Student Assembly

Whereas, the Student Assembly does not have a position charged with coordinating members’ outreach efforts.

Whereas, a fundamental responsibility of the S.A. is reaching out to various constituencies of the student body and a large number of past representatives have felt that we have largely neglected this duty.

Whereas, the S.A. has been increasing its outreach efforts and its presence within campus student life.

Be it therefore resolved, that the S.A. creates a new executive board position, the S.A. VP of Outreach.

Be it further resolved, that Article II, Section 1 of the Student Assembly bylaws is amended to read as follows:

ARTICLE II: Officers
Section 1: Officers
The officers of the SA shall be a President, an Executive Vice President, a Vice President of Internal Operations, a Vice President of Outreach, a Vice President for Finance, a Vice President for Public Relations, a Director of Elections, a Parliamentarian and an Executive Archivist. These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by this Charter and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the SA.

Be it further resolved, that Article III of the Student Assembly bylaws is amended to read as follows:

ARTICLE III: Officer Duties
Section 1: President
The responsibilities of the President are as follows:

• 1. Attend and chair all SA meetings.
• 2. Attend all Assemblies’ leadership meetings and meetings with Executive staff.
• 3. Submit agenda items for leadership meetings after soliciting topics from Assembly member.
• 4. Serve as the primary Assembly correspondent with the administration, the media, and the student body.
• 5. Correspond with the University President following each Assembly meeting enumerating actions passed and to solicit his response.
• 6. Supervise all elected officers and ensure they are discharging their responsibilities.
• 7. Attend all open sessions of the Board of Trustees and the Board of Trustees Executive Committee held in Ithaca and report back to the Assembly on said meetings.
• 8. Appoint Assembly Parliamentarian and Executive Archivist.
• 9. Write and present annual SA report by the last meeting of the Spring semester.

Section 2: Executive Vice President
The responsibilities of the Executive Vice President are as follows:

• 1. Attend all SA meetings and act as Chair in the absence of the President.
• 2. Assume the office of President should a vacancy arise.
• 3. Serve as Assembly correspondent in the absence of or on behalf of the President.
• 4. Chair all Executive Board meetings.
• 5. Attend all Assemblies’ leadership meetings and meetings with Executive Staff.
• 6. Submit agenda items for leadership meetings after soliciting topics from Assembly *members, and be responsible for the creation of the weekly agenda for Assembly meetings.
• 7. Coordinate and assist the undergraduate student UA delegation.
• 8. Supervise and assist all ad-hoc committees.
• 9. Track actions of the Assembly to ensure final disposition and confirm correspondence with appropriate units when Assembly actions impact them.
• 10. Help initiate and organize lobby efforts at both the state and federal levels.
• 11. Be responsible for responding to questions or comments made during Open Microphone. Issues can be delegated to other members of the Assembly.
• 12. Be responsible for keeping contact with the Office of Government Affairs and reporting on a regular basis to the SA on issues that concern the student body.

Section 3: Vice President of Internal Operations
The responsibilities of the Vice President of Internal Operations are as follows:

• 1. Attend all SA meetings and act as Chair in the absence of the President and Executive Vice President.
• 2. Assume the office of Executive Vice President should a vacancy arise.
• 3. Chair Staffing Committee and monitor committee membership.
• 4. Coordinate and supervise all aspects of the SA office in Willard Straight Hall.
• 5. Maintain and monitor SA attendance records and send warning notices to members who are in jeopardy of violating the Assembly attendance policy.
• 6. Coordinate and supervise new member orientation.
• 7. Supervise SA Liaisons.
• 8. Maintain relations with intercollegiate student organizations of which the SA is a member � e.g. Ivy Council, SUNY Student Assembly.
• 9. Plan fall retreat for committee chairs.

10. Devise mechanisms for student organizations to become active members in the decision-making process of the SA; most importantly, committees.

Section 4: Vice President for Public Relations
The responsibilities of the Vice President for Public Relations are as follows:

• 1. Serve as editor of SA newsletter to be sent over email to the entire undergraduate student body two times/semester. The newsletter should include the current month’s accomplishments and next month’s plans, accompanied by the name of a contact person to whom comments and questions maybe addressed.
• 2. Consult with the Director of Elections regarding elections’ advertising.
• 3. Chair Communications Committee. Propose communication yearly budget by last meeting in September.
• 4. Arrange all advertising, postering, banners, etc.
• 5. Ensure all SA meetings, forums, committee meetings, etc. are listed in Sun Daybook. Advertise resolutions of particular interest to the general student community.
• 6. Assist SA members and committee chairs in their outreach programs.
• 7. Devise and implement mechanisms to increase participation of student organizations in SA processes.
• 8. Promote student advocacy role that the SA can play on campus.
• 9. Maintain contact with Student Assembly alumni through distribution of the biannual Student Assembly newsletter to any interested alumni.
• 10. Establish and maintain relations with college newsletters, other University publications and CUINFO, and provide copy for placement therein.
• 11. Respond with letters to the editor, etc. to inaccurate editorials, articles, and letters published in the Sun.
• 12. Speak at orientation events promoting SA to viable candidates in the fall and spring.
• 13. Remain in contact with Sun beat reporters.

