Constitution | Doane University

Constitution

Revised Spring 2024

PREAMBLE

We, the students of Doane University, in order to establish a representative government; to encourage the development of leaders and participants of the college, community, and nation; to maintain a spirit of cooperation between the student body and the administration and faculty; to secure the highest degree of coordination among the various campus organizations; to advance the aims of the student body; and promote the general welfare of the college, do ordain this constitution of the Student Congress of Doane University.

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this organization shall be the “Student Congress.”

ARTICLE II. OBJECT

The object of the Student Congress shall be to promote the aims of the student body as set forth in the preamble.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERS

Section I. The Student Congress shall have four officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

The President and Vice-President shall be elected by a ballot vote of the student body by a general election, held in the spring of each year. Details concerning the election processes are explained and addressed in Article V.
The President and Vice-President must be of either junior or senior standing when assuming office in the fall semester; be a full-time student as defined by the Registrar; and maintain a minimum of a two-point five (2.5) cumulative grade point average.
1. In the instance that no eligible juniors or seniors are interested in running, sophomores that currently hold a senator position shall be able to run.
Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates must have served on the Congress for at least one semester.
The Secretary and Treasurer shall be appointed by the President, subject to majority approval by the Student Congress. If the majority approval is not met, then the senators have the right to nominate candidates. The voting procedure will continue until a majority is obtained.

Section II. The Student Congress shall have thirteen (13) senators.

Ten (10) of these senators shall be elected at large by a ballot of the student body in the general spring election.
The remaining three (3) freshman senators will be elected in the fall semester by a ballot vote of the freshman students.

Section III. All nominees seeking a senator position must be full-time students as defined by the Registrar and have a two-point five (2.5) cumulative grade average.

Section IV. The officers and the senators-at-large will serve for one year, or until their successors are elected. The freshmen senators shall serve from the time they are elected until the new officers and senators-at-large assume their positions in the respective spring/fall semester.

Section V.

All members of this organization must maintain a two-point five (2.5) grade average. Members failing to maintain the average will be required to resign.
Attendance of members is required at all meetings. Any uninformed absences will require a review before the next meeting by the executive council; missing this meeting will result in a recorded absence. Members must get their absences excused by the President prior to the meeting. After four (4) absences per academic year (Two per semester), members will be reviewed by the executive council. Members may appeal their review recommendation before the Congress. Majority vote will rule.
Student Congress members are expected to abide by the university’s policies and rules, as stated in the Student Congress Senator Expectations contract. If any member of Student Congress is found responsible for violating the academic integrity policy and/or the student conduct code, they are obligated to report to the Student Congress advisor. If deemed appropriate, the advisor will work in conjunction with the executive council and will decide the appropriate response.
If a Student Congress member is required to resign, he or she holds the right to appeal. All appeals must be submitted, in writing, to the acting President. After being notified of his or her required resignation, Student Congress members have until the next meeting to submit his or her appeal. Along with his or her written appeal, a Student Congress member may also be given time to appeal verbally to Congress at the next meeting. Congress will decide during that same meeting whether or not the resignation will stand. Two-thirds (⅔) vote will rule.

Section VI.

Whenever vacancies occur in the Congress, the President may convene the elections committee to arrange for a special election to fill the vacancy. Or, with the advice and consent of a two-thirds (⅔)vote of the Congress, the President may appoint a student to fill the vacancy.
In the event that a special election is held, it shall be conducted in the manner prescribed for the regular election and the vacant office.
Action must be taken no later than two weeks after the occurrence of the vacancy.

Section VII.

The Dean of Students shall serve as the advisor to the Student Congress. The Congress may also annually elect a faculty member to serve as a co-advisor along with the Dean of Students.

The advisors shall be encouraged to participate in meetings.
The advisors do not have voting rights.

ARTICLE IV. DUTIES OF THE MEMBERS

Section I. The President Shall:

Preside at all meetings and shall have the power to call all meetings, including special meetings to order.
Appoint all necessary committees with approval of the Congress.
Act as an ex-officio member of all committees.
Have the power to call together for an advisory discussion group the presidents of campus organizations (“Council of Presidents”).
Have the power to make executive decisions and take action on questions without a vote of the Congress at times when the situation at hand demands immediate action.
Perform all the duties prescribed by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Congress not already set forth in this Constitution or the Congress’ By-laws.
Draft Board of Trustees Reports and submit to the Dean of Students with approval of Congress.
Serve as the Co-Chair of the Green Committee.

