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Juniata College Student Government Constitution
We, the students of Juniata College, in order to meet the representative needs of all who attend this institution, do establish the Juniata College Student Government. This Student Government shall be an organisation dedicated to the communication of student needs and desires to other constituencies to the General Assembly, and shall be responsible for the administration of Student Government funds allocated to campus clubs and organisations.
Article 1 – The General Assembly of Students
Section 1 – Definition
The General Assembly of Students shall comprise of all full-time students of freshmen to senior standing during their term at Juniata and shall be in good academic standing, as defined in the Pathfinder.
Section 2 - General Powers
Clause 1: Members of the General Assembly shall have the right to attend all Senate
meetings as well as any meeting of the Executive Committee or Class Cabinets.
Clause 2: Members of the General Assembly shall have the power to convene a forum
focusing on an issue, given that they have generated a petition of 250 signatures
calling for a forum.
Clause 3: Any member of the General Assembly shall have the right to propose a written
bill to the Senate during a forum.
Clause 4: If more than ten percent of the General Assembly is present at a forum,
forum attendees may pass any written bill by majority vote. Both the Executive Committee
and the Senate must consider any bills passed at a forum.
Clause 5: The General Assembly shall have the power to overturn any Senate or Executive
Committee decision with a two-thirds vote.
Article 2 – The Senate
Section 1 – Definition
The Senate is an elected body comprised of full-time students during their term at Juniata and shall be in good academic standing, as defined in the Pathfinder.
Section 2 - Composite and Electorate
Clause 1: The Freshmen class shall comprise four seats (four votes) on the Senate
and shall consist of a class President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Clause 2: The Sophomore class shall comprise four seats (four votes) on the Senate
and shall consist of a class President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Clause 3: The Junior class shall comprise four seats (four votes) on the Senate and
shall consist of a class President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Clause 4: The Senior class shall comprise four seats (four votes) on the Senate and
shall consist of a class President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Clause 5: The international students shall comprise three seats (three votes) on the
Senate.
Clause 6: The Program for Area Residents (PAR) shall comprise one seat (one vote)
on the Senate.
Clause 7: The domestic minority students shall comprise two seats (two votes) on the
Senate.
Clause 8: Each Common Interest Sector (CIS) shall comprise one seat (one vote) on
the Senate.
Clause 9: Residential Assistants (RAs) shall comprise one seat (one vote) on the Senate.
Clause 10: Juniata Activities Board (JAB) shall comprise one seat (one vote) on the
Senate.
Clause 11: The Sexual and Gender Minorities students shall comprise two seats (two
votes) on the Senate.
Clause 12: In the event of a vacancy in the Senate, the Executive Committee, with
the advice of the concerned entity, shall nominate a replacement to be confirmed by
the Senate.
Clause 13: If any Senator or Cabinet member does not fulfill his or her duties appropriately,
the Executive Committee may start a process of investigation to decide on possible
removal from office. If removal occurs, the Executive Committee, with the advice of
the concerned entity on Senate (e.g. class officers, specific CIS group), shall nominate
a replacement to be confirmed by the Senate. See Article 4 for more information.
Section 3 - General Powers
Clause 1: The Senate shall have the right to ratify or reject the budget proposed
by the Executive Committee, as well as proposals made by Senate members, the Executive
Committee, or the General Assembly.
Clause 2: No Senator may miss more than one Senate Meeting per semester.
Clause 3: The Senate Chair shall be the President of the Executive Committee, shall
preside over all Senate meetings, shall vote only in order to break a split Senate
decision, shall have the right to call a Senate meeting at any time, and shall run
the meetings in a parliamentary procedure.
Clause 4: Senators shall be able to introduce Standing Orders or Resolutions, a vote
of the Senate to pass. All Standing Orders are required to expire upon the conclusion
of the first senate meeting of the academic year following its enactment. Standing
orders may be repealed by the Senate. Standing Orders allow legislative action on
Senate procedure. Resolutions concern Student life and external relations of the Student
Government. In the event of a tied vote, the Executive Committee President shall cast
a vote. All Standing Orders and Resolutions from previous years shall be archived.
