The Constitution of the Inter Sorority Council
The University of the South
Article I: Purpose
Section I: The Inter Sorority Council (ISC) is an organization composed of representatives of all sororities at the University of the South, an elected President, Vice President of Rush & IM, Vice President of Community Service & Education and Vice President of Records & Publicity.
Section II: The goals of the ISC are as follows:
1. Spirit: To promote harmony and good will among the sororities;
2. Communicative: To act as a liaison concerning sorority matters between the sororities and faculty/administration, so as to create an efficient working relationship among sororities and the faculty/administration of the University of the South;
3. Service: To foster a program of service to the local and greater community;
4. Educational: to promote and sponsor educational programs to increase awareness on issues concerning sororities (i.e. alcohol awareness, hazing, etc.);
5. Judicial: to adjudicate offenses and to serve on the Judicial Council;
6. Recognition: to recognize outstanding sororities for their service to the University of the South and local community.
Section III: Philosophy and Commitment clause
Fraternities and sororities at The University of the South are expected to support the general purpose of the College and the mission of the University. Both the College and the fraternities and sororities seek to encourage excellence in various areas of personal and group development. To maximize the effectiveness of this effort, it is important that the relationship between the institution and the fraternities and sororities be based on trust, cooperation, and mutual support. Both parties in the relationship are obligated to promote programs and activities, which support their common goals.
In recognition of the need for a mutually supportive relationship and in recognition of the positive contribution which fraternities and sororities can make to our community, the College pledges its staff and other appropriate resources to the development and maintenance of a healthy and constructive fraternity and sorority program.
Article II: Membership
The ISC shall consist of representatives from each sorority. Those representatives shall be as follows: the president of each sorority and four officers elected annually by the ISC, who serve as the Executive Committee.
Article III: Executive Committee
Section I: The ISC shall have four officers, elected from the various sororities. These officers are the President, the Vice President of Rush & IM, the Vice President of Community Service & Education and the Vice President for Records & Publicity. The duties of these officers are as follows:
ISC President:
o Serve as a member of the IFC/ISC Judicial Board.
o Set the agenda and preside over ISC meetings.
o Take and maintain minutes of ISC meetings.
o Meet regularly with the Associate Dean of Students.
o Serve as a co-chair of Mountain Derby Days.
o Serve as administrator of all ISC funds.
o Serve as custodian of all ISC records and papers.
o Maintain a calendar and publicize sorority activities.
o Work closely with the IFC President to promote the Greek system.
o Represent the ISC to the University community.
ISC Vice President-Rush & IM
o Serve as a member of the IFC/ISC Judicial Board.
o Attend all ISC meetings.
o Meet regularly with the Associate Dean of Students.
o Serve on the Mountain Derby Days planning committee.
o Serve as sorority contact for all freshmen and rush chairs.
o Maintain a calendar and publicize rush events.
o Meet with dorm staff to train and advise them on formal rush.
o Set agenda for rush chair meetings.
o Serve as sorority contact for all IM information.
o Meet with coaches and athletic department regularly.
o Announce IM events at ISC meetings.
o Assist with the IM program as needed and requested.
ISC Vice President-Community Service & Education:
o Serve as a member of the IFC/ISC Judicial Board.
o Attend all ISC meetings.
o Meet regularly with the Associate Dean of Students.
o Serve on the Mountain Derby Days planning committee.
o Serve as sorority contact for campus events and information.
o Meet with Outreach Office staff regularly.
o Assist in establishing service opportunities for sororities.
o Communicate Greek service activities to faculty & community members.
o Communicate educational programs that sororities could sponsor.
o Maintain a calendar and publicize academic and service events.
o Meet regularly with sorority service coordinators & scholarship chairs.
o Set agenda for service coordinator and scholarship chair meetings.
o Assist chapters in improving their reputation with faculty.
o Collect, track, and report sorority service hours to the ISC.
ISC Vice President for Records & Publicity:
o Serve as executive officer of the ISC.
o Serve as a member of the IFC/ISC Judicial Board.
o Attend all ISC meetings.
o Meet regularly with the Associate Dean of Students.
o Serve on the Mountain Derby Days planning committee.
o Be responsible for the ISC’s reward and recognition program.
o Maintain and update a calendar of sorority events.
o Encourage intersorority collaboration, such as fundraising, service, social activities, and healthy competitions.
o Mediate non-judicial conflicts between sororities.
o Update ISC constitution and bylaws as appropriate and necessary.
o Publicize Greek events through appropriate media (banners, flyers, website, newspaper, emails, etc).
Section II: Each officer shall hold her position for a term of two semesters. No individual shall hold the same office for more than two terms.
Section III: These four officers shall be known as the Executive Officers of the Inter Sorority Council.
