Constitution of the MSA
Article 1 – Definition and Aims and Purposes
Section 1
The Muslim Students’ Association (“MSA”) shall be a recognized student group at the University of Toronto, St. George Campus (“UofT”). The Aim and Purpose of MSA shall be to serve as a representative body of Muslims on campus which caters to their needs, while striving to be a vibrant, integrated and contributing body within the campus community.
The objectives of MSA are:
1. To serve as the representative voice of Muslims at the University of Toronto;
2. To cater to and accommodate the intellectual, spiritual and social needs of Muslim students;
3. To build a cohesive and unified community of Muslims on campus;
4. To expand MSA’s scope of work and influence within the larger campus community;
5. To provide opportunities for leadership development within MSA’s student body; and
6. To participate in community initiatives that complement MSA’s organizational mandate.
Section 2
MSA shall be a non-profit, student organization.
Article 2 – Affiliation
MSA shall be affiliated with the Muslim Students’ Association of the United States and Canada (“MSA National “).
Article 3 – Membership
A member shall be any student, staff, faculty or alumni of U of T.Membership shall be regulated and recorded by MSA by the full name and emails of members. Membership shall be constituted as inclusion on the MSA Listserv.
Article 4 – Office Bearers
Section 1
The elected officers shall be fourteen (14) in number.Elected officers shall be divided into six (6) Administrative Executives and eight (8) General Executive members. Administrative executives shall be primarily responsible for the overall administration of the MSA. The general executive members shall be primarily responsible for their respective committees and the implementation of its work.
The Administrative Executive shall consist of:
President
Vice President (Brothers)
Vice President (Sisters)
Treasurer
General Secretary
Communications Director
The General Executive shall consist of:
Sisters’ Events Coordinator
Brothers’ Events Coordinator
Community Affairs Coordinator
Outreach Coordinator
Academic Affairs Coordinator
Students for World Justice Coordinator
Religious Accommodations Coordinator
The Muslim Voice Editor
The Vice President (Brothers) and the Brothers’ Events Coordinator shall be of the male gender.
The Vice President (Sisters) and the Sisters’ Events Coordinator shall be of the female gender.
All elected officers must be members of MSA.
Article 5 – Duties of Office Bearers
Section 1
The President shall be responsible for:
The general management of all the activities of the MSA;
Being the public face for the MSA and acting as the representative of the MSA Executive;
Presiding over meetings of the Executive Committee;
Administering the overall strategic development of the MSA;
Ensuring that its activities remain within the boundaries of Islam.
Section 2
The Vice President (Brothers) shall be responsible for:
Assisting the President in accomplishing the purpose of the MSA;
Overseeing and coordinating the work and activities of four committees of the MSA;
Fostering a spirit of Brotherhood within the General Body;
Assisting in implementing MSA policies.
Section 3
The Vice President (Sisters) shall be responsible for:
Assisting the President in accomplishing the purpose of the MSA;
Overseeing and coordinating the work and activities of four committees of the MSA;
Fostering a spirit of Sisterhood within the General Body; Assisting in implementing MSA policies.
Section 4
The General Secretary shall be responsible for:
Calling meetings of the Executive Committee;
Preparing and circulating the minutes of all Executive and General Body meetings;
Presenting at the beginning of every Executive meeting the minutes of the previous meeting for approval by the Executive Committee;
Preparing the agenda for the Executive Committee and General Body meetings and notifying the members of the Executive Committee and the General Body of it;
Maintaining the list of members of the MSA;
Booking facilities for MSA meetings and events;
Performing general administrative duties of the MSA.
Section 5
The Treasurer shall be responsible for:
Maintaining the record of all the financial transactions of the MSA;
Systematic bookkeeping for the MSA;
Collecting and depositing of all funds on behalf of MSA;
Preparing the annual budget of the MSA for the upcoming year in consultation with the Executive Committee;
Presenting before the Executive Committee bimonthly reports on the status of the financial affairs of the MSA;
Managing MSA finances and fundraising initiatives;
Approving and reimbursing properly documented expenses.
