Updated May 2022

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the Student Senate is to promote the religious and social life of the community; to advocate concerns of academic and community issues; and to implement and supervise activities affecting the students of Union. The Student Senate is committed to maintaining the voice and participation of all diverse student communities and constituencies in the Seminary. It provides a forum in which students can reflect and act together for their benefit and for the benefit of the entire Seminary community.

Article I: Student Senate Membership and Structure

The Student Body shall consist of all students who pay the Student Activities Fee. All members of the Student Body are entitled to vote in general meetings of the Student Senate. All members of the Student Body are also entitled to vote in general elections.
1. The Student Senate shall serve as the directly democratic decision-making body of the Student Body, and shall
  1. advocate for student concerns,
  2. create and dissolve newly elected positions and committees,
  3. administer the revenues of the Student Body,
  4. provide space for Caucus and Club announcements, and
  5. host an open forum for students to discuss issues facing the community.

Article II: Student Senate Meetings and Procedure

The Student Senate shall meet monthly during the academic year. Special meetings of the Student Senate may be called by:
1. a joint consensus of the Co-Chairpersons
2. the Executive Committee; or
3. a petition signed by 25% of the Student Body.
A quorum shall consist of at least 10% of the Student Body.
Meetings of the Student Senate are open to any member of the Seminary community, unless closed by a two-thirds vote of the Student Senate. Non-members may speak either by invitation from the moderators (3.1) or by a majority vote of the eligible Student Senate members present.
The Student Senate may adopt special rules of order and may suspend the rules (but not the By-Laws) by a two-thirds majority vote.
The rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order Revised shall govern in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Agreements, By-Laws, or special rules of order.

Article III: Elected and Appointed Student Senate Officers and Duties

Co-Chairpersons
1. The Co-Chairpersons shall be elected officers of the Student Senate Executive Committee (5.1), and shall be voting members of the Student Senate, the Executive Committee, the Budget Committee, and the Student Appointments Committee. They shall each receive a salary from the Office of Student life of at least $3000 for the year. This amount is subject to increase from the Office of Student Life. The duties of the Co-Chairpersons shall include the following:
  1. Convene and preside over meetings of the Executive Committee
  2. Serve as or designate the Moderator(s) of the Student Senate meetings.
  3. In the absence of the Treasurer, convene and preside over meetings of the Budget Committee.
  4. The Co-chairs or their appointed designee, should observe the following meetings and report on them to the Student Senate at its regular meetings:
    1. Faculty Meetings
    2. Faculty Days of Work
    3. Board of Directors Meetings
    4. The Educational Policy Committee of the Board of Directors
  5. One Co-Chairperson, or their designees, shall serve as an active student member of the Academic Affairs Committee.
  6. Serve as a liaison between the Student Body and the Faculty, Administration, the Board of Directors, and non-administrative staff
  7. Act as a spokesperson(s) for the Student Senate, subject to its instruction, in business with the Faculty, Administration, Board of Directors, and Staff of Union Seminary, as well as with non-Seminary groups and persons.
  8. Meet monthly with the President of the Seminary, subject to the President’s consent.
  9. Meet monthly with the Associate Dean for Student Life, subject to the Associate Dean’s consent.
  10. Ensure that the provisions of the By-Laws, standing rules, and special rules of order are carried out.
  11. Undertake such duties and authorities as are specifically delegated to the Co-Chairpersons by the Student Senate.

