Model Constitution

URI Student Senate Organization Model Constitution | Recognition

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The purpose of the organization shall be to:
Article II. Section B. Purpose(Required)
The organization accepts that all activities of this organization shall be non-profit in nature. Meaning that any funds going into this organization will stay in the organization’s account and used for the organization’s function.
Article II. Section C. Student Senate Involvement(Required)
The organization accepts and understands that acts of the University of Rhode Island (URI) Student Senate shall take precedence over those of any URI Student Senate-recognized student organization. This includes control of physical and financial assets as deemed necessary. In being a Student Senate-recognized organization, you have full permission to use the URI logo, reserve space on campus using your @rhodysenate.org email address. Each organization is required to re-apply for Student-Senate recognition status on URInvolved (https://urinvolved.uri.edu/) by March 1st, or the first day of classes following March 1st unless special privileges are granted by the Student Organizations Committee (SOC).
Article II. Section D. Advisors(Required)
Any organization may have an URI faculty member become their advisor. The roles and responsibilities of the advisor is to serve as a background individual to help aid the club and to resolve conflict in the club. All Student Senate organizations are student led, meaning the advisors cannot plan events or use club funds. Advisors are not required, but if your organization has an advisor it must be written in the constitution.
Article II. Section E. Meetings(Required)
The regular meetings of this organization shall be held at least once a month from September to April, at a time and place to be chosen by the organization’s Executive board based on member availability. The Secretary shall give at least ten days’ notice of any change in the time of regular meetings.
Article II. Section F. Dues(Required)
Any organization may charge dues if there are associated costs to participate in the organization’s programing. If dues are being collected they must be submitted to the Student Senate Accounts office for the Organizations 900 fund. Some form of free programing must be offered for students who wish to experience the program before making any form of payment. If an organization is charging dues the constitution must be amended to justify dues payment and uphold the standards of being a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Article II. Section G. Greek Letter Organizations and National Societies(Required)
Any organization associated with a Greek Letter Organization or a National Society that has a dues/payment associated with membership must offer free programing to students wishing to participate. Dues may not be a requirement to run for any Eboard or leadership position. Founding members of an organization must not receive any financial benefits from their parent organization to start a chapter.
Article II. Section H. URInvolved(Required)
All student organizations must have a URInvolved account to publicly have their constitution and organization information available.
Article II. Section I. Off Campus Meetings and Events(Required)
Any organization meeting in an off campus setting must have a reason to do so that aligns with the purpose/mission of the organization. If an organization is meeting off campus they must offer accommodations for on campus students to participate. When an organization is meeting outside of URI’s properties, be mindful that the organization and individual members are representing URI and are required to follow rules and regulations for URI Student Conduct, and the laws for the state of Rhode Island.
Article II. Section J. Enforcement(Required)
Reports of violations to the constitution and/or URI’s policies can result in loss of funding and/or derecognition of organization status. URI’s Student Senate will work in conjunction with the Student Event Advising office and the Office of Student Involvement to address and enforce violations as necessary.
Article III. Section A. Members(Required)
Any URI undergraduate student who is required to pay the Student Activities Tax shall be eligible to full membership in this organization. Non-matriculated students, graduate students, faculty and other members of the URI community shall be eligible for associate membership. This organization shall not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, handicap, national origin, religious affiliation, or religious belief. Exceptions may be allowed if in violation of the organization’s purpose, pending approval of the SOC.
Each person who is a full member shall enjoy all rights and privileges of membership including, but not limited to, the right to be present at meetings, to ask questions and vote at elections and organization changes, and to hold office when duly elected. To be considered a member of a student organization, an individual must attend at least one organization meeting or event per month during the academic year, and be registered on the clubs URInvolved page. In addition, full members are required to:
Each person who is an associate member shall enjoy all rights of a full member except the right to vote, hold office, or receive special benefits paid for with URI student activities’ dollars (e.g., subsidized trips) To be considered a member of a student organization, an individual must attend at least one organization meeting or event per month during the academic year. In addition, associate members are required to:
Article III. Section D. Expulsion(Required)
Any member may be expelled for any negligent or malicious act which is detrimental to the purposes and principles of this organization. Negligent acts include, but are not limited to, violations of the laws of the State of Rhode Island, and/or violations of URI Student Senate and/or Memorial Union policies. To remove an organization member, a written notice must be given explaining the actions/violations to the SOC Chair (SOC@rhodysenate.org) and the Student Event Advisory (SEA) Graduate Student (sea@etal.uri.edu) for review. At minimum 6 students who are full members of the organization print their name and email on the notice explaining the reason for removal, these names may be made available to all parties upon request. The member in question must be included in the discussion to ensure fairness and equality on behalf of the student. Depending on the severity of the violation, URI officials will be notified as necessary. During the period between the written notice and the final decision of the Student organization committee the accused will not have the rights and privileges of membership. In the event of cases of sexual assault/misconduct, anyone can report it to URI’s Title IX office for follow up. Use this link for URI’s current resources: https://web.uri.edu/titleix/know-your-title-ix/
Article IV. Section A. Officers(Required)
The officers/Executive Board (Eboard) of this organization shall be the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, and if this organization is funded, the Treasurer. The President and the Treasurer have the signatory power relating to organizational funding. These officers shall perform the duties written in this constitution and by parliamentary authority adopted by this organization. If your organization has a position (or positions) other than those listed above, please refer to Article IX for amending the constitution.
Article IV. Section B. Officer Election(Required)
Officers must be elected each year in the spring semester by March 1st, or the first day of classes following March 1st unless special privileges are granted by SOC.
