Constitution
Article I: Membership
Article II: Executive Council
Article III: House of Representatives (RSOs)
Section 1: Purpose
Section 2: General membership of the House
Section 3: Terms of Membership
Section 4: Impeachment of Representatives
Article IV: The Senate (Class Officers)
Section 1: Purpose
Section 2: Participants
Article V: Eligibility for Office and Installation
Article VI: Ratification of Constitution
Article VII: Bylaws
Article VIII: Amendments to the Constitution
Statement of Purpose:
We, the students of Presbyterian college, in order to further the activities of student life, promote a widespread interest in student affairs, govern ourselves by just and righteous laws, and develop greater spirit of progressive citizenship, do ordain and establish this constitution for the Student Government Association of Presbyterian College.
Article I: Membership
The membership of the Student Government Association (SGA) shall consist of all regularly enrolled students of Presbyterian College (PC).
Article II: Executive Council
Section 1: a. The Executive Council of the SGA shall be comprised of a President and his/her Cabinet: Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Honor Council Chairperson.
b. Any action of the Executive Council may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the entire SGA. The SGA President shall announce a time for a vote when presented with a petition bearing the names of ten percent of the SGA.
Section 2: a. The President shall (a) serve as the official representative of the SGA in all matters directly concerning its members; (b) call and preside over all meetings of the House of Representatives, the President’s Cabinet, and the SGA; (c) appoint, with the Senate, a permanent replacement when a Senator’s position becomes vacant, provided that at least half of the term of office of such positions have expired, and appoint temporary replacement for such positions pending a special election when less than half of the term of office of such positions have expired; (d) serve as a student representative to the Faculty Student Life Council; (e) serve as an ex-officio member of all Senate and House Committees; and (f) appoint chairs to SGA Executive Council committees.
b. The Vice President shall (a) assume the office of the President should the position become vacant; (b)perform the duties of the President in the absence of the President; (c) call and preside over all Senate meetings; (d) serve as student representative to the Faculty Academic Affairs Committee.
c. the Secretary shall (a) keep an accurate record of the proceedings of the House; (b) keep a permanent record of the SGA Constitution and Bylaws; (c) conduct all official correspondence of the Student Council and Senate, unless otherwise designated by the SGA President; (d) make available to student publications a record of all SGA proceedings; (e) keep a record of events and keep attendance at any event designated by SGA; and (f) appoint a Senate Clerk to record all of its proceedings. S/he will report to the Secretary, who will report to the President.
d. The Treasurer shall (a) carry out the duties pertaining to the financial affairs of the SGA; (b) call and preside over all meetings of the Student Government Finance Committee (SGFC); and (c) abide by all SGFC Bylaws.
e. The Honor Council Chairperson shall (a) serve as Parliamentarian of the House and the SGA; (b) administer the judicial system of the SGA, with the approval of the Executive Council*;(c) serve as member ex-officio of the Appeals Board; and (d) serve as Chairperson of the SGA Constitution Committee.
f. The Vice-Chair of the Honor Council shall serve as the Parliamentarian of the Senate and will report to the Honor Council Chair who reports to the SGA President.
*Note: If the person accused of said infraction is a member of the Executive Council, vote will be made minus the accused (reference the judicial system).
Section 3: The Executive Council of the SGA shall reserve the power to call a special meeting of the council.
Section 4: The Executive Council, by a majority vote, reserves the power to impeach a member of the House or Senate who fails to fulfill the duties of the office.
Article III: The House of Representatives
Section 1: The House shall: (a) serve as a legislative body of the SGA; (b) discuss pertinent issues of student concern; (c) confirm, amend, or reject any SGFC request; and (d) confirm, amend, or reject any resolutions.
Section 2: The House shall be composed of one representative from each recognized student organization (RSO), whether it sit he RSO’s president or designated representative.
Section 3: The House shall operate on the standard academic calendar. Each RSO will be required to have one student represent their organization for this full term.
- Each RSO representative will be required to attend House meetings. If more than two meetings are missed by an RSO a warning may be issued. Upon the third absence from a House meeting or otherwise designated function, a hearing may be conducted by the Executive Council addressing the infraction which will result in revocation of RSO status.
- If it comes to the attention of the SGA President or Executive council that an RSO is acting in a manner that defies the rules and regulations of the SGA, a hearing will be issued. The hearing may result in the revocation of SGFC funds and/or RSO status. If the infraction is of a grave nature, it will be presented before the Vice President of Student Life.*
*Note: If at any time a decision of the Executive Council is to be contested, an appeal may be made to the SGA President and faculty advisor. The hearing will then be issued by the Vice President of Student Life at his/her discretion.
