Constitution

Purpose

  1. The Queer Asian Pacific Alliance (QAPA) exists to provide a supportive social, political, and educational environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning women and men of Asian and Pacific Islander (A/PI) heritage in the Boston and New England area. This is inclusive of A/PIs, A/PI Americans and those who are of mixed A/PI heritage.

 
B. Membership

  1. There will be no formal membership requirements for participation in QAPA - subscription to QAPA’s mailing list will be equivalent to membership.
  2. All people will be invited and encouraged to participate in QAPA regardless of ethnic background and sexual orientation, although emphasis will be placed on the queer A/PI community. Certain events, however, may be designated by the QAPA Steering Committee as open only to those who identify as Asian and Pacific Islander (inclusive of A/PIs, A/PI Americans and those who are of mixed A/PI heritage). In such cases, the event shall be clearly designated.
  3. Any behavior inconsistent with the supportive environment in QAPA for queer A/PIs will not be tolerated and will be dealt with at the discretion of the QAPA Steering Committee.

C. Steering Committee

  1. The QAPA Steering Committee will be responsible for all programming and decision-making for QAPA.
  2. All decision-making will be done by consensus whenever possible. If a consensus cannot be reached, then a simple majority vote of those present will be taken. The quorum required for any voting will be 4 Steering Committee members.
  3. To become a member of the Steering Committee, the ideal candidate should (a) be a QAPA member for at least six months; (b) attend QAPA events regularly and/or be actively involved in the queer A/PI community; (c) make a commitment to serve for a minimum term one year; and (d) identify with the queer A/PI community. A candidate shall be accepted as a member of the Steering Committee by a simple majority vote by the current Steering Committee based on the above criteria.
  4. It is recommended that at any give time the Steering Committee should have at least 6 members.
  5. Within the Steering Committee, there will be two co-chairs to act as “task-masters,” one male-identified and one female-identified. The two co-chairs will decide how to divide up their work.
  6. Committee meetings will occur 6 times a year, on the 2nd Sunday of every even month.
  7. Steering Committee members will be required to attend all Steering Committee meetings. If a Steering Committee member cannot attend a meeting, s/he must give one of the co-chairs advance notice.
  8. When a Steering Committee member leaves, s/he is required to give at least one month’s notice to allow enough time for the Steering Committee to find a suitable replacement.
  9. Other members of QAPA will be able to attend Steering Committee meetings, but they will not have voting power unless they become a Steering Committee member. (Note that since decisions will be made by consensus whenever possible, members attending committee meetings will be able to influence the decisions made by being active in discussions.)
  10. Minutes of Steering Committee meetings will be available to QAPA members upon request.

 
D. Amendments

  1. Amendments to the QAPA Constitution will be presented by any QAPA member to the Steering Committee. Amendments will be passed by a consensus of the Steering Committee members.