Section II. The Vice President Shall:

Assume the duties of the President in case of temporary absence.
Act as Parliamentarian for the Congress.
Perform all duties prescribed in the parliamentary authority adopted by the Congress not already set forth in the Constitution or the Congress’ By-laws.
Shall Chair elections. If unable to chair the election, due to their name being on the ballot, they will convene an election’s council made up of senators who are not on the ballot.
The Vice President will have voting rights in all scenarios.

Section lll. The Treasurer Shall:

Act as the liaison between the business office correspondents and Student Congress.
Keep track of Student Congress budgets and spending.
Be a liaison between allocated clubs and Student Congress. This includes helping clubs access allocated funds, receive special allocations and writing check requests.
Student Congress Treasurer, in conjunction with the Business Office, reserves the right to audit student organization accounts annually to ensure their compliance with Student Congress and Doane University business practices.
The Treasurer will have voting rights in all scenarios.

Section lV: The Secretary Shall:

Take minutes at all meetings for the Student Congress records. This includes emailing to Senators for review and approval.
Take attendance at every meeting.
Create the agenda for meetings every week. This includes sending out the agenda to the student body.
The Secretary will have voting rights in all scenarios.

Section V. The Senators Shall:

Perform the duties as prescribed by the parliamentary authority not clearly set forth in this constitution or the Congress’ By-laws.

ARTICLE V.ELECTIONS

Section 1. All rules and information will be in the Elections Handbook.

ARTICLE VI. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE CONGRESS

Section I. The Congress shall have the power to exercise the right of the recommendation and/or petition to the faculty and administration, with the additional right to appeal to the Trustees, on all matters affecting the student body. In accordance with this provision, the Student Congress may draw up a written report to present to the Secretary of the Board of Trustees.

Section II. The Congress shall have the power to enforce its own regulations. In addition to the implied means of enforcement stemming from the nature of the Congress, the Congress also reserves to itself the power to refer questions to the Vice President For Student Affairs and Dean of Students.

Section III. The Congress shall have the authority to carry out, in addition to the powers herein stated or implied, any measure for advancing the aims as set forth in the Preamble.

Section IV. The Student Congress shall appoint members to the Student-Faculty Standing Committees on the Student Leadership, Academic Affairs, Teaching and Learning, Library, Teacher Education (nominations received from Education department), the Five-Year Planning Committee, Student Representatives to Board of Trustees Committee, and all current and future committees requiring student representation. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Congress shall constitute appointment, except in exceptional cases, to be determined by a two-thirds vote. No student shall be appointed to serve either as a full-time or alternate member on more than one committee in the same academic year.

Section V. Senators shall serve on a committee within Student Congress. Upon recommendation of the appropriate committee and a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Student Congress; or a two-thirds vote of the Congress, the Congress may remove appointed student members of any committee. Grounds for removal shall include excessive absences, five (5) for the academic year, unsatisfactory performance of their duties of office, or failure to maintain a two-point five (2.5) grade average.

Section VI. The Congress shall allocate all funds that are designated for student organizations by the Doane University administration in an allocation meeting once a year, distributing funds for each upcoming semester. Emergency fund requests may be made to the Congress any time throughout the semester. The Allocations Handbook shall serve as a detailed guide to allocating student organizations. The Allocations Handbook shall be reviewed annually by Congress.

Section VII. Organizations may appeal their reallocations.

Section VIII. The Congress shall have the right to review and approve the constitutions of all clubs and organizations seeking official campus recognition. Constitutions will be approved by a simple majority of the Congress. Constitutions will be forwarded to the Congress after the VP for Student Affairs has determined that the group has completed the procedures for recognition. Any club or organization which fails to gain the approval of the Student Congress shall have the right to appeal the decision to the VP for Student Leadership.

