Table of Contents
Preamble
Article I: Name
Article II: Membership
Article III: Executive Officers
Article IV:Committees
Article V: Meetings
Article VI: Attendance
Article VII: Removal
Article VII: Election Terms
Article IX: Power
Article X: Referendums
Article XI: Amendments
Article XII: By-Laws
Article XIII: Replacement
We, the residents of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth establish this constitution of the Residence Halls Congress to ensure representation to every resident student regarding the quality of residential living.
In order to act as a forum of discussion, and medium of resolution, for the problems and needs, academic, or social, which may arise through on-campus living, the Residence Halls Congress shall serve as an advisory board to the Office of Housing and Residential Life, and as a voice to the University administration.
This organization shall be known as the Residence Halls Congress
of the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth, and may be referred
to as the RHC form herein.
Section I: General Membership
A) All residents shall be represented by, and subject to, all decisions of the Residence Halls Congress.
B) All resident students who have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or better are eligible to hold voting positions.
C) All candidates for any position on the Congress must be a resident at the time of their election and for the duration of their term.
D) There is no restriction to the number of terms in office.
E) The general membership of the RHC shall consist of the following:
Robert's Hall: 4 Representatives
Chestnut Hall: 4 Representatives
Elmwood Hall: 4 Representatives
Maple Ridge Hall: 4 Representatives
Pine Dale Hall: 4 Representatives
Oak Glen Hall: 4 Representatives
Residence Halls Representative-at-large: 2 Representatives
Cedar Dell South: 4 Representatives
Cedar Dell West: 4 Representatives
Cedar Dell Representative-at-Large: 2 Representatives
Resident Assistant Advisory Positions: 2 Representatives
F) Each general board member is entitled to 1 vote.
G) Each voting member must serve on at least one standing committee or a special issue committee formed by the Congress.
H) Residence Halls Congress representatives are responsible for relaying any Residence Halls Congress related information to their respective constituents.
Section II: Advisory Positions
A) Advisory Positions are nonvoting positions and are subject to
the attendance policy.
B) Resident Assistant (RA) Advisory Positions
1) There shall be one available Resident Assistant Advisor who resides in the Residence Halls
2) There shall be one available Resident Assistant Advisor who resides in the Cedar Dell Apartments
C) Each Resident Assistant must submit a letter of intent to the Residence Halls Congress Advisor and be voted in by majority of Resident Assistants.
D) A member of the Residential Life staff shall be appointed from the Office of Housing and Residential Life to be the Residence Halls Congress Advisor.
A) All voting members are eligible to hold
any executive board position with the exception of Resident Assistant
members who cannot hold the position of President, Vice President
of Cedar Dell, Vice President of the Residence Halls, or Treasurer.
B) The executive committee of the Residence Halls Congress shall meet as frequently as necessary to establish agenda when appropriate, and discuss and propose policies and direction of the Congress.
C) The executive board must meet all obligations and duties required by the general board.
Section I: President
A) The President shall be the moderator of the Residence Halls Congress.
B) The President holds a nonvoting position, unless a tie occurs.
C) The President shall be the official representative of the Congress at external and internal Residence Halls Congress or University functions or may delegate a representative.
D) The President shall have the authority to form ad-hoc committees, which deal with recent issues affecting the residential life and the Residence Halls Congress. The President will appoint the members and chairperson of each committee.
E) The President shall have the authority to call special meetings of the Residence Halls Congress, provided that 24-hour notice is given to the other members of the Congress.
G) The President is an ex-officio member of each committee of the Congress.
Section II: Vice President of Cedar
Dell
A) The Vice President of Cedar Dell is entitled to 1 vote.
B) The Vice President of Cedar Dell is the standing chairperson of the Programs Committee
E) The Vice President of Cedar Dell is responsible for meeting with Cedar Dell Representatives as issues arise concerning the Cedar Dell area.
Section III: Vice President of the
Residence Halls
A) The Vice President of the Residence Halls is entitled to 1 vote.
