The Constitution of the Western Student Association

As approved by the students of Western Michigan University on April 1 2009.

Click Here for a PDF Version

Preamble

We, the students of Western Michigan University, in order to ensure democratic organization, republican governance, student representation, and an active voice in University affairs, do hereby establish the Western Student Association and recognize it as the legitimate student representative body of Western Michigan University, and charge the Western Student Association with the authority and responsibility to effectively and efficiently represent and act in our collective interest. The mandate and power of the Western Student Association derives from the student body of Western Michigan University. We do hereby establish the Western Student Association and this Constitution.

Article I: Purpose of the Association

Section One: Purpose of the WSA

  1. To provide a central student union, responsive to the needs of WMU Students.
  2. To work to guarantee the rights, integrity, and individuality of students in relation to the University regardless of race, sex, religion, color, height, weight, age, handicap, national origin, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
  3. To advocate policies which best serve the students of the University in compliance with all SALP and University policies, procedures, and practices and all local, state, and federal laws.
  4. Provide an official voice for WMU students in University affairs.
  5. To ensure the fair distribution of the Student Assessment Fee (SAF).

Article II: Legislative Branch

Section One: Composition of the Senate

  1. One Senator for each five hundred students or a major fraction (in excess of one half) thereof, enrolled in each of the Colleges of Western Michigan University shall be popularly elected to serve in the Senate with full voting rights. Each College shall receive at least one Senator.
  2. (b) One Senator shall be elected from within each Registered Student Organization properly registered with the Student Activities and Leadership Programs (SALP) office. The following provisions apply:
  3. This is a test.
  4. The Treasurer and Chief of Operations shall be nominated by the President and confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the Senate within five (5) working days of the president's inauguration.

Section Two: President

Duties

  1. Be the spokesperson and principle representative of Western Michigan University's students.
  2. Execute the mandates of the Student Senate.
  3. Attend all Western Michigan University Board of Trustees, Faculty Senate and WSA Student Senate meetings; if unable to attend, arrange for appropriate representation.
  4. Formally present to the Student Senate a State of the WSA report, which outlines the goals of the WSA for the semester, within the first fifteen working days of the beginning of the fall and spring semesters.
  5. Provide all Student Senators written reasoning for vetoed legislation within five working days of veto.
  6. Propose in cooperation with the WSA Treasurer an annual operational budget, subject to Student Senate approval.

Powers

  1. Propose legislation to the Student Senate in written form.
  2. Sign into effect legislation passed by the Student Senate.
  3. Veto, in full, within five working days any legislation passed by the Student Senate.
  4. Recommend appointments to fill vacancies of the Executive Branch, Judicial Branch and Committee chairpersons, except the Allocation Committee (AC), with a two-thirds (2/3) approval of the Student Senate within ten working days.
  5. Determine the general policy of the Executive Branch of the WSA.
  6. Submit a written request to the Judicial Council for interpretation of any portion of the WSA Constitution or Bylaws.

Section Three: Vice President

Duties

  1. Serve as president in the event the office becomes vacant or the President is unable to serve.
  2. Assist the President of the WSA in his or her duties.

Section Four: Treasurer

Duties

  1. Keep and maintain all WSA financial records.
  2. Prepare a report of current balances in all WSA accounts and any recent expenditures for presentation upon request.
  3. Oversee the payment of WSA bills.
  4. Propose, in cooperation with the WSA President, an annual operational budget, subject to approval of the Student Senate. The term of one budgetary year shall run from two weeks following a presidential inauguration to two weeks following the next presidential inauguration.
  5. Compile all WSA financial records when requested for audit.
  6. Prepare an end-of-semester report of account of balances to be presented at the first Senate meeting of the following semester.

Section Five: Chief of Operations

Duties

  1. Oversee executive agencies.
  2. Administer the daily operations of the WSA offices including office staff and facilities.
  3. Maintain records of all WSA correspondence, legislation, Executive Cabinet minutes, and all other non-financial pertinent executive information.
  4. Be responsible for all WSA correspondence, unless otherwise directed by the Student Senate.
  5. Record minutes of all Executive Cabinet meetings.

Section Six: Executive Cabinet

Composition

  1. The Executive Cabinet of the WSA shall be comprised of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Chief of Operations, Speaker of the Student Senate, and all Standing Committee chairpersons of the WSA.
  2. The Executive Cabinet shall be chaired by the WSA President.

Duties

  1. Make formal written recommendations to the Student Senate on affairs of interest to the WSA.
  2. Meet at least every two weeks to discuss the affairs of the WSA.
  3. Keep record of all Executive Cabinet actions.

