House Information

Current House
House Policies Day to Day Living
OFFICERS
There are six officers ranked in order from highest to lowest: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Clerk, and Steward. Officers must be House members in good standing (i.e. meeting or exceeding all House member responsibilities and requirements set forth by the HER Lifebook). Note: The House Director serves as a non-voting member on the HER executive board.

President
The responsibilities of the President include:
  1. Presiding at all House meetings
  2. Appointing such temporary committees as may be necessary
  3. Presiding over elections and room drawings
  4. Acting as a liaison and meeting with the Office of Residence Life
  5. Presiding over all interviews/information sessions for new House member and House Director applicants
  6. Insuring, with the assistance of the House Director and any necessary committees, that declared structural renovations are performed and conditions of House furniture are maintained yearly
  7. Acting in conjunction with the House Director and any affiliated House officer, as an objective, confidential mediator to conflicts or problems which arise in the House
  8. Monitoring in conjunction with other House officers, the compliance of House members to stated rules and regulations
  9. Issuing in May, with the House Treasurer, the budget for the upcoming fiscal year
  10. Advising officers
  11. Having executive decision over all House matters, not including safety or maintenance. Note: the Appeals & Lifebook Review Committee & E-Board according to the standards detailed---can veto or over-ride any contested Presidential decision.
  12. In the absence of the President, the highest-ranking officer shall preside
Vice President
The responsibilities of the Vice President include:
  1. Assisting the President in all matters deemed necessary
  2. Serving as the President in the absence of the President, including over academic breaks, vacations, etc.
  3. Scheduling and organizing all interviews/information sessions with new House member and House Director applicants, in the absence of an Interviewing Committee Head
  4. Acknowledging all birthdays, illnesses, deaths, and congratulatory/gratitude communications
  5. Setting up calendar dates for House functions with the exception of house monthly meetings
  6. Posting and updating as necessary the semester�s calendar of events and other relevant bulletins
  7. Orienting new House members to rules and activities of the House as well as assigning new members to rooms
  8. Coordinating set-up and clean-up for all mandatory House meeting and functions
  9. Taking attendance at mandatory events
Treasurer
The responsibilities of the Treasurer include:
  1. Issuing in May, in conjunction with the President, the budget for the upcoming fiscal year
  2. Attending to the general financial business of the House, including all rents, fees and fines assessed to members
  3. Submitting bills in a timely fashion to the Students Activities Business Office (SABO)
  4. Insuring that SABO pays bills promptly
  5. Issuing at the last House meeting of each semester a complete list of expenditures to date.
  6. Insuring prompt payment of rents, fees and fines
  7. Keeping a ledger of all accounts payable and accounts receivable
  8. Requesting SAO activities each month and Endowment Fund activity each quarter
  9. Making sure all outstanding debts are paid
  10. Providing a monthly balance of the House funds to the President
Secretary
The responsibilities of the Secretary include:
  1. Recording and posting minutes of the House meetings
  2. Keeping the mail table in order and forwarding mail of alumnae
  3. Serving as a liaison between the House and the HERAA Clerk (secretary), including notification of all House events, which occur during the academic year.
  4. Keeping a scrapbook of all House functions and events and recording a written account of all House events which occurred during the academic year
  5. Updating and maintaining the historical records of the House
  6. Keeping a current list of alumnae
  7. Working with the Treasurer with fundraising events
  8. Reviewing and approving committee timelines and minutes
  9. Seeing that all committee and officer work is placed into binders
  10. Seeing that all necessary forms and attendance sheets are completed
  11. Writing appropriate or necessary letters, cards or notes to contacts
  12. Creating a Profile Book of all current House Members during the fall.
Clerk
The responsibilities of the Clerk include:
  1. Assigning cleaning duties to House members, including weekend specials, bathroom rotations, meal duties, cook duties, and any other duties the clerk deems necessary
  2. Monitoring completion of stated duties and imposing extra duties and/or fines to those member who are lax in their duties
  3. Coordinating and managing the All House Clean
  4. Arranging any good-will donations (Amvets)
Steward
The responsibilities of the Steward include:
  1. Stocking the freezer and pantry
  2. Working with the shopper to ensure that the weekly shopping is done in a timely fashion
  3. Ordering and keeping a steady supply of staple food in the House
  4. Scheduling and monitoring cook weeks, volunteer days, and approving menus
  5. Keeping within weekly and semester bulk food budgets
House Director
The responsibilities of the House Director include:
  1. Attending to all maintenance problems, including upkeep of appliances and serving as a liaison to Boston University�s Buildings and Grounds
  2. Being available for objective, nonpartisan advice if a problem arises which cannot be solved or mitigated by members or officers of the House
  3. Relaying safety standards and codes to House members
  4. Coordinating one fire drill in the first semester of the school year
  5. Holding all warranties for appliances, recording dates of purchases, and keeping a log of all repairs done to the House
  6. Insuring inventory control of House property, which includes doing Room Condition Reports at the beginning and end of the school year and updating the inventory log at the end of the spring term
  7. Meeting with the Office of Residence Life every other week with the House President
  8. Attending all HERAA meetings


OFFICER ELECTIONS
  1. No one except the treasurer may be elected to the same position twice consecutively, unless if there is only one running candidate; then the previous officer may run again. If a person has attained a position past the half way point of the election term, this stipulation does not apply.
  2. Semester positions begin the first day of the semester, while yearly positions begin thirty days before the last day of spring classes
  3. Only three officers will be elected during the summer---President, Treasurer, and Clerk/Steward. The President�s responsibility includes overseeing House renovations, the interviewing committee and ensuring fall occupancy. The Treasurer�s responsibility will include both the Treasurer and any Secretary responsibilities that may arise. The Clerk�s responsibilities will include both the Clerk and any Steward responsibilities that may arise. Summer officer elections will take place at the last House meeting of the academic year. If both the old and the new officer holder wants the position during the summer, the House will vote between them. If neither the old or new officer will be residing in the House during the summer, the next ranking officer can take the position. If no other lower ranking officer wants the position, nominations and voting may be open to the House at large.
  4. Elections for any office that exclude competition due to Harriet E. Richards qualifications as defined below, will be opened up to other interested persons who do not meet those requirements.
  5. Elections for full year officers shall be held annually one month before the end of the academic year for the following year
  6. Candidates for year offices must be a resident of the House for at least one year previously and must have held a previous office; in the case that no one can run for the yearly positions because she lacks the eligibility, the yearly officer elections shall be opened to anyone who has lived in the house for 2 semesters and will be residing for the entire academic year of term in the house.
  7. Elections for offices held for one semester shall be held semiannually in December and April. Note: Summer positions do not carry the same weight as semester positions.
  8. Candidates must be a House member for at least one semester
  9. Members living abroad who wish to run for a semester position must send a written statement of intent which will be read at the election meeting
  10. Members studying abroad for a semester but who fulfill eligibility requirements may run for yearlong positions.
  11. At the last house meeting, the outgoing senior class will elect its own class agent, who will keep account of the members� addresses in her graduation class
  12. Officers will be elected by blind vote.
  13. House members who are studying abroad for a semester and will be returning to the House the following semester have the right to cast an absentee ballot for officer elections.
  14. Graduating seniors can have � vote for May elections.


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Harriet E Richards Cooperative House 191 Bay State Road
Boston, MA 02215		 (617) 352-7000
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