ASRMC Constitution
ARTICLE I: General Definitions and Procedures
Section I
All students enrolled at Rocky Mountain College carrying six or more credits in a specified semester or term shall be a member of the Associated Students of Rocky Mountain College (ASRMC). The Dean of Students shall serve as an ex officio member.
Section II
There shall be seven separate constituencies and seven at large representatives known as Senators, which shall make up the ASRMC governing council (Senate). The constituencies shall be: the residence halls (one each, Anderson, Widenhouse , Jorgenson and Rimview); off-campus students; non-traditional students; and minority students.
Section III
ASRMC shall be guided in accordance with Robert's rules of order, revised.
Section IV
A quorum of the Senate shall be two-thirds of the membership of the senate.
Section V
A simple majority of the Senate shall be fifty percent of the quorum plus one.
ARTICLE II: Student Senate
Section I
The Senate shall be the legislative/governing body of the ASRMC. It shall formulate and adopt policies affecting the ASRMC, represent the ASRMC on college wide campus committees, advocate on behalf of their constituencies to the governing council, college administration and RMC Board of Trustees. Further, the student senate shall be responsible for oversight of all ASRMC funding.
Section II
Membership: The student Senate shall consist of fourteen members. The non-traditional student Senator, minority student Senator, off-campus student Senator and five at-large Senators will be selected through an election held in the spring. Senators from the four residence halls, two additional at-large senators and the seat vacated by the Presidents election will be selected through an election held in the fall of the following academic year.
Section III
Officers: There shall be four officers: The President, Vice President, Financial Administrator, and Secretary shall make up the Executive Committee.
Section IV
Senators at large: Senators at large will serve on at least one ASRMC committee outlined in Article I, Section I, II, III of the ASRMC By-laws.
Section V
Constituent Senators: Senators representing specific constituencies shall act as the president of said constituency and will be responsible for establishing regular contact with their constituents by hosting monthly constituency gatherings.
ARTICLE III: President
Section I
The President of ASRMC shall be nominated following the spring election by the recently elected Senators. The President shall then be elected from the eligible candidates by all members of ASRMC. The President shall serve until the election of the new President in the spring term. The newly elected President will serve as the President of the new Senate after the spring elections.
Section II
The President of ASRMC shall preside over senate meetings and shall vote only in the event of a tie. The President shall represent the ASRMC to the Board of Trustees and through various committee assignments and by delegating participation from within the membership. The President is responsible for ensuring that the Senate and program officers fulfill their duties and comply with their responsibilities as outlined in the ASRMC Constitution and By-laws.
Section III
The current President will have the term in office extended to the end of the current academic year upon ratification of this Constitution. The first meeting of the new Senate will elect a new President for the following academic year.
ARTICLE IV: Vice President
Section I
The Vice President shall be a member of the Senate appointed by the President and approved by the Senate by a two-thirds majority vote. The Vice President will serve once appointed until the spring election.
Section II
The Vice President shall conduct Senate meetings in the absence of the President. The Vice President shall be the Chair of the Student Relations Committee. The Vice President shall be the coordinator of all chartered clubs, and recognized organizations.
ARTICLE V: Financial Administrator
Section I
The Financial Administrator shall be a member of the Senate appointed by the President and approved by the Senate by a two-thirds majority. The Financial Administrator will serve once appointed until the spring election.
Section II
The Financial Administrator shall maintain the Senate's budget and give a budget report a minimum of once a month. The Financial Administrator shall have direct oversight of all transactions of all student clubs, publications, activities in accordance with By-Law Article V and VII: Section III. The Financial Administrator shall maintain copies of the budget in the ASRMC Offices and the Dean of Students Office.
Article VI: Secretary
Section I
The Secretary shall be member of the Senate appointed by the President and approved by the Senate by a two-thirds majority. The Secretary will serve once appointed until the spring election.
Section II
The Secretary shall be responsible for transcribing the minutes of all Senate meetings and Executive Committee meetings excluding all other committee meetings. The Secretary shall maintain copies of the minutes in the ASRMC Offices and the Dean of Students Office.
ARTICLE VII: Duties and Oversight
Section I
The ASRMC President and Senate have a fiduciary responsibility for all ASRMC funds.
Section II
The Senate is responsible for ensuring that all ASRMC sponsored organizations, clubs, activities and events adhere to the spirit and intent of the tenets outlined in the ASRMC Constitution, ASRMC By-laws and RMC student code of conduct.
Section III
The Senate shall be responsible for ensuring that chartered campus clubs, the publications editor and student activities programmer/board are fulfilling their constitutional duties as defined in accordance with Article I, Sections I-V, RMC By-laws.
