Bylaws-of-the-Student-Senate-of-Wabash-College

Unless both the chairman and the President-elect of the Student Body recognize business which must come before the Student Senate immediately, the body shall move at once to the inaugura

Bylaws of the Student Senate of Wabash College

Preamble

We, the representatives of the Student Body of Wabash College, in the interest of providing order and regulation to the business of the Student Senate, do ordain and establish these Bylaws

in accordance with the Constitution of the Student Body of Wabash College

Article I Name, Establishment, and Insignia

Section 1 Name The name of this body shall be the Student Senate of Wabash College

Section 2 Establishment These Bylaws are established by the Student Senate, and are

ordained with the authority of the Student Body under Article V, Section 1 of the Constitution

Section 3 Insignia The Student Senate may establish the insignia of the Student Body, the

Student Senate and their offices Insignia shall be the property of the Student Body, with all rights reserved Insignia may be used by the Student Senate, the appropriate officers and committees of the Student Body and Student Senate, and those granted written permission by the appropriate officer of the Student Senate

Article II Membership

Section 1 Membership The membership of the Student Senate shall be as outlined in Article

IV, Sections 3 and 4 of the Constitution

Section 2 Duties of the Members of the Student Senate The Members of the Student Senate

shall

1 Faithfully represent the constituency from which they have been elected,

2 Regularly report the business of the Student Senate to their constituency, and

3 Serve in all other capacities as directed by the Student Senate or the Executive Authority

of the Student body

Section 3 Honorary Senator The Student Senate may confer upon any person who it feels has

exemplified the ideals of student governance the station of Honorary Senator An Honorary Senator may serve as an ex-officio or advisor to the Student Senate or any committee of the Student Senate at the direction of President of the Student Body All former Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Student Body shall be awarded this status

Section 4 Senate Liaison Communication between the Student Senate and another

organization may benefit from the active employment of a liaison A Senate Liaison shall represent the opinion, aims and decisions of the Student Senate to the assigned organization, and report to the Student Senate and its officers on the situation of the assigned organization Senate Liaisons are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the executive authority of the Student Body

Section 5 Titles and Honorifics Each member of the Student Senate is entitled to be addressed

by his title, or an appropriately shortened version thereof, when conducting business for the

Student Body The honorific ‘Mr.’ may be applied to the titles of President, Vice-President, or Chairman—when referring to the chairman of the body who is not also the President of the Student Body The honorific ‘honorable’ may be applied to the titles Senator, Representative, or Chairman—when referring to the chairman of a standing committee of the Student Senate

Article III Executive Authority

Section 1 Empowerment The executive authority of the Student Body is empowered by

Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution The Student Senate may further empower and employ the executive authority under Article III, Section 5, clause 5 and Section 6, clause 3

Section 2 Further Duties and Powers of the President The Student Senate directs the

President of the Student Body to serve in the following capacities He shall

1 Execute, to the best of his abilities, the acts of the Student Senate,

2 Appoint all standing and necessary, special committees of the Student Senate with its approval,

3 Appoint all student representatives to committees of the Faculty, and

4 Serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member of all committees of the Student Senate when

not serving as a voting member of said committees

Section 3 Further Duties and Powers of the Vice-President The Student Senate directs the

Vice-President of the Student Body to serve in the following capacities He shall

1 Appoint sergeants-at-arms of the Student Senate, when necessary, to maintain order,

2 Serve as the official representative of the Student Body to the Faculty,

3 Serve as the official representative of the Student Body to the Alumni,

4 Serve as the chairman of all committees, where no other chairman has been appointed, and

5 Serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member of all committees of the Student Senate when not serving as a voting member of said committees

Article IV Legislative Authority

Section 1 Empowerment The Student Senate is empowered to enact any legislation which

does not violate the letter or spirit of the Constitution or these Bylaws The several committees

of the Student Senate may be empowered to create such policies and take such actions which do not violate the letter or spirit of the Constitution, Bylaws or policies of the Student Senate

Section 2 Convocation Whereas neither the retiring Chairman nor Chairman pro tempore of

the Student Senate is present, the senior most member of the Student Senate in terms of semesters served shall call to order the Convocation of the Student Senate each year The chairman shall appoint a voting member-elect of the Student Senate to act as secretary until the Secretary of the Student Senate is elected Unless both the chairman and the President-elect of the Student Body recognize business which must come before the Student Senate immediately, the body shall move at once to the inauguration of the President and Vice-President of the Student Body and the installation of the members of the Student Senate Upon inauguration, the Vice-President shall assume the chairmanship of the Convocation Following the installation of the Members of the Student Senate, the Convocation shall move to the election of a Secretary and a Treasurer

