Constitution
Article I: PurposeA. To independently represent the student body in its interactions with the remainder of the university, and to form official opinions on behalf of the student body in response to administrative policies.
B. To promote academic excellence.
C. To promote communication, cooperation, and understanding among students, faculty, and the administration.
D. To serve as funding agency for students and student organizations by establishing a budget for student funding and disbursement of these funds according to set budget guidelines.
Article II: Membership
A. Council members shall be students of The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
B. Membership shall be classified as follows:
1. Non-voting members- All students currently enrolled in the Ohio State University College of Medicine shall maintain the status of non-voting member.
2 Voting Members- Each of the four classes shall elect eight members (as is outlined below) to serve a one-year term as voting members and hence shall have the authority to vote on all matters of this organization. Additionally, the four elected executive committee members and the faculty advisor shall hold voting status.
C. Advisor- the Advisor of Student Council will be the Dean of Student Affairs. He or she will serve to inform the council regarding organization activities and administrative policies.
D. This organization will not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, age, sex, disability or sexual orientation.
Article III: Organization of the council
A. The executive committee (consisting of a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer) will oversee the proceedings of the council. These positions will be chosen by annual elections (see below). In addition to the members above, the president of each class will be a member of the executive committee.
B. Each class will have eight representatives, two of which will be the class president and vice-president.
C. Standing Committees- The following committees are permanent and hence must be active. The chairpersons of the standing committees are to be elected by the council for a one-year term.
1. Budget/Funding committee- This committee shall be chaired by the treasurer and shall establish an annual budget for student funding through the Office of Student Affairs to be proposed to the council and voted upon by majority ruling. Additionally, one person from each class of representatives shall sit upon this committee.
2. Election- The election committee will be responsible for running the election of the voting members and executive officers.
3. Winter Formal- The winter formal committee will be responsible for the planning and coordination of the formal to be held in winter quarter of each year.
4. Community Service- The community service committee will be responsible for organizing service projects.
5. Intramurals- The intramural committee will be responsible for organizing intramural events and keeping the student body informed of activities available.
6. Fundraising- The fundraising committee will be responsible for raising moneys to fund council activities.
7. Web page- This committee will be responsible for keeping the web page up-to-date and useful for the student body.
D. With the exception of the standing committees, the President may establish or dissolve committees pending the approval by the council.
Article IV: Duties and Qualifications of Council Officers
A. President
1. Nominees for Council president shall be voting members and shall have attended at least six (6) regular meetings in one (1) year by the time of nomination.
2. The president shall be chief executive of the Council.
3. The president shall have a seat on the Council of Chairs and the Executive Curriculum Committee of the college.
4. The president shall appoint Ad Hoc Committees as required. This action is subject to Student Council approval.
5. The president shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
6. The president shall have power to make executive decisions at the advice of the Executive Council during the interim periods between meetings; however, the decisions are subject to the approval of the full council at the next meeting.
7. The president cannot concurrently serve as a class officer of his/her respective class.
8. The treasurer, president, vice-president, and secretary may sign all Council authorized written contracts or obligations.
B. Vice-President
1. Nominees for vice-president shall be voting members and have attended at least (6) of the regular meetings by the time of nomination.
2. The vice-president shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
3. The vice-president shall assist the President in all matters of the council and perform the duties of the chief executive in the absence of the Council President.
4. The vice-president cannot concurrently serve as a class officer of his/her respective class.
5. The treasurer, president, vice-president, and secretary may sign all Council authorized written contracts or obligations.
C. Treasurer
1. The treasurer shall record all Student Council debts and credits.
2. The treasurer, president, vice-president, and secretary may sign all Council authorized written contracts or obligations.
3. Records shall be open for inspection by Council members at every regular Student Council meeting.
4. The treasurer must report at regular Council meetings all liabilities and assets of Council.
5. The treasurer shall only disperse funds upon the following:
a. An approved motion of Student Council or the Executive Committee, or
b. An emergency decision by the President pending council approval
6. The treasurer shall chair the budget/funding Committee that is appointed at the beginning of his/her term.
7. The treasurer cannot concurrently serve as a class officer of his/her respective class.
D. Secretary
1. The secretary shall record the minutes.
2. The secretary shall be charged with the correspondence of the Council.
3. The secretary shall post notices and agendas prior to each regular meeting.
4. The secretary shall keep attendance at the meetings and shall record excused and unexcused absences.
5. The secretary shall post one copy of the previous meeting's minutes on the Student Council bulletin board and the council website at least one week prior to the next meeting.
