Undergraduate Constitution

 

Harvard University Hillel Constitution

Ratified on 11/16/2022

 

Article I: Name of Organization

Section 1: The name of this organization shall be Harvard Hillel and shall hereafter be referred to as Harvard Hillel and/or Hillel.

Article II: Statement of Principles and Purpose

Section 1: Harvard Hillel has three primary principles:

Harvard Hillel shall work to unify and build a strong foundation for the Jewish community at Harvard University.

Harvard Hillel shall create a thriving sense of Jewish pride within the Jewish community at Harvard University.

Harvard Hillel shall provide a positive atmosphere, through service, engagement, religious, educational, cultural, social, community service, and Israel programming, where Jewish students can build strong bonds with one another and all members of the Harvard community.

Article III: Rules and Laws

Section 1: This organization shall abide by all applicable laws of the State of Massachusetts and the United States of America.

Article IV: Membership

Section 1: Hillel is not a membership organization. Participation shall be open to all Harvard University students and must comply with federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, military service, and veteran status, and any other category protected by law. This organization shall abide by all applicable laws of the State of Massachusetts and the United States of America. This organization shall abide by all applicable rules and regulations of the University.

Article V: Organization of Hillel

Section 1: The Hillel Student Board shall be responsible for overseeing the student activities of Harvard Hillel.

Section 2: The officers of the Student Board shall be elected members of Hillel from any undergraduate college affiliated with Harvard University who has been a student at Harvard University for at least one full semester by the day of elections, unless otherwise approved by the Student Board.

Section 3: The Student Board shall consist of the following officers:  

  • President
  • Treasurer
  • Social Chair (x2)
  • Marketing and Publicity Chair (PubChair)
  • Intercultural Chair
  • Israel Chair
  • Shabbat Chair
  • Holiday Chair
  • Social Action (Tikkun Olam) Chair
  • First-Year Chair

More members may be added, upon discussion in a 2/3 majority vote by the Student Board. In cases where more than one person shares a role on the Student Board, co-chairs must both attend board meetings and board events as two board members, rather than as halves of one position, unless there are extenuating circumstances, but may delegate and partner on the programming specific to their position as desired.
 

Section 4: Each Student Board Member is required to schedule a weekly advising meeting with the appropriate Harvard Hillel staff member.

 

Section 5: Shabbat is a primary program of Hillel. Thus, the entire Hillel board is responsible for promoting and executing Shabbat dinner program(s). All individual Board members, regardless of status as co-chair, should attend half of the Shabbat dinners. Being more than 15 minutes late does not count as being in attendance.

  • The Shabbat Chair can request that everyone from the Student Board attend Shabbat on specific dates, such as the first Shabbat of the year. These dates count toward Shabbat dinners attended.

Section 6: In support of the Hillel community and fellow Board members, all Board members are required to attend at least two events planned by each other board member per semester. Hillel board members are required to promote Hillel in general and its status as the center for Jewish life on campus, and board members are expected to attend major events and help the Social Chairs as needed in larger-scale events.

  • Anyone running an event can request extra assistance from other members of the Student Board. The responsibilities for helping respective board members with their events should be evenly distributed between all members of the Board, as determined by the President.
  • All board members are expected to assist with some first-year kickoff week programming, unless there are unavoidable conflicts — responsibilities can include planning events, attending other events, and taking first-years out to coffee.

Section 7: All Board members are required to attend at least one Harvard Hillel Alumni and/or Fundraising Event per year. The purpose of attending these events is to strengthen the relationship between students and alumni/donors and to allow the students to promote Hillel and its ideals and leadership to the sponsors and generous donors of Harvard Hillel.

Section 8: All Board members are required to attend Board meetings. They are allowed to miss one board meeting per semester, excluding extenuating circumstances, to be approved by the President. If a board member has missed two or more board meetings without any contact with their staff advisor or the student president, then an interim board member will be appointed by the student President and voted into office by the student board during its next meeting 

After the interim position has been filled, if the original student board member misses two more board meetings then the procedure for filling vacancies will be initiated. This implies a total of five weeks of missed board meetings. The interim board member will have to participate equally in the process of filling a vacancy.

