Constitution
of the
New School University Student Senate
Established: April 24, 2007
Amendments are listed following The Constitution.
PREAMBLE
We, the students of The New School, in order to create a representative form of student government; to create one cohesive body and voice of our multiple schools; to serve as the official voice of student opinion on matters affecting students and/or their rights; to provide for a mutual and beneficial understanding with members of the faculty and administration; to facilitate communication between all of the separate schools; and to enhance educational, social, and cultural opportunities, establish this Constitution of the The New School’s University Student Senate.
The University Student Senate is not intended to replace the systems of governance of any of the individual schools of The New School or departments or programs therein. Further, each school shall be expected to have its own student organization whose functions shall include election of representatives to, and communication with, the University Student Senate.
ARTICLE I: NAME
This organization shall be known as the University Student Senate (USS).
ARTICLE II: PURPOSE
The purpose of the USS shall be to provide full representation of the views and opinions of the students; it shall act as a conduit between the students, faculty, staff, and administration, as well as strongly and vehemently advocate the sentiment and interests of the students in both university and community affairs. The USS shall also function to facilitate communication between all the separate branches of The New School and to strive to achieve involvement of the students in the policy and decision-making processes of the university by designating representatives to serve on university-wide committees.
ARTICLE III: AUTHORITY
A. The authority of the University Student Senate to organize is derived ultimately from the student body.
B. The authority of the University Senate to govern is derived ultimately from the university administration and the Board of Trustees of The New School, and immediately from the student body.
C. The University Student Senate is empowered to execute all provisions and necessary implications of this constitution, to make such regulations as it considers necessary to attain this end, and to apply such sanctions as it believes just for infractions of its regulations.
D. The powers and authority granted to the University Student Senate will be binding on all university bodies after passage by the Board of Trustees.
E. The University Student Senate as a recognized entity is subject to the policies and procedures governing the conduct of student organizations at the university.
ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP
Every degree-, diploma-, and credit certificate-seeking student of The New School is a member of The University Student Senate, and is encouraged to attend every meeting. These members will have all meeting privileges, but will not be granted an official vote unless authorized to do so under Article V below.
ARTICLE V: GOVERNANCE
The governance structure of the USS shall provide for an Executive Board and a Representative Board, the composition and function of which shall be as follows:
A. Executive Board
1. The Executive Board shall set the general direction for the USS based upon its purpose and goals and coordinate the efforts and activities to achieve the same, and shall derive its authority from the Representative Board.
2. The body of the Executive Board shall be composed solely of the following members of the USS:
a. Up to three co-chairs;
b. Secretary;
c. Treasurer.
A co-chair may serve simultaneously as Secretary or Treasurer, as described in Article VII (B) below.
3. Each member of the Executive Board will be granted one (1) vote representing the interests of the USS.
B. Representative Board
1. The Representative Board shall be the official voice for the student body and will elect the Executive Board from among its members. The Representative Board will propose and further its own initiatives and represent the individual concerns of each school represented therein.
2. Each school within the University shall have Representatives assigned according to the size of the student body. The allocation of Representatives will be determined as follows:
0-500 students 1 Representative
501-1200 students 2 Representatives
1201-2000 students 3 Representatives
2001- 3000 students 4 Representatives
3000+ students 5 Representatives
3. (( As of Spring 2010 enrollment numbers, this will result in the following representation for 2009-10:
a. Parsons The New School for Design 5 Representatives
b. The New School for General Studies 3 Representatives
c. Eugene Lang The New School for Liberal Arts — 3 Representatives
d. The New School for Social Research — 2 Representatives
e. Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy — 1 Representative
f. Mannes College The New School for Music — 1 Representative
g. The New School for Drama — 1 Representative
h. The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music — 1 Representative ))
4. Each member of the Representative Board will be granted one (1) vote representing the interests of his/her school and the USS.
