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  Student Life: Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA)

Constitution  

ARTICLE 1: NAME, PURPOSE AND AFFILIATION
Section 1. Name: The name of this organization shall be the Student Occupational Therapy Association of Tufts University, hereinafter referred to as SOTA.
Section 2. Purpose: SOTA functions in order to formally represent the body of graduate student interests in the Tufts Department of Occupational Therapy, and to organize and advocate for student interests and concerns, while enhancing the growth of the students, the university at large, and the community. SOTA is primarily an academic organization, which is dedicated to providing social, cultural, and educational programs, opportunities, and activities. SOTA is concerned with promoting occupational therapy through university and community outreach.
Section 3. Affiliation: SOTA is affiliated with the Tufts Graduate School Committee. SOTA is indirectly affiliated with the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and the Massachusetts Association of Occupational Therapy (MAOT) through our academic pursuits.

ARTICLE 2: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Membership is open to all occupational therapy students interested in furthering the goals and upholding the standards of SOTA. The membership of the Association shall consist of two levels:
  1. Executive Board. These members shall be elected professional graduate students.
  2. General Membership. There are two types of SOTA memberships. The official member shall be registered on SOTA Blackboard and recognized by the Association. Second, all occupational therapy students are unofficial members before registering for SOTA Blackboard.
  3. Any member present at a voting meeting may be recognized as a voting member.
Section 2. Privileges to SOTA members are to participate in all SOTA meetings and activities and to exercise their voting privileges.
Section 3. SOTA has one faculty advisor who is chosen by students or volunteered to position.
Section 4. SOTA does not discriminate based upon race, religion, gender, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age.

ARTICLE 3: OFFICERS
Section 1. SOTA officers are nominated by him or herself or by another SOTA member. If nominated by someone else, the nominee must accept nomination before he or she can be voted on. All nominees are then brought to a vote by attending SOTA members during the election meeting. The terms for officers will start at the beginning of the spring semester and will last through the end of the following fall semester.
Section 2. Co-Presidents: duties include a) facilitating general and officer meetings; b) leading SOTA in department and university-wide activities; c) posting announcements; d) maintaining the SOTA bulletin board (meeting announcements, upcoming activities, pictures, etc.); e) completing annual GSC paperwork; f) maintaining the SOTA Constitution; g) scheduling monthly general and officer meetings; h) acting in behalf of SOTA when matters requires immediate action; i) providing support and feedback to officers in the completion of their duties; and j) maintaining Blackboard site (meeting minutes, SOTA Fizz, officer bios, email lists).

Secretary: a) keeps accurate minutes of all SOTA meetings; and b) sends out monthly SOTA Fizz newsletter to members.

Treasurer: a) sets yearly budget and maintains electronic and written records of all income and expenses; and b) communicates SOTA finances to all members at general meetings.

Fundraising Chair: organizes and communicates all fundraising endeavors; and maintains a relationships with treasurer to select and reach fundraising goals.

Community Service Chair: organizes and communicates community outreach and service activities relevant to OT.

Lounge Chair: a) buys food, sets prices, and maintains school snack store; b) is in charge of maintaining furniture and technology in the student lounge; and c) maintains cleanliness of student lounge (group cleaning, individual, etc.).

Social Activities Chair: a) organizes a variety of social events that are accessible to SOTA members.

GSC Representative: a) attends majority/all of the GSC monthly meetings and report backs in general SOTA meetings; b) submits SOTA events forwarded to her/him by SOTA officers to the GSC calendar and Grad School Grind; c) informs appropriate GSC member prior to SOTA participating in a GSC event to ensure GSO membership; and d) submits a list of events at the end of the spring semester with descriptions (and pictures, if available) that SOTA participated in throughout the academic year.

Student Representatives to the Faculty: a) attends monthly faculty meeting to report to student concerns or questions; and b) reports results of meetings to students.

AOTA/MAOT Representative: a) attends MAOT and AOTA conferences; b) notifies student body and encourages participation in conferences (help identify deadlines, funding help, etc.); and c) reports back on conference experiences.
Section 3. Officers must be full-time Department of Occupational Therapy students.
Section 4. Each officer has an equal vote in executive board decisions.
Section 5. SOTA may establish additional officers when necessary.

ARTICLE 4: ELECTION, VOTING SUCCESION, OR REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
Section 1. Executive Board Officers of SOTA shall be elected by individual vote of members by ballot. In order to ensure the continuity of leadership, elections will occur in: 1) September for 1st year Student Representative to the Faculty; and 2) December for following year's executive board.
Section 2. All students in Tufts Department of OT who attend a meeting in which a vote will be taken, will be eligible to vote. The passing of any matter, which is to be voted on, excluding constitutional amendments, will be determined by popular vote. There will be no quorum number necessary to determine the validity of the election. In the case of a tie, a second round of ballots will be distributed, and the winner again will be determined by popular vote, with no quorum necessary.
Section 3. Should any officer resign or become permanently unable to conduct his/her duties, a member shall be elected to take his/her place. Any member has the right to bring a petition for removal of an officer to any SOTA meeting. The petition must have a minimum of 80% membership signatures. The officer whose removal is sought will be able to represent him/herself at the next meeting. Three fourths of the vote will be necessary to remove the officer in question and that vote may occur at either the meeting when the officer defends, or at the next meeting. Following the removal of any officer, a successor will be chosen via nomination and majority vote.

ARTICLE 5: MEETINGS
Section 1. General meetings will be held at least once a month. Officer meetings will be held once a month prior to the general meeting for that month.
Section 2. Emergency meeting can be called by the president/co-presidents.
Section 3. Officers will attend all general meetings unless he/she notifies the president/co-presidents one week in advance or has an emergency.
Section 4. No quorum is necessary to hold a meeting.
Section 5. Voting is determined by a majority vote with the exception of a constitutional amendment, which will require a three fourths majority.
Section 6. The parliamentary procedure to be used is the Robert's Rule of Order.

ARTICLE 6: COMMITTEES
Section 1. Each officer has the right to form a committee based on his/her duties.

ARTICLE 7: AMENDMENTS AND BY-LAWS
Section 1. Amendments may be introduced to this constitution by any member of SOTA.
Section 2. Amendments may be introduced at any meeting.
Section 3. The proposed amendment will be discussed and voted on at that meeting.

ARTICLE 8: ADHEARANCE TO POLICIES
Section 1. SOTA will adhere to the college rules, regulations, and policies. Our responsibilities to the Graduate Student Council (GSC) are as follows: Submit annual budget reports, acknowledge the constitution (in writing), be represented at GSC meetings and participate in events. Our responsibilities to the Office of Students Activities (OSA) include submitting annual budget reports and registering each semester. Our responsibilities to the Tufts Department of Occupational Therapy are to seek permissions from faculty regarding speakers and activities and to inform faculty on proceedings and events.
Section 2. SOTA will adhere to all local, state and federal laws.
Section 3. SOTA will adhere to the American Occupational Therapy Association codes of ethics.
Section 4. SOTA will adhere to university guidelines regarding graduate student organizations budgeting and finance.

ARTICLE 9: ADVISOR
Section 1. The SOTA advisor will be chosen by SOTA or volunteered to the position. The SOTA advisor shall be a full-time faculty or staff member.
Section 2. The advisor's role is to attend SOTA meetings, advise SOTA regarding self-governance, mentor leadership skills in SOTA officers, collaborate with student liaisons, and oversee SOTA goals and activities.

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