A.O.E. Bylaws
Revised 12/03/06
A. Qualification for Membership
1. Membership is restricted to women
enrolled in the
2. Membership shall consist of three
statuses: Candidate, Active, Alumna.
3. Membership Candidates must disclose
disaffiliations from another national or local sorority to the Membership
Educator prior to Candidate Initiation.
4. Members must meet further requirements
as stated in the International Constitutional Bylaws in Article II, Section 1,
including having signed a copy of the АΩΕ risk
management policy and having promised to abide by its terms.
5. Non-Discrimination Policy: This
organization agrees to adhere to all policies and procedures of the University
and all local, state, and federal laws. Members will become acquainted with
policies and procedures in the Official student handbook and other policies and
procedures provided by the University. This organization is a viable,
functioning organization, composed of at least six full time undergraduate
students and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, age,
religion, national origin, veteran, handicap status, or sexual orientation.
B. Election to Candidate Status: A candidate
must:
1. Be enrolled in a major as specified
in Article 1, Item A1 of this document. Be a student in good standing with the
University with a minimum cumulative 2.4 out of 4.0 G.P.A.
2. Have been successfully initiated
through formal ceremony as a candidate.
3. Be recognized by the active
organization to be a candidate.
4. Expected to attend all functions
and responsibilities set forth by the Actives, Membership Handbook and campus
policies.
5. Is not a member of another national
or local sorority.
C. Election to Active Status: An active
member must:
1. Be enrolled full time, as defined
by the
2. Have successfully completed the
Candidate program as defined in the Membership Education Handbook.
3. Have officially been initiated
through the formal Sorority Initiation Ceremony.
4. Active members will be categorized
into two categories: Active and Passive.
5. Once initiated as a member of АΩΕ, one may not join any other local or national sorority because
of the sacred vows taken during the initiation ceremony.
6. Members have signed the АΩΕ risk management policy and promise to abide by its terms.
D. The requirements and privileges for
Active (Active, Passive) members are defined as follows:
1. Active Active
a. Requirements:
(i) She is currently enrolled in a school
semester and classified as a full-time student.
(ii) She must remain active for at least two
consecutive semesters, excluding summers or winters, after she is initiated
with the exceptions of leaving the University prior to graduation.
(iii) She has paid
semester Active dues.
(iv) In the event that
a sister is absent from a meeting, she must obtain the meeting minutes from the
Recording Secretary.
(v) Unexcused absences and tardiness will
result in a fine to be determined by the executive board.
b. Privileges:
(i) She is eligible for full voting rights.
(ii) She has free participation in AWE
sponsored events and is
allowed to attend the following:
a. All general body meetings
b. Fundraising events
c. Rush/ Preference party/ Membership
Candidate Initiation
d. Day away
(iii) She is allowed to
attend the International Convention.
2. Active Passive
a. Requirements:
(i) She expressed a desire not to be involved
in the active organization after fulfilling the Active requirements.
(ii) She has been Active for at least two
consecutive semesters, excluding summers or winters.
(iii) The Alumni
promissory note is still valid and binding.
(iv) Only under
extenuating circumstances will a Sister be granted Active Passive status at the
discretion of the sorority.
(v) She can regain Active Active status upon
the fulfillment of the Active Active requirement.
(vi) After one
semester as an active-passive sister, the sister can request active-active
status. This request will be voted on by the sisterhood by a simple majority
vote.
b. Privileges:
(i) She may attend all meetings, but will
have no voting rights.
(ii) She may attend any events involving, but not
sponsored by, AWE.
(iii) She may attend
organization-only sponsored events if the organization deems it appropriate,
counted by majority vote.
3. Election to Alumna Status
a. Upon graduation, Actives and Active
Passive members presume alumna status. The approval/refusal for alumna status
should be documented and submitted to the IEB Secretary.
b. Requirements:
(i) She is responsible for giving the
organization all address changes.
(ii) Alumnae should be emotionally and financially
supportive of their organization.
