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CHILD, YOUTH AND FAMILY STUDENT ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION
2016-2017
Last Amended: August 2016
Section 1
Preamble
1.1 All full-time and part-time undergraduate students at the University of Guelph enrolled in
the Child, Youth and Family program within the Bachelor of Applied Science, or an
individual with a Family Studies minor will be known as the CYF Student Membership,
hereafter referred to as the “Membership.”
1.2 The Executive Council for this Membership shall be known as the Child, Youth and Family
Student Association (CYF-SA), hereafter referred to as the “Executive.”
1.3 This constitution shall override any previously existing constitutions by the Child, Youth
and Family Student Association.
Section 2
Mandate
2.1 To be the official representative of the Membership.
2.2 Provide positive learning experiences (e.g. workshops, seminars and social events) for the
students in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences and the members of the
Guelph community.
2.3 Provide and advertise volunteer opportunities for students interested in working with
children, youth, adults and families.
2.4 Fill some volunteer positions within the community, plan activities for children and their
families at College Royal, and fundraise for charitable causes relating to children, youth
and their families.
2.5 Promote an environment in which every person has the right to equal treatment without
being discriminated against because of race, gender, national or ethnic origin, religion,
sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, marital status, political belief, or socioeconomic background.
2.6 Promote and express student views to the university as a whole and act as liaisons
between the university and community.
2.7 Act as advocates for children, youth and their families, as students who have devoted
their studies to the positive development of all people.
Section 3
Executive Council Composition
3.1 The CYF-SA is comprised of the President, Vice President, Academic Representative,
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences Student Association (CSAHS-SA)
Representative, Public Relations Officer, Community Liaison, Clothing Representative,
Year Representatives, Secretary, Treasurer and Council Members-at-Large.
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3.2
3.3
3.4
All Executive members are required to belong to the Membership.
Executive members with voting rights:
a) President
b) Vice President
c) Community Liaison
d) Public Relations Officer
e) Academic Representative
f) CSAHS-SA Representative
g) Clothing Representative
h) Year Representatives
i) Secretary
j) Treasurer
Executive members without voting rights:
a) Members-at-Large
Section 4
General Duties of the Executive
4.1 To uphold the existing CYF-SA constitution.
4.2 Be prepared to give updates to the Membership about any upcoming events being run by
the CYF-SA.
4.3 To assist and work with all other members of the Executive.
4.4 Each Executive member, with a voting right, is expected to attend all Executive meetings.
If a member cannot attend one of the meetings, then he or she must notify the President
of their absence. If an Executive member with voting rights misses 2 or more meetings in
a semester, their status as a member of the Executive must automatically be brought up
for review as outlined under Section 7.
4.5 Each Executive member, with a voting right, is expected to attend all events planned by
the Executive within reason. If a member cannot attend one of the events, then he or she
must notify the President and the member(s) running the event. If an Executive member
with voting rights misses 2 events without informing the event coordinator, or without
viable reason their status as a member of the Executive must automatically be brought up
for review as outlined under Section 7.
4.6 Any Executive member who is planning an event is, within a timely manner, expected to:
a) Submit a Student Risk Management (SRM) Form before the required due date as
outlined by the Central Student Association (CSA)
b) Send the PRO general information about the event so that an event poster can be
created.
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c) Send the President a draft of an email that can be sent out through the listserv to
advertise the event, which includes the cost, date, time, location and any other
necessary information.
d) Coordinate with the PRO to organize any volunteers that are needed outside of the
Executive.
e) Organize all other necessary details of the event.
4.7 After every event, the member(s) that ran the event are expected to:
a) Re-cap the event and, if necessary, submit a Financial Request Form at the next
meeting to give to the President to store and or submit.
b) Send out any thank you cards to the people involved.
c) Create and give out volunteer certificates to any volunteers outside of the Executive.
4.8 All Executive members are expected to attend the two preparation nights for College
Royal, a designated number of hours on the Saturday and Sunday of the Open House, and
the clean up on the Sunday after the exhibit closes.
4.9 All Executive members are also expected to attend the LAUNCH in the fall semester and
the CSAHS Career Night in the winter semester in order to maintain positive relations with
the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences.
4.10 All Executive members are expected to attend Student Risk Management Training at the
beginning of the fall semester so that they can fill out the necessary forms while planning
events.
