Newspaper Page Text
May 12, 1967
THE MERCER CLUSTER
4
i
;
REVISED CONSTITUTION OF THE S.G.A.
ARTICLE 1
NAME, MEMBERSHIP AND
OFFICERS
Section 1. Name. The name of
this organization shall he the Stu
dent Government Association of
Mercer University
Section 2 Membership The
membership of the organization
shall consist of all full time stu
dents registered at Mercer Univer
sity.
Section 3. Officers. The Officers
of this organization shall be a
President, a Vice-President, Secre
tary, Treasurer, and a Freshman
Adviser
ARTICLE II
LEGISLATIVE
Section 1 legislative Power. The
legislative power of this organiza
tion shall be vested in a student
assembly which shall be named the
Senate of the Student Government
Association
Section 2. Membership. The
membership of the Senate shall bet
(a) The Vice President of the
Student Government Association,
who shall be the presiding officer
and who shall vote only in the
event of a ti<\
(b) The Secretary of the Stu
dent Government Association, who
shall maintain records of the meet
ings
(c> The Freshman Adviser, who
shall have one vote, ,
(d) All class officers as provided
for in Article IX of this Constitu
tion, who shall have one vote each.
(e) Two day students, two dormi
tory students, and one student from
the freshman class of the Macon
Hospital School of Nursing, who
shall represent the sentiments of
those respective groups and who
shall have one vote each.
Section 3. Powers and Duties.
The powers and duties of the
Senate shall be:
(a) To act for the students in all
affairs concerning men and women
students except as specifically
limited in this Constitution.
(b) To recommend the granting
or revocation of charters of all stu
dent organizations subject to ap
proval by the President of the
University, except for social organi
zations. which are supervised by
the University Council Committee
on Student Life Subcommittee on
Student Organizations
(c) To enact, by majority vote,
by-laws to this Constitution, such
to be known as the Statutes of the
Student Government Association.
(d) To propose, by two-thirds
vote, amendments to this Constitu
tion.
(e) To confirm or reject by
majority vote, all appointments of
special officers and committees by
the President of the Student Gov
ernment Association
(f) To impeach officers of the
Student Government Association
and members of the Senate, by
two-thirds vote.
(g) To establish its own meeting
time and rules of procedure.
* (h) If necessary, to override a
veto by the President of the Stu
dent Government by a two-thirds
vote.
Section 4 Review. Legislation of
the Senate shall be subject to re
view only by the President of the
University and the Board of Trus
tees of the University.
ARTICLE III
REFERENDUM
Section 1. Referendum Provided
For. The members of the Student
Government Association reserve for
themselves power by petition to
demand a referendum election, re
sults of such election to serve as a
mandate for the Senate provided
such election shall be carried out
in accordance with this Constitu
tion and further provided that
twenty-five per cent at the student
body shall have participated in
such election. *.
Section 2. Referendum Proced-
•;' - • -•
ure. A referendum petition shall
contain either the full text of the
measure proposed, or an adequate
summary thereof, and, to he valid,
shall be signed by at least ten per
cent of the bona fide members of
the Student Government Aaaocia-
tion. Petitions shall be filed with
the Secretary-Treasurer of the Stu
dent Government Association for
submission to the Senate. If the
projHised measure is not acted into
law at least by the second meeting
of the Senate after its submission,
it shall then be submitted to the
members of the Student Govern
ment Association. The sponsor of
a |>etition may withdraw such peti
tion any time prior to its wubmis
sion to the members of the Student
Government Association.
ARTICLE IV
Section I. Executive Power. The
executive power of the Student
Government Association shall be
vested in the President of the Stu
dent Government Association, as
sisted by the Vice-President, the
Secretary, the Treasurer, and the
Freshman Advisor
Section 2. Election The officers
of the Student Government Asso
ciation shall be elected by a majori
ty. of those voting in the general
election.
Section 3. Qualifications. The
qualifications of the officers of the
Student Government Association
shall be:
(a) The President:
1. Shall not be president of any
other campus organization during
his tenure of office.
2. Shall have attained Upper
Division rank on or before the
date of election.
3. Shall have been in attendance
at Mercer at least five quarters
prior to election
4. Shall have an academic aver
age of at least C + for his entire
college work
(b) The Vice-President, the Sec
retary, the Treasurer, and the
Freshman Advisor:
1. Shall have attained Upper
Division rank on or before the
date of election.
2. Shall have been in attendance
at Mercer University at least
five quarters prior to his election.
3. Shall have an academic aver
age of at least C for his entire
college work.
Section 4. Powers ami Duties.
The powers and duties of the offi
cers of the Student Government
Association shall be:
(a) The President shall:
1. Preside at all meetings of the
Student Government Association.
