Constitution

Constitution

General By-Laws

Financial By-Laws

Last Amended: October 2019

Juniata College Student Government Constitution

We, the students of Juniata College, in order to meet the representative needs of all who attend this institution, do establish the Juniata College Student Government. This Student Government shall be an organisation dedicated to the communication of student needs and desires to other constituencies to the General Assembly, and shall be responsible for the administration of Student Government funds allocated to campus clubs and organisations.

Article 1 – The General Assembly of Students

Section 1 – Definition

The General Assembly of Students shall comprise of all full-time students of freshmen to senior standing during their term at Juniata and shall be in good academic standing, as defined in the Pathfinder.

Section 2 - General Powers

Clause 1: Members of the General Assembly shall have the right to attend all Senate meetings as well as any meeting of the Executive Committee or Class Cabinets.
Clause 2: Members of the General Assembly shall have the power to convene a forum focusing on an issue, given that they have generated a petition of 250 signatures calling for a forum.
Clause 3: Any member of the General Assembly shall have the right to propose a written bill to the Senate during a forum.
Clause 4: If more than ten percent of the General Assembly is present at a forum, forum attendees may pass any written bill by majority vote. Both the Executive Committee and the Senate must consider any bills passed at a forum.
Clause 5: The General Assembly shall have the power to overturn any Senate or Executive Committee decision with a two-thirds vote.

Article 2 – The Senate

Section 1 – Definition

The Senate is an elected body comprised of full-time students during their term at Juniata and shall be in good academic standing, as defined in the Pathfinder.

Section 2 - Composite and Electorate

Clause 1: The Freshmen class shall comprise four seats (four votes) on the Senate and shall consist of a class President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Clause 2: The Sophomore class shall comprise four seats (four votes) on the Senate and shall consist of a class President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Clause 3: The Junior class shall comprise four seats (four votes) on the Senate and shall consist of a class President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Clause 4: The Senior class shall comprise four seats (four votes) on the Senate and shall consist of a class President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Clause 5: The international students shall comprise three seats (three votes) on the Senate.
Clause 6: The Program for Area Residents (PAR) shall comprise one seat (one vote) on the Senate.
Clause 7: The domestic minority students shall comprise two seats (two votes) on the Senate.
Clause 8: Each Common Interest Sector (CIS) shall comprise one seat (one vote) on the Senate.
Clause 9: Residential Assistants (RAs) shall comprise one seat (one vote) on the Senate.
Clause 10: Juniata Activities Board (JAB) shall comprise one seat (one vote) on the Senate.
Clause 11: The Sexual and Gender Minorities students shall comprise two seats (two votes) on the Senate.
Clause 12: In the event of a vacancy in the Senate, the Executive Committee, with the advice of the concerned entity, shall nominate a replacement to be confirmed by the Senate.
Clause 13: If any Senator or Cabinet member does not fulfill his or her duties appropriately, the Executive Committee may start a process of investigation to decide on possible removal from office. If removal occurs, the Executive Committee, with the advice of the concerned entity on Senate (e.g. class officers, specific CIS group), shall nominate a replacement to be confirmed by the Senate. See Article 4 for more information.

Section 3 - General Powers

Clause 1: The Senate shall have the right to ratify or reject the budget proposed by the Executive Committee, as well as proposals made by Senate members, the Executive Committee, or the General Assembly.
Clause 2: No Senator may miss more than one Senate Meeting per semester.
Clause 3: The Senate Chair shall be the President of the Executive Committee, shall preside over all Senate meetings, shall vote only in order to break a split Senate decision, shall have the right to call a Senate meeting at any time, and shall run the meetings in a parliamentary procedure.
Clause 4: Senators shall be able to introduce Standing Orders or Resolutions, a vote of the Senate to pass. All Standing Orders are required to expire upon the conclusion of the first senate meeting of the academic year following its enactment. Standing orders may be repealed by the Senate. Standing Orders allow legislative action on Senate procedure. Resolutions concern Student life and external relations of the Student Government. In the event of a tied vote, the Executive Committee President shall cast a vote. All Standing Orders and Resolutions from previous years shall be archived.