Section 5
Responsibilities of the Executive
5.1
PRESIDENT
5.1.1 The President is the external representative for the CYF-SA in all matters.
5.1.2 The President is expected to maintain good relations with the CSAHS-SA and the various
clubs under it, especially the Adult Development Student Alliance and the Applied
Human Nutrition Student Alliance.
5.1.3 The President should have at least one year of experience on the Executive. If nobody
with previous experience is running then the position is open for any Child, Youth and
Family student to run.
5.1.4 The President is expected to create an Executive information package at the beginning
of each semester and send it out to the rest of the Executive.
5.1.5 The President is in charge of organizing and running all meetings and elections, including
booking the room for the meetings and creating and sending out an agenda.
5.1.6 The President is in charge of overseeing the booking of the room and agenda created by
the secretary
5.1.7 The President is in charge of emailing the council with reminders of events, meetings,
and other CYF-SA related items.
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5.1.8 The President is in charge of reviewing and distributing the Executive meeting minutes
once he or she has received them from the Secretary.
5.1.9 The President must check the CYF-SA email account on a regular basis to answer any
questions that CYF students might have, or direct the questions to the appropriate
council member.
5.1.10 The President is in charge of approving the email drafts submitted by the other
Executive members and sending these out to the listserv.
5.1.11 The President is responsible for overseeing the finances of the CYF-SA, which includes
but is not limited to:
a) Being one of the two signing officers for the CYF-SA bank account and ensuring
that the transfer of signing authority is completed by May 1st of each year.
b) Reviewing monthly bank statements and budget updates from the Treasurer.
c) Approving a tentative budget created by the Treasurer for the CSAHS-SA each
semester for the use of the student fees.
5.1.12 The President is on the College Royal Committee along with the Vice President and
Community Liaison.
5.1.13 The President is expected to organize and run several events/programs throughout the
year including:
a) At least one event during Orientation Week.
b) At least one Executive gathering, ideally during the first semester to allow the
Executive to get to know each other better.
c) A mentor program where first year students are paired with a third or fourth
year student in the Membership.
d) At least one check in meeting with each Executive member and the Vice
President.
5.1.14 The President should review the Child, Youth and Family Student Association page in the
Child, Youth and Family Student Handbook distributed to the incoming first year
students each year.
5.1.15 The President is expected to assist the Community Liaison and Secretary in putting
together monthly volunteer opportunity newsletters that are distributed to the
Membership through the CYF listserv.
5.1.16 The President must make sure that the Executive reviews the CYF-SA Constitution at the
end of the winter semester to ensure that the constitution is accurate and sufficiently
updated.
5.1.17 The President is responsible for the completion of the CSAHS-SA ASO Registration
paperwork by the deadline assigned by the CSAHS-SA.
5.1.18 The outgoing President is also in charge of giving the Academic Administrative Assistant
of the Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition (FRAN) the name of the
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incoming Academic Representative so that he/she can notify them when department
meetings are going to be held.
5.2
VICE PRESIDENT (VP)
5.2.1 The Vice President assumes all of the duties of the President in her/his absence or upon
her/his resignation. In the case of resignation, the duties and responsibilities of the VP
can be both up for discussion amongst the Executive for redistribution or for re-election.
5.1.19 The Vice President is responsible for managing the finances of the CYF-SA, which
includes but is not limited to:
d) Keeping a detailed account of income and expenses.
e) Giving monthly updates to the Executive to keep all of the members properly
informed.
f) Submitting a tentative budget to the President which should include a detailed
outline of the activities planned and expected costs of events as discussed with
other CYF-SA members.
5.2.2 The VP should organize at least one event per semester that all CYF students can attend.
5.2.3 The VP is expected to help the Academic Representative plan a Meet and Greet event
during the first half of the fall semester.
5.2.4 If there is an open Year Representative position after elections are completed, the VP is
responsible for ensuring that that year still receives adequate advertising of all CYF
events. The VP can fulfill this responsibility by delegating it to another member of the
Executive in that year or by completing the advertising themselves.
5.2.5 It is the duty of the VP to maintain relations with the College Royal Committee
concerning themes, due dates, expectations, and also to communicate this to other CYFSA members as the leader of the College Royal Committee. The VP will work in
collaboration on the College Royal Committee with the Community Liaison and the
President in the planning of the Child, Youth and Family College Royal Open House
Exhibit.
5.2.6 The VP is responsible for taking minutes of the Executive meetings if the Secretary is not
able to attend.
