E-Board Meeting 2005_09_23

MASA E-Board Meeting September 23rd, 2005

Discussion
:
1) Post-mortem for welcoming BBQ and GBM
2) Raya Aidilfitri Photos
3) MaMe Kad Raya
4) TV3 Raya Photos
5) International Fest
6) Union Additional Funding / Budget Reallocation
7) Financial Workshop Briefing to Committee
Time
:
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Location
:
Union Phalanx Room
Attendees
:
Nik, Ijoy, David, Amin, Julie, Nadiah, Zuhdi, Affan, Badik, Ninie.

Chair
:
David

1) POST-MORTEM FOR WELCOMING BBQ AND GBM

Complaints
- Some MASA members and committee members were not punctual.
- Not enough people responsible for cleaning up and keeping used stuffs after events.
- Not enough communication between committee members especially regarding where the newly bought stuffs were put.
- There was no ‘permanent’ MC for the events.
- The BBQ events did not end at the exact time as it is supposed to be end.


Suggestions
- Nik suggest that we make some kind of entertainment while waiting for all audiences to be present. Besides, any assistance for transportation or anything else should be ‘booked’ early.
- Affan suggest that we use the time to wait for all audiences to be present by doing survey and asking early comers’ opinion about any events conducted by MASA. Also, events could have two MC’s to smoothen the progress of the events.
- Amin suggests that we give some gifts for early comers to generate the spirit of coming early to any kind of events.
- Nadiah suggests that after attending any events, we sent an email for each audience as a thank you.





2) RAYA PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION.

Updates
- The poll for the date of Raya photo shoot is already closed and the date will be on Saturday October 1st (10.30 a.m.).
- Nini and Ijoy report that there are still no benches available to be used during the photography session.
- Another poll for the location of the photo shoot will be up in the MASARPI website in the night of September 27rd and closed in the night of September 28th. The choices of the locations are Barton Hall, Biotech Building, The Memorial Approach and Rensselaer Union for indoor location.
- Confirmation email about the exact location, time and date for the photo shoot will be sent to spcd list on September 28th.







3) MAME KAD RAYA



Updates and cordination
- The persons in charge of this project are Badik, David and Zuhdi.
- There is no determined decision yet for this project but the persons in charge will be having a meeting shortly afterwards for further coordination.
- The ‘Kad Raya’ design and further updates will be presented in the next meeting (September 30th).







4) TV3 VIDEO

Updates, datelines and cordination
- The poyo email for announcing this matter has been sent to spcd list by Zuhdi on September 18th.
- Since this point (September 23rd), there are approximately 25 people has replied the email.
- Due date for sending the videos to TV3 is October 15th. Internal Committee dateline is September 30th
- Because the delivery of the DVS to Malaysia will take time, it will be posted before October 7th.
- Zaki’s and Chip’s video cam will be used for the video capture.
- Places are still in planning.
- As the expenses for this project is not so expensive, no money will be collected from participants. Thus, all the expenses will be funded from MASA fee.







5) INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

Updates
- Nadiah, Amin and the persons in charge have had a meeting last Sunday, September 18th.
- The ISSS’ dateline to propose what to sell and perform is September 30th. Therefore the preliminary proposal should be completed and presented to all MASA officers prior to this date
- Below are the persons in charge for particular affairs:-
· Treasurer – Haslinda
· Secretary – Elle
· Public Relations – Izniza, Razlan
· Presentation – Nicky, Fariza, Nadiah
· Sales and promotion – Nawaal, Hisham freshman
· Booth decoration – Mazalina, Aizuddin
- Storyline for the ‘Cukur Jambul’ performance has been prepared.
- The other performances are Kenduri, Marhaban, Berzanji and Kompang.
- Audiences who participate in the ‘Cukur Jambul’ wil get pulut kuning/bunga telur
- There will be food sold by MASA and individuals.
- For booth, there are poster decoration and some food. If there are cooking utensils that are not permitted to be used in the building, they will be placed outside.
- Request for additional funds from the MSD will be handled by Julie.








