Duties and Responsibilities
​

Section 1. The duties of these officers shall be the effective and efficient management of all meetings, events, and other functions.

Section 2. The president shall be responsible for setting each meeting’s agenda, however, a majority vote by the E-Board can set an item on the agenda, as well.

Section 3. These officers will be elected in the spring semester, not less than 2 weeks and not more than 6 weeks to the end of the semester for a one year term, which will terminate after elections the following spring. The termination includes removal from the E-board listserv and responsibility of the outgoing board member to forward all correspondences relevant to their office to the incoming board member.

Section 4: An e-board member cannot hold the same position in the board for more than two consecutive terms.

Section 5. Each official shall have explicit knowledge of the ASA constitution and settle or arbitrate questions and issues in accordance to constitutional procedures

 

Section 6.  Functionally as an Officer --- (This Primarily Concerns but Not Limited to Major Absences)

     i.) E-board needs to be formally notified that an individual (officer) is not going to be there (be functional, etc). The notification             must be a written notice signed by individual or an email written/sent by individual and must be given before you leave. The                 legitimacy/validity of the amount of time being taken off by the individual will be deemed to be either reasonable or unreasonable     at the discretion of the E-board.

    ii.) If you do not notify the E-board in the manner expressed above, you can be removed.

    iii.) In the event that you have notified the E-board but they deem your absence/its duration as unreasonable, thereby infringing         on your ability to be a functional officer, the E-board will take a vote on whether that person should be removed. A ⅔ majority             outcome with quorum present is necessary to rule the removal of said individual

Section 7. Position details:



The President shall:
a. serve as the primary spokesperson and contact person for the ASA.
b. bear primary responsibility for the execution of all ASA directives.
c. determine the agenda for weekly g-body and E-board meetings, subject to review by the entire E-Board.
d. chair the meetings of the ASA.
e. maintain relationships with Columbia and Barnard administrators significant to the experience of the ASA g-body.
f. vote only in the event of a tie.
g. keep the E-Board apprised of all current business
h. must have served previously on the board for at least a year



The Vice President shall:
a. assist the President in the fulfillment of his or her duties.
b. assume the role of President in the event of the resignation, impeachment, removal or ineligibility of the President.
c. oversee the organization and execution of g-body voting; including but not limited to ensuring a quorum and counting votes.
d. advise the Freshman Representatives on the E-Board.
e. be responsible for overseeing the ASA committees and collecting biweekly reports from each committee head.
f. handle E-Board disciplinary issues in consultation with the President.



The Secretary shall:
a. document the activities of the ASA E-board by taking minutes at weekly E-board meetings.
b. take attendance at meetings and notify the President if an Officer misses more than 3 g-body meetings/events per semester
c. compile and update regularly a calendar of events being planned by the ASA, to be posted on the website and notify E-board members
d. keep the ASA general body updated on all relevant issues.



The Treasurer shall:
a. administer and monitor the budget of the ASA.
b. advise the E-Board on all matters regarding the spending of ASA funds.
c. apply for spending approval from the requisite ABC, SGA and GBB officials in a timely fashion.
d. maintain and make accessible detailed records of revenues, expenditures and encumbrances of the ASA.
e. submit a detailed statement to the E-Board at the first meeting of every month on the state of ASA’s funds.
f. proactively search for and apply for school grants to boost spending power.

g. maintain good relations and communicate effectively with the ABC/SDA/GBB/SGA office concerning budgetary and funding issues.

​

The Social Chair shall:
a. serve as the head of the social committee
b. spearhead the planning of social events on behalf of the ASA as well as with other groups on campus.
c. serve on the Afropolitan committee mainly as a liaison between the Afropolitan committee and the E-board.
d. arrange for refreshments at ASA meetings and events, pending approval from the board.

e. Organize at least two social events per semester

The Political Chair shall:
a. serve as the head of the political committee.
b. spearhead the planning of events that educate the campus on various political issues concerning the continent
c. be up to date on the on-campus and off-campus political events relating to the continent.
d. keep the E-Board and g-body apprised of political issues it needs to act on.
e. represent the club on political issues about the continent when the ASA is required and/or expected to comment; in consultation with the E-board
f. plan and organize at least one Political Roundtable Discussion each semester with the assistance of the political committee.

​

The Campus Liaison shall:
a. represent the ASA at any other inter-group meetings
b. communicate with other groups by providing statements on the ASA’s position regarding issues, events or ideas
c. request other groups’ co-sponsorship, attendance, support, etc. at ASA events
d. be the ASA representative to the BSGC, IAS, Black Constituency Meetings and all other campus groups.

e. be the head of the Outreach Committee
f. report back to the E-Board any relevant information passed at the above meetings.
g. work in conjunction with the social chair/committee on campus wide events

​

The Publicity Chair shall:
a. maintain active Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Blog accounts for the ASA, working to publicize all upcoming events, including weekly meetings, discussions, and major events
b. coordinate with on and off campus media outlets on coverage of ASA events.
c. work with the webmaster in making sure that there is adequate marketing material for events.
d. in charge of making sure that adequate flyering is executed to optimally market events when necessary.
e.  work in conjunction with  the Communications Team, which includes the Secretary, Historian and Webmaster

​

The Freshman Representative(s) shall:
a. be responsible for soliciting freshmen to join the club.
b. provide monthly updates on freshmen membership to the E-Board
c. liaise with the Social Chair to plan events that attract freshmen to the club.
d. be well-informed about the issues facing ASA freshmen and convey these regularly to the E-board
e. coordinate all aspects of FMI, the Freshman Mentorship Initiative which includes but is not limited to getting freshmen interested, pairing mentors with mentees, and organizing monthly FMI meetings.

​

The Webmaster shall:
a. manage and consistently update the ASA website
b. work with the rest of the E-board in maintaining and updating all online ASA activities.

c. work in conjunction with  the Communications Team, which includes the Secretary, Publicity Chair and Historian

​

The Historian shall:
a. be responsible for keeping records (could be brief summary paragraphs) of topics , main ideas and/or main consensuses discussed and reached at g-body meetings and events
b. take pictures and records of all ASA events and provide updated media (photos, videos, soundbytes, etc) to the webmaster within a week of the g-body meetings and events

c. be responsible for creating a yearbook detailing the highlights of the year in conjunction with the communications committee. The process of creating the yearbook must begin latest by the beginning of the spring semester

 

d. Shall handle alumni relations

e. take attendance at general body meetings and notify the President if an Officer misses more than 3 g-body meetings/events per semester

f. work in conjunction with  the Communications Team, which includes the Secretary, Publicity Chair and Webmaster