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General Assembly Bylaws

Download Word File: General Assembly Bylaws

 

Article I - Name

The name of this organization shall be The General Assembly of the Associated Students of Occidental College, hereinafter referred to as the GA.

Article II – Purpose

Section 1. Purpose.

The object and purpose of the GA shall be to address the interests and concerns of Occidental College students by direct student representation in the creation of legislation and committees to further those interests.

Section 2. Fiduciary responsibilities.

The GA shall have no legislative responsibilities for the ASOC budget, but shall be permitted debate on the subject of the proposed budget.

Article III – Members

Section 1. Qualifications for membership.

Students enrolled at Occidental College and paying the Associated Student fee shall be members of the GA.

Section 2. Voting.

A member shall be entitled to one vote at GA meetings, There shall be no voting by proxy.

Article IV. – Officers

Section 1. Officers.

A.     Elected officers. The elected officers of the GA shall be two chairpersons, collectively referred to as the “Co-Chairs.”

B.     Appointed officers. Additional officers may be appointed by the Co-Chairs to assist the elected officers in their duties.

C.     Qualifications for office. Candidates for officer positions and the officers themselves must be enrolled as full-time students during the respective term of office or appointment.

Section 2. Duties of Co-Chairpersons.

A.    Co-Chairpersons.

The Co-Chairpersons shall:

1.      be the chief executive officers of the GA;

2.      preside at meetings of the Assembly and its executive committee;

3.      have the power to appoint special committees subject to the approval of the Assembly;

4.      appoint the chairperson of all committees, except as stated in these bylaws;

5.      have the authority to interpret these Bylaws;

6.      serve as ‘ex officio’ members of all assembly committees;

7.      encourage participation at meetings;

8.      encourage students to attend by advertising the dates, times and locations as well as clearly informing the student body on the resolutions being voted on at that meeting;

9.      encourage consensus, fair debate, equal speaking time, brevity, and fairness of representation;

10.  encourage dialogue regarding issues of diversity and social justice when considering resolutions;

11.  perform other duties as assigned by the GA.
    

Section 3. Duties of appointed officers.

A.     Recording Secretary.

The Recording Secretary shall:

1.      be responsible for keeping accurate minutes of the GA;

2.      make available a copy of the minutes of the GA to the Student Body President in a timely manner;

3.      perform other duties as assigned by the GA in addition to agreed upon duties from the Co-Chairs.

B.     Hall Information Officers:

 The Hall Information Officers shall:

1.      relay accurate information to their assigned Resident Hall on campus about the events of the previous GA meeting and what will take place in the next GA meeting.

Section 4. Election and appointment of officers.

A.     Elected officers. The officers shall be elected annually by ballot during the ASOC General Elections to serve for one year.  Their term of office shall begin on the last day of the spring academic semester. A plurality vote shall elect.

B.     Appointed officers. Appointed officers may be appointed at any time by the Co-Chairs and shall take office immediately upon notification of appointment. The term of office for appointed officers shall be determined by the executive committee, but in no case shall the term exceed that of the elected officers.

Section 5. Term of office.

A.     Multiple offices. Elected Members of the ASOC may not simultaneously serve in more than one elected position, or serve in an elected position and also serve as a Student Services Department Manager..

B.     Multiple terms.  No member may serve more than two consecutive terms in the same elected office.

 Section 6. Vacancy in office.

A. Resignation: A General Assembly Co-Chair may resign in good standing by sending a letter of resignation to the student body president.

B. Filling Vacancies:

1.      If there are more than ten weeks remaining in the semester, a special election will be held to elect a new Co-Chair.

2.      If there are less than ten weeks remaining in the semester, the position of Co-Chair shall be filled, by a majority vote, at a regular or special meeting, for which notice of the vacancy has been given.

3.      Vacancies is appointed offices shall by appointed by the executive committee. 

Section 7: Co-Chair Protocol.

A. Stepping Down in a Meeting:

1.      If a Co-Chair feels that they have a biased opinion or information to present which prevents him or her from performing their basic duties as Co-Chair, that Co-Chair may step down for that GA meeting and act as a non-elected member of the GA for that section of the meeting.  The decision to step down is at the discretion of the Co-Chair. The Co-Chair may return for other topics addressed in the meeting.

