Constitution and By-Laws
Last Updated: 10-13-03
Constitution
Article I: Name
The name of the organization shall be the English Language Outreach and Teaching Exchange (ELOTE).
Article II: Purpose
It shall be the purpose of ELOTE to build a stronger alliance between the community of students at OSU and the Spanish-speaking community in Columbus, by exchanging our knowledge and using this knowledge to act on each other�s behalf. More specifically, ELOTE will offer free English classes, and other classes when applicable, to any interested participants in the community.
Article III: Non-Discrimination Policy
ELOTE and its members shall not discriminate for any reason against members or participants in the organization on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, sex, marital status, ancestry, parental status, gender, age, handicap, or Vietnam era veteran status.
Article IV: Membership Qualifications and Categories
Voting membership will be limited to currently enrolled Ohio State students. Other members may participate as teachers and outreach volunteers, but will not be permitted to vote at meetings. Membership as a teacher will be established by the Executive Committee, the officers of ELOTE, and will require an interview. Membership as an outreach volunteer will not require an interview. Both positions are subject to suspension as outlined in the by-laws.
Article V: Membership Dues
The members of ELOTE will not pay membership dues, and English and other classes will always be taught completely free of charge to the students. English students will also never be charged for supplies or cost of copies, although voluntary donations may be accepted.
Article VI: Voting
Section A: A quorum will be ten voting members or fifty percent of the voting membership, whichever number is lower.
Section B: Each voting member in good standing may vote.
Article VII: Officers
Section A: ELOTE shall have two Co-Presidents, a Treasurer, an Editor, a Teacher Organizer, an Outreach Coordinator, and a Publicity Manager. These officers will comprise the Executive Committee. The organization will also have at least one Advisor.
Section B: All officers must be members of ELOTE. During voting, preference must be given to members who were teachers or officers during at least one quarter the previous year.
Section C: The term of the officers shall be from the first day of summer quarter to the last day of spring quarter.
Section D: Election of officers shall be held annually in May. At least one-month notice must be given before the election meeting. The method for elections will be outlined in the bylaws.
Section E: Any officer may be removed from membership by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee. Any officer removed may appeal to the general membership. Said officer shall be considered reinstated with two-thirds approval of the members.
Section F: Any vacancy that may occur in an office shall be filled by appointment by either co-president pending ratification by two-thirds approval at the next group meeting.
Article VIII: Duties of Officers
Section A: Co-Presidents
The co-presidents shall be the chief executive officers.
The co-presidents will direct the budget as outlined in the by-laws.
The co-presidents will direct the editing of class handouts as outlined in the by-laws.
Vacancies in offices will be filled by appointment of a co-president with approval of the general membership.
The co-presidents shall be the parliamentarians for the organization.
The co-presidents will keep and have available current copies of the constitution and by-laws.
The co-presidents will be responsible for scheduling meetings.
The co-presidents shall be responsible for keeping the minutes of all meetings.
The co-presidents will keep a master file with a copy of all the minutes.
Section B: Treasurer
The treasurer shall keep a current record of all financial transactions.
The treasurer shall develop quarterly reports containing a list of all receipts and disbursements and distribute them among the membership.
The treasurer will be responsible for checking the accuracy of all bills and invoices and paying them correctly and on time.
The treasurer will perform other duties as directed by the co-presidents and advisors.
Section C: Editor
The editor shall keep main copy of all class handouts.
The editor shall update handouts as outlined in the by-laws.
The editor shall redistribute pages with changes to teachers at the next meeting.
Section D: Teacher Organizer
The teacher organizer shall maintain a complete and accurate account of all teachers.
The teacher organizer will schedule class times for teachers as outlined in the by-laws.
The teacher organizer will schedule the rooms for the classes with the Ohio Union or other participating building.
The teacher organizer will publicize the updated quarterly teacher schedule as outlined in the by-laws.
Section E: Outreach Coordinator
The outreach coordinator shall maintain a complete and accurate account with names, contact information, and quarterly schedules of all outreach volunteers.
The outreach coordinator shall schedule an outreach volunteer with any client that contacts her or him as outlined in the by-laws.
Section F: Publicity Manager
The publicity manager shall advertise about the organization to the students of Ohio State University as she or he sees fit.
The publicity manager shall advertise to potential English students in the community as outlined in the by-laws.
Section G: Advisor(s)
The advisor(s) shall assist the group in their execution of roles and responsibilities.
The advisor(s) shall provide feedback to the organization regarding its operations and functioning.
The advisor(s) shall serve as a resource.
The advisor(s) should provide advice upon request and also should share knowledge, expertise, and experience with the group.
The advisor(s) will be a nonvoting member of the organization.
Article IX: Meetings
Section A: The first meeting will be held in the first full week of Ohio State University classes and will be a mandatory orientation for new teachers.
Outreach volunteers may also attend for information or to vote, but the meeting will only be mandatory for officers and new teachers.
Section B: The second meeting of the quarter will be during the fifth full week of classes and will be mandatory for officers and new teachers and optional for outreach volunteers and oriented teachers.
Section C: There will be a follow-up meeting in the tenth full week of classes.
This meeting will be mandatory for officers and optional for all other members
Section D: At least 7 day�s notice must be given for each of the above listed meetings.
Article X: Classes
Unless otherwise approved by a co-president and the teacher organizer, English classes and other ELOTE classes will be taught from the second week through the ninth week of each quarter as organized by the teacher organizer. The class is an eight-week sequence of one class each week that should last approximately an hour and a half.
