Shaw Senate Constitution

PREAMBLE
We,theresidentsofShawHall,doestablishthisconstitutiontosymbolize
ourcooperativeeffortinpromotingandmaintainingarepresentative
governmenttoservetheresidentsofShawHallthroughitsparticipationin
theguidanceofhallaffairs,andbyprovidingaforumfortheexpressionof
it,residents.
ARTICLEIMembership
SectionI
Thenameofthisorganizationshallbe"ShawHallSenate"hereinreferred
toastheSenate.
Section2
ApersonshallbeconsideredamemberoftheSenateandbeaccordedthe
rights,privilegesandresponsibilitiesofmembershipprovidedthat:
A) TheindividualresidesinShawHall
B) TheindividualisenrolledasanMSUstudent
C) TheindividualhaspaidtheRHAtaxandhasnotreceivedarefund.
Section3
TheSenatewillnotdiscriminateonthebasisofrace,creed,ethnicorigin,
sex,age,politicalpersuasion,sexualpreference,handicapperstatus,or
maritalstatus.
ARTICLEIIVotingBody
SectionI
TheformallegislativepowerandauthorityofShawHallSenateshallbe
vestedinthevotingbody,composedofonerepresentativefromeach
studentgroupfromShawHall.CriteriaforStudentGroups(hereinafter
referredtoasinhousegroups)aredefinedinArticleIIIofthisconstitution.
Section2
Thevotingbodyshallberesponsiblefor:
1. ThedeterminationofShawHallpoliciesandregulationin
accordancewithallUniversitypolicies.
2. HoldtheExecutiveBoardtofiduciaryresponsibilitywhen
delegatingthebudgetandduesofShawHall.

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3. Theconditionofallformalbusinessnotexpresslyforbiddenbythis
constitution,
providingquorumispresent.
Section3
Votingbodymeetingsshallfollowtheacademiccalendarsetforthbythe
University,withinreason.
Section4
ThevotingbodyrequiresthateachinhouseStudentGroupshallsendone
representativetoeachGeneralAssemblymeeting.
ARTICLEIIIStudentGroupRepresentation
SectionI
EveryresidentassistantprecinctshallhaveonevoteinShawHallSenate.
Section2
Precinctrepresentationshallbedeterminedbytheresidentassistantofthat
precinct.
Section3
Formoneytobeallocatedunderinhousestatus,51%ofthebeneficiaries
mustberesidentsofShawHall.
Section4
Anactivegroupwillcounttowardsquorumandhavevotingrights.
Agroupwillbeconsideredactiveaftertheyhaveattendedtheirfirstvoting
bodymeetingofeachsemester.
Section5
Ifaninhousegroupmisses3consecutivemeetings,theywillbe
consideredinactive.Aninhousegroupwhohaslostactivestandingwill
becomeactiveuponreturntoShawHallSenate,butwillnotbeableto
requestfundsforoneweek.
ARTICLEIVExecutiveBoard
SectionI

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ThereshallbeanExecutiveBoardofShawSenate.Itshallconsistof
President,VicePresident,Secretary,Treasurer,ActivitiesCoordinator,and
twoRHARepresentatives.
Section2
ExecutiveBoardmembersshallbemembersoftheSenateandmustreside
inShawHall.
Section3
TheresponsibilitiesandexpectationsofExecutiveBoardmembersshall
be:
1. Toseekandberesponsivetohallneeds.
2. ToattendallweeklyExecutiveBoardandSenatemeetingsandto
createanagenda
forthenextconsecutivevotingbodymeeting.
3. Tohavegeneralknowledgeofparliamentaryprocedure.
Section4
ExecutiveBoardmembersareallowedoneunexcusedabsencetoeitheran
ExecutiveBoardorSenateMeeting.TheymustinformthePresidentof
theirreasonswithintwentyfourhoursofmissingthemeeting.President
hasthediscretionofdefiningexcusedandunexcusedabsences.Afterthe
secondunexcusedabsencetheroleoftheofficerwillberevokedwitha
majorityvoteoftheVotingBody.ThePresidentreportstotheSenate
Advisorinthesamefashion,andtheExecutiveBoardwillmeetwiththe
Advisortoevaluate.
Section5
IfamemberoftheExecutiveBoardwishestoexpressapersonalopinion
orbias,itmustbestatedthatitistheirpersonalopinionanddoesnot
reflecttheopinionsandbiasesoftheExecutiveBoard.Biases/Opinions
openlyexpressedbyamemberoftheExecutiveBoardduringSenate
meetingsaresubjecttothefollowing.
1. Biases/Opinionsmustbestatedinanobjectivemannersoastoguide
ordirectthegeneralbodywithoutdisregardfortherepresentative
insight.
2. Biases/Opinionsshouldbestatedonceandonlyonceandshouldnot
merelyrestatewhathaspreviouslybeenexpressed.