The Secretary
1. The Secretary shall be an elected officer of the Student Senate Executive Committee (5.1), and shall be a voting member of the Student Senate, the Executive Committee, the Budget Committee, and the Student Appointments Committee. They shall receive a salary from the Office of Student life of at least $2100 for the year. This amount is subject to increase from the Office of Student Life. The duties of the Secretary shall include the following:
  1. Preside over elections.
  2. Convene and preside over meetings of the Student Appointments Committee
  3. Take and issue minutes of the decisions made at the Student Senate Meetings and Executive Team Meetings. .
  4. Before distributing Student Senate meeting minutes, the Secretary will have the minutes approved by the Executive Committee within a week following a Student Senate meeting. Upon approval, the minutes will be distributed to the Student Body. The Secretary is also to arrange for minutes to be placed on Reserve in The Burke Library.
  5. Create and distribute copies of the agenda for Student Senate meetings, subject to the instruction of the Executive Committee, at least two days prior to each meeting.
  6. Make and distribute copies of any reports to be presented at Student Senate meetings, provided those reports are given to the Secretary at least two days in advance of the meeting.
  7. Keep a complete account of the correspondences of the Student Senate, which shall remain the property of the Student Senate and which shall be open for review at any time by request of any Senate member subject to the approval of the Executive Committee.
  8. Handle any correspondence as directed by the Co-Chairpersons or the Student Senate.
  9. Convene and preside over Student Senate Meetings in the event of the absence of both the Co-Chairpersons.
  10. Preside over the election of the presiding officer pro tempore in the event of the absence of both the Co-Chairpersons.
  11. Undertake such duties and authorities as are specifically delegated to the Secretary by the Student Senate.

The Treasurer
1. The Treasurer shall be an elected officer of the Student Senate Executive Committee (Article VI), and shall be a voting member of the Student Senate, the Executive Committee, and the Budget Committee. They shall receive a salary from the Office of Student life of at least $2100 for the year. This amount is subject to increase from the Office of Student Life. The duties of the Treasurer shall include the following:
  1. Administer the funds of the Student Body and Senate, subject to the policies and directives of the Student Senate.
  2. Keep a complete account of the finances of the Student Body and Senate online, which shall remain the property of the Student Senate and which shall be open for inspection at any time by formal request to the Treasurer by any member of the Student Body.
  3. Render a current financial report at each regular meeting of the Student Senate. d. Convene and preside over meetings of the Budget Committee and any other meetings specific to their function.
  4. Publicize the impending budget process to the Seminary at large and solicit budget requests from the Caucuses, Clubs and other groups receiving monies from the Student Senate and Student Activities Fees.
  5. Undertake such duties and authorities as are specifically delegated to the Treasurer by the Student Senate.
  6. Prepare a list of all Active Caucuses and Clubs (Article IV) in advance of the spring Budget Committee Meeting.

Ministers of Fun
1. Two Ministers of Fun shall be elected officers of the Student Senate Executive Committee (5.1). Each Minister of Fun shall be voting members of the Student Senate. They shall each receive a salary from the Office of Student life of at least $1000 for the year. This amount is subject to increase from the Office of Student Life.
2. The duties of the Ministers of Fun shall include the following:
  1. Coordinate programming, in conjunction with other campus bodies, which builds community life through funding, organization, planning, publicity, and/or execution. The Ministers of Fun should take initiatives to discover unmet programming needs and attempt to fulfill them for the Union community. In particular, the Minister of Fun should work with Caucuses and Clubs, the Executive Committee, and other Student Senate bodies to coordinate campus events.
  2. The coordinator shall be responsible for managing funds appropriated by the Student Senate for such activities.
  3. Seek out and publicize neighborhood and wider community and city events of interest to the Union community.
  4. Attend all regular meetings of the Student Senate and Executive Committee, and remain active as a voting member.
  5. Keep the Community Activities Calendar.
  6. Serve on special committees as requested by the Student Senate.

Historian
1. A Historian shall be an elected officer of the Student Senate Executive Committee (5.1) The Historian shall be a voting member of the Student Senate. They shall receive a salary from the Office of Student life of at least $1000 for the year. This amount is subject to increase from the Office of Student Life.
2. The Duties of the Historian are:
  1. Working closely with the Secretary to archive important documents.
  2. They will serve to make sure that future students have a record of what current students have done, especially regarding advocacy and activism with Union Seminary and New York City. The purpose of this position is to use multiple sources, like interviews with current students, recent graduates, the Heretic, and other written and oral communication to create a record or document that can be passed from year to year so that future students can inform themselves about what past students have done.
  3. This person should plan to complete some archivable material to share with the student body towards the end of the academic year.

