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Last Updated: 2007-06-01 10:24:33


INTER-RESIDENCE COUNCIL CONSTITUTION


Preamble


The Inter-Residence Council at Southern Connecticut State University, as the largest organization representing on-campus students, is committed to providing a positive, approachable and effective forum for all students living on-campus. The Inter-Residence Council strives to be the aware and involved voice of Southern’s residential community and seeks to develop a broader intellectual, social, and cultural on-campus environment. From this foundation, the Inter-Residence Council trains and develops the next generation of student leaders.


Article I: Name


The official name of this organization shall be “The Inter-Residence Council of Southern Connecticut State University”, hereafter referred to as “IRC.”


Article II: Purpose


IRC is hereby established in order to:


  1. Serve as the voice of all students residing on campus, hereafter referred to as the resident student body;


  1. Function as the liaison between the resident student body and the staff/administration of the University;


  1. Recommend to the Department of Housing and Residence Life changes in its administrative policies for the betterment of the student body residing on campus; and


  1. Promote the general welfare of the undergraduate and graduate student body living on campus.


Article III: Membership and Eligibility


To be part of IRC a student must:


  1. Maintain a cumulative quality point ratio (QPR) of 2.0 or better;


  1. Live on campus during the academic term s/he is active in the organization.



Article IV: The Inter-Residence Council Executive Board


Section I: Composition of the IRC Executive Board


A. The IRC Executive Board shall consist of one (1) President, one (1) Vice-

President, one (1) Secretary, one (1) Treasurer, the chairperson of the IRC Programming Board and the Chairperson of the Council of the Presidents.


B. To be eligible for a position on the Executive Board, the following qualifications must be met:


  1. All candidates must be a current student at the University;


  1. All candidates must reside in a residence hall on campus for the length of their term in office;


  1. All candidates must have completed a minimum of 1 academic semester as a part of the general student body of the organization prior to being elected to office;


  1. Candidates may not hold the title of president or vice-president in their respective hall councils;


  1. No individual may run for or serve in more than one office on the Executive Board at the same time.


Section II: Duties of the IRC Executive Board


A. The President of the IRC shall:


1. Call to order and preside over all meetings of the IRC, both of the body and the Executive Board;


2. Establish an agenda for all Executive Board meetings;


3. Appoint committees and chairpersons when needed;


4. Act as liaison between the Spring Week and Homecoming Committee and IRC;


5. Act as liaison between the Division of Student Affairs and IRC;


6. Act as the spokesperson for IRC;


7. Appoint the members and the Chairperson of the Programming Board;


8. Appoint the Chairperson of the Council of Presidents;


9. Maintain at least 4 hours in the IRC Office per week;


10. Be an ex-officio member of all committees;


11. Be responsible, with the Vice President, for the planning and organizing of any IRC retreats.



B. The Vice-President of the IRC shall:


1. Assume the duties of the President in the event of the President’s absence;


2. Temporarily assume the position of President in the event of the President’s resignation or removal from office, until a new President of Inter-Residence Council is selected according to IRC policy;


3. Assist the President whenever possible in the performance of all IRC duties;


4. Attend a different Residence Hall Hall Council meeting per week to monitor development and efficiency;


5. Organize and meet with the Council of the Presidents weekly;


6. Submit to the members of IRC an annual report at the last meeting of every spring semester.


7. Maintain at least 4 hours in the IRC Office per week;


8. Act as a voting member of IRC.



C. The Secretary of the IRC shall:


1. Keep and distribute minutes of all official meetings of the IRC Body and the IRC Executive Board;


2. Maintain all non-financial records;


3. Maintains at least 4 hours in the IRC Office per week;


4. Maintain and update the records and files of the IRC;


5. Act at the discretion of the President;


6. Act as a voting member of IRC.



D. The Treasurer of the IRC shall:


1. Comply with the Financial Policy of the university


2. Be responsible for the payment of all bills incurred by the IRC, and for the deposit of

all receipts the university business office and accounts payable office in accordance with university policy;


3. Maintain and update all financial records for IRC;


4. Present written/ oral reports at each meeting of IRC;


5. Maintain at least 4 hours in the IRC Office per week;


6. Act as a voting member of IRC.


  1. The Chairperson of the Programming Board shall:


  1. Serve at the pleasure of the President within the position;


  1. Organize and coordinate all meetings of the Programming Board;


  1. Report to the Executive Board weekly regarding the activities of the Programming Board;


  1. Be appointed by the President and ratified by the body



F. The Chairperson of the Council of the Presidents shall:


  1. Serve at the pleasure of the President within the position;


  1. Organize and coordinate all meetings of the Council of the Presidents;


  1. Report to the Executive Board weekly regarding the activities of the Council of the

Presidents;


4. Be appointed by the President and ratified by the body



Section III: Elections

A. The procedures for the regularly scheduled election process are:

1: Students wishing to be elected to an IRC office may nominate themselves or be nominated by an IRC member in the second week of April;


2: The elections will take place in the spring semester no later then May 4th but no earlier then April 8th ;


3. Elections will be on line at the IRC website: www.scsuirc.com.


4. The IRC Advisors, along with a senior, non-returning IRC member, will collect the votes and the candidates will be notified by a phone call from one of the IRC Advisors;


5. The candidates receiving the simple majority of the vote shall be declared the official winners;


6. The term of office shall run from May 1st to May 1st of the following year;


7. Consecutive terms are allowed provided that the proper election procedures are followed.


B. Procedures for the election process to fill vacancies during the academic year are as follows:


1: Those who wish to fill the vacancy may nominate themselves or be nominated by an IRC member at the next scheduled IRC meeting after the vacancy occurs;


2: Elections shall be held two (2) weeks following the vacancy.