6) UNION ADDITIONAL FUNDING / BUDGET REALLOCATION

About
- The cost reimbursement for the welcoming BBQ has been settled by Julie.
- For particular events that are funded by The Union, the extra money can be transferred for another event.
- The Union will not fund any events that we can get income from that because the cost can be covered by the income.
- For those events that cannot be funded by The Union, the MASA’s money will be used.
- Tax Exempt Certificate should be requested from The Union and shown to the store’s staffs (Wallmart) before we buy any stuff from the store to exempt the sales tax.
- For the application of sponsorship for any event held by MASA, it should be done systematically (make official letter, fill a form, get signature, etcetera). The money will go straight to our account.
- Checks should be claimed from The Union.
- Anything that goes through The Union should have proper documentation such as receipt and invoice.







7) SPORTS ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR

Updates
- The sports activities for the year have been well planned by Nini.
- Nini has arranged a fitness program every Tuesday and Thursday.
- Participation for the fitness program is still disappointing. There were only 4 people attended.
- During the winter break, the teams for indoor tournaments will be formed.
- MASA members will be asked for their suggestions of sports tournaments to be held.
- Nadiah suggests making a personal statistic for soccer players to encourage their spirit.
- David reminds that for all sports tournament, the first aid kit should be available.
- Some friendly matches with the other associations will be organized.
- A games night for MASA will be held. The date is not determined yet.
- If there is a ping-pong tournament, the MASA’s bat will be used.
- Soccer and volleyball teams for intramural tournament will be formed.
- Nini will book the swimming pool for the girls swimming activities.
- For the next Midwest games, there is encouraging response from the girls to make up their indoor soccer and basketball teams. Badik is the coach.
- Nini will try to rent the gym for the MASA’s teams to train for the upcoming intramural tournaments.






New / Rising Issues:
MASA Inventories Database (Amin).
MASA Calendar.
The update of the MASA blog.
Cultural Pride Night.(Nadiah)
Next meeting’s agenda:
Finalization of all proposals for the International Festival.
The design of the MaMe.
Amin is the next meeting’s chair

E-Board Meeting 2005_09_30

MASA E-Board Meeting September 30th, 2005



Discussion
:
1) TV3 Video Development update

2) Raya Photo session update

3) MaMe Kad Raye update

4) International Fest Update

5) Nusantara

6) MASA member’s scorekeeping proposal

7) Addition of “From President’s Desk” column in MASARPI website

Time
:
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Location
:
Union Phalanx Room

Attendees
:
Nik, Amin, Julie, Ijoy, Nadiah, Zuhdi, Affan, Badik, Ninie.



Chair
:
Amin




1) TV3 VIDEO DEVELOPMENT by Zuhdi & Affan


Updates
- The email concerning division of groups for the TV3 Video has been sent to spcd list.

- The video captures are still in progress. Zuhdi and Affan will try to get them done by this weekend.

- Time limit for each frame is approximately 15-20 seconds.

- The minimum number of people in each frame is 4.










2) RAYA PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION by Ninie & Ijoy


Updates
- Confirmation email regarding the location, time and date for the Raya photo session has been sent to spcd list.

- Details of the photo shoot:-

Ø Venue : Biotech Building

Ø Date : October 1st , 2005

Ø Time : 10.30 a.m.

- The photos will be sent to Malaysian presses before Sunday night, October 2nd, 2005.













3) MAME KAD RAYA by Badik & Zuhdi





Updates
- The Raya Card has been designed by Badik.

- A short speech in that Raya Card has been done.

- A Hadith will be added at the back of the card.

- If the cards are printed in RPI, the cost is $0.70per card. Of they are printed outside RPI, the cost is approx. $1.20 per card.

- The price of the card is 1.50 per piece, $13.00 for ten pieces.

- Badik will sent an email to all MASA members to advertise the Raya Card on Friday night, September 1st, 2005.

- At the back of the card, the printed logo is RPI logo.













4) INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL by Nadiah and Amin


Updates
- En. Roslan can help us for getting some additional money which is approximately $300+. We will get the confirmation about this matter hopefully by Monday, October 3rd, 2005.

- Julie is in charge for the dance prerformance.

- Zuhdi is in charge for the ‘Berzanji’ performance.

- The freshmen girls are in charge for the Cukur Jambul performance. The persons involved in the performance will have their first meeting after the Raya photo shoot.