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3. Biases/OpinionsexpressedbytheExecutiveBoardmembersshould
seektoprovidefurtherinsightandthereforeshouldbewithhelduntil
discussionhasreachedalull.
4. Iftheabovestatedguidelinesarenotfullyadheredto,ThePresident
andVicePresidentreservetherighttointerject.
Section6
TheexecutiveboardshallnothavevotingresponsibilitiesduringSenate
meetings,unlessthereisatie,inwhichcasethePresidentshallvote.
ARTICLEVExecutiveOfficerRolesandResponsibilities:
SectionI
ThePresidentshallberesponsible:
1. TocallandholdweeklyExecutiveBoardandSenatemeetings.
2. Tohaveaworkingunderstandingofparliamentaryproceedings.
3. Tokeepinformedofallhallactivitiesandproceedings.
4. IntheeventofExecutiveBoardvacancy,toappointanewofficer
withapprovalofthemajorityoftheVotingBody.
5. ToimplementthedecisionsoftheExecutiveBoardandVoting
Body.
6. Musthavethepowertosignchecks.
7. Torepresentthehallasitsprimaryspokesperson.
8. Tomakedecisionsconcerninghallrelatedexpendituresduringthe
summertermpriortoofficialfunctioningoftheSenateasawhole.
9. Toconsideranddecideonissuesinvolvingthebusinessofthe
Senateduringsummertermandpriortoofficialfunctioningof
Senate.
10.TovoteonlyinthecaseofatieformedbytheVotingBody.
11.Tocallspecialmeetingsasneeded.
Section2
TheVicePresidentshallberesponsible:
1. HavethepowertopresideoveraSenatemeetingintheeventofthe
President'stemporaryabsence.

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2. ToassumethepositionofthePresidentincaseofapermanent
vacancyandlikewiseappointanewVicePresident.Ifunwillingto
permanentlyassumetheroleofthePresident,thentotemporarilyfill
infortheroleofPresidentuntilspecialelections(asdefinedin
ArticleVIII)canbeheld.
3. AidintheexecutionofthedutiesofthePresidentinamanner
determinedbyVicePresidentandthePresident.
4. ActinaPersonnelrolewithinallStudentGroupliaisons(Black
Caucus,LGBTCaucus)andhandleinhousestudentgroupminutes,
attendance,andissues.Thiswillentailworkingwithstudentgroups
tobringrepresentativestoShawHallSenatemeetings,stayingin
contactviaemail,andattendingatleastoneofeachstudentgroups
meetingspersemester.
Section3
TheRHARepresentativeshallberesponsible:
1. ToproviderepresentationofShawHallattheRHAgeneral
assemblymeetingsandcommitteemeetingsconsistentofviews
expressedinShawHal1.
2. Togetinputfrom,butnotlimitedto,ShawHallSenate,Senate
ExecutiveBoard,BlackCaucus,CaucusExecutiveBoard,Residence
Lifestaff,Management,andallStudentGroupsinShaw.
3. ToreporttheproceedingsoftheRHAassemblymeetingstothe
ExecutiveBoardandVotingBody.
4. TofollowtheRHAconstitution,includingbutnotlimitedto
attendanceatbothgeneralassemblyandcommitteemeetings.
5. TobetheChiefParliamentarianofShawSenatebyfollowing
Robert'sRulesofOrderasrequestedanddirectedbythePresident.
6. InthecaseofanabsenceofbothPresidentandVicePresident,to
temporarilyfillinfortheroleofPresidentuntilspecialelectionscan
beheld.
Section4
TheTreasurershallberesponsible:
1. TokeepandmaintainanaccuraterecordofallSenateexpenditures
andrevenue.

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2. BeresponsibleforallreceiptsandexpendituresincurredbySenate.
3. Tofacilitateanynecessaryrefundsorfeestocommunitymembers.
4. Tocosignallchecksforexpendituresofcommunitymembersalong
withPresident.
Section5
TheSecretaryshallberesponsible:
1. FortakingroleatthebeginningofSenatemeetings.
2. Foraccurateupkeepofattendancerecords.
3. ForinsuringthatthereisquorumateachSenatemeeting.
4. TorecordtheminutesoftheSenatemeetingsanddistributeatthe
consecutivemeetingforapproval.
5. TohavetheagendapreparedbeforetheSenatemeetings.
6. Forofficialsecretarialservices,asneededbytheExecutiveBoard
andVotingBody.
Section6
TheActivitiesCoordinatorshallberesponsible:
1. Forfillingoutandcompletingbookingrequestforms.
2. ForinsuringthesetupandcleanupofallShawhalleventsputon
bytheSenate.C.Forprovidingallresourcesthataneventrequires
(includingobtainingsuppliesandmakingcallstocontacts).
3. Forsendingoutanemailtoremindstudentsoftheupcomingevent
aswellassupervisingtheActivitiesCommittee.
ARTICLEVIMeetings
SectionI
TheVotingBodyshallholdweeklymeetingsduringtheacademicyear,
excludingfinalsweekandsummertermunlessotherwisespecifiedbythe
President.
Section2
ThemeetingshallfollowtheagendaaspreparedbytheSecretary.
Section3
Inordertoconductthebusinessportionatthemeetingquorum,50percent
oftheVotingBody,mustbepresent.Amajorityvoteofthosepresentis