Powers

The Executive Cabinet shall be empowered to act in place of the Senate only in the following circumstances, subject to quorum and Bylaw limitations:

  1. Between the end of the spring semester and the start of the fall semester.
  2. During winter holiday recess.
  3. In emergency situations where it can be reasonably expected that a quorum of Student Senate is unable to meet.

Any action taken by the Executive Cabinet shall be the first item of consideration at the first senate meeting where a quorum of Senators are present. Such action must be discussed and may not be postponed for longer than one (1) meeting (subject to quorum).

Section Seven: Succession

  1. Should the President of the WSA be unable to serve for any reason, the Vice President of the WSA will succeed him or her.
  2. Should the Vice President be unable to serve as the President, the Speaker of the Senate shall become the President.

Article III: Legislative Branch

Section One: Composition

  1. One (1) Student Senator for each one thousand (1000) students, or a major fraction thereof (the remainder is one greater than half of the divisor), enrolled in each of the Western Michigan University's academic colleges shall be popularly elected to serve in the Student Senate with full voting rights. Each college shall receive at least one (1) Senator.
  2. One (1) Student Senator for each four thousand (4000) students, or a major fraction thereof, enrolled at Western Michigan University shall be popularly elected to serve in the Student Senate with full voting rights. The Senate seats under this section shall be elected from traditionally under-represented students. A traditionally under-represented student shall be defined as follows: An African-American, Native-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, differently sexually oriented, differently abled, non-Christian, Arab-American, non-traditional (defined as an undergraduate student twenty-five years of age or older), or an international student (defined as a non-United States citizen). Other groups may be added through the amendment process. This section shall not exclude traditionally under-represented students from any other WSA position.
  3. One (1) non voting member from each Registered Student Organization (RSO) shall be elected from within the organization to serve on the Student Senate. Voting rights will be obtained by formal registration with the WSA Recording Secretary or the WSA Speaker of the Student Senate and membership in a WSA Committee subject to the WSA committee Bylaws.
  4. Formal registration of RSO Senators expires the first day of classes of the fall semester.
  5. All committee assignments expire the first day of classes of the fall semester unless a specific expiration date for assignments to a committee is stated in that committee's statement of purpose.

Section Two: Student Senators and the Student Senate

Duties

  1. Each Student Senator shall be a voting member of at least one WSA committee.
  2. Each Student Senator shall attend Student Senate meetings subject to WSA Bylaws.
  3. The Student Senators shall elect from its membership (subject to quorum) a Speaker of the Student Senate and a Speaker Pro-tempore at the first officially convened meeting of the newly elected Student Senate, or as necessary to fill a vacancy of the seat.

Powers

  1. Individual Senators with or without voting rights may propose business and legislation.
  2. Senators with voting rights may vote on business and legislation brought before the Student Senate.
  3. Override a Presidential veto with a two-thirds (2/3) vote within 10 working days of the veto.
  4. Amend the WSA Constitution, subject to Article Eight limitations.
  5. Amend the WSA Bylaws, subject to Article Seven limitations.
  6. Approve the WSA operating budget.
  7. Establish lower courts of the Judicial Branch as deemed necessary.
  8. Submit a written request for interpretation of any portion of the WSA Constitution or Bylaws by the Judicial Council.
  9. Elect the WSA President if none is provided for by an election.
  10. Approve by two-thirds (2/3) nominations to fill vacancies of the Executive Branch, Judicial Branch or Standing committee chairpersons within 10 working days.
  11. Take action that the Student Senate deems necessary and proper to accomplish the goals and purpose of the WSA.
  12. Any power not explicitly granted to the Executive or Judicial Branch shall be retained by the Student Senate and Senators.
  13. Anyone in attendance at a Student Senate meeting may participate in the discussion of the Student Senate, but the Student Senate may suspend this rule by majority vote.
  14. Any business that is pending or on the agenda when the Student Senate adjourns shall be taken up at the next meeting as unfinished (old) business.
  15. The Student Senate shall not appoint or consent to the appointment of anyone to any position who is not present when the appointment is made or the consent given Senate Rules, Declarations and Resolutions originally brought to the consideration of the Student Senate shall be tabled automatically for a minimum of eight (8) hours unless there is unanimous consent to remove it from the table.
  16. Shall have the power to enforce Judicial Council recommendations of AC appeals by two-thirds (2/3) vote if the AC seeks the vote of the Student Senate.
  17. All appeal decisions forwarded to the Student Senate must be voted on within 10 working days.
  18. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern in all cases to which they are applicable nor inconsistent with the WSA Constitution or Bylaws.