2. Enforce the Constitution of the
Student Government Association.
3. Appoint all standing commit
tees provided for in this Constitu
tion and all special committees
with the consent of the Senate.
4. Make a report on the activities
of the Student Government Asso
ciation to the Senate at least
quarterly.
5. Make recommendations to the
Senate as he deems necessary.
6. Formulate, submit and execute
the budget of the Student Gov
ernment Association.
7. Veto enactments of the Senate,
if he deems necessary.
(b) The Vice-President shall:
L Preside at meetings of the Stu
dent Government Association in
the abaence of the President.
2. Provide programs for student
chapel with the assistance of the
Chapel Committee of the Senate.
3. Preside over meetings of the
Senate and vote in the event of
a tie.
4. Assume the office of President
in the event that the office is
vacated, and discharge the po
wers and duties incumbent upon
that office until a special election
can be held aa provided for in
Article X, Section 1 of this Con
stitution. _
6. Make all Student Government
announcements in weekly Con
vocation.
(c) The Secretary shall:
1. Keep records of all meetings
of the Student Government Asso
ciation and of the Senate.
2, Notify Association members of
all meetings four days in advance
of said meeting.
(d) The Treasurer shall:
1. Receive and disburse funds of
the Student Government Associa
tion.
2. Advise the President on finan
cial matters of the Association.
(e) The Freshman Advisor shall:
1. Assist in the planning and
executing of the freshman orien
tation program at the beginning
of the fall quarter.
ARTICLE V
JUDICIARY
Section 1. Honor Council. The
judicial powers of the Student
Government Association shall be
vested in the Honor Council.
Section 2. Composition and Se
lection. The Honor Council shall be
composed of nine students and two
faculty members, the position of
the latter to be advisory only. The
faculty advisors shall be appointed
by the Honor Council and shall
serve two-year terms.
(a) Selection shall be made by
the President. Vice-President, Sec
retary, Treasurer and Freshman
Advisor of the Student Government
Association, the Chief Justice and
Clerk of the Honor Council, to
gether with three faculty members
appointed by the President of the
University. Selection shall be based
on the following requirements:
1. High principles and unques
tioned moral and academic in
tegrity in all their relations to
fellow students, faculty and ad
ministrative officials.
2. A minimum overall average of
B
3. Extra-curricular activity in at
least two areas
(b) The selection committee shall
submit a questionnaire to those
students who meet these require
ments. On the basis of the ques
tionnaires the committee has the
power to appoint three seniors,
three juniors and three sophomores
to serve on the Honor Council. This
distribution may be altered when
deemed best. These appointments
shall be made by the last Tuesday
in March, and the council shall
assume its duties on the last Tues
day in April.
(c) The Honor Council shall
elect one of its members to serve
as Chief Justice and one as Clerk.
The Chief Justice shall preside at
all meetings and trials, and the
Clerk shall maintain a written
record of all proceedings. The
Chief Justice shall be a member of
the Student Government Associa
tion.
Section 3. Jurisdiction.. The
Honor Council shall have jurisdic
tion over:
(a) Violations of the Honor Code.
(b) Interpretation of the Stu
dent Constitution and Statutes.
(c) Trial of impeachments of the
officers of the Student Government
Association.
(d) Major offenses against the
Constitution of the Student Gov
ernment Association.
Section 4. Procedure. The Honor
Council shall formulate its own
procedure subject to approval by
the Senate by a majority vote.
Section 5. Appeal. Decisions of
the Honor Council may be appeal
ed to the President of the Univer
sity within two school days after
the decision has been reached.
Section 6. Impeachment. The
Honor Council may impeach its
own members. The Senate shall
try impeached Honor Council mem
bers. '
ARTICLE VI
HONOR SYSTEM
Section ,1. This article shall be
known as the Honor System of
Mercer University.
Section 2. Honor Pledge.
A. Honor Pledge shall be signed
by each regularly enrolled student
on every classroom test. It shall
also be signed on any individual
paper or assignment the teacher
may require. Subscription to the
Honor Pledge shall be requisite for
registration.
B. A student who signs the
Honor Pledge signifies:
1. That he has neither given nor
received aid on the examination,
or individual assignments or
paper nor has he used any in
formation other than that allow
ed by the instructor.
2. That he will not allow to go
unreported to the proper persons
any violation of the above.
3. That he will give true and
complete information before the
Honor Council.
Section 3. Notification of Trial
Decisions.
(a) The decision of the Honor
Council shall be reported to the
professor of the student in ques
tion, the Dean of the College, and
the President of the University
within two school days after the
trial.
(b) Notice of trial verdicts shall
he published in the following issue
of THE MERCER CLUSTER, the
case being reported by means of a
case number rather than by the
student's name.
