PAGE SIX SGA The new constitution of the Student Government Association has one impor tant guiding principle—the theory of separation of powers. All-University Ca binel, which at present passes all legislation affecting the stu dent body and is the chief ex ecutive body, will bow to an assembly vested with complete legislative power. Cabinet will remain as a purely advisory body to the chief executive, the SGA pres ident It will be composed of both appointed and elected members and will advise the president on legislation passed by the assembly. This legisla tion will need the president's signature in order to become law but if the president fails to approve or reject legisla tion within one week it will go into effect without his signa ture. The executive branch as provided in the constitution Constitution CONSTITUTION OF THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION PREAMBLE We, the ,tudenk of the Penn sylvania State University, in or der to promote the welfare of the student body and the University as a whole, and to in,ure the deni m-I,We right of self-government, utilizing the principle, of separa tion of power , : and representative goveinment, do hereby establish thi, constitution of the Student Government Po,sociation of the Pennsylvania State University ARTICLE I—NAME The name of thii organization shall be The Student Govern ment A'-octation of the Pennsyl vania State University, herein after refereed to as SGA ARTICLE lI—PURPOSE The put pose of SGA shall be to provide representative self-gov ernment for the student body and to promote and protect the stu dent,' mtetests, education, cul tote and genet al welfare in ac cordance with the preamble of this constitution ARTICLE lII—BRANCHES Section I. The branchN of SGA than be (I) I,egtslative Blanch (21 Exectt tiN e 131 aneli 131 ,Judlelal Blanch. Section 2. No person may hold po , ntion:, in any two branche , , concurrently With the exception of po , ,it ions on executive boat di and cornnus sions Th e President's Cabinet shall not he construed to be an executive boat d or convnthsion. ARTICLE IV— LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Section 1. All logiilanve poi of SCA shall be vested in the eV,sernbly Section 2. n (I) The A,,embly shall con sist Of 0 30" , of the number of full-time, main campus, under tuaduate student, enrolled for the mo,t recent spring semester, or 42 members, whichever greater. (2) Each member shall hold his seat for a team of one year. ex cept a, otherwise provided (1) The composition of the As sembly shall be as follows Senior-29 of the Assembly membership Junior-26''' , of the Assembly membership Sophomote--24"; , of the As sembly membership Freshman-21"- of the As sembly membership (determined to the nearest \thole number.) h Each class shall elect a Presi dent. Each Class President shall hold one of the seats assigned to hi class In At ticle IV, Section 2a c Members of the Assembly shall be full-time undergraduate. students am: shall have a 2.4 All University average, except first semester freshman or transfer, students with no average. d Each member shall repeat the, follow tug oath pt for to assuming office. I do hereby solernly swear that I will uphold the Constitution of the Student Government Associa tion of the Pennsylvania State University, faithfully execute re- Embodies 3 Branches will be exerting checks and balances on the assembly. The assembly, composed of repre sentatives directly elected through class, will represent the entire student body in its decisions. The judicial system will be headed by a supreme court and minor courts dealing with specific areas of jurisdiction. The supreme court will have the power of judicial riuview on constitutionality of all ac tion by the assembly. Assembly members will be elected each semester and will serve for one year from the time of their election. The freshman and sophomore class presidents will be elected each fall and the junior and senior presidents each spring. The SCA officers will also be elected in the spring. Political parties may run a number of candidates for the assembly equal to 70 per cent of the number of seats to be filled. This will insure major ity-minority factions in the as sembly and will provide bet ter party representation. Any group may form a po- for the Proposed SGA sponsibilities of Assembly mem bership, and %%ill to the best of my ability serve to promote the welfare of the student body and the University as a whole." e. The Vice-President of SGA shall pi elide over the Assembly but shall vote only to break a tie. f. The President of SGA shall be an ex-officio, non-voting mem ber of the Assembly. g The removal of any member of SGA may be appealed to the Supreme Court The Supreme Cow t may overrule such removal by a unanimous vote h. If a vacancy occurs due to the: resignation, removal, or disquali-, fication of a member of the as sembly, the President of that member's class shalt appoint a member of that class to fill such, vacancy subject to the approval of the majority of the constitu tional members of the Assembly, until the next election. If, at the , election the term of that vacated seat has not expired, a new mem-! bet. shall be elected to complete the term. i. A President protempore shall he elected by the Assembly and shall preside in the absence of the Vice-President. Three fourths of the constitu tional inembei , thip of the Assem bly shall constitute a quorum. lc. Any member of the Assembly max' provide an alternate pro viding said alternate has a 2.4 All-University average and is a member of the same class as the Assembly member concerned. Sction 3. a Legislation shall become ef fective if passed by a majority of the Assembly members voting, and signed by the President of SGA; however, if not signed nor vetoed by th-2 President of SGA within one scholastic week, it shall then become effective. b. The Assembly may make any recommendation on behalf of the