- Since now, there are only three reservation to sell stuffs during the International Festival. Two for food and one for shirt.

- The location for the booth has been settled.

- Each booth will be charged by RPI, $7.00 for food and $2.00 for shirt.

- For every food sold, the ingredients for making the food will be displayed.

- The percussion to be used for performance is kompang and snare drum.

- Nik is the narrator for the performance.

- Twelve people will be the PR on that day consisting three people who will be the walking promoters that distributes coupons to people.















5) NUSANTARA by Nadiah


Early proposals
- We are still finding two people for being the PD for Nusantara. The ‘targets’ for potential persons are :-

Ø Jon

Ø Ija

Ø Fatah

Ø Zaki

Ø Mazalina

Ø Taroi

- Nik suggests booking a Kraftangan auction.

- Nadiah suggests booking The Armory so that people can play ‘Kampung Game’.

















6) MASA MEMBER’S SCOREKEEPING PROPOSAL Ninie


About
- We are still finding the people for doing and keeping the score record.

- Further updates about this matter will be presented by two weeks.













7) ADDITION OF ‘FROM PRESIDENT’S DESK’ COLUMN IN MASARPI WEBSITE by Nik


About
- Badik suggests that the MASA E-Board should be given permission to write in the column.

- Nik will give further updates concerning this matter is by two weeks time.













New / Rising Issues:



1. Meeting time in the Ramadhan will be changed to give the Muslim time to break their fast. The new time is 4.15 – 6.00 pm.

2. Financial update will be presented by Julie later on.

3. BBQ report will be presented later on.

4. Archer Center by David.

5. Ijoy and Affan will sell beverages during the indoor soccer tournament.

6. Badik is the next meeting chair.

E-Board Meeting 2005_10_07

MASA E-Board Meeting October 7th, 2005

Discussion
:
1) Mentorship Program
2) MSD Visit
3) International Fest
4) Kad Raya
5) Nusantara
6) MCT Community Fair
7) MASA Iftar
8) Archer Center Team Building
9) Raya Celebration
Time
:
4:15 pm – 6:15 pm
Location
:
Union Phalanx Room
Attendees
:
David, Nik, Julie, Nadiah, Zuhdi, Affan, Badik, Ninie, Ijoy, Amin, Hisyam, Fariza, Nadia
Chair
:
Badik

1) MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

About
- All freshmen will be assigned a mentor from the committee.
- Mentors should keep in touch with their mentees
o Hisyam – Amin
o Ijoy – Zuhdi
o Nikki – Nik Nizal
o Fariza – Julie
o Nadia – David




2) MSD Visit

About
- Dr. Zahratul & Ustaz Zaki is coming on Sunday, October 30th, (the weekend before Hari Raya) for Iftar & Terawih
- Project Directors: Nik & Julie
- Transportation: Fadhli
- Food:
o Zuhdi & Nik will coordinate
o Buffet Catering from Shalimar ($399 for 200 people)
- The project committee will report updates on the next meeting





3) INTERNATIONAL FEST



Updates
- There are few teams available:
o decoration & posters
o public relations
o food sales
o performance
- Nik Nizal & Ijoy will be selling drinks on behalf of MASA
- Props are required for the performances; therefore we need a lead designer.





4) KAD RAYA

Updates and Coordination
- Badik, David & Nik will be printing the first batch of the cards after this meeting
- This fundraiser project has raised a net profit of $47.94 to date (107 cards)





5) NUSANTARA

About
- Fatah and Maz is announced as the Project Directors
- The project committee should prepare an estimated budget as soon as possible so that we could request for Union’s funding
- Project committee will report updates in two weeks from today





6) MCT COMMUNITY IFTAR

About
- The Muslim Community of Troy will hold an Iftar tomorrow at Hudson Valley Community College
- Ihsan will be helping to provide transportation to there



7) MASA IFTAR

About
- Estimated attendance: 100 people
- Project Directors: Zuhdi & Ijoy
- Funding:
o Zuhdi suggests that we collect donation from MASA members
o Some funds could possibly be transferred from MSD’s fund for the International Fest
- Instead of doing our own Iftar, we could also joint-venture with MSA for MSA Iftar