Class Representatives
1. Class Representatives shall be elected officers of the Student Senate (Article VI) and shall consist of the following persons:
  1. one Doctoral Student Representative,
  2. three M.Div. Representatives (one from each class),
  3. two M.A.R. Representatives (one from each class),
  4. one MASJ Representative
  5. one S.T.M. Representative,
  6. one M.Div./M.S.S.W. Representative, and
  7. one Representative-at-large, from any of the Degree programs.
2. Terms of office shall be one year, beginning at the last regular Student Senate meeting of the academic year, for all Representatives except for all first-year representatives, whose terms shall begin immediately following elections in the fall and end at the last regular Student Senate meeting of the academic year. All Class Representatives shall be voting members of the Student Senate and the Student Appointments Committee.
3. The duties of the Class Representatives shall include the following:
  1. Attend all meetings of the Student Senate.
  2. Represent, to the best of their ability, the views and concerns of their respective constituency.
  3. Meet monthly, as Class Representatives, to discuss issues facing their respective constituencies and how to collaborate on addressing these issues. The Representative-at-large will coordinate and facilitate these meetings.
  4. Meet with the Executive Committee for completion of specific tasks.twice a semester with members of the Executive Committee to organize, discuss, and delegate tasks in accordance with the administrative needs of the Student Senate. The Third-Year M.Div Representative will coordinate and facilitate these meetings. .
  5. Serve as liaisons with the Alumni Council on behalf of the Student Senate in coordination with the Co-Chairpersons.
  6. First-Year M.A.R. and First-Year M.Div. Representatives, the Second-Year M.Div Representative, and the Representative-at-large will serve on the Budget Committee.
  7. Serve on special committees, as requested by the Student Senate.
  8. Undertake such duties as are specifically delegated to the Representatives by the Student Senate.
  9. For Representatives of graduating classes, this includes organizing the
  10. class gift.
  11. The Class Representatives shall submit a budget for their program needs and service hours compensation in a timely manner for the Budget Committee.

Student Members of Seminary Standing and Temporary Committees
1. Student members of the standing and other (subject to change) committees of the Seminary shall be elected by the Student Body Article VI). These students shall be voting members of their respective committees and of the Student Senate.
2. Student members of the standing committees shall consist of the following persons, subject to the policies of the Seminary By-Laws:
  1. Three students, in addition to one of the Student Senate Co-Chairpersons, shall serve on the Academic Affairs Committee, one of which shall be a Ph.D. student. These four students have one vote each.
3. Two students from any degree program shall serve as non-voting representatives on the following Board of Directors Committees:
  1. Campus and Facilities
  2. Educational Policy Committee
  3. Development
  4. Investment
  5. Union Medal
4. Elected students shall serve on each of the following faculty committees:
  1. Academic Affairs (3 Positions) One from each of the following programs: MDiv, MAR, and PhD.
  2. Educational Technology Committee (2 Positions)
  3. Assessment Committee (2 Positions)
5. Elected students shall serve on each of the following committees:
  1. Justice Equity and Inclusion Committee (2 Positions)
  2. Columbia-Senate UTS – Student Senate Observer
  3. Student Library Advisory Committee (1 Position)
6. In the case of a vacancy an appointment may be made to Standing, Temporary or Ad Hoc Committees by the Executive Committee.
7. Should the By-Laws of the Seminary be changed or amended at any time, this section of the Student Senate By-Laws shall likewise be amended to remain compatible with the Seminary By-Laws.
8. The duties of the members of the standing and temporary committees shall include the following:
9. At least one student representative from each committee shall attend all regular meetings of the Student Senate. Attendance may be on a rotating basis as the student representatives determine.
10. Each representative shall attend all regular meetings of the standing committee to which the student is appointed.
11. Each representative shall represent, to the best of their ability, the views and concerns of the majority of the Student Body, to both the standing committees and the Student Senate.
12. Each representative may serve on special committees, as requested by the standing committees of the Student Senate.

