The Constitution of the Student Union
Of Eugene Lang College
The New School for Liberal Arts
Fall 2009- Spring 2010
Facilitators: Jazmin Venus Soto, Geoff Kim, Oscar Brett, Erin Strasen, Lily Puckett
Our mission statement: To better Eugene Lang College by fostering community, empowering students and disseminating information. Students who attend Union meetings are responsible for allocating the budget based on meeting votes on behalf of the entire student body and hold all jurisdiction over budget and constitution by participation in the vote and attendance in meetings.
Article 1. Preamble
Section 1. Name
a. The name of this association shall be the Student Union of Eugene Lang College the New School for Liberal Arts; hereafter referred to as the Student Union.
Section 2. Objectives
A. To nurture and support the intellectual and artistic communities at the college and foster a sense of unity among students.
B. To improve the overall quality of life by maintaining facilities, supplying services, and sponsoring student initiated projects and events.
C. To ensure that each student's voice is valued and included in all matters affecting their education.
Section 3. Membership
A. All students matriculating at Eugene Lang College the New School for Liberal Arts are members of the Student Union.
B. The constitution, including all the appendices shall be distributed to all Lang Students via email at the beginning of each year.
Section 4. Hierarchy
A. There is no official hierarchy inherent to the structure of the Student Union.
B. It shall be the responsibility of all members of the Student Union to ensure that no hierarchy arises.
Article II. Structure
Section 1. General
A. There are 4-7 facilitators.
B. The facilitators shall assume their position within two weeks of being elected.
C. Each facilitator shall serve a one-year term and is eligible for re-election.
D. A facilitator may be recalled by consensus of the Student Union if that facilitator in any way prevents another Student Union member's participation or if that facilitator fails to fulfill duties outlined in article II.
Section 2. Facilitators
The facilitators shall:
a. Assure that meetings occur, and that each person present is afforded the opportunity to speak and in all their regards participate fully.
b. Propose the agenda
c. Ensure that there is a facilitator at each meeting. Any other Student Union member may facilitate a meeting.
d. Ensure that notes are taken at each meeting. An elected facilitator or any other Student Union member may take notes for the meeting. No one person shall take notes for two consecutive meetings.
e. Attend to any correspondence.
F. Maintain a file of all Student Union activities.
G. Maintain an inventory of all physical aspects of the Student Union.
H. Have signature authority on the disbursement of funds at the disposal of the Student Union (any disbursement of funds must be first consented upon by the Student Union).
I. Record and maintain a record of all disbursements.
J. Report on the financial status of the Student Union at all meetings.
K. Do outreach to first year students including visiting first year workshops to raise awareness of the Student Union.
L. The facilitators are responsible for determining how the above tasks will be divided between each facilitator.
Article III Student Representation on Committees
Section 1. Committees
a. There are many committees within the college and university to which students would benefit from contributing. These include: Curriculum Committee, Diversity Committee, University Student Union, Student Life Committee, University Committee on Student Services, etc.
b. On or by the Student Union's second meeting of the school year, students will be selected to sit on all of the committees that exist.
c. Students may self-elect or nominate eachother, but each student must commit to serving for the entire school year, and must agree to take into the meetings the idea f the student body and must also report back from all meetings to the student body.
d. Each committee member will be selected by consensus process. A list of stand-by students who would be willing to fill student spots on each committee will be created in case a representative cannot attend a committee meeting.
e. If other committees on which students need representation are formed over the course of the year, student representatives can be selected by consensus at any Student Union meeting.
Article IV. Meetings
Section 1. General
a. The Student Union shall convene twice a month or more frequently as determined by a consensus from those present.
b. All Student Union meetings shall be open to every student.
c. Each meeting shall open with presentation of the proposed agenda at which time any student may propose amendments to the agenda.
d. The agenda must be consented upon before each meeting begins.
e. A facilitator and note taker shall be selected at the start of each meeting.