Article 3 - The Executive Committee
Section 1 – Definition
The Executive Committee shall be full-time students during their term at Juniata and shall be in good academic standing, as defined in the Pathfinder.
Section 2 - Composite and Electorate
Clause 1: The Executive Committee shall consist of six seats including a President,
Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Officer of Technology, and Officer of Communications
and Policy.
Clause 2: The Executive Committee shall be elected by the General Assembly, with the
exceptions of the Treasurer, Officer of Technology, and Officer of Communications
and Policy, who shall be nominated by the other members of the current Executive Board
and the members of the Executive Board elect, and confirmed by the Senate.
Clause 3: In the event of a vacancy on the Executive Committee, the remaining members
shall nominate a replacement to be confirmed by the Senate.
Clause 4: If any Executive Committee member does not fulfill his or her duties appropriately,
the Ethics Committee may start a process of investigation to decide on possible removal
from office. In the case of a recommendation for removal from office, the Senate shall
vote on removing the Executive Committee member from office. The member shall have
an opportunity to speak before the Senate votes. The member shall be removed with
the approval of a 2/3 vote of Senate. If removal occurs, the Executive Committee shall
nominate a replacement to be confirmed by the Senate.
Section 3 - General Powers
Clause 1: The Senate shall have the right to ratify or reject the budget proposed
by the Executive Committee, as well as proposals made by Senate members, the Executive
Committee, or the General Assembly.
Clause 1: No Executive Committee member may concurrently serve as a senator.
Clause 2: No Executive Committee member may miss more than three Executive Committee
meetings per semester.
Clause 3: The RSO Approval Board shall, under the leadership of the Executive Committee
Vice-President, coordinate the petitioning process for all aspiring RSOs.
Clause 4: The Executive Committee shall meet with the President of the college, the
Dean of Students, the office of Students Activities, and various other campus offices
for guidance.
Clause 5: The Executive Committee shall allocate at least 42% of combined Student
Government and Juniata Activities Board (JAB) funds to Juniata Activities Board (JAB).
Clause 6: The Executive Committee shall be the primary source of ad- hoc student input
to other campus constituencies regarding campus issues and concerns.
Clause 7: The Executive Committee shall be responsible for scheduling its own regular
meetings, as well as the regular meetings of the Senate.
Clause 8: The Executive Committee shall coordinate all elections of members chosen
by the General Assembly.
Clause 9: Clause 9: The Executive Board shall have the right to initiate an Executive
Agreement to override the amendment procedure explained in Article 8. An Executive
Agreement requires a unanimous vote from the Executive Board President, the Student
Government advisors, and the Foundational Organization Chairs to be passed. In the
event that the Executive Board President initiates the Executive Agreement, the Vice-President
shall vote in place of the President to avoid conflicts of interest.
Article 4 - The Ethics Committee
Section 1 - General Definition
The Ethics Committee shall consist of Senate members selected by the Executive Committee and shall be formed in the event of a Senate member’s suspension from office and review of their standing in Senate as well as conduct any audit procedures.
Section 2 - Composite and Electorate
The Ethics Committee will consist of five randomly selected uninvolved Senate members. The secretary of the Executive Committee will act as the chair. If there is a conflict of interest, the Officer of Technology will step in as the chair.
Section 3 - General Powers
Clause 1: The Ethics Committee will convene a meeting within 72 hours of the Senate
member being placed on suspension. The Senate member under review will attend the
meeting and present a statement in his or her defense. The Senate member under review
must leave the meeting after presenting their statement.
Clause 2: An administration-appointed representative will be present during the Ethics
Committee meeting.
Clause 3: The Ethics Committee decision regarding the member under review must be
unanimous and is normally final. The member may choose to appeal to the Senate. The
Ethics Committee decision may be overturned by a 2/3 vote of Senate.
Clause 4: The chair of the Ethics Committee will notify the Senate member under review
of the final decision.
Article 5 - The Cabinet of Student Representatives
Section 1 - General Definition
The Cabinet of Student Representatives shall be full-time students during their term at Juniata and shall be in good academic standing, as defined in the Pathfinder.