5.3
ACADEMIC REPRESENTATIVE
5.3.1 The Academic Representative is responsible for attending and representing the council
and the voices of the CYF students at all programming meetings and Family Relations
Human Development (FRHD) department meetings. The Academic Representative must
also report back to the CYF-SA with the relevant details of these meetings.
5.3.2 The Academic Representative is expected to e-mail the CYF listserv within the first
month of the fall and winter semesters, to describe their duties and role on the council.
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The purpose of this email is to establish that the Academic Representative is available
for students to ask curriculum questions and voice concerns to.
5.3.3 The Academic Representative acts as a general academic resource for the Membership
and is expected to be prepared to answer various student questions on topics such as
graduate studies and program requirements.
5.3.4 Within the first half of the fall semester and before the course selection for the winter
semester, the Academic Representative, with the help of the Vice President, is
responsible for coordinating a Meet and Greet event between all CYF students, faculty
and staff.
5.3.5 In the winter semester, preferably before course selection, the Academic
Representative must coordinate with the Adult Development (ADev) Student
Representative to plan a Curriculum Information Meeting for CYF and ADev students,
inviting the Department Chair, Curriculum Chair, Administrative Assistant, Program
Counsellor, CYF, CYF:C & ADev Faculty Advisors, Practicum Coordinator and FRHD
graduate student.
5.4
CSAHS-SA REPRESENTATIVE
5.4.1 The CSAHS-SA Representative is expected to attend and represent the CYF-SA at all
CSAHS-SA meetings, including but not limited to board meetings, activity committee
meetings, and career night planning meetings.
5.4.2 The CSAHS-SA Representative is responsible for reporting all relevant information from
any of the CSAHS-SA meetings back to the CYF-SA.
5.4.3 As a member of the CSAHS-SA Board of Directors, the CSAHS-SA Representative is
expected to uphold the responsibilities of a board member, as outlined in the CSAHS-SA
constitution.
5.4.4 The CSAHS-SA Representative must attend all of the CSAHS-SA board meetings or the
CYF-SA could lose the funding provided by the CSAHS-SA.
5.4.5 The CSAHS-SA Representative is also expected to manage an inventory system of all of
the items that are kept in the CYF-SA cupboards in the MINS Student Lounge Office. It is
expected that the CSAHS-SA Representative set up an inventory system within the first
month of the fall semester for the other Executive members to follow. This system
should be checked at least twice a semester to make sure that Executive members are
following the system properly and keeping the inventory accurate.
5.5
PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER (PRO)
5.5.1 The PRO is responsible for completing most of the marketing for events put on by the
CYF-SA, including but not limited to:
a) Creating advertising posters.
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b) Arranging for the CYF-SA website with the Secretary to be regularly updated.
c) Keeping other relevant social medium up to date, including the CYF Facebook
page and Twitter account.
5.5.2 If an RSVP is necessary for an event, the PRO is responsible for setting this up if asked by
the Executive member running the event.
5.5.3 The PRO is responsible for organizing volunteers for CYF events. The PRO needs to
collaborate with the Executive member(s) who is/are running the event so that he or
she can be aware of how many CYF volunteers will be needed and for how long. The
PRO is then responsible for organizing the appropriate number of volunteers and giving
this information to the person running the event.
5.5.4 The PRO is responsible for creating and updating the bulletin board in Macdonald
Institute across from the Grad/Faculty Lounge. This board should include contact
information for the Executive members, a list of current events, CYF-SA meeting dates
and other important information.
5.6
COMMUNITY LIAISON
5.6.1 The Community Liaison acts as a link between the CYF-SA and community organizations
in Guelph.
5.6.2 The Community Liaison is in charge of planning at least one event, activity, fundraiser or
donation per semester that somehow involves the Guelph community (e.g. Trick or
Tampon, Project Serve, Operation Christmas Child, Trick or Eat). At least one of these
events should give CYF student volunteers the opportunity to connect with members of
the Guelph community (e.g. KidsAbility Skating Party).
5.6.3 While planning a community event, the Community Liaison will enlist the support of
either the President or the Vice-President when meeting with the community
organization representative takes place.
5.6.4 The Community Liaison is responsible for creating a monthly newsletter with the
Secretary and President. The Community Liaison should research volunteer
opportunities for the Membership and then with the help of the President combine
them into a newsletter to be distributed through the CYF listserv.
