Articles I - II

Preamble

The Bylaws to the Student Government Association (SGA) Constitution intend to outline the policies and procedures of all SGA activity. In order to ensure that our policies are clear and accessible to the student body, every effort will be made to assure that these Bylaws remain updated and accurate to the actual practices of the SGA. Being that the purpose of the SGA is to encourage active cooperation and engagement, it is necessary that our procedures are transparent to allow students access to their own government.

Article I. Cabinet

Section 1. Members

1. The president of the SGA;
   1. The student shall be a rising senior and elected in a spring all-college election for a term of one year and not subject to re-election and not eligible for a split ticket position.
   2. The student shall have served on SGA for at least two semesters. The student must have either been a member of Senate, SGA Cabinet, an SGA committee, or a Class-year Cabinet.
   3. The student shall be enrolled and on campus for the full year. A student either studying abroad or graduating early is not eligible to run for this position.
   4. The term shall begin following the regular spring election. It shall end on the last day of the spring election in the following academic year. The student shall be available for counsel to the successor for the remainder of the academic year.
   5. The student shall call, create an agenda for, and preside over all meetings of the Cabinet. The agenda shall be distributed to all members of cabinet before the meeting.
   6. The student shall not have a vote in any cabinet meetings except in the case of a tie.
   7. The student shall be responsible for receiving petitions and requests from the student body and directing questions to the appropriate student or administrative body for action.
   8. The student shall be responsible for maintaining regular communications between the administration and the student body.
   9. At least once a semester, the student shall call for reports from the students on college and cabinet committees, and shall conduct investigations or surveys on issues that become necessary.
   10. The student shall sit on college and ad hoc committees at the discretion of the president of the college, including but not limited to: ACRA, Bias Complaint Committee and the Impact Awards Selection Committee.
   11. The student shall sit on the Five College Student Coordinating Board.
   12. The student shall attend Senate and Finance Committee meetings.
   13. The student at a minimum shall meet weekly with the Director of the Office of Student Engagement, every two weeks with the dean of the college, monthly with the President of the college, and as necessary with other members of the college community.
   14. The student shall be responsible for actively pursuing their degree at the discretion of the dean of the senior class and the director of student engagement, in accordance with the academic standards of Smith College.
   15. In the event that the office of President is vacated, it shall be filled, for the remainder of the term, by the vice-president of the SGA.
   16. The student shall be responsible for documenting and maintaining SGA cabinet meeting attendance policies.
2. The Vice-President of the SGA; [See Article II];
3. The Chair of Public Relations (PR) Committee (Secretary of the SGA);[See Article XX]
4. The Chair of the Committee on Appointments (Vice Chair of the Committee on Elections);
5. The chair of the Finance Committee (Vice President of Finance); [See Article V]
6. The chair of the House Presidents' Association; [See Article III]
7. The Ada Comstock Program President(s); [See Article X]

Section 2. Duties and Powers

1. At cabinet meetings, all positions, except for the SGA President shall have a vote. In the case of a tie, the SGA president shall have a vote.
2. A quorum shall consist of two-thirds of the voting members of the cabinet. A quorum must be present to conduct any vote.
3. All proceedings of the Cabinet shall be confidential as deemed necessary.
4. All Cabinet agendas must be presented to all members of the cabinet prior to all cabinet meetings. This will ensure that all members of cabinet are aware of any proceedings so that they may request to be added to the agenda if necessary.
5. All cabinet minutes shall be distributed to all members of the cabinet or available in the Cabinet Shared Drive.
6. A weekly written report or verbal update in Senate based upon the minutes must be produced and distributed to the senate by the Chair of PR Committee, and shall be available in the Senate minutes.
7. The Cabinet shall consider any question referred to it by the administration, any committee of the Senate, organizations, or members of the student body, and shall refer pertinent issues to the Senate for legislation, and to the administration for policy resolution.
8. The Cabinet shall ensure the financial stability of the SGA. With Finance Committee and the appropriate administrative body, it shall manage and oversee the SGA reserve account.
   
