Professional Documents
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Section 1. Name This organization recognized before this Constitution shall be known as the Ateneo Student Catholic Action, abbreviated as AtSCA. Section 2. Logo The fundamental structure of the logo of AtSCA is a cross that is centered on flames with a vertical shift in the coloration from yellow (top) to orange (bottom). This symbolizes the passion that the men and women of this organization possess stemming for our Christ-centeredness. The design may vary but must retain its fundamental structure.
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Section 3. Community Apostolate AtSCA originated from the early discussions of Liberation Theology, which remains to be the very core of the apostolate of AtSCA - a search to understand the situation of poverty and injustice in our country in solidarity with the poor through the light of our Christian faith. AtSCA members regularly visit urban poor communities as their apostolate that seeks to create a formative impact on the members of the organization. The apostolate formation is two-fold: the structured and the unstructured. The structured work of the organization contains projects and activities that would seek to provide more concrete responses to the needs of the community. The unstructured work is the "babad". This is the time when they meet and get to know the people in the community on a more personal basis. These two are pursued with the following objectives: (1) to have a deeper understanding of the situation of the marginalized in the community; (2) for each AtSCAn to be enlightened of the significance of being and relating with the marginalized; and (3) to identify and concretize what response AtSCA will undertake given the understanding of the community. Combined with prayer and a deep sense of social awareness, the apostolate formation achieves a balanced and total formation of the members. INTEGRATION Section 4. Education Program The education program seeks to synthesize an AtSCAns varying experiences in the organizations three pillars of formation. It seeks to provide a framework where a members experiences in prayer, apostolate work, and social awareness activities can fall into place. The program is composed of the education flow, education sessions, exposure trips, and other venues in which the integration of the three pillars is being upheld.
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Section 2. The President and the other graduating officers will propose alternative structures to be deliberated upon and decided by majority vote of the incoming executive board. The structure will follow the format presented below:
Business Moderator
President Coordinators
Spiritual Moderator
Cell Advisers
Cell Leaders
Members
Section 3. With the exception of the Coordinating Officers, AtSCA members are divided into cells, which are groups named after the respective community apostolate to which they are assigned. Each cell has regular prayer sessions, community work, and other cell activities. Each cell has a minimum of eight (8) members and is recommended to have at most twenty (20) members. However, in the event of a planned expansion, the number of members is left to the discretion of the executive board. A cell leader and an assistant cell leader, under the guidance of a cell adviser, head every cell. Section4. AtSCAns are also divided into committees headed by committee heads and deputies. Each committee must have the minimum of eight members. The committee head also functions as the assistant cell leader of his/her respective cell. With the exception of the President, the Coordinating Officers also function as committee heads without the role of being an assistant cell leader.
Article V: Membership
Section 1. Recruitment (a) The recruitment of new members aims to ensure the continuity of AtSCA. It is hoped that the most qualified applicants are chosen to carry on the AtSCA ministry. (b) The procedure for recruitment involves filling out an application form, an interview by two EB members (or in case when EB members are unavailable, by one EB and one inducted member) where they explain the Three Pillars of Formation, the different committees and committee projects, and the submission of an essay. The EB then convenes to deliberate on the choice of new members from the current batch of applicants and drafts them into particular cells. (c) The application form should include, but is not limited, to the following: a. Name b. Nickname c. Signature d. Year and Course e. ID Number f. Gender g. Address (Provincial and Metro Manila) h. Contact details (email address and contact number) i. Birthday j. Previous School k. Skills and talents l. Other co-curricular and extra-curricular activities (high school and college) (d) The Interview may vary depending on the needs and discretion of the current EB, but should include the following: a. Reason for joining AtSCA b. Views and experience regarding the Three Pillars of Formation c. Organization and Community