ARTICLE VI: POWER AND DUTIES
The powers, duties, and responsibilities of the governance structure of the USS shall be defined as follows:
A. Executive Board
1. Members of the Executive Board shall act as the steering committee for the USS.
2. Shall have the full responsibility for all activities and affairs of the USS and/or all those actions taken under the auspices of the USS.
3. Shall preside over USS meetings. The co-chairs shall be the chief presiding officers. In the absence of the Co-chairs, the Secretary or Treasurer shall assume the role of chief presiding officer.
4. Shall be responsible for overseeing subcommittees as designated by the Co-chairs.
5. Shall be able to form and/or chair ad hoc subcommittees in order to achieve general or specific purposes.
6. Shall strive to assure proper execution of the Constitution of the USS and its by-laws.
7. The specific powers, duties, and responsibilities of the members of the Executive Board shall be as follows:
a. The co-chairs
i. Acting as the liaison with university administration.
ii. Coordinating and moderating all meetings including taking roll-call at each session.
c. Secretary
i. Taking all minutes and distributing to the student body.
ii. Assisting the President with all responsibilities.
iii. Acting as interim co-chair when co-chairs are absent.
d. Treasurer
i. Developing and managing a yearly budget.
ii. Assisting the President with all responsibilities.
iii. Acting as interim co-chair when co-chairs are absent.
8. All budget expenditures, fundraising, and other fiscal activities of the University Student Senate shall comply with all applicable university policies and guidelines regarding the collection, distribution, and expenditure of funds by student organizations.
9. Only the Executive Board will have access to the USS account of electronic mail within the university with the official administrator being the Secretary.
B. Representative Board
1. The Representative Board shall serve as the functional body of the USS responsible for the passage of legislation and resolutions reflecting student opinion.
2. Shall be the final decision-making body of the USS.
3. Shall be responsible for nominating and electing the Executive Board.
C. Good Faith.
All Senators, as Executive Board and Representative Board members of the University Student Senate, shall execute their duties, both explicit and implicit, and any other activities related to the USS, in good faith.
ARTICLE VII: ELECTIONS
At the end of each academic year, a university-wide public election will take place where all eligible students at the various schools will vote to elect their USS Representative(s).
A. Representative Board
1. Nominations: If a school has a student government, these Representatives will be nominated through that body. The list of nominees will then be submitted to the USS by the student government to be placed on the ballot.
2. Petitions: For those schools that do not have a recognized representative student body, nominations will be validated through a petition process. To qualify as a candidate, an eligible student must gather a number of signatures from students at their school. The number of signatures will be determined by the size of the school. The number of signatures required is as follows:
1- and 2-Representatives schools require 30 signatures.
2- and 3-Representatives schools require 60 signatures.
4- and 5-Representatives schools require 90 signatures.
These petitions must then be submitted to the USS at a scheduled USS meeting. The USS will verify the validity of the petitions to determine the eligibility of the nominees. Eligible nominees will then be placed on the ballot for their respective schools.
((By unanimous vote of USS, signatures for 2009-2010 are waived.))
3. Candidate Publicity: The USS will provide the final list of nominees for Representative Board positions.
4. Eligibility: A student may be eligible to represent only that school in which he or she will be enrolled during the term of office.
B. Executive Board
1. Eligibility: Only elected Representative Board members are eligible to be considered for the Executive Board.
2. Officer Election Meeting: A special USS meeting will be scheduled and advertised, the sole purpose of which will be to elect candidates for the positions to the Executive Board.
a. This meeting will be chaired by either:
i. A former member of the executive board who is not voting in the election; or only if such person is not available,
ii. Another impartial person who is not voting in the election, who shall be elected by 60% of the members.
b. Each candidate will speak for five minutes, followed by five minutes of questions from the members.
