Some of RCAAA's dues paying members in the USA have received correspondence from Robert Kolej Mezunlar Dernegi in Istanbul regarding their overdue membership fees, even though they have been paying their dues to RCAAA in the USA. As the RCAAA Board, we felt obliged to respond to this issue with a clarification and provide you with a suggested course of action:

As you know, RCAAA and Robert Kolej Mezunlar Dernegi are legally two separate entities in terms of location and member base. Although the dues-paying members of RCAAA gain the same privileges as the dues-paying members of Robert Kolej Mezunlar Dernegi, since the two entities are separate, the dues paid to RCAAA do not count towards the dues payable to Robert Kolej Mezunlar Dernegi. Therefore, if an individual is a member of both organizations but pays dues only to RCAAA, dues owed to Robert Kolej Mezunlar Dernegi still remain unpaid. Due to the non-for-profit organization laws in Turkey, Robert Kolej Mezunlar Dernegi is legally bound to send notices to all their non-dues-paying members, regardless of where they live, and even if they are dues-paying members of RCAAA.

In summary, receiving overdue membership fee notices from Robert Kolej Mezunlar Dernegi does not jeopardize your status or privileges as a dues-paying member of RCAAA. Therefore, you may either continue to disregard these notices from Robert Kolej Mezunlar Dernegi, or if you do not want to receive such correspondence, you may also choose to send a letter to dernek@rkmd.org.tr or fax to +90 (212) 257-2626, asking to be removed from their membership list. Please note that canceling your Robert Kolej Mezunlar Dernegi membership will not change your status with RCAAA. As long as you continue to pay your dues to RCAAA, you will continue to have the same privileges as Robert Kolej Mezunlar Dernegi members.

We hope this clarifies some of the confusion that may have been caused by the notices received from Robert Kolej Mezunlar Dernegi.