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necessarytopassbusinessissues.AnyvotingmemberoftheSenatewhois
affiliatedwithagroupintheprocessofafundingrequestandwillbea
directbeneficiarytotherequestedfundswhowishestoparticipateinthe
discussionofsaidrequestmust:
A. Clearlystatetheiraffiliationwiththegroupand/orbias,
B. Abstainfromvoting,or
C. Exittheroomwiththerequester
Thisamendmentappliestoonlyouthousegroups/requests.
Section4
AspecialmeetingmaybecalledatthediscretionofthePresident,oratthe
requestofonethirdoftheVotingBody.
Section5
Allrepresentativesshallbenotifiedwithinareasonableamountoftime
priortoallspecialmeetings.
Section6
MeetingsoftheVotingBodyshallfollowsomeformofparliamentary
procedure,specifiedbythePresident.
Section7
OncetheGeneralAssemblyhascometoadecisiononafundingrequest,
theVicePresidentwillstepoutoftheroomtorelaythedecisiontothe
requester,atwhichpointtherequestercandecidewhethertostayin
attendancefortheremainderofthemeetingorleaveafterhearingthe
decision.
OnceadecisionhasbeenmadebytheGeneralAssembly,funding

forthatspecificeventwillnolongerbediscussedduringthat
meeting.Torerequest/requestfurtherfundsforsaidevent,the
requestermustgothroughthestandardproceduressetbythis
constitutionforameetingduringaproceedingweek.
ARTICLEVIIElections
SectionI
ElectedofficersshallbecomePresident,VicePresident,Treasurer,
Secretary,ActivitiesCoordinator,andRHARepresentative.
Section2

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Petitioningforelectedofficersshallbeopenfornolessthansevendays
andshallclosenolaterthantwodays(includingweekends)priorto
elections.
Section3
AllcandidatesforpositionsontheExecutiveBoardmustobtainapetition
fromanymemberoftheExecutiveBoardandobtainthefollowingnumber
ofSignaturesfromthemembersoftheShawHallCommunity:
1. President100signatures
2. VicePresident50signatures
3. Treasurer50signatures
4. RHARepresentative50signatures
5. Secretary50signatures
6. ActivitiesCoordinator50signatures
Section5
Electionswillbe:
1. HeldwithinthefirsttwoweeksoftheFallSemester.Informational
meetingsshould
beheldbythethirdtolastmeetingoftheSpringSemesterforthose
interestedinpetitioningforapositionthefollowingyear.
2. Heldinthecafeteriafortwoconsecutiveclassdaysfortwohours
eachday.Atleast
twomembersoftheShawHallSenatewithnoconflictofinterestmustbe
presentateachlocationatalltimes.
Section6
Officersshallbeelectedbyasimplemajorityofthecommunitymembers
votingintheelection.
Section7
TheballotboxwillbeopenedandvotescountedbyatleasttwoExecutive
Boardmembersnotontheballotandanadvisor.Resultswillbeannounced
totheentirehall,aswellasthenextscheduledSenatemeeting.
Section8
Candidatesmust:

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A. Notputpostersonfiredoors.
B. Notactivelycampaignduringelectionhours(i.e.tobeinthe
presenceofthevotingbooth,goingdoortodoor,etc)
C. Followbulletinboardpolicies.
ArticleVIIISpecialElections
SectionI
IntheeventthatatleastthreeExecutiveBoardmembersarenotpresentat
thestartofthefallsemester,meetingsmaybeheldbutbusinesscannotbe
helduntilSpecialElectionshaveoccurredtofillthevacantpositions.
Section2
IntheeventofavacancyofVicePresidentandPresident,oriftheVice
PresidentdoesnotwishtopermanentlyfilltheroleofPresident,special
electionswillbeheldasfollows:
1. MembersofSenatewillnominatecandidatestofilltherole(s)
2. ThecandidatesmustbemembersoftheShawCommunity
3. Thecandidatesmustsubmitapetitionwithsignaturesofcommunity
membersas
statedinArticleVII.
4. Allstudentswhohavesuccessfullysubmittedapetitionforan
ExecutiveBoard
positionwillberequiredtomakeabriefstatementlastingnomore
thanfiveminutesinlength,statingtheirreasonsforseekingthat
positionduringtheSenatemeetingthatisheldpriortotheelection.
5. Thespeechwillbefollowedbyafiveminutequestion/answer
period.Anyinterestedpersonsmayaskquestionsofthecandidate.
6. Allcandidatesseekingthesamepositionwilldotheirpresentations
separatelywithothercandidatesinaseparateroom.
7. Adiscussionwillbeheldwithinthemeeting,withallcandidatesfor
theroleinquestioninaseparateroomthantheVotingBody.
8. AmajorityvoteoftheVotingBodywillelecttheofficertofillthe
role
9. ThisprocesswillbeheldunderNewBusinessoftheagendaof
Senatemeetings.