Section 9: Some Hillel funded sub-groups may choose to create their own constitutions to govern their internal operations. However, the substance of the other constitutions must comply with all provisions included in this constitution.

Section 10: Meetings

10a. Board Meetings

  1. The Hillel Student Board should meet in a forum to discuss questions, comments, concerns, and vision. Any pertinent business may be raised. Meetings are closed, but the President may approve guests. The first 15 minutes of board meetings can be made open to the public community to raise any questions, comments, concerns, and visions, at the discretion of the President.
     
  2. The structure of board meetings and frequency of board meetings is at the discretion of the President.
     
  3. Each board member has one vote on the board for every quorum, with the exception of Social Chairs, which have one each. Other co-chairs have one collective vote.
     
  4. The minimum number of officers needed for a quorum on the Hillel Student board is two-thirds of the board members. No voting may take place without a quorum.

10b. The student board must meet regularly per discretion of the President to discuss progress, problems, and future plans. Meetings shall serve as a forum for discussion of issues and concerns pertinent to the Hillel community. Meetings will be held at least twice a month, as the calendar permits, in person, unless otherwise determined by the President. Additional virtual meetings will happen as necessary.

10c. Town meetings

  1. Town Meeting should be held at least once a semester or more as needed. The need for town meetings will be determined by the student board.
     
  2. Town Meetings will be open to all members of the Hillel community.
     
  3. Agenda for discussion will be set by the President in consultation with the Student Board.
     
  4. Anyone may raise an issue at these forums, however the President shall serve as Parliamentarian and “Speaker of the House”, responsible for maintaining order and progress of the forum.
     
  5. Town Meetings should include a social element in order to attract attendance and involvement of the greater Hillel community.

10d. Leadership Day

  1. The board members will meet prior to each semester for training. The president will go over the Constitution to identify each board member’s responsibilities.
     
  2. Each board member will create an outline of his or her goals and methods of approach for the future semester and review it with the president at this time. The board member is responsible for meeting with his or her respective staff member to review and finalize this plan and submit it to the president according to a timeline set by the president.

10e. Minutes

The minutes of every Board Meeting and Town Meeting shall be published on the Harvard Hillel website and made available to the general public, excluding certain conversations held during board meetings that can be designated as off the record. Minutes will be recorded by the Publicity Chair.

  1. Any board member may request that a specific topic be discussed off the record. If the subject matter is deemed appropriate for off the record conversation by a simple majority vote by positions, the Marketing and Publicity Chair is permitted to leave it out of the published minutes. Every vote will be considered off the record.
     
  2. Reasons for exclusion from the published minutes are limited to private information about students, donors, financial information, staff, elections, and/or tentative programming. If the subject matter does not fall under one of these categories, it cannot be deemed appropriate for off the record conversation.

Section 11: Officer Responsibilities of the Hillel Student Board

11a. President

The President is tasked with overseeing the Student Board, working with staff, and communicating with the Board of Directors about student needs and issues. The President also serves as the public face and campus representative of Harvard Hillel.

  • The President must uphold the Harvard Hillel constitution and ensure Harvard Hillel adheres to the guidelines of Hillel International.
  • The President must serve as the official Harvard University representative of Harvard Hillel and shall act as the liaison to fellow student organizations, including but not limited to: the Harvard Undergraduate Association, the Harvard Administration, The Harvard Crimson, and the press.
  • The President is responsible for informing the members of the Hillel Student Board about Harvard University regulations and supervising student board functions, including making sure each member carries out assigned duties in a timely fashion, assisting Student Board members and staff in planning activities, and delegating responsibilities. 
  • The President must work with the Intercultural Chair and Intercultural Committee to form coalitions between Hillel and other organizations on campus.
  • The President acts as “Speaker of the House” at meetings and consults with the assigned administrative advisor in regard to constitutional issues.
  • The President oversees activities of the Student Board and ensures that each member performs respective tasks for each position. The President should offer assistance to board members as needed.
  • The President coordinates with Minyan Chairs (selected internally in minyanim) to make programming accessible to all denominations and encourages interminyan socialization.
  • The President attends all Board of Directors meetings and shall act as a liaison between the Hillel Foundation board and the Hillel Student Board, as well as between the Hillel staff and the Hillel Student Board.
  • The President serves as chair of the Student Liaison Committee, tasked with organizing semi-regular liaison meetings with the Harvard Hillel Alumni Board.

