SCWSC Constitution from 1997 Guide

CONSTITUTION OF THE STERN COLLEGE FOR WOMEN STUDENT COUNCIL

ARTICLE 1 - NAME

The name of this council shall be Stern College for Women Student Council.

ARTICLE 2 - AIMS

Section 1

The Stern College for Women Student Council will maintain and enhance the religious aspects of Stern College for Women in accordance with the Halachic standards of Yeshiva University.

Section 2

The aims of this organization shall be as follows:

1. To express the opinions of the students of Stern College for Women upon matters affecting them.
2. To act as a liaison between the administration, faculty, and students.
3. To coordinate extra-curricular activities.

ARTICLE 3 - MEMBERSHIP 

Section 1

All undergraduate students of Stern College for Women may be elected members of this student council.

Section 2

The Student Council will consist of the Executive Board and all class boards.

ARTICLE 4 - THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

Section 1

The Executive Board of the Stern College for Women Student Council shall consist of a president, vice president, recording secretary, corresponding secretary and treasurer.

Section 2

No student may be a member of the Executive Board of the Student Council while holding any of the following positions: Chief Editor of The Observer or yearbook, member of the Senate, executive officer of TAC or Sy Syms, student manager of WYUR, SCWSC club president, SCWSC committee head, or Parliamentarian.

ARTICLE 5 - POWERS AND DUTIES

Section 1 - The President

1. The President of student council shall be a member of the incoming Senior class as of the first day of the academic year following spring elections.
2. Duties
1. It shall be the duty of the President to preside over all meetings of the Student Council.
2. The President shall represent the Student Council whenever necessary, and shall serve as an ex-officio member of all committees of the Student Council.
3. The President shall present the agenda of the Student Council meetings to the Recording Secretary three days prior to the meetings.
4. The President and Treasurer may sign all checks drawn on Student Council funds. The signature of the Vice President may substitute for the President.
5. The President shall have the power to call special meetings.
6. The President shall meet with Club Presidents and Class Presidents at least twice a semester
7. The President is responsible for delegating the supervision of all classes, clubs, publications and honor societies to whoever she deems appropriate.

Section 2 - The Vice President

1. The Vice President of the Student Council shall be a member of the incoming Junior or Senior class as of the first day of the academic year following spring elections.
2. Duties
1. The Vice President shall assume the chair and execute the duties of the President's office in the absence of the President.
2. The Vice President shall coordinate programming activities of all clubs and societies.
3. The Vice President shall serve as a member ex-officio of all clubs and societies.
4. The Vice President shall supervise the bookings of all rooms for activities.
5. The Vice President shall be responsible for the charters of all clubs, societies, organizations and publications.

Section 3 - The Treasurer

1. The Treasurer of the Student Council shall be a member of the incoming Junior or Senior class as of the first day of the academic year following spring elections.
2. Duties
1. The Treasurer of the Student Council shall take charge of the funds of the Council. These funds shall be deposited in a checking account at a bank designated by the Student Council.
2. The Treasurer may co-sign all checks drawn on Student Council funds with the President or Vice President of the Student Council. Before issuing any checks for a budget, the Treasurer must haven the Club President submit a monetary request form with the following information:
1. Amount of money requested.
2. Purpose of requested funds.
3. The allocation of funds are up to the discretion of the President and Treasurer.
4. The Treasurer must collect all documents verifying the use of all funds.
5. The Treasurer shall require an itemized budget from each chartered club or organization to be submitted within one month after the establishment of the organization or within four weeks of the resumption of the academic year.
6. The Treasurer shall maintain a budget for the regulation of the expenditures of the Student Council in the following manner
1. At the first meeting of the Executive Board each year, a financial account of the preceding year shall be submitted; thereafter, at the first meeting of each month the expenditure and balance shall be presented.
2. No extra budget expenditures shall be made without the consent of the Executive Board.
3. The Treasurer will issue checks only after a requisition slip has been filed and approved by the Student Council President. The presentation of receipts of a calendar approved SCWSC event is also required before the Treasurer will issue a check.

Section 4 - The Recording Secretary

1. The Recording Secretary of the Student Council shall be a member of the incoming Sophomore, Junior, or Senior class as of the first day of the academic year following spring elections.
2. Duties
1. The Recording Secretary shall file the names of all committee chairpersons and members with the Dean of Students immediately upon their appointments.
2. The Recording Secretary shall post the date, time, location and the agenda of Student Council meetings in the following places:
1. student council bulletin board
2. all student residences
3. cafeteria, two days prior to the meeting
3. The Recording Secretary of the Student Council shall keep a record of all the meetings of the Student Council.
4. The Recording Secretary shall post meeting highlights of the Student Council meetings in the following places within two days after the meeting takes place:
1. student council bulletin Board
2. all student residences
3. cafeteria
5. The Recording Secretary shall submit all roll call voting information to the editor of The Observer for publication after each student council meeting.

