Student Government Association

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ARTICLE ONE: NAME

The Organization of the Student Body of this institution shall be known as the “Student Government Association of Coastal Alabama Community College.” Coastal Alabama Community College may have multiple SGAs based on campus location and student interest.

ARTICLE TWO: PURPOSES

The purposes of this organization are to deal effectively with matters of student affairs, to promote good will and understanding between faculty and students, to control all matters which are delegated to the student government by the administration, to work with the administration in all matters affecting the welfare of the student body, to enact and administer such rules as are deemed necessary for the promotion of the welfare of the students, and to control and direct student activities in order that they may be conducted for the best interests of the student body as a whole and to the credit of Coastal Alabama Community College. The SGA is served by a College advisor who aids the members in all endeavors.

ARTICLE THREE: MEMBERSHIP

  1. All registered students are members of this organization and are subject to all rules and regulations enacted by this organization.
  2. Only members of the Student Government Association shall be entitled to vote in elections concerning positions in this organization.

ARTICLE FOUR: GENERAL ORGANIZATION

The Student Government Association of Coastal Alabama Community College shall be organized into three branches: the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial.

ARTICLE FIVE: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

  1. All legislative powers granted herein shall be vested in a Student Senate whose membership shall be chosen from the student body of the two classes.
  2. The freshman class and the sophomore class shall elect senators to the Student Senate.
  3. Eligible voters for freshman and sophomore senators shall be all members of the student body at-large.
  4. All vacancies occurring in the Student Senate before the fall semester elections, except during the summer semester, shall be filled in the fall semester elections.
  5. All vacancies occurring shall be filled by appointment by the President of the Student Government Association until a special election is called or a regular election occurs.
  6. During the summer semester, all SGA business shall be conducted informally by those officers and senators in attendance.
  7. All Senators must maintain a specific GPA requirement and maintain full time student status. The position is forfeited if the criteria is not met.

PROCEDURE:

a. A majority of the membership of the Student Senate shall constitute a quorum to do business.

b. The Student Senate may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly conduct, compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties a the Student Senate may evoke, and with concurrence of three-fourths of the membership expel a member.

c. The Student Senate shall meet at least every two weeks during the school year, or at the call of the President of the Student Government Association, or upon the written request of a majority of the membership of the Student Senate.

d. All enactments of the Student Senate, including changes in the Rules and Regulations of the Student Government Association, shall be passed by a majority vote unless otherwise specified in the Constitution.

DUTIES:

a. To set up permanent and/or temporary committees from within the Student Senate membership as it sees fit;

d. To approve by two-thirds vote of the Senators present and all voting members of the Executive Cabinet of the Student Government Association;

e. To override the veto of the President of the Student Government Association by a vote of two-thirds of the membership of the Student Senate;

f. To create or abolish any Executive Cabinet post upon recommendation by the President of the Student Government Association;

g. To enact or revise By-Laws of the Student Government Association;

h. To grant to all student organizations the privilege of establishment on the campus, and to set standards for the recognition of such organizations;

ARTICLE SIX: EXECUTIVE BRANCH

  1. All executive powers granted herein shall be vested in a President of the Student Government Association.
  2. The President of the Student Government Association shall be assisted by a Vice President, a Secretary, an Executive Cabinet, and an Inter-club Council as needed.
  3. The President, Vice President, and Secretary of the Student Government Association shall be chosen for a term of one year in the spring semester elections and must be a full-time student and must maintain a specifc GPA with full-time student status. An officer forfeits the office if the criteria is not met.
  4. Vacancies:

a. If the office of the President shall become vacant, it shall be filled by the Vice President.

b. If the office of Vice President shall become vacant before the fall semester elections, it shall be filled in the fall semester elections, but if said office shall become vacant at any other time, it shall be filled by the President Pro-Tem of the Student Senate.

c. If the office of both President and Vice President should become vacant after the fall semester elections, the President Pro-Tem of the Student Senate shall assume the office of President unless the Student Senate shall see fit to call a special election to fill said vacancies.

d. If the office of either Secretary or Treasurer of the Student Government Association shall become vacant before the fall semester elections, it shall be filled in the fall semester elections, but if it should become vacant at any other time, the President of the Student Government Association shall fill the vacancy by appointment.

e. In cases of impeachment, the impeached is subject to immediate expulsion from the Student Government Association by three-fourths vote of the Student Senate and approval by the President when the President is not being impeached. In cases where the President is being impeached, the Vice President shall act as president.

PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION DUTIES:

  1. To execute the Rules and Regulations enacted by the Student Senate;
  2. To call and preside over meetings of the Executive Cabinet;
  3. To appoint all members of the Executive Cabinet with the approval of two-thirds of those voting in the Student Senate;
  4. To remove at will any member of the Executive Cabinet;
  5. To recommend that the Student Senate create or abolish Executive Cabinet positions;
  6. To fill all vacancies in the Student Senate occurring after the fall semester elections;
  7. To call special meetings of the Student Senate;
  8. To bring before the Judicial Branch of the Student Government Association charges against any Student Senate approved organization for violation of provisions governing the regulation of such organization;
  9. To sign or veto acts of the Student Senate. If the President does not veto any act of the Student Senate within ten days after its passage, such acts shall become valid without the President’s signature;
  10. To have published prior to all elections, including notice of such vacancies as are to be filled in said elections;
  11. To serve as ex-officio member of the Student Senate;
  12. To require, when requested, a written interpretation from the Judicial Branch on any provision of the Constitution or the Rules and Regulations of the Student Government Association; and
  13. To execute all duties found in this Constitution and the Rules and Regulations of the Student Government Association.

VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION DUTIES:

  1. To execute the duties of the President of the Student Government Association in the absence of the President;
  2. To preside over all meetings of the Student Senate and to cast a vote in the Student Senate in the case of a tie;
  3. To perform such duties as the President of the Student Government Association may assign; and
  4. To appoint the members of all committees of the Student Senate and serve as ex-officio member of all such committees.

SECRETARY OF THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION DUTIES:

  1. To serve as Recording Secretary of the Executive Cabinet;
  2. To serve as clerk of the Student Senate;
  3. To handle correspondence;
  4. To perform all other duties as may be given them by the President of the Student Government Association; and
  5. The Secretary shall have the power to appoint secretarial assistants subject to approval by the Student Government President. Their duties shall consist of what the secretary deems necessary and all members are subject to removal at any time by the secretary.

ARTICLE SEVEN: EXECUTIVE CABINET

  1. The President of the Student Government Association shall appoint, with approval of two-thirds of the membership of the Student Senate present and voting, the following members of the Executive Cabinet who shall be responsible for the execution of their duties and who may be removed from office at any time by the President of the Student Government Association:
  2. Membership on the Executive Cabinet shall be governed by the following qualifications:
  1. a. The grade-point requirements for members of the Cabinet shall be 2.0.
  2. The duties of the members of the Executive Cabinet shall be as follows:

a. To serve as advisers to the President of the Student Government Association and to aid in planning the policy for the Executive Branch of the Student Government Association;

b. To execute, under the supervision of the President of the Student Government Association, all Rules and Regulations of the Student Government Association;

c. To meet at least monthly with the President of the Student Government Association or at their request;

d. To appear before the Student Senate, when requested, to discuss student affairs and to answer all questions from members of the Student Senate concerning their respective Cabinet departments; and e. To appoint as many assistants as each department director feels is necessary for the proper functioning of his/her department, and to inform the President of said appointments.

ARTICLE EIGHT: INTER-CLUB COUNCIL

Membership on the Inter-Club Council shall be as follows:

  1. a. The President of the Student Government Association, who shall serve as Chairman;
  2. b. The Director of Social Activities, who shall serve as Co-Chairman; and c. Two Representatives from each of the recognized clubs and/or extracurricular activities.

The Inter-Club Council shall meet at least monthly or at the call of the Chairman.

ARTICLE NINE: JUDICIAL BRANCH

  1. All Judicial power granted herein shall be vested in a Judicial Body composed of two faculty members and three student members, who shall be appointed by the President of the Student Government Association and approved by a two-thirds vote of the membership of the Student Senate. The faculty members shall be selected for approval by the faculty senate. A faculty member shall act as chief justice and vote only in case of a tie.
  2. All members of the Judicial Body shall take office when needed upon appointment by the President and shall serve for a period of one year or until their successors are appointed.
  3. The Judicial Body shall have the following duties:

a. To have sole jurisdiction in all cases involving the interpretation of the Constitution and the Rules and Regulations of the Student Government Association;

b. To have jurisdiction in all cases involving offenses against the provisions of this Constitution or the Rules and Regulations of the SGA;

All decisions of the Judicial Body shall be decided by a majority vote of its membership.

ARTICLE TEN: GENERAL ELECTIONS

1. The schedule for elections shall be as follows:

a. The election of Student Government Officers and Sophomore Senators shall be held in April, and the election of Freshman Senators and Senators-at-large shall be in September.

b. All appointments for Executive Cabinet and the Judicial Body must be completed within two weeks after the fall semester elections.

c. All special elections shall be held on a date designated by the President of the Student Government.

d. The President of the SGA, upon approval of two-thirds of the members voting in the Student Senate, may change the above date for elections. 

2. Election procedure shall be as follows:

a. All applications and elections will be handle via myCA

3. Voting qualifications shall be as follows:

a. All members of this organization are eligible to vote in the fall semester elections by virtue of being a registered student of this College.

b. All members of this organization are eligible to vote in any special election affecting all of the student body.

4. Qualifications for candidates for officers shall be as follows:

a. All candidates except those seeking the SGA presidency must have either a 2.0 overall average or a 2.5 average for the preceding semester. Those candidates seeking the presidency must possess a 2.5 overall average.

b. All candidates must be full-time sophomore students at this College during the next academic year.

c. All freshmen running for office in the fall semester elections must be enrolled full-time with this College.

5. The Elections Committee shall see that all candidates meet the qualifications set forth in this Constitution.

6. All candidates elected in the spring shall take office one month prior to the end of the spring semester.

ARTICLE ELEVEN: SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONS

The procedure for any group wishing to organize on campus shall be set forth in a By-Law, which must be approved by two-thirds of the Student Senate.

ARTICLE TWELVE: RULES OF ORDER

Robert’s Rules of Order shall be the parliamentary authority for all matters of procedure not specifically covered by this Constitution.

ARTICLE THIRTEEN: METHOD OF AMENDMENT

1. All amendments to this Constitution must be proposed by one of the following methods:

a. By a majority vote of the membership of the Student Senate; or

b. By a petition presented in writing to the President of the Student Government Association carrying the signatures of ten percent of the membership of the student body.