Resident Advisor paraprofessionals. The Hall Director or Assistant Hall
Director will serve as the primary advisor to the BWAC, and RA
paraprofessionals may serve as additional advisors.

4.5 All residents of Baker West are considered general body members of the BWAC
and retain the following rights:
a. All residents of Baker West may attend BWAC meetings;
b. All residents may participate in discussion, planning and programs of the
BWAC;
c. All residents may become eligible to vote on financial matters after good
standing with BWAC is established and;
d. All residents may propose to the BWAC for program funding that directly
benefits the Baker West community.

4.6 General members may serve as committee chairs as committees are formed or
deemed necessary.

Article 5. The Voting Membership

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 5.1 Voting membership shall be given to any member of the BWAC, including
Executive Council Board Members with the exception of the President, who shall
vote only in the event of a tie.

5.2 Meetings of the Executive Council, all members shall have one vote; the
President shall vote only in the event of a tie or if the vote is conducted by ballot.

5.3 Voting procedure shall be conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules, Newly
Revised Edition. The President will tally up the votes, to be verified by the
Advisor(s).
a. Each voting member has the options of yeah, nay, or abstain.
b. Abstentions will not be counted as no votes.

5.4 A vote on financial matters cannot be conducted by solely the Executive Board,
general body members must be present and able to vote as well.

Article 6. Vacancies

6.1 If the office of the President becomes vacant, the Executive Council shall
nominate a member to serve as President until an election occurs to fill the office.
If no one wishes to take the role, the Vice President will step in as President and
the BWAC RA Advisors will perform the responsibilities of the Vice President.

6.2 Within two weeks of the vacancy, the whole BWAC shall vote to determine which
of the candidates shall assume the vacated position.

6.3 The nominated Executive board officer shall assume the responsibilities of the
vacated office until a replacement is found.

Article 7. Issues with the Executive Council Impeachment Procedures

7.1 Removal of an Executive Board officer may be initiated by any voting member of
the BWAC. The impeachment petition must be submitted to the BWAC advisor
and subsequently distributed to the voting members of BWAC. An executive
officer of BWAC may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of committee
members present at the proceedings.If a member of the Baker West Activities
Council has concerns or issues with an Executive Board member, they can
address the primary Advisor, who will decide how to proceed with the input of the
President.

Article 8. The Meetings

8.1 The Executive Board shall meet weekly during the academic year, unless an
alternative schedule is approved. All Executive Board members are expected to
attend this meeting, time and location of the meeting will be determined between
the Executive Board and the advisor.

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 8.2 The BWAC membership will meet weekly throughout the academic year. BWAC
members are all expected to attend this meeting; time and location of the meeting
will be determined by the Executive Board and the advisor(s).

Article 9 The Advisor(s)

9.1 The primary Advisor(s) of the Baker West Acrtivities Council shall be the Hall
Director and/or Assistant Hall Director, to be determined by them.

9.2 The Advisor(s) will attend weekly BWAC meetings, weekly Executive Board
meetings, weekly meetings with the President, and (bi)weekly meetings with the
Treasurer.

9.3 The BWAC Senior Staff Advisor shall be the official resource person to BWAC
and its executives by informing council of official University policy in given
issues and by contributing opinions and ideas on BWAC functioning and
programming.

9.4 The Advisor(s) will provide general guidance but will leave the specific operation
of the Hall Council to the Hall Council members.

9.5 Any and all policies made by the Advisor must be approved by a majority vote of
the Executive Council, except when decisions are in direct violation of federal,
state, city, and/or University policy.

Article 10. The Order of Meetings

10.1 The order of meetings shall be conducted in concordance with Roberts Rules of
Order, Newly Revised Edition.

10.2 The order of meetings shall be as follows:

a. Opening
b. Reports:
1. President
2. Secretary
3. Treasurer
4. RHAC Representative
5. BSA Representative
6. Wellness & Sustainability Chair
c. Old Business. Here any unfinished business, items previously discussed,
and ongoing conversations shall take place.
d. New Business. Here any new discussions, voting, announcements,
proposals or other topics deemed necessary shall take place.
e. Closing

Article 101. The BWAC Bank Account and Funding

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 101.1 The BWAC treasury is funded primarily through the student activity fee paid by
the residents of Baker. The treasury receives $7 per student each semester. That
fee is allocated in the following manner to the account of Baker:
a. A $2.00 allocation per resident will be deposited into the floor funds of the
RA of said resident. These floor funds will be managed by the Treasurer,
but are under the control of the RA with consultation of the Hall Director
or Assistant Hall Director.
b. The remaining $5.00 per resident will go into the general account, which
is monitored by the FC. Requests for funding from this account will be
made to the BWAC membership.

10.1.2 The BWAC Bank Account shall be maintained by the Treasurer and the
Advisor.

101.3 The BWAC checks must be signed by a combination of two individuals with
signature power to be considered valid. Signature power will be granted only to
the President, Treasurer and the Advisor(s).

10.1.4 Those with signature power will turn over the ledger and banking information to
the new Treasurer and Advisor before the completion of the Spring Semester.

Article 112. Amendments

112.1 A proposal to amend the Constitution can be brought by any Hall Council
member.

112.2 This Constitution can be amended only by a vote of two-thirds of present voting
members.

112.3 If the amendment is approved by the Executive Board, BWAC membership and
the advisor, the amendment will become affixed to the constitution.

Article 123. Expressed Powers

123.1 BWAC shall have the power to designate individuals as representatives of Baker
Hall West to external organizations and activities.

123.2 BWAC shall have the power to establish residence hall regulations regarding the
operation of BWAC in consultation with the Baker West staff and the Office of
Housing Education in addition to or in clarification of those established
regulations by BWAC.

123.3 BWAC also retains all powers given it by The Ohio State University, which are
not expressly stated here.

Article 134. Bylaws

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134.1 BWAC shall, at minimum once an academic year, and with the consultation of the
General Body, review the constitution and bylaws to ensure they are accurate to
BWAC and its current and future goals.

134.2 Any matters not addressed by the constitution or its bylaws shall be left to the
discretion of the Executive Board and the Advisor.

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