Section 5 - The Corresponding Secretary

1. The Corresponding shall be a member of the incoming Sophomore, Junior, or Senior class as of the first day of the academic year following spring elections.
2. Duties
1. The Corresponding Secretary shall take care of all correspondences of the Student Council, including business letters.
2. In absence of the Recording Secretary, the Corresponding Secretary shall take minutes at the meeting of the Student Council.
3. The Corresponding Secretary shall take attendance at all meetings, and keep such records on file until the completion of her term of office.
4. The Corresponding Secretary shall inform all students required to attend Student Council meetings and the student body at large at least one week prior to the date of the meeting.
5. The Corresponding Secretary will sign all fliers before they are posted. She must keep a record of all fliers that she signed.
6. The Corresponding Secretary will post a notice of the distribution of applications for Senators and Parliamentarian.
1. The Corresponding Secretary will post a notice of the results in the following locations:
1. student council bulletin board
2. all student residences
3. cafeteria
7. The Corresponding Secretary will notify the Parliamentarian prior to public announcement of her appointment.

Section 6 - The Parliamentarian

1. The Parliamentarian shall be a member of the incoming Sophomore, Junior, or Senior class as of the first day of the academic year following spring elections.
2. The procedure for nominating the Parliamentarian shall be as follows:
1. The Corresponding Secretary will post a notice stating that applications for Parliamentarian will be accepted.
2. Applications will consist of a personal statement, stating why the applicant believes that she is capable of doing the job of Parliamentarian.
3. Class Presidents will review the applications, and each president will select a nominee.
4. The nominees' applications will be submitted to the Executive Board for review. The final decision will be made by the Student Council President and Vice President.
5. The Corresponding Secretary will post a notice of the results in the following locations:
1. student council bulletin board
2. all student residences
3. cafeteria
3. Duties
1. The Parliamentarian shall explain the Constitution when necessary.
2. The Parliamentarian shall be a liaison between the Executive Board and the SCWSC committee heads.
3. The Parliamentarian shall meet with the committee heads at least three times a semester to advise them of their responsibilities and encourage them to fulfill these responsibilities.
4. The Parliamentarian shall attend all student council meetings and make sure the Constitution is being upheld.
4. The Parliamentarian may not hold any position on either the executive or class boards.

ARTICLE 6 - RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

Section 1

1. The Executive Board shall be a policy formulating body with the power to initiate legislation and transact business.
2. The Executive Board shall have the power to charter clubs, organizations, societies, publications, and honor societies as specified in Article 2 of the By-Laws
3. The Executive Board may appoint all committees not otherwise provided for in the Constitution. Final decisions will be made by the Student Council President
4. The procedure for selecting committee members is as follows: At the beginning of each academic year it should be publicized that those students interested in activities should fill out the appropriate forms and file them with the respective committee heads, Each committee head will review the applications and will submit them to the Parliamentarian. The Executive Board and the Parliamentarian will discuss them and make final decisions.
5. The Executive Board must approve the activities of all clubs, classes, organizations, publications, and honor societies.
1. Any publications and written literature must be approved.
2. Any publications and written literature must publicize Student Council sponsorship.
6. The Executive Board shall meet once a week.

ARTICLE 7 - MEETINGS

Section 1

The Executive Board shall hold open meetings at a fixed time and place not less than once every six weeks. In addition, the President may call extra meetings at the written request of ten or more members of the body. A quorum must be present for meetings to take place.

Section 2

All issues that arise at a Student Council meeting shall be voted upon only by those members of the Student Council present at the meeting. There will be no alternate delegates to represent absent members. An issue may be brought up for a vote upon the consent of the majority of the aforementioned members. The Parliamentarian casts the deciding vote in the event of a tie.

Section 3

In the event that an Executive Board member is repeatedly absent from meetings, she must submit an acceptable excuse to the Executive Board or face impeachment.

Section 4

Any member of the student body may attend Executive Board meetings.

Section 5

Student Council must have a meeting with all club presidents, publication editors, and committee chairpersons at least once a semester. 

ARTICLE 8 - REFERENDUM

Section 1

1. Upon the request of 25% of the attending student body, petitions may be presented to appeal Student Council rulings.
2. 75% of the total student body must agree for the results of the referendum to be considered binding.

ARTICLE 9 - IMPEACHMENT

Section 1 - Executive Board

Impeachment charges may be brought against any member of the Executive Board by consent of a majority of the Executive Board members or a petition signed by a majority of the student body. The officer facing charges has the right to request the President of the Student Council (in the event that the President is the one to be impeached, the Vice President should take charge) to call a meeting of the student body within ten days of her impeachment charges, and the accused has the right to make a statement in her defense. At the meeting, the President will read the charges. If affirmatively voted on by at least two thirds of the attending student body, a date shall be set for trial by the Executive Board concerning the officer. The accused is removed from office upon the vote of two thirds of the Executive Board.