Section IV
The ASRMC President and Senate shall retain a qualified individual to act as publications editor to oversee all ASRMC student publications. Nominations for said position will be solicited from the student body at large through an application process developed and implemented in the spring each academic year.
Section V
ASRMC, through the Publications Editor, is responsible for annually producing the student newspaper, yearbook, student directory and literary magazine. At the discretion of the Publications Editor and, pending available resources, additional publications may be produced utilizing publications funding.
ARTICLE VIII: Elections
Section I
Terms of office for all elected and appointed ASRMC members shall be one year.
Section II
The seven constituency Senators shall be elected in a general election in which only members of the constituency they represent vote. Residence Halls Senators will be elected in an election held within the specific hall, conducted and overseen by the election committee, Section V, ABI.) The seven at-large Senators shall be elected in a general election by the student body. Five at-large Senators, off-campus Senator, non-traditional Senator and the minority Senator shall be elected in general election to be held no later than the second week in April. The two remaining at-large Senators, four residence hall Senators and the seat vacated by the President shall be elected in a general election held no later than September 30th.
Section III
Election Committee: The ASRMC President shall appoint an election committee three weeks prior to each ASRMC election. The committee shall be composed of three outgoing ASRMC members and shall be presided over by the ASRMC President unless that person is a candidate in the election in which case, the ASRMC president shall appoint someone else as election administrator. The purpose of the committee shall be to conduct a fair election by executing the election procedures. (Defined in Article V, Section VI of the constitution) the election committee before the spring term elections shall review the Constitution and By-Laws for any amendments or changes.
Section IV: Candidacy for elected office
- A: To be eligible for candidacy a person must be an ASRMC member (Defined by Article I, Section I of the constitution). The person cannot be on academic probation during the semester in which they are running for office nor placed on probation during his/her term. In addition, Senate candidates must be a member of the constituency they wish to represent.
- B: All candidates are required to file a petition for office with the election committee. These petitions shall be available at the Dean of Students office three weeks prior to any ASRMC general election. Each candidate must collect twenty-five signatures, of ASRMC members, on their petition for office. Petitions must be signed by the Dean of Students to verify the candidates' academic standing and eligibility. Petitions for office will be due 72 hours prior to the spring and fall general election.
- C: Names written in the appropriate space of the general election ballots and then, properly marked shall also be recognized as a candidate providing they meet the criteria for eligibility. (Defined in Article IV, Section IV-A of the constitution).
- D: Unopposed Offices. Candidates running for office unopposed shall be considered elected by acclamation and their names and office will not appear on the election ballot.
Section V: Election Procedures
- A: General elections shall be conducted by secret ballot. Space for write-in candidates shall be provided on the ballot for each position being elected.
- B: Ballots shall be prepared forty-eight hours prior to an election.
- C: Absentee ballots shall be available at the Dean of Students office forty-eight hours prior to a general election. ASRMC members who will not be present during regular polling hours on the day of the election may cast their vote once ballots have been prepared.
- D: A sample ballot shall be posted with an announcement of the election which will include date, time, and polling place. This shall be done in numerous locations on campus forty-eight hours prior to an election.
- E: Location and time duration for the polls shall be determined by the election committee. The election shall be held over a period of two days.
- F: The election committee shall be responsible for staffing the polls during the election.
- G: The election committee shall count the ballots immediately after the polls have closed on the second day and shall announce the results of the election immediately upon completing the process of counting the ballots.
- H: The winner of an election shall be the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes. In the event that two or more candidates receive the same number of votes, another election shall be held within the week.
- I: Election results shall be published in the student newspaper after the results have been announced.
- J: In the event an office is unfilled after the spring general, the office shall be added to the fall general election. If an office remains unfilled following the fall election, the senate will nominate and by simple majority vote, may elect to appoint someone to fill the position or leave the office unfilled until an appropriate representative can be identified.
- K: Upon being elected, the new senate and executive officer shall take office at the end of the academic year. The two weeks after the spring election will be used as an opportunity for the out-going officers to prepare the incoming officers for service.
ARTICLE IX: Vacancies in office
Section I
If the President's office becomes vacant, the Senate shall nominate and elect a new President by a simple majority vote.
Section II
If the offices of ASRMC Financial Administrator or Secretary become vacant, the ASRMC President shall appoint a replacement. This appointment will be subject to the approval of the Senate by simple majority vote.
Section III
If a senate seat becomes vacant, a special election within the affected jurisdiction shall be held within two weeks to fill the vacancy.
ARTICLE X: Initiative, Referendum and Recall
Section I
Initiative Initiatives may be presented to the Senate, by petition, from any member of the ASRMC. The petition must contain the signatures of at least 25 ASRMC members for it to be valid. The senate, by a three fourths vote, may submit the initiative to a special general election which shall take place three weeks following the Senate decision or by voting unanimously, may adopt the initiative outright. If the initiative receives approval in the special general election, then it shall take effect two weeks following the election.
