Voluntary Students Organization (VSO) name
Hindu Students Council (HSC)
Statement of Purpose
- Foster an environment that brings together Hindus of all sects who believe in the fundamental principles of love and respect for all that lives.
- Claim the ancient legacy of the sages that is open to all mankind and known as Sanaatan Dharma (The Eternal Principles), and study it with an open, scientific mind.
- Understand Hinduism in the modern context through a scientific lens.
- Conduct events that enable us to learn and present Hinduism to our own community as well as the community-at-large.
Eligibility for Membership
Any individual interested in any of the aspects of Hinduism is welcome to join the council. A member is liable for expulsion if found to be involved in verbal abuse or acts of violence, targeted against Hinduism, Sanaatan Dharma, the HSC, or any other Stanford student group as determined by the Executive Board of the HSC. Expulsion involves removal from the stanfordhsc mailing list.
Officers
President: There shall be two co-Presidents at any given time, one from the undergraduate community and the other from the graduate community. Both will work together with the board in serving the HSC. Co-presidents are required to attend mandatory Stanford Associated Religions (SAR) meetings once a month in addition to the regular weekly board meetings.
Financial Director: Must have an interest and experience in Finance. Must have the time commitment to attend each weekly board meeting and be available to promptly respond to financial matters.
Webmaster: Maintaining and updating our website, which is geared toward creating informative content on Hinduism.
Publicity Director: Proficient in writing, good communication skills. Responsible for maintaing friendly relationship with other student groups. Responsible for flyers.
Festival Director: A team of directors responsible for keeping track of Hindu festivals and organizing pujas. These include Diwali Puja, Durga Puja, Garba Puja, Vinayak Chaturthi, Mahashivratri, Ram Navami, Makar Sankranti, Ugadi, Saraswati Puja and Holi Puja. The mandatory festivals are Diwali Puja, Saraswati Puja and Holi Puja.
Event Director: There shall be two or more co-Directors who are responsible for organizing major HSC events (not including the Speaker Series). There are three major events in the academic year. In Fall, we have Gandhi Jayanti. In Winter, we have Vivekananda Jayanti. In Spring, the board will decide on the event. In the past, we have celebrated Rabindranath Tagore, though we are not limited by this. However, the Fall and Winter programs are fixed.
Science & Spirituality Director: A team of directors will work toward creating a collaboration of the ancient spiritual sciences with the modern sciences. Past efforts have involved talks on "Vedic Pyschology" and "The Science of Astrology" with a panel of academics from Stanford University.
Speaker Series Director: A team of directors will help arrange multiple talks (at least three) every quarter. These talks will be related to Hinduism and the speakers will be regarded experts in their fields.
Social Director: Responsible for organizing weekly Satsangs (devotional gathering) and monthly/quarterly temple trips.
Art Director: Artistically talented, knows how to use artists' tools (such as Photoshop) and enjoys making flyers. Responsible for artistic content of the HSC.
Service Chair: Responsible for initiating social service projects that are motivated by spirituality.
Advisors: Knowledgeable members of the community from different traditions who will advise the boards on matters of Hindu customs and philosophy.
Election and Removal Process
Criteria for candidacy
The candidate must be enthusiastic about their role and have the time to work with the HSC team. In case of multiple candidates for the same position, that position may be expanded to become a sub-team. Candidates self-select themselves into the role and are answerable to the board for goals that they choose. The co-presidents will be nominated by the new board on a simple majority.
Length of Term
All positions should be filled for the academic year. If people have to leave under exceptional circumstances, replacements must be found for the rest of the academic year.
Dissolution of Organization
All belongings of the Hindu Students Council may be bequeathed to Sanskriti and Stanford India Association equally.
Procedure to Amend Constitution
The constitution shall not espouse any ideology that has no basis in any of the established schools of Sanaatan Dharma (Hinduism). For all other amendments to the constitution, a majority of two-thirds amongst the board members is required. If such a majority is not possible, a majority of two-thirds amongst all the voting members of the HSC is required. Voting members are those who respond to a public voting request.
Affiliations with other organizations
The Stanford Hindu Students Council will not affiliate itself with any political organization, inside or outside Stanford University. We will only organize events that are initiated by students on campus and will be wary of efforts of outside organizations to use us to push their agenda. We are affiliated with the National Hindu Students Council.
What not to organize
Any event that has not been initiated by members of the Hindu Students Council cannot be organized, as per the guidelines of Stanford University. The idea for the event must generate from within the student community and should be geared toward the goals in the Statement of Purpose. The Council may not yield to pressure from any external sources in this regard. Every event conducted by the Council requires the board to take responsibility for it. This in turn requires individual student(s) on the board to initiate the event.
Ethical Code
Being a religious group makes us an easy target for people generally opposed to religion or Hinduism or harboring misconceptions about our apolitical nature. It is therefore important to formulate an ethical code that may be shared by the board. All board members are required to accept this code before they sign on.
1. No Vicious Response: When we are abused or slandered, we will not respond in kind. Instead, we must follow the Hindu path, that of seeing divinity in those who criticize us and attempting constructive engagement. If we are required to respond, then we shall avoid using value-laden terms in our communication and focus on the facts.
2. No Proselytizing: In keeping with the tradition of Hinduism, we shall respect the right of the individual of not having religion thrust on them. We shall not denigrate any other religion (including atheism) and should we be in conversation with other faiths, we shall show respect.
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