Spanish House Constitution

Spanish Language House (also known as Spanish House) Constitution

  • STATUS AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE OF THE SPANISH HOUSE
  1. Status. The Spanish House is an academic Theme House, located in Newport House, on the Amherst College campus, which can accommodate about sixteen students plus three Fulbright Spanish Language Teaching Assistants. It is governed by the faculty of the Spanish Department, chartered by the College Council as part of the College’s system of social and residential life, and administered by the Dean of Students through the Residential Life Department. In addition to the Spanish House, Newport House also hosts “La Casa”.
  2. Statement of Purpose. The primary purpose of the House is to provide its residents with a supportive and enthusiastic environment that encourages and facilitates the exchange of the Spanish language, and promotes the Hispanic culture. The House also seeks to enrich the life of the campus by serving as a forum in which all Spanish-speakers at Amherst can engage in activities that are conducted in Spanish, and are related to the Spanish language and Hispanic culture. Residents are expected to be active members of the House community. 
  • THE GOVERNANCE OF THE SPANISH HOUSE 
  1. The Spanish Department. As an academic Theme House, the Spanish House is governed by the faculty members of the Spanish Department. The faculty of the Department may, at any time, alter any provisions of the Spanish House Constitution, and must formally approve any changes to the Constitution proposed by the residents of the House. 
  2. The Faculty Advisor. Each year the Spanish Department will choose from among its members a Faculty Advisor to the Spanish House. When no one member of the Department is able to serve the entire year, separate Faculty Advisors will be appointed for each academic term. The Faculty Advisor to the Spanish House shall:
  1. Serve as the primary liaison between the Spanish Department and the Spanish House. 
  2. Coordinate the application process for the Spanish House and select all Spanish House residents. 
  3. Ensure all activities of the Spanish House are being carried out efficiently, primarily through communication with the FLTAs and the President of the House. 
  4. Communicate with Amherst College Spanish department faculty and administration on behalf of Spanish Language House, when deemed necessary.
  5. Assist the House with the securing of funds and event promotions.
  1. The Resident Counselor. The Resident Counselor (hereafter referred to as “RC”) of Newport House is assigned by the College Council, and is an employee of Amherst College, appointed by, and reporting to, the Residential Life Department. The RC is not subject to the requirements of a regular House resident. The events proposed or led by the RC are undertaken as part of the duties assigned by the College, and the RC’s budget is separate from the Spanish House budget. The RC of Newport House shall:
  1. Authorize the use of the physical space occupied by the Spanish House; all residents and the FLTAs must discuss and clear any programming arrangements involving the use of the House’s space with the RC.
  2. Maintain communication with custodial staff to ensure that the physical aspects of the house are maintained.
  3. Maintain communication with the E-board of Spanish Language House and Faculty Advisor. 
  4. Keep the house and dorm informed about relevant Amherst College residential life programs and assistance (Health Services, contact names and telephone #s: Security, Title IX, etc.)
  5. Understand and promote the objectives of the Spanish Language House.
  6. Attend important Spanish House meetings as designated by the President of the Spanish Language House or the Faculty Advisor. 
  7. Deal with conflicts that may arise that are outside the realm of what is relevant to the Spanish Language House (i.e. roommate conflicts, alcohol and drug related issues, property damage, etc.).
  1. The Fulbright Language Teaching Assistants. The FLTAs are employed by the Spanish Department and they reside in the Spanish House. The FLTAs shall:
  1. Encourage and promote the active use of the Spanish language in everyday interaction among House residents.
  2. Supervise Spanish House (tertulia) events; assist residents in developing events, serving as co-organizers of these events. The events must be related to the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world, and their main goals are to promote the use of the Spanish language and culture in the Spanish House and among the Amherst community. Some examples can include: celebrations of individual Spanish-speaking countries, movies, board games, cooking workshops, dance workshops, karaoke, readings, conversations, etc. These events are open to all Spanish speakers on campus. All residents (including the Officers of the House) should take a leading role in organizing one House event each semester, individually or in pairs. There should be at least one event per week. 
  3. Create and publish a calendar of Spanish House events. This calendar must be posted on the Spanish House website, the Spanish department website, and a shared Moodle site by the second week of each semester, with all events listed, including date, time, location, name of the event, and name of the organizers. 
  4. Create and publish an attendance record of the residents to the Spanish House events. This attendance record should be updated weekly via Google Doc, and must be regularly shared via e-mail with the Faculty Advisor and Lecturers. The residents should attend at least five events each semester, including the one organized by them. Because the Spanish Table is an activity organized by the Spanish Department, and not by the Spanish House, attendance to the Spanish Table by residents (although is highly recommended) doesn’t count as one of the five mandatory events.
  5. Work with the RC to coordinate logistical support for all Spanish House events.
  6. Work with the Treasurer to obtain a budget for each event.
  7. Create a reasonable shopping list, preferably with links from Amazon or Target for each House event, and assist Treasurer and residents with the purchase of material.
  8. Ensure that additional materials (markers, posters, food, drinks, movies, etc.) are available at all events.

