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Constitution of the
Undergraduate Residentsof John W. Ashton Center
Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana.
PreambleWe, the residents of John W. Ashton Center, in order to more effectively represent ourselves to the University, the Community, and the Residence Halls Association (RHA), and to create a legitimate foundation for the regulation and administration of our student government, do hereby ordain and establish this Constitution.
Article I. Introduction
Section 1. Name
The name of the student government established for John W. Ashton Center is the Ashton Student Government, hereafter referred to as ASG.
Section 2. Membership
All students who reside in John W. Ashton Center and pay the student activity fee to ASG are members of ASG. The buildings of Hershey, Johnston, Moffat, Stempel, and Vos shall have a representative per floor.
Section 3. Authority
This document yields authority to the RHA Constitution and Bylaws.
A unit or building constitution, bylaws, or action can not conflict with this Constitution, nor shall any ASG Bylaw or Action violate any provision of this document.
Section 4. Amendments
Any member of ASG may propose an amendment to this Constitution. The member must present a bill to the President and Vice President of Internal Affairs and receive the President’s signature. Upon this approval, the member shall present the amendment before BOG. The amendment will be approved and immediately incorporated in the constitution with a two-thirds majority vote from the BOG.
Article II. Unit and Building Government
Section 1. Definition
A unit is defined as one (1) individual floor of each building of Ashton Residence Center. The five (5) buildings are Hershey, Johnston, Moffat, Stempel, and Vos.
Section 2. Officers
Hershey, Johnston, Moffat, Stempel, and Voss shall elect one Building Commissioner per building and one governor per floor from among its residents to serve for a term concurrent with the academic year. All officers shall be elected by majority vote of the unit members within the first three weeks of the Fall Semester.
Section 3. Vacancies
Vacancies in the offices of Building Commissioner and Governor, or should be filled at the earliest possible opportunity by the RA.
Article III. Executive
Section 1. AuthorityThe executive authority of ASG is the ASG Executive Board, headed by the President.
Section 2. Executive Expectations
Openly engage governors with topics and ideas. Governors are essential in planning processes so they must informed in every capacity
Executives other than the Vice President of Internal Affairs must be outside influences in meetings. They may have equal input in discussion but it is the governors and VP of Internal Affairs who lead.
Attend all BOG meetings and inform them on their activities
Support governor programs and interact with them in some form such as brainstorming, attending, or general advice
Section 3. Committees
Committees will be formed by the Executive Board or the Board of Directors as needed to assist the Directors and Executives, and to deal with specific issues as they arise.
Section 4. Meeting Format (Required elements, exact order at discretion of President)
I. Call to OrderII. Roll CallIII. Guest SpeakersIV. Executive ReportsV. Graduate Advisor ReportVI. Director ReportsVII. Governors’ ReportsVIII.Old BusinessIX. New BusinessX. Discussion/AnnouncementsXI. Adjournment
Section 5. Membership
Members of the Executive Board consist of the elected positions of Center President, Vice President of Internal Affairs (VPIA), Vice President of Programming (VPP), and appointed Directors.
Section 6. Elections, Terms, and Appointments
The Center President, VPIA, and VPP are elected by the Ashton student body in March. They serve from April 1st to March 31st. Candidates for elected office must have a minimum 2.0 GPA, be in good academic and disciplinary standing with the university, and must reside in Ashton during the elected term.
ASG Directors serve terms of one year concurrent to the terms of the elected officers on the Executive Board and are appointed by the President, subject approval of BOG.
The Director of Finance and Historian will continue their roles until the spring semester ends.
Section 7. President
The President of Ashton has all of the following duties: Preside over Executive Board and Community Council meetings Represent Ashton at the RHA General Assembly and all RHA committees Relay all information from all involved organizations to ASG. Empowered to appoint or create ad hoc committees in order to help
maintain or improve his/her duties or the functions of Ashton BOG upon consent of two-thirds (2/3) of the present BOG.
Operate under and enforce the policies of the Ashton BOG and all others boards and committees represented by this Constitution.
