Wesleyan Student Assembly — Wesleyan University
Wesleyan Student Assembly Constitution
(last updated May 2007)
Article I
Name
The name of this organization shall be the College Body of Wesleyan University.
Article II
Membership
Every student recognized by the University as an enrolled undergraduate shall be considered a member of the College Body.
Article III
Wesleyan Student Assembly (hereafter referred to as “WSA” or “the WSA”)
A. The WSA shall act as the legislative and deliberative body of the College Body.
B. The WSA shall be responsible for:
1. overseeing the allocation of Student Activities Fee.
2. transacting all other business of the College Body.
3. identifying student interests and representing them to the Wesleyan community.
4. serving as a forum for the consideration, development, and promotion of University policies consistent with student interest.
C. Furthermore, the Wesleyan Student Assembly shall not discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, age, national or ethnic origin, or disability in the execution of its responsibilities under this constitution or in the administration of its policies and programs.
Article IV
Composition of the Wesleyan Student Assembly
The WSA shall be composed of thirty-seven (37) members, each of whom shall serve on one or more standing committees (c.p. By Laws Article 1). Unless indicated, all positions listed below are undesignated (i.e., candidates are elected to the WSA, not to a specific committee).
1. Ten (10) members shall be elected to the WSA at the beginning of the fall semester to serve terms beginning upon election and ending at the beginning of the final meeting of the spring semester of the following calendar year.
a. The frosh class shall elect six (6) representatives from the entering (frosh) class.
b. Four (4) at-large representatives who are members of the sophomore, junior, or senior classes shall be elected by students in the aforementioned classes.
2. Ten (10) members shall be elected to the WSA at the end of the fall term.
a. The frosh class shall elect three (3) representatives from the frosh class, to serve terms beginning upon election, and ending upon at the end of the fall term of the following calendar year.
b. Three (3) at-large representatives who are members of the sophomore, junior, or senior classes shall be elected by students in the aforementioned classes, to serve terms beginning upon election and ending upon the election of their replacements at end of the fall term of the following calendar year.
c. Four (4) students shall be elected to the Student Budget Committee and the WSA concurrently by the entire student body, to serve terms beginning upon election and ending upon the election of their replacements at end of the fall term of the following calendar year.
3. Fifteen (15) members shall be elected to the WSA at the end of the spring semester to serve terms beginning upon the beginning of the final Assembly meeting of the spring semester and ending the beginning of the final Assembly meeting of the spring semester of the following calendar year.
a. The frosh class shall elect five (5) frosh to represent the following academic year’s sophomore class.
b. The sophomore class shall elect five (5) sophomores to represent the following academic year’s junior class.
c. The junior class shall elect five (5) juniors to represent the following academic year’s senior class.
4. Two (2) members shall be elected to the WSA at the end of the spring semester to serve terms beginning at the beginning of the final Assembly meeting of the spring semester day that year and ending upon the final Assembly meeting of the spring semester of the following calendar year.
a. The entire student body shall elect one (1) president, who is a member of the current frosh, sophomore, or junior class.
b. The entire student body shall elect one (1) vice president, who is a member of the current frosh, sophomore, or junior class.
Article V
Officers and Committee Chairpersons
A. The officers of the WSA shall be the President, the Vice President, the Coordinator, and the Treasurer. All officers of the WSA shall be members of the Executive Committee [EC] (bl I.A.4), act as Student Representatives to the Board, and oversee the WSA office, staff and evaluation of Administrator.
1. The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the WSA and shall be the chair of the Executive Committee.
2. The Vice President shall be an assistant to the President of the WSA and shall assume that office should the President be unable to fulfill hir duties. The Vice President shall chair the Organization and External Affairs Committee (OEAC) and the Student Representatives to the Board (SRTB) and will be the Vice Chair of the EC. He, she, or ze shall be the Chief Communications Officer and shall be the chair of all general WSA meetings. When chairing meetings of the WSA, he, she, or ze shall not be permitted to vote on any matter before the Assembly except in the event of a tie, in which case the Coordinator shall cast the deciding vote.
3. The Coordinator shall be the Vice Chair of the Organization and External Affairs Committee, and shall take the minutes of the EC.
4. The Treasurer shall be the Chief Financial Officer of the WSA and chair the Student Budget Committee (SBC).
B. The non-officer committee chairpersons of the WSA include the Community Outreach Committee Chair, the Educational Policy Committee Chair, the Student Affairs Committee Chair, and the Finance and Facilities Committee Chair. All non-officer committee chairpersons of the WSA shall be members of the Executive Committee [EC] (bl I.A.4), act as Student Representatives to the Board.
C. Internal Elections will be held at the final Assembly meeting of the spring term that will determine the composition of the coming year’s EC. These elections will be held with an Assembly composed of 27 voting members. All outgoing Assembly members are invited to serve as ex oficio members for the purposes of internal elections. A student is eligible to run for a chair position if ze meets any of the following two conditions: the student has been elected to the Assembly in either the most recent Winter Elections or the most recent Spring Elections; the student has been appointed to fill a position elected in the most recent Winter Elections or the most recent Spring Elections. If the student was an official candidate for President or Vice President in the most recent Spring Elections, ze is eligible to run for a chair position contingent upon hir election to the WSA in the Fall Elections.
The President-elect and Vice President-elect will be ratified by the Assembly at this meeting. The President is the only Assembly member eligible to stand for election to the EC chair, and the Vice President is only Assembly member eligible to stand for election to the Organization and External Affairs chair. The Final Assembly meeting must be held after Spring Elections are complete. Students will begin their tenure as Officers or Chairpersons upon commencement day, and their terms will end upon commencement day of the subsequent year.
D. The members of the Executive Committee must be re-approved by the full Assembly at the first meeting of the fall semester. At this meeting, every Committee Chair must present and justify what they have accomplished since the last WSA meeting of the spring semester. Once the presentations of summer accomplishments are complete, the Assembly must vote by secret ballot to re-approve each Committee Chair in hir position. The President and the Vice President are exempt from re-approval, but must nevertheless give a presentation of their summer accomplishments. A majority of the Assembly is required to re-approve each Committee Chair. If a Committee Chair fails to garner majority support of the Assembly, then an internal election, for which any member of the Assembly is eligible, will be held to replace that Committee Chair.
E. All other interim positions shall be internally elected at the last WSA meeting of the academic year per the recommendations of the Executive Committee.