Section VI: Nominations and election of the ISC officers for the upcoming term shall occur mid-March. Nominations must come from sorority members in good standing. Persons serving as Executive Officers will not be allowed to serve as President of their own organization while serving their term on the ISC. During elections each nominee will have an opportunity to present a brief statement to the ISC. After all nominees for a given position have spoken, the group will be asked to leave the room, whereupon each nominee shall be discussed individually in a pro-con-con-pro format. Each sorority will be entitled to one vote after the discussions are over. At least two members from each sorority must be present during elections for them to be official.
Section V: The ISC officers will have no voting privileges except in the case of a tie, in which the President of the ISC will vote to break the tie.
Section VI: The newly elected officers will not be considered representatives of the respective sororities. The president and vice president of each sorority should be elected in early-March as specified by the ISC, whereupon the officers and members of the ISC should train their incumbent to ensure a smooth transition of leadership.
Section VII: An executive officer may be removed from office for a due cause by a 3/4 vote of the sororities in the ISC, provided that she shall have been given the reasons for her removal in writing and afforded fair opportunity to rebut them before the Council.
Article VI: Meetings
Section I: Regular meetings of the ISC shall be held weekly according to the schedule the council shall establish spring and announce at the August retreat. Joint meetings with the ISC and IFC Councils shall also be held monthly or as specified by the Executive Committees.
Section II: Unscheduled meetings may be called by the President of the ISC, the Associate Dean of Students, or at the request of any active Council members.
Section III: Each member of the ISC is expected to be president at all ISC meetings. Attendance will be recorded by the VP for Records & Publicity. If any member of the ISC has two unexcused absences during the academic year she will be removed from her seat on the ISC. Absences may be excused by the President of the ISC or the Associate Dean of Students.
Article V: Compliance and Proceedings
Section I: Sororities shall abide by this Constitution and By-Laws and by such rules and regulations as the Council or the University may adopt pursuant to them.
Section II: Judicial authority shall be vested in the Judicial Council which shall rule on infractions of the Council By-Laws, breaches of the University Social Host Guidelines, and other matters referred to it by the Office of the Dean of Students.
Section III: The Judicial Council shall consist of four officers from the combined ISC and IFC Executive Committees to be chosen by the Associate Dean of Students on a case basis.
Chosen Council members should be suitable considering the case being tried and the parties involved. They should not be affiliated with the organization involved, nor should they themselves be involved in the incident being investigated. The genders of the chosen Council members should be representative of the organization(s) involved (i.e. a sorority infraction should be heard by a council consisting of three women and one man).
Section IV: If necessary, an investigator shall be chosen by the Associate Dean of Students with the approval of the ISC and IFC members from their membership to gather all pertinent information and report to the Judicial Council. The investigator shall be the sole student interviewer prior to hearings and trials and shall be chosen on a case by case basis. During the hearings and trial, the investigator shall serve only in the capacity of recounting information.
Section V: Once chosen, Judicial Council will then hold a meeting during which the involved parties and/or the president representing the organization in question may present a statement before the Council. The Council will then deliberate and decide upon a punishment which will then be recommended to the Associate Dean of Students.
Section VI: Once approved by the Associate Dean of Students, the recommendation should then be brought before the ISC and/or IFC Councils, depending on the nature of the case, at which point any member in objection to the verdict may call for a vote. A 3/4 vote can overturn the Judicial Council’s ruling whereupon the case will be reheard and tried.
Section VII: An appeal may be made to the Vice-Chancellor.
Article VII: Procedures for Obtaining ISC Recognition
Section I: A group wishing to petition the ISC for recognition must prepare a constitution, a list of members and officers, and a tentative budget. The sorority should then inform the ISC President or the Associate Dean of Students of their desire to come before the ISC to request recognition. The ISC President will set a date for the proposed sorority to come before the ISC.
Section II: At the first meeting with the ISC, the petitioning sorority should present their petition for recognition which should include their constitution, a list of their members and officers, and a tentative budget. Copies of this information should to be made available to each of the recognized sororities in the ISC, the Associate Dean of Students and the ISC Executive Officers. At this meeting, the president of the petitioning sorority will inform the Council about the general format of the proposed sorority, reasons for petitioning, goals, and projected membership.
Section III: At the end of the first meeting a date will be set for the proposed sorority to come before the ISC a second time for a question and answer session.
Section IV: At the second ISC meeting the officers of the petitioning sorority will be present for a question and answer session to be overseen by the Associate Dean of Students.
Section V: After the second meeting each sorority is given time to present the information gathered to their chapter at large and decide how to cast their vote regarding the recognition of the proposed new sorority.
Section VI: At the next ISC meeting each sorority will case one vote either in favor of or against the petitioning sorority’s recognition by the ISC. A 3/4 vote is needed to recognize the new sorority. In the case of a tie, the ISC officers cast the deciding vote.
Article VIII: Amendments
Section I: This constitution may be amended by a 3/4 vote of the member sororities, provided that the proposed Amendment is submitted in writing and notice of such intended action is given to the ISC President, the Associate Dean of Students and each Council member at least two weeks before the vote is taken.
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