 

  1. The Officers of the House

The residents of the Spanish House will elect during the first week of fall semester the Officers who will serve in that capacity for that academic year. The election will take place during a Spanish House meeting that is attended by all Spanish House residents. Names will be placed in nomination by the residents. No resident will be elected an Officer of the Spanish House without his/her/their consent. The Officers will be elected by a majority vote of the residents. If there are more than two nominees and no nominee receives a majority of the votes cast during the election, a second round of voting will be held. During the second round of voting, the two nominees who received the most votes during the first round of voting will be the only remaining candidates.

Officers may be dismissed from their positions at any time by a 2/3s vote of all residents of the House; or by the Spanish Department. House members who wish to dismiss an Officer must contact the Faculty Advisor to hold a meeting about their complaint. If the Faculty Advisor finds that the Officer in question is not fulfilling their responsibilities, as either a house member or Officer, then the Faculty Advisor will give out a warning to the Officer in question and allow a two-week probationary period for the officer to remedy the issues brought up. If an Officer is dismissed or resigns, a replacement will have to be voted upon by all the House members within two weeks of the Officer’s resignation. The election will follow the same protocol as all official elections within the house.

The President. The President of the Spanish House shall:

  1. Act as a representative of the Spanish House on and off campus as necessary.
  2. Serve as a liaison between House residents, the Spanish Language House Faculty Advisor and the Residential Life Department.
  3. Maintain close contact with the Faculty Advisor.
  4. Coordinate and facilitate meetings, keep minutes of all House business, and share those minutes regularly via e-mail with the RC, the FLTAs, House residents, and the Faculty Advisor.
  5. Work with the RC to coordinate logistical support.
  6. Take a leading role in organizing one major House event each semester, in cooperation with the Treasurer, under FLTA supervision (i.e. “Día de los muertos” at the end of October/early November, “Carnaval” in February/March). This event should be submitted in the Event Calendar of Amherst College.
  7. Organize and lead an Open House evening in mid-February, during the application period, in cooperation with the Treasurer. The purpose of the Open House is to show the House to interested students and answer any questions. The President should encourage all Spanish House residents to participate in the Open House evening.
  8. Answer emails inquiring about living in the House. 
  9. Ensure that every House member receives a copy of this Constitution, reads it, and fully understands its meaning.
  10. Email a copy of the Compliance Agreement to every House member, no later than one week after the list of accepted applicants is posted. The list of accepted applicants is posted typically in April or May, before the end of the semester preceding the year a new member will join the House. The Compliance Agreement will be completed through Google Form. Students’ signed responses will be collected in a Google Drive folder accessible to the Faculty Advisor. 
  11. Supervise the progress of the House and its members, as established in this Constitution, and share this information with the Faculty Advisor.
  12. Notify the Faculty Advisor, the RC, and Residential Life Department if a House resident intends to move out of the House before the end of the year, or moves out of the House without additional warning.