3. Composition of Executive Board: There shall be between two and five members of the Executive Board:
a. First, up to three co-chairs will be elected by Instant Runoff Voting using a ranked ballot, with the three highest-voted candidates thereby elected. If, on being elected, an elected candidate chooses not to serve, the next-highest-voted candidate will be elected to the declined co-chair position.
b. Second, the Secretary shall be elected. A co-chair may run in the election for Secretary. If so elected, that person shall be called Secretary-and-co-chair.
c. Third, the Treasurer shall be elected. A co-chair may run for Treasurer. If so elected, that person shall be called Treasurer-and-co-chair.
d. The same person may not be Treasurer and Secretary.
4. Distribution of Duties: Upon election, the co-chairs will meet and agree among themselves the division of their duties. The titles of co-chairs shall always begin with “co-chair-,” and may reflect specific duties following the word co-chair, such as (but not limited to): co-chair-and-seecretary or cochair-and-treasurer (as above), co-chair-and-events-manager, co-chair-and-spokesperson, or however the co-chairs decided to divide their duties. Any of the co-chairs may simply be called co-chair.
5. Secretary and Treasurer: One of the members of the Executive Board must be the Secretary and one must be the Treasurer, but they may also have other duties.
6. Special Elections: In case of the vacancy of a co-chair, treasurer, or secretary during his or her term, a special election will be called to fill that position. If a co-chair-and-secretary or co-chair-and-treasurer shall vacate their position, two separate elections will be again held; one person may again run in either or both elections. Following the special election of a new co-chair, the newlyconstituted executive board will meet to redistribute their responsibilities.
ARTICLE VIII: TERMS OF OFFICE, IMPEACHMENT, AND VACANCIES
A. Term of Office
1. The term of office for Executive Board positions shall begin on the day of the first USS meeting of the Fall semester and continue until the first USS meeting of the following Fall semester, when the position will be handed off to the incoming Officer.
2. All Representative Board members of the USS shall begin on the day of the first USS meeting of the Fall semester and continue until the day of the first USS meeting of the following Fall semester, or begin on the day of the first meeting of the Spring semester and continue until the day of the first meeting of the following Spring semester.
3. In the event that a Representative or Executive Board member will no longer be a student of the New School after the last day of their second semester as representative, but before the first day of the following semester, an interim Representative will be elected for the term between incumbent and successor.
4. The term of office for an outgoing member shall end upon installation of his or her successor, providing that the individual does not resign, become disqualified, or is impeached.
5. Representatives may serve an unlimited number of terms, providing they are re-elected every two semesters.
6. Executive Board members may serve no more than two terms of office in the same office.
B. Impeachment
1. Any elected member may be impeached for failure to perform the duties and responsibilities of that office, as outlined by the Constitution and its by-laws.
2. Any elected member may be impeached in the following manner:
a. By three-fourths vote of the Representative Board.
b. By referendum called for by petition. This petition must be affirmed and supported by a simple majority of the eligible student body enrolled during the particular term.
C. Vacancies
1. In case of vacancy in the position of a Representative from any division, a vote of 45% of the Representative Board may call a Special Election of that division to fill the vacant seat. Special elections will be held according to regular election procedures.
2. Replacements shall complete the term of office of their predecessor.
ARTICLE IX: MEETING FREQUENCY
A. Meetings will be held three times a semester at the very minimum.
B. The meetings may be called by any voting member with proper notification to all students.
ARTICLE X: AGENDA
A. Agenda items may be emailed by any member of the university to the USS email at any time before a meeting. The Executive Board will then determine the final agenda for the meeting.
B. At the beginning of each meeting after roll call, anyone present will be allowed to propose a new agenda item. Voting members of the USS will then vote as to whether to include this item or not, following set voting procedure.
C. The final item of the agenda will always be a miscellaneous item for which anyone can bring up concerns that were not earlier addressed.
ARTICLE XI: BY-LAWS AND AMENDMENTS
A. By-laws and amendments to the USS constitution may be introduced by any member of the USS.
B. By-laws and amendments both require a three-fourths vote by the Representative Board in favor of the proposed by-law or amendment following established university voting procedures.
