Page 119 - Smith College Student Handbook 16-17

Student Government Association
Bylaws to the Student Government Association Constitution
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Full Text of the Bylaws
PREAMBLE

The Bylaws to the SGA Constitution, from their inception, included feminine pronouns in officer descriptions and duties. In the spring of
2003, the student body voted to replace the pronoun “she” with the phrase “the student.” This decision was made in order to create language
in the Bylaws that was more inclusive of Smith’s dynamic student population, which includes a number of students who do not identify with
the pronoun “she.” The SGA recognizes and respects Smith’s long history of cultivating leadership skills in women, and continues to work to
be an empowering source for developing woman leaders. The SGA and the student body remain strong in their commitment to the tenets
upon which Smith College was founded, including the goals of women in leadership and the continuing education of individuals who struggle
with gender oppression.

Article I. Cabinet

SECTION 1. MEMBERS

A. The president of the SGA;
1. The student shall be the president-elect, a rising senior, and elected in a spring all-college election for a term of one year
and not subject to re-election.
2. The term shall begin at the first cabinet meeting of the academic year following the regular spring election. It shall end
on the last cabinet meeting in that same academic year. The student shall be available for counsel to the successor for
the remainder of the academic year.
3. The student shall call, create an agenda for, and preside over all meetings of the cabinet. The agenda shall be distributed
to all members of cabinet before the meeting.
4. The student shall not have a vote in any cabinet meetings except in the case of a tie.
5. The student shall be responsible for receiving petitions and requests from the student body and directing questions to
the appropriate student or administrative body for action.
6. The student shall be responsible for maintaining regular communications between the administration and the student
body.
7. At least once a semester, the student shall call for reports from the students on college and cabinet committees, and
shall conduct investigations or surveys on issues that become necessary.
8. The student shall sit on college and ad hoc committees at the discretion of the president of the college.
9. The student shall sit on the Five College Student Coordinating Board.
10. The student shall attend senate meetings.
11. The student shall meet weekly with the director of the office of student engagement and as necessary with the president
of the college, the dean of the college, the dean of student affairs, and other members of the college community.
12. Upon graduation, the student shall serve on the Board of Trustees for two years.
13. In the event that the office of president is vacated, it shall be filled, for the remainder of the term, by the vice-president
of the SGA.
B. The vice-president of the SGA; [See Article II]
C. The secretary of the SGA;
1. The student shall be a rising sophomore, junior, or senior, elected in the spring all-college election for a term of one
year.
2. The term shall begin at the cabinet meeting following election. It shall end at the cabinet meeting following the
successor's election. The student shall be available for counsel to the successor for the remainder of the academic year.
3. The student shall record minutes of cabinet meetings and senate meetings and make them available on the SGA
webpage.
a. The student shall be responsible for documenting and maintaining SGA cabinet meeting attendance policies.
4. The student shall handle the correspondence of the cabinet.
5. The student shall be responsible for cabinet publicity.
a. The student shall maintain public SGA bulletin boards. This can be in accordance with the help of the SGA
Office Manager and Student Resource Center.
b. The student may choose to publish SGA news and publicize events through a newsletter, established
relationship with the Smith Sophian, and other forms of social networks, i.e. Facebook, the SGA website on
the Smith College SGA page and Smith Social Network, Twitter, and Tumblr.
c. The student may also form a committee of senators to aid with maintaining SGA's visibility both on and off
campus.
6. The student shall be responsible for coordinating and maintaining 7 Sisters Coalition relationships and is a member of
the 7 Sisters Coalition Coordinating Board.

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