Article IV. Section C. Terms(Required)
These officers shall serve for a term of one year beginning at the end of the school year in which the election took place. Each officer may be re-elected to the same office any number of times.
Article IV. Section D. Officers(Required)
No person shall hold more than one office at a time within the same organization. If any office becomes vacant as a result of resignation, removal, or other cause, the members shall fill the vacancy at the next regular meeting after the vacancy arises. The organization may choose to have an election to fill in only the vacant position(s). If a current officer wishes to fill the vacancy in a different position they will be able to run for that position. The remaining officers may, by majority vote, designate any eligible full member to act in the capacity of the vacant office until the vacancy is filled.
Article IV. Section E. I-Stand Training(Required)
At least one Eboard member of every student organization must be trained on I-Stand Sexual Assault and Bystandard Intervention. The SOC will hold at least one training a year at the monthly Presidents’ meeting.
The President shall lead the organization serving as the primary individual representing the organization to the University. The responsibilities of the President shall also be:
The responsibilities of the Vice President shall be:
The responsibilities of the Secretary shall be:
The responsibilities of the Treasurer shall be to maintain and provide oversight of financial assets of the organization following the Student Senate’s Finance Handbook. Link to Handbook is https://web.uri.edu/studentsenate/wp-content/uploads/sites/2131/2019-12-16-Finance-Handbook-FINAL-2.pdf The responsibilities of the Treasurer shall also be:
Article IV. Section G. Officer Removal(Required)
Any reason to remove an officer from any position must have reason in line with Article III. Section D. Expulsion, or failure to follow their duties in fulfilling their part in their leadership positions listed in the constitution. The removal process follows the same rules listed in Article III. Section D.
Article V. Section A. Financials(Required)
All financial expenditures and commitments shall be jointly authorized by the signatures of the President and Treasurer. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to maintain accurate records of the financial status of the organization.
Article V. Section B. Accounting(Required)
All organizational money for groups shall be held by the Student Senate accounting office, without exception. Unfunded organizations may keep money in private group accounts with permission of the Student Senate Treasurer. Please refer to the Student Senate’s Finance Handbook for exceptions and further details
Article V. Section C. Stipends(Required)
In rare instances, members will be financially compensated for fulfilling position duties, subject to the discretion of SOC. To qualify for a stipend, the organization must have a consistent set program that serves the full student body in a manner that is above and beyond that of the average student organization. An approved stipended individual has a list of responsibilities that are essential for the organization’s function. Any stipend position is required to have a yearly review by the SOC.
Article V. Section D. Budgeting(Required)
Special meetings may be called by the President and shall be called upon the written request of five (5) full members of this organization. The purpose of the Each year a budget proposal is required to be submitted to get funding through the Student Senate’s Director of Treasury for approval.
Article VI. Section A. Elections(Required)
All elections for officers shall be decided by majority vote of the full membership and shall be conducted by secret ballot. Write-in votes shall be permitted on the ballot and shall be deemed valid if the intent to vote for a specific candidate for a specific position is clear. Elections must be completed before March 1st or the first day of classes following March 1st.
Article VI. Section B. Nominations(Required)
Any member may nominate any eligible member for any office or elected position. Eligibility is based on full membership, defined as being an organization member in good standing for at least one (1) full semester,. There are no requirements to run for an executive board position aside from being a full member. In the case of regular elections, nominations shall be opened at the last regular meeting before the prior chosen date of the election and shall be closed the day of the election. Candidates may be nominated for multiple positions. In the case of an election to fill a vacancy, nominations shall be opened at the first regular membership meeting after the vacancy occurs and shall be closed at the next regular membership meeting thereafter.
Article VI. Section C. Election Process(Required)
Immediately upon the close of nominations, an election shall be held. If any election has only one candidate, that person must still face election by ballot, and shall be liable to defeat by write-in votes. If no candidate receives a majority on the first ballot there shall be no election and the ballot shall be repeated as many times as is necessary until a candidate is elected by majority. Each ballot after the first shall include the name of all nominees who do not themselves withdraw.
Article VI. Section D. Robert’s Rules of Order(Required)
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the organization in all cases that apply and are consistent with this constitution and any special rules of order the organization may adopt.
Article VI. Section E. Pre-Voting Process(Required)
Each candidate for each position shall get the same allotted to speak per position. Once each candidate gets the chance to speak, questions will be open to any voting member of the organization and each candidate will be given a chance to respond to any question. The order of voting will go: President, Vice President, Treasurer, then Secretary.
Article VI. Section F. Ballots(Required)
All elections for officers shall be decided by majority vote of the full membership and shall be conducted by secret ballot. Write-in votes shall be permitted on the ballot and shall be deemed valid if the intent to vote for a specific candidate for a specific position is clear. Write in votes do not require a nomination. It is recommended that a graduating individual reads and counts the ballots, but any member who is not running for a position can read the ballots and determine a winner.
Article VI. Section G. Ties(Required)
In the case of a tie, a runoff election will be held immediately where only candidates tied for the most votes will be in the runoff election. If there are only no candidates to be eliminated in the first election, or all individuals minus the two tied candidates receive no votes, the election will take place at the next meeting. The runoff election will happen in the exact same way as the pre-voting process listed in Article VII section B
Article VII. Constitutional Amendments(Required)
This constitution may be amended at any regular meeting of the organization by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the full members, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing at a previous regular meeting at least one week earlier. All such amendments shall become effective only upon approval by the SOC of the Student Senate. Changes can include but not be limited to Additional leadership positions, committees, and election requirements.
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