Constitution of the Residence Hall Association of Purdue University PREAMBLE We, the representatives of the Purdue Residence Halls, in order to maintain our position as active partners in the university community, facilitate the advancement of Learning, Discovery, and Engagement, to establish effective communication between the residence halls, and to fairly and accountably allocate resources granted to us as a whole, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Residence Hall Association. ARTICLE I. NAME AND PURPOSE Section 1.01 Name: The name of this organization shall be the Residence Hall Association of Purdue University (RHA). This organization is affiliated with the Boilermaker Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary(NRHH) Section 1.02 Purpose: The purpose of the Residence Hall Association shall be to promote coordination, collaboration and cooperation among the Residence Halls of Purdue University, to provide a forum for the discussion of issues relevant to the residents of said halls, to serve as a liaison between residents and Purdue University, and to foster an environment which promotes leadership and encourages a sense of community among all residents in Purdue Residence Halls. ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP Section 2.01. Membership: Part A. RHA may not deny or abridge the rights enjoyed by members under the constitutions and laws of the United States and the State of Indiana or under the Purdue University policies and regulations affecting Students. Part B. Membership in RHA shall consist of students residing in due. paying Residence Hall Clubs of the Purdue University Residences, as outlined in Article I of the Bylaws. Section 2.02. Statement of Non-Discrimination: Membership and participation are free from discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, disability, or status as a military veteran. ARTICLE III. Executive Board Section 3.01. Executive Officers: The RHA Executive Board Officers shall not hold an Executive Board position of any Residence Hall Club, except during a period of transition after RHA elections to the end of the current academic year. In which case, the newly elected officer must end their term as an Executive Board member of A Residence Hall Club club at the conclusion of the current academic year. 1
The Executive Officers are listed below in order of seniority and succession unless otherwise noted. Part A. RHA President: The RHA President shall be the Chief Executive Officer, head, and official spokesperson and representative of RHA. The RHA President shall have, among others, the following duties, powers, and authority as described herein: a.! Oversight of Executive Board Meetings; b.! chair the Presidents Roundtable; c.! convening emergency meetings of the General Assembly; d.! veto power of any legislation passed by the General Assembly ; e.! to act as a liaison to Purdue Student Government, Purdue Student Union Board, and any other student organization; f.! to veto any legislation within one (1) week after it is passed and provide an explanation in writing to the entire RHA General Assembly and Executive Board; g.! to serve as an official representative of RHA; h.! to appoint a temporary Executive Officer position, to fill a vacancy, until one can be elected by a full council pursuant to the Removal article in the Bylaws of RHA; i.! to hold responsibility for implementing the RHA Strategic Plan. Part B. RHA Vice-President: The RHA Vice-President shall be the President of the General Assembly, and shall perform the duties of the RHA President in the event the RHA President unable to preform their duties or is no longer a member of RHA. The RHA Vice-President shall convene the General Assembly. The RHA Vice-President shall perform those duties assigned by the RHA President or as contained herein: a.! to consult and receive reports from all ad-hoc committees; b.! to prepare the weekly agenda for the General Assembly meeting; c.! ability to appoint speaking seats, and with it speaking power. Part C. The National Communications Coordinator: The National Communications Coordinator (NCC) shall be the primary inter-campus representative of the RHA. The duties shall include: a.! to serve as the voting representative of the RHA at business meetings of multicampus organizations to which the RHA maintains membership; b.! to be responsible for the organization of RHA delegations to multi-campus organizational conferences; c.! to serve as parliamentarian for the RHA; d.! to chair elections of the RHA officers according to the Elections Procedures of the bylaws; e.! to attend all meetings of and act as a liaison between the RHA and the Boilermaker Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary. Part D. RHA Administrator: The RHA Administrator shall keep records related to all RHA financial and operational undertakings. The RHA administrator shall keep the accounts, deposit the organization's funds, and make expenditures in a manner approved by the Business Office for Student Organizations. The RHA Administrator shall be the Chief Financial Officer of RHA and shall be responsible for finances and expenditures of all actions and activities of RHA. The RHA Administrator shall be the authority on all budgetary matters and expenditures previously allocated by General Assembly that are not specifically reserved to 2