The Treasurer. The Treasurer of the Spanish House shall:

  1. Manage Spanish House funds with the support of the Office of Student Affairs. 
  2. Approve and distribute House funds for the organizing of House events.
  3. Support the residents and the FLTAs in organizing House events by creating a reliable and realistic budget for each event. Submit budget requests as required by the Residential Life Department.
  4. Maintain a written record of all financial transactions, and regularly let the President of the House know about the budget balance.
  5. Take a leading role in organizing one major House event each semester, in cooperation with the President, under FLTA supervision.
  6. Organize and lead an Open House evening in mid-February, during the application period, in cooperation with the President.
  7. Determine whether or not it will be necessary to raise additional funds, and to assist in the organization of fundraisers. Submit applications for supplemental funding to the Department of Residential Life.
  8. Cooperate with the President of the House when asked.

House Relations Officer.  The House Relations Officer shall:

  1. Organize information about house events.
  2. Promotion and advertisements for House events around the campus/Internet  (i.e. via posters, social media posts, Daily Mammoth announcements).
  3. Fulfill E-board responsibilities as needed.
  • THE RESIDENTS OF THE SPANISH HOUSE
  1. Eligibility.Residence in the House is open to full-time Amherst College students in their second, third and fourth year who are actively engaged in Spanish Department courses at Amherst College, have an intermediate-advanced level of Spanish, or are native speakers. As a rule, first-year students are ineligible for residence in the House. Additionally, no student may live in a particular Theme House for more than two years. Years spent in the House as an RC are not counted under the four-semester rule due to their appointment by the Dean of Students.

Because the primary aim of the Spanish  Language House is to create more opportunities for its residents to practice Spanish, and because residents need to be able to function at a certain level of competency in order to be able to carry on conversations with each other, proficiency in Spanish must be at least equal to two semesters of college-level (SPAN101 & SPAN102). Students who do not have at least two semesters or an intermediate level in Spanish are not eligible to live in the House.

  1. Admission.The Faculty Advisor coordinates the application process for the Spanish House and selects all Spanish House residents. All decisions regarding admission to the House are made by the Faculty Advisor.

The application. All prospective residents must submit an application for admission to the House. The application process is administered by the Residential Life Department. Copies of the application submitted online are shared with the Faculty Advisor. Current residents must re-apply for admission each year. Admission criteria can include, but are not limited to:

  1. The applicant’s proficiency in Spanish.
  2. The number and level of courses taken in the Spanish Department.
  3. The applicant is a declared Spanish major.
  4. The applicant’s interest and commitment to speak Spanish in the House.                    
  5. The applicant’s willingness to participate fully in House activities that promote the Spanish language and Hispanic culture, and build community among House members. 

The Faculty Advisor submits a list of accepted residents to the Residential Life Department. Should there be more qualified applicants than spaces available, a prioritized waiting list will be created and accessed in the case of voluntary or involuntary departure from the Spanish Language House of any member. The due date for the applications and for the submission of the House roster shall be determined by the Residential Life Department. However, the process is usually completed during the second half of February and early March. 

Selection process for the spring semester. Due to the nature of the House and the fact that many House members choose to study abroad during the spring semester, there will be a special selection process to fill the vacancies left by House members who choose to leave Amherst College for the spring semester. The procedure for the spring semester selection will be completed during the prior fall semester and will follow the same format as the regular selection process.

Compliance Agreement. Before accepting a space in the Spanish House, every applicant must sign a Compliance Agreement of the Spanish House Constitution. The Compliance Agreement will be shared electronically by the President of the House, and shall be signed by each resident no later than one week after the list of accepted applicants is posted. Students will be highly encouraged to obtain and review a copy of this Constitution before they begin the application process so they can determine beforehand if they will be able to commit to House responsibilities.

