The UGBC Constitution
CONSTITUTION
THE UNDERGRADUATE GOVERNMENT OF
BOSTON COLLEGE
PREAMBLE
We, the undergraduate students of Boston College, in our duty to take an active role in the governance of our university, in our commitment to protecting the interests and opinions of the student body at large, and in establishing a democratic student government to serve as that collaborative voice, do hereby establish this Constitution for the Undergraduate Government of Boston College.
ARTICLE I. NAME & MEMBERSHIP
Section 1 – Name
1. The name of this organization shall be the Undergraduate Government of
Boston College herein referred to as “UGBC.”
Section 2 – Membership
1. The Undergraduate Government of Boston College will consist solely of Boston College full-time undergraduate students in acceptable academic standing with a 2.5 GPA or with administrative approval.
2. Members of the UGBC must be in good disciplinary standing with the University.
ARTICLE II. PURPOSE
Section 1. - Purpose
1. The UGBC shall serve as the primary governing organization for all Boston College undergraduate students. The UGBC shall be a strong, active, and united student representative organization, and will provide a central body to protect student rights, pursue student interests, organize campus-wide programs, and promote improved communication between students, faculty and the administration.
ARTICLE III. STRUCTURE
Section 1. Executive Membership and Authority
1. The President and Executive Vice-President shall act as the primary spokespersons of the Undergraduate Government.
2. The President and Executive Vice-President shall be elected at-large by the full-time undergraduate students in an annual election and shall hold their offices for a term of one (1) year beginning April 30th.
3. All other members of the Undergraduate Government shall be appointed to their positions by the President and the Executive Vice-President after an application process except for the elected representatives of each class herein known as Legislative Directors.
4. The President and Executive-Vice President may receive a stipend for their services. Any and all adjustments to these stipends will be reviewed by the Legislative Directors in conjunction with university administration.
Section 2. Duties and Powers of the President & Executive Vice-President
1. The President shall execute and enforce the principles and guidelines of this constitution.
2. The President and Vice President shall be responsible for the routine operational activities of the UGBC and shall coordinate and oversee all services and programs.
3. The President and Vice President shall act as the spokespersons for the Undergraduate Government of Boston College.
4. The President and Vice President, along with the input of the Legislative Directors, shall interview applicants for all appointed positions. The President and Vice-President shall make the final decision for all appointed positions.
5. The President and Vice President will meet with a representative of the Office of the Dean for Student Development on a weekly basis to discuss the state of the government.
6. The President and Vice President will serve a one (1) year term from April 30th of the year they were elected to April 30th of the following year.
7. At least once per semester, the President and Executive Vice-President must issue a “state-of-the-university” address to keep the student body informed on the undergraduate government’s activity on campus.
Section 3 – Executive Succession
1. Should the office of the President become vacant, the Executive-Vice
President shall become President. A new Executive-Vice President may then
be appointed by the new President with the approval of a majority vote by
the Legislative Directors.
2. In the event that the President is temporarily unable to perform the duties of the office, the Executive-Vice President shall assume all duties of the President for that time.
3. Should the office of Executive Vice-President become vacant, the President shall appoint a successor with the approval of a majority vote of the Legislative Directors.
4. Should the office of Executive Vice-President and President become vacant, the Legislative Chair shall become President and the Legislative Vice-Chair shall become Chair.
Section 4 - Legislative Membership
The Legislative Directors will work to serve as representatives of the student body, serve as liaisons between the student organizations, the undergraduate government and the student body, secure the protection of student rights, interests and free expression, and investigate and openly discuss any matter which affects and promotes the general welfare of the student body of Boston College or elements thereof.
1. The Board of the Legislative Directors shall be composed of five (5) students from each class directly elected by the members of their respective year.
2. Upon taking office, the Legislative Directors shall be responsible for
electing one member of their organization for the position of Chair and
one member for the position of Vice Chair. The Chair and Vice Chair shall
then appoint each Legislative Director to the various departments within
UGBC through an application process. In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair
will assume his/her duties.
3. The Chair and Vice-Chair will serve a one (1) year term.
Section 5 – Duties and Powers of the Legislative Directors
1. Legislative Directors shall represent student interests as members of
the various departments within UGBC, which they are appointed to, and as
members of university committees. Each Legislative Director will be responsible
for a select number of clubs and organizations acting as a liaison between
the organizations and the Undergraduate Government.
