Planning Committee

The specific duties of the Planning Committee include, but are not limited to:

  • Maintaining and running the drop-in centers;
  • Creating and approving expansion projects to present to the Executive Committee;
  • Implementation of approved expansion projects;
  • Maintaining and running Health and Medical Sciences 98/198;
  • Fundraising;
  • Social Outreach;
  • Approving financial expenditures (< $200);
  • Recruiting future volunteers.

All members of the Planning Committee, regardless of their specific office therein, share the following general responsibilities:

  • Get to know new volunteers and staff;
  • Attend all Training, Retreat, Planning Committee, and Sunshine meetings. All absences must be excused by an Administrative Coordinator at least one day prior to the meeting (excepting extraordinary circumstances);
  • Fulfill all duty-specific responsibilities;
  • Help recruit and train a new replacement officer when transitioning out of your position;
  • Help recruit and train new caseworkers, volunteers, and staff members, including helping class when needed;
  • Support Suitcase Clinic Community and Public Relations Activities;
  • Help with any Suitcase Clinic project that requires participation.

Meetings
The Planning Committee meetings are held every Wednesday evening from 7:00-9:00 PM. They serve to unite the volunteer community, providing a forum for the various divisions to check-in with each other, an opportunity for dialogue, and a time to update all divisions on what is happening throughout the Suitcase Clinic. Any proposals are voted upon in a democratic process and the majority rules, although we strive to reach a consensus. Only Planning Committee members may vote. Students currently enrolled in Health and Medical Sciences 98/198, volunteers at our drop-in centers, and members of the broader public are welcome to attend and observe our weekly meetings. Meetings are prepared and facilitated by the three Administrative Coordinators.

Sunshine Meetings
Sunshine Meetings are an optional supplement to the regular Planning Committee meetings, and can occur up to two-times a semester on Thursday evenings after Health and Medical Sciences 98/198 has adjourned, on an as-needed basis. They run from 7:00 - 9:00 PM and grant the Planning Committee extra time to discuss and vote on issues which come up during the semester. During the meetings, proposals are discussed in more detail, and specific proposals are voted upon to present to the Executive Committee. Those that called the meeting prepare and facilitate it. Attendance is mandatory for all Planning Committee members, with an average of roughly 20 people attending. The structure is informal to formal depending upon the purpose of the meeting. Minutes are distributed via e-mail, posted on suitcaseclinic.org, and copies are kept within our office in University Hall.

Retreat
On the third Saturday of each semester, a mandatory retreat will be planned by the Administrative Coordinators, which will be attended by all Planning Committee members. This retreat creates community between officers and establishes goals for the semester. It also provides orientation for new staff members (structure, policies, procedures, calendar); team building, social gathering; review and evaluation of previous semester; discuss strengths and areas for improvement; discuss ideas for upcoming semester/year; finance committee and Health and Medical Sciences 98/198 committee presentations. The Administrative Coordinators facilitate the retreat with support from advisers and other Planning Committee members. Everyone involved with the Suitcase Clinic, including advisers and service providers, is invited to attend. It is an informal meeting format run by the Administrative Coordinators. There is no voting, the Secretary keeps minutes, written material is distributed including the semester calendar, and discussion occurs surrounding policies and procedures. Flip chart paper is used for the discussion and brainstorming session. Minutes are distributed via e-mail to the Planning Committee, posted on suitcaseclinic.org, and kept within our office in University Hall. There are typically around 30-40 people in attendance.

Trainings
The attendance of every Planning Committee member to one optional training of their choosing per semester is mandatory.

Elections
The way in which we conduct our elections strives to accomplish a number of goals:

  • Ensure fair, responsible and democratic elections;
  • Maintain consistency in the elections process;
  • Decrease the amount of controversy surrounding the conclusions of elections;
  • Increase efficiency and effectiveness of elections;
  • Create dialogue about individual positions and candidates for election;
  • Ensure qualified candidates are elected;
  • Allow individual subdivisions to establish sovereignty over their subdivision-specific elections;
  • Maintain stability in the Suitcase Clinic umbrella organization;
  • Ensure that only volunteers who are fully informed about clinic policy, rules and procedure, and are passionate about clinic, are eligible to vote for their representative officers;
  • Eliminate political patronage and pork-barrel politics, and ensure voters have confidence in who they are voting for, and that voters are fully aware of the strengths and merits of each candidate before casting their vote;
  • Eliminate the casting of votes based solely upon a first impression gathered from a brief speech at the election itself, personal popularity, cults of personality or confounding factors which are not indicative as to the qualities and strengths which are actually relevant to the officer position being run for.