Section Three: Speaker of the Senate

Duties

  1. Call and preside over all Student Senate meetings.
  2. Organize the proceedings and business for the Student Senate meetings.
  3. Be responsible for maintaining a minimum of five (5) Student Senators on each Standing Committee except the Allocations Committee, which must maintain eight (8) Senators (not including the AC Chair), appointed by the Speaker and approved by the Senate with a two-thirds (2/3) vote.
  4. Fill all vacancies of the Legislative Branch with the exception of Standing Committee Chairpersons, subject to majority approval of the Student Senate.
  5. Serve for a one (1) year term, with the exception of a vacancy filled by the Speaker Pro-tempore, in which case the seat will be filled for the remainder of the term.
  6. Enforce the Bylaws of the Senate.
  7. The Speaker of the Student Senate shall accept all resignations.
  8. Appointments to committee shall be made in writing to the Senator with a copy to the committee chair.
  9. After a motion has been tabled, it may be requested by at least two senators to have copies of the tabled motion printed and made available to the Senators and others interested persons in the next agenda packet.

Powers

  1. Establish all non-standing committees subject to Bylaws and majority Senate approval.
  2. Select committees shall be authorized by majority vote of the WSA Senate for a term not to exceed one (1) calendar year.
  3. Task forces shall be authorized by majority vote of the WSA Senate for a specified term not to exceed one(1) semester or two (2) sessions.
  4. Appoint all non-standing committee chairpersons, subject to majority approval of the Student Senate.
  5. Call regular and special meetings of the Student Senate.
  6. Vote in cases deemed necessary by Robert's Rules of Order.
  7. Act as the spokesperson of the Student Senate.
  8. The Speaker of the Student Senate shall initiate removal of office proceedings due to poor meeting attendance or shall delegate this power to a Senator.
  9. Shall serve as Speaker of the Student Senate upon request of the Speaker or in the event that the seat becomes vacant.
  10. Shall assist the Speaker of the Student Senate in her/his duties.
  11. Be responsible to record minutes of all Student Senate meetings.
  12. Prepare and submit Student Senate meeting minutes to the Senate before the next meeting.
  13. Record attendance and votes at all Student Senate meetings.
  14. Give notification of all unscheduled Student Senate meetings.
  15. Maintain records of all Student Senate meeting minutes, membership records, rules, declarations, resolutions, bylaws, and all other non-financial Senate pertinent information.
  16. Act as the legislative historian.

Section Four: WSA Standing Committees

Any committee chairperson (standing or other, except the AC chair) shall not have voting rights in the Student Senate unless they are voting members of the Student Senate (see requirements for voting rights.)

Public Relations

  1. Promote WSA events.
  2. Handle WSA media relations.
  3. Maintain a public monthly calendar listing dates, times and places of all WSA committee and Student Senate meetings.
  4. Report to the WSA on public relation matters.

Student Affairs

  1. Ensure all student seats on University committees or councils are filled by WMU students.
  2. Ensure all other positions of representation requested are filled by WMU students.
  3. Develop and oversee WSA activities and programs.
  4. Serve as a forum for debate on issues pertinent to student life.
  5. Address student concerns to and from the WSA.
  6. Address academic concerns to and from the WSA.

Political Affairs

  1. Shall handle the political, legislative and lobbying affairs of the WSA.
  2. Shall ensure voting representation in both state and national student government organizations.
  3. Shall head delegations to city, state, and national government organizations from the WSA.
  4. The Chair shall be the liaison to and from the city, state, and national government organizations.

Traditional Under-Represented Students (TURS)

  1. Provide a forum to discuss concerns of TURS.
  2. Ensure a representative voice for TURS within the University community.
  3. Develop action to resolve concerns.
  4. Coordinate action with other WSA committees to resolve concerns and implement solutions.
  5. Establish subcommittees as needed.
  6. Coordinate contact and communication with other relevant organizations.

Campus Concerns

  1. Work with faculty and administration to address environmental problems, concerns and projects.
  2. Increase environmental awareness within the WSA and the University at-large.
  3. Actively disseminate information of issues of environmental consequence.
  4. Maintain two (2) voting members on the WIDR Board of Directors.

Allocations

  1. Act as the allocation board of all Student Assessment Fee monies under its jurisdiction.
  2. The WSA Senate must approve of the AC's acting rules and/or bylaws by a two-thirds (2/3) vote.
  3. The WSA Senate must approve any changes made to the AC's rules and/or bylaws by a two-thirds (2/3) vote.

Article IV: Judicial Branch

Section One: Authority

The judicial power of WSA is vested in the WSA Judicial Council and in the other such lower courts deemed necessary by the Student Senate.

Section Two: Composition

  1. The Judicial Council shall consist of one Chief Justice and four Associate Justices.
  2. All Justices shall be appointed by the appropriate WSA President (see Section Four: Terms of Office), subject to two-thirds (2/3) approval of the Student Senate.
  3. Majority of the justices serving on the Judicial Council shall constitute a quorum.

