Charles Drew House Constitution

I. Statement of Purpose:
The Charles Drew Memorial Cultural House is named in honor of Charles R. Drew '26. Dr. Drew was an outstanding surgeon who discovered the chemical method for preserving blood, and later became the director of the first American Blood Bank. Dr. Drew suffered an untimely death in 1950 as the result of a car accident.

This house has been named for Charles Drew not only in honor of his outstanding achievements but also as a testament to the continuous inspiration and example of excellence that Dr. Drew is to us. Our mission as a house is to sponsor events that will celebrate the achievements of black people such as Charles Drew and to explore the cultures of Africa and the Diaspora at large. This house was founded as a space where members of the Amherst community can engage in intellectual debate, social activities, artistic expression, and all other endeavors which highlight Africa and the Diaspora and the accomplishments of its diverse peoples.

II. Admission
A formal application must be completed and submitted to the current House President in the spring preceding the intended year of residence. Applications are available in the Dean of Students Office. All applications are to be read by a committee consisting of the current R.C., the house president(s) and members of the review board (See Section VIII). If any of the aforementioned readers is applying to the house for the next year, he/she is to be replaced as a reader by a second-year house member, provided there is one. This person is to be selected by the current R.C. After the applications are read, qualified applicants are contacted for an interview. All interviews are to be scheduled personally; for purposes of confidentiality a list of interviewees and interview times are not posted. Interviews are to be conducted by those persons who read the preliminary applications. No later than one week after the interview process is concluded, all applications are to be put on file with the Dean of Students and a list of accepted students is posted outside of the Dean of Students Office.
There are twenty -two (22) spaces in the Charles Drew Memorial Cultural House (fourteen (14) singles and three (3) doubles). The selection committee must fill these spaces with qualified applicants from the pool of interviewed students and place all other qualified applicants on an ordered waiting list which is posted along with the list of accepted students outside the Dean of Students Office. By order of the College Council, no one may live in Drew House for more than four semesters, unless there is space that remains available after the regular application procedure is completed. At this time people who have lived in the house for four semesters may apply for the remaining space. The year(s) spent in the house as an RC are not counted under the four-semester rule due to their appointment to the house by the Dean of Students.

III. Residential Responsibilities:

All entering residents must read the Constitution and sign a residential life contract which claims that they have read the Constitution, understand the purpose of the house, and agree to abide by its rules. In accordance with the Statement of Purpose, all residents are to attend house meetings, expected to attend and support fellow house members= events and initiate and assist in the carrying out of those events which celebrate and uplift African and Afro-Diasporic cultures. The following categories serve as guidelines for acceptable events: events which are educational, community service/outreach, or fund raising in nature or those events which aid in the restoration/preservation of Charles Drew House. Though all events must fit the guidelines it is expected that all house members initiate one event per semester that further the house's mission (see Section VIII for review process and expulsion procedures) . During second semester, each resident is responsible for executing at least one event during Black History Month that appropriately fits the aforementioned criteria. (See Section IV for Guidelines for House Events).

In addition to this event, a ,minimum of four times a semester, seven members of the House will cook a community dinner, in which a maximum of 20 (budget-permitting) people from the Amherst College Community are invited into the House for a Community Dinner. Those invited to the dinner are determined by the house president(s) of the house first semester and by the group the second semester. All residents involved in cooking, are responsible for kitchen maintenance and insuring that all left-over food is either donated to charity or utilized in a prompt and non-wasteful manner.
Together, all members of the House will plan one House project of the aforementioned criteria for the promotion of African American culture. Each resident is responsible for planning and executing the House project and will choose a committee (i.e. advertising, food, etc.). Their performance will be so evaluated by fellow committee members (See Section VIII for failure to comply).
Charles Drew House is a dry house. This means that no alcohol may be consumed in the common areas of the house. This includes the entire first floor, the kitchen, all bathrooms, the laundry room, all stairways and hallways. Finally, house members are expected to regularly attend all scheduled house meetings.

IV. Guidelines for House Events
• Obtain program proposal from House President, complete it and return it to him/her by the first Monday in October for the first semester event and by the first Monday in February for the Black History Month event.

• Joint events: Only two people can receive credit for any one event (Exceptions are left to the discretion of the House President). Residents doing joint events must complete a dual proposal that specifies the duties of each person.

• All events are allowed two date changes: one for personal conflicts; one for programming conflicts - i.e. scheduling conflicts, facilitator absence, etc.

• All events must be campus-wide. While community events are encouraged, they will not count towards the completion of the fulfillment of residential responsibilities.

• Within 48 hours of your event, please return the Program Evaluation to the House President.

V. Role of the President
The President of the house is elected at the ?room draw meeting@ in the Spring before their term. All house members are eligible to be President. The vote is taken by secret ballot. A majority of the votes is not necessary to win the election; the nominee with the most votes out of all those running for the position wins.
The President of the house is responsible for the allocation of those funds designated for theme house events. He/she is also responsible for monitoring house member's contributions to the mission of the house in accordance with the review and expulsion process discussed in Section VIII. The President, along with the R.C., is responsible for conducting house meetings. Lastly it is the role of the house president to communicate with the Faculty advisor.

VI. Role of the Resident Counselor
It is important to note that the Resident Counselor is hired and placed by the Dean of Students Office. The R.C. is free from the requirements of a normal house member. The events initiated in the house by the R.C. are in partial fulfillment of his or her responsibilities as an employee of the college. Furthermore, the R.C. has a budget designated for study breaks and other R.C. activities for the dorm. This budget is not to be confused with the Theme House budget which is allocated for cultural events. The R.C. is also responsible for authorizing the use of the house for all events.

VII. Role of the Faculty Advisor
The Faculty Advisor is available for students in order to give them advice and assistance with the events which they are planning. He/she is expected to come to a minimum of one house meeting per semester in order to ensure familiarity with residents and house activities. He/she is also expected to attend and participate in house activities regularly.

VIII. The Review and Expulsion Process
In an attempt to make the review process a fair one, a Review Board C consisting of the R.C., the president(s) one representative of senior house members (those who have previously lived in the House), to be chosen by the senior residents and a new house resident representative, to be chosen by first-year Drew House members C is elected to represent all residents= interests. The Review Board should consist of four people and five people should there be co-presidents.

In the middle of October (for first semester) and the week before Spring Break (for second semester) the President of the house issues written evaluations to all residents. The purpose of this evaluation is to provide the residents feedback of their general performance in the House. Those missing events will be so notified in their evaluation, and have seven days upon the receipt of their evaluation to submit a program proposal for the missing event and discuss ways of improving performance with the house president. A failure to comply with the residential responsibilities C i.e. attending house meetings, failure to attend fellow residents= events and failure to execute his/her eventC will be followed by a letter that explains the expulsion process that takes place in November (for first semester) or April (for second semester) if there is no change in their involvement in the house. At this time, the Dean of Students= office contacts those students who remain inactive for a formal hearing in the end of November/April. At this hearing, the student has an opportunity to explain his/her actions or remind the Review Board and the Dean of Students of any contributions that may have been overlooked. If the student cannot justify his/her residence in the house he/she is placed on the room change list and applications are accepted for the vacant room. Please note that despite the fact that late November/April have been designated as the time of the formal review process, students may be expelled at any time throughout the year for failure to carry out their duties as members of the house.

IX. House Party Policy
Each year the house must ratify the existing house party security contract or write a new contract in full cooperation with the Dean of Students and Public Safety. A Copy of the current party security contract is attached.

X. Amendment Procedure
The Charles Drew House Memorial Culture House Constitution can be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of all the house members.