The Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) was established to promote Vietnamese culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The constitution outlines the election process for officers, including self-nominations and majority voting. It defines the roles and responsibilities of the seven officer positions - President, Vice President, Secretary, Public Relations, Treasurer, Historian, and Event Coordinator. The constitution also establishes rules for membership, meetings, impeachment and resignations of officers, and amending the constitution.

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Our Pledge
We are here to bring awareness to the Vietnamese culture and promote diversity on the campus of University of
Wisconsin-Madison. Our purpose is to connect, network and unite those who are of Vietnamese descent as well as
those with interest in the Vietnamese culture. We would like to facilitate a gateway with the students’ body of this
campus to understand and appreciate the Vietnamese culture.
Article I: Declaration
We hereby establish the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) to fulfill our pledge.
Article II: Elections
The selection process for the officers will begin at the end of the second semester (or as determined by the current
board) with self-nominations or from peers.
Section 1: The nomination process will be overseen by a trusted, former VSA board member who will not
participate in voting. After a nomination period, the overseer will contact each nominee and ask for acceptance or
declination of the nomination(s). If accepted, the voting procedure will occur in a separate meeting with all active
members (see Article IV). During the voting meeting, nominees must be physically present. If a member cannot
attend the voting meeting, he or she may submit a voting request to the current board. The current board will have
the discretion to accept or decline the said member’s request with a majority vote.
Section 2: In order for a nominee to win their position, they must obtain a majority vote from the voting members.
A majority vote is defined by having the most number of votes when more than one person is running for a
position. If only one person is running for a position, he or she must obtain more votes than abstaining votes. In
the event of a tie, the tied candidates will have the chance to speak and then all members will be asked to vote
again (or abstain) only for the tied candidates. This procedure will continue until a candidate has a majority of
votes.
Section 3: If a nominee wishes to decline a position or positions, he or she may do so by the day of the voting
meeting.
Section 4: In the event that a nominee wins more than one position, he or she will be able to choose one
position. The other position(s) will go to the second highest nominee for that position(s). If there is not a second
nominee, another voting procedure will be held for that position (see Article II, Section 1).
Section 5: In the event that there are no nominees for a position, the current board will decide a process in
electing a member to this position or have the option to leave the position vacated.
Article III: Officers
Each year, members of the VSA have the privilege of electing all officers for the succeeding year. Officers should
be a member and have genuine dedication to establish a voice for VSA members on the campus community. Each
term will be one academic year.

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Section 1: President
1:1 Serve as the executive officer and conduct all meetings, oversee programs and activities, and manage the
business of VSA
1:2 Maintain open channels of communication with the university and the community
1:3 Have the highest jurisdiction to all decisions in the organization
1:4 Appoint a new member to the board in the case of the removal of other officers
1:5 Assist members in managing the organization and activities carried out by the organization
Section 2: Vice President
2:1 Assist the President in all functions of the organization including helping the President in planning,
coordinating, and supervising all activities
2:2 Maintain good internal relations with members, seek out any complaints/suggestions/dissatisfactions and
address them with the President
2:3 Represent the President in deciding matters in the case the President is absent or unable to fulfill his or her
duties
Section 3: Secretary
3:1 In charge of keeping accurate notes at all executive and general VSA meetings
3:2 Keep a record of attendance at each meeting
3:3 Contact and notify VSA members of all meetings and activities
Section 4: Public Relations
4:1 Recruit new members and organize activities pertaining to the recruitment of new members
4:2 Act as the association ambassador to the campus community and other organizations
4:3 Be informed and updated on the presence of VSA on all social media accounts
Section 5: Treasurer
5:1 Be held responsible for keeping association’s bank account; report monetary breakdown of events
5:2 Organize and implement fundraising activities; seek grants and funding opportunities
5:3 Work alongside with the President to keep a detailed record of any monetary transactions
Section 6: Historian
6:1 Document all VSA related events by means of video, photography, and/or write-up to be presented to VSA
members
6:2 Keep record of event breakdowns. Include a write up of success/failure of events, pros/cons, budget,
collaborations, and personal remarks
6:3 Design event flyers and other media for promotion
Section 7: Event Coordinator
7:1 Book venues for any and all VSA related events
7:2 Plan and describe how/what needs to be done to carry out the event
7:3 Be available at VSA events to answer any specific question(s) from the public/members
Article IV: Meetings
Board meeting with officers is to keep the officers informed, to check on the progress and goals of the association.
General body meeting is to inform and collect feedback from members, in order to help officers carry out their duty
to best serve the member.
Section 1: Meetings
1:1 Board meeting of officers should be held at least twice per month.
1:2 General meeting with members should be held at least once every five weeks.

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Article V: Members
Any college student in the Madison area with an interest in the Vietnamese culture can be a member. To be
qualified to vote for the officers, however, a member must have participated in at least five (5) functions or events of
VSA. Any member who brings disturbance or activity that is harmful to the social atmosphere of the association
can, and will face eviction from the board of officers. All members must represent VSA in the manner that is best for
the association. VSA is an equal member organization.
Membership fee should be decided on yearly basis by the current executive board based on the needs of VSA.
Article VI: Impeachment and Resignation
Section I: Impeachment
1:1 Board members have the right to remove any officer(s) with a two-third (2/3) majority
1:2 The candidate for impeachment cannot take part in the voting process of impeachment
1:3 Any act of indictment must be presented in written form to the President or Vice President one week prior to
any voting proceeding
Section II: Resignation
2:1 If a board member wishes to resign, he or she must give the board a two week advance notice before their
resignation
Article VII: Amendments
1: Any proposed change to the Constitution should be in written form and submitted to the board of officers.
2: An amendment is ratified only with two-thirds (2/3) of the votes.