Section 2 - Composite and Electorate
The Cabinet of Student Representatives is to be nominated by the Executive Committee and confirmed by the Senate to serve on the Board of Trustees, Faculty Committees and Judicial Board.
Section 3 - General Powers
Clause 1: The Cabinet shall report to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee
shall share appropriate information with the Senate.
Clause 2: No Cabinet member may miss any meetings of the Committee to which he or
she is assigned per semester.
Article 6 – The Foundational Organizations
Section 1 – General Definition
Foundational Organizations are groups and organizations considered necessary to facilitate Registered Student Organizations, Student Government as a whole, and general campus life.
Section 2 – Composite and Electorate
Clause 1: Foundational Organizations comprise of the following internal groups and
organizations of Student Government: Executive Board, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior,
and Senior Class Cabinets, Policy Reform Committee, Allocations Board, Approval Board,
JAB, the Student Advocates for Universal Respect Board, and the Projects Committee.
Clause 2: Foundational Organizations shall appoint at least one advisor to assist
their activities.
Section 3 – General Powers
Clause 1: Foundational Organizations are entitled to periodic meetings with their group or organization’s advisor.
Article 7 – The Student Advocates for Universal Respect Board
Section 1 – General Definition
The Student Advocates for Universal Respect (SAUR) Board shall comprise of full-time students during their term at Juniata College and shall be in good academic standing, as defined in the Pathfinder.
Section 2 – Composite and Electorate
Clause 1: The SAUR Board shall comprise of a maximum of ten seats and a minimum of
six on Senate.
Clause 2: Voting rights will be distributed as follows, if the demographic of the
group allows: one vote for Co-chair (permanent), one vote for the Treasurer (permanent),
with at least one vote and a maximum of two for the domestic, interest-based/non-minority,
international, and LGBTQ+ students.
Clause 3: The SAUR Board shall consist of four officers in Senate including a Chair,
Co-chair, Secretary, and Treasurer (Chair and Secretary exempt from voting).
Clause 4: The SAUR Board shall be elected via interest (excluding the Chair). Those
who are interested shall state verbally their intentions for the position and shall
be elected by SAUR members.
Clause 5: SAUR is open to the General Assembly.
Clause 6: In the event of a vacancy of a SAUR Board member, SAUR, with the advice
of the concerned entity, if any, shall nominate a replacement to be confirmed by SAUR
members or Executive Board if SAUR members are unable.
Section 3 – General Powers
Clause 1: Any cultural event (personal or in conjunction with an organization on campus) will discuss with SAUR for any desired help, if wanted. SAUR will be considered first refusal for any help provided.
Article 8 – The Projects Committee
Section 1 – General Definition
The Projects Committee shall comprise of full-time students during their term at Juniata College and shall be in good academic standing, as defined in the Pathfinder.
Section 2 – Composite and Electorate
Clause 1: The Projects Committee shall comprise of a maximum of ten seats on Senate.
In the event there are less than ten members in the committee, all members will have
one vote.
Clause 2: Voting rights shall be distributed as follows, if the demographic of the
group allows: one vote for the Treasurer (permanent), one vote for each remaining
member, up to ten. Voting seats can rotate based on activity or need. Voting seats
must attend all Senate meetings in the time period they hold voting rights.
Clause 3: The Projects Committee shall consist of two officers on Senate including
a Chair and Treasurer (Chair exempt from voting). The Projects Committee Chair is
the Secretary of the Student Government Executive Board.
Clause 4: Those who are interested shall state verbally their intentions for the Treasurer
position. The Treasurer shall be selected by the Projects Committee Chair.
Clause 5: The Projects Committee is open to the General Assembly.
Clause 6: In the event of a vacancy for the position of the Projects Committee Chair,
a new Chair will be nominated by the Projects Committee and confirmed by the Executive
Board.
Article 9 – Constitutional Amendment
Amendments to this constitution shall be approved by a two-thirds vote of Senate and a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly. To be valid at least 15% of the General Assembly must participate in a vote for this purpose.