ARTICLE XII: VOTING
A. TYPES OF MOTIONS. There shall be three types of motions at meetings:
(a) Constitutional Amendments.
(b) Special Motions: Political statements, changes to an established annual or semester budget, or funding proposals when no established budget exists.
(c) Regular Motions: All motions not described elsewhere in this Constitution.
B. TYPES OF VOTES
(a) Voting Senators may vote three ways, YES, NO, or ABSTAIN.
(b) For the purposes of calculating the vote, an ABSTAIN vote temporarily removes the voting Senator from being counted as a qualified member.
(c) For the purposes of calculating the vote, a Senator, present or not, that does not vote YES, NO, or ABSTAIN is still counted as a qualified member.
C. VOTING. An absolute vote of: 75% of all qualified members is required to pass an amendment; 60% of all qualified members is required to pass a special motion; and 51% of all qualified members is required to pass a regular motion.
D. QUALIFIED VOTER TOTAL. Following debate on a motion, The Secretary will announce the number of qualified voters required under this Article to pass the motion, and will then record the number of votes of present qualified members.
E. INTERNET VOTING COMPLETION. If a measure receives a majority vote of present qualified members, but there are not sufficient yes votes present to pass the measure, The Secretary may email the measure to all absent members, and may add their votes to the vote tally within 48 hours of the end of the meeting. The Secretary will add these votes to the minutes, noting that said voters “voted by internet.”
F. PROXY VOTING. There is no proxy voting.
G. SUSPENSION. Qualified members are the duly elected members of the University Student Senate. The Representative Board may suspend a Member from the Qualified Voter Total for voting purposes if the member misses three consecutive USS representative board meetings. Suspended members will be reinstated to the total if they subsequently attend a meeting.
H. INTERNET-INITIATED VOTING. Votes may be initiated and taken online provided that (a) all members are notified online simultaneously (b) the same percentage rules shall apply as for a meeting vote (c) the proposal results are minuted using the same minuting method as for a meeting (d) voting on online-initiated proposals shall be closed after 72 hours maximum.
This Constitution has been ratified by unanimous vote of a representative group of students from a majority of the schools
ARTICLE XIV: SUBCOMMITTEES
Members of the USS will each work in committees outside of the formal meeting structure to accomplish tasks related to the sustainability and outreach of the University Student Senate.
These committees include:
1. Events
a. Coordinate social events and build school-unifying initiatives
2. Finance
a. Raise funds for the USS and maintain its financial viability
3. Communications
a. Maintain communications channels with the rest of the university.
i. Publish minutes
ii. Announce meetings
iii. Maintain the USS website
4. Advocacy
a. Advocate for students’ rights and focus campaigns led by other student groups.
5. Academics
a. Evaluate university curriculum and propose new interdisciplinary programs.
b. Liaise with the provost and academic deans of the university.
A M E N D M E N T S
The following amendments were passed.
Their text is now included in the constitution above.
AMENDMENT 1
SEPARATION OF SECRETARY AND TREASURER
March 2008
Proposed by Hendrick Cho, Chair;
Passed by a 100% vote of the 2007-08 University Student Senate.
The position of Secretary-Treasurer is hereby separated into two positions of Secretary and Treasurer effective with the 2008-09 academic year elections.
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AMENDMENT 2
OFFICER TITLES
Reported in Minutes 2008 09 10.
Passed by 9-1 (90%).
“The current titles of the University Student Senate “Chair” and “Vice-Chair” will be changed to “President” and “Vice President” effective immediately.”
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AMENDMENT 3
VOTING RULES
Reported in Minutes 2008 10 15.
Passed by 9-0 (100%).
Purposes: (a) replace quorum and proxy voting, with a requirement for an absolute total of members to vote to pass a motion; (b) provide for temporary removal of members from the required voting total if they repeatedly do not show up for meetings; (c) deal with stand-asides (abstentions).
