The South Asian Newspaper Constitution

             

Article I - Name, Mission/Goal

1. This organization shall be referred to as 'The South Asian Newspaper' (hereafter referred to as `the organization').
2. The organization shall operate as a non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue service.
3. The organization shall abide by the applicable rules and policies of the University of Minnesota pertaining to Registered Student Organizations (RSO) classification.
4. The mission of the organization: "To be a forum for the people of South Asia, a medium for serious conversation, humor, debate, dissent, reflection; above all, an exchange of ideas  that can facilitate the building blocks of a more cohesive South Asian community".
5. To produce a monthly news-magazine for the diasporic South Asian Community in Minnesota (and the Upper Midwest).
6. The magazine hopes to

• raise and discuss prevailing concerns and problems among local South Asian groups, as well as perceptions of  those groups and their interactions with non-South Asian populations
• offer space for opinions, analysis and discussion of current economic, political, religious and social conditions in South Asia, as well as conditions here that affect South Asians
• voice the experiences of children of South Asian descent growing up in the U.S. as well as confront problems of gender, sexuality, caste, race, and religion among South Asian groups
• provide a listing of local South Asian events and organizations as well as movie and restaurant reviews
• function as a site for dialogue and discussion with an unwavering commitment to (various forms of) difference and debate

Article II - Credo

1. The organization is for non-violence, participatory democracy, environmental responsibility, economic justice, diversity and social welfare.The organization is against any espousal of hate, endorsement of bigotry, or denigration of a particular section of society on the basis of race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality etc.
2. The organizational structure is non-hierarchical and democratic and supports equal participation of individuals through the collective decision making process.
3. The organization subscribes to the "Copyleft" attitude as prescribed by the "Design Science License"

Article III - Membership

1. The organization shall consist of a General Body (hereafter referred to as `the group').
2. The group's membership is open to all individuals, including the students, faculty and staff at the University of Minnesota, irrespective of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, have no political or religious affiliations.
3. Every group member (hereafter referred to as 'member') can exercise the right to participate in the group's decision making process.
4. The group's membership shall consist of regularly enrolled undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Minnesota as required by the Student Activities office (SAO), formerly Campus Involvement Center (CIC).
5. One need not be a member to contribute to 'The South Asian Newspaper' or attend meetings. The activities of 'The South Asian Newspaper' are open to all, but decision-making powers will be reserved only for members.
6. All members are encouraged to contribute to the production and maintenance of 'The South Asian Newspaper' publication and regularly attend meetings. They could chose to be involved in and participate in activities of one of the sub-groups listed in Article V.
7. The decision making process over issues pertaining to the group will be a 'collective consensus' as specified in Article IV.
8. Any member may be expelled by the body for any conduct harmful to the mission of the organization, as determined by a consensus of the group excluding the member in question, again as specified in Article IV.

Article IV - Collective Consensus

1. All decision making processes of the group, or any sub-group involved with specific functions/roles in the organization, will be through a collective consensus wherein the entire group (sub-group) of people can come to an agreement.
2. The group (sub group) will ensure an appropriate  'quorum' is present before the proposal is tabled.
3. After sufficient discussion over the proposal, individual members then decide one of the following:  

• Support     ("I agree completely")
• Block       ("I cannot support this or allow the group to support this")
• Reservation ("I personally can't do this/don't know/think this is a mistake, but I won't stop others from doing it") 

4. A consensus is reached if NO member of the 'quorum' Blocks the proposal.
5. If consensus is Blocked and NO new consensus can be reached, the group stays with whatever the previous decision was on the subject, or does nothing if that is applicable.
6. If many people express Reservations, then the group could either decide to have more discussions before attempting consensus again or decide to pass the proposal as long as 2/3rd majority are supporting the proposal.
7. Henceforth this process of decision making is called 'by consensus'

Article V - Working Groups/Committee

1. 'The South Asian Newspaper' collective (henceforth referred to as the collective) involves ALL members of the organization.
2. Working Groups make up the basic structure of the collective.
3. Working Groups are (en)trusted with creating ideas about the operations of the collective, making proposals of action to the collective, and doing the footwork within their areas or functions.
4. Although working groups make up the structure and coordinate the basic functions of the collective, they will always be held accountable to the collective at large.
5. The collective can make any decision regarding the activities and roles of the working groups.
6. Working groups  may consist of the following list. However, these categories can be changed anytime as the collective deems appropriate:

• Editing/Editorial Board: edits stories, trains new writers, copy edits and coordinates staff editorial
• Writing: develops stories, trains new writers, coordinates with editing, graphics and layout coordinators
• Layout: designs and produces each issue
• Distribution: maintains distribution plan, coordinates 'The South Asian' distribution, mails 'The South Asian Newspaper' to subscribers
• Publicity: gets the word out, gets the people in
• Ads: gets the money
• Computer: maintains the 'The South Asian Newspaper' webpage, listserve and serves as technical support
• Financial: maintains the collective's financial account
• Administrative: takes care of paperwork, organizes materials, keeps the collective flowing smoothly

Article VI  - Officers

1. Working Group coordinators

• Each working group will have a coordinator.
• Any member may become a coordinator after a collective confirmation by consensus. In the event where there are two or more candidates for the same working group, they and the collective will attempt to reach a resolution.
• Working Group coordinators do not make unilateral decisions but do the bidding of the rest of the collective. The coordinators' job is to plan working group meetings, synthesize the working groups' ideas into formal proposals to the collective, provide information about their area of expertise to the rest of the collective, and collaborate with the rest of the steering working group.
• Each coordinator is expected to actively recruit for his or her working group and keep a complete contact list of everyone involved. Training will be the responsibility of all members of the working group.

2. Overall coordinator: 'The South Asian Newspaper' coordinator will plan collective meetings, schedule production and maintain communication with and between working group coordinators. Any member can become the overall coordinator and in the case there are more than one candidate, the collective reaches a consensus.
3. Registered Student Organization officers (RSO): Three members will represent 'The South Asian Newspaper' collective to the SAO at the University of Minnesota. They hold no special powers other than to interface with the university on behalf of the collective. They will be selected by consensus (if needed). RSO officers need not necessarily be coordinators. They should be currently enrolled students at the University of Minnesota, registered for a minimum of six credits.
4. Overlap: Collective members may hold more than one coordinator-ship or working group membership simultaneously.
5. Removal of coordinators: Any coordinator can be removed at any general collective meeting, decided by consensus. The coordinator in question does not have a vote.

Article VII - Meetings

1. The first meeting of each month will be the general collective meeting. Issues pertaining to the structure and direction of the collective, the constitution, the removal of members or coordinators or the planning of the publication will be discussed and decided upon in these meetings. All members are strongly encouraged to come and participate. Other meetings could be scheduled as per requirements.
2. Working group coordinators will hold group meetings as and when the need arises.

Article VIII - Financial Matters

1. The organization shall not provide monetary reimbursement or conditions for monetary gain, incidentally or otherwise, to its officers or members. This does not restrict the services rendered.

Article IX  - By-laws

1. By-Laws may be proposed by the membership and may be adopted by a consensus of those present at the meeting when a quorum is present.

Article X - Amendments

1. This constitution can be amended at any general collective meeting through consensus.