Constitution

Article 1: Name

The Organization shall be known as the Muslim Students Association at BLA or notably known as BLA MSA

Article 2: Mission

Our club’s motto is spreading peace through understanding, and through this motto, we members of the MSA strive to give Muslim students a place at BLA where they can all come together.

Article 3: Non Discrimination

The BLA MSA shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, disability, gender, or age in its membership, activities, and projects. BLA MSA & Boston Latin Academy shall not tolerate harassment of any kind. Commitment to BLA MSA's mission does not require any level of personal correlation or adherence to the Islamic faith, and the organization shall not discriminate on that basis.

Article 4: Members

All students at BLA are elgible for membership. Members must notify the Publicity Chair to be considered as a full fledged member of the BLA MSA Community.

Article 5: Officers

Any member of the BLA MSA can become an officer. Officers shall be elected annually in the 4th term by a majority vote of the membership. The officers of this organization and their basic duties follow. Every position has the additional role of serving as an ex-officio member of any committee that is created through the regulation.

President:

  1. To serve as the primary student representative, spokesperson, and correspondent of the Muslim Students Association before BLA, the MSA, and the greater community at Boston.
  2. To direct and coordinate all of the activities so as to achieve the purpose of the MSA.
  3. To provide visionary leadership for the club and the MSA and establish strategic goals for the future of the organization. The President should be able to act as mediator to maintain order, organization and focus.
  4. To serve as Chief Executive in all matters of official business of the Club.
  5. To call and preside over meetings of the Club, and to create detailed agendas for all meetings in coordination with the Publicity Chair.
  6. To appoint each chair member in accordance with procedures set forth by the Club.
  7. To attend every event completed on behalf of MSA, unless a valid excuse is given.
  8. Authorizing funds and expenses of the MSA in accordance with the Finance Treasurer a
  9. To establish an efficient link between the MSA and the MSA’s from neighboring schools. This link also implies that the President will act as direct liaison to all of the Masjids.
  10. To coordinate the training of all club members, both at the start of their term and throughout. This includes giving quarterly progress and evaluation reports.
  11. To coordinate the transition process for the succeeding club members.
  12. To appropriately upload any and all documents to the emails Google Drive account under the respective year


Vice President:

  1. To serve as presiding officer in the event that the President is unavailable for MSA meetings
  2. To carry out the management of activities within MSA, in the absence of the President
  3. To temporarily assume the functions of the President on his request or in the event that the President is incapacitated. In the latter case, the Vice-president shall assume the Presidency for the remaining period of the term.
  4. To follow up on tasks designated to club members.
  5. To reserve rooms, venues, and locations for all MSA sponsored events,or activities.
  6. To analyze events and activities and give feedback to the President.
  7. To review quarterly and annual progress reports prepared by the President.
  8. To inform the alumni and the members about time, place, and details of events through the Publicity Chair.
  9. To prepare the Google Drive account for the following term year.
  10. To appropriately upload any and all documents to the emails Google Drive account under the respective term year.


Publicity Chair/Secretary

The duties of the Publicity Chair, formerly known as Secretary, shall be as follows:

  1. To prepare, maintain, and circulate within 1-2 days, but before the next meeting, the minutes of all the MSA meetings
  2. To prepare the agenda for the Club and General Body meetings in coordination with the President and notifying the members of the Club and the General Body, respectively, of it.
  3. To maintain the list of members and volunteers for various committees and functions of the MSA.
  4. To preside over the Club meetings when both the President and Vice-president are absent.
  5. To maintain email communication or text messaging in regards to the General Body. Contact people when needed.
  6. To utilize a variety of media types regularly to spread the word of MSA in addition to traditional media outlets in conjunction with the/Webmaster. Examples include social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat), printed flyers for all events on bulletin board, banners, etc.
  7. To work in conjunction with all committee chairs to promote their initiatives.
  8. To actively assist the other chair members with large scale events.
  9. To appropriately upload any and all documents to the emails Google Drive account under the respective term year.
  10. Keep track of meetings and record what happens during them. Meet weekly with president to update


Designer

  1. Design whatever the club requires: shirts, banners, posters, etc
  2. Meet with executive board monthly to update
  3. Delegate and ensure the creation of flyers for weekly meetings and events in coordination with the Publicity Chair


WebMaster/Social Media Coordinator

  1. Regulate all the forms of the Social Media that MSA has (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube,Website) Provide members with a constant connection to MSA and appropriate updates of MSA Status in networks
  2. Photograph all the memorable moments of MSA members
  3. Coordinate necessary video projects
  4. This officer will be in charge of the Media & Communications Commitee
  5. Meet with executive board to update


Treasurer:

The duties of the Treasurer shall be as follows:

  1. To maintain the record of all the financial transactions of the MSA. He/she shall be responsible for systematic upkeep of books and writing disbursements, receipts, bank reconciliation reports, and showing of increase of funds in statements to be made public.
  2. To collect and deposit all the funds received on behalf of the MSA. These funds include, but are not limited to dues, appropriations, and donations.
  3. To prepare the annual budget of the MSA for the next fiscal year in consultation with the newly elected Officers.
  4. To present before the Club a quarterly(term) budget report on the status of the MSA financial affairs, including in it anonymous donations and total donations received by the MSA.
  5. To review and authorize all events or activities that requires an expenditure of MSA funds.
  6. To prepare and analyze proposed budgets for all events within their term and update as necessary, this budget should be compared to and balanced with current budget.
  7. To devise and execute means of obtaining MSA funding through sales and donations.
  8. To actively assist the other chair members with large scale events.
  9. To engage the MSA alumni for fundraising purposes for any means possible.
  10. To appropriately upload any and all documents to the emails Google Drive account under the respective term year.