Section 2. Voting Process
A. Consensus process must be used for all decisions made by the Student Union. If consensus cannot be reached a minimum 10 minute open dialogue must take place, where parties For and Against and Abstention will be given 5 minutes to present their arguments. After this dialogue another vote will take place, if a unanimous vote cannot be reached this open dialogue will precede a 2/3-majority vote of students voting for or against. Abstentions are not counted towards the 2/3-majority vote. 3/4-majority process vote is required on any funding, constitutional and political proposals. 2/3-majority process vote is required for operational, non-political and non-funding proposals.
B. One member of the Lang student body can only proxy for one other full time matriculated Lang student. Any student sending a proxy in their stead must send an email at least 24 hours in advance from their New School account stating their intent and proxy name. The proxy vote is only effective for one meeting. Extenuating circumstances extends to class and work schedule conflicts only.
Article V. Elections
Section 1. General
A. Elections are only for the facilitator positions.
B. There are 4-7 facilitators depending on how many people run.
C. It is the aim of elections to have the majority of the student body vote.
D. At the end of the fall semester, evaluations will be done on every facilitator to help decide if the facilitator will continue through the spring.
E. If there are more than 3 facilitator slots open, elections will also be held at fall tally, at which time first year students may run for the fall semester.
F. All first year students are welcome and encouraged to serve on committees and be facilitators.
Article VI. Amendments
This constitution may be amended at any time by those present at the Student Union meeting when the amendment is proposed.
Facilitator Position Descriptions
Treasurer:
A) Get initial budget
B) Balance the budget on a spreadsheet on an LSU computer
C) Follow up on money claims/receipts with OSDA
Communications Manager:
A) Manage email discussions
B) Send out agenda topics for the following week
C) In collaboration with secretary, type up minutes
D) In collaboration with secretary, take minutes
Secretary:
A) Manage email conversations with administration/faculty
B) Send out minutes via email
C) In collaboration with communications manager, type up minutes
D) In collaboration with communications manager, take minutes
Publicity:
A) Put up flyers for LSU
B) Create flyers for LSU
C) Help other student organizations with their flyers
Proposal Facilitator:
A) Keep in contact with groups that have requested money
B) Ensure that the proposal process runs smoothly
Student Organizations and Committee Coordinator:
a) Appoint person for any committees formed in LSU meetings
b) Appoint person for student organization liaisons
People who maintain office hours shall rotate the following jobs:
A) Maintaining the computers and printers so they are functioning
B) Taking out trash
C) Facilitating bulletin boards
D) Facilitating microwaves and other designated space
Food for Meetings:
A) Rotational basis among all Student Union meeting attendees
B) To be decided at the end of each meeting for the following week
Funding Guidelines
1. Funded proposals will be heard on the second and fourth Thursday of each month during the first half hour of the meeting.
2. Before submitting a proposal to a meeting, a typed copy of the proposal must be submitted to LSU@newschool.edu the Monday before the meeting by noon, four days in advance of the meeting so that it can be added to the agenda and advertised.
3. Once a proposal has been approved, you must contact the Shannon Logan with a copy of your proposal and the minutes from the meeting where they were funded in order to complete the paperwork for purchase, payment or reimbursement.
4. All projects funded by LSU must include Sponsored by LSU on all flyers and other printed materials.
5. After the event is completed you must report back to LSU about the success of the event.
Proposal Guidelines
A. A description of the project
B. A breakdown of expenses
C. A synopsis of how this project will influence the Lang community
LSU cannot fund:
A. Advertisement, due to LSU getting this service free through OSDA.
B. Senior Works, per request of the Dean’s Office.
C. Lang Study Abroad programs.
Things to Know:
o *If you are inviting a speaker please be sure to inform them that the STUDENTS, as opposed to the UNIVERSITY, are funding them, indicating that funds are limited when asking them to quote their fees.
o *Although you will be submitting a proposal with a complete budget, all proposals are subject to partial funding.