B) The Vice President of the Residence Halls shall be the CO-chair of the University's Food Committee. The other CO-chair shall be appointed by Student Senate.
E) The Vice President of the Residence Halls is responsible for meeting with Residence Hall Representatives as issues arise concerning the Residence Hall area.
Section IV: Treasurer
A) The Treasurer is entitled to 1 vote.
B) The Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of all funds for the Residence Halls Congress
C) All money must be withdrawn and deposited by the Treasurer or the President of the Residence Halls Congress with the advisor's signature.
D) The Treasurer shall be the chairperson of the Finance Committee
H) The Treasurer shall complete a written report at the end of each semester detailing the transactions that occurred during that semester and including outstanding bills. The final year report will be given to the next years Treasurer and the Office of Housing and Residential Life.
Section V: The Corresponding Secretary
A) The Corresponding Secretary is entitled to 1 vote.
B) The Corresponding Secretary shall take care of all public relation concerns of The Residence Halls Congress.
C) The Corresponding Secretary is the standing chairperson of the Public Relations Committee.
E) The Corresponding Secretary shall take minutes of a meeting in the absence of the Recording Secretary
Section VI: The Recording Secretary
A) The Recording Secretary is entitled to 1 vote.
B) The Recording Secretary shall record and keep minutes of all meetings of Residence Halls Congress and prepare copies of these minutes for the members of the Residence Halls Congress and professionals of the Office of Housing and Residential Life.
C) The Recording Secretary is in charge of keeping a record of the attendance policy.
D) The Recording Secretary is in charge of keeping a permanent record of the Residence Halls Congress, which shall include a permanent up to date record of the constitution, By-laws, logged motions, and minutes of Congress meetings. These records must be kept in the Residence Halls Congress office.
E) The Recording Secretary is the standing chairperson of the Constitution Committee.
Section VII: National Communications
Coordinator (NCC)
A) The NCC is entitled to 1 vote.
B) The NCC shall serve as chief liaison between RHC, the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH), and the Northeast Association of College and University Residence Halls (NEACURH).
C) Attend and vote at regional and national conferences, especially NCC business meetings.
D) Serve as delegation chair to all NEACURH and NACURH conferences by coordinationg all aspects of forming and sending a delegation to conferences including fundraising and other activities, which include but is not limited to coordinating registration materials needed to continue NACURH affiliation (including due payments and the writing of all required reports).
F) Will adhere to the NCC duties as set forth in the NACURH constitution and to all the policies set forth by NACURH and NEACURH, as well as following the guidelines set forth in the NCC manual.
G) Is responsible for helping the Finance Chair in working with NACURH corporate partners and bringing programming and administrative ideas from the conferences back to RHC.
A) Standing Committees of the Residence Halls
shall consist of the following:
Programs Committee Constitution Committee
Food Committee Quality of Life Committee
Finance Committee Public Health and Safety Committee
Public Relations Committee NEACURH Committee
B) The President shall have the authority to form ad-hoc committees, which deal with recent issues affecting the residential life and the Residence Halls Congress. The President will appoint the members and chairperson of each committee.
C) All Committees shall be responsible for maintaining a record of its proceedings, which shall be periodically incorporated into the permanent records of the Congress.
Section I: Programs Committee
A) The Programs Committee shall be chaired by the Vice President
of the Cedar Dell
B) The Programs Committee must organize events and create activities for resident students.
Section II: Food Committee
A) The University Food Committee shall be Co-chaired by the Vice
President of the Residence Halls, along with another Co-chair appointed
by Student Senate.
B) The University Food Committee shall evaluate and advise the food service affiliates on issues concerning the resident student's food service needs.
Section III: Finance Committee
A) The chairperson of the Finance Committee shall be the Treasurer.
B) The Finance Committee is to work with the Office of Housing and Residential Life on a yearly budget for the Residence Halls Congress for services and programs.
C) The Finance Committee shall also advise the Congress on financial allocations of money for cosponsoring events, charitable contributions, and other programs.