Veto any legislation passed by the BOG, up to one week after passage. Reasons for the veto must be presented to each governor in writing within that time period. Upon enacting a veto and presenting each governor with a written reason, he/she shall immediately notify the Executive Board.
Provide leadership opportunities to all member of BOG and Executive Board
Inform members of ASG of possible campus wide activities
Section 8. Vice President Internal Affairs
The Vice President Internal Affairs shall be the Speaker of all the BOG meetings.
Succeed the position of President in the vacancy of the President. He/She is responsible for effective communications with the BOG. Responsible for upkeep of Executive office Maintain and update constitution if needed.
Section 9. Vice President Programming
Preside over all programming sponsored by ASG Contribute ideas to BOG for their own programs Hold social, educational and diverse programs for Ashton residents Relay needs to other members of ASG in charge of specific duties
(publicity, finance, etc.) An Assistant to the Vice President of Programming shall be appointed for
the 2011-2012 academic calendar year. After this time, from the 2012 election season on, the position of Assistant to the Vice President of Programming will be an elected position.
Section 10. Vacancies
If the Presidency is vacant, the VPIA will assume the position and duties of President and serve as Acting President. The Acting President can then choose to accept or decline the position of President.
If the VPIA is vacant, the Historian will assume the position and duties of VPIA and serve as Acting VPIA. The Acting VPIA can then choose to accept or decline the position.
If the VPP is vacant, the Historian will assume the position and duties of the VPP and serve as Acting VPP. The Acting VPP can then choose to accept or decline the position.
In the event of a vacancy on the Board of Directors, the President is to appoint a new member of ASG to the vacant position, subject to approval of the Ashton Board of Governors.
If acting officers decline positions, a special election will be held as stipulated by the bylaws.
Section 11. Impeachment
Any Executive Board member may be impeached by a two-thirds vote of other executives. If an executive is impeached, the Ashton Judicial Board shall convene a special hearing and render the final decision to remove or retain the executive. An ASG executive shall be automatically removed from office if a petition explicitly demanding the removal of said executive and signed by two-thirds of the Ashton Executive Board is submitted to the Ashton Judicial Board. The Ashton Judicial Board shall determine the validity of all signatures on such petitions before ordering the removal of an executive.
*An executive member may be removed immediately through an executive order of the President, subject approval from advisors of ASG and Ashton Executive Board.
Section 12. Attendance
Executives are expected to attend every meeting if possible. The meetings have been agreed upon to adhere to a 1 hour time limit; HOWEVER, this may not be the case every meeting. They will occur every Monday at 8pm.
To acquire an excused absence from BOG and Executive Board meetings, an email must be sent to AT LEAST the VPIA or the President respectively. BUT, an email may not be used in consecutive weeks.
Another opportunity to be excused is to attend a “makeup” meeting. These meetings will be run by the President and will take place whenever both parties are available BUT before the next meeting (i.e. if BOG was missed, then before the following Sunday). At these meetings, the minutes of the previous Sunday’s meeting will be read in entirety. These meetings may NOT be attended in consecutive weeks and no more than three (3) “makeups” can be attended in one semester.
Section 13. Penalties
If an executive chooses to not attend a meeting without notification and valid reasoning, he or she shall be placed on probation.
If an executive attends two consecutive “makeup” meetings or attends three in one semester, he or she is also placed on probation. Also if a makeup is missed, regardless of circumstances, probation is acquired.
If it is implied that an executive is sending continuous emails to excuse themselves, just to get out of meetings, even if reasoning is valid, he or she will be placed on probation as well.
Section 14. Probation
Probation will last for approximately one month. To be relieved of probation, an executive must attend all meetings within that month and help programs more extensively. After the probationary period is over, the Judicial Board will vote on whether prohibited executive can be taken off probation.
If an executive is on probation and breaks ANY of the previous rules stated above, he or she will meet with the President individually to discuss impeachment process.
The impeachment process is simple. Another Judicial Hearing will occur. At the hearing impeached executives will be given the opportunity to plead their cases. The Judicial Board will then vote to eject or reprieve the impeached. To be ejected, a majority of judges must vote to eject.
