Article 1: Name

The name of this organization shall be Dharma: Harvard's Hindu Students Association.

Article 2: Purpose

The purpose of Dharma is to provide a forum in which Harvard students can learn about and participate in the Hindu religion and the culture associated with it. Dharma should provide information about Hinduism, offer students an outlet to express their views on the Hindu religion and how it affects their lives, and be a springboard for any other Hinduism-related activities that its members might want to pursue.

Article 3: Membership

1. Membership in this organization shall be open to all students in good standing currently enrolled in Harvard College, regardless of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, or mental or physical disability.

2. Membership will consist of all persons subscribed to those on the official Dharma list. Active members include those members currently registered with Harvard University. Voting members shall consist of those active members who are students of Harvard College.

3. Any member may resign at any time by filing a written resignation with the board.

Article 4: Evaluations and Membership Input

1. Executive Board evaluations: Every semester, the President shall provide some means for the board to evaluate Dharma's performance in regard to the direction of the organization, how board meetings are run, and other related subjects. A suitable method is the use of anonymous evaluations to be completed by all board members. These evaluations should be complemented with discussion to allow for meaningful change and unity of purpose. In addition, board members should complete self-evaluations at the end of each semester and submit them to the President.

2. Membership Surveys: The executive board should work together to create the Annual Dharma Survey to be completed by the general membership, either at the introductory meeting or at another time during the year.

3. At the end of the executive board's term, each officer will submit a report of suggestions to his or her elected replacement and provide other guidance to ensure a smoother changeover between officers.

Article 5: Elected Officers

1. The officers of the group shall consist of a President, a Treasurer, a Secretary, Social Chair, Publicity Chair, Discussion Chair, Worship Chair, and Outreach Chair. Candidates for the office of President and Publicity Chair shall have the option to run in pairs as co-officers. All officers shall be elected by the members of Dharma.

2. All officers shall serve year long terms.

3. All officers shall be registered undergraduates in Harvard College.

4. The President shall be the chief executive officer of the group and shall have general supervision and control of its activities and programs. The President shall serve as chair for all meetings of the group. In addition, the President shall provide the organization with a clear vision of goals, intentions, and events for the entire term of office while monitoring and assisting with the progress of more specific duties and tasks of other board members.

5. The Treasurer shall have general charge of the financial affairs of the group. This responsibility includes obtaining funding for all programs, instituting a budget for Dharma on a semesterly basis, and organizing long-term financial initiatives such as University Gift Accounts. He or she shall keep accurate records of these affairs.

6. The Secretary shall have general charge of the administrative and communicative affairs of the group. His or her activities will include moderation of Dharma lists, drafting and sending newsletters at least monthly, administering of the Annual Dharma Survey created by the executive board, and keeping minutes at all meetings. The Secretary shall submit a detailed summary of membership preferences and comments to all the members of the executive board as and when the surveys are completed.

7. The Social Chair shall be responsible for organizing all social events for Dharma ( e.g. garba dance events, social brunches, social study breaks, yoga sessions, and Holi ) and all administrative tasks associated with such events. More generally, he or she is responsible for increasing a sense of community among Dharma members by coordinating heavily with the Publicity Chair and Secretary to expand involvement, specifically among the membership outside the Board.

8. The Publicity Chair shall be responsible for all matters of advertising events to the membership and others interested including designing posters, teasers and e-flyers, making copies, and reserving board spaces. He or she shall work closely with the Secretary, and is responsible for delegating publicity tasks across the entire executive board. One Publicity Chair may be elected and another may be appointed as necessary.

9. The Discussion Chair shall be responsible for planning academic discussion, scriptural discussion, and practical Hinduism discussions. He or she is also responsible for soliciting topics for discussion on Hinduism from the membership. He or she will help to organize semesterly large-scale lectures and discretionary lectures related to academic discussions.

10. The Worship Chair shall be responsible for organizing all events involving worship and meditation, whether for holidays or otherwise religiously oriented ( e.g. Diwali, meditations, bhajan sessions, aartis, religious study breaks). The Worship Chair shall be responsible for informing Dharma members of Hindu holiday dates, inviting a suitable person to guide meditations, and creating informative handouts or other aids at spiritual gatherings. One Worship Chair may be elected.

11. The Outreach Chair shall be responsible to attend all Harvard Foundation Student Advisory Council ( SAC ) and SAC/Faculty Advisory Council meetings, coordinate interfaith and inter-student group activity, and off-campus and alumni outreach. He or she shall also be responsible for organizing community service and charity events, and communicating and planning with Hindu temples.

12. The general executive authority shall reside on the executive board, which shall consist of all elected officers and freshman representatives. The President shall preside over the board.

Article 6: Appointed Officers

1. Appointments shall be made by a majority vote of the elected officers. The elected officers may appoint the freshman representatives, a student adviser, graduate student liaisons, and webmasters as appointed officers. The elected officers may also appoint any elected positions that have been left vacant.

2. Freshman Representatives: Freshman Representatives will be responsible for encouraging freshmen involvement in Dharma, aid elected officers in the completion of their tasks, and fulfill general board duties. Freshman representatives will have executive board voting rights. The number of Freshmen Representatives will be agreed upon by the general majority vote of the executive board.