8) ARCHER CENTER TEAM BUILDING

About
- Archer Center’s Team building for MASA will be held on October 22nd
- Interested Topics:
o Team Dynamics
o Improve communication
o Effective leadership
o How to influence members to cooperate
o How to hold an effective meeting
o Public relations




9) RAYA CELEBREATION

About
- Date: October 12th / 19th (either one will do)
- We want members to organize the event to build leadership within the community.
- Therefore an email will be sent out to recruit members who are interested to hold a leadership role for the event.
- All replies has to be received by Wednesday; otherwise, we would elect (among officers) a sub-committee to run the event
- To ensure that there will be entertainment throughout the night, the committee has agreed to hold a competition with cash rewards in which participants will either present a live demonstration or submit artworks such as video clips




New / Rising Issues:
How to make non-Malaysians feel welcomed at MASA organized events
Nadiah will forward emails sent to the , David will reply emails
Nik suggests to make Nusantara as part of GoBeRed to get higher turnout
MASA’s next meeting will be at Amin Mahat’s apartment
Ijoy is next meeting’s chair

E-Board Meeting 2005_10_14

MASA E-Board Meeting October 14th, 2005

Discussion
:
1) Nusantara
2) Funds Update
3) MSD Visit
4) Raya Celebration
5) International Fest
6) MASA Iftar
Time
:
10:00 pm – 12:30 am
Location
:
Amin’s Place
Attendees
:
David, Nik, Julie, Nadiah, Zuhdi, Affan, Badik, Ninie, Ijoy, Amin, Hisyam, Fariza, Nadia
Chair
:
Ijoy

1) NUSANTARA

Updates
Issues:
- We’re seeing a decline in interest among MASA members to hold our second Malaysian Cultural Night
- To decide whether or not the event will be held, a one-week poll and discussion forum will be setup on our website.



2) FUNDS UPDATE

Ongoing Updates
Account Balance:
- We received $300 sponsorship from MSD for miscellaneous activities
- After deducting the membership dues that will be paid to the Rensselaer Union, MASA has an account balance of roughly $600




3) MSD VISIT

Coordination Updates
Food:
- Nik has checked the price of catering from Shalimar. The cost is $3.99 per head, serving rice, chicken curry & kheer
- Nik will also ensure that fruits and salad are purchased
- Affan and David will be responsible for purchasing ~200 dates and beverages including 10 bottles of soda and 4 gallons of mineral water. The maximum budget allocated for drinks and dates is $40

Guests:
- Amin updates the committee that there will be and extra guest attending. He is Mr. Aznan Saad, the new advisor for Petronas sponsored students

Souvenirs:
- Nik suggests that we present a souvenir to the guests. This includes Eid greeting cards (kad raya) and additional gifts such as a luxurious pen, paper weight or Rensselaer glasses
- David will survey the bookstore for viable gifts totaling not more than $45. He’ll update the rest of the committee via email by the middle of next week.

Logistics:
- Two large rooms needed - one to serve food & another for prayers
- Among the alternatives listed by the officers are the Alumni House Basement and the third floor of the Union. Amin will try to book one of the two locations
- A few person needs to help with moving the food around
- Remind members to bring their personal prayers mat
- Amin will bring MASA’s ampliflier system just in case there isn’t any audio system at the booked location
- Amin will also bring food utensils

Transportation:
- Badik will drive our guests and all transportation costs will be reimbursed

Rising Issues:
- If there’s any message to be addressed to all members, but most effective when voiced by Dr. Zahratul, pass on the message to Julie

Budget:
- MSD has allocated $13 - $15 donation per person for food
- All cost estimates has to be sent to Dr. Zahratul as soon as possible
- Nadiah will put up a poll on masarpi.net to gauge the attendance for that night

Speakers:
- Nik will be the master of ceremony for the night

Reminder Announcements:
- Nik will send out a reminder email to the mailing list a week prior to October 31st

Interim Agenda:
2:30 – Badik picks up guests from airport and send them to their hotels
4:00 – Dr. Zahratul will give a short talk to all members
4:50 – Break Fast
5:00 – Solat Maghrib & Taskirah
6:00 – Solat Terawih
7:00 – MSD officers will meet with all MASA committee