Section 2 - Class and Club Boards

Impeachment charges may be brought against a member of a class board or a member of a club board by consent of a majority of the board or of the members of the class or club. A vote of two thirds of the class members or club members is required to remove the board member from office.

ARTICLE 10 - ELECTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL

Section 1

1. The President, Vice President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer of the Student Council of Stern College for Women shall be elected by ballot by the entire student body of this college.
2. Graduating seniors may vote for and sign only the petitions of the Executive Board

Section 2

1. Two weeks prior to elections, a notice of the election shall be posted on the Student Council bulletin board.
2. Any member of the student body who desires to become a candidate for an office shall submit her name to the President of Student Council within three days after the notice for elections has been posted. In addition, each candidate must submit a nomination list of 75 names for Executive Board, twenty-five names for other offices; no person may sign more than one petition per office. Upon completion, it is handed to the election coordinator(s).
3. All prospective candidates for office in the Student Council must have had some record of service or leadership, e.g. officer of chartered club, resident advisor, editor of The Observer. No student on probation may run for an office. All candidates must have a 3.0 GPA and no tentative grades. However, students not meeting that requirement may petition the Executive Board for special consideration. No student may run for an office if she will graduate before June of the year in which she will serve her term. She must be attending the college full time during her term and live in university housing.
4. The eligibility of each candidate shall be considered for approval by the Executive Board of the Student Council.
5. Three days prior to elections shall be designated for campaigning. During this time, each candidate for the Executive Board of the Student Council shall present a speech at a time and place designated by the present Student Council President.
6. Elections shall be held by the first Thursday in May unless this date conflicts with vacation, in which case the Executive Board shall determine the date of elections. The presidential debate shall be conducted by the Student Council President and election coordinator(s).
7. The results of the elections shall be posted on four prominent locations no later than midnight after the closing of election polls.
8. The newly elected Executive Board of the Student Council shall be installed at a formal installation ceremony within three weeks of elections.
1. The Student Council President Elect shall preside at the last Student Council meeting of the year.
2. The term of office for an Executive Board member of the Student Council shall be for a period of one academic year.
3. A student may be elected for the same office for more than one term.

ARTICLE 11 - ELECTION PROCESS

Section 1 - Rules and Regulations

In order to run for Executive Board or a Class Board, one must fulfill the following criteria:

1. Each candidate must be in good academic standing, not on probation, and have a GPA of at least a 3.0.
2. For Class Board positions, each candidate must be a member of the class for which she is running.
3. Class status for a candidate running for Student Council Executive Board, Class Boards, and Senate shall be determined by the official class listing of the office of the registrar.
4. All candidates must complete official SCWSC petition forms.
1. In order to run for an Executive Board position, one must obtain 75 signatures from current SCW students.
2. In order to run for a Class Board position, one must obtain only 25 signatures. These signatures must be from members of the same class as the candidate
3. No student may repeat signatures on two petitions for the same position.
4. In the interest of fairness, if more than one person signs a petition for the same position, their name will be canceled from both petitions. Therefore, it is advisable for each candidate to obtain 10-15 extra names.

Section 2 - Campaigning

1. Each Executive Board candidate may spend at most $75.00, and each Class Board candidate may spend at most $50.00.
2. Candidates may not give out any items to students.
3. No signs may exceed eight and a half by 14 inches.
4. All signs must be approved by the election coordinator(s).

Section 3

1. No student may run for an office if she will graduate before the end of her intended term.
2. If an elected officer or senator becomes a member of another class while still serving her term, she shall complete her elected term unless her previous class opposes. In the event of opposition to a Class Board member, a special election shall be held. In the event of opposition to a senator, an immediate appointment shall be made.
3. Members of the Executive Board and Class Presidents may not chair any clubs, committees or organizations, but they may be members.

Section 4 - Voting

1. Voting polls shall be open in the school building from nine a.m. until five p.m
2. Voting shall be by secret ballot.
3. There shall be no voting by absentee ballot.
4. There shall be no voting by proxy.
5. The votes shall be counted by the outgoing President of Student Council, the next highest Executive Board member not running for an office, and the election coordinator(s).
6. In the event of a tie, re-voting shall take place within three days of the election. No co-positions allowed.
7. An incomplete ballot will be counted.
8. The ballot count shall be revealed upon written request.
9. The ballots of the election shall be retained by the Student Council President for one month following elections. During this period, any candidate wishing to contest the results of the election may demand a recount of the ballots upon presentation of a petition signed by a minimum of two members of the incumbent Executive Board.
10. Write-in ballots shall be accepted. This candidate may not be declared the winner unless she meets all previously stated qualifications.