The Chair proposes to replace these paragraphs:
ARTICLE V(a): QUORUM
4. A minimum of nine (9) Representatives from at least four (4) schools must be present to establish quorum and to vote on any matter.
ARTICLE XII: VOTING AND ALTERNATES
A. All motions including motions of no confidence shall be passed, take effect, and become policy with a two-thirds majority show of hands.
B. Motions can be proposed by any member attending a meeting, but must be seconded by a voting member of the USS.
C. No proxy voting is permitted, though when electing Representatives a school is permitted to also elect the same number of alternates that are allowed to vote in the case of absence of a regular voting member.
With this new paragraph:
ARTICLE XII: VOTING
A. TYPES OF MOTIONS. There shall be three types of motions at meetings:
(a) Constitutional Amendments.
(a) Special Motions: Political statements, changes to an established annual or semester budget, or funding proposals when no established budget exists.
(b) Regular Motions: All motions not described elsewhere in this Constitution.
B. VOTING. An absolute vote of: 75% of all qualified members is required to pass an amendment; 60% of all qualified members is required to pass a special motion; and 51% of all qualified members is required to pass a regular motion.
C. QUALIFIED VOTER TOTAL. Following debate on a motion, The Secretary will announce the number of qualified voters required under this Article to pass the motion, and will then record the number of votes of present qualified members.
D. INTERNET VOTING COMPLETION. If a measure receives a majority vote of present qualified members, but there are not sufficient yes votes present to pass the measure, The Chair may email the meaure to all absent members, and may notify The Secretary to add their votes to the vote tally within 48 hours of the end of the meeting. The Secretary will add these votes to the minutes, noting that said voters “voted by internet.”
E. PROXY VOTING. There is no proxy voting.
F. SUSPENSION. Qualified members are the duly elected members of the University Student Senate. The Representative Board may suspend a Member from the Qualified Voter Total for voting purposes if the member misses three consecutive USS representative board meetings. Suspended members will be reinstated to the total if they subsequently attend a meeting.
G. SUSPENSION. Qualified members are the duly elected members of the University Student Senate. The Representative Board may suspend a Member from the Qualified Voter Total for voting purposes if the member misses three consecutive USS representative board meetings. Suspended members will be reinstated to the total if they subsequently attend a meeting.
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AMENDMENT 4
TERM LIMITS
Reported in Minutes 2009 03 25.
Passed by 11/13 (84%) of Qualified Senators.
2009 03 25
ARTICLE VIII (A.6): TERM LIMITS
Executive Board members may serve no more than two terms of office.
With this clause:
ARTICLE VIII (A.6): TERM LIMITS
Executive Board members may serve no more than two terms of office [[ IN THE SAME OFFICE ]] .
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AMENDMENT 5
SPECIAL ELECTIONS
Reported in Minutes 2009 03 25.
Passed by 11/13 (84%) of Qualified Senators.
University Student Senate
Constitutional Amendment on Special Elections
March 25, 2009
Purpose: As it stands now, if someone resigns from the Senate, their seat is left empty for the remainder of the year and the Division forfeits its seat. Currently we have four empty seats. Under the amendment below, we could have Special Elections to fill vacant seats next year.
A proposal to replace this paragraph:
ARTICLE VIII (C.1): VACANCIES
In case of vacancy in the position of any Representative, that school will forfeit their vote.
With this paragraph:
ARTICLE VIII (C.1): VACANCIES
In case of vacancy in the position of a Representative from any division, a vote of 45% of the Representative Board may call a Special Election of that division to fill the vacant seat. Special elections will be held according to regular election procedures.
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AMENDMENT 6
HANDOVER DATE FOR 2009
Reported in Minutes 2009 05 18.
Passed by 11/13 (84%) of Qualified Senators.
“USS hereby makes a temporary amendment, repealed on September 15,
2009, to hand over voting authority to the New USS Representative Board
on June 1, 2009; this is a one-time change.”