6. The secretary shall be charged with the holding and filing of all written documents pertaining to Council and must report at regular meetings the correspondence addressed to Council. These documents include a binder with all of the minutes from that year's previous meetings for referral at meetings, etc.
7. The secretary cannot concurrently serve as a class officer of his/her respective class.
8. The treasurer, president, vice-president, and secretary may sign all Council authorized written contracts or obligations.
Article V: Meetings
A. All meetings of the Council shall be held at The Ohio State University in the Meiling Hall cantina whenever possible.
B. All meetings shall be open to all students, faculty, and administrators, except when the Council votes for a closed meeting by majority.
C. There shall be at least one regular meeting each month unless the Executive Committee decides to adjust the meeting schedule.
D. The executive committee may elect to meet more often, and this is at the discretion of the president.
E. Items must be submitted to the president of the executive committee no less than 48 hours before the meeting in order to be placed on the agenda.
F. A quorum must be present before Council action can occur and shall consist of a number of voting members equal to fifty-one percent (51%) of the total Council membership. In the event of an important resolution or vote, the council shall be notified via e-mail of the importance of attendance. However, if at least 25% of voting members are present and there are no objections by voting members, then quorum rules may be suspended when voting is required. The proposal will then be passed by Student Council by majority vote.
G. Attendance requirements- A council member must not miss in excess of three (3) meetings. Each absence must be explained and accounted for by the secretary. Upon the fourth (4th) absence, the council member will be excused from the position previously held in Student Council, will be ineligible for re-election for the following term, and the removal will be reported to Student Affairs. Reinstatement to the previously held office my be granted upon a 2/3 approval vote by the Council after a personal appeal.
Article VI: Procedures
A. Election of class officers (with the exception of the Med I class)
1. Each April, the Chair of the election committee will make a general open call for nominees to each class for the representative positions for the following year. This nomination period will last for one week. Nominees will be asked to submit a brief essay detailing why they wish to be elected and their qualifications. The election committee will post these essays and nominees' names on the class list-serve or council website, and a general election in that class will be held. The election should not be open for voting for more than a one week period. The eight nominees with the most votes will be elected to the council. In the event of a tie for the last spot, a runoff will take place, in which the people who tied for the last spot will be voted upon by the class. These newly elected members will assume their duties at the May council meeting.
2. Determination of class president and vice-president- The office of president shall be offered to the top vote getter of each class. If he or she declines the position, then it shall be offered to the next highest vote-getter, etc. This will be followed by a similar process to determine the vice president, with the top vote-getter that is not president being offered the position, and so-on.
3. In the event that a newly elected representative changes their standing in the college (i.e. goes from 2-year to 3-year ISP program, decides to complete an MPH, MBA, etc.), then that person shall remain in their elected position for that year. It is the responsibility of that person's former class president to decide upon whether or not to fill their vacant spot on the council. If that person happens to be the class president, then he or she must step down from that post, and the position is offered to the representatives of the class as outlined above.
B. Election of Med I class officers
1. The med I class officers will be elected via the same guidelines as posted above, with the election to be overseen by the election committee. These new members are to be elected in time to attend the October meeting of the council.
C. Election of Executive Committee Officers
1. The Student Council shall elect by majority an Executive Committee consisting of a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer.
2. Nomination of Executive Committee officers shall occur at the regular March meeting. An open call for nominations shall be made one (1) week prior to the March meeting.
3. The election of Council officers shall occur at the regular April meeting and will be presided over by the chair of the election committee unless s/he is running for office, in which case another person will be appointed by the current council president. The April meeting shall constitute the last meeting of that school year.
4. Voting members, including the outgoing Executive Committee officers, are qualified to cast ballots in the election. No absentee or proxy ballots will be accepted for election of the Executive Committee.
5. During the April meeting, the nominees for each position will have a certain amount of time (to be determined by the chair of the election committee) to discuss their plans for the coming year in that position and their qualifications. The current president will then be given the floor to ask any questions of each nominee. The vote will be made by silent ballot and the results are to be tabulated by the outgoing president immediately following the vote, and the results will be read aloud to the council.