Section IX. The Student Congress shall have the right to oversee all recognized student organizations and clubs. This responsibility includes monitoring the groups’ activities to determine the active or inactive status of the group.

ARTICLE VII. MEETINGS

Section I. The Congress shall meet at least twice a month on a specified day and at a specified time. Students, staff and faculty are invited to attend Congress meetings and present their views.

Section II. The President shall call all meetings and shall be required to call a meeting at the written request of any four members of the Congress.

Section III. Two-thirds (2/3) of the Senators of the Congress shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

ARTICLE VIII. RECALL AND PETITION

Section I. Recall: The student body shall at all times possess the right of petition for a vote to recall any member of the Congress. This petition must be signed by 30% of the constituency in the case of senators and appointed officers, and by 35% of the student body in cases concerning the President and Vice President. The Congress shall, upon the presentation of this petition, conduct a vote of the proper body. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the constituency shall be necessary to recall a Congress member from his or her position.

Section II. Petition:

If a petition signed by 20% of the students is submitted to the Congress, objecting to a specific piece of legislation passed by the Congress, a vote of the student body shall be held by which a two-thirds (2/3) vote will automatically declare this piece of legislation void.
The students reserve to themselves power by petition to propose amendments to this constitution, and directly to enact or reject such amendments at the polls. The procedure for petition on legislation shall be as follows:
- The students shall frame the proposed measure.
- A petition shall be circulated among the students to gain the signatures of at least 20% of the student body.
- This petition shall be presented to the Secretary of the Congress who will determine the validity of the signatures.
- There shall be an open hearing at the next scheduled meeting of the Congress concerning the proposed legislation.
- The Student Congress must take action within two weeks of the open hearing.

ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS

Section I. General Amendment Procedure: The students reserve to themselves the power to petition, to propose amendments to this constitution, and to directly enact or reject such amendments at the polls. The Congress shall accept amendments to this constitution whenever two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Congress shall deem it necessary or whenever a petition is signed by 20% of the student body. In either case, any proposed amendment shall become valid as a part of this constitution when ratified by a majority of the student body that vote.

Section II. Amendments to Article XI: The Students shall have the power to amend and ratify Article XI concerning Standing Committees subject to a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Student Congress.

ARTICLE X. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

In all parliamentary questions not settled by this Constitution, Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern the Congress.

ARTICLE XI. STANDING COMMITTEES

Section I. The Food Service Committee shall work with the students and the Food Service provider serving as a liaison, working to improve the quality of food service, and serve as an outlet for student comments and concerns.

The food service committee shall be chaired by one or two active senators of Student Congress.
The food service committee shall meet on a monthly basis with the food service provider and students shall solicit student comments and concerns.
The Committee shall be advised by a member of the Student Congress executive team.
The committee shall be open to all Student Congress senators willing to participate.

Section II: The Outreach Committee will work on the effective and consistent communication of the content discussed and enacted by the student congress with Doane media outlets such as The Student Congress Webpage, The Owl, Student Affairs, and the Academic Success Center.

The outreach committee shall be chaired by one or two active senators of Student Congress.
The outreach committee shall meet on a minimum of twice a month basis with at least one of the aforementioned media organizations at Doane.
The Committee shall be advised by a member of the Student Congress executive team.
The outreach committee shall be responsible for the updating of the Student Congress page found on the Doane University website.
The outreach committee shall be responsible for the operation of the social media accounts that represent the Student Congress.
The committee shall be open to all Student Congress senators willing to participate.

Section III: The Programming Committee shall aid in the planning, purchasing of supplies, invitation distribution and oversight of Student-Congress-hosted events, working in conjunction with Student Programming Board or any other organization that is assisting in the execution of said events.

The Programming Committee shall be chaired by one or two active senators of Student Congress.
The Programming Committee shall meet at least once a month.
The Committee shall be advised by a member of the Student Congress executive team.
The Committee shall oversee events such as Student Appreciation Dinner, Leadership Gala and Green Week. Oversight of any other events shall be delegated to the Committee from the Executive Team
The committee shall be open to all Student Congress senators willing to participate.

Section IV. The Student Congress shall have the right to form a new standing committee when the congress deems it necessary.