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d. Personal Concerns e. Parents/Family: Will you be allowed to join AtSCA? f. Interviewer may also ask other questions he/she thinks will be necessary. (e) The application essay, which answers a question to be decided on by the EB of that year, serves as the final affirmation of the applicant's willingness to pursue his/her application. It also provides an additional basis by which the qualifications of the candidate can be evaluated. (f) The selection of new members is based on the following criteria: a. He/she should have leadership qualities and ideals of service. b. It is desirable that he/she has a certain amount of exposure. His/her outlook on his/her experiences should be the same as that of AtSCA or at least open to development. c. He/she should be willing to help AtSCA with its activities. d. Other elements in the criteria may be changed as the EB sees fit. e. Recruitment is usually done at the start of the school year. (g) The Executive Board will then deliberate upon members. The process is grounded on prayer and discernment, and that the choice of new members is the balance between efficient and effective running of the organization, however, constrained or limited, and the generous accommodation of Ateneans who will most need the kind of formation enabled by the organization. Section 2. Upon acceptance into the organization, a member has the following responsibilities: (a) To fulfill the requirements of the three pillars of formation and the education program. (b) To attend and participate in cell meetings, cell activities, community building activities and other general activities. (c) To actively promote to the larger community the AtSCA advocacy. (d) To be aware of and abide by the rules of the Constitution. (e) To have an Individual Consultation (IC) with an inducted member once per semester. All these responsibilities are meant towards discerning the possibility of induction. Section 3. Regular Member Status. Once an applicant is accepted into the organization, he/she is granted regular member status. Within the duration of six months of regular membership, he/she is expected to discern for induction. A members regular status may be deliberated on if (a) after a year, he/she fails to fulfill his/her responsibilities to the organization, or (b) after two years, he/she is still not inducted. Section 3. Leave of Absence (LOA). A leave of absence is taken only for extreme cases (e.g. serious illness, difficulty with academics, Junior Term Abroad). If for some reason, a member decides to take a leave of absence, he/she is required to submit a formal appeal to the EB through his/her respective cell leader. The EB then discusses and recommends the validity of the LOA request. When an EB member is granted a leave of absence, he/she should recommend a qualified member to fill in for the vacated position until such time when the EB member is ready to carry on with his/her obligations. A leave of absence may not exceed a total of two (2) semesters, after which he/she will be subject to deliberation. Section 4. Probationary Status. The probationary status is given to a non-inducted member when he/she does not fulfill his/her duties as a member. This status is given for border-line dismissal cases. When a member is placed under probation, he/she will be informed that he/she is required to participate in the different organizational activities such as Prayer Sessions, Community Tutorials and different Social Awareness activities and that he/she will be evaluated using a criteria based on his/her participation during the succeeding formation seminar. The probationary status will only be lifted when the EB finds an improvement in the members performance from the previous formation seminar. In the event that the member is found to be delinquent in fulfilling his/her responsibilities as a regular member, he/she is given a probationary status. Otherwise, the regular membership is maintained. Section 5. Induction. The induction status is granted to members who have fulfilled qualifications stipulated at Article VII, Section 2. Section 6. Dismissal. (a) Deliberation for non-inducted members is done on a yearly basis. If a cell leader recommends the dismissal of one of his/her members, the EB deliberates on the case. The regular status lasts for two years after the member's admission. If for some reason, a member is still not inducted after that period, the EB automatically conducts a deliberation on the case based on:
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a. b. c. d. Failure to fulfill duties and responsibilities Consultation with the cell leaders Consultation with the adviser/s Recommendation of the cell leader and assistant cell leader
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(d) To assist the EB in facilitating the formation of members. Section 4. In the event that the inducted member fails to fulfill certain responsibilities, he/she will be relieved temporarily of his/her privileges (Article Section 3), after being deliberated upon by the Executive Board during the Midyear or Yearend Membership Deliberations.
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(b) (c) (d) (e) (f) Primary spokesperson of the organization for social advocacies. Takes charge in the dissemination of information pertaining to current events. Act as the intermediary of the organization to the Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan and other external organizations. Heads the Social Awareness Committee. Attends the activities and meeting of his/her respective cell.