    1. Voting will be done by secret ballot;


    1. Two-thirds of the IRC membership must be present to hold the vote;


    1. IRC advisors shall collect and count the ballots.


    1. The candidate receiving the simple majority of the vote shall be declared the official winner.


    1. The term shall run until the following May 1st;


    1. In the interest of time, vacancies may be filled by an executive board nomination and vote only when the university is not in regular session;


    1. Any vacancies in the general membership shall be filled in accordance with the procedures established by that particular body.


Section IV: General Duties of the IRC Executive Board


  1. In addition to the specific responsibilities of each position, as listed in Art. IV, Sec. II, each member of the Executive Board must also complete the following as part of the position:


    1. Executive Board members shall be responsible for attending all General Assembly

meetings and all Executive Board meetings of the IRC;


    1. Executive Board members shall chair appropriate committees when applicable;


    1. The Executive Board shall address any and all issues brought to the attention of the IRC

by members of the General Assembly;


    1. Each Executive Board member, near the end of their term of office, must complete a detailed end-of-the-year report. This report must contain the officer’s general duties, position-specific duties, summaries of all programs and projects, and a troubleshooting section detailing problems the officer encountered and how they were overcome. In addition, each report should contain suggestions and/or ideas for the coming year. Each officer, regardless of whether or not they are returning to the specific position, must complete a report. This report should serve as a history of what occurred during the year and must be submitted to the head IRC advisor (Director of Housing);


    1. All officers of the IRC must hold weekly office hours, as determined by the IRC, which shall be no less than four (4) hours a week while classes are in session.



Section V: Impeachment of the IRC Executive Board


A. Grounds for Impeachment shall include:



1. Failure to perform the duties of the respective office as defined by this Constitution of IRC.


  1. The procedure for impeachment of an elected IRC officer shall be:


1. A complaint, in writing, must be filed with an IRC Advisor;


2. The advisor shall inform the grieved officer of stated complaint(s) in writing within 48 hours of receiving it;


3. The grieved officer shall have one (1) week to plead his/her case before the general IRC membership;


4. A simple majority vote shall result in the impeachment of said IRC officer.



Article V: The Inter-Residence Council General Assembly


Section I: Composition of the IRC General Assembly


A. The IRC General Assembly shall consist of student representatives from each Residence Hall


B. All representative shall be accorded voting privileges in the General Assembly according to the percentage of the on-campus population that resides in their Hall;.


C. The standard vote allocation shall be two (2) voting representatives per residence hall;


D. In the event of extenuating circumstances involving Residence Hall population, the number of representatives shall be reapportioned at the discretion of the Executive Board of IRC.


E. In no case could a resident hall have more than three (3) voting representatives or less than one (1) voting representative.



Section II: Duties of the General Assembly


A. IRC Representatives shall:


    1. Approve actions taken in the name of IRC;


    1. Be present at all weekly meetings of the IRC. If the representative is unable to attend, that representative is responsible for finding a substitute to attend the meeting;


    1. Serve on one (1) committee of the IRC per year and attend all meetings of that committee;


    1. Attend meetings deemed mandatory by the IRC Executive Board;


    1. Represent the residents of their Residence Hall on matters of concern to the IRC;


    1. Be responsible for communication between IRC, individual Residence Halls, and the staff of their respective Residence Halls.


Section III: Meetings of the IRC General Assembly


A. The first meeting shall be held by the second full academic week of the first full month of each semester.


B. Meetings shall be held (4) times per month during the academic year except when the college is not in regular session.


C. Additional meetings may be called at the discretion of the President upon request of a majority of the representatives or a majority of the Executive Board.


D. Meetings shall be run according to parliamentary procedure as stated in Roberts Rules of Order, Revised.


Section IV: Voting Procedures of the IRC General Assembly


  1. The voting members of the IRC General Assembly shall consist of :

    1. President only if a tie

    2. Vice President

    3. Treasurer

    4. Secretary

    5. Chair person of the Council of Presidents

    6. Chairperson of the Programming Board

    7. Hall Council Presidents

    8. Programming Board

    9. Another executive board member from each hall council


Article VI: Advisors


Section I: Approval of the advisor(s)


  1. There shall be at least two advisors to the IRC;


  1. At least one of the advisors to the IRC shall be from the Residence Life Staff;


  1. All Advisors function at the pleasure of the Director of Housing and Residence Life;


  1. The Director of Housing and Residence Life serves as the primary Advisor.



Article VII: Amendments to and Ratification of this Constitution


Section I: Amendments


1: Amendments shall be proposed by any student presently residing in an on-campus residence hall.


2: Proposals must be made in writing to the president at a scheduled IRC meeting.


3: Copies of the proposed amendment shall be distributed to all IRC members and IRC advisors.


4: A voting ratification will be done on-line at the end of the semester.


5: Two-thirds of the voting membership must be present in order to have a vote.


6: Two-thirds of the vote must be in favor of the amendment for it to be approved.


7: Upon approval, the amendment is to take effect immediately.



Section II: Ratification


A. This constitution shall be ratified upon the receipt of a two -thirds in favor vote cast by the IRC General Assembly.


B. upon ratification this constitution shall supersede and replace all previous constitutions of the Inter-Residence Council.


C. Any reading process begun under the previous constitution shall be heard according to that constitution.



This Constitution was revised on 5/4/07 by the 2006-2007 Inter-Residence Council Executive Board.