Students' Association
CONSTITUTION
Abilene Christian University
PREAMBLE
This Constitution has been adopted by the students of Abilene Christian University in
hopes of achieving these goals:
A. Provide an atmosphere so that each student can have an opportunity to grow
spiritually, academically, and socially.
B. Serve the students by leadership through service.
ARTICLE I
Name and Membership
Section 1
Section 2
The name of this organization shall be called the Students' Association of
Abilene Christian University.
Every full-time student of Abilene Christian University shall be a member
of the Students' Association and shall be subject to the provisions of this
Constitution.
A. A student who is not a graduating senior shall be considered a fulltime student if he/she is taking twelve (12) semester hours of work.
B. A graduating senior shall be considered a full-time student if he/she
is taking sufficient hours to graduate at the end of that semester.
ARTICLE II
Governing Body
Section 1
The governing and policy-making body of the Students' Association shall
be the Student Congress of the Students' Association.
Section 2
The powers and responsibilities of the Student Congress shall be:
A. To represent the interests of the student body.
B. To bring forth proposals which would enhance the life of the student
body.
C. To make recommendations to faculty and administrative positions.
D. To initiate, regulate, and coordinate all Students' Association
activities which are designed in the best interest of the students.
E. To appropriate and oversee the use of Students' Association funds.
F. To provide for the regulation and conduct of elections required by this
constitution and of elections called by the Executive President of the
Students' Association.
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G. To confirm by two-thirds of the filled positions of congress, vote
appointments made by the Executive President which require
confirmation.
Section 3
The Executive President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary shall
be non-voting members of the Student Congress. The Executive
President shall preside over all Student Congress meetings. The
Executive Vice President may preside in the President's absence or if the
President wishes to take part in discussion. Should the President and
Vice President wish to take part in a discussion, the Student Congress
shall appoint a voting member as a temporary speaker.
Section 4
The student Congress shall be composed of:
A. Five class officers elected from and by the Freshman Class.
1. President
2. Vice-President
3. 3 Senators
B. Five class officers elected from and by the Sophomore Class.
1. President
2. Vice-President
3. 3 Senators
C. Five class officers elected from and by the Junior Class.
1. President
2. Vice-President
3. 3 Senators
D. Five class officers elected from and by the Senior Class.
1. President
2. Vice-President
3. 3 Senators
E. One representative elected from every residential dormitory or
University-annexed apartment complex; in the circumstance that the
population of a residential dormitory or University-annexed
apartment complex exceeds 250 students, then two representatives
shall be elected as outlined in the Constitutional By-Laws.
F. There shall be at least one representative elected from every academic
building on campus. (This is any building which houses the offices of
a major.) If a building houses more than 250 students, then the
number of representatives elected from that building will increase by
a ratio of one representative for every 250 students.
G. There shall be at least one representative, the international student
liaison(s), chosen from and by the elected International Students’
Association (ISA) officers. In the circumstance that the international
student population exceeds 250 students, then the number of
international student liaisons chosen from and by the ISA officers will
increase by a ration of one liaison for every 250 international
students.
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ARTICLE III
Executive Office
Section 1
The Executive office of the Students' Association shall consist of:
A. The President of the Students' Association
B. The Vice President of the Students' Association
C. The Treasurer of the Students' Association
D. The Secretary of the Students' Association
All Executive officers, except for the office of Secretary, which is
appointed by the other Executive officers, are elected by members of the
student body.
Section 2
Qualifications for Executive Officers
A. In order to be eligible for the office of Students' Association President,
one must:
1. Be an undergraduate.
2. Have completed three (3) years and/or ninety (90) hours of
academic work before the following school year (fall semester)
resumes.
3. Been a member of the student body for two (2) consecutive years.
4. Have a cumulative grade point average (G.P.A.) of 2.50 at the
time of the election.
B. In order to qualify for the office of Vice President, one must:
1. Be an undergraduate.
2. Have completed three (3) years and/or ninety (90) hours of
academic work before the following school year (fall semester)
resumes.
3. Been a member of the student body for two (2) consecutive years.
4. Have a cumulative grade point average (G.P.A.) of 2.50 at the
time of election.
C. In order to qualify for the office of Treasurer, one must:
1. Be an undergraduate
2. Have completed two (2) years and/or sixty (60) hours of academic
work before the following school year (fall semester) resumes.
3. Been a member of the student body for two (2) consecutive years.
4. Have a cumulative grade point average (G.P.A.) of 2.50 at the
time of election.
D. In order to qualify for the office of Secretary, one must:
1. Be an undergraduate.
2. Have completed two (2) years and/or sixty (60) hours of academic
work before the following school year (fall semester) resumes.
3. Been a member of the student body for two (2) consecutive years.
4. Have a cumulative grade point average (G.P.A.) of 2.50 at the
time of appointment.
Section 3
The powers and responsibilities of the Executive Officers are the same as
those of the Student Congress. Other powers and responsibilities shall
be outlined in the By-laws.
