Student Activities

Daemen College Student Association Bylaws

Article I - Name

The name of the Association shall be the Daemen College Student Association.

Article II - Membership

Section 1:  All students who pay the Daemen College Student Activity Fee are Ipso Facto members of the Association.

Section 2:  The elected members of the Association shall constitute the Executive Board.

A. President

B. Vice President of Governing

C. Vice President of Programming

D. Vice President of Collegiate Affairs

E. Treasurer

F. Secretary

Section 3: The Full Senate

A. Executive Board

B. Senior Class President

C. Junior Class President

D. Sophomore Class President

E. Freshman Class President

Article III - Purpose

Section I:  The Association

The purpose of the Association shall be to provide a means of student cooperation with the administration and the faculty, and to assist with the academic and social programming matters.

Section 2:  The Senate

The purpose of the Senate shall be to act as the official representative body of the students; to articulate their views, and to care for their best interest related to the administration and faculty, as well as with other groups within the college and the college community.

Article IV - Powers

Section 1:  Legislative

A. The legislative power of the Student Association shall be exercised by the full Senate.

B. A majority of the members of the Senate who may be present at the meeting in the presence of a quorum shall have the power to decide any question before them.

C. A formal meeting of the Senate shall be held weekly commencing with the first full week of each semester. The minutes of the previous meeting shall be reported along with each Executive Board member's weekly report.

Section 2:  Executive

A. The executive powers of the Student Association shall be vested in the President, Vice President of Governing, Vice President of Programming, Vice President of Collegiate Affairs, Treasurer; and Secretary.

B. The Executive Board shall act alone only on emergency matters needing immediate consideration.

C. Two-thirds of the members of the Executive Board in attendance at a Senate meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and the majority vote of the full Senate shall prevail.

D. The President shall have the power of his own recognizance to approve up to and including the sum of $100.00 for emergency uses only.

E. The President shall have veto power over all legislation. The veto may be overturned by a two-thirds majority vote of the full senate.

F. The Executive Board with a majority vote of the members present may allocate emergency funding with the stipulation that a financial report be submitted by the following regular meeting.

Article V - Duties

Section 1:  Duties of the Senate

A. To enforce the legislative decisions of the Student Association with the power to restrict the funding and activities of recognized student organizations.

B. To determine the needs of the students and legislate how the Student Activity Fee revenues should be used.

C. To recommend the sanction and formation of new organizations to the college administration.

D. To keep on file a current set of bylaws for each student organization on campus.

E. To resign from office at the request of the President of the Senate, having reviewed the Governing Board's recommendation and having decided by a two-thirds vote of the Senate that a Senator/Student Association Officer has been in serious neglect of his/her duties.

F. To enforce this constitution to which all members of the student body are subject.

G. To formulate and revise all policies of the Association.

Section 2:  Duties of the Officers

A It shall be the duties of the President:

1. To represent the Student Association at all times in social and business affairs when appropriate.

2. To preside in all cases where the Student Association is concerned.

3. To chair all Senate and Executive Board meetings.

4. To call emergency meetings of the Association and any sub-committees, if necessary.

5. To create special sub-committees after consultation with the Executive Board.

6. To vote only in the case of a deadlock.

7. To delegate Presidential responsibilities to any of the three Vice Presidents, if and when it is necessary.

8. To draw up an agenda for each Senate meeting.

9. To keep records of all Boards of the Association; including their Vice Chairs and Secretary.

B. It shall be the duties of the Vice President of Governing:

1. To preside over Student Association meetings in the absence of the President.

2. To act as the chair of the Governing Board.

3. To consult with the President on the creation of special sub-committees concerning governing matters.

4. To hold the Student Association Elections.

5. To act as the Purchasing Agent for the Association.

6. To work c1osely with college administrators and forming organizations on the creation of acceptable bylaws and constitutions.

7. To recommend new organizations to the Senate for a vote of approval before making a recommendation of recognition to the college administration.

C. It shall be the duties of the Vice President of Programming:

1. To act as chairman of the Programming Board.

2. To consult with the President on the creation of special active sub-committees concerning programming matters.  Active sub-committees must have a weekly report for the Student Association President.

3. To supervise the calendar of events and the plans thereof.

4. To organize the Programming Board by the third full week of the semester.

5. To work in closely with the Director of Student Activities.

6. To monitor all announcements of events on campus bulletin boards for content and timeliness.

D. It shall be the responsibilities of the Vice President of Collegiate Affairs:

1. To create a Collegiate Affairs Committee by the third full week of the semester by recommending student representatives for each of the college-wide standing committees that require student participation (e.g. Educational Policy Committee, Trustees Committee...).

2. To obtain a report on the actions of college-wide standing committees from student representatives, minutes, and chairs of committees.

3. To report all actions of standing committees to the Student Association in general meetings.

4. To act as liaison between the standing committees and the Student Association in the event that the Association would wish to have input on or question the actions of a standing committee.

5. To chair the Collegiate Affairs Committee and convene meetings of it whenever necessary.

E. It shall be the duties of the Treasurer:

1. To keep account of all receipts and expenditures made by the Association.

2. To assist in the drafting and approval of the yearly budget.

3. To make a monthly written report of all transactions and make it available to the public upon request after presentation to the Association at its regular weekly meetings.

