From the Cornell Assemblies
The Student Assembly is the undergraduate student government of Cornell University.
The Student Assembly deals with quality of life issues for students, making sure that student issues are heard and addressed. The assembly has legislative authority over the policies of the Office of the Dean of Students and the Department of Campus and Community Engagement, and establishes the undergraduate Student Activity Fee and guidelines for its distribution. Every Cornell student has the opportunity to voice concerns during the open microphone period held at the beginning of each meeting.
The Student Assembly holds regularly scheduled elections twice a year, once in September and once in March. The September elections are to elect the Freshman and Transfer representatives, while also serving as an opportunity to fill any vacancies on the Assembly.
All current registered undergraduate students are eligible to run for a position on the Student Assembly. Certain positions are reserved for members of a particular group: the Freshman representatives must be freshman students, the Transfer representative must be a new transfer student, and college/school-specific positions must be held by someone enrolled in that particular college or school.
The Student Assembly meets every Thursday from 4:45pm until 6:30pm during the academic year. All elected representatives are expected to be present at every meeting, with a few exceptions for certain excused absences. All elected representatives are also required to be active members on at least one Student Assembly committee. The Student Assembly President, Jordan Berger, explained, “You will really get out of the Student Assembly what you are willing to put into it. Some representatives will only do the basic requirements but you should be willing to do whatever it takes to adequately represent your constituency.”
Spring 2017 SA Election Calendar Δ (Revised: Friday, 3 March 2017)
Calendar is subject to change. Updates will be posted here.
The following section explains the requirements for becoming a candidate that must be completed prior to the registration deadline. As noted on the Election Calendar in Section II, the registration deadline for this election is March 13, 2017 at 12:00pm (noon).
The first step to becoming a candidate in the Student Assembly Election is to decide what position you are pursuing. Candidates may only register for one election.
In addition to the eligibility requirements listed in Section III for each position, all candidates must:
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your eligibility for candidacy, please email the Office of the Assemblies at assembly@cornell.edu.
It is important to be familiar with the rules that govern Student Assembly elections. These rules ensure the fairness of the election for all candidates and layout the procedure for the election. Click to download the *Spring 2017 SA Election Rules Δ. In addition, please familiarize yourself with:
Please note that it is your responsibility to be familiar with the election rules. Not knowing a rule existed is not an excuse and, in the past, candidates have been disqualified for violating rules they were unaware of.
Once you have selected the position you are running for, verified your election eligibility, and reviewed the election rules, the next step is to complete the online registration form. You can access the form here:
Online Registration Form [1]
The online registration form will ask for the following information:
If you are unsure if your photo meets these requirements, please email it to assembly@cornell.edu [assembly@cornell.edu] ahead of the election registration deadline. We will reply promptly with a decision. If you do not have a picture that meets these requirements, you can alternatively have your photo taken by the Office of the Assemblies. Proceed through the online registration form without uploading a photo when prompted.
In order to become a candidate in an election, you must collect signatures from students eligible to vote in the election you are seeking candidacy. For example, if you wish to run for the Freshman Representative position, you must collect the signatures of at least 75 freshman students using the official petition form Δ.
We strongly recommend that you collect at least 25 more signatures than what is required. The Student Assembly Election Committee validates the petitions you submit. If the Committee is unable to verify enough signatures, then you will be disqualified. There is no limit to the number of signatures that you are permitted to collect.
All signatures must be collected using the official Petition Form, which is included in this information packet. In addition, you can find a PDF of just the Petition form on the election website. The petition form asks for a student’s 7-digit Cornell ID number, not their NetID.
Petitions must be submitted in-person to the Office of the Assemblies, which is located in 109 Day Hall by the registration deadline. We recommend submitting your petitions early so that we can notify you of any problems before the registration deadline.
Please note that it is a violation of the election rule to:
In order to become a candidate in this election, you must complete the following before the registration deadline:
All candidates are required to attend at least one full meeting of the Student Assembly before the start of voting (Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 10:00pm). You must register your attendance with the Director of Elections. The Student Assembly meetings every Thursday from 4:45pm until 6:30pm, usually in the Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room.
All candidates are required to apply to serve on at least one committee of the Student Assembly before the start of voting (Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 10:00pm). The online application system can be found at: Student Assembly Committee Application [2]
All candidates are required to attend the mandatory campaign meeting. The meeting will be Monday, March 13, 2017 from 5:00pm until 6:30pm in 165 McGraw Hall. You must receive explicit written permission from the Director of Elections to waive this requirement if you have extenuating circumstances. Campaigning officially beings at 11:59pm on Monday, March 13, 2017.
All candidates are strongly encouraged (not required) to attend the candidate forum. All President and Executive Vice President candidates are strongly encouraged to attend the Executive Debate. At both events, voters will have an opportunity to hear from candidates about their experience and platforms. Candidates are also encouraged to use the forum as an opportunity to specifically discuss why they are more qualified than their opponents.
All candidates must do the following prior to the start of voting (Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 10:00pm):
All candidates are required to file an expense report by Tuesday, March 28, 2017 at 4:00pm, even if you had no expenses. The report must be submitted in person to the Office of the Assemblies (109 Day Hall). If you had expenses, you must include the original receipt. The official candidate expense report is included in this guide and can also be found on the election website.
If you chose the $35 reimbursement for approved election expenses, the Office of the Assemblies will use this report to process your reimbursement. Approved election expenses include:
All other expenses must be pre-approved by the Director of Elections and the Office of the Assemblies in order to be reimbursed.
If you believe another candidate has violated the election rules and, as a result, compromised the fairness of the election, you may file a challenge against them. The challenge requires a typewritten account of what rule(s) were violated and how that affected the fairness of the election. To file a challenge, submit your typewritten account and the official challenge form in person to the Office of the Assemblies (109 Day Hall). All challenges must be received before Tuesday, March 28, 2017 at 4:00pm.
Likewise, it is possible that you may be the subject of a challenge. If this is the case, you will receive an email from the Director of Elections with details of the challenge. More information about the challenge process can be found in the Student Assembly Election Rules.
Election results will first be communicated to candidates via an email from the Director of Elections. All challenges must first be resolved before election results can be released. As a result, it may be several days before election results are available.
Additional requirements for all candidates include:
For candidates that choose to receive 300 free copies of promotional materials, it is important to properly format your documents before submitting them to us via the online registration form. Please review the following two documents and ensure your promotional materials conform to the specified guidelines.
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Page last modified on March 06, 2017, at 01:45 AM