A member of the Executive Board will file a brief to the Judicial Board. The brief must consist of the rules that were broken so that list can be compared to this constitution.
*It cannot be stressed enough; the preceding policy is subject to change. Regardless, you have been warned and are given constant chances to redeem yourselves. It is understandable that you have lives and things will happen. But, you have volunteered you time to be a part of this organization, and thus you must follow your duties to the end.
Article IV. Directors
Section 1. Appointments
The new Executive Board appoints directors by the third week of the first fall semester after elections. Applications for Directorships must be available to all members of ASG within one month of elections. It is the responsibility of the newly elected officers to interview and select new Directors. All members of ASG must be given fair and equal chance to apply and interview for Directorships.
All appointments to Directorships must be approved by the Board of Governors.
Vacancies in Directorships are filled as described in the ASG Constitution, Article III.
The creation or destruction of any Directorship position requires an amendment to these Bylaws.
Section 2. Financial Affairs
Responsible for maintaining and keeping track of all ASG funds.
Responsible for working with the Student Organization Accounts office to administer and oversee expenditures and collections.
Responsible for keeping the Board of Governors informed about any ASG account balances and budget balances at each Board of Governors meeting.
Responsible for informing ASG members about ASG and SOA financial policy, including a weekly financial report to the Executive Board.
Must be available and easily accessible to ASG officers.
Must be neat and meticulous.
Section 3. Historian (Director of Communications)
Responsible for maintaining current contact lists for all ASG officers.
Must have excellent communication and time-management skills.
Must have an inept knowledge of computers
Must be neat and meticulous. Responsible for maintaining, promoting, and improving the ASG web site.
Responsible for managing the ASG e-mail account.
Section 4. Philanthropy (Director of Campus Involvement)
Responsible for facilitating intramurals for the Ashton Community.
Responsible for promoting and recruiting for big campus wide events (IU Sing, Homecoming, Little 500) to Ashton community
Must have excellent communications skills.
Must have some leadership and group motivation experience.
Responsible for providing opportunities to Ashton Residents for Community Service involvement both within Indiana University Campus and the City of Bloomington Area.
Section 5. Environmental Affairs
Responsible for maintaining, promoting, and improving the Ashton recycling program.
Responsible for communicating residents' needs and concerns to Residence Halls about environmental and facilities issues.
Must have excellent communications skills.
Must have some leadership and group motivation experience
Section 6. Sports and Recreation (*extra)
Responsible for facilitating intramurals for the Ashton Community.
Responsible for recruiting and promoting an Ashton Little 500 men’s and women’s team.
Responsible for planning other events for the Ashton Community.
Responsible for relaying information about campus-wide activities to the Ashton Community.
Must be creative.
Must have excellent communications skills.
Must have some leadership and group motivation experience.
Section 7. Executive Assistant
The President may appoint an Executive Assistant to help him or her with Executive duties.
Section 8. Public Relations
Responsible for producing the Ashton Announcer, the official newsletter of ASG, every two weeks.
Responsible for contacting and informing all necessary media about ASG events.
Responsible for producing or coordinating the production of timely and effective advertising for all ASG events and activities.
*These positions must be agreed upon by ASG. Opportunities to create new positions are also welcomed.
Section 9. Impeachment
Any Executive Board member may be impeached by a two-thirds vote of other executives. If an executive is impeached, the Ashton Judicial Board shall convene a special hearing and render the final decision to remove or retain the executive. An ASG executive shall be automatically removed from office if a petition explicitly demanding the removal of said executive and signed by two-thirds of the Ashton Executive Board is submitted to the Ashton Judicial Board. The Ashton Judicial Board shall determine the validity of all signatures on such petitions before ordering the removal of an executive.
*An executive member may be removed immediately through an executive order of the President, subject approval from advisors of ASG and Ashton Executive Board.