Section 3 Legislative Session After the inauguration, installation and the election of the

remaining general officers, the President of the Student Body shall open the spring legislative

session of the Student Senate At the conclusion of the last regular meeting of the Student Senate each spring, the President shall retire the Student Senate into summer recess The President shall open the fall legislative session of the Student Senate at its first meeting each fall semester and shall dissolve the Student Senate after its last regular meeting in December Matters of concern which arise whilst the Student Senate is in summer recess or after it has been dissolved shall be settled by council between the general officers and the President-elect and Vice-President-elect

of the Student Body, if such persons exist

Section 4 General Officers of the Student Senate The general officers of the Student Senate

shall be the President and the Vice-President of the Student Body, and the Chairman pro tempore, Secretary and the Treasurer of the Student Senate

Section 5 Appointment and Duties of the Chairman pro tempore The Vice-President of the

Student Body shall appoint a member of the Student Senate to act as Chairman pro tempore The Student Senate must approve the appointment by two-thirds majority vote The Chairman pro tempore of the Student Senate must have completed three (3) semesters of experience serving as

a member of the Student Senate, except in cases where no member qualifies or is willing to serve The Chairman pro tempore shall act as Chairman of the Student Senate in the absence of the Vice-President of the Student Body, and otherwise serve as directed by the Executive Authority

Section 6 Election of the Secretary and the Treasurer The Student Senate shall elect a

Secretary and a Treasurer at the Convocation of the Student Senate All voting members of the Student Senate are eligible for election The Secretary and the Treasurer shall serve, independently, until the next Convocation or until such time as a resignation is given, removal from office occurs, or the officer is otherwise incapable of fulfilling his duty In the event of an early vacancy, the Student Senate shall act to elect a replacement at its next regular meeting; the Vice-President of the Student Body shall execute the duties of the Treasurer during such a

vacancy until a replacement is elected

Section 7 Duties of the Secretary The Secretary of the Student Senate shall

1 Keep a Roll of the Student Senate, including its members, voting members, honorary senators, senate liaisons, and committee and other appointments,

2 Keep accurate minutes of the meetings of the Student Senate,

3 Keep accurate records of the standing policies of the Student Senate and its committees, and

4 Maintain the electronic resources of the Student Senate, including

a An accurate mailing list on which all relevant parties are member,

b Any special email addresses as may be required by the officers and committees of the Student Senate,

c An accurate blackboard account on which all relevant parties are member, and

d A website on which is included the Constitution, Bylaws and policies of the Student Senate and its committees, the Roll of the Student Senate, and any other pertinent information

Section 8 Duties of the Treasurer The Treasurer of the Student Senate shall

1 Serve as the chairman of the Audit and Finance Committee,

2 Keep an accurate account of the assets of the Student Body,

3 Direct the distribution of funds as approved by the Student Senate,

4 Pay all approved expenses, and

5 Report regularly to the Student Senate on the financial condition of the Student Body

Section 9 Student Activities Fees By the second meeting of the Student Senate each

November, the Audit and Finance Committee shall recommend to the Student Senate a rate at which to set the following academic year’s Student Activities Fees The Student Senate shall set the rate of fees no later than the last regular Student Senate meeting of the fall semester

Section 10 Apportionment of Funds to the Senior Council Activities Committee The

Student Senate shall apportion no more than fifty percent of each semester’s Student Activities Fees to the Senior Council Activities Committee These funds are apportioned for the specific purpose of contracting entertainments for the enjoyment of the entire Student Body, purchase equipment for the betterment of campus entertainment venues, and fund social events for the enjoyment of the Student Body or philanthropic events for the betterment of the Wabash community

Article V Meetings of the Student Senate

Section 1 Time and Day The Student Senate and its committees shall meet in regular session

each full week of class, except during weeks of finals, at a time and on a day to be set by the Student Senate or the respective committee The Student Senate and its committees may meet in special or executive session at any other time The Student Body must be made aware of the time and day of all meetings of the Student Senate and its committees

Section 2 Location The Student Senate shall meet in a location designated by the Executive

Authority Committees of the Student Senate shall meet in a location designated by their respective chairmen The Student Body must be made aware of the location of all meetings of the Student Senate and its committees

Section 3 Dress All persons present at a meeting of the Student Senate shall be expected to

dress in an appropriate manner

Section 4 Executive Sessions The Student Senate and its committees may convene in or retire

to an executive session for the purpose of conducting business in which privacy is necessary Only members of the Student Senate or the respective committee may be present, as well as such Honorary Senators, Senate Liaisons, other ex-officios, and pertinent individuals as the chairman

of the respective body may direct Article VIII, Section 6 of the Constitution must be respected