11b. Treasurer

 

The Treasurer processes the Student Board’s budgets and manages funding for student-run social programming through working with Hillel Staff.

  • The Treasurer is responsible for re-registering Hillel as a Harvard student organization and attending training sessions as required by the college.
  • The Treasurer is responsible for coordinating a system of allocations of funds for programming through working with Staff.
  • The Treasurer is responsible for issuing a treasury report every month for meetings of the Student Board.
  • The Treasurer is responsible for creating and defending the yearly budget.
  • The Treasurer will be responsible for presenting, auditing, and re-allocating funds as deemed necessary once a month, during a board meeting.

11c. Social Co-Chairs (2)

The Social Chairs run on a joint ticket and oversee special projects, such as new initiatives within Hillel. The Social Chairs facilitate student outreach through working with Israel fellows and engagement fellows. The Social Chairs should also plan programming directly or assist other students who would like to plan programs, and are tasked with reaching out to students who are not as involved with the Harvard Hillel community.

 

  •  
  • The Social Chairs should submit a suggested distribution of responsibilities at the beginning of their terms to make sure the job is evenly split but may internally divide up tasks as needed.
  • The Social Chairs should put forward a mechanism each semester that allows all students, specifically non-board students, to send event ideas and request money for their events.
  • The Social Chairs are responsible for overseeing these initiatives and events, alongside a staff supervisor.
  • The Social Chairs must split responsibility for running Community Cafe or any other weekly outreach event, excluding bagel brunch.
  • The Social Chairs must coordinate with the President and Minyan Chairs to plan at least one co-sponsored interdenominational event each semester as a collective task between the minyanim, with shared financial obligations.
  • The Social Chairs will be given a budget to take students out for coffee to continue fostering an outreach initiative and should encourage other involved students to do the same.
  • The Social Chairs partner and plan regular study breaks (at least 8) throughout the semester and may solicit help from other board members.
  • The Social Chairs must organize or work with staff to ensure that weekly and monthly bagel brunches run smoothly.
  • The Social Chairs plan bigger events over the course of each semester, including John Harvard’s Bar Mitzvah and a Welcome Event for all returning students.

11d. Marketing and Publicity Chair

The Marketing and Publicity Chair is responsible for keeping minutes at meetings and fostering PR and various “engagement” tools for Hillel programming.

    • The Marketing and Publicity Chair is responsible for advertising for Hillel through, for example, the weekly email, Hillel Happenings, and other tools deemed necessary.
    • The Marketing and Publicity Chair is also responsible for taking inventory of student supplies and purchasing overhead supplies as necessary.
    • The Marketing and Publicity Chair is also responsible for making flyers for events. While flyers are not mandatory for each event, the student board members will have the option to ask the Marketing and Publicity Chair for assistance in creating flyers for events.
    • The turnaround time and deadlines for flyers will be determined by the Marketing and Publicity Chair.

11e. Intercultural Chair

The Intercultural Chair is responsible for reaching out to other identity groups, both religious and ethnic, to build a relationship with them.

  • The Intercultural Chair must create and collaborate on Intercultural programming events, such as Dialogues, Trialogues, or Intercultural Shabbat Dinners, through collaboration with both identity groups and the Harvard Intercultural Group.
  • The Intercultural Chair must organize at minimum three different events with identity groups throughout the semester.

11f. Shabbat Chair

The Shabbat Chair oversees Shabbat programming and outreach for Shabbat dinner, including through organizing special Shabbat activities.

  • The Shabbat Chair publicizes all Shabbat activities, including through individual and group outreach to students who don’t usually come to Hillel about Shabbat programming.
  • The Shabbat Chair is expected to be at Shabbat dinner at Hillel every Friday night but may miss four Shabbats throughout the semester.
  • The Shabbat Chair works to create special programming for Shabbat dinner approximately once per month, including but not limited to: performance groups, themed Shabbats, or speakers.
  • The Shabbat Chair coordinates with the minyan chairs in organizing Hillel-wide programming that includes all minyanim. For example, all-Hillel oneg parties, community-wide lunches, and Shabbat afternoon activities.

