Section 7–Composition and Responsibility of the Student Council Committees

The major portion of the Student Council’s work shall be done in its committees. Faithful participation in the activities of his or her committee shall be an essential obligation of all members of the Student Council. Repeated failure to attend committee meetings, as deemed by the Student Council for those elected members, shall constitute valid grounds for impeachment and removal from office. For those committee members that are appointed by the Student Council, any sustained failure of any to meet their obligation shall constitute sufficient grounds for suspension or replacement by the Student Council by a majority vote.
The members of the Student Council, both elected by the students and/or appointed by the members of Student Council, shall be organized into eight permanent committees: the Steering Committee, the Committee on Student Representation, the Committee on Clubs, the Committee on General Activities, the Committee on Graduate and Evening Services, the Committee on Essential Services, the Committee on the Budget, and the Club Planning Committee. The Student Council may also create special temporary committees whose existence shall end whenever the Student Council shall so prescribe, or at the installation of a new Student Council. Each member of the Student Council shall serve on at least one permanent committee.
The Steering Committee, the highest permanent committee, shall consist of all the qualified members as specified above in Article III, Section 5, Paragraph D of this Charter. A quorum of the Steering Committee shall consist of a majority of the Student Council’s executive officers and permanent committee chairpersons. Each member of the committee, including the chair, shall have one vote, and a simple majority of all qualified members present and voting shall be sufficient to pass any resolution. The provisions of Article III, Section 5, Paragraph A of this Charter shall not apply to meetings of the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee shall hear reports from the chairpersons of the various Student Council committees on the progress of the Committee’s work. Whenever possible, it shall establish the agenda of all Student Council meetings, except where meetings have been called through petition of the Student Council members. The agenda shall prescribe all the items of business to be considered by the Student Council, the time to be allocated for consideration of these items, the rules governing debate on them, and the number and nature of any motions and amendments that may be offered.

These rules shall be strictly adhered to during Student Council deliberations unless the president of the Student Council secures permission of the Student Council that they be waived in whole or part. If the Steering Committee, for whatever reason, falls short of quorum at a meeting to formulate the agenda for a regular meeting, the president shall establish the agenda.

After the members of the Student Council shall have been sworn in, a regular schedule of monthly Steering Committee meetings shall be established. These meetings shall precede the regular monthly meetings of the Student Council by at least three business days. They shall be held at times convenient to the executive officers and chairpersons of the Student Council’s permanent committees. An executive officer or chairperson with more than two unexcused absences will result in an automatic suspension from Student Council.

The president may call special meetings of the Steering Committee, provided that due notice be given to all of the members of the Student Council.

At the time of its initial organization, each permanent committee shall have a minimum membership of five qualified members. A simple majority of the committee’s qualified members shall constitute a quorum, provided that the Student Council President may grant written permission to any chairperson to transact the business of a committee in the absence of a quorum. Meetings of the Student Council and of the Steering Committee, however, shall always require the presence of a quorum.
Once appointed and confirmed, the chairpersons of all permanent committees will serve throughout the full term of the Student Council to which they were elected or appointed. They will exercise the rights and privileges of all members of permanent committees, if they remain qualified members of the Student Council.
All permanent committees shall hold regular monthly meetings, according to a schedule adopted at the first meeting of the committee. This schedule may later be revised by the members of the committee, provided that due notice is given. Committee meetings shall be open in their entirety to all students, faculty members, and members of the administration who wish to attend.
In formulating the agenda of the Student Council, the Steering Committee shall give priority to resolutions considered by and reported out of the committees of the Student Council.
The permanent Committee on Student Representation shall study the qualifications of all students proposed for positions on the College Council Committees prescribed in the College’s Charter of Governance and its bylaws. Due notice shall be given to the student body of the availability of such positions, together with a description of their obligations and responsibilities. Only students in good standing that have been nominated by the permanent Committee on Student Representation may be approved by the Student Council. Moreover, no student may be selected to serve on more than two College Council Committees. The seat of any student member of a College Council Committee shall be declared vacated whenever that student shall have been absent for more than one of its meetings, or for inactivity deemed as such by the Student Council. The terms of students holding these positions shall terminate with those of the members of the Student Council.