   1. The operating budget shall be approved in the first Cabinet meeting of the academic year and any allocations unmentioned in the budget shall come before the Cabinet for a vote.
9. All cabinet members shall return to campus approximately two weeks prior to the start of the academic year to participate in an orientation and training program.
10. The SGA Urgent Response Team;
    
    1. In the event that a situation demands a public statement from the SGA, as deemed necessary by two members of the SGA Cabinet or one member of the Urgent Response Team, the Urgent Response Team shall convene that day before midnight.
    2. The Urgent Response Team will be composed of the SGA President, Chair of Public Relations Committee, the Chair of CPA, or any position designee, and, on invitation, the advisor of the SGA. Any other relevant individuals may also be invited at the discretion of the Urgent Response Team.
    3. The Team will craft a response that will be given to the members of Cabinet for large-scale feedback for 24 hours before being shared.

Article II. Student Senate

Section 1. Members

1. The Vice President of the SGA;
   1. The student shall be a rising junior or senior elected in the spring all-college election for a term of one year and not subject to re-election and not eligible to be a split ticket position.
   2. The student shall have been a member of the Senate for a minimum of two semesters prior to the election.
   3. The student shall be enrolled and on campus for the full year. A student either studying abroad or graduating early is not eligible to run for this position.
   4. The term shall begin following the regular spring election. It shall end on the last day of the spring election in the following academic year. The student shall be available for counsel to the successor for the remainder of the academic year.
   5. The student shall call, preside over, and set the agenda for all Senate meetings.
   6. The student shall meet weekly with the Director of Student Engagement and biweekly with the Dean of Students.
   7. The student should handle the correspondence of the Senate.
   8. The student shall have a vote in the Senate only in the case of a tie.
   9. At the student’s discretion, the student shall call for reports from students on all-college and Senate committees and shall conduct any investigations or surveys on issues that become necessary.
   10. The student shall sit on college and ad hoc committees at the discretion of the president of the college.
   11. The student shall fill the office of president of the SGA if it is vacated.
   12. In the event that the office of vice president of the SGA is vacated, it shall be filled for the remainder of the term by a member of the senate who shall be self-nominated and elected by a simple majority of its membership. The student must have been a senator for at least one full semester and must have attended Smith College for at least two semesters. If the newly elected vice president previously held another position in the Senate body, there will be an election within Senate to fill that position. In the event that no senate member is self-nominated and/or elected, the office of the vice president of the SGA shall be assumed by the Senate parliamentarian.
   13. The student shall meet with the SGA president as necessary.
   14. The student shall sit on SGA Cabinet.
   15. The student shall dedicate 30 minutes of every meeting to an Open Forum, where Senators, Committee Chairs, Vice Presidents and other members of the Association can discuss concerns relevant to the well-being of the greater Smith community. Before Open Forum begins, the student shall take names of any Senate or community member and receive a time estimate of the anticipated discussion. Open Forum shall not last longer than 30 minutes without extension.
   16. The student shall be responsible for documenting and maintaining SGA Senate meeting attendance policies.
2. The Secretary of the SGA as a voting member [See Article I];
3. The Chair of Chartering Committee (parliamentarian of the student senate) as a non-voting member [see Article XIII];
4. Senators
   1. Senate will consist of the following members:
      