Section 5 Meeting Minutes The minutes of all Student Senate meetings or those of its

committees shall be forwarded to the members of the respective bodies at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the meeting at which they are to be approved In order to prevent the perpetuation of false or inaccurate information, no non-member may be permitted to review the meeting minutes of the Student Senate or its committees until formal approval by the respective body is granted

Section 6 Meeting Procedure Meetings of the Student Senate shall be conducted according to

the most newly revised edition of Roberts Rules of Order where those rules do not violate the

letter or spirit of the Constitution, or the Bylaws or policies of the Student Senate The chairman

of the Constitution, Bylaw and Policy Review Committee shall act as parliamentarian of the Student Senate Committees of the Student Senate may adopt their own meeting procedures The chairman of the Student Senate or its committees shall be empowered to ensure that meetings remain orderly

Section 7 Quorum The presence of a simple majority of the voting members of the Student

Senate or its committees constitutes quorum at meetings of the respective body

Section 8 Voting Procedure Each voting member of the Student Senate or its committees

shall be entitled to an equal number of votes on an issue before the respective body Any voting member who stands to make significant gain from a decision shall be in conflict of interests; he shall abstain from voting

Section 9 Proxies Each voting member of the Student Senate, except the Vice-President, shall

be entitled to appoint a proxy Proxies must be appointed from the constituency to which the voting member represents Non-voting members of the Student Senate, including Honorary Senators, Senate Liaisons and other ex-officios are prohibited from appointing proxies Proxies must be sworn under the senatorial oath of office by the President of the Student Body Proxies

shall assume all the privileges of the voting member, except he may not be allowed to vote on issues that require the specific knowledge of the voting member, nor may he be present at an executive session of the Student Senate Proxies may not be appointed for committee work

Section 10 Attendance Policy In the interest of ensuring that the Student Senate is able to

fulfill its duty to the Student Body, every voting member is expected to be present at every regular meeting of the Student Senate Voting members are required to provide a duly sworn proxy at any regular meeting to which they may be absent The voting status of any member shall be suspended after he has failed to attend any two regular meetings without providing a proxy Any voting-member of the Student Senate whose voting privileges have been suspended due to failure to attend meetings without providing a proxy must attend one regular meeting of the Student Senate, only in the form of himself and not a proxy, without the privilege to vote At the next meeting of the Student Senate the voting member must be present, either in form of himself or a proxy Thereupon he shall be eligible to have his voting rights reinstated The reinstatement of voting rights shall always be the first item during new business when an eligible member is present No member’s voting privileges shall be reinstated except by this measure Reinstatement shall occur upon simple majority vote of the Student Senate where all other

guidelines have been met This bylaw may not be overruled on a case-by-case basis, nor may it

be suspended Committees of the Student Senate may adopt their own attendance policies

Article VI Committees of the Student Senate

Section 1 Committee Appointment Under Article III, Section 2, clause 2 of these Bylaws, the

President of the Student Body may appoint all standing and necessary, special committees of the Student Senate The Student Senate must approve all committee appointments All committees serve at the direction of the Student Senate The President of the Student Body shall retain the authority to dismiss any committeeman or chairman; this authority may be overruled by a simple majority vote of the Student Senate Where a committee description herein lists a specific

position to a committee, that appointment is made in the name of the President

Section 2 Special Committees Special committees are appointed to fulfill a specific purpose,

as outlined by the President of the Student Body upon appointment The President shall dissolve

a special committee upon the completion of its function By resolution, the Student Senate may establish a special committee, specifying its purpose, to which the President shall appoint members

Section 3 Standing Committees The Student Senate shall have three standing committees,

which include the Audit and Finance Committee, the Board of Publications, and the Constitution, Bylaw and Policy Review Committee Under Article IV, Section 4, clause 5 of the Constitution, the chairmen of these committees shall be voting members of the Student Senate when they are not already

Section 4 Audit and Finance Committee The voting membership of the Audit and Finance

Committee shall consist of the Treasurer of the Student Senate—who shall act as chair—and exactly four others The committee shall be responsible for the financial welfare of the Student Body It shall be empowered to

1 Set the budgetary policy of the Student Senate,

2 Draft the Financial Policy of the Student Senate,

3 Draft the operational budget of the Student Senate,

4 Audit the accounts of any activity, organization or committee receiving funds from or maintaining assets of the Student Body, and

5 Freeze the accounts of any activity, organization or committee