The name of this organization shall be the El Centro College Student Government Association, and shall hereinafter be referred to as the ECCSGA.

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1 EL CENTRO COLLEGE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION PREAMBLE We, the students of El Centro College, in order to promote student rights, needs and interests; ensure academic freedom and academic responsibility; and to advise the governing board and administration of this institution on the type, and expenditure of compulsory fees for student services and described under Title 3, Section of the Texas Higher Education Code, do affirm and establish this as the constitution for the EL Centro College Student Government Association. Article I Name The name of this organization shall be the El Centro College Student Government Association, and shall hereinafter be referred to as the ECCSGA. Article II Objective The objective of the ECCSGA shall be to uphold El Centro College, hereinafter referred to as ECC, students rights, needs and interests; ensure academic freedom and academic responsibilities; furthering education and provide student leadership and community service opportunities; as well as, to encourage cooperation and communication between the students, faculty, administration, other campus organizations, and to become actively involved in the Texas Junior College Student Government Association, hereinafter referred to as the TJCSGA. Article III Membership Section 1 - Eligibility of Elected Members A. Elected Members shall maintain 1. Current enrollment in, or has achieved a minimum of six (6) credit hours at ECC during the spring and fall semester, whereas summer counts toward the fall semester, while in office. 2. A current overall grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.7 on a 4.0 scale. B. Members must have filled out the ECCSGA membership application, defined by the Director of Student Life. Section 2 - Duties of ECCSGA Elected Members A. ECCSGA members are expected: 1. To represent the ECCSGA at campus activities. 2. To make their position known throughout their constituency by way of student interaction and participation in ECC events. B. Members shall be: 1. Given one vote on all matters before the ECCSGA and in committees. 2. Available a minimum of one (1) scheduled hour per week in the ECCSGA office to answer student questions and must note any student concerns. 3. Responsible for having read materials in his or her mailbox and , seven (7) days after date of correspondence. Section 3 Term of Office A. Term of office shall be one (1) full academic calendar year, beginning on or before June 1 st of the spring semester to the following June 1 st of the spring semester of the next academic calendar year. B. Elected Members may serve no more than four (4) consecutive terms. C. Senators may serve an office no more than three (3) consecutive terms. Section 4 Definition of Senators A. Senators shall: 1. Be allowed to join a committee, wherein they are given one vote. 2. Fill vacancies that occur in the ECCSGA Elected Membership. 3. Be voted in by majority vote (2/3) before the full body of the ECCSGA. Section 5 ECCSGA Membership Termination A. Membership may be terminated when 1. Three (3) general meetings/events are missed. (After missing 2 meetings, a warning regarding termination will be received.)

2 2. A member is not in compliance with any portion of Article III, Section A member is not in compliance with the Code of Student Conduct as printed in the ECC College Catalog. a.) Violators are subject to dismissal by majority (1/2 + 1) vote of the ECCSGA or by the Director of Student Life. b.) During road trips, violators may be sent home at their expense, at the advisor s discretion. 4. Voted by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the ECCSGA membership with approval of the ECCSGA advisor. B. Procedure for termination shall be: 1. Upon official confirmation by the Director of Student Life, membership of the individual in question is considered suspended. 2. The ECCSGA Secretary shall mail a letter and when available to notify the member of suspension explaining the reason and their opportunity to appeal. 3. The member must schedule a time to meet with advisors and the ECCSGA executive board, prior to an appeal. 4. Once ten (10) business days pass without response from a suspended member. The member is considered to be terminated. C. Terminated ECCSGA individuals must re-qualify and be re-elected by constituency after a two-year period following the violation. (If termination due to conduct violation, individual not eligible for re-instatement.) Article IV Quorum A quorum shall be defined as one-half plus one (1/2+1) of the total ECCSGA Elected membership. A. If a quorum does not exist, no official action may take place. Article V Elections Section 1 Time of Officer Election The officer election shall begin during the third week of April and concluded with elections on the following Friday of the next week. Section 2 Procedures for Officer Election Election procedures are outlined in the Election Guidelines attached to this Constitution as determined by Director of Student Life, and the SGA Advisors A. ECCSGA elected members shall be: 1. Comprised of at least eight (8). 2. Voted for at large. B. Senators shall be comprised of all of the remaining candidates not elected by the student body, by descending vote count. C. The Director of Student Life is granted one (1) vote to break a tie. Section 3 Special Election A. Special Election 1. Be called for by the President (or Advisor in the event there is not a President) 2. Take place during a general assembly. 3. Be made by majority vote. 4. Be called upon when a position was not fulfilled during regular elections. 5. Be called upon when an elected member is terminated. 6. Grant the Director of Student life one vote in the event of a tie. 7. Shall take place during spring or fall. Article VI Meetings Section 1 General Assembly A. The ECCSGA shall hold regular meetings at least every other week during the ECC fall and spring semesters. Dates and times of official meetings shall be determined by a majority (1/2+1) vote of the Elected Board. B. General Assemblies are open to El Centro College Student Government Association Students/Provision. Section 2 Special Meeting A special meeting may be called by the President or two-third (2/3) majority vote of the members.