A. The Executive Board of officers shall
consist of the following:
1. President
2. First Vice President
3. Second Vice President
4. Secretary
5. Treasurer
6. Membership Educator
B. The Executive Board shall be charged with
the following duties and responsibilities:
1. The Executive Board shall be the
governing body of the sorority.
2. The Executive Board has the
responsibility to appoint and/or have elected the other offices.
3. All elected or appointed officers
must fulfill their assigned duties while acting in the best interest of the
active sorority and its members.
4. All officers elected or appointed
must document their work, including all specific dates and delegated responsibilities
of their position.
5. Each officer shall present a
progress update to the membership at every weekly meeting.
6. Review and approve all of the
committee and officer budgets.
7. The Executive Board shall submit a
monthly report of their progress and the progress of the committees to the
Alumni Advisor.
A. President:
1. The President must know and uphold
the International Constitution and Organization Bylaws.
2. She is to preside over all organization
meetings, and must notify the Vice President in advance if she is unable to
attend.
3. She will be responsible for
attending all training sponsored by the university.
4. She is to be the mediator and
should remain impartial during any and all meeting discussions.
5. She will be responsible for
maintaining all goals of the organization.
6. She is to preside over all
organization ceremonies.
7. She will be responsible for the
reporting of organization records to the IEB, as stated by International
Bylaws.
8. She will be responsible for
verifying that reports are made and are sent on time to the IEB and the
Organization Alumnae Advisor.
9. She will be responsible for
verifying that the On-Target Report is made and is sent in on time to the IEB.
10. She is to serve for one (1) academic year,
defined as two (2) consecutive semesters, not including winter or summer. She
may only serve one term.
B. First Vice President:
1. The Vice-President is to preside
over organization meetings in the event that the President is unable to attend.
2. She will supervise the rush chair
and assume the duties of the rush chair in her absence.
3. She is to assist the President in
all organization ceremonies.
4. She is responsible for all equipment
for any ceremonies.
5. She is to be responsible for
ensuring that at least one organization member attends the АΩΕ international convention.
6. She shall be in charge of the
Convention Chair.
7. She is responsible for the
development of relations between sisters and membership candidates.
8. She will write and produce a
chapter newsletter at least once a semester.
9. She will assume the Position of
Parliamentarian as described in Article IV A 7.
10. She will assume the role of the Risk Reduction
Chair as described in Article IV A 8.
11. She is to serve for one (1) academic year, and
may be re-elected once, serving a total of two (2) consecutive or
non-consecutive terms. Terms being defined as one (1) academic year.
C. Second Vice President:
1. She is to preside over organization
meetings in the event that the President and First Vice President are unable to
attend.
2. She shall be in charge of the
Historian, the Social Chair, the Professional/Academic Chair, the Community
Service/Philanthropy Chair, and the Alumna Relations Chair.
3. She shall be responsible for
monitoring any committee formed by the aforementioned chairs
4. She is responsible for all other
social events with the consent of the President
5. She is to serve for one (1) academic
year, and may be re-elected once, serving a total of two (2) consecutive or
non-consecutive terms. A term is defined as one (1) academic year.
D. Secretary:
1. The Secretary is responsible for
the recording of the minutes of all meetings and sending the minutes to the
general body within 3 days.
2. She is responsible for all
correspondence with the International Executive Board.
3. She is to maintain attendance and
records of voting privileges for each organization member.
4. She is to be responsible for
keeping a calendar of meetings and events and informing all members of upcoming
meetings and events.
5. She is responsible for the upkeep
and distribution of a current address/email list of all members.
6. She is to serve for one (1)
academic year, and may be re-elected once, serving a total of two (2)
consecutive or non-consecutive terms.
E. Treasurer:
1. The Treasurer is responsible for
the recording of all financial transactions within the organization.
2. She is responsible for the collection
of all organization dues.
3. She is responsible for the
presentation of a semester budget to the president for approval as well as to
the IEB Treasurer.