2. Legislative Directors shall entertain petitions for co-sponsorship requests and shall have the authority to allocate co-sponsorship funding by majority vote of all Legislative Directors present. The Legislative Directors will be allocated a budget for co-sponsorship, which will total no less than $11,000 or 3% of the UGBC’s total budget, whichever amount is greater.
3. Upon receiving the budget request from the President, the Legislative Directors shall have the authority to accept or reject the proposal by majority vote.
4. Legislative Directors shall voice their ideas and opinions to the Executive Director of their departments. If a Legislative Director feels that their opinions/ideas, or the opinions/ideas of his constituents are not being heard, they may approach the Chair or Vice Chair of the Legislative Board.
5. Legislative Directors will also be expected to serve as members of their respective assigned departments and attend those regular meetings.
6. The Board of Legislative Directors can, by a majority vote, pass resolutions.
7. Resolutions passed by the Legislative Board and signed by the President will become the official position of the undergraduate government.
8. The President may veto any resolution passed by the Legislative Directors.
9. The President has ten (10) working days to respond to a resolution. If no action is taken within ten (10) working days, the resolution becomes official.
10. Resolutions that are vetoed by the President may be overridden with a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Legislative Directors and will become official policy of the undergraduate government.
11. Resolutions are to serve and protect the interest of the student body and may include but are not limited to: official statements to university administration, UGBC press releases, and allocation of co-sponsorship funds to campus organizations.
12. Amendments to this Constitution may be passed by the Legislative Board by a three-fourths (3/4) vote with all members present.
13. Legislative Directors will sit in on interviews for the selection of appointed UGBC members being placed in the department in which the Legislative Director serves. The Chair and Vice Chair may sit in on all interviews. The final decision is made by the President and Executive Vice-President. Upon receiving the President’s proposed list of appointed members, the Legislative Directors shall have the authority to accept or reject these candidates as individuals or by department by a majority vote of all Legislative Directors present.
Section 6 – Meetings of the Legislative Directors
1. The Legislative Directors shall meet a minimum of two (2) times per month, or by special request for an emergency meeting. The Chair will oversee and run these meetings and may call for an emergency meeting at any time.
2. All sessions of the Legislative Board shall be open to the public unless otherwise noted.
3. A Closed session may take place only with a two-thirds (2/3) vote.
4. The Chair will preside over all meetings and sessions and act as the spokesperson and representative of the group. In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair will assume this role.
5. Legislative Directors shall conduct no business in the absence of a quorum, which shall be defined as a majority of all members plus one (1). The Chair, Vice Chair, President, or Vice President shall have the authority to call for an emergency meeting of the Board of Legislative Directors. The Board must be notified within twelve (12) hours before the meeting. The Chair will preside over this meeting.
6. The Legislative Directors shall convene at least two (2) times per semester in an open forum where club leaders and representatives from campus organizations are formally invited to discuss the state of the university.
7. Meetings of the Legislative Directors must be held in formal session for co-sponsorship allocations, drafting of amendments or resolutions and hearings. All other times are at the discretion of the Chair. When in formal session, each legislative director is allowed one (1) vote. The Chair may cast a vote in the event of a tie.
8. Formal sessions will generally follow Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised.
9. In the absence of the Chair and Vice-Chair, the Legislative Directors may elect a Chair Pro-Tempore for this time.
Section 7 - Appointed Members (Executive Directors & Departments)
1. Appointed positions within UGBC are created and/or eliminated at the discretion of the President and Vice-President.
2. The appointed members of the Undergraduate Government are placed as Executive Directors and Directors into each of the departments created by the President and Vice-President.
3. The appointed members of the UGBC are selected by the President and Vice-President with the input and final approval by majority vote of the Board of Legislative Directors as outlined in Article III, section 5, paragraph 7.
4. The Executive Director, along with at least two (2) Legislative Directors and the appointed members shall compose each of the respective departments.