Section II
Referendum Any member of the governing council may present a referendum. The Senate, by a three-fourths vote, may decide to send the referendum to a special general election. The referendum must win the general election with a simple majority if it is to be adopted. If the referendum is approved in the election, it shall become effective two weeks after the election.
Section III: Recall
- A: Recall shall be a special general election for the purpose of removing an ASRMC elected official from office. If the recall election receives approval by a two-thirds majority, the official shall be removed from office and the office shall be declared vacant and then must be filled by the proper procedure (Defined in Article VI of the constitution). Recall may be initiated in two ways: A: By the presentation of a petition to the Senate. The petition must contain the signatures of at least 50 ASRMC members for At-Large Senators and 25 signatories for constituency Senators. If the petition is for the removal of a constituency senator, all 25 signatories must be members of the senator's constituency. The Senate must then submit the petition to a special general election within three weeks. Only members of the affected constituencies may vote in the recall election of a senator. B: By the student Senate approved by unanimous vote of Senate.
- B: Recall of a program committee chairperson shall be a decision of the ASRMC President and appropriate supervisor/advisor. This decision shall be subject to the approval of the Senate.
ARTICLE XI: Ratification
Section I
After a governing council decision to amend the Constitution is made, the change(s) must be submitted to a vote of the ASRMC in a special general election held within two weeks of the governing council's decision. To be ratified, the change(s) must receive a simple majority vote in favor of ratification in the special general election.
Section II
The By-laws may be amended by a decision of the Senate. Amendments submitted must be approved by a three-fourths majority of the senate in order for the amendment to be adopted. The amendment, upon adoption, becomes effective two weeks after the senate decision.
Section III
This constitution shall be ratified by a simple majority of students voting in the election held for ratifying this constitution. Upon ratification, this constitution will replace the current constitution immediately.
ARTICLE IX: Vacancies in office
Section I
If the President's office becomes vacant, the Senate shall nominate and elect a new President by a simple majority vote.
Section II
If the offices of ASRMC Financial Administrator or Secretary become vacant, the ASRMC President shall appoint a replacement. This appointment will be subject to the approval of the Senate by simple majority vote.
Section III
If a senate seat becomes vacant, a special election within the affected jurisdiction shall be held within two weeks to fill the vacancy.
ARTICLE X: Initiative, Referendum and Recall
Section I
Initiative Initiatives may be presented to the Senate, by petition, from any member of the ASRMC. The petition must contain the signatures of at least 25 ASRMC members for it to be valid. The senate, by a three fourths vote, may submit the initiative to a special general election which shall take place three weeks following the Senate decision or by voting unanimously, may adopt the initiative outright. If the initiative receives approval in the special general election, then it shall take effect two weeks following the election.
Section II
Referendum A referendum may be presented by any member of the governing council. The senate, by a three-fourths vote, may decide to send the referendum to a special general election. The referendum must win the general election with a simply majority if it is to be adopted. If the referendum is approved in the election, it shall become effective two weeks after the election.
Section III
Recall Recall shall be a special general election for the purpose of removing an ASRMC elected official from office. If the recall election receives approval by a two-thirds majority, the official shall be removed from office and the office shall be declared vacant and then must be filled by the proper procedure. (Defined in Article VI of the constitution.) Recall may be initiated in two ways:
- A: By the presentation of a petition to the Senate. The petition must contain the signatures of at least 25 ASRMC members for it to be valid. If the petition is for the removal of a senator, all 25 signatories must be members of the senator's constituency. The Senate must then submit the petition to a special general election within three weeks. Only members of the affected constituencies may vote in the recall election of a senator.
- B: By the student Senate approved by unanimous vote of Senate.
Recall of a program committee chairperson shall be a decision of the ASRMC President and appropriate supervisor/advisor. This decision shall be subject to the approval of the Senate.
ARTICLE XI: Ratification
Section I
After a governing council decision to amend the Constitution is made, the change(s) must be submitted to a vote of the ASRMC in a special general election held within two weeks of the governing council's decision. To be ratified, the change(s) must receive a simple majority vote in favor of ratification in the special general election.
Section II
The By-laws may be amended by a decision of the Senate. Amendments submitted must be approved by a three-fourths majority of the senate in order for the amendment to be adopted. The amendment, upon adoption, becomes effective two weeks after the senate decision.
Section III
This constitution shall be ratified by a simple majority of students voting in the election held for ratifying this constitution. Upon ratification, this constitution will replace the current constitution immediately.