3. Board Members at Large: Dharma members may be appointed Board Members at Large upon attending 3 board meetings, if they so choose. The role of Board Members at Large will be to aid the elected officers in the completion of their tasks, fulfill general board duties, and bring new ideas and implementation capability to board. Board Members at Large will have full voting rights.

4. Student Adviser: If the board so wishes, it may appoint one or more advisers who have served on Dharma's Executive Board in previous years. The role of such an adviser would be to make contributions at board meetings and also provide institutional memory. Advisers are not required to fulfill other responsibilities of a board member.

5. Graduate Student Liaison: The executive board may appoint one or more Harvard graduate students as graduate student liaisons, whose primary responsibility will be to act as representatives of the graduate students at Harvard. These liaisons will take on certain tasks appropriate for fulfilling this responsibility as determined by the executive board, but will not have executive board voting rights.

6. The Webmaster shall be responsible for all activities concerning website maintenance ( updating pages, designing pages, keeping record of bills incurred from website usage ). The Webmaster is also responsible for encouraging general website usage and participating of others by starting forum postings and dialogue, updating the photo server, creating online polls, etc. One Webmaster may be appointed, and he will not have executive board voting rights.

7. Garba Team Manager: The coordinator will be appointed by the executive board before the beginning of May. The coordinator�s term of office will begin immediately after appointment. He will be responsible for managing the Garba Team, attending Dharma executive board meetings on a monthly basis, and submitting weekly e-mail updates to the board.

8. Swadharma: The President and Editor-In-Chief will be appointed jointly by the executive board and the outgoing Swadharma Staff before the beginning of May. The both officers� terms of office will begin immediately after appointment. He will be responsible for overseeing the publication of Swadharma, attending Dharma executive board meetings on a monthly basis, and submitting weekly e-mail updates to the board.

Article 7: Elections

1. Officers shall be elected annually by the members of Dharma. Elections shall be held before the end of spring reading period. The term of office shall start on the first day after the end of the academic year, and shall terminate on the first day after the end of the following academic year. The president elect will be responsible for coordinating meetings with the president, as well as reserving advertising spaces in advance. He or she will be responsible for advertising events to the Harvard community and will work closely with the Outreach Chair for reaching those outside of Harvard.

2. Any active member of Dharma may be nominated for election. Nominations shall be filed in writing with the President at least one week before the date appointed for elections. All active members shall have one vote by secret ballot. Members may vote in absentia, if necessary. The President shall inform all members of the election date two weeks in advance. Candidacy statements should also be requested at that time. Any person who is not registered as an active member two weeks prior to elections may not have voting power in elections.

3. The President may assign an elected Dharma member the tasks of another elected office in addition to his or her own, only during the time that a suitable candidate for the unfilled position is being sought.

Article 8: Disciplinary Procedures

1. If an active member believes that an officer has been consistently failing the standards that this Constitution has set for his or her office, that member may bring forth a resolution to the board to investigate this claim, which must pass by a majority vote.

2. If the resolution is passed, an impartial investigating committee must be appointed by the board to obtain information about the claim. If the committee reports that the claim has substance, then a trial must be held.

3. The trial date must be set in a timely fashion and allow the officer being disciplined to defend himself. If the officer does not appear, than the trial will proceed without him.

Article 9: Committees

1. Committee membership is open to all members of Dharma. Committee membership will be conferred by Dharma board upon majority vote. Committee chairs shall report to Dharma board.

2. Standing committees of Dharma shall include the prayer space committee, discussion committee, and worship committee.

3. Special committees and corresponding chairs may be appointed by the executive board. The chairs shall report directly to the Dharma board.

Article 10: Meetings

1. General body meetings shall consist of but are not limited to one introductory meeting to be held in the first month of the school year, one general meeting per semester, and one election meeting.

2. The executive board shall hold weekly meetings at a fixed time to be designated by the President in the beginning of the semester.

3. The executive board shall also hold one extended meeting each semester as a board retreat to plan upcoming events.

Article 11: Amendments

1. Any member of the group may propose an amendment. Proposals shall be filed in writing with the President prior to a meeting, so that the group may debate the proposal. Amendments may be voted on at regular or special meetings.

2. This constitutions may be amended by a two-thirds majority of those active members who attend a meeting designated for this purpose.

Article 12: Associated Groups

1. Associated groups are autonomous groups which maintain formal relationships with the executive board for the purposes of publicity, funding, and coordinating membership. The designated representative of the associated group will be responsible for attending board meetings on a monthly basis and submitting weekly e-mail updates to the board.

2. Swadharma, Harvard�s Hinduism Journal: Swadharma is an annual publication dedicated to the presentation of Hinduism and Indian philosophy. Swadharma seeks to broaden the knowledge and understanding of Hinduism by serving as a medium of intellectual exchange between scholars, academics, and the global community. Blending scholarly articles, interviews, academic research, and editorials, the journal broadly examines views and perspectives on modern Hinduism with the goal to create better awareness and understanding of the tradition by Hindus and non-Hindus alike.

3. Harvard Garba Team provides students with an opportunity to learn, perform, and compete in garba and raas expositions at various on and off campus venues throughout the year, thereby fostering a stronger sense of Hindu culture and community on campus.