Constitution

The Constitution of the Rhode Island School of Design
Student Association:

• Preamble
  

  We the students of Rhode Island School of Design, in order to exercise carefully the powers delegated to us by the college, realizing the importance for an organization that represents the student body to the Faculty, Administration, and Trustees as well as funding and directing extra and co-curricula programs, do hereby establish such organization under this constitution, for the Rhode Island School of Design Student Association.

• Article I: Name and Purpose:
  1. The name of this organization shall be Rhode Island School of Design Student Association.
  2. The purpose of this Organization shall be to represent the student body to the Rhode Island School of Design community and to regulate, coordinate, and expedite extra and co-curricular programs in cooperation with the College Administration as represented by the Director of Student Life.
• Article II: Membership and Fees:
  1. All regularly enrolled full-time students of Rhode Island School of Design shall be required to pay a the Student Activities Fee hereafter provided for, and shall thereupon become members of this Association.
  2. The Student Activities Fee shall be regulated by the College Administration. The Student Alliance shall regulate the distribution of the funds gathered and shall present to the College Administration any changes the Student Alliance feels are necessary.
• Article III: Management and Control:
  1. The governing body of the Rhode Island School of Design Student Association shall be the Student Alliance.
  2. Rhode Island School of Design Student Association recognizes that it is an integral part of the College. Therefore, the President of the College, the Associate Provost for Student Affairs, the Director of Student Life, or any such person appointed by the President acting for the Board of Trustees of the College, shall have the right of veto over all budgets and monetary concerns, with the stipulation that the Student Alliance is advised of the vote.
• Article IV: Officers: See Elections.
• Article V: Student Alliance:
  1. Membership:
     

     To be eligible for membership in the Student Alliance, a student must be a member of the Rhode Island School of Design Student Association.

  2. Organization:
     

     The Student Alliance shall be made up of the following:

     1. The Student Alliance officers shall be called the Executive Committee (see article VIII, E).
     2. There shall be one representative and one alternate from each academic department, and three Freshman elected by the general alliance or if active appointed from the representation amongst residence life governance. (see article II, by-laws).
     3. The President of the College, the Vice-President of Student Affairs, and the Director of Student Life, shall be permanent ex-officio members, each with one vote.
• Article VI: Student Alliance Meetings
  1. Regular meetings of the Student Alliance shall be held at least every other week and more frequently if deemed necessary by the executive committee throughout the academic year.
  2. Special meetings of the Student Alliance may be called at any time by the President on a twenty-four notice to the members.
• Article VII: Student Alliance Standing Committees
  1. Appointments to all standing committees established in this Constitution or special committees established by the Student Alliance shall be made by the Executive Committee.
  2. Members of committees shall serve from the time of their appointment until the end of the college year. Only members of the Student Alliance may serve on these committees.
  3. Titles of Standing Committees
     1. Finance Committee:
        

        Shall be chaired by the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer of the Student Alliance and shall:

        1. Aid in preparing the annual Student Alliance budget.
        2. Investigate requests for funding by organizations, activities and any other functions sponsored by the Student Alliance.
        3. Maintain an overall summary of allocation of funds.
     2. Entertainment Committee:
        

        Shall be open to all members of the Student Alliance Association and a chairperson appointed by the Executive Committee of the Student Alliance, and shall:

        1. Organize, and promote entertainment events for the academic year.
        2. Provide information to a master calendar of the events of the session at hand.
        3. Provide information to the Alliance concerning entertainment programs.
     3. Election Committee:
        

        Shall consist of the Director of Student Life and at least three members of the Student Alliance and shall:

        1. Supervise and oversee the election process of the Executive Committee officers and the Student Alliance representatives.
        2. Organize a calendar or time line of the election process.
     4. Constitution Committee:
        

        Shall be chaired by the Sergeant at Arms and its duties are to revise and update this Constitution. (see article IV, 7A)

  4. Student Alliance Committees
     1. The Student Alliance shall have the power to form committees that will investigate issues concerning the Alliance.
     2. The Alliance has been granted power to sit on certain committees formed by the Administration, Faculty, and Trustees. Any student sitting on these committees shall inform the Alliance of the committeesÂ’ proceedings.
• Article VIII: Executive Committee of the Student Alliance
  1. There shall be an Executive Committee of the Student Alliance which will include officers of the Student Alliance (see article IV, E)
  2. It shall be the purpose of the Executive committee to meet and discuss the Student AllianceÂ’s program, and to formulate plans concerning the direction of the Student Alliance.
  3. The Executive Committee shall meet prior to each Alliance meeting so that an agenda and any other issues concerning the Student Alliance shall be discussed. The Executive Committee conducts closed meetings.
  4. Any members of the Executive Committee may call an emergency meeting with a twenty-four hour notice.
• Article IX: Legislative Powers
  1. The legislative Powers of the Rhode Island School of Design Student Association shall be vested in the Student Alliance.
  2. The members of the Rhode Island School of Design Student Association shall have the right to propose any law consistent with the provisions of this Constitution through their representatives to the Student Alliance.
  3. Any legislation adopted by a majority vote of the Student Alliance shall be binding upon the Student Association unless repealed. The legislation process shall be mandated by RobertÂ’s Rules of Order.
• Article X: Amendments:
  