Section Three: Powers and Duties

  1. Have the supreme jurisdiction and final say in all cases involving interpretation of the WSA Constitution and Bylaws of the WSA.
  2. Settle disputes arising: between organizations; between organizations and students; over WSA elections within twenty working days, subject to Election Control guidelines and bylaws.
  3. Render within five working days a formal written interpretation of any portion of the Constitution or Bylaws upon written request from the WSA or a simple majority of the Student Senate.
  4. Settle any dispute within a student organization if that dispute is brought before the Judicial Council.
  5. Hear grievances against the WSA or WSA members.
  6. Shall have final say in matters regarding Removal from Office.
  7. Shall review cases and make recommendations to the AC and the Student Senate on cases involving appeals of AC decisions.
  8. The Judicial Council shall render a decision within twenty working days upon receiving an appeal of an AC decision.
  9. The Chief Justice shall swear in the President of the WSA.
  10. Shall rule on the significance of Constitutional amendments and the ratification procedure to be followed upon such a ruling.
  11. The Judicial Council shall have general supervision over the judicial organs of the WSA, and it may adopt rules to govern the same.
  12. Reasonable fines may be imposed by the Judicial Council and/ or lower courts. All fines are payable to the WSA.

Section Four: Terms of Office

  1. Each Justice shall serve a one year term, subject to re-appointment.
  2. Two weeks previous to a WSA general election, the current president shall appoint or re-appoint two Associate Justices to the Judicial Council to serve for the upcoming term (subject to Student Senate approval, which the Student Senate must make before the beginning of the upcoming term).
  3. Three Justices, including the Chief Justice, shall be appointed by the new WSA President, subject to Student Senate approval, within two weeks of the newly-elected President's term.

Article V: Removal from Office

Section One: Initiation

  1. Initiation of Removal from Office proceedings may be brought on any WSA member(s) for misfeasance, malfeasance, and/ or non-feasance of office.
  2. Removal from Office proceedings must be initiated in writing to the Judicial Council including who the proceedings are being brought against (hereafter referred to as the defendant) and all relevant evidence thereof.
  3. Those initiating the proceeding must be identified in the letter (hereafter referred to as the plaintiff).

De-registration of an RSO from the WSA Senate Roll and indeterminate loss of voting rights due to poor attendance of Senate meetings may use:

  1. De-registration by the RSO Senator or alternate to the Speaker of the Student Senate and/or WSA Recording Secretary.
  2. De-registration by the signature and/or verbal consent by the president of the RSO to the Speaker of the Student Senate and/or WSA Recording Secretary.
  3. De-registration by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Student Senate as it deems necessary and proper.
  4. Neglect of committee assignment responsibilities.

Section Two: Investigation

  1. Upon receipt of the removal initiation, the Judicial Council must make every effort to contact the defendants(s) whom the proceedings are against.
  2. If contact is successful, the defendant(s) shall have ten (10) working days to prepare and submit any defense or evidence necessary.
  3. The Judicial Council shall then have five (5) working days form the deadline for evidence and defense submission to investigate and rule on all materials submitted.
  4. The Judicial Council shall keep all proceedings and materials involved separate and confidential.

Section Three: Judgement

  1. The decision of the Judicial Council shall be final upon a majority vote.
  2. Both parties must be given written notification of the decision issue-dated no later than three working days following the decision.

Article VI: Elections

Section One: Voting

  1. All Western Michigan University students with validated Student Identification shall be eligible to vote in WSA general elections.

Section Two: Eligibility for WSA Positions

  1. All WSA members or candidates must meet all Office of Student Life eligibility requirements detailed in the Student Organization Handbook.
  2. All Student Senators and Senator candidates must be in good academic standing with the University and enrolled in at least six credit hour of classes.
  3. Academic college Senator Candidates must have a declared curriculum in accordance with the University's definition, within the academic college s/he wishes to represent.
  4. Candidates may not run for two WSA positions concurrently.

Section Three: Administration of Elections and Referendums

  1. At least thirty (30) working days before the upcoming general election deadline of the third Friday in March, the Speaker of the Student Senate shall appoint a Chairperson of an Election Control Board, subject to two-thirds (2/3)approval of the Senate.
  2. General elections shall be held no later than the third Friday in March on a date determined by the Election Control Board.
  3. The election date shall be selected by the Election Control Board no later than one month after the Board has been appointed.
  4. The Election Control Board (ECB) shall determine its procedures and bylaws for elections, subject to two-thirds (2/3) approval by the Senate.
  5. No election control bylaws can be changed twenty (20) working days prior to an election.
  6. Any changes made are to be implemented by the ECB.
  7. Upon completion of each election, the ECB will submit a fully documented report to the Student Senate to secure all rules and regulation were precisely followed.
  8. Upon completion of each election, the ECB will submit a full report to the Student Senate to document all procedures of the election as well as make suggestions on the procedures used.
  9. All grievances submitted to the ECB shall be filed with the Judicial Council within five working days subject to Election Control bylaws.
  10. The ECB shall develop procedures and bylaws for the execution of referendums as needed (Please see Election Code Addendum).