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AMENDMENT 7
SENATORS/OFFICERS TO ACT IN GOOD FAITH
Reported in Minutes 2009 10 15.
Passed by 12/16 (75%) of Qualified Senators.
It is proposed to amend the Constitution of the University Student Senate as follows:
Under Article VI (“POWER AND DUTIES”), a new Section shall be inserted after Section B (“Executive Board”) to be titled “C. Good Faith” and will read as follows:
.
C. GOOD FAITH
(a) All Senators, as Executive Board and Representative Board members of the University Student Senate, shall execute their duties, both explicit and implicit, and any other activities related to the USS, in good faith.
RATIONALE: No law system is perfect, and there are bound to be loopholes found continuously in the procedures and Constitution of the USS. A creative Senator can use the rules of the USS against the organization, and commit egregious violations of what is obviously the spirit of Student Government, while still tiptoeing within the margins outlined by the rules and regulations of conduct. This Constitutional Amendment would make acting in this way (in bad faith) against the Constitution itself, and makes explicit that the letter of the law shouldn’t be the only constraints on Senators’ actions.
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AMENDMENT 8
COUNTING OF ABSTAINING VOTES
Reported in Minutes 2009 10 15.
Passed by 12/16 (75%) of Qualified Senators.
It is proposed to amend the Constitution of the University Student Senate as follows:
Under Article XII (“Voting”), a new Section shall be inserted after Section A (“Types of Motions”) and before Section B (“Voting”) to be titled “B. Types of Votes” and will read as follows:
.
B. TYPES OF VOTES
(a) Voting Senators may vote three ways, YES, NO, or ABSTAIN.
(b) For the purposes of calculating the vote, an ABSTAIN vote temporarily removes the voting Senator from being counted as a qualified member.
(c) For the purposes of calculating the vote, a Senator, present or not, that does not vote YES, NO, or ABSTAIN is still counted as a qualified member.
• The previous Section B (“B. VOTING”) will be renamed Section C (“C.VOTING”), the previous Section C (“C.QUALIFIED VOTER TOTAL”) will be renamed Section D (“D.QUALIFIED VOTER TOTAL”) and so on.
.
RATIONALE: Currently, there is no way for a Senator to not vote. If they abstain, they’re still practically voting against a motion. This Constitutional Amendment seeks to remedy this by providing a way for a Senator to disengage from the vote. This amendment also explicitly protects those Senators who aren’t present at meetings and don’t have the opportunity to vote no. The bar is set just as high, except now Senators can opt out of the votes and make their voices heard by specifically not affecting the vote. It illuminates the difference between actively abstaining, and simply not voting, which are two very different actions.
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AMENDMENT 9
CANDIDATES TO STAND IN NEXT YEAR’S DIVISION
Reported in Minutes 2009 10 15.
Passed by 12/16 (75%) of Qualified Senators.
It is proposed to amend the Constitution of the University Student Senate as follows:
Under Article VII (“ELECTIONS”) Section A (“Representative Board”), after Subsection 3, Subsection 4 shall be added and will read as follows:
.
4. A student may be eligible to represent only that school in which he or she will be enrolled during the term of office.
.
RATIONALE: Currently, students, if they know that they will be transferring to different schools next year, could gather votes from “their school” (the school they’re attending during the vote), and they will “be placed on the ballot for their respective schools” (still, the school they’re attending during the vote). But, during the next year, they could be attending a different school. This just makes it explicit that a student attending the NSSR but attended The New School for Drama last year (as my girlfriend does), they can only be a representative for the school they’re going to attend during the term of office.
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AMENDMENT 10
PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT REPLACED WITH THREE Co-CHAIRS FOR 2009-2010
Reported in Minutes 2009 10 28.
Passed by 12/16 (75%) of Qualified Senators.