Section 6
The Communications Director is the official spokesperson of MSA and shall be responsible for:
Approving all press releases and advertisements;
Supervising web development;
Drafting Policies on behalf of the MSA;
Liaising with external organizations, student groups, media and University administration.
Section 7
The Brothers’ Events Coordinator is responsible for:
Organizing and coordinating general events for Muslim Brothers on campus;
Assisting the Sisters’ Events Coordinator with joint activities open to all.
Section 8
The Sisters’ Events Coordinator shall be responsible for:
Organizing and coordinating general events for Muslim Sisters on campus;
Assisting the Brothers’ Events Coordinator with joint activities open to all.
Section 9
The Community Affairs Coordinator shall be responsible for:
Organizing activities around social justice issues, such as education, poverty, violence, hunger, etc;
Encouraging Muslims to do community work.
Section 10
The Outreach Coordinator shall be responsible for:
Coordinating Islam awareness activities, reaching out to both Muslims and non-Muslims;
Organizing Islam Awareness Week and an Islamic lecture series.
Section 11
The Academic Affairs Coordinator shall be responsible for:
Arranging the dissemination of academic advice and social networking through career fairs and seminars;
The expansion and upkeep of the Alumni Society;
Maintaining and supervising the Scholarship Program.
Section 12
The Students for World Justice Coordinator shall be responsible for:
Coordinating awareness campaigns to help alleviate injustices faced by Muslims and others around the world;
Maintaining and supervising the Orphan Sponsorship Program, in addition to serving as the Orphan Sponsorship representative on the Executive Committee.
Section 13
The Religious Accommodations Coordinator shall be responsible for:
Advocating for specific Muslim religious needs;
Coordinating daily and Friday prayers, and the collection of donations;
Overseeing the affairs of the Housing Committee.
Section 14
The Editor of The Muslim Voice shall be responsible for:
Editing the contents, layout, and design of the magazine;
Supervising the editorial staff and procuring advertising and generating fundraising revenue.
Article 6 – Finances
Section 1
Membership fees, if any, shall be determined by the Executive Committee.
Section 2
The MSA may accept contributions in any form from any source consistent with the purposes of the MSA.
Section 3
All funds collected for a specific cause shall be used for that cause unless a 2/3 majority of the executive committee authorize its use for a different purpose consistent with the goals and objectives of the MSA.
Section 4
All expenditures must be authorized by the Treasurer and the Executive Committee.
Section 5
All check or cash withdrawals from the bank account shall be signed by no less than two of the members of the Administrative Executives.
Article 7 – Meetings
Section 1
The decision on all matters presented to the Executive Committee shall at first be attempted to reach through consultation, with the aim of attaining consensus. If the issue at hand appears to be irresoluble via consensus, the chair can end the discussion and seek permission to resort to a vote. At least twothirds of the executive must be in favour of terminating discussion and passing decision via a majority vote. If less than two-thirds of the executive are in favour of moving to a vote, attempt to attain consensus resumes. If at least two-thirds of the executive are in favour of moving to a vote, the issue at hand will be resolved via a simple majority vote and the decision will come to pass. If the vote results in a tie, attempt to attain consensus will resume.
Section 2
Members of the Executive Committee shall be deemed present if able to participate in discussions in the meeting.
Section 3
The MSA shall have at least one General body meeting during the academic year.
Section 4
The Executive Committee shall meet at least biweekly at such a time and place as is most convenient and suitable to the majority of committee members.
Section 5
The President may call emergency executive meetings in addition to the regular meetings, when considered necessary.
Section 6
The presence of at least one-half plus one of the members of the executive committee shall constitute quorum for the executive committee meeting and for the purposes of decision making.
Article 8 – Amendments
Section 1
Amendments shall be presented to the executive and shall be passed through an affirmative 2/3 vote by the executive after attempt to attain consensus.
Article 9 – Elections
Section 1
Annual elections shall be held within the last month of the University of Toronto September to April Academic Term, in order to elect the Executive Committee for the following academic year. The exact date and time of elections shall be announced by the Elections’ Committee at least 2 (two) weeks prior to the date of the election.