Section Four: Terms of Office

  1. Terms of office of regular elections shall be for one year and shall begin after the elections are confirmed valid.

Article VII: Bylaws

Section

  1. Bylaws to the WSA Constitution may be proposed by any Student Senator or the WSA President or Vice President.
  2. Bylaws shall be presented in writing to the Student Senate ten (10) working days prior to the vote being taken.
  3. Proposed Bylaws duly presented shall be made effective immediately following a two-thirds (2/3) ratification of the Student Senate.
  4. All Bylaws of the previous WSA Constitution at the time of ratification of this Constitution shall be considered Bylaws of this Constitution until as such time as new Bylaws can be written or passed.

Section Two: Committee Bylaws

  1. Each committee of the WSA may establish it own operational bylaws, subject to two-thirds (2/3) approval of the Senate. The Senate must approve any changes made to the bylaws by a two-thirds (2/3) vote.
  2. These bylaws shall not come into conflict with the WSA Constitution or its Bylaws.

Article VIII: Amendments

Section One: Proposal of Amendments

  1. Voting Student Senators may propose amendments.
  2. The WSA President or Vice President may propose amendments.
  3. A petition of five (5) percent of the student body enrolled during the time of petition may propose amendments.

Section Two: Requirements

  1. Must be submitted to the Student Senate in writing at least ten (10) working days before a vote may be taken.
  2. Must be published in full in the student newspaper at least five (5) working days prior to the vote.
  3. Must be submitted to the Judicial Council within five (5) working days after the amendment has been submitted to the Student Senate. The Judicial Council shall determine whether the proposed amendment shall significantly alter the nature, focus, or intent of the Constitution as a whole. If amendments are deemed to have less significant impact upon the existing Constitution, the Judicial Council shall rule so to the Student Senate and the ratifying procedure shall be as described in Section Four, A.; If the Judicial Council deems the proposed amendments to have significant impact upon the Constitution, the Judicial Council shall rule so to the Student Senate and the ratifying procedure shall be as described in Section Four, B.
  4. Proposed amendments shall, upon ratification be presented to the WMU Board of Trustees by the President of the WSA at the first Board of Trustees meeting following ratification.

Section Three: Call for Referendum

  1. If the proposed amendment was brought before the Student Senate by a five (5) percent petition of the student body and the Student Senate fails to secure enough votes to ratify the proposed amendment, it shall automatically be put to a referendum of the student body.
  2. When an amendment has been ratified by a vote of the Student Senate, a petition containing five (5) percent of the registered students at time of petition shall be sufficient to suspend ratification of the amendment and put the amendment up for a referendum of the student body. In such a case the requirement in Section Four, B. shall be necessary to ratify the amendment(s).
  3. The Judicial Council may call for a referendum as described in Section Two, C.

Section Four: Ratification

  1. Any one of the following shall be deemed sufficient to ratify a Constitutional amendment, subject to Section Two.
  2. A three-fourths (3/4) affirmative vote by the Student Senate.
  3. A majority of those students voting to approve in a duly called campus-wide referendum.

Section

  1. The WSA President shall make a presentation to the WMU Board of Trustees at the first meeting following ratification.
  2. The Board of Trustees shall approve or veto the ratified amendment within one month of the presentation by the WSA President. In the case of inaction by the Board of Trustees the ratified amendment shall take effect immediately after the one month time limit.
  3. Should the ratified amendment be vetoed, the said amendment shall be considered null and void. If the amendment is changed or resubmitted, due to a veto, it must first go through the process described previously.

Bylaws Addendum: Article III

WIDR Board of Directors

WIDR Board of Directors Board member (WIDR rep.) Nomination and Confirmation.

  1. The Chairperson of the Student Affairs Committee shall nominate two (2) Senators to sit on the WIDR Board of Directors for one (1) year.
  2. Nominations shall be submitted for majority approval of the Senate.
  3. Nomination and confirmation should take place before the first meeting of the new WIDR Board of Directors.
  4. Vacancies should be filled before the next consecutive WIDR Executive Board meeting after the vacancy occurs, following the above procedures. Filled terms shall end with the next regular confirmation.