6. The Executive Committee officers will be elected in the following order: president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. Floor nominations will be accepted only if there is no candidate for an office, or if a candidate loses an election to one office and wishes to be considered for another office. Floor nominations must be made by Council members who have voting status by the March meeting.
7. Newly elected officers shall assume their offices immediately after the tallying of votes.
8. The newly elected officers are exempt from the class representative voting to take place the following month. The newly elected executive committee automatically has a spot on the next academic year's council and do not need to place their names in the class election process.
9. Officers shall serve for one (1) academic year, from the time of election until elections for their positions are held for the following year.
C. Impeachment
1. A council member may be removed for cause by 2/3 vote of the quorum after nomination and seconding of the motion by general council members. Following such removal, a new representative shall be elected from that class within one (1) week. If the position was an executive committee position, the council shall vote to fill that spot. The chair of the elections committee shall supervise such elections. No absentee ballots or proxy votes will be accepted for impeachment of a Student Council officer.
2. Possible reasons for impeachment may include, but are not limited to:
a. Three (3) unexcused absences from council meetings.
b. Honor code violations (as outlined in the student handbook).
c. Non-academic violations of the student handbook.
d. Any action deemed to be unbecoming to the council, the College, or the University not otherwise specified.
3. If a member is impeached, he or she is not eligible for re-election.
D. Resignation
1. In order to resign from one's elected position, the Executive Committee or class officer must submit a written resignation to Student Council. Following resignation, a new officer shall be elected for the position either at the next meeting for replacement of an Executive Committee officer or within one (1) week for replacement of a class officer. No absentee ballots or proxies will be accepted. The chair of the elections committee shall supervise such elections. If the election committee chair resigns from his/her position, the Executive Committee shall appoint a Council member to supervise the election.
E. Amendments
1. Amendments shall be presented to Council members in written form stipulating the article and paragraph to be amended and containing the substance of the amendment.
2. Each amendment shall and must be voted upon within the next two (2) regular meetings either to accept or defeat the amendment.
3. A 2/3 vote of the Council quorum as defined is necessary to pass an amendment. No absentee ballots shall be accepted for the passing of an amendment.
F. Revision of the Constitution
1. Revision should take place at the beginning of each even-numbered academic year. The next shall take place the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year.
G. Contract Revision
1. Any contracts that are to be signed into by a member of the council must be reviewed by at least two members of the council prior to signing this contract. Preferably, one reviewer should be a member of the executive committee.
Article VII: Powers and Duties of Council
A. Council shall elect or appoint representatives to various organizations that are internal or external to The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health.
B. Council shall be the outlet of information regarding internal College issues from the administration to the student body.
C. Administration of funds to the student body
1. In August of each school year, the council receives a sum of money from the Office of Student Affairs, the sum of which is determined by that office each year. The purpose of this money is to fund student events. These include, but are not restricted to, social events (not to be used for alcohol purchase), conference fees, and poster/paper presentation. The use of these funds is at the discretion of the council.
2. In order to fairly and properly disburse these funds, the council has empowered the funding committee to handle and propose budget requests. The procedure of these requests is as follows:
a. A budget request form shall be filled out by the student(s) requesting funds. These are to be turned in to the student council mailbox.
b. The funding committee, which consists of the treasurer (chair) and a council member from each class of the college, will meet shortly before each council meeting to discuss the relevance of these requests and decide whether they should go before the council for approval.
c. Each of the relevant requests will be presented briefly to the council and a vote will be taken.
d. Funds will be disbursed according to the funding algorithm, to be amended by the incoming funding committee at the beginning of each year, and accepted by the general council at the first meeting of the year.
e. Approved funds will be disbursed by reimbursement only, except by special permission of the treasurer. Original paid receipts must be presented to the Office of Student Affairs for reimbursement.
f. Students may receive funding disbursements as agreed upon by members of the finance committee in an amount not to exceed that which has been established as a maximum amount per student per academic year.
D. Council shall place two representatives on the Executive Curriculum Committee. The president of the executive committee will hold one of these positions. The second position is to be a Med II to be voted upon at the beginning of each academic year for a one year term as a member of this committee.
Last updated: Spring 2003