4) RAYA CELEBRATION



Updates
Committee
- The whole event will be run by two sub-committees with supervision from MASA officers

Organizing Committee:
o PD: Redzuan Tahar, APD: unknown
o Responsible for all coordination of the event except for entertainment
o Will provide updates by next week

Games Committee:
o PD: Julie, APD: Affan
o Responsible for entertainment – encourage members to submit creative works such as video clips or present live performances on the celebration night
o Will crate and email game rules by Wednesday
o The winning prizes are $100 (Grand Prize), $50 (First-Runner Up) & $25 (2nd Runner Up)

Logistics:
- Event will be held on Saturday, November 12th / 19th 6 pm –12 am
- Book location: Alumni House





5) INTERNATIONAL FEST

Final Updates
Preparations:
- Performances, Decoration and Sales teams are well prepared for the event tomorrow

Logistics:
- All officers should arrive early by 9:30 am or 10:00 am to help with setting up our booth
- Bring laptop and extension chord
- Remind all members about international fest via email




6) MASA IFTAR

About
Issues:
- All available time slots for Iftar in Masjid al-Hidayah has been taken. Thefore we will join MSA for their iftar on October 23rd
- Zuhdi will send an email to all members, soliciting donations and volunteers for the event.
- MASA will also donate $50 for the event





New / Rising Issues:
Ninie announces Zaki as the indoor soccer project director
Nadia Musa will be the PD for Eksplorasi to be held on Thanksgiving break
Sha will received a letter of gratitude from MASA for her photography contribution and possibly a certificate from MSD
Nadiah is next meeting’s chair

E-Board Meeting 2005_09_16

MASA E-Board Meeting September 16th, 2005

Discussion
:
1) Welcoming New Officers – Meeting Protocols Recap
2) Masarpi.Net Webmaster
3) Raya Aidilfitri Photos
4) International Fest
5) TV3 Raya Photos
6) Financial Workshop Briefing to Committee
Time
:
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Location
:
Union Phalanx Room
Attendees
:
David, Nik, Amin, Julie, Nadiah, Zuhdi, Affan, Badik, Ninie, Ijoy
Arep (Guest)
Chair
:
Julie

1) WELCOMING NEW OFFICERS – Meeting Protocols Recap

Updates
- A warm welcome to new MASA e-board members:
o Ninie (Sports chair) & Ijoy (Freshman Rep)
- Julie reminded everyone about the meeting protocols
- The new task of compiling datelines for the MASA manual is delegated to Ijoy





2) MASARPI.NET WEBMASTER

Updates and decision
- Badik brought up the issue of whether the website team is independent or a part of the MASA e-board
- A webmaster position will be created for the next academic year. This will be formalized and reflected by Julie in the MASA constitution.
- A new website is being developed (in progress) by an IT Capstone group (Adilah, Nawal, Aron, Siti) with Arep as the client.
- It’s decided that Arep will continue maintaining the website for this semester while he trains Zuhdi and Ijoy as future webmasters





3) RAYA AIDILFITRI PHOTOS



Updates, Datelines and Coordination
- Aidilfitri will fall on October 3rd / 4th 2005, hence September 24th /25th and October 1st/2nd are the only available dates for the photography session
- The project director will approach Sha or Hadi to be photographers
- The final date & location will be decided via an online poll. The poll needs to be published by Tuesday, September 20th
- Project Directors: Ninie & Ijoy
- Suggested locations:
o Between Academy Hall & Biotech building
o Freshman Hill à Front / Behind of Commons
o Quadrangle
o The Approach
o Union Horseshoe
o 86’ Field
o Pittsburgh stairs (indoors as a backup)
o Sage Dining Hall
o West Hall Stage

- Costs reimbursement from the Union will be handled by Julie





4) INTERNATIONAL FEST

Updates and Coordination
- International Fest falls on October 15th
- Project Directors: Amin (booth) & Nadiah (performance)
- PDs are reminded to consider the fasting season when recruiting for booth attendants (if MASA is selling food)
- The ISSS’ dateline to propose what to sell and perform is September 30th. Therefore the preliminary proposal should be completed and presented to all MASA officers prior to this date
- Further discussion will continue on Masarpi.Net’s committee forum.





