Southeastern Illinois College

Student Government Constitution

PREAMBLE

We the students of Southeastern Illinois College, District 533, in recognition of the responsibilities we share with the administration and faculty regarding student life and affairs, ascribe to the Student Representative form of student government believing that this organization will serve the student body in the presentation of student opinion in matters affecting promote educational programs, service programs, and social activities.

 

ARTICLE I. PURPOSE

Section I.

The purpose of Student Government shall be to provide unity cooperation among students, faculty, and administration; to establish through this unity a climate for producing an effective organization; to establish a framework in which students and organizations can function effectively in an orderly process; to promote student participation in college activities in a manner that will result in bringing about the greatest possible educational exposure to the individual student; to help the student as an individual and the student body as a whole to realize the responsibilities of each to the college community.  The SIC Student Government (SICSG) shall consist of 2 bodies: the Executive Board and the Student Senate.

 

ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP

Section I.

Voting members of the Student Government Shall be: the Vice-President of the Executive Board, Secretary of the Executive Board, Student Trustee, Treasurer of the Executive Board and all members of the Student Senate.

 

Section I A.

Non-voting members of the Student Government shall consist of any person or persons appointed by the Dean of Student Affairs of Southeastern Illinois College.  Advisors shall be appointed by the Dean of Student Affairs.

 

Section II.

All candidates for Student Government Senate positions, with the exception of freshman who have not completed their first semester of college, shall have and maintain a minimum 2.5 overall grade average.  Members of the Executive Board shall have and maintain a minimum 3.0 overall grade average.  Students must also maintain a minimum of 12 hours of credit each semester during his/her term of office.  Any member of the Student Government who does not maintain an overall grade point average of 2.5 shall be removed from office.

 

ARTICLE III. OFFICERS

Section I.

The officers of this organization shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Student Representative to the SIC Board of Trustees.  These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by this Constitution.

Section II.

The President shall:

1. Preside at all meetings of the Student Government
2. May call special meetings.
3. Shall be ex-officio member of all committees.
4. Shall vote only in order to resolve any tie votes.
5. In the absence of the Secretary of SICSG, shall appoint an acting secretary
6. Appoint Committees
7. Shall be official representative of the student body as a whole.
8. Shall appoint students who need not be members of SICSG, to represent student interests in any advisory capacity at SIC.

Section III.

The Vice-President shall:

1. Be a member of Student Senate.
2. In the absence of the President, shall assume all duties and powers of the president.
3. Oversee all Ad Hoc Committees
4. Be familiar with, and have at hand, at all meetings of the Executive Board and Student Senate, a copy of the Parliamentary authority of this organization (Roberts Rules of Order), and shall act as parliamentarian of the meetings.

Sections IV.

The Secretary shall:

1. Prepare a complete set of minutes of all meetings of the Student Government.
2. File all minutes of Student Government Meetings.
3. Shall assume all other duties the Executive Board deems appropriate.
4. Shall read minutes of previous meetings.
5. Shall be responsible for keeping role at the meetings of the Student Government and keeping a record of absence of the members.

Section V.

The Treasurer shall:

1. Report at each meeting the Student Government the financial status of this organization.
2. Complete an exhaustive summary of his/her term’s expenditures and make a final financial statement at the end of his/her term of office.
3. Call meetings in order in the absences of the President and Vice-President

Section VI

The Student Trustee Shall be responsible for the following:

1. Regularly attend meetings of the SIC Board of Trustees.
2. Shall make a report of the various bodies of SICSG and to the student body at large of pertinent actions taken by the Board of Trustees.
3. Serve on the Executive Board of the Student Senate
4. The Student Trustee must be present for at least 8 monthly Board of Trustee meetings, and not be absent for more than 2 consecutive monthly meetings, summer meetings included.

 

ARTICLE IV.  EXECUTIVE BOARD

Section I.

The officers described in Article III shall be voting members of the Executive Board SICSG.

Section II.

The Dean of Student Affairs or a representative(s) appointed by the Dean of Student Affairs shall be a non-voting member of the Executive Board and act as its sponsor (also sponsor of the Student Senate).