  1. Room Draw. Selection of rooms will take place within the month after the acceptance list is completed. The RC of the dormitory, who has been placed by the College Council, will pick one room in the dorm before any other room assignment is made. The Faculty Advisor will select the rooms for the FLTAs, in consultation with the Residential Life Department. Residential Life is responsible for the distribution of remaining rooms. Residential Life will coordinate the students' selection of rooms according to the order established on the priority list during the week following the college-wide Room Draw. Priority for Spanish House Room Draw is given to declared Spanish Majors. Among Spanish Majors, priority is normally ranked in the following order: Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores (by year of Spanish House residency). If there is more than one Spanish major in each category, there will be a lottery.  Among residents who are not Spanish majors priority will normally be ranked in the following order: Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores (by year of Spanish House residency).

There is a limit of four semesters of residency in the Spanish House. Students who have already lived in the Spanish House for four semesters may apply to stay longer. They will be accepted last, after all the other applicants, and only if there are rooms available. A student who has lived in the Spanish House three semesters at the end of an academic year may apply to the House again for the fall. If accepted, he/she/they will be allowed to remain in the House the entire academic year and thus will be granted permission to exceed the four semester rule by one semester.

If a student moves in during the middle of a semester, that student can choose to reapply the following year. This procedure will extend to first-year students at Amherst College in the unusual event that a dedicated first-year student is selected to move into the Spanish House during the middle of either fall or spring semester.

There are two double rooms in the Spanish House. The Residential Life Department requires that these double rooms are occupied by two students. These rooms, then, will be removed from the regular room selection process and accepted applicants will be asked to volunteer to live in a double. If there are no volunteers for the rooms, all first years and sophomore accepted applicants will arrange themselves into pairs.

If two residents wish to exchange rooms, they must secure the permission of the President of the House before making such a request to the Residential Life Department, which has the ultimate authority in these matters.

If a room in the House becomes vacant during the year, the President of the House must communicate this fact to the Faculty Advisor, the Resident Counselor, and the Residential Life Department immediately. If current House residents wish to move into the vacant room, they must petition the Faculty Advisor in writing. There is no guarantee that the room will be made available for such transition. If rooms become vacant during the course of the year and there are other students who wish to join the House, they have to submit an online application and, upon their admission to the House, will be assigned a room.

Circumstances and eventualities not addressed by the provisions of this section will be considered by the Faculty Advisor, who may seek the opinion of the President of the House, the RC, the Residential Life Department and the faculty of the Spanish Department in reaching the final decision.

  1. Responsibilities. The College Council requires that residents of Theme Houses adhere strictly to all responsibilities specified in the House Constitution. As the College Council stipulated, “Individual Theme Houses are responsible for developing workable ways of alleviating individual differences and resolving conflicts so that the rights of each student and the rights of the community are protected.” In furtherance of these principles, and in accordance with the Spanish Language House’s purpose as defined by this Constitution, residents of the Spanish Language House, who are expected to abide by all regulations issued by the Dean of Students through the Residential Life Department, shall, in addition:
  1. Speak Spanish among themselves as much as possible according to their level of proficiency in the language. FLTAs, native speakers, and advanced language students should take the initiative to uphold the purpose of the house and encourage residents who are less confident about their Spanish language skills to stay in the target language.
  2. Attend all Spanish House meetings, required by the President of the House and/or the Faculty Advisor.
  3. Take a leading role in organizing one House event (tertulia) each semester, individually or in pairs, under FLTA supervision. All House members are expected to offer input and ideas into the process of organizing events to ensure that their interests are represented and to share the weight of House duties. The events must be related to the Hispanic culture, and their main goals are to promote the use of the Spanish language and culture in the Spanish House and among the Amherst community. Some examples can include: celebrations of Spanish-speaking countries, movies, board games, cooking workshops, dance workshops, karaoke, readings, conversations, etc. These events are open to all Spanish speakers on campus. It is desirable that every week there is an event. 
  4. Attend at least five tertulia events each semester, including the one organized by them. Because the Spanish Table is an activity organized by the Spanish Department, and not by the Spanish House, attendance to the Spanish Table by residents (although is highly recommended) doesn’t count as one of the five mandatory events.
  5. Clean common areas after use, including but not limited to the bathrooms, kitchen, classroom, and other common areas.
  6. Affirm the house as a safe space for all residents by respecting all aspects of the Amherst College Student Code of Conduct (i.e. Peaceful resolution of conflicts, respect for the opinions of others, noise control, etc.).