Section IV: Public Relations Committee
A) The chairperson of the Public Relations Committee shall be the
Corresponding Secretary.
B) The Public Relations Committee is responsible for publicity relative to all events related to the Residence Halls Congress, the compilation of the Residence Halls Congress newsletter, and reporting to the University newspaper.
Section V: Constitution Committee
A) The chairperson of the Constitution Committee shall be the Recording
Secretary.
B) The Constitution Committee is responsible for reviewing the constitution and By-laws of the Residence Halls Congress.
C) The Constitution Committee shall advise the Residence Halls Congress upon issues pertaining to the constitution and By-laws of the Residence Halls Congress.
Section VI: Quality of Life Committee
A) The chairperson of the Quality of Life Committee shall be appointed
by the President.
B) The Quality of Life Committee shall advise the Office of Housing and Residential Life on issues concerning the quality of residential living, and the living needs of resident students.
Section VII: Public Health and Safety
Committee
A) The chairperson of the Public Health and Safety Committee shall
be appointed by the President.
B) The Public Health and Safety Committee shall advise the Department of Public Safety on issues concerning resident students' public safety needs.
Section VIII: NEACURH Committee
A) The chairperson of the NEACURH Committee shall be the NCC.
B) All members of the NEACURH committee shall be responsible for assisting the NCC to coordinate RHC's representation at regional and national conferences.
C) Delegates shall be responsible for filling out evaluations for each conference specified by the NCC.
D) The NEACURH Committee shall be responsible for fundraising to send representatives to NEACURH conferences.
A) All meetings of the Residence Halls Congress
shall follow Robert's Rules of Order as deemed necessary by the
President.
B) The Residence Halls Congress shall meet weekly.
C) Residence Halls Congress members shall meet with their Professional Staff Resident Director a minimum of once a month to discuss pertinent information which shall be relayed to the Residence Halls Congress.
A) All members of the Residence Halls Congress
are expected to meet their obligations at official meetings, committee
meetings and office hours, as defined by the RHC Attendance Policy.
B) The RHC Attendance Policy shall be proposed annually by the Executive Officers of the Residence Halls Congress
C) The Residence Halls Congress reserves the right to revise the proposed policy. The proposed policy will be voted upon and signed by the Residence Halls Congress.
A) For the Residence Halls Congress to remove
a member at any time during the term of office a 2/3 vote of the
entire Congress in favor of removal is needed to dismiss a member.
B) For a constituency to remove a member at any time during their term of office a petition signed by 15% of residents of their constituency is required for a vote by the Residence Halls Congress. In which case a 2/3 vote of removal is needed to dismiss a member.
C) Violation of Congressional By-laws, which call for removal of offending officials, may also result in removal from office.
A) There shall be four sets of elections for
the Residence Halls Congress: Fall, Spring, Executive Officers,
and Internal.
B) The Spring and Fall Elections must follow the Residence Halls Election Guidelines.
Section I: Spring Elections
A) The following positions will be made available for the Residence
Halls Congress
Robert's Hall: 3Representatives
Chestnut Hall: 3Representatives
Elmwood Hall: 3Representatives
Maple Ridge Hall: 3 Representatives
Pine Dale Hall: 3 Representatives
Oak Glen Hall: 3 Representatives
Cedar Dell South: 4 Representatives
Cedar Dell West: 4 Representatives
Cedar Dell Representative-at-large: 2 Representatives
Residential Hall Represenative-at-large: 2 Represenatives
B) A resident running for a hall / village position must be voted
on by the residents that will be living in the respective hall /
village during the term of office.
C) A resident running for a Residence Hall Representative at Large position must be voted on by the residents that will be living in the Residence Halls during the term of office.
D) A resident running for a Cedar Dell Representative at Large position must be voted on by the residents that will be living in Cedar Dell during the term of office.
E) New students may run for vacancies and other positions in the fall.