4. To work closely with the office of Student Affairs, especially during the audit of Student Association Records.

F. It shall be the duties of the Secretary:

1. To record the minutes of the Executive Board and Senate meetings.

2. To read the minutes of the previous Executive Board and Senate meetings at the beginning of each respective meeting.

3. To type the minutes of the aforementioned meetings and distribute them to the college administration, to all student organizations, and make available to anyone else by posting them in the Wick Center.

4. To record and retain copies of ail outgoing correspondence of the Association.

G. It shall be the duties of the Class Presidents:

1. To represent their respective classes at all Senate meetings.

2. To be able to report back to their respective classmates all pertinent information and deliberations of the Senate.

3. The Senior Class President shall work closely with the Director of Student Activities to plan, arrange and attend all Senior Week activities and Commencement.

4. The Senior Class President shall work closely with the President of the College to determine who will be the Commencement speaker.

Article VI -Elections

Section I:  The election policy of the Student Association is as follows:

A.  A period of self-nomination shall be held for those persons wishing to be considered a candidate for an office.

B.  A quorum shall be fifteen percent (15%) of the entire student body for a valid election percent to be declared.

C.  The candidate receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected to the respective office. All candidates in the election shall be notified of the results of the election.

D.  All tabulations of votes must be on file in the Student Association Office within twenty-four (24) hours following the completion of balloting.  Ballots are to be tabulated by the Governing Board.

E.  Vacancies after elections shall be filled by appointment made by the newly elected Executive Board of the Student Association.

Section 2:  Election Dates

A. The Student Association election shall be held in March or April for the Executive Officers.

B. The Class Presidents shall be elected in the fall semester.

C. The positions not filled in the spring elections shall be filled by election in the fall semester.

Section 3:  Eligibility

A. Voting:

1. All full or part-time students are eligible to vote in Student Association Elections.

2. Students may only vote for their respective class officer.

B. Holding Office:

1. All students shall be eligible for office EXCEPT the following:

            a. Students with a cumulative average below 2.0 or who have been on academic probation during the past two consecutive semesters.

            b. Part-time students -- except for the position of Senior Class President, if he/she has less than 12 credits required to graduate.

            c. For the position of President all of the above must apply and one must have served at least one year on the Student Association Senate.

Section 4:  Terms of Service

A. Each member of the Student Association shall be elected to serve a term of one (1) year.

B. To serve more than one term requires being elected each year.

Article VII - Resignation and Removal From Office

Section 1:  In the event of the resignation from office of President of the Association, the office shall pass to the Vice President of Governing. The vacant position shall be filled by the Vice-Chair of the Governing Board for the interim period, if the Vice-Chair position was filled at the time of the resignation.

Section 2:  In the event of the resignation of the Vice Presidents or the Treasurer, the vacancies shall be filled by the Vice-Chair of the respective committee if the position was filled at the time of the resignation.

Section 3:  In the event of the resignation of any member of the Senate, a meeting of the Senate shall be held to fill the vacancy. This can be done without a formal self-nomination process if the position vacancy is well publicized by posters, flyers, and public address announcements.

Section 4:  Any officer of the Student Association may be impeached for serious neglect of duty. A majority vote of the full Senate will be required to impeach any officer or Senate member.  The process shall be as follows:

A.  A special meeting of the Governing Board shall be held to conduct a hearing of the charges.

B.  The meeting shall be held and the question resolved within a seven day period after the charges are brought to the Governing Board.

C.  The evidence reviewed by the Governing Board shall be brought before the Student Association for a vote to determine impeachment.

Article VIII - Boards of the Association

Section I:  Formation

A.  Boards may be created to assist the creating Senate member in their duties.

B.  The formation of all Boards shall be left to the discretion of the individual Senate members.

C.  When a Board is deemed necessary by a Senate member, a report of formation including the names of the Vice-Chair and Secretary shall be submitted to the President of the Student Association.

Article IX - Events / Budgets

The annual budget of the Student Association is the responsibility of the Association.  A tentative budget for each semester will be drawn up by the Student Association. The total funds are determined each semester based on the enrollment for that semester.  Funding is received through a Student Activities Fee paid by the students each semester as part of their bill.

Article X - General Regulations

Section 1:  Amending the Bylaws

The bylaws of the Association may be amended at any meeting of the Senate by a two-thirds majority vote.  Only the full Senate may amend bylaws.  Any changes to bylaws have to be subsequently approved by the college administration.

Section 2:  General Rules Governing Regular Meetings

A.  All meetings of the Association shall be conducted according to Robert's Rule of Order.

B.  The President of the Association reserves the right to close any meeting and to request spectators to leave during voting or proceed by secret ballot.

C.  Available upon request will be the votes of the Association, unless it is determined by the Senate that the votes should not be released.

Section 3:  Financing

A.  Any money allocated to an organization for a specific event that is not used for that event shall be returned to the Student Association general account.

B.  No student organization can enter into a contract with off-campus vendors.  Students or organizations will be held personally and financially responsible for any debts Created by such illegal activities.

C.  All organizations must submit a financial disclosure statement regarding all expenditures and income in its entirety within five (5) working days of the event.

D.  No cash distributions for payments of any sort is permitted.

Article XI - Amendments

Student Association | Student Organizations | Annual Events