The elections are structured as follows:

  • There will be one election held on the 3rd to last Wednesday of the semester at 6:00 PM;
  • Planning Committee Applications are due via email to the designated Administrative Coordinator by midnight on the Wednesday prior to elections (the 4th to last Wednesday of the semester);
  • Applicants are required to shadow the current holder of the position they are running for prior to elections;
  • All applications will be sent to the Planning Committee contact list and posted on suitcaseclinic.org. To be eligible to vote members must have read all the applications;
  • The three Administrative Coordinators serve as Elections Coordinators;
  • All Planning Committee members and current Health and Medical Science 98/198 students are eligible to vote;
  • Voters must be present for an entire subdivision’s voting block in order to vote. Voters are not required to stay for the entire election and are free to go once a subdivision election is complete;
  • All voters are required to sign their ballots in and out;
  • The election night will be broken up into subdivisions and each subdivision election will have a separate ballot;
  • Candidates deliver their speeches while other candidates for the same position wait outside, with a two-minute limit to the speech;
  • Questions are asked and are restricted to two minutes per candidate. Elections Coordinators decide who asks the questions, and can allow more questions to be asked;
  • Once all the candidates have given their speeches, they remain outside and a discussion is initiated in which all members present will be given the opportunity to speak. Each member will have their comments restricted to one minute each and must keep their comments relevant to the Suitcase Clinic. Individuals currently holding the position that is being discussed, along with the Elections Coordinators, will be allowed to speak for three minutes;
  • In the event that a candidate is running unopposed, no questioning or discussion will take place. Candidates will still be required to give a speech;
  • Voting for a position will take place immediately after the last person from the subdivision has spoken. Voting is done via private ballot. Members must sign in to receive their ballot at the beginning of the election and sign out and place their ballot in the ballot box once the election is complete. Members can abstain from voting. The candidate with the highest number of votes will be declared the winner. All positions are final, and no changes or switching can occur. Changes can only be made via Planning Committee vote. If the candidate with the highest number of votes declines the position, the position then goes to the person with the next highest number of votes. In the event of a tie, all people present at the election where the tie occurred can e-mail a designated Administrative Coordinator their vote. For those who are uncomfortable with the e-mail vote, a ballot box will be placed in the following days Thursday class. All people present at the election where the tie occurred can come at anytime during the two-hour window to drop off their ballots into the box. These voters must sign off when turning in ballots. If someone is also bringing another voter’s ballot, they must sign off for the other person as well. An Administrative Coordinator must be present to receive these ballots and sign people in;
  • Votes will be counted by the Administrative Coordinators at the end of the election. Results will be emailed to the Planning Committee contact list;
  • Any dispute that does not have a solution contained in this proposal will be settled by the Planning Committee.

Service Provider subdivision

  1. Medical Coordinators (2nd year Joint Medical Program students)*
  2. Assistant Medical Coordinators (1st year Joint Medical Program students)
  3. Optometry Coordinators (2nd year Optometry students)*
  4. Assistant Optometry Coordinators (1st year Optometry students)

Service Providers represent an exception to this protocol, as they are not elected, but rather volunteer from their respective fields. They nevertheless remain members of the Planning Committee.

Planning Committee subdivision

  1. Administrative Coordinators (3)*
  2. Class Coordinators (3)*
  3. Undergraduate Student Instructors (10) (Class Coordinators personally interview and decide amongst themselves every semester as to who their UGSIs will be)
  4. Secretary (1)*
  5. Newsletter Coordinator (1)*
  6. Historian (1)
  7. PR and Fundraising Coordinator (1)
  8. SHARE Coordinators (3)*
  9. SPEAC Coordinators (2)*

General Clinic subdivision

  1. General Clinic Coordinators (3)*
  2. Volunteer Coordinators (2)
  3. Clinic Runner (1)
  4. Haircutting Coordinator (1)
  5. Foot Care Coordinators (2)
  6. Dental Coordinator (1)
  7. Legal Coordinator (1)
  8. CARE Coordinator (1)
  9. General Clinic Health Education and Donation Coordinators (3)*
  10. General Clinic CoCAs (2).

Women’s Clinic subdivision

  1. Women’s Clinic Coordinators (3)*
  2. Women’s Clinic CoCAs (3)
  3. Women’s Clinic Health Education and Donation Coordinators (2)*
  4. Women’s Clinic Children’s Coordinators (2)

Youth Clinic

  1. Youth Clinic Coordinators (3)*
  2. Youth Clinic CoCAs (2)

*Also mandatory Executive Committee members

Vote of Confidence
Any Planning Committee member may call for a vote of confidence upon any officer at a regularly scheduled Planning Committee meeting. The vote will be conducted during the next regularly scheduled Planning Committee meeting. Only Planning Committee members present can vote, and any officer who does not receive a majority of votes in his or her favor shall resign from such office or responsibility immediately. Standard nomination procedures shall apply for the filling of the office.

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