Section II: Executive Officer
Elections
A) The Executive Officer Elections shall be held after the Spring
Elections, internally from the newly elected general board.
B) Any person elected as an Executive Officer still holds their general board seat.
C) The executive officer elections will consist of two meetings, in which the newly elected Residence Halls Congress members will be invited to nominate and vote, respectively, for the incoming executive officers.
D) The current executive officers will select a Residence Halls Congress member who is not seeking and executive officer position for the following year to be the Executive Officer Elections Chair.
E) The Executive Officer Elections Chair shall run the Executive Officer Allocations under the following guidelines:
1) The Executive Officer Elections Chair holds a nonvoting position.
2) During the first elections meeting the Executive Officer Elections Chair shall record the name of any Residence Halls Congress member nominated for an Executive Officer Elections position.
3) During the second meeting the Executive Officer Elections Chair shall run the next meeting according to the internal elections.
Section III: Fall Elections
A) The following positions are open for the Fall Elections:
Robert's Hall: 2 Representatives
Chestnut Hall: 2 Representatives
Elmwood Hall: 2 Representatives
Maple Ridge Hall: 2 Representatives
Pine Dale Hall: 2 Representatives
Oak Glen Hall: 2 Representatives
Resident Assistant Represenative: 2 Represenatives
Residence Halls Representative-at-large: 2 Representatives
And any other positions not currently occupied
B) A resident running for a hall / village position must be voted
on by residents that will be living in the respective hall / village
during the term of office.
C) A resident running for a Residence Hall Representative at Large position must be voted on by the residents that will be living in the Residence Halls during the term of office.
D) A resident running for a Cedar Dell Representative at Large position must be voted on by the residents that will be living in Cedar Dell during the term of office.
Section IV: Internal Elections
A) A student seeking an open position on the Residence Halls Congress
must obtain 25 signatures from their constituents. (unless it is
and Executive Board Election)
B) If there is only one candidate for a position, the Recording Secretary or the Executive Office Elections Chair may cast one vote of acclimation for the candidate to be elected.
C) If there is more than one person running for a position the following shall take place:
1) Each candidate shall be give 5 minutes to address the Residence Halls Congress
2) Each candidate is allowed 2 speakers, who may speak for 2 minutes each.
3) The members of the Residence Halls Congress may ask questions to the candidates, who will have 2 minutes to answer each question and will answer in the same order as above.
4) After all questions have been asked the Residence Halls Congress shall move into Executive Session and vote with no discussion.
5) A secret ballot shall be taken.
6) If a majority vote is not reached and there are more than three candidates, the two candidates receiving the most votes will be allowed to speak for 2 minutes each and questions may be asked to them from the Residence Halls Congress, in which they will have 2 minutes to answer each question.
7) A second vote will be taken in the same manner as before.
8) If a majority vote has not been reached the candidate receiving the most votes shall be elected.
A) The Residence Halls Congress serves as
an advisory board to The Office of Housing and Residential Life
on housing policy, campus living, and residence living.
B) Nothing in this document, nor any act of the Residence Halls Congress shall deem to be in conflict with, nor supersede the Board of Trustees, Administration, or any existing local, state, federal or international statue.
C) The Executive Officers of the Residence Halls Congress shall have the authority to render decisions in matters that require immediate attention or when Residence Halls Congress is not in session.
A) A petition made in opposition to a legislation
made by the Residence Halls Congress requires 10% of the Residence
Halls and 15% of Cedar Dell in order to bring the legislation to
the table for reconsideration.
B) A petition made in opposition to the legislation made by the Residence Halls Congress requires 50% of all residents in order to be reversed.
A vote of 2/3 of the total Residence Halls Congress in favor of
proposed amendment should pass the amendment
By-laws may be established at anytime by majority
vote of the entire Residence Halls Congress, in favor of a proposed
by-law.
A vote of 3/4 of the entire Residence Halls
Congress in favor of the replacement of this document with another
Constitution shall result in the replacement of this document with
the new Constitution.
Last Updated On: 11/25/05