Ad Hoc Coordinators
1. The Student Senate may create new Coordinator positions to serve vital interests of the Student Body. The creation and dissolution of these Coordinator positions shall be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Student Senate. The duties of these Coordinators shall be written and submitted to the Student Senate by the Executive Committee or by a petition signed by 33% of the Student Body.
2. Upon creation, any new Coordinator position will then be elected by members of the Student Body (Article VI), with their term beginning upon election and ending May 1st. Existing Coordinator positions shall have terms of office of one year beginning May 1st. Coordinators shall serve on the Executive Committee, receive a salary from the Office of Student Life, and shall be voting members of the Student Senate.

Article IV: Student Organizations

Caucuses
1. Caucuses are defined as student-led groups that represent, support, and participate in social and educational engagement on behalf of a historically marginalized community or communities within the Student Body. Only students may be Caucus members and serve as their Senate representatives, and only Caucus members may be eligible for paid service hours.
2. New Caucuses shall be formed and officially recognized by the Student Senate through the following procedures:
  1. Submission to the Student Senate of a statement of purpose and a constitution of self-governance, detailing its processes for approving paid service hours, internal decision-making, and the selection of the Senate representatives for the Caucus.
  2. Approval of the Student Senate by a simple majority vote of a quorum of its membership by secret ballot.
  3. Immediately upon formation of a new Caucus, the new Caucus will submit any budget requests prior to the following Student Senate meeting. Upon submission of the budget requests, the Budget Committee will convene to allot funding for the remaining semester.
3. In order to be considered an active Caucus and receive funding, each Caucus shall:
  1. Choose at least two Senate representatives who will serve as liaisons with the Executive Committee and approve any budget expenditures from the Caucuses. Senate representatives for the following academic year must be selected and have names submitted to the Senate Secretary by April 15th.
  2. Send at least one representative to represent the Caucus at least three-fourths of regular meetings of the Student Senate. In the event that a student serves in multiple representative and reporting capacities, they may retain only one vote within the body of the Senate. Their responsibilities shall include the following:
  3. Report updates of caucus activities to the Student Senate.
  4. Represent, to the best of their ability, the views and concerns of their Caucus at meetings of the Student Senate.
  5. Submit budget proposals, updates and requests to the Treasurer.
4. Should any Caucus fail to meet the above requirements, it may lose its funding for the remainder of that academic year and it may lose its status as an Active Caucus for the upcoming academic year, thus forfeiting any funding from the Student Senate.
5. Concerning Caucus status, the following protocol will be taken by the Student Senate:
  1. In January and upon request by the Treasurer, the Senate Secretary shall submit a report to the Budget Committee and Senate representatives regarding attendance at Student Senate Meetings and, by April 15th, Senate representatives for the following academic year.
6. If a Caucus fails to meet the requirements of 4.1.3, it will be considered “Inactive.”
  1. If a Caucus is inactive for two years, it must go through the procedures for new Caucuses described in 4.2.
7. Concerning paid service hours for Caucus members, Senate representatives will formally submit reimbursement forms to the Treasurer no later than the finals period of each semester compensating members of its Caucus for any formally approved hours of work done on behalf of the Caucus and its functions. Senate representatives cannot approve their own paid service hours, and must receive the approval of another Senate representative in order to receive approval from the Treasurer for paid service hours. Any participation in meetings of the Appointments Committee (5.3) and the Budget Committee (5.2) on behalf of Caucuses will be automatically valid for reimbursement.