The permanent Committee on Student Representation shall monitor the attendance of students on the College Council Committees and college-wide decision-making bodies, and shall nominate students to fill vacancies as they occur. The Committee shall also require student members on college-wide decision-making bodies to report monthly, in writing, on their work, and to appear before the Student Council to explain their actions. The Committee may make recommendations to the student members of college-wide decision-making bodies, provided that it is always understood that such students remain free to make their own judgments. The Committee may also request that the Student Council take advisory positions on questions before college-wide decision-making bodies, or that the student body be polled on such matters. The permanent Committee on Student Representation shall consist of the vice president, who shall chair, and a minimum of four other members of the Student Council.

The permanent Committee on Clubs shall review the requests of all certified clubs for Student Council funds, and shall recommend to the Student Council whether such funds shall be approved. The Committee shall ensure that all such requests are in accordance with the educational and cultural purposes of the College, benefit a significant number of students, are cost-effective, and are in conformance with the overall budgetary guidelines and ceilings approved by the Student Council, as specified in the Committee on Clubs’ guidelines. The Committee may also examine the constitutions of any clubs requesting funds from the Student Council for the purpose of establishing its democratic character and conformance to the purposes of the College. Members of this Committee shall not simultaneously serve as executive officers of any club. The president shall designate the chairperson and members of this Committee, subject to confirmation by the Student Council.
The permanent Committee on General Activities is required to discuss and plan Student Council events and programs for each semester, within the purposes of this Charter, not falling within the prescribed jurisdictions of other committees or clubs. It shall also study and advise the Student Council on all proposals for the revision of the Charter of the Student Government. The Committee shall be chaired by the president, and shall include a minimum of four other members of the Student Council.
The permanent Committee on Graduate and Evening Services shall study and advise the Student Council on all proposals of primary benefit to students in the graduate programs of the College, or in the evening sections of the undergraduate division. This Committee shall be composed of a minimum of five members, four of whom must be graduate students. The president shall designate the chairperson and members of this Committee, subject to the confirmation by the Student Council.
An essential service comprises an ongoing activity vital to the educational or cultural life of the College, which is designed to be accessible to a large number of students and involves an unusually high level of continuing expenditure. The permanent Committee on Essential Services shall study and advise the Council on the administration and performance of the student newspaper, radio station, yearbook, theatrical activities, as well as that of any other entity deemed by the Student Council and the Student Activities Association Board of Directors as an essential service, provided that neither the Committee nor the Student Council shall intervene with the editorial freedom of these entities. The Committee shall be chaired by the secretary and include a minimum of four other members.
The permanent Committee on the Budget shall administer all budgetary matters as they relate to those funds appropriated and expended by the Student Government, as per Article III, Section 8 of this Charter and for the administrative processes and educational and cultural needs of the student body. The Committee shall be comprised of the treasurer, whom shall chair, and a minimum of four other members.
The permanent Club Planning Committee is comprised of a minimum of fifteen representatives from recognized clubs consisting of the president or treasurer. If the president or the treasurer is unable to attend the meetings then the vice president or secretary of the club can be nominated. All members must be nominated by the Office of Student Life and confirmed by Student Council. The chairperson of the Club Planning Committee is the Student Council President or his or her designee. The Office of Student Life will assist the chair of the Club Planning Committee. Even though clubs will provide the events that they would like to have within their budget proposal, the Club Planning Committee will develop a calendar of events for clubs each semester before the first meeting of the permanent Committee on Clubs. The Club Planning Committee will meet at least once a semester. The first meeting of the Club Planning Committee must be held at least thirty days before the first date of compliance for clubs. Any guidelines for the Club Planning Committee must be approved by a majority vote of Student Council. In the event Student Council is inactive, the Office of Student Life will assume all the power and privileges associated with governing the Club Planning Committee.
The student delegation of the College Council shall consist of the four executive officers of the Student Council, two student representatives from the graduate class, two student representatives from the senior class, two student representatives from the junior class, two student representatives from the sophomore class, and the Council-at-Large representative. Selection of the above student representatives and the Council-at-Large representative shall be based on those who received the highest number of popular student votes in the annual elections as stipulated in Article V of this Charter. The delegation shall also consist of one representative from the freshman class nominated by the president from among the freshman class representatives. If any of the student representatives are unable to serve, the President shall nominate student replacements from that particular vacated class, as well as nominate the replacement of the Council-at-Large representative delegate. The two Alternate College Council-at-Large representatives will be elected during the spring elections of the Student Government. Alternate College Council-at-Large representatives vote in place of any of the above representatives not in attendance.

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Article III: Organization