ABOUT PAS
 
Mission Statement
The Public Affairs Society was established to promote undergraduate student interest in domestic policy and international affairs. PAS is a non-partisan organization that focuses on providing opportunities for career development, academic advancement, and intellectual enrichment. We strive to educate and foster collaborative discussion in the areas of public policy, social welfare, and urban planning, between students, faculty, and administrators.
 
Constitution
Article 1: Name
The official name of the organization shall be “UCLA Public Affairs Society,” also referred to in the abbreviated form “PAS.”
 
Article 2: Statement of Purpose
The Public Affairs Society was established to promote undergraduate student interest in domestic policy and international affairs. PAS is a non-partisan organization that focuses on providing opportunities for career development, academic advancement, and intellectual enrichment. We strive to educate and foster collaborative discussion in the areas of public policy, social welfare, and urban planning, between students, faculty, and administrators.
 
Article 3: Membership
Section 1: Statement of non-discrimination
The Public Affairs Society does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, medical condition, ancestry, marital status, citizenship, sexual orientation, or status as a Vietnam Veteran or special disabled Veteran. The Public Affairs Society also prohibits sexual harassment. This non-discrimination policy covers organization membership, access to organization programs and activities, and the general treatment of members in the organization.
Section 2: General Membership
Meetings and events are open to all UCLA undergraduate students, graduate students, professors, faculty, and members of the community who are interested. However, membership in this organization is only open to registered UCLA undergraduate and graduate students.
Section 3: Honorary Membership
Each year, selected faculty member, staff, or community leader are asked to join as honorary members. Honorary members are elected in the spring quarter general meeting and will be inducted at the year-end organization celebration dinner. Honorary members receive the same privileges as general members.
 
Article 4: Organizational Structure
Section 1: Elected Executive Board Members
The four elected permanent positions of the executive board positions are: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Elections will be held annually during the spring quarter general meeting. Voting and nomination for office will only be open to members who are present at the spring quarter general meeting. The nominated candidate who garners the most votes from the voting members is elected to serve an entire term. Executive Board members are to serve a term which begins in the summer prior to the school year until the spring term. The responsibilities of each position are outlined below:

President
•  Organize, plan and lead to ensure the perpetuation and overall success of the chapter
•  Work with the chapter advisor to plan a calendar of activities for the school year
•  Plan regular meetings and prepare agendas for the officers, delegating responsibilities as necessary
•  Plan meetings and prepare agendas for a general chapter meeting at least once per term
Vice President
•  Fulfill the president's duties in the absence of the president and assist the president in the completion of duties as needed
•  Coordinate executive board and committees to conduct ongoing campus awareness campaigns
•  Assist the president in coordinating events to help the chapter fulfill its mission
Treasurer
•  Manage all financial transactions of the chapter with guidance from the chapter advisor and president
•  Receive and distribute chapter funds
•  Work with the president and advisor to prepare an accurate budget for the chapter
•  Balance the chapter account and report to the chapter and advisor
•  Apply for base budget funding each quarter, and other funding sources each year
Secretary
•  Record and prepare the minutes of each executive board and chapter meeting to distribute to the chapter leaders and advisor
•  Post chapter minutes on the chapter webpage
•  Regularly update the chapter webpage
•  Distribute message from the chapter advisor, the chapter president, or other officers to all chapter members
•  Take attendance of each officer meeting and general membership meeting
•  Manage the contact information of all members and officers

Section 2: Appointed Executive Board Members
The six appointed permanent positions of the executive board positions are: Historian, Social Events Chair, Guest Speaker Chair, Public Relations Chair, Academic Events Chair, and Membership Chair. Application to fill these positions will be open to all general members. The process of appointing these positions will be conducted annually during the spring quarter officers meeting. Each member of the current executive board will have one vote for each appointed position, only officers present at the meeting are eligible to vote. Once elected by garnering the most votes, candidates must be approved by faculty advisor. Executive Board members are to serve a term which begins in the summer prior to the school year until the spring term. The responsibilities of each position are outlined below:

Historian
•  Save and document any evidence of chapter activities, including posters, newspaper clippings, etc.
•  Take pictures to include in the chapter's annual scrapbook or to post on the chapter website
•  Observe and document the success and areas of improvement for each activity and report to officers during executive board meetings
Social Events Chair
•  Plan and coordinate at least one social event for chapter members each term
•  Coordinate a social committee and call committees to meetings as necessary
•  Survey members for ideas for future events
Guest Speaker Chair
•  Coordinate with executive board and chapter advisor to arrange for guest speaker for the quarterly faculty-student lunch
•  Survey members to find out member interests for guest speakers
•  Help organize the format of guest speaker and faculty speaker events
•  Plan ahead and reserve facilities necessary for guest speaker events
•  Order refreshments for each faculty-student lunch
•  Serve as a liaison between guest speaker and executive board
Public Relations Chair
•  Coordinate all publicity for chapter activities and events
•  Maintain good relations with campus organizations and media agencies
•  Place and public service announcements in campus and local media
•  Write and submit press releases for important chapter activities
•  Explore creative methods of advertising to increase awareness of organization
•  Use MYUCLA and POP-UPS
Academic Events Chair
•  Plan and coordinate at least one academic workshop or event each term
•  Plan ahead and reserve the facilities necessary for events
•  Survey members to find out interests and needs for future academic programming
Membership Chair
•  Investigate sources of local funding
•  Coordinate activities to enhance membership participation
•  Contact members to inform them of chapter meetings and events
•  Coordinate annual membership drive and freshman fair
•  Use MYUCLA and POP-UPS to advertise membership meetings

Section 3: Permanent Positions
These permanent positions were initially chosen by the founder of Public Affairs Society. If a permanent advisor is no longer to fulfill his/her duties, a replacement will be appointed by the Executive Board.

Faculty Advisor
•  Assist the Executive Board with planning events
•  Serve as liaison between faculty and students
Graduate Student Advisor
•  Assist the Executive Board with programming ideas
•  Serve as a liaison between graduate students and undergraduate students
•  Help plan and coordinate the graduate mentorship program

Section 4: Resignations and Replacements
Both elected and appointed officers are expected to serve a full term. However, in the case that officers resign from their Executive Board duties before the term is over, the position shall be open to all members interested in serving on the Executive Board. Regardless of whether the newly opened office was originally an elected or appointed position, an application process will be used to select candidates interested in serving on the Executive Board. The current Executive Board, along with the Faculty Advisor will select the new officers based on a voting procedure. The candidate receiving the most votes will serve on the Executive Board in that position until the end of the term.

 
Article 5: Operating Procedures
Section 1: Meetings

Membership meetings shall take place at least once per quarter. Special meetings may be called, as needed, by the President or Faculty Advisor. For approved events, executive board members in charge may organize committee meetings. Executive Board meetings will convene at least twice per quarter and additional meetings will be held as deemed necessary by the President or Faculty Advisor. These meetings will be open to PAS members—unless otherwise noted—and the date, time, and location will be published.
 
Article 6: Voting Eligibility and Procedures
Section 1: Eligibility for Voting Privileges

Voting privileges are open to all general members and executive board members who have submitted a membership application to join PAS at least one quarter before.
Section 2: Voting Procedures

All voting will be by hand, with the exception of officer elections, which shall be cast by secret ballot. A majority vote must be reached by the members in attendance to pass a vote. For general matters, the Secretary will be in charge of counting and recording the votes. For elections, the Faculty Advisor, or his/her designee, shall be in charge of counting and recording the votes. The Executive Board may also initiate a secret ballot process as deemed necessary by the Faculty Advisor.
 
Article 7: Finances
A record of all financial transactions will be kept by the Treasurer. The Public Affairs Society will make all financial records available to authorized University officials upon request.
 
Article 8: Procedures for Amending the Constitution
Amendments to the PAS constitution and bylaws may be made at any of the quarterly Public Affairs Society general membership meetings. Copies of proposed amendments must be furnished to all members present before the vote can occur. Amendments will be passed if it receives the vote of three-fourths of the general members. The changes shall be in agreement with existing University regulations and shall be filed with the Center for Student Programming immediately upon adoption.
 

 

UCLA Department of Public Policy · Public Affairs Society (PAS)
3250 Public Policy Building ·
Box 951656 · Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656