WIDR Board of Directors Board member Duties and Powers.

  1. Shall be entitled to all powers and responsibilities for voting members prescribed under the WIDR Constitution.
  2. Shall attend WIDR Executive Board meetings and report proceedings to the Student Senate as necessary.
  3. Shall maintain a file of WIDR Board of Directors minutes and any other pertinent documents for the WSA office files.
  4. Act as main liaison between WSA and WIDR.
  5. May not also serve on the WSA AC.

Removal of WIDR Board members.

  1. Two (2) absences of the WIDR Board of Directors regular meetings shall be grounds for immediate dismissal.
  2. The WIDR Board of Directors may motion removal proceedings against any WSA WIDR representative for mis-, mal-, or non-feasance of office. This case must be presented to the Judicial Council of the WSA. The WIDR Board of Directors chairperson shall act as prosecutor.
  3. WIDR Board of Directors removal requests must be presented to the Judicial Council within one (1) week of such vote. The Judicial Council shall hold proceeding and make judgment within two (2) weeks of said presentation.
  4. The WSA Senate may remove its WIDR Board member through Article 5, Removal from Office proceedings.

Bylaws Addendum: Article XI

Elections

  1. The title of this document is the STUDENT ELECTION CODE OF WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY, herein after referred to by the initials SEC.
  2. No provision of the SEC shall be construed to deny or infringe upon any right or privilege guaranteed to students and citizens by law, University regulation, or the Constitution of the WSA.
  3. Any provision of the SEC found by the Judicial Council to be in contradiction of any provision of the Constitutions or Bylaws of the WSA shall be null and void.
  4. Any rule or regulation enacted by the WSA or the agencies thereof, other than provisions contained within the Constitution or Bylaws, found by the Judicial Council to be in contradiction to any provision of the SEC shall be null and void.
  5. The provisions of the SEC, except where otherwise specified, shall apply to all elections and referendums of the Student Body and the agencies thereof.
  6. For the purposes of amendment, the SEC shall be article 6.
  7. All candidates for elective office are required to submit a registration form of candidacy to the ECB, and to authorize the University to inform the ECB of the status and standing of such candidates.
  8. No person shall be a candidate for more than one elective office of the Student Government.
  9. The SEC shall be enforced by an Elections Control Board (ECB).
  10. The ECB shall fix the dates and deadlines pertaining to all student elections and referendums, prepare and count ballots, receive petitions of candidacy, make a preliminary determination of the eligibility of candidates and the legitimacy of petitions, and publish election results.
  11. The ECB shall establish its own procedures subject to the overrule of the Judicial Council and adopt other election rules not inconsistent with this code.
  12. The Judicial Council shall hear all cases involving violation of the provisions of the SEC or of campaign ethics, shall rule in such cases, and shall have the power to disqualify candidates either for reasons of ineligibility or for violations of the provisions of the SEC. The Judicial Council shall have the power to overrule any decision or procedure of the ECB.
  13. No member of the ECB or poll worker shall be a candidate for elective office in any WSA election during that semester.
  14. Members of the ECB shall be subject to removal by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Senate.
  15. All rejected ballots shall be examined by the ECB before final voiding. 6.3.8. The ECB may make no change on any cast ballot.
  16. All valid ballots shall be numbered by the ECB and maintained for thirty (30) days after the announcement of election results.
  17. The Student Government Shall have the power to authorize referendums utilizing paper ballots provided that all polling stations are public and that no less than two persons or one manager are present at each polling station at all times.
  18. The Presidential Slate receiving the most votes wins.
  19. The deadline for submission of grievances concerning election results shall be submitted to the Judicial Council by the candidate(s) filing the grievance no later than five (5) working days after the election.
  20. The top vote receivers corresponding to the number available seats in the college shall win seats in the WSA Student Senate.
  21. A general election for the purpose of electing the WSA Executive Branch and Senators shall be held each year. There shall be one and only one general election per year.

Appendix I: Registered Student Organizations Bylaws

  1. In order to exercise the privileges according to registered student organizations (RSO), a student group must register with the Office of Student Life (OSL).
  2. Registration shall be valid from the date of registration until the end of the fourth week of the succeeding fall term. Student organizations shall register once each year.

To be registered, a student organization must file the following information with the OSL:

  1. The name of the organization
  2. The name and titles of officers
  3. The purpose of the organization
  4. The name(s) of the advisors
  5. Only students of WMU are officers and/ or voting members
  6. No discrimination on the basis of race, creed, religion, sex, or national origin, shall exist within
  7. The organization the constitution, bylaws, and other rules of the organization may not conflict with the WSA Constitution, Bylaws, or any written policy of the WSA.
  8. The OSL must be notified of any changes made in the original required information (903) within four (4) weeks after an organization has instituted the change.