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ARTICLE IV
Selection, Resignation, and Impeachment of Members
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Selection of the members:
The process used to select members shall be outlined in the by-laws.
Impeachment of members:
Any member of the Student Congress failing to meet requirements as
outlined in the by-laws is subject to removal from office upon threefourths (3/4) approval of the entire membership of the Student Congress
of the Students' Association.
Resignations:
Resignations, subject to the provisions of this section, must be submitted
in writing to the President of the Students' Association and be accepted
by the Student Congress. All resignations for Representatives, VicePresident and Senators become effective only after the selection of a
successor. The Student Congress shall fill vacancies occurring by
resignations or expulsion in the following manner:
A. Executive Officers
If the President of the Students' Association resigns office, the Vice
President of the Students' Association shall become President. The
office of the Students' Association Vice President shall then be open to
a general election. If the Vice President or Treasurer of the Students'
Association resigns, that office will also be open for general election. If
the Secretary of the Students' Association resigns, a new Secretary
shall be appointed by the President upon approval by the executive
officers.
B. Class Officers
If a class President resigns then the office of Vice-President shall
become President and the office of Vice-President shall be opened to
general election by their respective class. If the Vice- President or a
senator resigns then the office will be opened to a general election.
C. Representatives
If a Representative resigns from office, then the office shall be filled by
an appointment of the Executive President and approved by two-thirds
(2/3) of the filled positions of the Student Congress.
D. Executive Committee Chairpersons
If a committee Chairperson resigns, a new Committee Chairperson
shall be appointed by the President upon approval by the Student
Congress of the Students' Association.
E. Liaisons
If the international student liaison(s) resign from office, a new liaison
shall be chosen from and by the ISA officers and approved by 2/3 of
the filled positions of the Student Congress.
No current member of Student Congress shall be able to seek election for
any vacancy which occurs during his/her term.
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ARTICLE V
Student Rights
In order to ensure the understanding of the individual rights of any student, the
Students' Association of Abilene Christian University has the responsibility and the
right to request a thorough explanation and/or justification from the administration
for any rule affecting the students. This request can be made by the Students'
Association President and/or a majority of the Student Congress.
ARTICLE VI
Amendments
Section 1
Section 2
Amendments to the Constitution
A. Amendments to the Constitution must be passed by two-thirds (2/3)
vote of the entire membership of the Student Congress and by a
majority of the votes cast by the Students' Association.
B. Amendments passed by the Student Congress must be published and
announced in an effective manner at least ten (10) days before a
ratifying election is conducted.
C. Amendments must be effective ten (10) days after their ratification
unless otherwise specified by the amendment.
D. Amendments shall be listed separately as an addendum to the
Constitution.
Amendments to the By-laws
A. The by-laws of this constitution must be passed by two-thirds (2/3) of
the entire membership of the Student Congress.
B. Amendments must be effective ten (10) days after their ratification
unless otherwise specified by the amendment.
ARTICLE VII
Students' Association Dues
The Student Congress of the Students' Association shall have the power to determine
the amount of its portion of the Student Activity Fee on a semesterly basis. The
procedure shall be as follows:
1. The Treasurer of the Students' Association shall submit a recommendation
concerning the amount of the fee for the following semester to the Student
Congress. This proposal shall be submitted in the semester prior to the semester in
which it will take effect.
2. The following week, the Student Congress shall vote on the proposal.
3. The Treasurer of the Students' Association shall be responsible for initiating any
actions concerning implementation of the proposal (i.e. informing the Business
Office).
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DECLARATION OF AUTHORITY
We, the Student Congress of the Students' Association, hereby approve this new
Constitution as submitted to the Students' Association on this the eighth day of March
in the year of our Lord, 2002.
Signed:
Amendments to the Constitution
Amendment 1
Be it enacted by the Students’ Association Student Congress here assembled that:
Section 1. All numerical sub-points of Article II, Section 4 Alphabetical subpoints A – D of the Constitution will be stricken.
Section 2. All Alphabetical sub-points A-D of Article II, Section 4 of the
Constitution will then be amended to include:
“All elected class officers shall be equally known as Senators.”
Amendment 2
Be it enacted by the Student’s Association Student Congress here assembled that
Section 1. The existing text of Article III Section 1 of the Student’s Association’s
Constitution be amended to be preceded by a sub-point A.
Section 2. Article III Section 1 of the Student’s Association’s Constitution be
amended to include:
B. The Administrative Office of the Student’s Association shall consist of:
1. The Chief Financial Officer of the Student’s Association
2. The Chief Communications Officer of the Student’s Association
3. The Chief Communications Officer of the Student’s Association
All Administrative officers, are appointed by the elected Executive Officers of the
Students Association.
Section 3. Article III Section 1 of the Student’s Association’s Constitution be
amended to also include:
C. The Executive President’s Cabinet shall be composed of the Executive and
the Administrative Officers of the Student’s Association.
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