Optional: Aside from participating in tertulias, members can volunteer in the Pioneer Valley. Residents can tutor English to Spanish speakers, translate, volunteer at the Amherst College Survival Center, etc. Please contact the Center for Community Engagement if you’re interested in pursuing opportunities to engage with the community in Spanish. 

  1. Dismissal and Replacement. House residents who fail to fulfill their duties, as described above, and as determined by the Officers of the House or the RC, shall receive one formal written warning from the Faculty Advisor and undergo a two-week probationary period; if the problems identified when the warning is issued are not resolved by the time the probationary period ends, the resident shall be dismissed from the House and will not be eligible to reapply to live in the House the following year. The room of the dismissed resident shall be considered vacant and shall be reassigned according to the procedures described above.
  2. Spaces.

Newport Classroom Policy

The classroom may be used by any Newport resident, and is accessible with an ID card. It is only to be used for purposes such as: studying, film screenings or house meetings. Additionally, it can only be used during hours when classes are not scheduled. Parties or large gatherings are strictly prohibited. Consumption of food and beverages (with the exception of water) is not allowed. Please respect the space: clean up after yourself and leave the room in good condition. If the classroom is not respected all residents’ privileges to use this room may be revoked by the Office of Student Affairs. 

  • AMENDMENTS TO THE SPANISH CONSTITUTION

Proposals to amend the Spanish House Constitution may be submitted to the Faculty Advisor providing that at least 2/3s of the current residents of the House have approved of the amendment in a vote that includes all current residents. All amendments to the Spanish House Constitution are subject to the approval of the Spanish Department, and shall take effect at the start of the next semester. The Spanish House Constitution may be amended by the Spanish Department at any time.

All Residents must read this Constitution and sign a Compliance Agreement, prior to joining the House.

Revised, December 2021

Compliance Agreement

All Theme Houses are expected to enrich the life of the campus by undertaking outreach programs that educate students about the particular theme which is used to organize the residence.

Each member of the Theme House is expected to adhere to all responsibilities that are required of House members. The effectiveness of the House rests firmly on an accepted code of behavior in which cooperative living and consideration for others are fundamental. Residents who do not adhere to the expectations of the Theme House they are living in may be removed to other campus housing on the recommendation of the Advisor of the House, the Director of Residential Life, or the Dean of Students.

The College Council requires that residents of Theme Houses adhere strictly to all responsibilities specified in the House Constitution. For the Spanish Language House, residents are expected to:

  1. Speak Spanish among themselves as much as possible according to their level of proficiency in the language. FLTAs, native speakers, and advanced language students should take the initiative to uphold the purpose of the house and encourage residents who are less confident about their Spanish language skills to stay in the target language.
  1. Attend all Spanish House meetings, required by the President of the House and/or the Faculty Advisor.
  2. Take a leading role in organizing one House event (tertulia) each semester, individually or in pairs, under FLTA supervision. All House members are expected to offer input and ideas into the process of organizing events to ensure that their interests are represented and to share the weight of House duties. The events must be related to the Hispanic culture, and their main goals are to promote the use of the Spanish language and culture in the Spanish House and among the Amherst community. 
  3. Attend at least 5 tertulia events each semester, including the one organized by them. 
  4. Clean common areas after use, including but not limited to the bathrooms, kitchen, classroom, and other common areas.
  5. Affirm the house as a safe space for all residents by respecting all aspects of the Amherst College Student Code of Conduct (i.e. Peaceful resolution of conflicts, respect for the opinions of others, noise control, etc.).

By signing below, I certify that I have read and understood the Spanish House Constitution, and I accept and agree to abide by the terms and conditions of this Compliance Agreement.

________________________               ________________________               _____________

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