SGA Constitutional Reform Information and Updates - Voting from Feb 24th - Feb 26th! (Post includes the proposed New SGA Constitution)

Part II - This thread includes the new SGA Constitution (from Joshua Ronk, Senate Chairman & Member of the Constitutional Reform Committee)

Become a Part of VCU History!!

The Student Government Association of the Monroe Park Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University would like all students to have the opportunity to participate in a historic change at VCU.

A new Student Government Constitution is being voted on this Tuesday-Thursday (February 24th - 26th) and we would like ALL students to have the opportunity to participate.

This document governs the Student Government Association which strives to take action for all VCU students to make our campus and our community a better place.

Please take time to read over the proposed Constitutional Reform and VOTE at:

WWW.VCUSGA.COM

We the students of the Virginia Commonwealth University Monroe Park Campus, have written and accepted this document as an enabling force in leading and unifying the Student Body. It shall be the purpose of this document to provide order and structure to the system of government to which the Student Body ascribes. It shall be the mission of the Monroe Park Campus Student Government Association to uphold and respond to the demands and wishes of the Student Body it serves, including the allotment of funds for student organizations. Therefore, let this document be ordained as the Constitution of the Student Body of the Monroe Park Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.


Article 1
Section 1.
The name of the governing organization of the Student Body of the Monroe Park Campus shall be the Monroe Park Campus Student Government Association of Virginia Commonwealth University, hereafter referenced as either the Student Government Association or the SGA.


Section 2.
All students registered for one or more academic credits on the Monroe Park Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University shall be members of the Student Body. They may not be on academic probation or academic warning.

Members of the Student Body shall be entitled to vote in any election held by the Student Government Association and shall be subject to the rules and regulations presented by the Student Government Association.

The qualifications for participating within the Student Government Association shall be based solely on academic and personal conduct. No student shall be denied the right to participate within the Student Government Association because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, or beliefs.

Section 3.
The Student Government Association shall be the representative and ruling government over the Student Body.

All positions within the Student Government Association shall be filled by members of the Student Body.




Article 2
Section 1.
No person shall be a Senator who is not currently a member of the Student Body, as defined in Article 1, Section 2 of this Constitution.

The Senate of the Student Government Association shall be composed of no more than sixty Senators elected directly by the Student Body. Senators shall be elected for a period of one year, and each shall have one vote with the Senate.

When vacancies occur with any of the sixty Senators elected by the Student Body, the Chairperson of the Senate may appoint a temporary Senator until the Student Body fills the vacancies by election. These temporary Senators will remain in their seated positions until that seat is up for re-election. These temporary appointments must be approved with and only by a two thirds majority of the Senate.

The Senate shall compel the attendance of its members and may censure a delinquent member by a majority vote of the Senate.

Section 2.
The Vice President of the Student Body shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless the Senate is divided equally on the issue.

The Senate shall choose their officers. A Chairperson, hereafter referred to as the Chair, shall be chosen. All Committees the Senate deems as permanent and standing shall have a Committee Chair appointed. These Committee Chairs must be seated members of the Senate with the exception of the Elections Committee Chairman.

It shall be the responsibility of the Chair to serve as the leader of the Senate in instances in which the President of the Senate is unable to fulfill his or her duties. The Chair shall also create and distribute the agenda for each Senate meeting and shall be responsible for the assignment of all bills and resolutions discussed within each session of the Senate. The Chair shall be a non-voting permanent member of each Committee deemed by the Senate to be permanent and standing. The Chair shall receive for his or her services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

It shall be the responsibility of each Committee Chair to oversee the work and progress of all bills, resolutions, and other such business within their Committee. They shall receive for their services a compensation which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

It shall be the responsibility of the Senator to seek out the opinion of his or her electorate. Having done so, he or she shall make decisions and vote on matters brought before the Senate according to their own reasoned judgment while having an acute sense to the needs and wishes of not only the Student Body but also the University Community. It shall also be the responsibility of the Senator to communicate with and represent any student, organization, or other group to which the Chair may assign him or her.

All members of the Senate shall be responsible for the completion of at least one hour within the Student Government Association. It shall be at the discretion of the Chair of the Senate as to what substitutions may be made for the minimum required serving hours. All serving members of the Senate shall be required to attend meetings of the Senate, meetings of their Committees, and any training session deemed necessary by the Student Government Association.

Section 3.
The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the present members. Judgments in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than the removal from office and the disqualification to hold or enjoy any office with the Student Government Association.

Article 3
Section 1.
The executive power shall be vested in a President of the Student Body. He or she shall hold his or her office during the term of one year and, together with a Vice President chosen from the same term, be elected as follows:

The election of the President of the Student Body and Vice President of the Student Body shall occur during the Spring Semester. Both the President and Vice President shall run together and shall appear on all ballots as a combined ticket.