4. She is responsible for paying
International dues.
5. She is responsible for the signing
of all checks.
6. She is responsible for submitting
all promissory notes to the IEB treasurer.
7. She is responsible for maintaining
a list of fees for any organization activities or events.
8. She is to complete the
9. She is responsible for following
10. She is responsible for monitoring the progress
of fundraising through the
Fundraising chair.
12. She is responsible for approving the budgets
and spending of committees.
13. She is to serve for one (1) academic year, and
may be re-elected once, serving a total of two (2) consecutive or
non-consecutive terms.
14. She is responsible for collecting all fines.
F. Membership Educator:
1. The Membership Educator is
responsible for all membership candidate functions and activities.
2. She is to act as the representative
of the membership candidate class in discussions with active sisters.
3. She may appoint an assistant with
the approval of the President.
4. She is to hold and direct candidate
meetings and shall prepare the candidates in accordance to the Membership
Education Book.
5. She is responsible for all
membership candidates until there is an appropriate change of their candidate
status.
6. She is to make the selections for
Big Sisters.
7. She is to remain unbiased and
therefore cannot be a Big Sister herself while holding this position.
8. She is to coordinate and guide all
initiation and membership candidate activities.
9. She is to explain the candidate
voting procedures to the active members at each meeting prior to voting.
10. She is to serve for one (1) academic year, and
may be re-elected once, serving a total of two (2) consecutive or
non-consecutive terms.
A. Committee Chairs and other non-Executive
board positions shall be elected and/or appointed as the Executive board deems
necessary. They shall typically consist of the following positions and be
responsible for the following duties:
1. Fundraising Chair:
a. She is responsible for planning and
organizing fundraising activities for the sorority.
b. She is to report to the Treasurer
for all transactions and fundraising efforts that take place.
c. She is co-responsible with the
Community Service/Philanthropy Chair for raising funds to benefit the chapter
philanthropy.
2. Historian:
a. She is responsible for keeping
sign-in sheets, pictures, and other proof of attendance at organization events.
b. She is responsible for creating and
keeping a scrap-book detailing the organization’s activities.
c. She is responsible for keeping the
genealogy of the sorority (i.e. big and little sisters)
d. She is responsible for the
completion of the On Target Report and submitting it to the President.
e. She is responsible for maintaining
the chapter bulletin board.
3. Rush Chair:
a. She is responsible for the
publicity campaign for rush, including emails, flyers, t-shirts, and other
methods as deemed necessary to recruit prospective membership candidates.
b. She shall plan and organize events
for rush and ensure membership attendance at planned events.
4. Social Chair:
a. She shall plan and facilitate all
social events for the organization.
b. She shall stay in contact with
other organizations with whom the sorority may wish to hold joint social
events.
c. She shall stay up to date with AWE
Expansion Efforts. If there is an expansion event that members of the chapter
would like to attend, she shall contact the expansion representative to notify
her of the members of the chapter that will be attending.
d. She shall be responsible for
submission (if any) of the chapter’s expansion efforts to the First Vice
President (Director of Expansion) for the chapter’s consideration in the
Expansion Award that is given out at the International Convention.
5. Community Service/Philanthropy
Chair
a. She shall plan community service
and philanthropic events that the organization wishes to participate in.
b. She shall act as liaison to any
outside organization which is holding a service or philanthropy event that the
organization wishes to participate in.
c. She is co-responsible with the
Fundraising Chair for making sure that money is raised and sent to the chapter
philanthropy.
6. Academic/Professional Chair:
a. She shall organize and/or plan
sorority involvement in professional and academic events for the organization,
including speakers, plant tours, professional workshops, etc.
b. She is responsible for the chapter
study file.
7. Risk Reduction Chair:
a. She shall review areas of potential
liability and violation according to procedures set in current Risk Management
Policy.
b. She is responsible for seeking
information and counsel from appropriate university officials and/or advisors
c. She is responsible for distributing
current Risk Management Policy’s, logging in signed policies, and sending
a copy of the record to the IEB Secretary.