USS votes to amend article V (2) as follows:
“The following amendment is to be used for the 2009-2010 Senate only: USS hereby replaces the President and Vice President positions with three co-chairs, whose duties will be the same as those currently held by the President and Vice President. The co-chairs will be elected by Instant Runoff Voting using a ranked ballot, with the three highest-voted candidates thereby elected. If on completing an election an elected candidate chooses not to serve, the next-highest-voted candidate will be elected to the declined co-chair position.” (This amendment was made permanent, and further described, in Amendment 12.)
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AMENDMENT 11
INTERNET-INITIATED VOTING
Reported in Minutes 2010 02 07.
Passed by 9/11 (81%) of Qualified Senators.
USS votes to amend article XII by adding section XII(H) as follows:
“Votes may be initiated and taken online provided that (a) all members are notified online simultaneously (b) the same percentage rules shall apply as for a meeting vote (c) the proposal results are minuted using the same minuting method as for a meeting (d) voting on online-initiated proposals shall be closed after 72 hours maximum.”
RATIONALE: This is to codify established procedure and set a time limit for online voting.
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AMENDMENT 12
PERMANENT CHANGE TO CO-CHAIRS
Reported in Minutes 2010 04 01.
Passed by 13/16 (81%) of Qualified Senators.
USS votes to (i) Make Amendment 10 changing President and Vice President to three co-chairs permanent; and (ii) replace article VII (B) as follows.
This is the OLD text of VII (B):
B. Executive Board
1. Only elected Representative Board members are eligible to be considered for the Executive Board.
2. A special USS meeting will be scheduled and advertised, the sole purpose of which will be to nominate candidates for the positions to the Executive Board. Nominees will be confirmed through the standard voting procedure of the USS.
3. The USS will provide the final list of nominees for Executive Board positions.
This is the NEW text of VII (B):
B. Executive Board
1. Only elected Representative Board members are eligible to be considered for the Executive Board.
2. A special USS meeting will be scheduled and advertised, the sole purpose of which will be to elect candidates for the positions to the Executive Board.
a. This meeting will be chaired by either:
i. A former member of the executive board who is not voting in the election; or only if such person is not available,
ii. Another impartial person who is not voting in the election, who shall be elected by 60% of the members.
b. Each candidate will speak for five minutes, followed by five minutes of questions from the members.
3. There shall be between two and five members of the Executive Board:
a. First, up to three co-chairs will be elected by Instant Runoff Voting using a ranked ballot, with the three highest-voted candidates thereby elected. If, on being elected, an elected candidate chooses not to serve, the next-highest-voted candidate will be elected to the declined co-chair position.
b. Second, the Secretary shall be elected. A co-chair may run in the election for Secretary. If so elected, that person shall be called Secretary-and-co-chair.
c. Third, the Treasurer shall be elected. A co-chair may run for Treasurer. If so elected, that person shall be called Treasurer-and-co-chair.
d. The same person may not be Treasurer and Secretary.
4. Upon election, the co-chairs will meet and agree among themselves the division of their duties. The titles of co-chairs shall always begin with “co-chair-,” and may reflect specific duties following the word co-chair, such as (but not limited to): co-chair-and-seecretary or cochair-and-treasurer (as above), co-chair-and-events-manager, co-chair-and-spokesperson, or however the co-chairs decided to divide their duties. Any of the co-chairs may simply be called co-chair.
5. One of the members of the Executive Board must be the Secretary and one must be the Treasurer, but they may also have other duties.
6. In case of the vacancy of a co-chair, treasurer, or secretary during his or her term, a special election will be called to fill that position. If a co-chair-and-secretary or co-chair-and-treasurer shall vacate their position, two separate elections will be again held; one person may again run in either or both elections. Following the special election of a new co-chair, the newly-constituted executive board will meet to redistribute their responsibilities.
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AMENDMENT 13
HANDOVER DATE FOR 2010
Reported in Minutes 2010 04 25.
Passed by 13/15 (87%) of Qualified Senators
“USS hereby makes a temporary amendment, for 2010 only, to hand over voting authority to the New USS Representative Board and Executive Board on May 19, 2010.”
