Area Student Senate Board (ASSB)
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Preamble | Article I | Article II
| Article III | Article IV Articles of Authorization of The Student SenatesThe Administration of the Milwaukee Area Technical College establishes the following Articles of Authorization as the Constitution governing the Student Senates of the Milwaukee Area Technical College. PreambleWe, the members of the Student Senates of the Milwaukee Area Technical College, acting together as representatives chosen by the student body, through power granted by the Administration, and under the advisorship of the Director of Student Life or his/her designees, in order to promote the general welfare of the school, provide and opportunity for student coordination and participation in the management of school affairs, and represent the interests and opinions of the students we represent, without regard for race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, handicap , arrest or conviction record, veteran's status, or any other protected class and with equality of opportunity for membership in the organization, hereby ordain these Articles of Authorization. Article IName and Location Each organization will carry in its bylaws the title (name of school) Student Senate and should hold its business meetings on it respective campus. The bylaws of the Student Senates must be on file in the Office of Student Life. Article IIPurposes The purposes of each Student Senate shall be: Section 1 To represent the interests and opinions of the students in their division to the administration of the Milwaukee Area Technical College. Section 2 To promote general student life and to assist in the conduction of those projects which may be requested of them. Section 3 To provide an agency for the selection of students to participate on Organizational, District and Administrative Committees or to confer with the Administration. Article IIIMembership and Elections Section 1 Membership in the Student Senates shall be open to all students of the Milwaukee Area Technical College provided they are duly elected and they fulfill all other requirements of their membership as detailed in the following Articles and in the individual Senate's bylaws. Section 2 Senate representatives must be students enrolled in classes within the division or area they represent, carrying a minimum six (6) credits or their equivalency for day school or three (3) credits or their equivalent for evening school/Weekend College and maintaining a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.0. Members in good standing must have completed a minimum of six credits or their equivalent for evening/Weekend College during the previous semester to continue membership into the next semester. Verification will be conducted by the Student Life Coordinators in their capacity as an official of the school at least twice each semester, with notification of noncompliance given to those members who no longer qualify for the position. Section 3 Senate Representatives on academic probation cannot be members of a Student Senate. Section 4 Senate Representatives on disciplinary probation cannot be members of a Student Senate. Section 5 Eligible students may be members of the Senate for no more than six semesters while enrolled in any single academic program and no more than eight semesters in total. Section 6 All Student Senate members in good standing from the preceding years, regardless of the campus Senate they had previously served, who intend to enroll in classes for the following year, shall be eligible for membership in the Senate on the campus they will be attending. Senate seats held by returning Senate members shall not reduce the number of new Senate seats available to the Student Senates each year (see Article 3, Section 8). Section 7 The election process shall be conducted in accordance with approved procedures as detailed in the addendum to these articles ( see: Addendum I, Nos. 1 and 2). Section 8 There will be a maximum number of newly elected
Senate seats available each year. a. Milwaukee Day Students Senate 40 New Senate seats not filled through fall elections or vacated during the fall semester shall be filled in the spring in accordance with election process detailed in the addendum to these articles. Section 9 Each Student Senate shall be composed of not less that 10 student members. If the active membership falls below 10 a special election must take place to elect new members of the Senate. A special election of a new executive board shall be conducted at a special meeting immediately following the special membership election. Section 10 When the Evening Student Senate is unable to maintain the required minimum membership level (see: Article III, Section 8) or dispatch its duties, the Milwaukee (Day) Students Senate shall assume its responsibilities and represent and serve the interest of the Milwaukee Campus evening student body until such time as the Evening Student Senate is in good standing and functional. In keeping with these expanded responsibilities, the Milwaukee (Day) Students Senate shall be permitted to increase the total number of elected members by the number of seats allotted to the Evening Student Senate (see: Article III, Section 8 and 9) provided that a representative number of seats on the (Day) Senate are allocated for evening student representatives. Article IVOfficers and Committees Section 1 Each Student Senate shall have a president, vice president, recording secretary and/or corresponding secretary, and treasurer. The duties of these officers and the manner of selection shall be determined in the individual Senate's bylaws except that the officers of the Student Senate shall be chosen by quorum (as defined under Article VI, Section 3) of the Student Senate representatives. Section 2 The vice president shall succeed the president in the event that the president is unable to fulfill the duties of his/her office. If the vice president is unable to succeed the president, a special election for the presidency must be conducted within one month of the vacancy. Section 3 All elected positions, excluding the presidency (see: Article IV, Section 2) vacated prior to the completion of their term of office, must be filled by a special election if more than half for their term remains or by presidential appointment and confirmed by the general assembly if half or less of their term remains. The special elections and appointments to fill vacated officers' positions must be completed within one month of the vacancy's occurrence. The special elected/appointed officers will only serve the remaining term of the position they are assuming or until the next regular election. Note: An appointed officer fulfilling the term of service of a vacated elected position may be elected and serve a full term (see: Article V, Section 2) in that same office following the completion of the appointed term. Section 4 The parliamentarian and the sergeant-at-arms positions are at the discretion of the individual Senates. If deemed appropriate, these officers are to be selected from the representatives by the president and confirmed by the general assembly. Section 5 The committees of each Senate shall be Legislative, Research and Development, and Planning or Community Service. The Professional Standards