the jurisdiction of the General Assembly. The RHA Administrator will also be responsible for the collection of dues from all member residence halls and for executing all budgetary bylaws. The RHA administrator shall also be the Chief Records and Operations officer of RHA. As Chief Records Officer, the Administrator shall be responsible for producing Minutes for all General Assembly and Executive Board meetings as well as maintaining updated versions of all legislation (including amendments, if applicable) and directing passed legislation to the RHA President for signature. a.! to submit the minutes to all members and handle all business correspondence of the RHA, including the RHA e-mail account, mailbox, and other forms of communication in a timely manner; b.! to maintain the contact list, act as the club historian, and handle all upkeep of the club office; c.! to ensure all outgoing RHA documents are formatted properly; d.! to present all submitted amendments to the President, Vice-President, and RHA Advisors. Part F. Programming Director: The Programming Director shall be in charge of planning and facilitating all RHA sanctioned programs. The Programming Director shall perform those duties assigned by the RHA President or as contained herein: a.! to chair the Programming Committee; b.! to direct all RHA events; c.! to act as a consultant and oversee all programming subcommittees; d.! to oversee all collaborative events in which the RHA is a participating member. Part G. Public Relations and Marketing Director: The Public Relations and Marketing Director shall be the Chief Publications Officer of the RHA. The Public Relations and Marketing director shall perform those duties assigned by the RHA President or as contained herein: a.! to chair the Public Relations Committee; b.! to enforce any regulations pertaining to publicity; c.! to advertise and market all RHA sponsored events d.! D. to act as custodian of RHA social media accounts Part H. Issues and Facilities Director: The Issues and Facilities Director shall be the delegated representative to represent University Residents concerns. The Issues and Facilities Director shall perform those duties assigned by the RHA President or as contained herein: a.! to chair the Issues and Facilities Committee; b.! to serve as voice of the residents for problems, concerns, and questions having to do with the Residence Halls and the Purdue Community at large; c.! to work with University Administrator, Purdue Student Leaders and the RHA Executive Board to get said problems, concerns, and questions resolved. ARTICLE IV. ADVISORS The Vice-President for Housing and Food Services, the Director of Administration, the Director of University Residences, the Director of Residential Life, and the General Managers and Area Coordinators of the individual Residence Halls shall have speaking seats in the RHA. The Director of 3
Residential Life, or his/her designee, shall be the Advisor(s) to the RHA. The duties of the RHA Advisors will be: a.! to counsel, assist, and exchange information pertaining to the purposes and operations of RHA; b.! to facilitate the transition of Executive Board members from year to year; c.! to maintain communication with the advisors of the Residence Hall clubs and other University Residences Administrators; d.! to be a full-time residential life professional at Purdue University; e.! the Primary Advisors in consultation with the Executive Board, will select advisors for RHA committees; f.! to be responsible for informing RHA members of established limits to the jurisdiction of the RHA and of recently added or modified university rules that apply to that jurisdiction; g.! The Primary Advisors shall help protect the financial integrity of the RHA; h.! Shall help with RHA events and/or coordination as needed. ARTICLE V. GENERAL ASSEMBLY Section 5.01. Composition: Each member Residence Hall all with permanent housing is entitled to a minimum of two RHA representatives with a third representative option if the population of the member Residence Hall exceeds one thousand and one additional representative for each subsequent one thousand residents. All Executive Officers shall have speaking rights in the General Assembly. In addition, temporary housing residents may elect up to two representatives or shall be appointed by the Director of Residential Life at least two (2) weeks after the first convening of the General Assembly, the first week of each semester. Permanent housing supersedes temporary housing. Section 5.02. Function: All legislative powers of RHA shall be vested in the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall be responsible for the establishment of the policies and procedures, consistent with this Constitution, of RHA. The General Assembly shall be the forum for debate on issues affecting the general welfare of members of the Residence Halls. Unless debate is terminated by twothirds vote of the members present, each Representative shall have a right to speak to any issue properly before the General Assembly at least twice. Section 5.03. Responsibilities: With assistance and advice from the RHA President and the Executive Board, the responsibilities of the General Assembly shall include the following: a.! the identification of issues affecting members of the Residence Halls; b.! the research of these issues in order to present a response beneficial to the Residence Halls and Purdue University; c.! the enacting of policies and procedures necessary for operation and duties of the General Assembly and as otherwise authorized by this Constitution; d.! the recommendation of specific action to the proper authorities on specific issues; 4