Article 3 - The Executive Committee

Section 1 – Definition

The Executive Committee shall be full-time students during their term at Juniata and shall be in good academic standing, as defined in the Pathfinder.

Section 2 - Composite and Electorate

Clause 1: The Executive Committee shall consist of six seats including a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Officer of Technology, and Officer of Communications and Policy.
Clause 2: The Executive Committee shall be elected by the General Assembly, with the exceptions of the Treasurer, Officer of Technology, and Officer of Communications and Policy, who shall be nominated by the other members of the current Executive Board and the members of the Executive Board elect, and confirmed by the Senate.
Clause 3: In the event of a vacancy on the Executive Committee, the remaining members shall nominate a replacement to be confirmed by the Senate.
Clause 4: If any Executive Committee member does not fulfill his or her duties appropriately, the Ethics Committee may start a process of investigation to decide on possible removal from office. In the case of a recommendation for removal from office, the Senate shall vote on removing the Executive Committee member from office. The member shall have an opportunity to speak before the Senate votes. The member shall be removed with the approval of a 2/3 vote of Senate. If removal occurs, the Executive Committee shall nominate a replacement to be confirmed by the Senate.

Section 3 - General Powers

Clause 1: The Senate shall have the right to ratify or reject the budget proposed by the Executive Committee, as well as proposals made by Senate members, the Executive Committee, or the General Assembly.
Clause 1: No Executive Committee member may concurrently serve as a senator.
Clause 2: No Executive Committee member may miss more than three Executive Committee meetings per semester.
Clause 3: The RSO Approval Board shall, under the leadership of the Executive Committee Vice-President, coordinate the petitioning process for all aspiring RSOs.
Clause 4: The Executive Committee shall meet with the President of the college, the Dean of Students, the office of Students Activities, and various other campus offices for guidance.
Clause 5: The Executive Committee shall allocate at least 42% of combined Student Government and Juniata Activities Board (JAB) funds to Juniata Activities Board (JAB).
Clause 6: The Executive Committee shall be the primary source of ad- hoc student input to other campus constituencies regarding campus issues and concerns.
Clause 7: The Executive Committee shall be responsible for scheduling its own regular meetings, as well as the regular meetings of the Senate.
Clause 8: The Executive Committee shall coordinate all elections of members chosen by the General Assembly.
Clause 9: Clause 9: The Executive Board shall have the right to initiate an Executive Agreement to override the amendment procedure explained in Article 8. An Executive Agreement requires a unanimous vote from the Executive Board President, the Student Government advisors, and the Foundational Organization Chairs to be passed. In the event that the Executive Board President initiates the Executive Agreement, the Vice-President shall vote in place of the President to avoid conflicts of interest.

Article 4 - The Ethics Committee

Section 1 - General Definition

The Ethics Committee shall consist of Senate members selected by the Executive Committee and shall be formed in the event of a Senate member’s suspension from office and review of their standing in Senate as well as conduct any audit procedures.

Section 2 - Composite and Electorate

The Ethics Committee will consist of five randomly selected uninvolved Senate members. The secretary of the Executive Committee will act as the chair. If there is a conflict of interest, the Officer of Technology will step in as the chair.

Section 3 - General Powers

Clause 1: The Ethics Committee will convene a meeting within 72 hours of the Senate member being placed on suspension. The Senate member under review will attend the meeting and present a statement in his or her defense. The Senate member under review must leave the meeting after presenting their statement.
Clause 2: An administration-appointed representative will be present during the Ethics Committee meeting.
Clause 3: The Ethics Committee decision regarding the member under review must be unanimous and is normally final. The member may choose to appeal to the Senate. The Ethics Committee decision may be overturned by a 2/3 vote of Senate.
Clause 4: The chair of the Ethics Committee will notify the Senate member under review of the final decision.

Article 5 - The Cabinet of Student Representatives

Section 1 - General Definition

The Cabinet of Student Representatives shall be full-time students during their term at Juniata and shall be in good academic standing, as defined in the Pathfinder.