  This Constitution may be amended at any regular or special meetings of the Student Alliance provided that the following conditions are met:

  1. A petition signed by 30 members of the Student Association be submitted to the Executive Committee for review.
  2. The finding of the Executive Committee be presented to the Student Alliance within 30 days of submission.
  3. The motion must be passed by three/fourths of the Alliance present.

Articles of the By-Laws

• Article I: Offices
  1. Vacancies in the Student Alliance and its organizations.
     1. If a PresidentÂ’s office becomes vacant the Vice-President shall fill the position.
     2. A vacancy in any other office of the Student Alliance agencies shall be filled from the ranks of the organization.
  2. Recall and Resignation
     1. A person holding an office of either the Student Alliance or an Agency may be recalled by a three/fourths vote of the respective agency.
     2. Resignations must be submitted two weeks in advance in writing to the Executive Committee.
• Article II: Representative to the Student Alliance
  1. For every representative there shall be an alternate who votes in his/her absence.
  2. Representatives and alternates shall be elected in the second week of April; they will take their seats two weeks after their election. Freshman representatives shall take their seats immediately upon their election in the fall.
  3. The alternate has the right to relieve the representative of his/her duties if he/she fails to attend three consecutive meetings without notification.
  4. A representative may be recalled in the same manner as described in Article I of the by-laws.
• Article III: Student Alliance Organizations
  1. Any recognized group made up of members of the Association whose purpose is to conduct social, cultural, athletic, or religious activities on behalf of the students of the Rhode Island School of Design shall be referred to as a Student Alliance Organization.
  2. All organizations shall be aware of the following:
     1. The organization must inform the Student Alliance and the Student Life Office of all events and activities.
     2. All organizations must abide by all of the policies and procedures of the Finance Committee or lose their recognition and their funding.
     3. A representative of the student organization must be present at all general meetings of the Student Alliance. Three absences in an academic term will result in suspension of all funding and may result in loss of recognition and funding as a student organization.
     4. All student organizations must maintain a page on the student organizations intranet site, with contact and meeting information along with their mission statement. This must also be published at least once in the Fall and once in the Spring through the student newspaper.
  3. No Student Alliance Organization shall have any direct affiliation with any outside organization, except professional and athletic organizations.
• Article IV: Publications:
  

  All agencies have the right to publish material that is important to their activity with the stipulation that these rules are followed:

  1. All Publications shall pertain directly to the event or activity of the organization.
  2. Those publications shall be submitted for approval to the Student Life Office before printing.
  3. All copying and publicity shall have stated at some point that the event is being ‘funded wholly (or in part) by the Student Alliance Association of Rhode Island School of Design’ and the Office of Student Life.
  4. The publication shall state the title of the event, represented group, organization sponsoring the event and the date, time, and location of the event.
  5. The views and opinions of the Student Alliance agencies are not necessarily representative of the Student Alliance or the Student Alliance Association.
• Article V: Finance Committee Policies and Procedure
  1. The policies of all financial proceedings by the Student Alliance shall be upheld by the report titled Rhode Island School of Design Student Alliance Financial Policies and Procedures.
  2. This report will be considered a by-law of this Constitution and will be upheld by the Amendment and Articles of said document.
• Article VI: Parliamentary Authority
  

  All questions of Parliamentary Procedures not covered by these articles shall be decided according to RobertÂ’s Rules of Order.

• Article VII: Records, Reports:
  1. All Financial negotiations or contracts of the Student Alliance Association shall be cleared through the Office of Student Life and the Treasurer of the Student Alliance.
  2. All minutes and other documents concerning Student Alliance meetings shall be posted. Representatives shall properly post said documents/minutes in their respective departments.
• Article VIII: Amendments
  

  The by-laws of this Constitution may be amended at any regular meeting of the Student Alliance provided a majority of the voting members are in favor.

• Article IX: Constitution Interpretation
  

  All parts of this document shall be interpreted by the current Executive Committee.

This Constitution shall become effective and binding upon the Rhode Island School of Design Association after the approval of three/fourths of the voting members present at the Student Alliance meeting, and by the official signatures on the master document (to be held by the Student Alliance).