Article 1 - Name Section 1 - The name of this organization shall be Hong Kong Students Association, hereafter HKSA. Article 2 - Objective Section 1 - The objective of this Hong Kong Students Association shall be to promote the culture of Hong Kong and ameliorate the lives of its members. Article 3 - Membership Section 1 - HKSA shall consist of active members. Section 2 - Active members of HKSA shall be admitted without discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, creed, sexual orientation, or national origin. Section 3 - Active members of HKSA shall be current students of Carnegie Mellon University who have paid the membership dues for the respective period. Section 4 - The rights of HKSA members shall be to hold positions in this HKSA and to vote in elections compliant with this constitution. Article 4A - Executive Board Section 1 - These officers shall constitute the Executive Board of HKSA: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations Director, IM Sports Director, Webpage Director and Newsletter Editor in Chief. Section 2 - These officers shall be responsible for the supervision of activities and for the general operation of HKSA. The following are the responsibilities of the specific offices: the President - shall serve as chairperson of this Executive Board being responsible for undertaking activities and for representing HKSA to the Carnegie Mellon University community. The President will also be responsible for maintaining a good relationship and will act as the spokesperson with other student associations in CMU as well as other institutions. the Vice President - shall assist the President in performing all types of administrative duties. Coordinate with Project Committee Heads in performing their duties. the Secretary - shall maintain records of meetings and other documents of HKSA in good order for reference anytime. The secretary shall also be responsible for notifications and announcements on behalf of this Executive Board to active and non-active members of this Hong Kong Students Association. the Treasurer - shall maintain the receipts and disbursements of all monies of HKSA and shall record with a proper accounting system the finances of HKSA in good order for reference anytime. the Public Relations Director - shall be responsible for communications and coordination on behalf of HKSA with other persons and organizations. Intramural Sports Director - shall be responsible for coordinating all intramural sports activities on behalf of HKSA and for notifications and announcements of dates and time of such events to all members on behalf of HKSA. Newsletter Editor-in-Chief - shall be responsible for coordinating all activities pertaining to the production of the HKSA Newsletter. Web Page Director - shall be responsible for coordinating all activities pertaining to the production of the HKSA Web Page. Article 4B - Project Committees Section 1 - These officers, the number of which shall be determined by the executive board, shall be responsbible for assisting with various projects of HKSA throughout the year. Article 5 - Meetings and Elections Section 1 - A general meeting of HKSA shall be held at least once every semester. Section 2 - An Executive Board meeting of HKSA shall be held weekly during the Carnegie Mellon University academic year Section 3 - A nomination and an election meeting shall be held within November of each year. The Executive Board shall determine the exact dates of both the nomination and the election meetings and shall notify all the members. Section 4 - Only members of HKSA shall be eligible to participate in the nomination and election processes. Section 5 - Nominations of candidates for any office can be made by any member of HKSA and must be seconded by one other member of HKSA and confirmed by the nominee to be valid. For each office any member may only nominate or second a candidate for one position. For each office any member has only a single vote for a single candidate. Section 6 - Any nominee of HKSA may only run for a single office and may only hold a single office of HKSA. Section 7 - A candidate wins the office in contention with a plurality of the votes. If there is only one candidate nominated for any office then a plurality vote of approval by those voting in the election is required. Section 8 - The terms of all officers shall last one year from the date of inception, beginning with the conclusion of the general election meeting of their election and ending at the conclusion of the following general election meeting. Section 9 - In case of the vacancy of any office space of HKSA, a special election shall be organized by the Executive Board. Article 6 - Impeachment of Officers Section 1 - A warning shall be issued by at least 5 of the 8 the Executive Board Members when any officer of HKSA is unable to fulfill the corresponding responsibilities. If the situation is not improved, the officer may be impeached after a hearing. No officer shall be impeached without a warning from the Executive Board. Section 2 - An officer can only be removed by a two-thirds majority vote of the members and one officer of the Executive Board supporting the removal. An officer can also be removed with the agreement of seven of the officers of the Executive Board. Article 7 - Bylaws Section 1 - The bylaws of HKSA shall be the formal procedure adopted by the Executive Board in operation of HKSA. Section 2 - No bylaws shall violate the constitution of HKSA. Section 3 - Proposal to amend any bylaw may be initiated by any member of HKSA, all proposals shall be discussed in the Executive Board meetings. Section 4 - Amendment of bylaws shall require the unanimous approval of the Executive Board. Article 8 - Interpretation of the Constitution Section 1 - The Executive Board shall have the authority to interpret the constitution of HKSA. Section 2 - In case of suspicion of the violation of the constitution of HKSA a minimum of ten active members may propose a hearing. The Executive Board shall then create an independent Review Committee which shall be responsible for the hearing. Section 3 - The Review Committee shall consist of five members randomly drawn from all members. Participation in the Review Committee shall be voluntary. No Review Committee members shall be those who proposed the hearing. No Review Committee members shall be those who are charged with the violation of the constitution of HKSA. Section 4 - The Review Committee shall decide the charges of violation of the constitution of HKSA and issue an official statement. Section 5 - If the Executive Board is found to have committed serious violation of the constitution of HKSA, the Review Committee shall propose a referendum of dissolving the Executive Board. A three-fourths vote by all active members is required to dissolve the Executive Board. The Review Committee shall then call for an election. Article 9 - Amendment of the Constitution Section 1 - Proposal of amending the constitution of HKSA may be initiated by a two-thirds vote of all active members or a two-thirds vote of the Executive Board. The proposed amendment shall be discussed in a general meeting. Section 2 - All eight executive officers shall be required to ratify the amendment to the constitution of HKSA.