Constitution

I. Name
A. The name of the Organization shall be the Iranian Students Foundation, henceforth
referred to as the ISF.
B. This organization shall work under the auspices of the University of Maryland Student
Government Association (SGA) if recognized by the SGA in that year.
II. Objectives
A. The primary purpose of the ISF is to provide members and prospective members the
opportunity to meet others with similar interests and backgrounds.
B. The secondary goal of the ISF is to keep the rich Persian history and culture alive for both
the descendants of that nation and for all interested in the culture.
C. The secondary goal of the group also includes raising the campus awareness towards Persian
culture, dance, tradition, holidays, and history as well as Modern day Iran and issues facing
Iranian-Americans.
D. The ISF will remain a non-religious and non-political entity as defined below:
Non-religious will not promote nor discriminate any religion or practitioners of any
religion
Non-political will not support or demote any particular political party in the United States,
the Government of Iran, nor any Organization or Political entity in opposition
E. The ISF will try to fulfill a service to the Iranian Community at the University of Maryland,
including but not limited to sponsoring scholarships, sponsoring study abroad programs,
sponsoring classes.
III. Membership
A. Non-Exclusionary clause The Iranian Students Foundation does not restrict membership or
discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender
expression, marital status, personal appearance, age, national origin, political affiliation,
physical or mental disability, or on the basis of rights secured by the First Amendment of the
United States Constitution. (For definitions of personal appearance and sexual
orientation, see the Universitys Code of Human Relations (Code.)
B. Abide by University Policies clause: The Iranian Students Foundation understands and is
committed to fulfilling its responsibilities of abiding by University of Maryland, College Park
policies.
 C. No Dues Dues are not required for voting, active membership
D. E-mail list an e-mail list or some other form of direct communication with supportive
members is mandated; the officers may use an e-mail list and all individuals on that list will
be considered ISF Supportive members; the list will be open to any individual with an e-mail
address who wishes to keep abreast of ISF events.
E. Voting: All voting members must be undergraduates who have attended an average of seven
ISF functions per semester, including events, meetings and other gatherings decided upon by
the officers prior to the occurrence of the gathering.
F. Rights and Responsibilities All members have the right to attend all ISF functions,
meetings and activities; the successful production of, advertisement, and planning of the
events will be the responsibility of the members as well as the officers. Members are
encouraged to help with as much or as little time as they can to help.
IV. Officers
A. Posts and Duties for Elected Officials
1. President: The Presidents task is to lead the ISF; to guide its work; to foster the help
of its members; to organize the officers; to represent the group the group; to execute
plans agreed to by the officers; to appoint committees and chairpersons; to run the
general body meetings; and is empowered to sign all documents relating to the
group. They must have held at least one position as an executive officer of the ISF
for one academic year (two semesters) prior to holding this position. If no such
candidate is available, members of the ISF can run and be voted on by the general
body of the organization. The President also serves as the SGA liaison.
2. Vice President of Finance: The VP of Finance is second in command of the group;
the VPF must work with the SGA on money procurement; must fundraise; is
responsible for all financial activity of the club; and is empowered to sign all
documents pertaining to the groups finances.
3. Vice President of Membership: The VP of Membership is third in command; the
VPM will preside over meetings in the absence of the President; is responsible for
membership drives; for communications with the members; for helping the
President in planning events; for addressing the needs of the members; and is
empowered to sign all documents pertaining to the club with the Presidents
explicit consent only.
4. Vice President of Programming: The VP of Programming is responsible for the
management and production of ISFs main events; the VPP will organize ISF
members to create programs for ISF yearly events; in addition the VPP is solely
responsible for consistently seeking out guests in the form of speakers, performers
and media entertainment (movies, music, etc..) for the purpose of broadening the
cultural and social scope of the organization.
a. There shall be two VPPs, differentiated through appointment by the president
as VPP (Programing Coordinator) and VPP (Logistical Director). Both VPPs
are not exclusively limited to their specialized roles, and must support one
another to meet the goals of programming for the organization. They must
communicate effectively with one another, and work towards the
responsibilities outlined in Sec.IV.A.4.
 b. Vice President of Programming (Programming Coordinator): The VPP (PC)
maintains the responsibilities outlined in Sec.IV.A.4 while specializing in
finding and coordinating with performers, MCs, and programs for the events.
The VPP (PC) will also conduct check-ins and ensure programs are on
schedule and of the appropriate quality for the goals of the organization.
c. Vice President of Programming (Logistical Director) The VPP (LD) maintains
the responsibilities outlined in Sec.IV.A.4, while specializing in coordinating
Audio Visual services, scheduling program orders, stage rehearsals, and
creating program booklets.
5. Vice President of Public Relations: The VP of Public Relations is solely responsible
for organizing advertising for all ISF events, meetings, sessions and excursions; The
VPPR is also responsible for helping the VPM with membership drives, the VPF
with fundraisers, and the President with planning events; lastly, the VPPR is
responsible for trying to get letters and articles published across campus and off
campus to raise awareness about Iranian culture.
6. Secretary: The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes at the meetings; for
recording and reporting all events to the President and VPM for distribution to all
members: for maintaining an organized list of ISF contacts within and without the
University; and for contacting them on behalf of ISF on the explicit instructions of
the President.