11g. Israel Chair

The Israel Chair is tasked with facilitating Israel-related programming on campus that is accessible to a variety of perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The job of the Israel Chair is not to unilaterally issue statements on behalf of Hillel but to create a space that fosters productive discussion. All Israel programming must be in accordance with the Israel policy of Hillel International and the mission statement of Harvard Hillel.

  • The Israel Chair must plan at minimum two big Israel-related events per semester. One of these events may include a Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration.
  • The Israel Chair oversees Israel-related programming that can involve aspects of Israeli culture, education, and politics, provided the programming accommodates a diversity of perspectives within Hillel International’s guidelines.
  • The Israel Chair is responsible for building pro-peace coalitions in the greater Harvard community and may work with the Intercultural Chair in doing so.
  • The Israel Chair should coordinate with affiliated groups in providing them support to run their respective programming.
  • The Israel Chair works with the President and staff to create a space for students to both respond to and process campus events that target Israel or Jewish identity.
  • The Israel Chair should work closely with staff to create observance and celebrations for Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut.

11h. Holiday Chair

The Holiday Chair is responsible for overseeing all holiday programming at Harvard Hillel, including Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Tu B’Shvat, Purim, Passover, and Yom Hashoah.

  • The Holiday Chair is expected to be present for both Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur but may go home for the Passover seders.
  • During the High Holidays, the Holiday Chair should plan at least one event leading up to Rosh HaShanah and is tasked with organizing the Yom Kippur breakfast.
  • The Holiday Chair must plan two Hillel-wide events during each of Chol HaMo’ed Sukkot and Passover and may work with the Social and Engagement Chairs as necessary.
  • The Holiday Chair should organize Sukkot decorations and Chanukah decorations.​​
  • The Holiday Chair must organize a larger-scale event for Chanukah and Purim, such as: a holiday party or seudah.
  • The Holiday Chair is responsible for overseeing seder programming, even if the Chair may not be here for the seders.
  • The Holiday Chair should create Holocaust Programming throughout the year, including on Yom HaShoah.

11i. Social Action (Tikkun Olam) Chair

The Social Action Chair leads the Hillel community-based social action programs, fostering community service programs in which Harvard Hillel students can volunteer their time.

  • The Social Action Chair shall be the liaison to other social action organizations on campus and seek to create values-based partnerships and should work with the Interfaith Chair in building service-based partnerships with other organizations.
  • The Social Action Chair shall be responsible for coordinating various large and small-scale programs for various events, such as Mitzvah Days, and for coordinating at least one Hillel drive (food, clothes, blood etc.) per semester.
  • The Social Action Chair should coordinate the weekly Hillel shift at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter and is expected to attend weekly shelter shifts and encourage students to sign up.
  • The Social Action Chair should partner with each of the Holiday Chair and the Engagement & Social Chairs for at least one event per semester.

11j. First-Year Chair

The First-Year Chair works to welcome and engage first-year students to Harvard Hillel and to foster a closer community. Current first-years are highly encouraged to run for this position.

  • The First-Year Chair is in charge of organizing first-year kickoff week, including first-year faculty dinner
  • The First-Year Chair will organize a variety of programs specifically for first-year students such as welcome events, social events, peer mentors, events in dorms, first-year-specific Shabbat and holiday events, and more.
  • The First-Year Chair should organize a big-little program at the beginning of each year and supervise the program.
  • The First-Year Chair is responsible for working to engage first-years and helping them plan their Hillel own programming.

Article VII: Elections

Section 1: The preceding Presidents currently on campus will preside over the election as the Election Committee.

1a. Prior to elections, a “Candidates Forum” is held at a location accessible to the majority of membership, providing a forum so that the candidates and membership may debate the qualifications of the candidates.