Clubs
1. Clubs are defined as student groups that demonstrate active interest from the Student Body, fulfill an unmet social, artistic, or academic need in the student community, and demonstrate financial requests from the Student Senate budget. Only students may be Club members and serve as Senate representatives.
2. New Clubs shall be formed and officially recognized by the Student Senate through the following procedures:
  1. Submission to the Student Senate of a statement of purpose, a constitution of self-governance detailing the process for decision-making within the Club and how Senate representatives of the Club will be selected, as well as a petition with a minimum of 20% of the Student Body of persons supportive of the formation of said Club and 5% of the Student Body of persons intending to participate.
  2. Approval of the Student Senate by a simple majority vote of a quorum of its membership by secret ballot.
  3. Immediately upon formation of a new Club, the new Senate representatives will be elected and submit any budget requests prior to the following Student Senate meeting. Upon submission of the budget requests, the Budget Committee will convene to allot funding for the remaining semester.
3. In order to be considered an Active Club and receive funding, each Club shall:
  1. Choose at least two Senate representatives who will serve as liaisons with the Executive Committee and approve any budget expenditures from the Club. Club Co-Chairs for the following academic year must be elected and have names submitted to the Senate Secretary by April 15th.
  2. Send at least one representative to represent the Club at least three-fourths of meetings of the Student Senate. In the event that a student serves in multiple representative and reporting capacities, they may retain only one vote within the body of the Senate. The representative from the Club will report updates of Club activities to the Student Senate.
  3. Submit budget proposals, updates and requests to the Treasurer.
4. Concerning Club status, the following protocol will be taken by the Student Senate:
  1. In January and upon request by the Treasurer, the Senate Secretary shall submit a report to the Budget Committee and Senate representatives regarding attendance at Student Senate Meetings and, by April 15th, Senate representatives for the following academic year.
  2. If a Club fails to meet the requirements of 4.2.3, it will be considered “Inactive.”
  3. If a Club is Inactive for two semesters, it must go through the procedures for new Clubs described in 4.2.2.

Article V: Senate Committees

The Executive Committee
1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the following elected officers of the Student Senate:
  1. The two Co-Chairpersons
  2. The Secretary
  3. The Treasurer
  4. The two Ministers of Fun
  5. The Historian
  6. Any Ad Hoc Coordinators
2. The Executive Committee shall:
  1. Meet at least once between meetings of the Student Senate and/or upon the call of the Co-Chairpersons and before any meeting of the Student Body or Senate,
  2. Set the agenda for meetings of the Student Senate, subject to amendment and approval from the floor, and
  3. Undertake such tasks as are specifically designated to it by the Student Senate.

The Budget Committee
1. The Budget Committee shall be chaired by the Treasurer and consist of:
  1. At least one Co-Chairperson
  2. At least one of the Ministers of Fun
  3. At least two representatives from different Caucuses
  4. The following class representatives: First-Year M.A.R. and First-Year M.Div., Second-Year M.Div., and the Representative-at-large.
2. The Budget Committee shall be responsible for the composition of a budget proposal in the spring for the following academic year.
3. The budget proposal shall be composed according to the following procedures:
  1. The Budget Committee will receive a list of all Active Caucuses and Active Clubs for the following academic year.
  2. Each Active Caucus will automatically receive no less than 3% of the full annual Student Senate budget for operations, and no less than 1% of the full annual budget for the service hours of Caucus members.
  3. The Budget Committee will allocate remaining funds as it sees fit to the Student Senate fund, the Co-Sponsorship fund, the Ministers of Fun budget, the Student Senate retreat fund, the Student Emergency Fund, the Class Representatives, all Active Caucuses who submitted a budget proposal for additional funds, and to all Active Clubs who submitted a budget proposal for the following academic year.
4. The Budget Committee may be convened by the Treasurer on an emergency basis during the year to discuss any additional budgetary needs or crises.
5. The Budget Committee shall meet before the first Student Senate meeting of the Spring Semester to reexamine appropriations and redistribute unused or unneeded monies. At this time, each caucus or fund recipient shall present an updated budget, which accounts for appropriated monies and requests any additional monies.