Section III.

With the exception of the Student Trustee the voting members of this board shall be elected in the following manner:

1. Elections for these positions shall be held within twenty school days before the end of the Spring Semester by the Student Body through secret ballot.
2. All candidates for these positions must submit a petition signed by at least twenty-five students of SIC and two SIC faculty members.
3. No person may hold more than one position on this board.
4. Students and faculty may sign more than one petition for any position.
5. To be elected to these positions a candidate must receive a simple majority of the votes cast for each position.
6. In the event no candidate receives a majority vote the race will be decided by the Student Senate.

Section IV.

Election of the Student Trustee will be accomplished in the following manner:

1. A candidate must be an active member of the student senate in good standing.
2. All candidates for this position must submit a petition signed by at least twenty-five students of SIC and two SIC faculty members.
3. Elections for this position shall be held within ten school days following the officers of the Executive Board.
4. The method of selecting these student members shall be determined by campus-wide student referendum.
5. Students and faculty may sign more than one petition for any position.
6. Write-in, absentee, or proxy votes will not be accepted.
7. The student members shall serve a term of one year beginning on April 15 of each year, except that the student member initially selected shall serve a term beginning on the day of selection and expiring on the next succeeding June 30.

Section V.

The incumbent Executive Board shall act as an impartial elections commission for the election of the new Executive Board.

Section VI.

No student may be elected to office for more than three terms.

Section VII.

The term of office for each office of the Executive Board, except Student Trustee, shall begin at the Student Government meeting following this election.  The newly elected Student Trustee shall assume office on July1, following the election.  The length of term for each of these offices shall be one year, or until a successor is elected.

Section VIII.

If the office of President of SICSG is vacated for any reason, the Vice President shall vacate his/her position and assume the office of President of SICSG.  If the office of Vice-President is vacated for any reason, the Treasurer shall vacate his/her position and assume the office of Vice-President of SICSG.  If the office of Treasurer is vacated for any reason, the Secretary shall vacate his/her position and assume the office of the treasurer.

Section IX.

If any office other than President Vice President, Treasurer, and Student Trustee is vacated, or if there are multiple vacancies on the Executive Board, the President can appoint officers to fill the un-expired term(s) until the next election.

1. Creation of a Vacancy: If a vacancy occurs in the office of Student Trustee, the President will appoint and the Senate will confirm with a simple majority to fill the un-expired term.

Section X.

The Executive Board shall be given the sole and necessary interpretation of the Constitution.

Section XI.

In the even interpretation becomes necessary, the Dean of Student Affairs will have final authority in settling the dispute.

Section XII.

A member of the Executive Board may be removed from office in the following manner:

1. A petition calling for member’s removal, specifying the reason, and containing the signatures of at least one hundred students at SIC must be submitted to the Student Senate.
2. The Student Senate by a three-fourths majority vote shall then remove the officer from that seat.

Section XIII.

The Executive Board shall be held accountable for the integrity of the SICSG treasury and shall carry over to the next year any surplus or deficit remaining in the treasury at the end of the year.

 

ARTICLE V STUDENT SENATE

Section I.

The voting members of the Student Senate shall be the student senators, elected as described in this constitution:

Section II.

Duties of the Student Senate are as contained herein:

1. Represent student opinions, rights, and interests in the college government
2. Serve in an advisory capacity under the Dean of Student Affairs for the approval of new campus clubs and organizations.
3. Promote student awareness and participation in campus clubs and organizations.

Section III.

1. Elections for these positions shall be held within 30 school days after the beginning of the Fall Semester each year.  Senators are to be elected by the Student Body through secret ballot.
2. All candidates for this position must submit a petition signed by at least twenty-five students of SIC and two SIC faculty members.
3. No person may hold more than one position on the Senate.
4. Students and faculty may sign more than one petition for any position.
5. To be elected to these positions a candidate must be among the top eight vote getters of all votes cast.
6. Write-in, absentee, or proxy votes will not be accepted.

Section IV.