ARTICLE IV – IMPEACHMENT & EXPULSION
Section 1 – Charges
1. Charges may be brought against any member of the UGBC based on non-performance, absences, misconduct, and violation of this Constitution and/or By-laws. Charges must be relayed to the individual in writing. The Vice-Chair shall serve as the secretary and draft the appropriate documentation to the individual in question. In the event of charges being brought against the Vice-Chair, the Chair shall assume this role.
2. The member in question shall have one (1) week to present a reply.
3. The member in question may request a hearing.
4. The President and Vice-President must be notified of all charges.
Section 2 – Hearings
1. The Board of Legislative Directors shall hold a hearing with the Chair presiding.
2. The member in question may not vote at his/her hearing.
3. The member in question may not preside over his/her own hearing.
4. Any members with a direct interest in the matter are required to abstain from voting.
Section 3 – Appointed Members
1. Appointed members may be removed at the discretion of the President and Executive Vice-President at any time without a hearing. Removals must receive approval by majority vote of the Legislative Directors. Appointed members may also be removed by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Legislative Board after a hearing has taken place.
Section 4 – Elected Members
1. The President, Executive-Vice President, Chair, Vice-Chair and any Legislative Director may be removed by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the Legislative Board after a hearing has taken place.
2. Elected members cannot be removed without a hearing.
ARTICLE V: DEPARTMENTS
1. The creation or removal of departments within UGBC is at the discretion of the President and Vice-President. Generally, the Departments include: Executive, Finance, Communications, Programming, Student Life, Social and Cultural Issues, University Issues, and the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC), although ALC is semi-independent. Please refer to ALC Constitution.
2. The departments will consist of appointed executive directors, assistant directors and appointed departmental members.
3. At least two (2) Legislative Directors will also be members of each department.
ARTICLE VI: AMENDMENTS
This constitution shall be amended when these lines are proven insufficient for future circumstances. Amendments shall be kept in the spirit of this Constitution and shall address the needs of the student body.
1. The Legislative Directors shall amend this Constitution at any time by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of its membership.
2. The President, Vice-President, Chair and Vice-Chair shall meet once at the beginning of each semester to review the Constitution, and if necessary, propose revisions.
3. Amendments may be proposed by any member of the student body and must receive the sponsorship of two Legislative Directors.
ARTICLE VII – STUDENT INITIATIVE
Section 1 – Student Initiative
1. Any action under the authority of the UGBC may be proposed by a student in the form of a resolution to the Board of Legislative Directors. It may be approved by the Board in accordance Article III, Section 5, Paragraph 7.
Section 2 – Student Initiative Referendum
1. Student Initiatives may be ratified by the student body without due process of the Legislative Directors by referendum.
2. Proposed resolutions must receive the signatures of at least 1/8 of the student body by petition.
3. Proposed resolutions must be voted on during elections in the spring semester.
4. Proposed resolutions must receive an affirmative majority of all votes cast to be considered binding.
5. Legislative Directors may not adopt any resolutions contrary to approved student initiatives and the President must uphold the policy of the student initiative.
ARTICLE VIII – Elections
1. Please see ODSD Elections Code.
ARTICLE IX – Student Organization Funding Committee
1. The SOFC shall annually receive 50% of the sum of all student activities fee for the purpose of providing program funding for student organizations.
2. The SOFC shall operate according to its own constitution and by-laws.
3. Student groups may appeal their SOFC allocations to the UGBC Executive Team composed of the President, Vice-President, Legislative Director Chair and Legislative Director Vice-Chair after the appeal has been heard by the SOFC. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the Legislative Director Chair no more than 2 weeks after the SOFC appeal hearing. The written submission must include the original budget proposal and all supporting documentation. The Executive Team can make a recommendation to SOFC with a majority vote. The Executive Team must make this recommendation no more than 2 weeks after the appeal is presented to them.
ARTICLE X – Office of the Dean for Student Development
1. All activities/decisions of the UGBC are subject to final approval by the Office of the Dean for Student Development.
This Constitution was drafted on Friday, the 8th day of August, in the year 2003.
Michael Davies, Legislative Director Chair ‘04
Derrick Williams, President ‘04
Tom Rochowicz, Executive Vice-President ‘04
Luke Howe, Chief of Staff ‘06
Chris Darcy, Assistant Dean for Students, ODSD