7. Historian: The Historian is responsible for maintaining the ISF history books; for
taking pictures and recording videos at ISF events; for creating a scrapbook with
pictures and captions; and for finding innovative methods of preserving ISF
successes.
B. Posts and Duties for Appointed Officials
1. Senior Advisor(s): This officer is solely responsible for communicating with the
President as an advisor for planning. The Senior Advisor MUST have either been a
former officer of ISF, a former officer of an SGA recognized organization, or a
former officer of a student organization at another institution. If no candidate with
the pre-requisite credentials runs, then this position will remain empty
2. Sports Coordinator: This individual is responsible for organizing and scheduling ISF
participation in the Universitys intramural sports program; he or she is also
encouraged to seek out off-campus athletic events that ISF may participate in such
as races, games and sports viewing.
3. All elected officials must be undergraduates who are currently attending the
University of Maryland, College Park.
C. Webmaster is an ad hoc position which does not attend Board Meetings.
D. Election Time
1. Elections will be held in the month of April or May for the positions of President,
VP of Finance, VP of Membership, VP of Programming, VP of Public Relations,
Secretary, and Historian.
2. Appointments must be made anytime between elections and October.
3. Appointments must be made by the President, with the support of the Executive
Officers in the month of September to October.
4. Elections may be held in any manner the Board of Elections sees fit
 E. A board of elections must be appointed by the full executive committee in the month
previous to the election. This board will include three members, one of which must either be
a non-candidate former officer or an SGA representative. This election board will decide
how, when and where the elections will take place.
F. There must be an executive meeting after the elections with at least 80% of the officers (old
and new) present. This meeting is mandated to pass power over to the new officers and to
answer all their questions about ISF responsibilities.
G. Vacancies can be filled immediately through necessary elections.
H. The Impeachment process is as follows: A written complaint is provided to the board, upon
which an ad hoc meeting will be made to investigate the complaint and a decision will be
made on whether to follow through with impeachment.
I. Officers may be impeached with a 75% super majority vote of the rest of the officers
including the President.
J. Any officer who misses four general body and/or officers meeting and his/her absence is
deemed unacceptable by the rest of the executive committee, the officer shall be
recommended for impeachment.
K. The President may be impeached with a 75% super majority vote of the general body at
which point the executive committee will hol elections for a new President.
L. Yearly Review
1. Timing/Purpose - At the end of the executive boards term, they will be required to
complete a review of various aspects of their year. This serves as a reference for the
new executive board to use as a guide. This review will give the old executive board
a space to formally discuss challenges and details otherwise not provided in the
exchange of power meeting. The new executive board must review this document,
but is not required to take action within its framework. The new executive board is
encouraged to use the review format provided by the previous years executive
board.
2. Structure The review must include but is not limited to:
a. Suggested position-specific duties per executive board position, and non-
specific tasks to be assigned by the President
b. Suggested timeline for preparation and planning of events
c. Discussion of successes and challenges during that year
d. Reflection and constructive insight
V. Junior Board
A. Purpose The Junior Board (JB) is a space for ISF members to get more involved in the
organization. They will plan activities for ISF outside of main events and general body
meetings. Additionally this space will allow JB members to have a chance to provide input
and feedback for the executive board. The JB is encouraged to be role models for the group,
allowing members to have more ownership of ISF, and to promote good culture at ISF
B. Structure
1. The JB will meet once a week for one hour at a time determined by the executive
board. Members will take turns facilitating meetings throughout the semester, with
each facilitator being selected amongst JB members the week prior in a fashion
deemed appropriate by the executive board. Facilitators are responsible for
preparing an agenda for the meeting. The board will be responsible for arranging a
 system of note taking every week. The size of JB will be determined by the number
of willing ISF members. There is no obligation for JB members to attend every
meeting
2. At the discretion of the executive board, the structure of the junior board may be
adjusted to ensure that the junior board is fulfilling its purpose and is not negatively
harming the organization in any way.
VI. Board of Advisors
A. Responsibilities The Board of Advisors is responsible for nothing. The Officers are
however, responsible to ask the Board of Advisors for help, suggestions, and assistance in
running ISF. The BOA is fully capable of advising the Officers, but has no official powers for
action. The BOA will serve as ISFs link to the greater Iranian-American community within
and without the University. The BOA is set up to provide contacts for the Officers.
B. The Board of advisors consists of the 3 previous ISF Presidents prior to the serving year.
C. It is suggested that the Officers have contact with the BOA on a monthly basis.
VII. Meetings
A. The General Body meeting of the group is mandated to be on Thursdays.
B. Committee Meetings can take place at anytime
C. Officers Meetings can take place at anytime
VIII. Constitution
A. This document may at anytime be austerely amended through a vote of three-fourths
majority at any announced open Officers meeting provided that the amendment be
announced at least a week in advance, that at least half of the officers are present, and
members may sit as ex-officio non-voters
B. Structural changes to the constitution shall not me implemented until the last two officer
meetings of the year. At this OMNIBUS meeting the current president shall propose his or
her amendments and the executive committee shall vote and approve each part by a two-
thirds majority.
C. This constitution must be ratified by the SGA and a two-thirds vote of the members at the
General Body meeting before it is ratified.