student body concerning student welfare c The Assembly shall have the power to summon before it any undergraduate student and shall conduct such investigations as it , inay deem just and proper. d. The Assembly may create such committees as it deems necessary for the proper conduct of its business. e. The Assembly shall not pass lec,lslation which is primarily within the scope of another stu dent organization except upon re quest by said organization. f. The Assembly shall meet at least N ice each month of the academic ycat, excluding vaca tions, ARTICLE V EXECUTIVE BRANCH Section 1. a. The officers of SGA shall be ;President, Vice-President, and 'Secretary-Treasurer. b. The term of the officers shall be one year or until their sue-, cessors ale elected. c. The officers of SGA shall be elected annually in the spring election by the entire student body; shall be at least fifth se mester at the time of election; shall have at least two semesters THE DAILY COLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA litical party if chartered by the Senate subcommittee on Or ganization and Control after approval by the Senate Com mittee on Student Affairs. The parties must file copies of their constitutions and all amend ments with the Elections Com mission, the assembly Rules Committee and the secretariat. To become a member of a party, a student must attend at least two party meetingi each semester. He will be is sued a party membership card by the Elections Commission upon attendance at the second meeting. A party member will be entitled to vote for party officers only it he has been is sued a party card. A candidate for the assem bly may be nominated by a majority vote of the voting card-holding members of a po litical party or by a petition signed by 100 members of his class. A candidate for an SGA office may be nominated by a majority vote of the card holding members of his politi cal par ty or by a petition signed by 200 full-time under graduate students. remaining at the University and shall have at least a 2.4 All-Uni versity average. d. Prior to assuming office the officers of SGA shall be adminis tered the following oat h: "I, (name), do solemly swear that I will uphold the constitution of the Student Government Associa tion, faithfully execute the office of (office) of the Student Gov ernment Association and will to the best of my ability serve to promote the welfare of the stu dent body and the University as a whole." The oath shall be ad ministered by a member of the Supreme Court of SGA at the meeting of the Assembly follow ing the election. Section 2. a. An executive powers of SGA except as hereinafter provided are vested in the President of SGA, b. The President of SGA shall be the official representative of the student body. c. The President of SGA shall have the power to veto any legis lation or parts thereof passed by the Assembly within one week after such passage. The veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the constitutional mem bership of the Assembly. d. The President of SGA may call special meetings of the As sembly. e. The President of SGA may recommend legislation to the As sembly. f. The President of SGA shall have the power to appoint or to remove all chairmen and mem bers of the various boards and commissions within the execu tive branch All changes shall be 'object to the approval of the Assembly and must be placed on the agenda for that meeting. Agendas shall be distributed to members at least two full days prior to the meeting. a. The Vice-President of SGA shall assume the office of Presi dent in the event of the removal. resignation, or disqualification of the President of SGA. The Presi dent proterripore of the Assembly shall then assume the duties of the Vice-President of SGA. b. In the case of the removal, resignation, or disqualification of both the President of SGA and the Vice-President of SGA, a spe cial election shall be held within two weeks to replace them, The President protempore of the As sembly shall act as President of SGA in the interim. Section 4. a. The Secretary-Treasurer of SGA shall be responsible for the proper functioning of the Secre tariat, shall care for the records of the SGA, handle finances, pre pare an annual budget, and make reports on the finances of the SGA to the Assembly monthly, at the request of the Assembly, or when the Secretary-Treasurer deems it necessary. b: The Secretariat shall be a centralized agency to handle SGA correspondence, provide all other secretarial services for SGA or ganizations, and maintain a com- Section 3. If a candidate withdraws, a substitute candidate may be nominated by the party at a specifically designated par t y meeting. A candidate may not run on more than one political party slate in one election. Funds for publicity purposes during campaigns will be col lected by the parties and de posited with the Associated Activities Fund. All publicity and campaign materials must be ordered by requisition forms secured from the Asso ciated Students Activities of fice. The Elections Commission will meet with the party chair man after the closing of the polls and before the counting of the votes, when complaints will be heard. Witnesses must be called in on a specific ease when that case is being discussed. Wit nesses and the accused person must be present when a party presents any charges of the va lidtity of the election. Any ap peals must be made after the fI n al meeting immediately prior to the counting of the votes. All undergraduates may vote plete information file for the use of all campus organizations. Section 5 a. Officers of SGA may be re moved on the following grounds: embezzlement, malfeasance in of fice, or actions contrary to or in violation of this constitution. b. Removal proceedings may be instituted by a majority vote of the Assembly upon a motion to this effect by any of its members. The Assembly shall sit as a Tri bunal with the Chairman