8. Parliamentarian:
a. She shall lead meetings as
described in Article XI, Section A of this document.
b. She shall be responsible for
controlling the tone of meetings and the flow of conversation.
9. Alumna Relations Chair:
a. She shall be responsible for
sending monthly emails to the alumnae updating them on chapter events.
b. She shall maintain a list of
current addresses and employment information for alumnae.
c. She shall be co-moderator of the
AWE Alumae Yahoo! group.
10. Convention Chair
a. She shall be responsible for
finding continuous funding for the next years AWE International Convention.
b. She will assist the First Vice
President in ensuring that at least one member attends convention.
c. She shall be responsible for
obtaining all receipts at the end of convention, so the chapter can be
reimburse for funds spent at the end of convention, so that the Chapter and
reimburse the member for funds spent.
d. She shall be responsible for
working on the chapter presentation to be presented at convention as the year
progresses.
i. The chapter presentation
should not only include the social aspects of the chapter throughout the year,
but it should also include the community service/philanthropy,
academic/professional and fundraising events for the semester.
B. Any chair may form and head a committee
to help in the duties of their position.
A. All actives have the right to vote on any
organization vote. Any active will lose her right if she misses two consecutive
active meetings without a valid excuse, as designated by Article VII.
B. An active may have her right to vote
reinstated by attending two consecutive meetings prior to the meeting of the
vote.
C. All votes will be counted by the
Secretary and President. They are not allowed to count the votes for the office
for which they are running. The hierarchy of officers as found on the meeting
agenda will be used to determine who assists in vote counting in this case.
E. A quorum of 2/3 of the membership must be
present in order to hold any voting procedures. All active members are to be
notified at least one week prior to any organization quorum vote.
F. A quorum vote shall be called to the
floor by any member and seconded according to Robert’s Rules of Order,
Newly Revised.
A. All election votes shall be run by quorum
vote requirements.
B. A member must have held active status for
at least one semester prior to running for an Executive Officer position.
C. All Executive Officers shall be elected
by the Active members of the Organization at a weekly meeting near the end of
the Spring semester.
D. If positions are still available at the
beginning of the next Fall semester another round of elections will be held as
soon as possible to fill the remaining positions.
E. The nominations for the elections will be
opened two weeks prior to the election and will remain open until 3 days prior
to elections.
F. Prior to voting, the nominees for a given
position are required to leave the room to allow the rest of the members
present to discuss the relative merits of the candidates and vote on the
position. Members may vote if they have been present for 2/3 of the
semester’s meetings.
G. A majority vote elects a candidate to the
designated position.
H. Succession of Officers
1. In the case where the Presidential
office is vacant, the Vice-President will immediately fill the position. All
other Executive Board positions found to be vacant shall be filled by election
immediately.
2. All non-executive offices should be
filled immediately through appointment or election.
I. Election of the President
1. Only a person who has served on the
executive board for the current term may run for the position of President for
the next year’s term.
2. If no one on the current executive
board wishes to run for president, the position shall be open to members of
previous executive boards.
A. Excused absences must be presented in
writing to a member of the Executive Board at least twelve (12) hours in
advance, and shall be recognized as the following:
1. Death in the family
2. Marriage in immediate family
3. Exams
4. Review Sessions
5. Family reasons
6. Religious conflicts
7. Serious Illness
8. Interviews
B. Executive Board absences will be dealt
with as defined in the same manner as the General Body absences.
C. Unexcused absences and tardiness shall
include any missed event or meeting in which prior notification as described in
Article 8, section A was not given.
D. Meetings
1. Unexcused tardiness to a meeting
will result in a $1.00 fine and will increase by $1.00 for every unexcused
tardiness after.
2. Unexcused absence to a meeting with
result in a $5.00 fine and will increase by $5.00 for every unexcused absence
after.
3. Unexcused absences and tardiness
will be kept for one semester and will not carry over into the following
semester.