Article XI: Amending the Constitution
Any suggestion for amending the constitution must be brought in writing to a meeting in which a quorum is present. The suggestion must be voted on in the next meeting, at which a quorum must again be present. The amendment will be ratified with a three-fourths or greater vote of the members present.
Article XII: Method of Dissolution of Organization
By-Laws
Article I: Parliamentary Authority
ELOTE will use Robert�s Rule of Order to govern decision-making.
Article II: Teacher Membership
Section A: Interview
To become a teacher, an individual must complete an interview with an officer who has been approved by a co-president to do teacher interviews. The information from the interview must then be given to a co-president who will decide if the interviewee will be allowed to teach for ELOTE.
Section B: Orientation
After being accepted into a teacher position, the individual must then attend a meeting that will act as the teacher orientation (either the first or the second meeting of that quarter).
Section C: Classes
Classes will be taught in pairs assigned or approved by the teacher organizer. Teachers can choose to teach the classes without a partner if they feel more comfortable. All approved handouts must be distributed in class to all students who want them. The class outline must be followed, but the teachers may create their own in-class activities or add other appropriate enrichment material to the class. However, the class may not exceed two hours duration.
Section D: Class Absences
A teacher may not miss any class, barring a medical or family emergency, without another qualified teacher to act as a substitute for that class. In classes with a teacher pair, one teacher may have an absence in the case of illness without finding a substitute as long as her or his partner feels comfortable teaching the class alone.
Section E: Dismissals
Any teacher who violates the rules outlined above will be dismissed by a co-president for the quarter. Dismissed teachers are not permitted to reapply to teach until the next quarter.
Section F: Complaints
Any teacher who receives more than one complaint from her or his English students may be dismissed at the discretion of a co-president. Dismissed teachers are not permitted to reapply to teach until the next quarter.
Section G: Appeals
Any teacher who is dismissed or any interviewee who is not accepted into a teaching position may appeal the decision to the co-president who did not dismiss or fail to accept the individual. That co-president must meet with the complainant for a second interview. The information from the second interview must then be presented to the Executive Committee who will vote on the interviewee�s teacher status. A vote of fifty percent of the officers or more will reinstate the teacher. If denied again, the complainant may appeal a second time at the next meeting in which a quorum is present. The complainant may be reinstated with a vote of fifty percent or more of the voting membership.
Article III: Outreach Volunteer Membership
Section A: Applying
Membership as an outreach volunteer will be open to any individual who applies. The applicant must fill out the designated form for outreach volunteers and give it to the outreach coordinator.
Section B: Limitation of Services
The outreach volunteer may not attempt to serve as a translator for her or his client in situations in which liability may be a concern.
Section C: Complaints
Any outreach volunteer that receives more than one complaint from her or his clients may be dismissed at the discretion of a co-president. Dismissed outreach volunteers are not permitted to reapply until the next quarter.
Section D: Appeals
Any outreach volunteer that is dismissed may appeal the decision at the next meeting in which a quorum is present. The complainant may be reinstated with a vote of fifty percent or more of the voting membership.
Article IV: Elections
At the election meeting, those present will nominate themselves for positions.
Only current voting members may nominate themselves for officer positions.
Each position must be voted on before taking nominations for the next position, so that the best candidates will not be eliminated in the process of voting.
The voting will take place in the following order: co-presidents, treasurer, editor, teacher organizer, outreach coordinator, publicity manager.
Preference for officer positions will be given to nominees who have had at least a quarter of experience as either a teacher or an officer during the previous year.
The votes will be done by the ballot system and will be counted by the co-presidents.
In the case of a tie, a re-vote will take place between the nominees who tied.
In the case of a second tie, the Executive Committee will choose between the nominees who tied.
Article IV: Specific Officer Duties
Section A: Treasurer
The treasurer must bring all funding requests outside of the normal costs of copies and basic supplies to a co-president who will make pressing decisions on funding requests or on requests under twenty dollars. All other requests must be brought to the next meeting by the treasurer to be voted on by a quorum.
Section B: Editor
The editor must bring all text change ideas or suggestions outside of corrections of typos to a co-president who must bring these changes to the next meeting to be voted on by a quorum if the changes will significantly alter the class.
Section C: Teacher Organizer
The teacher organizer will be expected to talk with a sufficient sample of potential English students before scheduling class times, in order to determine the best times for them to attend the classes.
The teacher organizer will also be expected to keep posted an updated class schedule on a public, easily accessible bulletin board in the Ohio Union or other permitted area and also on the ELOTE website.
Section D: Outreach Coordinator
The outreach coordinator will keep the schedules of all outreach volunteers and be on call for potential clients to set them up with an outreach volunteer.
Clients may contact the outreach coordinator directly by phone or e-mail or may have their teacher contact the outreach coordinator by phone or e-mail with the client�s information.
Clients shall be any members of the Spanish-speaking community in Columbus who have a problem that our outreach volunteers may be able to help with.
Section E: Publicity Manager
The publicity manager will be expected to build strong, person-to-person connections within the Spanish-speaking community in Columbus in order to increase the number of students in the English classes.
Article V: Amending the By-Laws
Any suggestion for amending the by-laws must be brought in writing to a meeting in which a quorum is present. The suggestion will be voted on in that meeting and will be ratified with a two-thirds or greater vote of the members present.
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