Section 2 - Composite and Electorate

The Cabinet of Student Representatives is to be nominated by the Executive Committee and confirmed by the Senate to serve on the Board of Trustees, Faculty Committees and Judicial Board.

Section 3 - General Powers

Clause 1: The Cabinet shall report to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall share appropriate information with the Senate.
Clause 2: No Cabinet member may miss any meetings of the Committee to which he or she is assigned per semester.

Article 6 – The Foundational Organizations

Section 1 – General Definition

Foundational Organizations are groups and organizations considered necessary to facilitate Registered Student Organizations, Student Government as a whole, and general campus life.

Section 2 – Composite and Electorate

Clause 1: Foundational Organizations comprise of the following internal groups and organizations of Student Government: Executive Board, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Class Cabinets, Policy Reform Committee, Allocations Board, Approval Board, JAB, the Student Advocates for Universal Respect Board, and the Projects Committee.
Clause 2: Foundational Organizations shall appoint at least one advisor to assist their activities.

Section 3 – General Powers

Clause 1: Foundational Organizations are entitled to periodic meetings with their group or organization’s advisor.

Article 7 – The Student Advocates for Universal Respect Board

Section 1 – General Definition

The Student Advocates for Universal Respect (SAUR) Board shall comprise of full-time students during their term at Juniata College and shall be in good academic standing, as defined in the Pathfinder.

Section 2 – Composite and Electorate

Clause 1: The SAUR Board shall comprise of a maximum of ten seats and a minimum of six on Senate. 
Clause 2: Voting rights will be distributed as follows, if the demographic of the group allows: one vote for Co-chair (permanent), one vote for the Treasurer (permanent), with at least one vote and a maximum of two for the domestic, interest-based/non-minority, international, and LGBTQ+ students.
Clause 3: The SAUR Board shall consist of four officers in Senate including a Chair, Co-chair, Secretary, and Treasurer (Chair and Secretary exempt from voting).
Clause 4: The SAUR Board shall be elected via interest (excluding the Chair). Those who are interested shall state verbally their intentions for the position and shall be elected by SAUR members.
Clause 5: SAUR is open to the General Assembly.
Clause 6: In the event of a vacancy of a SAUR Board member, SAUR, with the advice of the concerned entity, if any, shall nominate a replacement to be confirmed by SAUR members or Executive Board if SAUR members are unable.

Section 3 – General Powers

Clause 1: Any cultural event (personal or in conjunction with an organization on campus) will discuss with SAUR for any desired help, if wanted. SAUR will be considered first refusal for any help provided.

Article 8 – The Projects Committee

Section 1 – General Definition

The Projects Committee shall comprise of full-time students during their term at Juniata College and shall be in good academic standing, as defined in the Pathfinder.

Section 2 – Composite and Electorate

Clause 1: The Projects Committee shall comprise of a maximum of ten seats on Senate. In the event there are less than ten members in the committee, all members will have one vote.
Clause 2: Voting rights shall be distributed as follows, if the demographic of the group allows: one vote for the Treasurer (permanent), one vote for each remaining member, up to ten. Voting seats can rotate based on activity or need. Voting seats must attend all Senate meetings in the time period they hold voting rights.
Clause 3: The Projects Committee shall consist of two officers on Senate including a Chair and Treasurer (Chair exempt from voting). The Projects Committee Chair is the Secretary of the Student Government Executive Board.
Clause 4: Those who are interested shall state verbally their intentions for the Treasurer position. The Treasurer shall be selected by the Projects Committee Chair.
Clause 5: The Projects Committee is open to the General Assembly.
Clause 6: In the event of a vacancy for the position of the Projects Committee Chair, a new Chair will be nominated by the Projects Committee and confirmed by the Executive Board.

Article 9 – Constitutional Amendment

Amendments to this constitution shall be approved by a two-thirds vote of Senate and a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly. To be valid at least 15% of the General Assembly must participate in a vote for this purpose.