5) TV3 RAYA PHOTOS

About
- MASA has been approached by TV3, a television channel in Malaysia to send a video of Malaysian students studying abroad
- Due date for sending the videos to TV3 is October 15th. Internal Committee dateline is September 30th
- Project Directors: Zuhdi & Affan
- PDs will inform this news to all members. They are also responsible for the costing of postal service
- Costs reimbursement from the Union will be handled by Julie






6) FINANCIAL WORKSHOP BRIEFING TO COMMITTEE

About
- Julie and Nik attended the Union Club Financial Workshop on behalf of MASA on September 15th. Here are some key takeaways from the workshop:
o For any purchases made, members should not use personal credit or debit cards. Purchases made using personal credit or debit cards will not be reimbursed by the Union
o Purchases made by MASA is tax free. The form could be obtained from the Union.
o The Union also offers Sam’s Club card
o The Union offers Van reservation service for purchases.
o MASA has The Polytechnic (school newspaper) “poly credits” for Nusantara (Malaysian Cultural Night) advertisement




New / Rising Issues:
Joint-event with Bengali Students Association & Rensselaer Muslim Women Association, Cultural Forum, Intercultural Potluck
Malaysian Cultural Night Nusantara: Lack of lady performers – could MASA invite Malaysian Tourism Department to perform on behalf of us. Put this into the next meeting’s agenda
Fitness Program
Next meeting’s agenda:
Nusantara
Fitness Program by Ninie, Masarpi.net
MaMe – low cost e-card
David is the next meeting’s chair

E-Board Meeting 2005_09_09

MASA E-Board Meeting September 9th, 2005

Discussion
:
1) MASA Merchandise (Fundraiser)
2) Cultural Pride Night
3) Warisi Ilmu Program
4) Reimbursement Procedures
5) General Body Meeting Recap
Time
:
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Location
:
Union Phalanx Room
Attendees
:
David, Nik, Amin, Julie, Nadiah, Zuhdi, Affan, Badik
Absentees
:
Rafie (exchange)
Chair
:
Affan

1) MASA Merchandise (Fundraiser)

About
- Nik suggests we sell MASA-branded merchandise to raise funds

Merchandise Ideas
- All officers suggested several merchandise ideas including:
o Collared long-sleeve t-shirt
o Baseball Cap
o Tie Pin
o Kertas Kajang
o Kad Raya
o Scarf
o Pennant (flag)
- In order to keep the project manageable, we will begin with only one idea. Kad Raya is the selected one. Raya photos will be sold separately

Improvements on ideas
- Badik suggests that we do not limit our target market to Malaysians. We could create RPI Merchandise with Malaysian theme such as RPI-Batik. However, licensing of RPI’s trademark would be an issue.
- Julie and Nadiah suggests that we sell the merchandise during the International Fest or GM week

The Team
- After a short discussion, the following team is formed:
o Project Name: “MaMe”
o Project Director: Badik
o Assistant PD: Zuhdi
o Design Team: Nik, Nadiah
o Procurement & Printing: David & Amin – ask Nadiah Noor

Deliverables
- 3 designs of Kad Raya is due by September 30th
- Vendor / Print Shop info is also due by September 30th
-




2) CULTURAL PRIDE NIGHT



Updates
- Date: October 24th
- Cultural Pride Night is a banquet ($15 / ticket for food)
- Nadiah reports that performance practices are ongoing; Preparations for choreography and audio has been completed






3) WARISI ILMU MASA PROGRAM



About
- A program for Malaysian students to update and share with each other on what books or academic material that they have.
- Nik has created a template / form that will be distributed in the beginning of every semester
- There will be an electronic version too
- Collected information will be entered into an Excel spreadsheet that represents a database
The Team
- Project director: Freshman Representative
- Assistant director: Nik



4) REIMBURSEMENT PROCEDURES



About
- There is a need to standardize the reimbursement procedures for payments made in advance by project team members

Details
- Receipts should be sent to Julie within a week of purchase
- Project director should keep track of project expenses