Article 6: Advisor

The advisor of the BLA MSA is notably known as Mr. Eaton

This full-time faculty of Boston Latin Academy will serve as the organization advisor.

Advisor duties:

• Interpret BLA policy for organization

• Direct membership to appropriate school resources to accomplish organizational goals

Article 7: Executive Board

The executive board of BLA MSA shall be composed of the officers, the advisor, and any appointees deemed appropriate by the President. The executive board shall generate and present recommendations to membership for approval that effect and promote the mission of the organization.

Article 8: Regulations

Regulations shall be created to dictate the structure and procedures of the organization. Regulations may be proposed by any member and must obtain a majority vote of the members voting at the meeting. Regulations shall infringe on the authority of the constitution. Required regulations, which shall be ratified annually, include:

• Organization Committees

• Election of Officers

• Officers' Responsibilities

Article 9: Elections

{MSA Elections}

  • Each potential candidate will fill out a form stating their desired officer postion, explain why you are interested in this role, what relevant experiences would help you in this role, and what do you want to accomplish in this role.
  • After the candidate materials are received by the executive committee, each candidate will then be interviewed by at least two members of the executive committee the following week.
  • The voting period will be available to the executive committee, as well as the other MSA members who have viewed each of the candidates profile in the MSA Website.

*A majority vote shall be necessary to elect any officer of the MSA. If the first vote does not yield a majority, a second vote shall be taken of the candidates receiving the highest number of votes.

Article 10: Succession

In the case that any member of the executive board must leave his or her position during the term of office, succession will result by the mandate of the executive board. No member will be forced into a position – in the event that a position cannot be filled by succession, the board may agree on another board member to fill the vacancy. If no one is able to fill the gap, the executive board may find someone in the general body to appoint. Also, if agreed upon by the board, a position may be merged into the responsibilities of another. For example, the Weekly Meetings Chair position may be merged with that of the President and Vice President jointly.

Article 11:Meetings

*The Meeting agenda will be set by the President in conjunction with the Secretary before every meeting is adjoined.

*There will be a General Body Meeting for each term throughout the school year that will meet the needs of every BLA student interested in joining the MSA.

*The Executive Committee will hold meetings every friday; and it will be centered on planning for events, logistics, and issues.

*Halqas,Islamic Circles, and Quran Recitation sessions will also occur on the second friday of each month

The Meeting Template will be as followed:

  1. The first meeting of each month will be a discussion regarding an overview of the month's focuses, choosing an event to stimulate the bla community, and concentrating on issues that are occuring in the MSA. The last 10-15 minutes will be geared towards the Finance Committee.
  2. The second meeting of the month will be geared to planning for that specified event-The last 10-15 minutes will be geared towards the Dawah & Education Committee and the Community Service Committee.
  3. The third meeting will also be geared to planning for the specified event- The last 10-15 minutes will be geared towards the Muslim Advocates for Social Justice and Individual Dignity(MASJID) Committee.
  4. The fourth meeting of the month will be the specified Event, and the last 10-15 minutes will be geared towards the Media & Communications Committee.

*If there is an extra friday in the month, or if there is not enough fridays to plan for an event, it will be the jurisdiction of the executive board comiteee to discuss its logistics and plan in accordance.

Article 12: Comiteees

Muslim Advocates for Social Justice and Individual Dignity(MASJID)-A social justice committee that provides space for Muslims and non-Muslims to come together around different social justice issues. MASJID will offer various political advoacy initiatives centered around dilemmas occuring in the international or local scale. This committee will be lead by the President and any other interested officer in the MSA.

Education & Dawah- A committee designed for the development and successful implementation of educational and instructional programs for the benefit of the members of the MSA and their spirituality as well as others seeking to gain knowledge of important islamic teachings. This committee will be lead by any interested officer, and will garner feedback from all MSA members.

Community Service- This committee is targeted towards developing a coherent connection for brotherhood and sisterhood within the MSA, as well as community service trips and inititiaves that is central to islamic values. This committee will be lead by the Vice President or Secretary.

Finance-This committee helps to monitor the finances as well as assists the President in establishing the budget for the following year. The primary leader of this group will be the Treasurer.

Media & Communications- This commitee will center around MSA's social media prescence, various communication platform, and will provide accurate projections centered around memorabilla.( This committee will be lead by the Webmaster/Social Media Coordinator)

Article 13: Amendements

9/1/20

Amendments to this constitution may be proposed in writing by any member and must obtain approval from EITHER two-thirds (2/3) of the entire executive board OR a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the general body.

These bylaws shall be reviewed and if necessary, revised from the date of approval noted on this website.