 

1b. The Elections Committee is responsible for creating an “Elections Guidelines” handbook to be published on the Hillel website at least two weeks prior to the first Candidates Information Session. The handbook will include all electoral campaigning rules and regulations and will be updated each year, as seen fit by the new committee.

Section 2: The Election Committee informs the membership and the general public about the upcoming elections prior to elections.

Section 3: The Election Committee shall be responsible for monitoring the election and making sure that each voter is on the membership list.

Section 4: Elections for the Student Board will be held annually during the finals period in the fall semester and will be monitored by the Election Committee, with the Candidates Forum taking place during reading week.

Section 6: Elections shall be held in a timely manner so that there will be one month of transition between the previously elected student board and the newly elected student board.

Section 7: The method of self-nomination shall be used to nominate all candidates, for both elected and appointed positions. Each candidate must submit a Position Paper, describing the candidate’s qualifications and aspirations for the position. Once a candidate submits a Position Paper and the deadline for applying for board has passed, the candidate can appeal to the elections committee to make a change to the letter. In the event that two or more people would like to run for a position together, on a slate where no more than two people would serve as co-chairs at a time, they can submit a joint Position Paper.

 

Positions eligible for co-chairs outside of the Social Chairs are the Shabbat and Social Action positions. In the event of co-chairs, the co-chairs only receive one vote, with the exception of Social Chairs, since the position is automatically a co-chair position — in the case of Social Chairs, each co-chair receives one vote.

 

In the event that two or more people would like to run for a position together that does not allow co-chairs, they may submit an appeal to the elections committee by a date determined by the elections committee. Reasons to appeal are: studying abroad, early graduation, internship, or other special circumstances. All reasons are subject to the discretion of the elections committee.

 

7a. In the event that a board member, who is in a position that allows co-chairs, who does not already have a co-chair, would like to take on a co-chair mid-term, the same procedure for vacancies applies.

7b. Candidates may submit a dropdown request. The dropdown tiers are as such:

The President and Treasurer may drop down to Social, Shabbat, or Marketing. Any of these candidates may drop down to Social Action, Intercultural, Israel, First-Year Chair, or Holidays.

Section 8: The Voting Process

8a. Ballots are made online prior to elections.
 

8b. The letters of intent for board positions must be part of the online ballot.


8c. Each ballot will have the option of abstaining for each position in addition to the names of the candidates. Abstentions do not count towards the total number of votes cast.

 

8d. Voting shall be carried out by procedures determined by the Election Committee but will take place on-line in the span of no longer than one week, except in extenuating circumstances, as stipulated by the elections committee.

 

8e. Voting Eligibility

 

  1. Voters will be deemed eligible if they are on the Hillel email list 20 days before ballots are made available online.
     
  2. All ballots cast will be checked against Hillel’s email list so that only the ballots of eligible students will be valid.

8f. Voting will take place in three increments — first, voters will vote for presidential candidates. Once the presidential election results are announced, voters will have to vote for the next tier. The same happens for the final day.

  1. Day 1: President, Treasurer
  2. Day 2: Social (x2), Shabbat, Marketing
  3. Day 3: Social Action, Israel, Intercultural, Holidays, FYC

8g. The winners of the Student Board will be announced through Hillel’s email system.

 

Section 9: Victory and Ties

9a. Elections are won when a candidate has the most votes cast.

9b. In the event of a tie, the outgoing Student Board members (excluding members who are also incoming Student Board members) will vote to break the tie.

Article VIII: Removals and Vacancies

Section 1: Resignation: The procedure for resignation shall be as follows.

1a. An officer wishing to resign must submit to the President a letter of resignation announcing his/her intentions.

1b. If the President wishes to resign, he or she must submit a letter of resignation announcing his/her intentions to the Treasurer.

Section 2: Removal from Office

2a. A Board member may be removed from office for neglecting his/her duties, not attending meetings, or inappropriate behavior in the position.

2b. A request for impeachment must state the complete reasons for the petition and should be supported by at least three board members. The board members in question must meet with the President.
 

2c. The President may also bring impeachment up for a vote if a candidate fails to fulfill the minimum requirements of the position.

  • If the President is the board member in question, then the petition must be delivered to the Treasurer and then to the Student Board minus the President.