Section 10. Attendance
Executives are expected to attend every meeting if possible. The meetings have been agreed upon to adhere to a 1 hour time limit; HOWEVER, this may not be the case every meeting. They will occur every Monday at 8pm.
To acquire an excused absence from BOG and Executive Board meetings, an email must be sent to AT LEAST the VPIA or the President respectively. BUT, an email may not be used in consecutive weeks.
Another opportunity to be excused is to attend a “makeup” meeting. These meetings will be run by the President and will take place whenever both parties are available BUT before the next meeting (i.e. if BOG was missed, then before the following Sunday). At these meetings, the minutes of the previous Sunday’s meeting will be read in entirety. These meetings may NOT be attended in consecutive weeks and no more than three (3) “makeups” can be attended in one semester.
Section 11. Penalties
If an executive chooses to not attend a meeting without notification and valid reasoning, he or she shall be placed on probation.
If an executive attends two consecutive “makeup” meetings or attends three in one semester, he or she is also placed on probation. Also if a makeup is missed, regardless of circumstances, probation is acquired.
If it is implied that an executive is sending continuous emails to excuse themselves, just to get out of meetings, even if reasoning is valid, he or she will be placed on probation as well.
Section 12. Probation
Probation will last for approximately one month. To be relieved of probation, an executive must attend all meetings within that month and help programs more extensively. After the probationary period is over, the Judicial Board will vote on whether prohibited executive can be taken off probation.
If an executive is on probation and breaks ANY of the previous rules stated above, he or she will meet with the President individually to discuss impeachment process.
The impeachment process is simple. Another Judicial Hearing will occur. At the hearing impeached executives will be given the opportunity to plead their cases. The Judicial Board will then vote to eject or reprieve the impeached. To be ejected, a majority of judges must vote to eject.
A member of the Executive Board will file a brief to the Judicial Board. The brief must consist of the rules that were broken so that list can be compared to this constitution.
*It cannot be stressed enough; the preceding policy is subject to change. Regardless, you have been warned and are given constant chances to redeem yourselves. It is understandable that you have lives and things will happen. But, you have volunteered you time to be a part of this organization, and thus you must follow your duties to the end.
Article V. Legislature
Section 1. Authority and Membership
The voting authority and membership of ASG is the Board of Governors, hereafter referred to as BOG and is headed by the VPIA.
Section 2. Expectations of Governors
Attend all Board of Governors meetings.
Openly engage in discussion. This could be in the form of protests, questions, ideas, insightful news or knowledge or posing nonsensical theories even.
Be a “voice” of their represented unit. If residents have complaints, governors must be willing to bring the complaints to BOG.
Check e-mail daily for information and meeting notices.
Be an active member of ASG events in SOME form. Whether it’s set-up and cleanup, registration or actually working the event, governors are responsible to help in some form.
Understand the organization and the structure of ASG and the other student governments on campus, RHA and IUSA and willing to help with cooperative programming (inter-floor, inter-building, inter-neighborhood programs).
Be available to constituents and be able to answer their questions and keep them updated on ASG.
Must be willing to interact with his or her RA. Governors and RAs can talk weekly, participate in each other’s events or keep each other updated on news and agendas
Section 3. Meetings
Meeting Regulations are:
BOG meets every Sunday at 7:00pm
Any member of BOG may call for a special meeting
BOG does not meet during scheduled vacations
BOG may be cancelled by governors and executives
The VPIA presides over all meetings
Section 4. Meeting Format (Required elements, exact order at discretion of VPIA)
I. Call to OrderII. Roll CallIII. Guest SpeakersIV. Executive ReportsV. Graduate Advisor ReportVI. Director ReportsXII. Governors’ ReportsXIII.Old BusinessXIV. New BusinessXV. Discussion/AnnouncementsXVI. Adjournment
Section 5. Speaker Pro Tempore
The Historian assumes the responsibility of the Speaker Pro Tempore and will take the BOG minutes, and preside over meetings in the absence of the VPIA.
Section 6. Meeting Time and Quorum
All governors, or a cabinet member in their absence, must attend the weekly meeting on Sunday at 7pm.