Special Committees
1. Special Committees may be created by the Student Senate or the Co-Chairpersons of the Student Senate at any of its regular meetings. Their members, chairperson(s), terms, and charge shall be determined by the Student Senate or its designated agent.
2. Special Committees may adopt their own rules, subject to their charge. In the absence of such rules, they shall meet at the call of their chairperson(s), require a majority of their members for a quorum, and follow procedures outlined in Robert’s Rules of Order Revised.

Article VI: Elections and Recall

Elections
1. Candidates for elected positions and voters in elections of the Student Senate must be members of the Student Body (1.1). Regular elections for the elected officers of the Student Senate (Article III) shall be held within the month of April, with terms for elected positions beginning and ending at the last regular Student Senate meeting of the academic year. Elections shall be overseen by the Senate Secretary (3.2) with the assistance of the Student Appointments Committee (5.3), unless the Senate Secretary is currently running for an elected office on the Executive Committee (5.1), in which case the Co-Chairpersons may preside over the election.
2. Regular and special elections shall be held as provided below:
  1. The Senate Secretary shall initiate elections by announcing to the Student Body a call for nominations to all open positions. Any member of the Student Body (1.1) may nominate another student for an open position.
  2. Upon initiation of elections, the Senate Secretary shall receive nominations for all open positions for no less than five days following the announcement, three of which must be class days. Following this, the Senate Secretary shall give each nominee 3 days to confirm their nomination before placing their names on the ballot.
  3. All eligible voters should vote for their Class Representative in addition to other elected offices of the Student.
  4. All positions on the ballot shall be open to write-in candidates, whether or not there are nominees who have accepted nominations for those positions on the ballot.
  5. Rank choice voting is used for all positions where there are two or more candidates than open positions.
  6. Once the ballot has been disseminated, voting shall take place for no less than five days and no more than seven days.
  7. The Senate Secretary shall declare the results, in consultation with the Executive Team, and notify the candidates and sitting officers as well as the appropriate Seminary offices (i.e. Deans, Student Life, Facilities, etc.).
  8. The person(s) receiving the highest number of votes on a preferential ballot shall be elected and shall officially take seat in that position at the next Student Senate meeting.
3. In the event of a vacancy in an elected position of the Student Senate, the Secretary shall hold a special election to fill the office. If the vacant office is that of Secretary, the Co-Chairpersons may preside over the election. No special elections shall be held during summer intersession or examination periods.

Recall
1. Executive Committee members who do not fulfill their duties may be subject to recall. The process takes place as follows:
  1. A recall vote may be initiated either by three members of the Executive Committee or by a petition of at least 25% of members of the Student Body.
  2. Any recall votes must be advertised seven days before the meeting of the Student Senate. A two-thirds majority vote of the Student Senate is required for the recall of an elected Student Senate member.
2. Elected Class Representatives who do not fulfill their duties may be subject to recall. The process may take place as follows:
  1. The Senate Secretary will send a written warning to any Representative who has missed two meetings of the Class Representatives, the Student Senate or Budget Committee.
  2. After three absences, the Student Senate will hold a recall vote. Any recall votes must be advertised a week before the meeting of the Student Senate. A two-thirds vote is required for the recall of an elected representative.

Article VII: Rules and Amendments

Rules
1. The rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order Revised shall govern in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not consistent with the Agreements, By-Laws, or special rules of order.

Amendments
1. Amendments shall be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Student Senate at a regularly scheduled meeting for which there is a quorum.
2. Amendments must be distributed to the student body with an announcement of the intention to vote on them at least 48 hours before the regularly scheduled Student Senate meeting.

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UTS Student Senate Bylaws