Organization-The SGA shall consist of the Executive Board, (8) eight elected senators, appointed senators representing various student organizations (no organization will be granted more than one appointment), and the Student Trustee. If the eight (8) positions are not filled through the election processes, appointed senators may fill any vacant seats. If the appointed positions are not filled, students may seek appointment to fill any vacancies.

Section V.

The incumbent Executive Board shall act as an elections commission for the election of new voting members of the Student Senate.

Section VI.

The term of office for each of these positions shall be one year or until a successor is elected.

Section VII.

Student Senator vacancies to be filled by:

1. Nominations from the Executive Committee, noting the ideal number of senators should be no less than seven
2. A fifty-one percent vote of the Student Senate
3. The length of term is from the date of appointment until the next Senate election.
4. No student shall serve more than three terms in office.

Section VIII.

Attendance:

1. 1.      Student Senators are expected to attend all Senate Meetings
2. 2.      Any voting member of the Student Senate missing three consecutive regular Senate meetings, or four total regular Senate meetings per semester is subject to review by the Student Senate.

AMENDED SPRING 2010

Section VIII.

Attendance:

1.   Student Senators are expected to attend all Senate Meetings.

2.   Any voting member of the Student Senate missing two consecutive regular Senate meetings or three total regular Senate meetings per semester without excuse is subject to review by the Student Senate, which can result in reprimands up to and including removal from office.

Section IX.

The Student Senate shall do all within the provisions of this constitution, Federal, Local, laws, and SIC regulations to protect the rights of the students it represents.

Section X.

A voting member of the Student Senate may be removed from office in the following manner:

1. A petition calling for the member’s removal, specifying a reason and containing the signatures of at least fifty students of SIC, must be presented to the Student Senate.
2. The Student Senate by three-fourths majority vote shall decide whether the member shall be removed.

Section XI.

Meeting shall be conducted according to the latest edition of Roberts Rules of Order.

 

ARTICLE VI. BY-LAWS

By-Laws shall be adopted upon finalization of the election of officers, and they shall cover all matters not directly addressed or answered in the Constitution.  A by-law of this organization is any rule of guideline adopted by this organization which serves to enhance the efficiency in carrying out the assigned duties of this organization.  They shall not contradict any matters that are addressed or answered in the Constitution.  It shall require a simple majority of the Student Senate membership to adopt or amend By-Laws.

Section I.

All students running for a position within the Southeastern Illinois College Student Government must be in good standing with the College.  Students seeking Office must adhere to all “Standards of Conduct”, which are printed in the Student Handbook.  Neglect of these standards will result in review by the incumbent Student Senate.  Upon review, action will be taken which can ultimately result in the removal of a candidate from the election.

Section II.

Any candidate running for a position within the Southeastern Illinois College Student Government must adhere to all campaign rules and regulations.  Failure to yield to the rules and regulations is grounds for disqualification.  Any candidate in violation of the rules and regulations will be given one (1) warning.  A candidate with more than one documented warning will be reprimanded up to and including disqualification from the election.  A candidate is allowed to appeal his/her reprimand.  The incumbent Student Senate as well as the Advisors of the Student Senate will review any appeals.

 

ARTICLE VII. AMENDMENTS

An amendment can be proposed at any regular meeting, and the motion seconded twice.  Limited discussion will follow the motion.  The proposed Amendment must be posted in the Student Center for 7 days prior to action of the Student Senate.  At the next regular Student Senate meeting, the President will read the amendment and discussion may follow.  Then the proposed Amendment may be voted upon.

Section I.

A three-fourths vote of the entire Student Senate shall be required for an amendment to be made official.

Section II.

Amendment Limitations as contained herein:

1. An Amendment can be proposed only twice a semester, with at least 2 regular meetings intervening.
2. No Amendments that violate the Illinois Community College Act or violate the policies or usurp the authority of the Board of Trustees of Southeastern Illinois College will be passed by the Student Senate.

 

ARTICLE VIII. STATEMENT OF CLOSURE

Section I.

All previous Constitutions and amendments are hereby null and void.