BOG must have quorum to conduct business. Quorum is one-half of the voting membership.
Section 7. Bills and Resolutions
BOG considers all bills and resolutions submitted by members of ASG. Bills and resolutions not brought to the table by a member must be sponsored by ASG member. Legislation must be passed by majority and signed by the President to become law.
Section 8. Veto PowerThe President has the power to veto all legislation passed by BOG, up to one week after passage. . Reasons for the veto must be presented to BOG and Executive Board in writing. Vetoed legislation may be overruled by two-thirds majority.
Section 9. ASG Funds
No BOG funds shall be released, nor shall any budget of ASG be enacted, unless authorization for such an expenditure or budget shall be approved by the BOG.
Section 10. Programming Responsibility
The governors of ASG have programming responsibilities along with their legislative duties.
Section 11. Attendance
Governors are expected to attend every designated meeting if possible. The meetings have been agreed upon to adhere to a 1 hour time limit; HOWEVER, this may not be the case every meeting.
To acquire an excused absence from BOG meetings, an email must be sent to AT LEAST the VPIA or the President respectively. BUT, an email may not be used in consecutive weeks.
Another opportunity to be excused is to attend a “makeup” meeting. These meetings will be run by the President and will take place whenever both parties are available BUT before the next meeting (i.e. if BOG was missed, then before the following Sunday). At these meetings, the minutes of the previous Sunday’s meeting will be read in entirety. These meetings may NOT be attended in consecutive weeks and no more than three (3) “makeups” can be attended in one semester.
Section 12. Penalties
If a governor chooses to not attend a meeting without notification and valid reasoning, he or she shall be placed on probation.
If a governor attends two consecutive “makeup” meetings or attends three in one semester, he or she is also placed on probation. Also if a makeup is missed, regardless of circumstances, probation is acquired.
If it is implied that an executive is sending continuous emails to excuse themselves, just to get out of meetings, even if reasoning is valid, he or she will be placed on probation as well.
Section 13. Probation
Probation will last for approximately one month. To be relieved of probation, a governor must attend all meetings within that month and help programs more extensively. After the probationary period is over, the Judicial Board will vote on whether prohibited executive can be taken off probation.
If a governor is on probation and breaks ANY of the previous rules stated above, he or she will meet with the President individually to discuss impeachment process.
Section 14. Impeachment
BOG may, by a two-thirds vote, impeach any governor not performing their duties, a bill of impeachment or a petition with at least two-thirds of BOG’s signatures may grant automatic removal of a governor. The Ashton Judicial Board shall determine the validity of all signatures on a petition before ordering the removal of the governor.
The impeachment process is simple. Another Judicial Hearing will occur. At the hearing impeached governors will be given the opportunity to plead their cases. The Judicial Board will then vote to eject or reprieve the impeached. To be ejected, a majority of judges must vote to eject.
A member of the Executive Board will file a brief to the Judicial Board. The brief must consist of the rules that were broken so that list can be compared to this constitution.
*It cannot be stressed enough; the preceding policy is subject to change. Regardless, you have been warned and are given constant chances to redeem yourselves. It is understandable that you have lives and things will happen. But, you have volunteered you time to be a part of this organization, and thus you must follow your duties to the end.
Article VI. Judiciary
Section 1. Authority
The judicial authority of ASG shall be vested in the Ashton Judicial Board, hereafter referred to as the J-Board.
Section 2. Membership
The J-Board shall consist of no less than seven and no more than fifteen members. Members of the J-Board shall serve until resignation, removal from office, or termination of membership in ASG. The Executive Board and the J-Board Resident Assistant Advisor shall also be responsible for appointing a Chairperson for the J-Board, upon approval of the BOG. The J-Board Resident Assistant Advisor with the J-Board Chairperson shall be responsible for selecting the members of the J-Board.
Section 3. Procedures
The J-Board shall meet regularly as determined by its members, and its members shall determine the procedures and rules of its meetings and internal organization provided the following powers and responsibilities of the J-Board are fulfilled:
The J-Board shall hear cases regarding the non-compliance of RHA members to unit, Center, RHA, or University rules within John W. Ashton Center.