3 Section 3 Closed Meetings A. Closed meeting shall be defined as one in which attendance is limited to ECCSGA members and advisors. No minutes shall be kept at this meeting. B. The President may call a closed meeting, only in the event that disciplinary actions are involved. C. Members may call a closed meeting by majority (1/2+1) vote of the members. D. Members may only represent ECCSGA during closed meetings. Section 4- Executive Board Meeting a. Guest maybe invited to the Executive Board meeting at the discretion of the Executive Board with majority approved b. The Executive Board and Senators shall be governed by these same attendance provisions of general meetings. c. Executive Board meetings shall occur every other week, not coinciding with General Assemblies. Article VII Officers Section 1 Definition A. The executive officers of the ECCSGA shall be, in ranking order: 1. President 2. Vice-President 3. Ambassador 4. Secretary 5. Treasurer 6. Parliamentarian 7. Historian 8. Public Relations Section 2 Duties of Executive Officers A. The duties of the President shall be: 1. To preside over official and special ECCSGA meetings. 2. To create and appoint select committees, as needed. 3. To prepare, the meeting agenda at least forty-eight (48) hour prior to meeting. 4. To vote only in the event of a tie 5. To process correspondence from other schools and outside contacts. 6. To keep the Director of Student Life on all pertinent issues presented to the ECCSGA. 7. To serve as chief spokesperson of the ECCSGA at all Regional and State meetings, except for duties required of an Ambassador. B. The duties of the Vice-President shall be: 1. To execute the duties of the President in his/her absence. 2. To maintain and ensure communication between members of the ECCSGA, and perform administrative functions for the ECCSGA. 3. To contact all members prior to every meeting. 4. To serve as a member and to oversee on all committees. C. The duties of an Ambassador shall be: 1. To represent the ECCSGA Objective (Article II), while in any organization to which he or she may be appointed/selected by the ECCSGA. 2. To fulfill the duties required by the internal/external organization. 3. To report goals of said organization to the ECCSGA. 4. To present all meeting minutes of said organization to the ECCSGA. E. The duties of the Secretary shall be: 1. To call roll at meetings and determine the presence of a quorum. 2. To record and post the minutes of the most recent meeting within forty-eight (48) hours after the meeting. 3. To assist with ECCSGA correspondence as required. 4. To keep an accurate record of elected member required office hours (1 hour per week). 5. Keep records of all minutes. F. The duties of the Treasurer shall be: 1. To supervise operational finances of SGA.