RSO's must submit to the OSL for informational purpose the following:

  1. Notification of any national affiliations
  2. Notification of the dates, times, and locations, of regular, scheduled meetings.
  1. The only student organization which may levy a direct tax on the student body are the WSA, the Western Herald, WlDR, student yearbook, and the RHA and Hall Councils which may tax their residents. All student taxes are subject to a student referendum and approval by the WMU Board of Trustees.
  2. No type of student organization or group may adopt or enforce any constitution, bylaw, rule, regulation, motion, resolution, order or policy, or any provision therein that conflicts with the Student Body Constitution, these Bylaws or with any other written policy of the WSA. The conflicting provisions are null and void even if adopted by a unanimous vote of the entire membership.
  3. No type of student organization or group has the power to make or enforce any type of rule or regulation that is binding on the WSA, or any organ or committee thereof.
  4. No court or committee may suspend the registration of the WSA.

Appendix II: WSA Non-standing Committees

  1. Select committees shall be authorized by majority vote of the WSA Senate for a term not to exceed one (1) calendar year.
  2. Task forces shall be authorized by majority vote of the WSA Senate for a specified term not to exceed one (1) semester or two (2) sessions.
  3. Each WSA Non-standing committee chair shall submit a fortnightly report in writing to the WSA Recording Secretary.

Appendix III: Compensation

Section One: Eligibility

Task Force

  1. Made up of five voting Senators, excluding the Speaker, selected on week after the first official meeting of the Fall Semester, by lottery.
  2. Shall semesterly, through an application process, determine eligibility.

Requirements

  1. Personal financial need; broadly defined and unaffiliated with Western Michigan University assessments of financial need.
  2. A direct correlation between monies received and ability to allocate time to WSA that would otherwise be spent in another income producing activity.

Section Two: Restrictions

Percentages

Compensation shall not exceed the following percentages of the WSA operating budget:

  1. 5% for the President
  2. 3% for the Vice-President
  3. 3% for the Speaker of the Student Senate
  4. 2% for the Treasurer
  5. 2% for the Chief of Operations
  1. Compensation percentage changes shall not effect the compensated positions during that administration.
  2. These percentages shall not increase without a student body referendum.

Allocation

  1. The position allotments, if not fully awarded, are then to be placed back into the WSA operating budget.
  2. Fifty percent (50%) of the allocated compensation for each position shall be awarded at the beginning of each semester.
  3. Compensation shall be allocated directly to University student accounts.
  4. The Task Force shall determine the amount of the allocation of each person requesting monies.
  5. After the Task Force determines if the eligibility for those positions that were compensated for Fall Semester remains intact for the Winter Semester, the Task Force shall allocate the remaining fifty percent (50%) or a fraction thereof of the allocated compensation at the beginning to Winter Semester.

Section Three: Return of Compensation

Removed or Resigned

  1. If the applicant is removed from office or resigns, he or she must return the amount he/ she has received that semester.

Fraud

  1. The Judicial Council shall have jurisdiction over claim of fraud under mal-feasance of office.

Fines

  1. Fines imposed by the Judicial Council on compensated members may be assessed against present or future WSA compensation.

Appendix IV: Executive Agencies

  1. Executive agencies shall be authorized by the WSA President upon majority approval of the WSA Senate.
  2. Membership on an executive agency may fulfill committee membership.
  3. The WSA Senate may shift an executive agency to a non-standing committee using a Senate Resolution.
  4. Each executive agency shall submit a fortnightly report in writing to the WSA Recording Secretary.
  5. Executive agency rules shall be established as Executive Rules.
  6. Executive agencies shall present to the Chief of Operations regular meeting attendance guidelines for the agency within twenty (20) Fall Semester or Winter Semester working days or its charter will be revoked.
  7. Executive agencies shall present to the Chief of Operations structural guidelines for the agency within twenty (20) Fall Semester or Winter Semester working days or its charter will be revoked.

Appendix V: Judicial Council

  1. Requests for Judicial Council action must be submitted in writing to the Judicial Council.
  2. Quorum (3 members) is required for any Judicial Council decision, hearing, or deliberation.
  3. Upon receipt of a request for Judicial Council action, the Chief Justice must make sure that all members are informed about the case and meeting times.
  4. A written decision by the Judicial Council becomes precedent and shall be considered in future cases dealing with similar circumstances.
  5. A decision must contain the signatures of all justices participating in a case before it is released to anyone outside the Council.
  6. In cases where conflicts of interest or biases occur, justices must inform the Council of the problem. If a justice fails to voluntarily abstain from a decision in which there is a conflict of interest or bias, a simple majority vote by all members of the Council will force an abstention of that member.
  7. If the Chief Justice finds it necessary to abstain from a hearing, he/she may conduct the hearing if and only if it is conducted in a fair and unbiased manner. He/she may not participate in the deliberations or decision.
  8. All comments about a decision made to the media shall be directed to and answered by the Chief Justice only, except in cases of dissenting and/or concurring opinions.
  9. A copy of all decisions shall be kept in the Judicial Council office.