Gas Reimbursement
- In addition to the usual purchases that will be fully reimbursed by MASA, the committee has decided to partially reimburse transportation costs as well in view of the rising gas prices

- A fixed amount of reimbursement will be set depending on the distance / mileage. For instance, each of these represents a different reimbursement class
o Walmart, Price Chopper (Rensselaer/Troy)
o Crossgates, Sam’s Club, Colonie Mall, Latham Circle
o Medina Mart, Lee’s Market, Kashmir, etc. (Downtown Albany)

- Nadiah will do some research, approximate the mileage and prices, then brief the rest of the officers about the suitable rate for reimbursement of gas




4) GENERAL BODY MEETING RECAP



Updates & Reminders
- Affan is the project director
- Zuhdi will be reading prayers
- Amin will ensure that the electronic systems are working; he will be last to leave the room, ensuring that everything is clean
- Badik is the Master of Ceremony
- Affan has ordered 12 pizzas and 10 bottles of soda; Taroi will bring the food
- Nik has prepared his welcoming speech. David will talk a bit about “Warisan Ilmu” program
- David will present the proposed activities for the year and update the slides before the GBM begins
- Nadiah wants everyone to have the agenda; she has called Abang Azahari to give his speech
- Julie will present about the budget and watch the doors.





New / Rising Issues:
New positions proposed: Academic Chair & Webmaster
President of Bengali student Associations requests that MASA members wear traditional costumes on Bengali Night. Announce via email and website.
Nik suggests joint Aidilfitri and Diwali celebration. Perhaps combine cultural food night & MASA Forum. Discus about this in the next meeting.
Next meeting’s chair will be Julie
Project Directors should send a report to Julie within a week of the event

E-Board Meeting 2005_09_02

MASA E-Board Meeting September 2nd, 2005

Discussion
:
1) Updates on Welcoming BBQ
2) New Sports Officer
3) MASA General Body Meeting
4) Formalizing Meeting Protocols
Time
:
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Location
:
Union 3502
Attendees
:
David, Nizal, Amin, Julie, Fadhli, Rafie, Nadiah, Zuhdi
Absentees
:
Afan
Chair
:
Nik Nizal
Adjourned To
:
Friday, September 9th 2005


1) UPDATES ON WELCOMING BBQ



Logistics
(updated)
Date Change
- The date has been changed from Sunday, September 4th to Monday, September 5th because:
o MSA will be using the Community Center on Sunday morning
o More members could attend on Monday

Time Change
- Due to the change in date, the time has been updated to 1:00 – 5:00 pm
- We have the Community Center booked from 12:30 – 5:30 pm

Location
- Still remains at the Community Center

MC
- Nadiah and Nik were unanimously appointed as Master of Ceremony for the event




Activities
Planned
Agenda
- Kudos to Julie for taking the extra effort of creating the Welcoming BBQ’s agenda
- The agenda begins with speeches (by Abang Azahari & Nik ) and introduction of the new members, followed by other programs
- All in attendance agreed to the proposed agenda
- Julie will email the agenda to all committee members

Games
- Ija is in-charge of coordinating all game related events
- Among other games planned are “human bingo” and tug-of-war
- We have gotten a rope for Tug-Of-War that needs to be returned by Tuesday
- David suggested a game that requires members to recall everyone’s name. Nik added that members need to be broken into smaller groups to manage such a game

Important Announcements
- $10 Fall semester fees will be collected
- New members will be given a heads-up about the Freshmen Representative election to be held during our first General Body Meeting of the semester
- Ask everyone to update contact information on website. Also collect a hard-copy of this information during BBQ.
- Nik will print the contact sheet




Purchases Update

Food & Beverages
- Order for halal chicken legs has been placed and will be collected from Medina Mart on Saturday at 8:00pm
- Some ingredients for Mihun have been bought by Ihsan, other ingredients for all food will be purchased tonight at Price Chopper with Taroi’s assistance
- Beverages will be purchased tonight

Utensils
- MASA’s inventory has been checked and we have most utensils except for a few:
o Large Foil Trays (7 required)
o Grill Sets (2 more required)
o Charcoal (2 packs required)

- We already have 2 grill sets (1 from Taroi, another at the Community Center)
- Nadiah will contact Odus to get more grill sets