Shaw Senate Constitution

ARTICLEIXRightsofCommunityMembers
Apetitionbearingthesignaturesofatleasttwentypercentoftheresidents
ofShawHallshallrequireabindingreferendumontheissuesponsoredby
thepetitioningbody.Thereferendumshallbeheldwithintwoweeksofthe
presentationofthepetitiontoSenate.
ARTICLEXFinances
SectionI
EachresidentofShawHallshallbeassesseddueseachtermtoanamount
specifiedbyRHAregistrationintoShawHall(RHATax).
Section2
AnymemberofShawHallmayobtainrefundsduringaperiodspecifiedby
RHAatthebeginningofeachsemester.Uponrefund,allaccesstoSenate
fundedfacilitiesandfunctionsshallbedenied.
Section3
TheVotingBodywillapproveabudget,asproposedbytheTreasurer,ina
majorityvoteaftermanagementissuesanofficialhousingcounttothe
Treasurer.
Section4
Eachsemester75%ofthesemestersfundswillbesetasideforSenates
operatingexpenses,20%ofthesemestersfundswillbesetasidefor
inhousegroups,and5%ofthesemestersfundswithbeallocatedfor
outhousegroups.
Section5
Eachsemesterthebudgetshouldbeallocated,withfiduciaryresponsibility,
toleaveminimalfundsleftoverfromRHA,toallowmaximumfundingfor
upcomingsemester.To
ensurethisfiduciaryresponsibility,allunrequestedfundsintheinhouse
andouthouseallocationswillbeopentoberequestedforusebythe
Senate.Iffundsremainunrequestedinthelast2weeksofasemester,
Senatemayutilizethefundswithoutaformalrequest.
Section6
Theinhousefundswillbekeptandusedonlyforthosegroupswith
inhousestatus.AnygroupsoutsideofShaworgroupswithinShawthatdo
nothaveinhousestatusmaypetitionSenateforuseofthemoneyinthe

Shaw Senate Constitution

outofhousefund.Allgroupsmusthavepermissionofthemajorityofthe
VotingBodytouseanyofSenatesmoney.
Section7
IntheeventthatShawHallSenateshoulddissolve,allfundswillremainin
theShawHallUniversityaccountuntilanewgoverningbodyisformed.
Section8
Fundsallocatedasprescribedintheconstitutionthatarenotusedduring
anysemesterwillrollovertothenextsemester,andwillbeaddedtothat
semestersoriginalallocationbeforebeingdividedintoinhouseand
outofhousefunds.
ArticleXIBlackCaucus
SectionI
TheBlackCaucusisauniquegroupwithinShawHalldesignedtosupport
thestudentsofresidentsandtoactasarepresentativeoftheseminority
groupsintheShawHallSenateinthehall.TheSenatewillworkto
maintainstrongconnectionsandcollaborationswiththeBlackCaucus.
ARTICLEXIIChangingFloorNames
Ifcurrentresidentsofafloorcommunityfeelitisappropriatetochangethe
existingnameoftheirfloortheymustobtainsignaturesfromatleast
seventyfivepercentoftheresidentsonthatfloorinsupportofthenewly
proposedname.Floorsmaychangetheirnameonceeverythreesemesters.
ThefloorrepresentativeshouldbringforthlegislationtotheSenatefor
approvalbyvote.UponapprovalbyShawHallSenate,ShawHall
Management,andResidenceLife,thefloorshallbefromthenonknown
bySenate,Management,ResidenceLife,andthefloorbytheirnewname.
ArticleXIIIProceduresforproposingconstitutionalamendments
1. AnyactivememberoftheSenateiseligibletoproposean
amendmenttotheSenateconstitution.
2. Allproposedconstitutionalamendmentsmustbewrittenoutonthe
ShawSenateRequestformexactlyasitwillreadintheconstitution,
withacopygivenoremailedtothecurrentSenatePresidentpriorto
thestartofthemeeting.
3. Allconstitutionalamendmentsmustbeapprovedbytheinhouse
votingbodywitha51%voteofpresent,active,inhousegroups.

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4. Noproposalswhicharenotintendedtoaltertheconstitutionand/or
donotfollowtheaforementionedguidelineswillnotbeputtoavote.
(RevisedFebruary192014)