Dear Students:

Your Student Government Association (SGA) has been diligently working to better serve you, the students, and better meet the needs of the student body while supporting the mission of our university. A Constitutional Convention was held this past summer to help achieve our goal of service. Now, we ask that you educate yourself on the new constitution and vote in favor of the proposed changes. The changes we’ve made afford more students the opportunity to get involved in the SGA and hold those already in leadership positions more accountable. It also provides students with more representation and the opportunity to elect their student leadership. Voting for this new constitution beings on Monday, Sept 27 at 8:00 a.m, and concludes Wednesday, Sept 29 at 4:30 p.m. If you have any question or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact our office at (985) 549- 2296 or email me at [email protected]. We appreciate your continued support, and as always, Go Lions! Vote online at www.selu.edu/SGAvote.         –  Yours in Service, David A. Cavell

 

Constitution

Revised:  August 23,2010

Preamble

We, the students of Southeastern Louisiana University, in order to promote communication between ourselves and the community of which we are a part, to further educational and social interest, to learn, and to maintain an atmosphere congenial to the advancement of our lives, do ordain and establish this constitution for the Student Government Association.

Article I

Enactment

Section 1

Name

The organization shall be known as the Student Government Association of Southeastern Louisiana University henceforth referred to as SGA.

Section 2

Membership

All students enrolled at this university may be members of SGA and are entitled to and granted the privileges of membership in SGA.

Section 3

Purpose

The purpose of this organization shall be as follows:

A.  To determine the attitude of the student body on all problems of student activity or interest and provide for all general welfare of the student body.

B.  To serve as the channel of communication between the student body and the faculty and administration, and all levels of state and federal government.

C.  To establish and execute programs and projects beneficial to the students of Southeastern Louisiana University.

D.  To promote and improve relations between the local community and students of Southeastern Louisiana University.

E.  To initiate measures necessary to implement the above clauses.

Section 4

Composition

The governing body shall be composed of the Executive branch, the Legislative branch, and the Judicial branch.

Article II

Offices

Section 1

Qualifications

The qualifications for eligibility for office in SGA are as follows:

A.  Be a full-time student as defined by the university with the exception of graduating seniors.  Graduating seniors will be considered eligible if the number of hours carried in their last semester needed to complete their degree requirements is less than 12 hours, and all other eligibility requirements are met.

B.  Students other than first semester freshmen must maintain a GPA as noted within the Office of Student Organizations qualifications for officers’ positions.

 

C.  Be free of any academic and/or disciplinary probation.

D.  Have not been impeached by previous session of SGA within one year.

Section 2

Dual Office Holding

A student shall never simultaneously hold more than one office provided for in this Constitution or the Bylaws of SGA.

Section 3

Elected Offices

All elections must adhere to the election code.

Article III

Executive Branch

Section 1

Name and Purpose

The executive branch shall be referred to as the President’s Cabinet The executive powers of SGA shall be vested in the President’s Cabinet.

Section 2

Composition

The executive branch shall be composed of the President, and the Cabinet.

Section 3

Offices

A. The President

The President is the identifiable head of SGA as chief executive.

Eligibility for the office of President:

1.  Completed at least 45 college credit hours with a minimum of 15 credit hours completed at Southeastern Louisiana University.

2.  Meet the qualifications for an officer in an organization according to the Office of Student Organization’s Policies and Procedures Manual available online.

B.  The Cabinet

1.  The president shall appoint/remove members to the SGA Cabinet as he/she sees   fit for their term.

Section 4

Duties

A.  Duties/Authorities of the President shall be:

1.  To coordinate and direct the activities of  the Cabinet and to work to expand and improve the programs of SGA

2.  Appoint and remove Cabinet members.  

3.  To appoint Justices to the Student Supreme Court with simple majority approval from the Senate, up to the maximum number of seats filled.

4.  To call special sessions of the Senate.

5.  To sign or veto any legislation.

6.  Appoint Senators to vacant seats in the college in which they are enrolled with the approval of a simple majority vote of the student senate.

B.  Duties of President’s Cabinet shall be:

1.  Serve in various positions as appointed by the President.

2.  Attend Cabinet Meetings

Article IV

Legislative Branch

Section 1

Name and Purpose

The name of the legislative branch is the Student Senate.  The legislative powers of SGA shall be vested in the Student Senate.

Section 2

Composition

The student Senate shall be composed of senators elected by a majority from each academic college and the Graduate School of the university in the proportion of one senator for each 500 students or a fraction thereof enrolled in that college during the semester in which the election is held, with a minimum of one to be elected from each academic college.  There shall be five Senate At-Large seats which will be elected by a majority of the students in the university which will remain available to any student meeting the candidate qualifications specified in the Bylaws of the Constitution. Terms of senators shall end upon the swearing in of the newly elected senators in April.

There shall be two freshman senators elected by the student body during the fall semester of each year who shall be sworn in at the next regularly scheduled Senate meeting following the election.

In the case of vacancy in the Senate, the President of SGA shall appoint a senator for that college who shall serve until the next election.  The appointee shall be enrolled in the respective college that he/she represents and must meet all requirements and qualifications for membership as stated in Article II.  All Presidential appointments must be made by the last senate meeting of the fall semester.  A simple majority vote by the Senate is required to approve all Presidential appointments.

Section 3

Offices

A.  The Vice President shall serve as Chairman of the Senate.

B.  The Vice Chairman shall be elected by a majority vote at the next regularly scheduled meeting after the swearing in of the new senators.

Section 4

Duties

A.  General Duties

1.  Pass legislation necessary to implement and defend the rights, privileges, and duties vested by the Constitution in SGA.