4 2. To maintain budget for the current year. 3. To prepare budget for the following year. G. The duties of the Parliamentarian shall be: 1. To ensure proper execution of the Parliamentary Procedure is followed as outlined in Robert Rules of Order during ECCSGA meetings. 2. To train members of the ECCSGA in use of Parliamentary Procedure, per request. 3. To ensure that the rules outlined in this constitution are followed. 4. To have in his or her possession at all meetings: the constitution, the parliamentary authority, and any standing rules the association may adopt. H. The duties of the Historian shall be: 1. To record the events of the ECCSGA 2. To become knowledgeable of ECC history 3. To keep track of all-historical ECCSGA 4. I. The duties of Public Relations shall be: 1. To promote organization and hosted events. 2. To create marketable items to publicize all news to members. 3. To manage Social Networks/ Contact. Section 4 Replacement of Officers A. Replacement of resigned, excused or dismissed officers shall be: 1. By succession of office where President is considered the first position, the Vice-President is considered the second, Ambassador is considered the third, Secretary is considered fourth, Parliamentarian is considered fifth, Treasurer is sixth, Historian is seventh and Public Relations is considered the last. If succession is refused, then a special officer election shall be held. 2. In the event should an officer other than the president and vice-president resign, the president can call for an election or appoint if the election process fails. Section 5 Removal of Officers It is the intent of this section to provide the ECCSGA with a degree of self-governance. Since the style of this body requires teamwork, this provision is designed to make officers aware that their function is to help the ECCSGA to move forward as a whole, not in part. A. The procedure to remove any members of ECCSGA, including officers, shall be: 1. Any ECCSGA Elected member may call for a vote of no confidence in any officer or chair. 2. Procedure for vote of no confidence is: a.) Once a vote of no confidence is called, a quorum of ECCSGA Elected Members must affirm by a twothird (2/3) vote for no confidence for any officer, member, or committee chairperson. b.) If voted out, the officer, member, or committee chairperson will be stripped of their privileges and responsibilities of his or her office or chair. c.) The President (or Vice-President if the President is voted out) must immediately appoint an interim officer to hold the position until the vacancy is filled by a special officer election In the event of a chair being voted out, a replacement must be voted for within seven (7) days, by members of the affected committee. B. Removal by the Director of Student Life or ECCSGA advisor. 1. At any time, an officer or chair may lose his or her position for misconduct or misrepresentation of the ECCSGA, at the discretion of the Director OF Student Life or ECCSGA advisor. 2. The misconduct or misrepresentation must be documented. Article VIII Boards and Committees Section 1 ECCSGA Boards A. Executive Board Section 2 Definition and Duties of the Executive Board A. Members shall be comprised of the executive officers.

5 B. The duties of the Executive Board shall be: 1. To finalize agenda items. 2. To prepare informal reports. 3. To collaborate on the business of the organization. 4. To appoint additional Senators to the ECCSGA should membership fall below fifteen (15) members, by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) majority. 5. To call a special general election in the event that ECCSGA membership falls below seven (7) members, buy a vote of two-thirds (2/3) majority. 6. To call a special election for any legislation to be brought before El Centro s student body, by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) majority. 7. To appoint an acting Parliamentarian and Historian, in the event of resignation, termination or unexcused absenteeism. 8. To educate new/succeeding ECCSGA members of their duties and requirements, as well as, any pressing issues. Section 3 ECCSGA Committee Members A. The Committee Members shall be: 1. ECCSGA members interested in serving on a committee. 2. Appointed by the ECCSGA President, in the event that membership for a committee is too low. Article IX Appeal Section 1 Appeal Process A. Members have the right to one appeal of any and all disciplinary decisions to the ECCSGA Executive Board. B. The appeal process shall be: 1. Members who appeal are granted a cooling off period of seven (7) days before the appeal process begins unless the member waves this right. 2. The President must give the member the opportunity to have the decision undertaken by the full body. C. Reinstatement shall be: 1. By two-third (2/3) majority vote. Section 2 Repeat Offenses Members terminated for a repeated offense forfeit the right to appeal. Article XI Amendments Section 1 Amendments to this constitution or its bylaws will be made by a two-third (2/3) majority vote of total membership of the ECCGSA in regular session after the proposed amendments have been given and reviewed by the Legislative Committee. Section 2 Constitutional amendments will go into effect at the beginning of the following fall semester. Article XII Ratification Section 1 This constitution and its bylaws will be considered valid when approved by two-third (2/3) majority vote of the ECCSGA. Section 2 Should an interpretation of this constitution be in dispute, a two-third (2/3) majority opinion of the quorum will hold. Rewording as a result must be documented and dated as such in official reprints of the constitution.

Student Senate for California Community Colleges Region VII By-Laws. Student Senate for California Community Colleges Region VII.

Student Senate for California Community Colleges Region VII By-Laws TABLE OF CONTENT ARTICLE I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX CONTENT Name Purpose Region VII Student Council Region VII Representation Region