Section 5: Vice President for Finance
The responsibilities of the Vice President for Finance are as follows:

• 7. Serve as SA treasurer and report to the Assembly regarding Assembly balances.
• 8. Chair Appropriations Committee.
• 9. Serve on SAFC (non-voting) and assist Chairs in training of new Commissioners and organization treasurers.
• 10. Serve on SAFC Executive Committee (non-voting).
• 11. Coordinate and chair meetings of Student Activity Fee recipients and draft proposal to SA regarding establishing new fee, biannually.
• 12. Coordinate revisions of SAFC Handbook (together with Chairs and Activity Fee recipients.
• 13. Review SAFC guidelines and report to the Assembly proposed modifications.
• 14. Work collaboratively with GPSA members when making changes to the Student Activity Fee Guidelines, which appear as Charter appendices.

Section 6: Vice President of Outreach
The responsibilities of the Vice President of Outreach are as follows:

• 1. Coordinate constituency representatives’ community outreach efforts (including, but not limited to, speak up events, community forums, etc.)
• 2. Coordinate constituency representatives’ meetings with Deans, internal school student governments, etc.
• 3. Devise mechanisms for student organizations to become active members in the decision-making process of the SA; most importantly, committees.
• 4. Coordinate efforts to involve more non-voting members in the decisions and events put on by the Student Assembly.
• 5. Work with the Vice President of Public Relations to ensure that VP Outreach’s efforts are publicized.
• 6. Maintain student organization outreach directory.

Section 7: Director of Elections
The responsibilities of the Director of Elections are as follows:

• 1. Chair the Elections Committee and report all the activities of said committee to the general SA.
• 2. Assume responsibility for all aspects of the Fall and Spring elections and coordinate all efforts with the Director of the Office of the Assemblies, the VP for Public Relations, and the President.
• 3. Serve as SA correspondent for election matters.
• 4. Ensure that the Elections Committee is successfully completing the following tasks:
  • a. making every effort to insure the greatest number of candidates for each available position,
  • b. ensuring all candidates are aware of and abiding by elections, campaigning, postering, and other Assembly and University policies,
  • c. coordinating and advertising an informal “Meet the Candidates Forum”,
  • d. coordinating and advertising opportunities for candidates to make public appearances,
  • e. coordinating and advertising public forums specifically for candidates to discuss any ballot referenda, if such forums are deemed necessary by the Executive Board,
  • f. contacting student organizations and informing them of the elections process and encouraging them to send delegates to elections activities in order to report candidates’ stances on relevant issues to their organizations,
  • g. ensuring that candidates have submitted pictures and statements for publication in the Sun,
  • h. making every effort to achieve the highest possible voter turnout by advertising and assisting the Office of the Assemblies in the coordination of elections days.
• 5. Make sure, in conjunction with the VP for Public Relations, that there are a substantial number of potential ballot referenda to be considered for approval by the SA, and that all approved referenda are advertised along with all elections activities described in #5 above (esp. c and e).

Section 8: Parliamentarian
The Parliamentarian need not be an SA member. The office of Parliamentarian holds no special voting privileges. The Parliamentarian also may not hold the President or Executive Vice President positions. The responsibilities of the Parliamentarian are as follows:

• 1. Advise the President on questions of parliamentary procedure.
• 2. Classify new actions brought before the SA into the categories specified in Article III, Section 2, Item A
• 3. Upon a specific request by an SA voting member, the Parliamentarian shall give the Assembly his/her recommendation on a parliamentary inquiry.
• 4. The Parliamentarian shall present a workshop on parliamentary procedure and this charter to the incoming assembly, preferably before the end of the spring semester but no later than the fourth week of the fall semester.
• 5. The Parliamentarian shall administer The Community Clause of the Student Assembly charter.
• 6. The Parliamentarian shall count a hand vote to discern simple majority from the gallery, where all eligible voters sit in a designated area.
• 7. The Parliamentarian shall send resolutions detailing changes to SA governing documents to the Office of the Assemblies as soon as they are passed by the SA.

Section 9: Executive Archivist
The Executive Archivist need not be an SA member. The office of Executive Archivist holds no special voting privileges. The Executive Archivist also may not hold the President or Executive Vice President positions. The Executive Archivist shall be responsible for verifying the novelty or precedence of any proposed action or legislation with Assembly members, or others, bring before the Executive Board.

Respectfully submitted,

Natalie Raps ‘12
Vice President for Public Relations
Arts & Sciences Representative

Adam Gitlin ‘13
Vice President for Internal Operations
ILR Representative