No person except a member of the Student Body shall be eligible for the office of President or Vice President.

Section 2.
The President and Vice President shall receive for their services compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

Before the President-Elect shall enter the office of President of the Student Body, he or she shall take the following oath or affirmation: -- “I do solemnly affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the Student Body, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Student Body of the Monroe Park Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.”

Section 3.
The President shall have the power to nominate, and with the consent of the Senate, appoint any member of the Student Body as a representative of the Student Government Association on University committees. He or she shall appoint Justices to the Judiciary Committee and all other offices that are not appointed by the Senate or by a vote from the Student Body. All appointments must be approved by the Senate with a simple majority vote within Senate.


Section 4.
The President shall, at the beginning of each semester, give to the Senate information on the state of the Student Body and recommend measures as he or she shall judge necessary to accomplish the goals he or she has set forth in his or her own agenda.

This event shall be open to not only Senators but also any member of the Student Body who may wish to attend.

The event shall also be recorded and readily available to members of the Student Body within a reasonable amount of time.

Section 5.
The President, Vice President, and all other officers of the Student Government Association shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, bribery, theft, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Article 4
Section 1.
The Judiciary Committee shall comprise of five members. These members shall include one Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. These justices shall hold their offices during good behavior and shall receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

Members of the Judiciary Committee serve lifetime appointments until they resign, leave the Virginia Commonwealth University Monroe Park Campus, or are impeached from Office. If a vacancy shall arise, the President, with the confirmation of the Student Senate, shall appoint a new Justice to fill the vacant seat.

Section 2
The business of the Judiciary Committee shall deal with the following things: election violations, judicial interpretation, judicial injunctions, impeachment investigations, mediation between student organizations, internal Senate elections, Honor Council, and record keeping of constitutional amendments.

Article 5
Section 1.
A bill or resolution may be proposed and presented by a Senator or by a petition with the signatures of two hundred and fifty (250) members of the Student Body. All proposed bills or resolutions shall be submitted to the Chair of the Senate. It shall be at the discretion of the Chair to determine where the bill or resolution properly fits within the Senate agenda.

Section 2.
Every bill or resolution shall pass through the Senate and be voted upon either in committee or on the Senate floor. A majority vote of the Senate, with quorum being present, is required for the bill or resolution to be approved. It shall then be sent to the President of the Student Body; if he or she approves of the legislation, he or she shall sign it and it shall become Student Body law. He or she may, however, return the bill or resolution with his or her objections to the Senate and the Senate shall proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two-thirds of the present Senators agree to pass the bill or resolution, it shall become law. If any bill or resolution shall not be returned by the President within ten days excluding weekends, it shall become Student Body law.

Section 3.
The votes of the Senate shall be determined by yeas and nays. Senators may also abstain from voting. The results of all voting shall be kept within the Minutes of Senate. In all cases, the names of the persons voting for, against, and abstaining from voting on the legislation shall be entered in the minutes should division be called.

Article 6
Section 1.
If an amendment shall be deemed necessary for the betterment of this document, it shall first be proposed to the Senate by a member of the Student Government Association or by a petition with signatures from five hundred (500) members of the Student Body. This having taken place, the Senate shall hear the amendment for no less than two sessions before voting. The Senate must give a two-thirds majority vote of approval for the amendment to proceed. If the amendment is successful in acquiring the votes needed, it shall be placed upon the ballot of the next election for referendum by the Student Body.

Article 7
Section 1.
The ratification of a majority of the voting Student Body shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between all members of the Student Body of the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Monroe Park Campus.

Any changes, alterations, or rewriting of this Constitution must be approved in the same manner that this document was first ratified.

This Constitution shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as expressed in Section 1 of this Article at the beginning of the Spring Semester. The elections of that Spring Semester shall be conducted in such a manner as to reflect the aforementioned offices described within this document. However, this document shall take effect as the Monroe Park Campus Student Government Association of Virginia Commonwealth University Constitution only on the last Senate meeting of the Spring Semester concurrent to the year of the ratification of this document.

This Constitution shall supersede all previous constitutions and bylaws and make them null and void.


Section 2.
This document may only be suspended, dissolved, or otherwise destroyed in its entirety by a vote of three-fourths of the Senate and a majority of voting students within the Student Body of the Monroe Park Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. It may, however, be amended as stated within Article 6.







Ratified by the Senate: [February 2, 2009]
Approved by the Student Body: [February 5, 2009]
Reviewed by the University Council: [March 5, 2009]
Enacted as of: [March 30, 2009]

Please vote on the proposed changes - Feb 24th - 26th online at:

www.vcusga.com

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