e.! any recommendations or legislation passed by the RHA concerning the Residence Halls shall only be recommendations and not set rules. These recommendations shall be presented to the individual Residence Halls; f.! the allocation of RHA funds and approval of the budget for RHA; and g.! the confirmation, by majority vote, of Executive Officers. Section 5.04. Acts of General Assembly: Any act must receive a simple majority of those present to be submitted to the RHA President. All acts of the General Assembly shall be submitted in writing to the RHA President for approval. Upon expiration of the veto period or approval of the president, an act becomes effective. The RHA President may veto any policy or procedure enacted by the General Assembly prior to the fourth day after the next meeting (the veto period) of the General Assembly. The Veto shall be in writing. Upon an act being vetoed, it shall return to the General Assembly for further action. The veto may be overturned by two-thirds vote of the quorum at of the General Assembly; the act shall then become effective immediately. If the overturning of the veto fails to pass by 2/3rds majority of a present quorum, the act shall fail. Section 5.05. Committees: Part A. Standing Committees: The General Assembly shall maintain four committees, Standing Committees for addressing Programming, Public Relations, Issues and Facilities, and Bids and Conferences. Part B. Ad-Hoc Committees: Ad-hoc committees may be formed by a declaration of the President or a majority vote of the total voting membership of RHA. Any RHA member desiring a seat on an ad-hoc must obtain approval from the President and chair of the ad-hoc committee, respectively. Part C. Membership and Duties: Regular voting members of any Committee shall be members of the General Assembly. Membership and duties of the Standing Committees shall be determined by the Bylaws of RHA. The convener of a General Assembly ad-hoc Committee shall either appoint the members and duties of the ad-hoc committee or establish a procedure for determining and appointing the members and duties of the General Assembly ad-hoc committee at the time the committee is created. The convener may amend such appointments, duties, and procedures. ARTICLE VI. PRESIDENTS ROUNDTABLE Section 6.01. Composition: The Presidents Roundtable shall be a forum for Hall Presidents or their designee to convene. Section 6.02. Function: The purpose of the forum is to discuss issues and promote an atmosphere of collaboration on an individual Residence Hall level. The body may make system-wide recommendations to the General Assembly. ARTICLE VII. BYLAWS Section 7.01 Further specifications and laws of RHA shall be specified in a subordinate document to this Constitution, the Bylaws of the Residence Hall Association of Purdue University. The Bylaws of the 5
Residence Hall Association of Purdue University must be read and approved at a General Assembly meeting within the first month of the academic year. This reading and approval may be done in one meeting unless there is an amendment to the Bylaws from the previous year. Section 7.02 The Bylaws shall be enacted and modified upon by a majority vote of the General Assembly and the approval of the RHA President after notice is submitted at the prior regular meeting of the General Assembly. ARTICLE VIII. ADOPTION This constitution shall be adopted by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the total voting membership and shall be subject to the approval of the RHA President, RHA Treasurer, RHA Advisors, Director of Residential Life and the Office of the Dean of Students. ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS Section 9.01. Amendment by Any Member of RHA: Part A. Authority: Any member of RHA may amend this Constitution in compliance with the terms herein. Part B. Introduction: The Amendment must be introduced to the General Assembly in the form of a bill at least one regularly scheduled meeting prior to the first ballot. Part C. First Reading: Each Amendment must pass a first ballot by a two-thirds vote of the regular membership of the General Assembly. Part D. Second Reading: After passing the first ballot, an Amendment must also pass a second ballot under the same conditions and procedures as in the first ballot. This second ballot must not be on the same calendar day or during the same meeting as the first ballot. Part E. RHA President: After passing two ballots, each Amendment shall be presented to the RHA President, who must either sign or veto each Amendment. If the RHA President signs the Amendment, it shall continue in the process. If the RHA President vetoes the Amendment, it shall be submitted to one additional reading before the General Assembly, in which the RHA President may state his or her objections verbally or in writing. If the Amendment passes a third ballot by a three-fourths vote of the membership of the General Assembly, it shall continue in the process. Part F. The Student Activities Office: Once signed by the RHA President, or approved by a three-fourths vote of the General Assembly in response to a Presidential veto, the Amendments shall be submitted to the Student Activities Office. All Constitutional Amendments shall be subject to the approval of the Student Activities office. Upon approval of the Student Activities Office, and the Director of Residential Life the Amendments shall become immediately effective. 6