The J-Board shall hear all cases concerning the removal of impeached ASG officers, the contestation of any ASG Center election, and the interpretation of the Constitution, Bylaws, and Legislation of ASG.
The J-Board shall have the right to assign University Disciplinary Sanctions to RHA members found responsible of violating Unit, Center, RHA, or University regulations within John W. Ashton Center.
The J-Board Chairperson and at least majority of the other J-Board members must hear every case brought before the J-Board.
The detailed procedures and rules will be posted in a manner accessible by ASG.
Section 4. Rights
The J-Board shall guarantee to every person who appears before it the following rights:
1. The right to a speedy hearing by an impartial body. 2. The right to be notified in writing of the time and location of any and
all hearings concerning him/her and the results of such hearings. 3. The right to an open hearing, unless specified otherwise, before the J-
Board. 4. The right to object to a J-Board member's hearing his/her case. 5. The right to remain silent with the assurance that such silence will not
be taken as an admittance of responsibility. 6. The right to be counseled by an advisor of his/her choice. 7. The right to hear all testimony against him/her and to confront
witnesses against him/her. 8. The right to defend himself/herself. 9. The right to appeal decisions to the RHA J-Board or the University
Hearing Commission. 10. The right to be considered not responsible until proven otherwise.
Section 5. Impeachment
Any member of the Ashton J-Board may be impeached by a two-thirds vote of the voting membership of the BOG upon recommendation of two-thirds of the voting membership of the J-Board. The RHA J-Board shall render the final decision regarding the removal of the impeached Ashton-J-Board member from office. An Ashton J-Board member shall be automatically removed from office if a petition explicitly demanding the removal of said J-Board member and signed by two-thirds of ASG is submitted to the RHA J-Board. The RHA J-Board shall verify the validity of all signatures on such petitions before ordering the removal of an Ashton J-Board member.
Article VII. Community Council
Section 1. Expectations
Attend all Community Council meetings on Fridays at 3pm.
Responsible for building upkeep.
Check e-mail daily for information and meeting notices.
Be available to assist with social functions and other ASG activities.
Understand the organization and the structure of ASG and the other student governments on campus, RHA and IUSA.
Be available to constituents and be able to answer their questions.
Be aware of constituents' concerns and express them.
Section 2. Authority
The physical plant and facility use authority of ASG shall be vested in the Building Commissioners hereafter referred to as Community Council.
Section 3. Voting Membership
The voting membership of the Community Council shall be comprised of one Building Commissioner for each building of the John W. Ashton Residence Center that is open for an academic year. The members of the Executive Board shall serve as non-voting advisors to the Community Council.
Section 4. Speaker
The ASG President shall serve as Speaker of the Community Council and in this capacity shall preside over the Community Council.
Section 5. Meetings
The Community Council shall meet in full session as stipulated in the Bylaws. The Community Council shall not meet during scheduled school vacations. The Executive Board or a majority of the voting membership of the Building Commissioners may call a special meeting of the Community Council if needed.
Section 6. Speaker Pro Tempore
The Community Council shall elect by majority vote a Building Commissioner who shall serve as Speaker Pro Tempore of the Community Council within its first two full sessions. The Speaker Pro Tempore shall serve on Community Council and shall preside over the Community Council if the ASG President is absent from a meeting.
Section 7. Responsibilities
Community Council shall be responsible for all physical plant and facility use and maintenance within the John W. Ashton Center.
Section 8. Impeachment
The Community Council may by two-thirds vote of the Building Commissioner membership impeach any Building Commissioner. If a Building Commissioner misses three meetings, with no proxy, a bill of impeachment will be brought to the Community Council. A Building Commissioner shall be automatically removed from office if a petition explicitly demanding the removal of the Building Commissioner and signed by two-thirds of the members of the Building Commissioner’s unit is submitted to the Ashton Community Council. The Ashton Judicial Board shall determine the validity of all signatures on such a petition before ordering the removal of the Building Commissioner.