Section 4: The House reserves the right (a) by a majority vote to impeach a House Representative of the SGA for serious abuse or neglect of office. Please see the attached By-Laws for Impeachment Process.
Article IV: The Senate
Section 1: The Senate shall (a) serve as a legislative body of the SGA; (b) coordinate the activities of the SGA, at the discretion of the SGA President and Vice President; (c) coordinate the activities of each class; (d) confirm, amend, or reject any SGFC request; and (e) confirm, amend, or reject any resolutions.
Section 2: The Senate shall be comprised of (a) the SGA Vice-President; (b) the Class President from each respective class; (c) a class Vice-President; and (d) three Senators from each respective class: Student Life Senator, Finance Senator, and Public Relations Senator.
- The Class President will serve on the SGA Academic Affairs Committee and will oversee all the happenings of their class Senators and Vice President.
- The Class Vice President will serve on the Ethics and Rules Committee under the honor Council Chair and will serve as a liaison between the honor Council and SGA. S/he will also assist the President and shall assume he position of Class President should the position become vacant.
- The Student Life Senator will serve on the SGA Student Life Committee under the Executive Vice President and will serve as the student advocacy representative for their respective class.
- The Finance Senator will serve on the Student Government Finance Committee (SGFC) under the Executive Treasurer and will be responsible for all the finances within class responsibilities.
- The Public Relations Senator will serve on the SGA College Relations Committee under the Executive Secretary and will be responsible for all marketing and advertising needs of the class.
Article V: Eligibility for Office and Installation
Section 1: The President and Honor Council Chairperson shall be rising juniors or seniors. The Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer may be members of any class, and the Class President and Representatives shall be members of the class they represent.
Section 2: At the time of their election, appointment, or selection, SGA members’ grades shall be subject for review. A GPR of 2.00 must be held and maintained for the duration of the term. Grades will be checked at midterm and at the end of the semester. If grades are subpar, the Executive Council shall review each situation.
Section 3: In order to be eligible to run for SGA President, a student must have one full year of prior experience as an elected or appointed member of the SGA.
In order to be eligible to serve as Treasurer, a student must have served one full year on the Student Government Finance Committee. The Treasurer will be selected by the preceding SGA President and Treasurer and ratified by the Student Body’s vote.
Section 4: a. All Executive Members of the SGA and Class Presidents, excluding the President of the Freshman Class and those appointed or elected at special times, will be elected on the same day. All Class Senators and Vice Presidents, excluding those of the Freshman Class, will be elected two days after all other officials are elected making it possible for someone who lost in the first election to fun for office as a Senator of Vice President.
All elected Officials shall, upon installation, take the following oath:
“I solemnly affirm that I shall conscientiously and impartially carry out the duties of the office I now assume and that I have read, understood, and will uphold the Constitution of the SGA.”
b.The Freshman Class President and Senators and those representatives and senate members appointed or chosen in special elections shall be installed at the House meeting immediately following their election or appointment.
c. The term of the President, VP, Secretary, Treasurer, Honor Council Chairperson, and the sophomore and Junior Class Presidents and Representatives shall be one year.
d. The term of the Freshman President, Vice President and Senators shall end with the terms of the officers of the Senate in February.
e. The Senior Class Presidents and Representatives shall serve until the time of graduation of the class.
f. No student shall be allowed to serve simultaneously in any of the following offices: President, VP, Treasurer, or Secretary of the SGA, Honor Council Chairperson; Class President, Class Vice President; Class Senator, or House Representative.
Article VI: Ratification
The Constitution, pending approval of the proper college authorities, shall become effective when ratified by a two-thirds vote of those voting in the Senate and SGA.
Article VII: Bylaws
Appropriate bylaws for the SGA shall be formulated and approved by the Executive Council and then two-thirds vote of the House.
Article VIII: Amendments to the Constitution
Section 1: Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by a two thirds vote of the Senate or by a petition bearing the names of at least ten percent of the members of SGA and, if approved by the proper College authorities, shall become a part of the Constitution when voted upon by the members of the SGA and approved by two thirds of those voting.
Section 2: Amendments and their dates of ratification shall be listed following the current Constitution.
Section 3: The President and the Honor Council Chair, upon mutual agreement and advisement shall review the Constitution on every odd year and make deletions and updates accordingly to the provision of the Constitution set forth.