2.  Determine the attitude of the student body on all issues of student activity and interest.

3.  Review SGA policies and recommend changes in order to better pursue justice for each and every student.

B.  Specific Duties

1.  Review and take action upon the SGA budget and the appropriation of SGA funds.

2.  Review and take action upon nominations to appointed offices of SGA.

3.  Impeach any Legislative, Executive, or Judicial officer of SGA under the guidelines prescribed by the Constitution and Bylaws.

4.  Call for special elections and referendums.

5.  Override a veto by the President of SGA by a three-fourths majority in favor of overriding veto.

6.  Present all appropriate measures to the President for approval.

C.  Officers Duties

Duties of the Vice President shall be:

1.  To be first in line to assume the duties of the President during the absence of or upon the request of the President.

2.  Serve as Chairman of the Senate

3.  Serve as the Chairman of the Capital Outlay Committee

4.  In the event the President can no longer fulfill his/her duties, the Vice President shall assume the position of President.

Duties of the Vice Chairman shall be:

1.  Serve as the Chairman’s assistant

    

2.  Record all minutes during Senate Meetings.

Section 5

Legislation

Bills are measures taken by the senate in order to perform the duties it was sworn to do.  Unless otherwise specified below, bills are adopted by a simple majority vote and shall stay in effect until duly changed.  Bills should, if possible, be placed into the following categories:

Appropriations are bills of monetary application for specific use in accordance with this Constitution.  Appropriations shall be in permanent effect unless a time is specified on the bill.  When specified in the Bylaws, certain types of appropriations may require more than a majority vote.

Bylaws shall be adopted by the SGA as the permanent laws by which to fulfill the charges of this Constitution and to govern the affairs of the SGA.  Bylaws shall be adopted and amended once per year by two-thirds vote of the senate during the first meeting in November.

Resolutions are actions taken to resolve problems by stating the problem, the arguments, and the proposed solution in an orderly form.  They are generally used on matters that do not apply to the actual function of SGA, but which affect student life.  They call for the proper authority to take appropriate action called for.  They last the duration of the term in which they were passed.

Amendments to this Constitution shall originate in the legislative branch as prescribed in later articles of this Constitution.

ACTS:  Legislation shall be enacted upon its adoption by the Senate and upon its receiving the authorized signature of the President of SGA.  If the President does not wish to sign the bill, he shall have the full power of veto within ten days of receiving the bill.  Reasons upon which the veto is based shall be stated below the text.  The Senate, may, by two-thirds vote, override a presidential veto.

Section 6

Meetings

The Senate shall hold a regular meeting every Monday during the fall and spring semesters, excluding any holidays.  A special session may be called by the SGA President.

Article V

Judicial Branch

Section 1

Name and Purpose

The Judiciary power of SGA herein granted shall be vested in the Student Supreme Court of SGA and such inferior courts which the Senate may from time to time establish.

Section 2

Composition

The Student Supreme Court shall be composed of seven members of which five constitutes a quorum unless there are special circumstances, which shall be specified in the Bylaws.  The Chief Justice shall preside over the Judicial Branch, along with one Associate Chief Justice.  The justices will be reelected during each Spring election.  In the event that openings arise, justices may be appointed by the President with approval by a simple majority of the Student Senate.

Section 3

Offices and Duties

The Student Supreme Court of SGA shall have the following authorities and duties:

A.  To rule on all questions of interpretation of the Constitution and Bylaws of SGA.

B.  To be the final judge of the election, qualifications, and returns.

C.  To adjudicate appeals from the Student Judicial Committees recognized or sanctioned by the SGA.

D.  To try all impeachments except those of its own members.

E.  To serve on the Office of Student Conduct’s Student Hearing Board, and participate in at least 1 student hearing per semester.

Officer Duties

A.  Chief Justice

1.  Preside over the Judicial Branch

2.  Serve as Election Board Chair

3.  Meet with the Office of Student Conduct at least once per semester and serve on the Student Hearing Board

B.  Associate Chief Justice

1.  Assist the Chief Justice with all branch matters.

2.  Fill the role as Chief Justice, should that individual need to step down.

Article VI

Amendments

Section 1

Amendments

Amendments to this Constitution shall be proposed by:

A.  A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Senate with the authorized signature of the President of SGA.

Section 2

Amendment Ballot

The Election Board shall see that the amendment is placed on the ballot in referendum form with the following questions and responses preceding the wording of the amendment:

Do you favor the adoption of the following as an amendment to the Student Government Association Constitution?

    YES __________        NO __________

Section 3

Adoption of the Amendment

The amendment shall be adopted if a majority of the voting membership reply in the affirmative.

Section 4

Signed Constitution

Four copies of the Constitution, updated as amended, and of each individual amendment, with the vote count as adopted by the student body and the date adopted, shall be duly signed.  One copy shall be filed with the SGA advisor and one with the head of each of the three branches of Student Government.

Article VII

Ratification

Section 1

This Constitution is as adopted by the Student Government Association in August 2010 and approved as amended by the student body September 2010.

Section 2

Any persons holding office under the authority of SGA at the time of adoption of this Constitution shall continue to exercise his/her powers and duties until that term ends or his/her successor takes office.

Section 3

All contracts and agreements binding on the time of the adoption of this Constitution will be honored under this Constitution.

Section 4

The Student Government Association hereby recognizes the authority of the President of the University to withdraw, suspend, or modify, for cause, any authority granted to the Student Government Association by this Constitution.  The University of Louisiana System Board in conjunction with University Administration’s policies and procedures supersede those contained in this document.

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