2.      If a Co-Chair does step down for an GA meeting, the other Co-Chair is responsible for running the meeting.

 

Article V. – Meetings

Section 1. Regular meetings.

Regular meetings shall be held at least bi-weekly, September through April, unless otherwise ordered by the GA or, in an emergency, by the Co-Chair.

Section 2. Special meetings.

Special meetings may be called by the Co-Chair or upon the written request of five members of the GA. The purpose of the meeting shall be stated in the notice.

Section 3. Notice.

Except in cases of emergency, at least five days’ notice shall be given to members by telephone, in writing, or electronic means.

Section 4. Quorum.

The quorum for regular meetings and any special meetings shall be seventeen, provided that at least seven senators, seven non-senators and one Co-Chair are present.

Article VI. – Resolutions

Section 1. Definition.

Resolutions are official statements of the Associated Students of Occidental College once passed by the ASOC General Assembly and ASOC Senate.  Before a resolution can be voted on, it must have been publicized to the student body for at least one week.  

Section 2.  Types and Formats.

A.     Types of Resolutions: Resolutions can be proposed in three formats: Action, Discussion and Declaration.

1.      Action Resolutions: Have a statement of the problem and proposed action (committee, letter, etc.).  Action Resolutions are voted on in the GA and passed on to the Senate for ratification.

2.      Discussion Resolutions: Have a statement of the problem and propose a discussion during the GA about the problem.  No other action is proposed.  No vote is taken and the resolution is not passed to the Senate but Senate is made aware that the discussion took place. 

3.     Declaration Resolutions: A student group makes a written declaration notifying the GA of their position on an issue and discussion at the GA meeting is up to the writers of the resolution.  No vote is taken and it is not passed on to Senate for a vote, but Senate is made aware of the resolution.  The presentation of the resolution is made by the authors of the resolution, but the discussion is facilitated by the GA co-chairs.

 

B.     Format of Resolutions: Resolutions can be proposed in two formats: Closed and Open.

1.      Closed Resolutions: A Closed Resolution cannot be changed by the general body of the General Assembly.  It must be vote on in its original form.

2.      Open Resolutions: An Open Resolution can be changed by the general body of the General Assembly.  If the resolution is changed during a meeting, it may not be voted on until the next meeting. 

Section 3. Meeting with Co-Chairs.

Students are required to meet with at least one of the Co-Chairs prior to the meeting in which they will present their resolution.  Should the student fail to meet with a Co-Chairs, the Co-Chairs have the right to postpone the resolution until that individual meeting has occurred.

Section 4. Support.

Resolutions should come to the GA with at least 5 students’ support.  Those 5 students’ names should appear on the resolution.  The 5 students should be familiar with the resolution.  All supporting students are encouraged to attend the meetings in which their resolutions is presented. 

Article VII. – Executive Committee

Section 1. Composition.

The members of the executive committee shall be the two Co-Chairs, and the advisor to the GA.

Section 2. Responsibilities.

The executive committee shall manage the affairs of the GA between regular meetings of the members.

Section 3. Meetings.

A.     Regular meetings. Regular meetings of the executive committee shall be held as determined by the members.

B.     Quorum. A majority of the executive committee members shall constitute a quorum.

Article VIII. – Committees

The GA may appoint standing committees as deemed necessary to carry on the work of the GA.  The Co-Chairs shall determine how many students will serve on each committee.  They will work closely with the author of each resolution requesting a committee to determine this number. 

Article IX. – Amendments

Section 1. Proposal.

A.     A member of the General Assembly or the Senate may propose an amendment to these bylaws at any regular meeting of the GA, provided that notice of the proposed amendment has been given to the membership at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting. The notice must include the complete text of the proposed amendment. A properly presented amendment requires a two-thirds vote for passage.

B.     Approved amendments shall be referred to the Senate for final approval. Senate membership must receive notice of the meeting at which the amendment will be reviewed at least five (5) days prior to the meeting. A properly presented amendment requires a two-thirds vote for passage.

Section 2. Effective date of amendments.

Amendments to these bylaws shall take effect at the adjournment of the Senate meeting at which they are adopted unless otherwise provided.

 

Amended March 6, 2007