Constitution of the Honors Student Council
ARTICLE I.
NAME
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be Honors Student Council.
ARTICLE II.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this organization shall be to represent the Honors student body to the
administration, campus, and Mankato community.
a. It will foster a cohesive Honors community and provide communication among the
aforementioned groups.
b. It will work with the Learning Community Coordinators (LCC) and administration to provide
programming that enriches the theme of the Honors Program to members of this organization.
ARTICLE III.
MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Membership will be established by acceptance in the MSU Honors Program.
a. Membership is automatic with enrollment in the program.
Section 2. This organization does not require membership fees.
a. Applicable student programming costs will be provided by the Honors Program Budget.
Section 3. The Honors Student Council will not discriminate against qualified persons regardless of
race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, physical disability, reliance on public assistance, sex,
marital status, or any other class or group distinction as set forth by state or federal antidiscrimination laws.
ARTICLE IV.
OFFICERS
Section 1. The organization's Officers shall be:
a. Four Honors Student Council Representatives, being one from each class, Freshman
through Senior.
b. One Vice President.
c. One President.
d. One Secretary.
Section 2. The duties of each Officer shall be:
a. Representatives will work with the President, Vice President, and Secretary to inform
their class of events and represent class needs to the Council. All representatives will
be required to go to the Honors Council meeting. They will be elected in the fall of
each year.
b. Vice President will be responsible for communicating with Honors Program student
workers and other officers to plan programming for the members of the Honors
Program. The Vice President will also collaboratively inform members of the
upcoming events via email, text message, social networking, or D2L.
c. The President’s position will be to schedule and organize meetings, maintain
communication among all parties, and ensure that the duties of the Honors Student
Council and Honors Connect are being performed. He or she will also attend the
Honors Council Committee meetings. If he/she cannot attend the meeting, he/she
must find a replacement from the other officers. The President will further be
expected to complete duties as needed by the Honors Student Council.
d. The Secretary will be responsible for taking minutes at each meeting and will recall
the minutes from the previous meetings. Also the Secretary will work with the
President and Vice President to plan events.
Section 3. The length of term of office will be one academic year, beginning after election with a
transition period extending to the end of the current academic year for the President, Vice President and
Secretary. This transition period will not be used for the positions of student representatives.
Section 4. The method of election shall be:
a. Application with nominations also available. The nominee may choose to accept or
reject the nomination.
b. There is 2 year limit to the number of terms any one officer can serve.
Section 5. Voting.
a. Voting will be done via survey monkey throughout the week before the April student
council meeting every year, with the exception of the Representatives, who will be
elected in the fall at a regular meeting.
b. The Program Assistant will count the votes.
c. A simple majority shall be the method of selection.
Section 6. Office Vacancies.
a. If a vacancy occurs, it shall be filled at a special meeting called for the purpose of
electing the officer. Members shall be given at least forty-eight hours notice of this
special meeting.
Section 7. Officer Eligibility.
a. Officers must be in good academic and disciplinary standing at the time of their
election and remain in good standing during their tenure in office. It is also strongly
recommended for program fluidity that all officers live in Honors housing.
Section 8. Removal from Office.
a. A petition of at least five members shall be submitted to the Honors Program
Director in order to call for the meetings.
b. Any officer who has failed to fulfill his or her responsibilities may be removed by
anonymous vote during a set of two special meetings held for this purpose within a
week of one another. A notification of the date/time/location of these meetings must
be submitted to the entire membership via email at least one week prior to the special
meetings, and all parties concerned shall have the opportunity to present their case.
Proceedings in such cases shall be confidential. A vacant office shall be filled
according to Section 6.
c.
At least a combined one-half of total membership must be accounted for between
these two meetings. If not, the proceedings will end, and another call for removal
can be made, resulting in another set of meetings. A member can only vote once
between these two meetings. Of the members that attend either of these meetings, a
two-thirds vote is required to remove an officer.
d. These special meetings can only be held a maximum of five times, for a total of 10
meetings for the officer in question.
ARTICLE VII.
FINANCES
Section 1. Finances will be determined with the assistance of the Honors Administrative Council at a
later date.
ARTICLE VIII.
READING OF THE CONSTITUTION
Section 1. The constitution will be available in the Honors Student Handbook, which will be on the
Honors Program webpage.
Section 2. The constitution will also be available per request in paper copy in order to conserve
resources.
ARTICLE IX.
ADVISOR
Section 1. The advisor of the Honors Student Council will be the Honors Program Director.
Section 2. The advisor’s duties shall be:
a. To receive communication from the Student Council and provide administrative
direction and general advice for the members at large.
ARTICLE X.
METHOD OF AMENDMENT
Section 1. This constitution can be amended at an Honors Student Council meeting.
a. A petition of at least five members can be submitted to make amendments.
b. Of the members in attendance, a majority vote will result in amendment of the
constitution.
c. Moreover, the constitution must be reviewed and/or amended at the end of each
academic year.
d. There is no limit to the number of amendment meetings that may be called per
amendment in question.