5.6.5 The Community Liaison is a member of the College Royal Committee with the Vice
President and President. In particular, the Community Liaison must prepare and
distribute the College Royal Volunteer Certificates for all of the volunteers.
5.7
CLOTHING REPRESENTATIVE
5.7.1 The Clothing Representative is responsible for organizing the CYF clothing for the year.
5.7.2 The Clothing Representative is expected to present at least two company options to the
CYF-SA, during the first month of the fall semester, with an overview of the important
details like prices, available clothing items and any shipping considerations. The CYF-SA
will then vote to select the option for that year’s clothing.
5.7.3 The Clothing Representative is responsible for being aware of what the Membership is
expecting from their clothing that year. This may mean that the Clothing Representative
sends out a survey to get opinions and/or organizes a logo contest.
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5.7.4 The Clothing Representative should keep in mind that a variety of clothing options
should be considered, such as unisex clothing and plus sizes.
5.7.5 The Clothing Representative is expected to organize the selling table for the clothing
sales by preparing an order form, filling out the necessary documentation (e.g.
Hospitality Services Sales and Solicitation form), scheduling selling times, getting
samples, and providing a float.
5.7.6 After clothing sales are complete, the Clothing Representative is responsible for
counting all of the money, giving it to the Treasurer and submitting the final order to the
company.
5.7.7 The Clothing Representative is responsible for submitting the final order to the company
before the end of the fall semester and arranging to pick it up or have it delivered.
5.7.8 Once the clothing has arrived, the Clothing Representative is responsible for organizing a
pick up table to give the Membership the opportunity to get their clothing.
5.7.9 The Clothing Representative should ensure that the Membership is appropriately
informed about the status of the clothing sales by sending out any necessary emails,
including:
a) A catalogue advertising the selling information, including times, prices and available
clothing options.
b) An email advertising the estimated time of delivery.
c) An email advertising the available clothing pick up times.
5.8
YEAR REPRESENTATIVES
5.8.1 The Year Representatives are responsible for notifying all CYF students of any relevant
upcoming events, meetings, and activities occurring in the college.
5.8.2 It is expected that in order to advertise for these activities, Year Representatives will
make several announcements in their classes.
5.8.3 Year Representatives are the voices of their peers and fellow CYF students. The Year
Representatives should be open to receiving feedback from the CYF students and should
come up with a strategy for getting this feedback (e.g. sending out a survey to get
opinions). They are expected to raise any concerns expressed by students at CYF-SA
Executive meetings.
5.8.4 This position should be filled by a maximum of two representatives for first year, and
then a single representative for the rest of the years.
5.8.5 All of the Year Representatives are responsible for running at least one event in the fall
semester and at least one event in the winter semester. Both of these events must be
specifically targeted at their year, or with the option of collaborating on a multi-year
event (ex. 1st and 2nd year event, or 3rd and 4th year event)
5.9
SECRETARY
5.9.1 The Secretary takes attendance and minutes for the CYF-SA Executive meetings.
Following the meeting, the Secretary must email the minutes to the President within a
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5.9.2
5.9.3
5.9.4
5.9.5
5.10
5.11
week. If the Secretary is unable to take minutes during the meeting, the responsibility
falls onto the Vice President.
The Secretary is in charge of booking the room for meetings and creating and sending
out an agenda
The Secretary is in charge of emailing the council with reminders of events, meetings,
and other CYF-SA related items.
Arranging for the CYF-SA website with the Public Relations Officer (PRO) to be regularly
updated.
The Secretary is responsible for creating a monthly newsletter with the Community
Liaison and President, which will be distributed through the CYF listserv.
Treasurer
The Treasurer is responsible for managing the finances of the CYF-SA, which includes but
is not limited to:
a) Keeping a detailed account of income and expenses.
b) Giving monthly updates to the Executive to keep all of the members properly
informed.
c) Submitting a tentative budget to the President, which should include a detailed
outline of the activities planned and expected costs of events as discussed with
other CYF-SA members.
d) Performs monetary transactions as directed by the Association, for example
clothing sales, fundraising and reimbursements of receipts.
5.11 MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
a) This position is great for students who wish to be involved but are not able to make a huge
time commitment.
b) A Member-at-Large is a student who is acting as a voice for others but does not have a
binding vote or the obligations of the other Executive members.
c) Members-at-Large can attend any and all Executive meetings and CYF events, when
convenient for them.
d) All Members-at-Large must uphold the constitution as they do still represent the Executive.
e) While individuals in the Membership who are Family Studies minors cannot hold Executive
positions, they are welcome to join the CYF-SA as Members-at-Large.