4. Failure to pay fine within two
weeks notice of fining will result in an additional fine of $1.00 per week
until fine is paid.
E. Required Events
1. First unexcused absence from a
required event will result in a warning from the executive board.
2. Second unexcused absence from a
required event will result in a $5.00 fine and will increase by $5.00 for every
unexcused absence after.
3. Unexcused absences will be kept for
one semester and will not carry over into the following semester.
F. Day Away
1. A sister not attending Day Away
with an absence not listen in Article 7 Section A is required to:
a. Write a personal letter to the
Membership Candidates introducing themselves
b. Pay a fine of $20.00
c. Organize an event with each
Membership Candidate that will last at least one hour.
d. In the event of missing Day Away
due to circumstances listed in Article VII Section A, Membership Candidates
will be required to complete an alternative event determined by the Executive
Board.
(i) Alternative events may be any event that
will last for at least one hour with no more than three sisters present,
e. In the event of missing Day Away,
for a reason not listed in Article VII Section A, Membership Candidates will be
asked to rush the following semester as per Article II, Section 4 of the
International Bylaws.
A. Required events
shall consist of the following, as well as any event determined to be mandatory
by the Executive Board:
1. Candidate Initiation
2. Active Initiation & Officer
Transition Ceremony
3. Alumni Ceremony
4. All Organization meetings
5. Day Away
6. Final Vote
A. This policy shall hold for all Active
Members and Candidates of Alpha Omega Epsilon at the
B. If an Active Member changes majors, they
shall keep all rights and privileges of an Active Member regardless of the
major they choose.
C. If a Candidate is in the
D. Any and all exceptions will be under the
approval first of the Executive Board by unanimous approval and then will be
presented to the general membership for approval by majority vote. This vote
shall be secret and shall pass only by majority vote. Lastly, the case must be
presented and approved by the International Executive Board. A Candidate may
not pursue Active Membership Status, nor complete the Membership Education
period, if the Executive Board, general membership, and International Executive Board, do not grant approval.
A. The following
procedure shall be used for the amendment of bylaws:
1. The Bylaw Process shall be overseen
by the President. In the absence of the President, the remaining members of the
Executive Board shall oversee the Bylaw Process.
2. Amendments to the Bylaws shall be
introduced in writing.
3. The proposed Bylaw shall be voted
upon at the next regularly scheduled Organization meeting after the Bylaw has
been presented. A ¾-majority vote shall be required for approval. A
quorum is required for this vote.
4. The Bylaw shall specify the date on
which the Bylaw takes effect.
A. The order of business at Active
Organization meetings shall be as follows: The President shall call the meeting
to order. The following shall be the order of business:
1. Call to Order (Promptly)
2. Roll Call
3. Addition of new agenda topics
4.
5. Reports of Officers and reading of
correspondence concerning the Organization
6. Present candidates to the
Sisterhood (During candidate semester)
7. Reports of committees
8. Unfinished business
9. New business
10. Announcements
11. Meeting Adjournment
B. The President retains the ultimate right
to acknowledge or deny any motion that is on the floor. She also retains the
right to end discussions that are not relevant or are repetitious.
C. The President retains the right to
dismiss any Sister who is disruptive to the meeting or is not conducting herself
in a way that is acceptable to the group as a whole. Recommendations for
dismissals are also recognized as a motion on the floor by any Active or Alumna
member. The dismissed member will have her voting rights suspended for the next
meeting.
D. The President may designate any or all of
meeting responsibilities to the Parliamentarian, who will ensure that the
meeting is run according to the guidelines given in Article XI, Item A of this
document.
E. At one meeting per semester
national/international relationships and the future of AWE will be discussed.
F. The meetings must meet further
requirements as stated in the International Constitution in Article VIII,
Section 9.
G. Dress code for meetings require at least
office casual attire and the active pin should be worn.
1. Office casual shall be defined as
regular jeans, appropriate shirts, and clean shoes.