Article 1. Members of the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee of the Rice MSA shall include seven positions: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Public Relations Head, Daw'ah/Outreach Coordinator, Social Activities Coordinator, and Religious Activities Coordinator.

Article 2. Selection of the Executive Committee

During election processes, at least two graduating members of the acting executive committee will form the elections committee. If at least two members of the executive committee are not graduating, then empty positions in the elections committee will be filled by graduating MSA voting members, who must be approved unanimously by the standing executive committee and will be invited to participate in the elections committee. Members of the elections committee will not be allowed to vote. Once the elections committee has been set, the pre-election proceedings will begin. New members of the executive committee shall be nominated by emails sent to the general MSA email address (MSA@rice.edu) during the period of one designated week. Self-nominations will not be permitted, and candidates must be nominated by an official voting member of the Rice MSA (see Section 1.4). Nominees may include previous and/or existing MSA executive committee members. The elections committee will tabulate nominations and, after all nominees have accepted their nomination, the candidates will be invited to fill out a standard survey, the answers of which will be compiled by the elections committee and sent out to the MSA listserv for voter review. This email will indicate the beginning of elections, which will continue for a period of forty-eight hours after the candidate surveys have been sent to the listserv. During the election process, ballots will be cast in the same way that nominations were given, but using a preferential voting system. In this system, each ballot must rank at least six candidates from 1 (most preferred) to 6 (least preferred). The elections committee will tabulate ballots, and the candidate receiving the lowest number of points will be named the new president of the Rice MSA. The candidate with the lowest number of points from the gender opposite that of the president will be named the new vice-president of the Rice MSA. After the president and vice-president have been selected, the next five candidates with the lowest number of points will be selected as general executive committee members. These five candidates must include two candidates from one gender, and three candidates from the other. The gender that has the most representation will be determined by the spread of votes from the election. The seven new members of the executive committee will then be notified of their selection by the elections committee in an email sent simultaneously to the original executive committee and the newly selected executive committee. The newly selected executive committee will then have a meeting, during which specific committee positions will be assigned to the five general committee members (not the president or vice-president). When all executive committee positions have been filled, an email announcement will be sent to the general MSA body introducing the new executive committee. The new executive committee will be introduced formally during the end of the year banquet.

Article 3. Selection of Faculty Sponsor

Before the start of the fall semester, and as needed during the year, a faculty sponsor for the Rice MSA will be selected by the president and vice-president of the Rice MSA.

Article 4. Official Voting Members

To be an official voting member of the Rice MSA, an individual must be affiliated with Rice University (Rice faculty, staff, or students), and must have a valid Rice email address (i.e. not an alumni email) that has been registered with the Rice MSA listserv at least eight weeks prior to elections. Each email address will be allowed only one vote per election, and no proxy voting will be permitted.

Article 5. Executive Committee Power Structure

In decision making processes regarding general MSA structure/affiliations/etc. (not pertaining to events), the president will consult with the other members of the executive committee to find out what the majority opinion is amongst the officers. Following this meeting, the president will make the pending decision and inform the rest of the executive committee. If any officer disagrees with the decision and is able to legitimately explain their reasons for disagreement, a second meeting will be heard, during which new discussions will take place. After the second meeting, the president will make a new decision which can be either the same or different from their first decision. This decision will be final. If the president cannot make a decision after the first meeting, a second meeting will be held. If after the second meeting a decision still cannot be made, the faculty sponsor will be asked to assist in the decision making process. The faculty sponsor may also be consulted at any time during the decision making process by any member of the executive committee.

Article 6. Executive Committee Responsibilities

The duties, responsibilities and functions of the Executive Committee are dependent on the specific office in question:

President : The duties of the president are to ensure that the goals and purposes of the Rice MSA as defined in the Rice MSA Constitution and Bylaws are fulfilled, to carry out official club responsibilities as defined in the Student Association Constitution, and to oversee the activities of the other members of the Executive Committee. The president will act as an advisor for any student on campus who approaches the Rice MSA for guidance, and may extend this responsibility to any of the other officers if he/she feels that somebody else will be better suited to the specific issue at hand. The president will also be responsible for representing the Rice MSA in university activities and representing the Rice MSA officially during MSA activities in accordance with the policies of the standing MSA executive committee.

Vice-President : The MSA vice-president will be responsible for sending out agendas to all officers prior to each meeting, keeping a written record of all MSA meetings and the proceedings carried out within those meetings, and maintaining a record of all decisions made by MSA officers regarding MSA policy and activities both in and out of meetings as well as a record of any raised conflicts and their resolutions. The vice-president will also be required to maintain the Rice MSA webpage and listserv. In the case that the elected vice-president is not technologically inclined, webpage responsibilities may be assigned to another member of the Executive Committee or any other responsible MSA voting member.

Treasurer : The duty of the treasurer will be to report to the officers at each meeting regarding the availability of funds, to carry out reimbursements procedures, and to oversee fund raising activities.

Public Relations Head : The main responsibility of the public relations head will be to advertise for MSA events in ways deemed appropriate for the specific events in one of the planning meetings.

Daw'ah/Outreach Coordinator : The daw'ah/outreach coordinator will be responsible for organizing activities and events focused on enriching the general student body with information about Islam and Muslims.

Social Activities Coordinator : The social activities coordinator will be responsible for organizing social activities and events focused on building a sense of togetherness and community within the general Rice MSA body as well as between the Rice MSA and the general Rice campus. Activities should incorporate brothers only events, sisters only events, and mixed events. The social activities coordinator will also be responsible for overseeing the planning of Ramadan activities and delegating out responsibilities for this month amongst the executive committee to make sure that everything runs smoothly.

Religious Activities Coordinator : The religious activities coordinator is responsible for organizing daily and Friday jama' prayers, weekly Islamic classes, and other activities that will increase Islamic knowledge amongst MSA members.

Article 7. The MSA Listserv

The MSA listserv is meant to be a platform on which announcements can be made regarding upcoming events, including MSA events, other events on the Rice Campus, and other local events that impact the general Muslim population as per the discretion of the listserv owners. The listserv owners will be the current MSA president and vice-president.