Committee will be within the Milwaukee Student Senate and will provide this service to the District. All Senates may have up to two Ad Hoc committees of their choosing which may function for one school year before the organization must choose to reinstate them. Article VQualifications and Elections of Officers Section 1 To be eligible to serve as an officer of a Student Senate, a student must fulfill all requirements for student membership as detailed under Article III, Sections 1-6, have achieved and maintain a grade-point average of 2.5 in their current program, and be able to fulfill and dispatch the duties and responsibilities of their position as detailed in the individual Senate's bylaws. Section 2 No officer of a Student Senate may serve for a term of more than two consecutive semesters in the same office on the same campus. Section 3 Officers elected during the first eight weeks of a given semester are eligible to serve in their elected position for the remainder of the election semester and the following full semester or until new elections are held. Officers elected after the eight week of a given semester are eligible to serve their elected position for the remainder of the election semester and the following two full semesters or until new elections are held, whichever comes first. Section 4 Between semesters (i.e., summer and winter breaks) the current president or another current Senate member approved by the individual senates shall serve as the official representative of that Senate, for all Senate-related business. Section 5 Student Senate officers may hold office on the Area Student Senate Board but may not hold office in any other student organization recognized by MATC through the Student Life Committee. Section 6 Student Senate members may hold only one position in either (i) the Senate's state-affiliated student organization - Wisconsin Student Government Association or WSGA, or (ii) the Senate's national-affiliated student organization-American Student Association of Community Colleges or ASACC - at any given time. For purposes of this section, "position" shall be interpreted to mean any chair or office. Article VIMeetings Section 1 Two Student Senate meetings per month are month are recognized by the MATC Administration as excused absences for the purpose of the students' records. Additional meetings may be held, but attendance at such additional meetings will not be basis for an excused absence. Membership will be terminated immediately for a period of on full semester if a senator misses three consecutive meetings or more than half of the regular meetings of a given semester. Section 2 Monthly meetings are required and must be held during normal school hours. Section 3 At all Senate meetings, a quorum is required to conduct official business (i.e., voting) and must be composed of at least 51 percent of the active members. Each Senate member is entitled to one vote with no proxy votes permitted. Section 4 Notice for special meetings must be made by the secretary in writing to all members at least one week in advance of the date of the meeting. Section 5 Robert's Rules of Order shall govern Senate meetings unless superseded by the individual Senate's bylaws. Article VIIBylaws Section 1 A bylaw may created and amended by a two-thirds vote of the Student Senate, provided that notice has been given at the previous monthly meeting and written notice, including the proposed changes, mailed a minimum of five (5) days in advance of the regular meeting to the Senate's membership. Section 2 The bylaws shall be organized to follow the articles of this document but may include such additional items as each Student Senates may decide, as long as they are not in violation of these Articles of Authorization. Note: The Area Student Senate Board will approve all proposed bylaws for each Student Senate. Article VIIIMinutes and Resolutions Section 1 Minutes shall be kept of all meetings by the Recording Secretary and copies given to the Campus Administrator, Student Life Coordinators, and libraries on the respective campus as well as to the Vice President - Student Services and the Director of Student Life with in ten days. Section 2 Specific requests for action shall be contained in resolutions approved by the individual Student Senate general assembly, using the standard form provided by the school administration through the Office of Student Life, which shall be filled out in triplicate. At the Milwaukee Campus, resolutions are to sent to the Student Life Coordinator for his/her comments and then sent on to the Director of Student of Life. The Director will forward them, with the recommendations, to the Vice President - Student Services for action and disposition. Copies will be returned to the Student Senate, the Director of Student Life, and the Student Life Coordinator within 30 days indicating the disposition of the request. At the other Campuses, the resolutions are again to be sent directly to the Student Life Coordinator on the campus for his/her comments. S/He will then send them on to the Regional Leadership who will make comments and forward them to the Director of Student Life. The Director of Student Life will forward them, with recommendations, to the Vice President - Student Services for action and disposition. Copies will be returned to the Student Senate, the Director of Student Life, the Regional Leadership and the Student Life Coordinator within 30 days indicating the disposition of the request. Note: resolutions dealing with incidental campus matters need not be referred to the Director of Student Life and can therefore be handled directly by the Campus Administration. Addendum to Articles of Authorization Student Senate Election Process I. General Election Student Application/Nomination Process: Governing Procedures A. Students seeking to be candidates for the Student Senate elections must apply for an official Student Senate Nomination Form in the Office of Student Affairs on their respective campus between the first day of classes and the third Wednesday of the semester. B. The nomination form will be available from the Office of Student Affairs upon request to each qualified student. Note: The term qualified refers to students who meet the general requirements for Student Senate membership as detailed in the Student Senate Articles of Authorization under ARTICLE III, Sections1-4. C. The nomination form shall bear the name of the prospective candidate and the stamp of the Office of Student Affairs verifying the candidate's eligibility to run for the position. D. The prospective candidate has the option of seeking the nomination for the academic division in which he or she is enrolled (e.g. Business) or as an independent candidate. Note: Students enrolled in an academic division are strongly urged to run for their academic division seat(s) rather than for an independent seat. F. The prospective candidate seeking the nomination as a divisional or independent candidate must secure the endorsement of at least twenty-five (25) bona fide students who are registered for half or more of their credits at the same campus as the candidate. Divisional candidates' endorsements must be bon fide students enrolled in the academic division for which the candidate is seeking the nomination.
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