      1. All Campus Senators;
         1. Senators regardless of class year or area will be elected in the All Campus Elections to represent the student body; minimum of 15 and a maximum of 30 Senators in the Spring All Campus Elections, and the remainder 15 in the Fall All Campus Elections. In the case that not all 15 spots are filled in the Spring All Campus Election the vacant spots shall be added to the ballot in the Fall All Campus Elections.
         2. A minimum of two Ada senators will be elected to specifically represent the Ada Comstock Program.
         3. In the event that a senatorial office is vacated, it shall be filled, for the remainder of the term, through an application process run by the SGA vice-president and the Elections and Appointments Committee Chair.
      2. SGA Cabinet;
         1. The President of the SGA, who shall serve as a non-voting member;
         2. A representative of the House Presidents’ Association as a voting member;
         3. The Senate term of the Cabinet members shall be equal to that of their Cabinet terms.
      3. Representatives from standing committees;
         1. Each standing committee, namely, Committee on Elections, Committee on Appointments, Curriculum Committee, Finance Committee, the Student Power Coalition, and Sustainability Committee, shall have at least one member of their organization or committee as a voting member of Senate. If at least one member of their organization or committee is not already a voting member of senate, they must elect one of their members to be a voting member of senate.
         2. In the event that a representative from a standing committee is unable to fulfill their duties as a senator, a replacement may be elected through their respective organization.
      4. The vice chair of chartering of the Finance Committee as a voting member [see Article V];
      5. The Chair of the Committee on Elections as a voting member [see Article IX];
      6. The Vice-Chair of the Committee on Appointments as a voting member [see Article X];
      7. The Vice Presidents of the Class Cabinets as voting members [See Article XI];
         1. Class presidents are responsible for ensuring the vice president attends all meetings. If the vice president cannot attend, the Class President must send a representative from their class cabinet as a voting member;
      8. Non-voting members;
      9. All members of the association shall be non-voting members of the Senate. All are encouraged to attend Senate meetings and/or confer with their respective senators.
   2. The following individuals are encouraged to attend Senate meetings on a regular basis:
      
      1. Representatives of chartered organizations;
      2. Coordinators of house events;
      3. Head(s) of Student Academic Advisers;
      4. Representatives of Student Athlete Advisory Council
      5. Head(s) of New Students (HONS);
      6. Representatives from Unity Presidents Council.

Section 2. Duties and Powers

1. The Senate shall meet weekly and be open to all students.
2. The Senate shall enact legislation within the framework of the Grant of Powers. All pieces of legislation must be made public to the senators and their constituents at least one week before the vote is conducted.
3. It shall consider suggestions referred to it by the cabinet, by any Senate member or any committee of the Senate, or by any member of the association.
4. It shall elect committees (ad hoc or permanent) for purposes of investigating suggestions or recommendations presented to it by any member of the association. These committees shall report to the Senate at the discretion of the chair on the results of their investigations or activities and shall submit written reports as requested.
5. The Senate has the power to endorse and create resolutions to be passed on to the appropriate administrators. These resolutions will be passed through a two-thirds majority of the Senate and must have the endorsement of at least one member of the SGA Cabinet.
6. All voting members shall sit on all-college, standing, and ad hoc committees. Senators and members of the association shall fill committee positions.
7. The Senate shall inform students about the activities of the SGA through its members and affiliates.
8. Any organization that desires to receive support from the student activities fee (SAF) must be approved by the senate. Any organization whose charter has been accepted by a two-thirds majority of the Senate shall be considered chartered.
9. The senate shall review and approve the budget proposed by the ORC before the SAF is submitted to the association for approval.
10. The cabinet and senate shall confer together once a semester as one large body to be informed of their respective activities. This meeting will be called and presided over by the president of the SGA.

Section 3. Meetings

1. All senate meetings shall be open to all members of the association. Minutes shall be posted online on the Smith Social Network.
2. All senate meetings shall reserve time for any member(s) of the association to voice any concerns or announcements.
3. All senate committees have the right to report their activities to Senate at any Senate meeting.
4. All people or groups requesting to be placed on the agenda must request time during Open Forum or have a Senator request time for said group or individual.
5. The senate shall meet once a week.
6. Quorum must be met in order to vote on any issue at a senate meeting. Quorum shall consist of two-thirds of the voting members of the senate.
7. Attendance at senate meetings shall be mandatory for all senators. Senators may miss up to two meetings per semester provided that they have been granted approval to be excused by the chair of the senate. After two unexcused absences in a given semester, the senator shall be replaced through an appointment process through senate. Such an election is subject to approval by the Committee on Appointments. Excused absences are to be decided at the discretion of the chair of the senate. Emergency situations will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
8. Senate shall vote on any items to add to the following week's agenda before the current meeting ends.

Updated August 2024