Section 6. The Secretary-General. (a) Keeps and organizes all the minutes, records and files of the Executive Board, the different cells, as well as data from general assemblies, seminars and other related activities. (b) Responsible for maintaining all organization databases and the system for documentations and evaluations. (c) Supervises all rules and systems implemented by the organization. (d) Attends the activities and meetings of his/her respective cell. Section 7. Communications Officer. (a) In-charge of communication, inside and outside the organization. (b) Responsible for disseminating information, promotional materials and newsletters pertaining to the different activities of the organization. (c) Maintains the organization online accounts. (d) Heads the Communications Committee (e) Attends the activities and meeting of his/her respective cell Section 7. The Finance Officer. (a) Serves as the intermediary between the Office of Student Activities and the organization regarding funds a. Takes charge of the disbursement of funds b. Prepares the semester budget (projected expenses) and financial reports c. Archives the financial documents of the organization (b) Takes charge of the organizations funds a. Coordinates with the cell leaders regarding cell funds b. Coordinates with the other committee heads in organizing fund-raising activities (i.e., concerts, food sales, etc.) (c) Heads the Finance Committee a. Coordinates with its committee members by forming a think-tank which will concern itself with accumulating funds for the organization (d) Attends the activities and meeting of his/her respective cell Section 8. Spirituality Officer. (a) Promotes the spiritual formation of the members of the organization according to the following themes: a. The centrality of the Eucharist in the Christian Life b. The rootedness in Ignatian Spirituality c. The pursuit of justice as integral to the Christian vocation d. Solidarity with marginalized in the light of Christs ministry (b) Acts as an intermediary between Campus Ministry Office and the Society of Jesus (c) Attends the activities and meeting of his/her respective cell Section 9. The Cell Leaders. (a) Oversees the formation of his or her respective constituents in the cell (b) Acts as the intermediary between the Executive Board and the cell members (c) Establishes and maintains the link between the community apostolate and the cell members throughout the year (d) Presides over the cell meetings and other related activities (e) Updates the Community Apostolate Coordinator regarding their respective communities (f) Updates the Membership Coordinator regarding their respective members (g) Informs and reminds his or her members of the retention guidelines of the organization (h) Facilitates regular prayer sessions (i) To be available for Individual Consultations (IC) when deemed necessary (j) Represents his or her members during deliberations
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For responsibilities and functions pertaining to meetings and other related activities, please refer to the Code of Internal Procedures
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(b) Is composed of representatives from the different cells and committees which are deliberated upon by the Executive Board (c) Aids the supervising officer with his/her duties and responsibilities
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In addition to the general functions, each moderator has a specific duty: (g) The Spiritual Moderator acts as the official facilitator of Executive Board prayer sessions and recollections and as the spiritual guide of the Executive Board. (h) The Business Moderator acts as the primary signatory of official documents and supervises business meetings of the Executive Board. Section 3. The process in choosing a moderator includes the following: (a) For the Spiritual Moderator, a Jesuit is preferred and is chosen by requesting from the Director of the Loyola House of Studies. (b) For the Business Moderator, a member of the Executive Board nominates a candidate that meets the qualifications in Article XI, Section 1. The Executive Board then deliberates on the candidate and proceeds to a quorum vote. Section 4. In the event that there are an insufficient number of moderators, the remaining moderator may take up the remaining duties of the other moderator. In the event that no moderator is available, the EB must then convene a special meeting in order to address the issue, only after due consultation with concerned offices.
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Section 5: Special Cases. (a) In the event that there are an insufficient number of candidates (number of positions greater than the number of inducted members), the outgoing executive board, along with the organizations moderator/s, shall convene for an emergency meeting where they will discuss alternative structures of the incoming executive board. (b) In the event that more than half of the number of available seats do not reach quorum, a run-off election shall be held, headed by the chief commissioner. (c) In the event that the commission on elections fails to fulfill their responsibilities, the membership coordinator or the president shall have emergency powers and take on the role of the commission (d) In the event of dishonesty pertaining to the electoral process, the party involved will immediately vacate his or her responsibilities and submit him/herself to disciplinary action by the Associate Dean of Student Affairs In all cases, refer to the Code of Internal Procedures for the more specific guidelines.
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With the exception of the Associate and Executive Board Deliberations, which are facilitated by the President, the Membership Coordinator facilitates all deliberations. In the event that the Membership Coordinator is absent, the President will assume the role. In the absence of both, the deliberations will not push through.