Section 3: Removal: The procedure for removal shall be as follows.

3a. The board member must meet with the President to discuss the reasons for removal. If the board member in question so chooses, the board member may submit a letter of resignation to the President.

3b. The Hillel Student Board, excluding the board member in question, will vote in a secret ballot on the question of impeachment.

3c. Removal shall occur if a majority of the board membership agrees.

Section 4: Vacancies: When one or more vacancies of elected board positions occur due to resignation or removal of said board member(s) the vacancy(s) shall be filled by the according procedures:

4a. When there is a vacancy in a board member position, the President is required to announce the resignation/removal to the Student Board and general membership in one week's time. If the board member in question is the President then the next ranking officer shall handle this responsibility. The following procedure shall be used to fill a vacancy in a position.

  1. The Student Board is called to nominate candidates for the vacancy.
     
  2. All of the candidates for that position from the most recent election are notified personally by the President. General members may also submit nominations.
     
  3. The President takes the list compiled by the Student Board (including candidates who have lost in the previous election) and the general members and notifies the nominees. If a nominee accepts, the nominee shall submit a letter of intent.
     
  4. The voting procedure will be as follows:
  • Ballots, prepared prior to the meeting, will be passed out to the Student Board. The Ballots will include names of the candidates and an option of “No Confidence.” 
  • A closed vote takes place.
  • Ballots will be collected and counted by the President.
  • A Candidate wins election to the Student Board if the Candidate receives the majority of the votes cast.

5. In the case that no candidate wins a majority, a runoff of the candidates will occur. The procedure for a run-off shall be as follows.

  • Ballots will be passed out to the Student Board. The candidate gaining the least amount of votes, from the previous ballot, will be eliminated from the ballot.
  • A caucus, without the candidates, will be held to discuss the qualifications of the remaining candidates. The President will run this caucus.
  • The Student Board will vote on the remaining candidates. Ballots will be collected and counted by the President. The candidate with a majority of the votes will win the runoff. If a candidate does not win a majority of votes cast, the procedure shall be repeated.

6. The President may vote to either break a tie or to prevent a candidate from achieving a majority.

  • In the event that no candidate wins a majority of votes, repeat the procedure for a run off.

    ​​​​​7. 
    The President informs the winner of the outcome of the election. The incoming board member officially takes office after the President notifies him/her of the decision.

8. The incoming board member shall meet with the outgoing board member in order to discuss issues of transitioning.

  • If any chair position becomes vacant, it should be filled through this procedure, unless there is no acceptable candidate.
  • In the event that there is a vacancy for a position and the only acceptable candidates who are qualified to take on the position would like to run as co-chair, an exception can be made for the positions that do not allow co-chairs, as per discretion of the student board.

Article IX: Constitutional Amendments

Section 1: Petitions for Amendments shall be handled by the
following procedure. 

1a. Any student from the Hillel membership may submit a petition for amendment.

1b. The format for an amendment is as follows:​​​​​​​

 

i. The previous language from the constitution is presented.

ii. ​​​​​​​The proposed change is presented.

iii. ​​​​​​​The reason for the change can be articulated on the same page.

 

1c. Copies of the petition shall be distributed to the Student Board, and the student who proposed the amendment shall be invited to the beginning of the meeting, at which point his/her amendment will be discussed.

 

1d. Amendments that might significantly change how Hillel functions should be brought to a Town Meeting and Hillel directors for discussion prior to a vote by the student board.

 

1e. The members of the Student Board shall vote upon whether to approve the amendment. A 2/3 majority of the officers present need to approve the amendment before it becomes a part of the constitution.

 

Section 2: The most updated version of this document must be open to all Harvard University Students and shall be located on file at any appropriate Harvard University student life office, in hardcopy in the Harvard Hillel building, and on the Harvard Hillel Website.

 

2a. Any committee that receives funding from Hillel through university allocations (including the religious communities) or that has an active constitution or will draft one in the future must have the most updated copy of their constitution available on the Hillel website as well as a hard copy in the Hillel building.

 

Section 3: This constitution shall take effect upon a vote of approval by a majority of the membership.