Cerritos College hosted the first ever Club Constitution Workshop on Sept. 7.
The workshop was to inform campus clubs how to write a well-written and clear constitution.
ASCC Chief Justice Rodrigo Quintas said his goal for this workshop is “to help student organizations on campus develop effective constitutions that serve the needs of students [that] the club represents and the goals and purposes established for the club.”
The chief justices then stated that he hopes the workshop was enough of a foundation for the various clubs to excel and become a successful organization.
Quintas explained the importance of having a Constitution, what it should or should not have, and how to form a document that will serve students best and create effective clubs.
He also said the constitution is important because it establishes fundamental principles for members of the club to follow and know what to expect and their rights.
“We’ve never done a club constitution workshop, typically we just leave it up to the clubs,” Quintas said, continuing, “but we’ve had situations where some of the clubs get into a bit of a struggle over some of the things over the constitutions.
He went on to say that as Chief Justice, he really wants to make sure that every club has a strong foundation so that all of the clubs can succeed.
The following is an outline of what Quintas went through of what a clear Constitution should consist of:
- Name of the Club
- Mission, purpose and goal
- Membership — meaning who can be a part of the club, the requirements to join and rights as a member
- Officers, how many positions there will be and state responsibilities and duties of those in office
- Elections to be specified as to how they will occur and how winners will be determined; impeachment process is important to include.
- Amendments
Quintas stresses the importance of having an effective Constitution and how it is crucial because it defines a lot of things but also creates an environment for the organizations.
He shared, “knowing a strong constitution that doesn’t limit their abilities but creates a foundation and enhances their potential is very important too.”
Christian Alonzo, woodworking technology major, joined Cerritos Student Association for Woodworking (CSAW) this semester and is the social media coordinator for the club.
By attending the workshop, Alonzo believes “[CSAW] is defined and formal and this workshop proved we were already in the right direction. We have good leadership in general.”
The Artist Skilled Club President Karina Castanon and Vice-President Alexandra Culp, painting and drawing majors respectively, were also at the workshop.
Artist Skilled Club is a group of artists and people who love and appreciate art.
Culp stated, “I definitely got a better idea of the constitution and an idea of what we want our club to accomplish and stand for as well as what we can do to make sure the foundation for our club is strong.”
“I got a better outline of what the Constitution should be, what our officers roles are and effects of not taking your role in the club responsibly,” Castanon said.
President of the Psychology Club Enrique de Avila thought the workshop was very beneficial and learned a lot from it.
He continued, “Our biggest concern right now is editing our Constitution so we plan to reinforce what we learned and apply it,” De Avila said .