Section 4. Honor Committee.
There shall be a standing commit
tee of the Student Government As
sociation whose composition and
duties shall be:
(a) The Honor Committee shall
be composed of .
1. The Chief Justice and Clerk of
the Honor Council.
2. Between five and ten members
appointed, jointly, by the Presi
dent of the Student Government
Association and the Chief Justice
of the Honor Council.
3. A liaison member from each
social organization.
(b) The Honor Committee shall:
1 Sponsor a continuing educa
tional campaign for the perpetu
ation and development of the
Honor System at Mercer Uni
versity.
2. Orient new students and facul
ty members to their responsibil
ity to the Honor System.
3. Propose to the Senate changes
in the Honor System when it
deems necessary.
4. Provide a thorough explana
tion of the Honor System for
the Student Handbook.
5. Provide each new student offi
cer and each new administrative
officer with an explanation of the
Honor System.
6. Maintain a permanent file of
Honor Pledge Cards during each
academic year.
ARTICLE VII
LAWS OF THE STUDENT
GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
Section 1. Offenses. Offenses
against the Student Government
Association shall be:
(a) A major offense shall be de
fined as a violation oft he Constitu
tion of the Student Government
Association.
(b) Minor offenses:
1. Contempt of the Student Gov
ernment Association.
2. Violation of the statutes of the
Student Government Association.
Section 2. Punishment of Of
fenses. Offenses as described in
this article shall be punished as
follows:
(a) Offenses shall be punished by
fine, recommendation of expulsion,
or other measures prescribed by
the Honor Council, according to
the nature of the offense.
(b) Any fine imposed by the
Honor Council shall be charged at
the Ihismees Office to the account
of the student so fined, and when
collected shall be placed in the
general fund of the Student Gov
ernment Association.
Section 3. It shall be the duty «|
each member of the Student Go*,
eminent Association to submit t)
the Honor Council the name at
names of persons violating the lain
of the student body as set forth in
this article.
Section 4. Statutes of the Stu-
dent Government Association
Other laws may be enacted
the above laws altered or abolish*!
as provided in this Constitution
Such laws shall, upon enactment,
become a part of the Statutes ol
the Student Government Aasoci*.
tion, the by-laws of this organize
tion.
ARTICLE VIII
STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Section 1. The Student Publica
tions Sub-Committee shall execute
the powers described in this article.
Section 2. Membership — D#
membership of the Student Publi
cations Sub-Committee of the Stu
dent Activities Board shall be:
(a) Three (3) students.
. (b) Two (2) faculty meml>en
from the Student Activities Board
who shall be elected by thia Board.
One of the two above-mentioned
faculty members shall be appointed
permanent chairman of and by this
sub-committee.
Section 3. Duties of the Student
Publications Sub-Committee shall
be:
(a) To interview applicants and
approve or reject applications for
the position of Editor-in-Chief of
each publication.
(b) To make recommendation)
to the various publications concern
ing improvement, correction, or
elimination.
(c) To recommend approval or
rejection of charters for any new
publications.
(dj To impeach all elected offi
cials of the publications by i
unanimous vote. |
Section 4. Recognized Publics- I
tions. Student publications autho
rized to derive funds from the ntu- ,
dent activities fund shall be THE
MERCER CLUSTER (news
paper) and THE CAULDRON
(yearbook).
Section 6. Editors. Each publica
tion shall have:
(a) One Editor-in-Chief, who
shall direct and coordinate th<
activities of the editorial and busi
ness staffs.
(b) One Managing Editor, who
shall direct the activities of tht
editorial staff under the superviKion
of the Editor-in-Chief.
(c) One Business Manager, who
shall direct the activities of ths
business 'staff under the supervi
sion of the Editor-in-Chief.
Section 6. Qualifications for
Editor-in-Chief. The qualification)
for the Editor-in-Chief shall be:
(a) At least a C+ for the emir*
college work.
(b) Two quarters experience on
the staff of said publication prioi
to election.
(c) Submission of application in
writing and appearance before the
Board of Student Publications for
interview.
Section 7. Election. The Editor
in-Chief of each publication that
be elected by the student body in
the general election, from the ap
plicants approved by the Board of
Student Publications. For the fit*
election, the Editor-in-Chief of es<k
publication shall be elected in sc
cordance with the Student Consti
tution of Mercer Univenity, whkk
was in effect immediately preced
ing thia Constitution, and there-
after shall be elected aa provide
herein. The Managing Editor and
the Business Manager of each pub
lication shall be appointed by
editor of each publication with tie
approval of the Studeat-Faculty
Publications Committee.
Section 8. Term of Office. The
Editor in-Chief of THE CAUL0-
(OMlfeMd an Mart page)