- Afan is unavailable to report on utensil purchases
- Therefore purchases of required utensils is postponed to tomorrow, Saturday September 3, 2005



2) NEW SPORTS OFFICER
Updates
Decision
- While we have received news from the previous election’s SPR, the committee decided to let Hadi and Jebat to decide among themselves, who should hold the position of sports officer
- Julie and Nadiah will inform them about this
- If a decision is not made by the next GBM, the new sports officer will be elected during the GBM


3) MASA GENERAL BODY MEETING



Logistics
Date
- Friday , September 9 2005
Time / Place
- TBA




GBM Preparation
Committee Meetings
- All officers are expected to attend several discussion meeting in preparation for the GBM
- The first GBM Prep meeting will be held at Amin’s place at 8:00 pm this Sunday, September 4th 2005
- Please come with proposals for the year, categorizing them into the following:
o political, social, sports, welfare, academic, or religious

Recruitment
- Zuhdi will be the Master of Ceremony
- SPR needs to be appointed to run elections




Provisional Agenda
Speeches & Prayers

- Begin with prayers by Zuhdi
- Follow with speeches by President and Advisor

Elections
- Freshman elections will be held
- Sports officer elections may be held depending on Hadi & Jebat’s decision

Budget
- Julie will prepare a presentation of our financials
- Each officer will be assigned (during the GBM prep meeting) a set of events that will be held to estimate its budget

Programs
- David will present the activities planned for the year
- David has to contact MSD to find out the date on which they would visit RPI


MASA Fees
- Collect unpaid MASA dues
Misc.
Language
- All proceedings are to be done in English considering that there will be non-Malaysian attendees


4) FORMALIZING MEETING PROTOCOLS



Policies
Length & Frequency
- Weekly meetings are 2 hours long
- It will be held every Friday from 5:00 – 7:00 pm

Punctuality
- Everyone should arrive to meetings on time. lateness will not be tolerated
- If an officer arrives late, he or she will be the next meeting’s chairperson automatically and will have to serve food at the next meeting

Chair Rotation
- Chair rotation system will be in place. The chair for the following meeting will be appointed at the end of every meeting
- Any agenda proposals for the following meeting must be sent to the chairperson by Wednesday
- The chairperson would send out the meeting’s agenda and a reminder by Thursday night

Absenteeism
- If there is a valid reason to be absent or late, inform all officers 12 hours beforehand, via email (masa@union.rpi.edu) and speak to at least one officer in person

Quorum
- Meetings would commence when more than half officers have arrived

Proxy
Backup plans
- If the secretary is absent, the freshman representative will be the surrogate

Project Meetings
Setup
- For each project, there will be two chairs (primary & deputy)
- Each project would have a project secretary to take detailed minutes for the project

Others
Guest attendees
- Guests are not compulsory, but officers are recommended to invite members as guests to our weekly meetings


Note - Taking
- Everyone should have a notepad or other forms of stationery to take notes at each meeting
- Officers are recommended to share meeting templates that make note-taking during a meeting easier. Nik would send out the first template

Sequence / Procedures
- Each meeting should begin with a post-mortem of past events, followed by set agendas, and finally new issues (isu berbangkit)

Sequence / Procedures
- Each meeting should begin with a post-mortem of past events, followed by set agendas, and finally new issues (isu berbangkit)




NEW BUSINESS

1. Cultural Pride Night will be held on September 16th; Nik & Nadiah are working on it. Nadiah will have more information on Monday
2. Sponsor contact person – appoint specific members as point-of-contact with the scholarship sponsors:
a. MARA – Nik / Badik
b. JPA – Julie
c. Petronas – Amin
d. YTN / TNB – Zuhdi


3. Spcd-l@lists.rpi.edu – find out who is the owner; ask the new members whether they would like to subscribe to the mailing list
4. Instruction Folder / Manual – Begin compiling all official documents, reports, minutes etc. so that the following committee has references to ease the transition
5. Calendars – It is recommended to bring a calendar for every meeting. The calendar should be filled with all MASA events (this will be possible after our GBM) to avoid confusion during meeting discussions
6. Afan will be the chair for our next weekly meeting