Senate Rules

Section One: Senators

  1. A senator is defined in Article III, Section One: Composition of the WSA Constitution.
  2. To obtain a Senatorship within the Western Student Association Senate (WSA Senate), an eligible student must formally register with the Speaker's office by filling out a Senate Registration Form.
  3. All Senate Registration Forms must be turned in one week before obtaining voting rights. All forms need to be in by Wednesday at 6:00p.m. to be registered for the next Senate meeting.
  4. Senators missing three or more senate meetings in one semester will be deemed in violation of poor attendance (Article III, Section 3, WSA Constitution), and will be submitted by the Speaker's office to the WSA Judicial Council for their removal from office. The Speaker pro tempore before each meeting will take attendance. If a Senator arrives after the start of the meeting, he or she must report in to the Speaker pro tempore; tardiness will be documented.
  5. All Senators will be placed on at least one (1) WSA Standing Committee by the Speaker's Office upon their registration. Those senators who miss more than three committee meetings will be referred to the Speaker's Office by their Standing Committee Chair. The Speaker will then remove the Senator from the Committee roster. If a Senator is not a member of any standing committee, as stated in Article III, Section Two of the WSA constitution, the SpeakerÍs office will then submit the Senator to the WSA Judicial Council for their removal from office.

Section Two: Resolutions

  1. A Resolution is defined as any main motion in writing. The only types of written business not considered a Resolution is a Constitutional Amendments and Bylaws; for which adoption procedures are laid out in the WSA Constitution.
  2. All resolutions must be submitted, in writing, to room 1113 in the Faunce Student Services Building no later than 11:59pm Wednesday in order to be included in the agenda for the next Senate meeting.
  3. A submitted Resolution will be reviewed by the Speaker, a standing Committee Chair, and/or a standing committee in order to deem it is within the guidelines of the WSA constitution and understandable for review by the senate. The Resolution may also be presented to the Executive Cabinet in order that they are made aware of pending and forthcoming business on the Senate floor. The speaker reserves the right to add or deny any item from the proposed agenda.
  4. The WSA standing committee will work on the resolution by checking grammar and facts, and preparing a resolution for debate by the senate. The WSA standing committee will work with the author of the resolution when it is possible to do so.
  5. The WSA Standing Committee that a resolution is assigned to has three (3) weeks to report back to the Senate the resolution. After three weeks, the Speaker of the Senate will automatically place the resolution into New Business for the next WSA Senate meeting agenda.

Section Three: Voting and Debate

  1. Voting will be governed by the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order unless otherwise stated in the WSA Constitution, Bylaws, or Senate Rules.
  2. Voting Cards will be used to signify a Senator's vote.
  3. Senators shall obtain their voting cards from the Speaker pro tempore before each meeting.
  4. Senators must return their voting cards before leaving the Senate meeting. Failure to returning a voting card will result in temporary loss of voting rights.
  5. A motion to "lay on the table" shall be debatable.

Section Four: Conducting Meetings in the Absence of Presiding Officers

  1. In the event that neither Speaker of the Student Senate nor Speaker Pro-Tempore is present, responsibility for calling the meeting to order and presiding over the meeting shall fall to standing committee chairs in the order that these committees are introduced in Article 3, Section 4 of the WSA Constitution. The presiding chairperson shall then appoint an acting Speaker Pro-Tempore for the duration of that meeting only.

Section Five: Definitions

  1. "Senate Rules" are defined as the rules approved by the WSA Senate used to codify Senate procedure and actions. Senate rules may not be vetoed.
  2. "Committee Rules" are defined as rules approved by a WSA committee (either a standing committee or a temporary committee) or by the Senate to codify a committee's procedure and action.
  3. "Executive Cabinet Rules" are defined as rules adopted by the WSA President used to codify executive procedure and actions.

Additions as of November 10, 2004

  1. All WSA Senators may register one permanent alternate to vote in their stead. The alternate must be in possession of the Senator's voting card in order to vote.
  2. Upon de-registration, the Senator or alternate must turn in their voting card to the WSA Recording Secretary.
  3. Each College Senator and TURS Senator shall keep one official office hour per week during the fall and winter semesters.
  4. No person shall be able to use more than one voting card, at any given time.