of the Supreme Court presiding. Full hearing shall be given to the ac cused and to the defendant with the defendant having the full right to counsel. c. Removal shall be effected by a three-fourths vote of the consti tutional membership of the As sembly. d. Removal may be appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court may ovei rule such removal by a unanimous vote. Section 6. a. The President's Cab ine t, hereinafter referred to as Cab inet, shall serve the President of SCA in an advisory and adminis trative capacity. b. The Cabinet shall be com posed of the officers of SGA, and the Presidents of WSGA, AIM, IFC, Leonides, Panhel, and ICCB, and such assistants as may be ap pointed from time to time by the President of SGA with the ad vice and consent of the Assembly. ARTICLE VI—JUDICIAL Section 1 a. All judicial powers of the Student Government Association herein granted shall be rested in , the Supreme Court, the On Cam-1 pus Tribunals, the Off Campus Tribunal, the Judicial, the Traffic Court, the Pan-Hellenic Board of Control, the Interfraternity Coun cil Board of Control, and the Or ganization Board of Control. b. The rulings of the above named courts and boards shall be final in the event the rule or rules under which the charge is made are peculiar to the jurisdiction of said court or board and are not restated or contained in any Uni versity, state or federal rule, law or policy. In such cases appro priate procedures for appeal shall allow a rehearsing by the court or board or shall allow appeal to the appropriate legislative body. In all other cases the ruling of the above-named co ur t s and boards shall be in the form of recommendations to the appro priate Senate Subcommittee. 3. The meetings of the above named courts and boards except ing the Supreme Court shall be closed during the hearing of a case to all persons except the members of the judicial body and those persons being heard, unless the group or student against whom the charges have been made requests in writing that the hearing be open to the general public. Section 2 a. The Council of Organization Control Board chairmen shall consist of the chairman of the In t erfraternity Council Board of Control, and the Organization Board of Control. b. The Council of Organization Control Board chairman shall TUESDAY. APRIL 21, 1951 for SGA officers. They must present official University ma triculation cards at the polls before being permitted to cast their ballots. In the event the Elections Commission decides that a vio lation of the code merits dis qualification of a candidate the case will be taken before the assembly for approve'. If before the voting takes place, the candidate is disqualified another candidate may not be substituted for him. Violations which merit con sideration for disqualification are 1) buying of votes either with promise of money or oth er forms of bribery, 2) elec tioneering at or in the imme diate vicinity of the polls, and 3) stuffing the ballot box. In the event that two candi dates for the same office have an equal number of votes, the newly elected assembly will select the winning candidate by secret ballot. College coun cil elections will also be super vised by the Elections Com mittee. rule on matters of jurisdiction within their combined jurisdic tion, shall concern themselves with the proper functioning of organization control, and shall maintain proper records. c. The Council of Organization Control Board chairman shall sit as the student members of the Senate Subcommittee on Organi zation Control at all meetings of that body. Section 3 a. The Council of Disciplinary Court Chairmen shall consist of the chairman of the Traffic Court, the Judicial, the Off Campus Tribunal, and the chairman of one of the On Campus Tribunals elected for this position by the chairman of the area tribunals from among their number. b. The Council of Disciplinary Court Chairmen shall rule on matters of jurisdiction within their combined jurisdiction, shall coordinate their respective courts, ,shall concern themselves with the proper function of the disci plinary process as applied to indi viduals, and shall maintain prop er records. 3. The Council of Disciplinary Court Chairmen shall sit as the student members of the Senate Subcommittee on Discipline at all meetings of that body. Section 4 a. The Supreme Court shalt consist of the Council of Organi zation Control Board Chairmen and the Council of Disciplinary Court chairmen sitting in concert. b. The Supreme Court shall be concerned with matters of con stitutionality, It shall hear cases, when a student or organization appeals the ruling of a lower .court on the grounds that the rule under which the penalty was is sued is unconstitutional or when any student requests that it con sider legislation passed by the Assembly of the Student Govern ment Association as to its consti tutionality or in the case of an appeal of removal from office by an SGA member. 3 The Chairman of the Su ureme Court shall be elected by Ithe court from among its mem bers. d. The chairman of the Su preme Court shall have the power to refuse to hear a particular, case, but must justify such action to the Supreme Court. e. In the event a case is brought to the attention of the Supreme Court their first ruling shall be whether or not grounds exist on which to hear the case. In the event such grounds do exist their second ruling shall be on the constitutionality of the rule or legislation in question. f. The advisor to the Supreme Court shall be the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on -Or ganization Control. _ g. The _chairman of the Su preme Court shall have the same voting privileges as the other six members. Section 5 a. The On Campus Tribunals shall hear cases involving indi vidual male _students residing in residence halls. b. The number of On Campus _ (Continued. on page seven)
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