Section 5

In case of a vacancy, a special election may be called by the Executive Board, and nominations shall be made within one week after the office is vacated. A special election shall be held within the next seven school days.

ARTICLE 12 - PUBLICATION OF VOTING INFORMATION

The Observer, the official undergraduate newspaper of Stern College for Women, is required to publish roll call voting results from each and every meeting. The Recording Secretary is required to submit this information to the Editor of The Observer after each meeting.

ARTICLE 13 - AMENDMENTS

The Amendment Process

1. In order to amend the constitution, a petition with 100 signatures from the student body must be submitted to the President. The sponsor of the bill will have the opportunity to present her case to the Executive Board in an open forum.
2. The amendment must then be approved by three fifths of the Executive Board.
3. Upon approval, the amendment must be approved by three fourths of the voting student body in a special election called by the President.

ARTICLE 14 - RATIFICATION

Two thirds of the ballots cast by the voting student body must approve the constitution in order for it to be ratified.

BY LAWS

ARTICLE 1 - ELECTION OF CLASS OFFICERS

Section 1

1. Class elections for the Sophomore, Junior, and Senior boards shall be held the same day as elections of the Executive Board.
2. The elections shall be conducted under the supervision of the Student Council election coordinator(s).
3. Elections of the incoming Freshman class officers shall be held within one month of the beginning of the next academic year.

Section 2

1. Class officers (President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary) shall be installed at the official Student Council Installation.
2. Class officers must have at leasta 3.0 GPA and must be attending class full time during their term of office.
3. Voting procedures shall be the same as those outined for the Executive Board.

ARTICLE 2 - CLUBS

1. The charters of organizations and clubs must be obtained from a Student Council Executive Board Secretary. All organizations must embody the Halachic tradition and must adhere to the policies of the Student Council. The form of the charter is as follows:
   

   The Student Council of Stern College for Women hereby charters the
   _______________________
   Club/Society/Organization for a period of one year commencing
   _______________________
   and concluding
   _______________________
   in compliance with regulations accompanying the charter.

2. Each charter shall be filed with the Secretary of the Student Council.
3. Applications for renewal of charters shall be made at the end of the Spring semester or at the start of the Fall semester with budgetary requirements listed.
4. A report of the years activities of each club/society/organization shall be filed with the Secretary at the end of each semester.
5. An oral or written report of each clubs activities shall be given at Student Council meetings.
6. No new organization shall be chartered unless a minimum of 25 persons submit a written request to the Student Council.
7. If the charter of a club/organization/society is not renewed, the credits or deficits of it shall be assumed by the Student Council and the organization shall be declared non existent.
8. No member of the student body may hold more than two key positions (i.e. President of two clubs).

ARTICLE 3 - RULES OF ORDER

The proceedings of the Student Council shall be governed by rules of Parliamentary procedure, Robert's Rules of Order. However, if this conflicts in any way with this constitution, then this constitution shall take precedence.

ARTICLE 4 - STUDENT SENATORS

Section 1 

1. The Senate is the official liaison between the students and the administration regarding academic affairs.
2. The selection will be done by an application and interview process and voted on by the current sitting Senate and the Student Council President.
3. As directed by the Senate Constitution, student Senators shall be selected for a term of two semesters.
4. The positions open are as follows:
   

   One representative from Freshman class
   Two representatives from Sophomore class
   Three representatives from Junior class
   Three representatives from Senior class
   

   In addition, there must be at least one member from each one of the four categories on the SCW requirement sheet (Blue/Green).
   Examples:
   
   1. Sy Syms, Speech Pathology, Speech and Drama, Math, Foreign Language and Computer Science
   2. Humanities
   3. Social Sciences
   4. Natural Sciences
5. The Freshman class representative shall be selected in the Fall during Freshman class board elections.

Section 2

All Senators will be installed at the first Senate meeting of the semester.

Section 3

The Senate shall convene with the faculty once a month after the student Senate has met to decide what to bring forth to the Faculty.

Section 4

The following is the procedure for Senate activity:

1. Senate shall meet among themselves in order to discuss an academic issue.
2. They shall open a forum to the student body at which time the Senators will present their views and students may contribute feedback.
3. The Senate shall vote on the issue at hand amongst themselves.
4. The Senate shall be governed by Robert Rule's of Order.

Section 5

No provision in the Senate Constitution shall contradict the Student Council constitution.

Parliamentarian: Elizabeth Wohlgemuth

The Constitutional Amendment Committee 1995-1996
Rachel Hellman
Dina Maslow
Leebie Mallin
Rhoda Pagano
Elizabeth Renna