Section 6
Meetings
6.1 Executive meetings are held approximately twice a month but may be scheduled more
often if necessary.
6.2 Meetings are to be chaired by the President or Vice President if the President is unable to
attend and run so that everyone has a chance to express their opinions.
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6.3
6.4
Attendees are expected to have their full attention during the meeting (e.g. laptops and
cell phones should be put away).
Minutes for meetings will be provided by the President following the meeting, in order to
supply important information to anyone who was not in attendance. All Executive
members are expected to review these minutes for important information that may have
been added afterwards.
Section 7
Executive Review, Dismissal or Resignation
7.1 Any Executive member can be relieved of his/her responsibilities at any time, if they are
not meeting the expectations outlined in the constitution.
7.2 If a member fails to fulfill his or her duties as outlined in the constitution, the member
may be put under review, which requires the President and Vice President to sit down
with the Executive in a private meeting.
7.3 If the Executive member continues to fail to fulfill his or her responsibilities after meeting
with the President and Vice President, the President should bring the issue to the
attention of the rest of the Executive and give the opportunity for a dismissal to occur.
7.4 In order for a dismissal to occur an Executive member must bring it to the council’s
attention and all actions must be voted on – simple majority rules (50% of the voting
members, plus 1). The Executive member in question should be given the opportunity to
explain why they have not been able to fulfill their responsibilities. This Executive
member should be asked to the leave the room while the voting takes place.
7.5 If an Executive member wishes to resign from his or her duties, they need to notify the
President and/or Vice President and should ideally sit down in a private meeting with the
President and/or Vice President. They are expected to give at least two weeks notice and
should not be scheduled to run an event within those two weeks.
Section 8
Banking
8.1 The CYF-SA holds a chequing account.
8.2 The two signing officers (President and Treasurer) must sign all cheques (where
applicable)
8.3 All records must be maintained regularly by the Treasurer and reviewed by the President.
Section 9
Voting and Elections
9.1 The CYF-SA holds elections every March/April in order to vote in a new Executive for the
following year.
9.2 The constitution as well as nomination forms must be sent out to the CYF listserv by the
President at least two weeks before the date of the elections.
9.3 Any student in the Membership may run for a position on the Executive.
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9.4
9.5
9.6
9.7
9.8
9.9
9.10
9.11
9.12
9.13
9.14
Individuals wishing to run for a position may be nominated by themselves, someone from
the Membership or someone from the Executive, and must be seconded by a current
member of the Executive.
Each candidate must give a brief speech for all in attendance at the elections, while the
other person(s) running for the position leave(s) the room.
A vote must then be held by the Executive in a forum that protects the anonymity of the
voters.
In the case of only one candidate running for a position, they must receive a vote of
confidence of 50% plus 1.
In the case of two candidates running for a position, one of the candidates must receive a
majority vote of 50% plus 1 in order to be elected. In the event of a tie, the candidates
will each be given the opportunity to briefly add to their speech and then a revote will
occur. This process will continue until one of the candidates receives 50% plus 1 of the
votes or greater.
In the case of three or more candidates running for a given position, voting will be
conducted using the following method:
a) If no candidate receives 50% plus 1 of the vote, then the candidate with the fewest
votes will be struck from the ballot and voting will be held again. This procedure is to
continue until one candidate receives 50% plus 1 of the votes or greater.
b) If neither of the candidates receives 50% plus 1 of the votes and a tie occurs which
prevents the elimination of a candidate, a revote will occur. A preferential voting
process will take place where votes will indicate first and second choices on their
ballots.
If all of the positions are not filled, the Executive will hold another election for anyone
who may wish to join the Executive in the fall and/or winter.
If a candidate is not elected for the position that she or he originally applied for, she or he
may apply for another position. Election positions will be voted upon in the order outlined
in Section 3.3
The Executive may vote to elect more than one representative for any position other than
President and Vice President when deemed necessary. In the case that two members are
elected into one role, the Executive must vote whether or not the representatives will
receive one collective vote or two individual votes.
An individual must have 1 year experience on the CYF-SA to be eligible to run for CYF-SA
president
An individual must have 1 year of experience on the CYF-SA to be eligible to run for CYFSA vice president.