Section 2
The elections shall be conducted by an Elections’ Committee appointed by the Executive Committee.
The Elections’ Committee must be nominated at least 3 (three) weeks prior to the date of the election.
Section 3
The Elections’ Committee shall have one chairperson. The Elections’ Committee shall comprise at least three persons, and shall include at least 1/3 female persons. The Elections’ Committee shall not include any candidate contesting the election.
Section 4
The members of the Election Committee shall not campaign on behalf of or against any candidate standing for election or comment on, favorably or unfavorably, any of the candidates standing for election.
The members of the Election Committee may not vote in the elections.
Section 5
The period to nominate candidates for the Executive Committee must remain open for at least ten (10) days, and must be announced to the members of the Association via regular mail or email.
Section 6
A candidate may be nominated for no more than two positions on the Executive Committee. All candidates must be members of the Association. A candidate nominated for President must have been a member of the Executive Committee at least once during the previous two academic years.
Section 7
A candidate requires two nominators in order to be nominated to the Executive Committee. The nominator and seconders of nominations must both be members of the Association. The Elections Committee must accept the nomination by a majority vote.
Section 8
A member who is not on MSA-L within 1 (one) week prior to the date of the election shall have no right to vote nor the right to be a candidate in the election. He/she also has to have a valid University of Toronto ID card (T-Card).
Section 9
There shall no campaigning in favor of or against any candidate.
Section 10
Each member can vote for up to three candidates for every Executive Committee position. Each candidate must be ranked according to preference. A candidate ranking 1st for the position receives three (3) points; a candidate ranking 2nd receives two (2) points; and a candidate ranking 3rd receives one (1) point. The candidate attaining the highest number of points is deemed elected to that position. On the ballot all fields have to be filled with a candidate or else the ballot will be considered invalid.
Section 11
If a candidate is elected to more than one position he or she must select one position and withdraw from the other position. In that case the candidate attaining the second-highest number of votes in the withdrawn position is elected to that position.
Section 12
The Elections Committee may censure publicly or disqualify any candidate who violates the Constitution or the rules of the Election.
Section 13
The newly elected Executive Committee shall assume the charge of the MSA on the first day of June following the election. The term of the Executive Committee shall be for one year.
Article 10 – Resignation or Removal from Office
Section 1
An executive committee member other than the President may be removed from office for:
Committing a serious violation of the Constitution;
Failing to fulfill the duties of office;
Failing to attend three meetings without being excused by the Executive Committee.
Section 2
If a member of the executive committee commits a serious violation of the Constitution, or fails to fulfill the duties of his office, or fails to attend three meetings without being excused by the Executive Committee, he/she shall be asked to give an explanation for his/her behavior to the executive committee. If the committee does not find the explanation to be satisfactory, the President shall recommend a vote of the Executive Committee to dismiss the member. A vote to dismiss a member requires a 2/3 majority vote of the Executive Committee.
Section 3
A President who misses a meeting without notice, or fulfills any of the reasons for removal from office, as outlined in Section 1, may be removed through a 2/3 majority vote of the Executive Committee.
Section 4
A member of the executive committee wishing to resign from office shall present the reasons for resignation in writing to the executive committee.
Resignation of a member of the executive committee is pending acceptance by the executive committee. Section 5
If a member of the executive committee resigns or is dismissed from office, the elections committee shall appoint the second ranking candidate from the previous elections within two weeks of the resignation or removal of office.
Section 6
If the second ranking candidate is unavailable or refuses to accept the nomination, and there is no third ranking candidate, the elections committee shall hold by-elections to contest this position within one month of the resignation or removal from office. By-elections shall occur pursuant to the election guidelines in Article 9 of the Constitution.
Section 7
If no candidate can be found to fill the vacant position pursuant to Sections 1 and 2, or if the resignation or removal of office occurs following the first semester of the academic year, the executive committee on a 2/3 majority vote shall appoint another member of the MSA to fill the vacated role within one month of the refusal or unavailability of the second ranking candidate.
Section 8
The general members shall be informed of any changes in office of the members of the executive committee.
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