Article VIII. Advisor/RA Representative ExpectationsBe outside resources only. Advisors will be an extra resource when BOG is unsure of a policy or needs assistance.
Provide feedback from IU administration
Provide ASG with guidance and recommendations
Help correct mistakes and keep BOG focused
Attend all meetings
RAR: Keep BOG, LT, RAs, and Exec Board informed on others’ activities
Article IX. Office Policy
Section 1. Office Use
The ASG office is for the use of ASG Executives and Directors.
The ASG office must be kept clean and usable for all ASG Officers.
Equipment and supplies in the ASG office are property of ASG, and misuse or non-ASG use of office equipment shall constitute a breach of ASG financial procedures.
The Vice President of Internal Affairs is responsible for supply and upkeep of the ASG office.
Section 2. Office Keys
Members of the Executive Board and Directors have the right to check out keys to the ASG office.
President has key checked out to them to keep for their term
Section 3. Office Hours
The ASG office shall be open and staffed on hours as determined by the Executive Board.
Executives and Directors are required to hold one office hour per week in the ASG office, as determined by the Executive Board.
Missing a scheduled office hour constitutes a breach of the ASG Attendance Policy.
Article X. Financial Procedure
Section 1. Budgeting and Spending
The Board of Governors controls all BOG funds.
The Executive Board controls all Executive funds.
Each individual unit governor controls all unit funds.
No funds shall be collected or released by ASG without the passage of a bill through the BOG authorizing the collection or expenditure.
All groups and individuals requesting funding from ASG must present a written request in person to the BOG for funds, with line-item descriptions of all expenses. The Governors may then approve such expenditures in the form of a bill.
All bills must be submitted to the Vice President of Internal Affairs by 11:59PM of the Tuesday prior to a BOG meeting. Must be submitted electronically to the Vice President of Internal Affairs.
Any funds authorized for release, but not released from ASG accounts within four months of authorization are returned to the account of the BOG.
Section 2. Unethical Financial Activities and Possible Actions of Recourse
The Director of Financial Affairs has the option to recommend an act of recourse to the BOG should he/she find an instance of an illegal, unethical, or inappropriate financial action.
The following acts are considered breaches of ASG policy with regards to financial matters:
1. Willful and gross under/overestimation of budgetary items. 2. Gross overspending on a budgetary item. 3. Failure to notify the Director of Financial Affairs immediately should it
becomes necessary to overspend on a budgeted item. 4. Misappropriation of funds. 5. Forgery. 6. Failure to repay a loan in a timely manner. 7. Failure to provide accurate and itemized receipts on expenditures. 8. Negligence in the handling of the SOA card. 9. Misrepresentation of a financial situation in any way when it becomes
necessary to inform the Director of Financial Affairs of any situation. 10. Any other act which the Director of Financial Affairs may see as illegal,
unethical, or inappropriate with regards to ASG financial matters.
The following actions are to be considered as possible actions of recourse with regard to illegal, unethical, or inappropriate financial actions in ASG:
1. The freezing of an SOA account. 2. Mandating that an account be externally managed. 3. Impoundment of an SOA card and books. 4. Non-reimbursement of some or all of expenditure. 5. Reprimand. 6. Impeachment. 7. Referral to an appropriate judicial or law enforcement agency. 8. Any combination of the above. 9. Any other action deemed appropriate by the BOG.
Article XI. ASG Elections Code
Section 1. Elections
The ASG President, Vice President of Internal Affairs, and Vice President of Programming are elected in accordance with RHA Elections Code.
All candidates seeking ASG elected office must submit their names to the Elections Commissioner ten days prior to the date of the election.
Candidates seeking office as members of an organized political party must submit their party affiliation to the Elections Commissioner along with their names.
All members of ASG have the right to vote in ASG elections.
The polling place for ASG elections is in John W. Ashton Dreiser Library. Copies of the Constitutions and Bylaws of ASG and RHA must be on hand.
Section 2. Elections Commission
An Ashton Elections Commissioner is appointed from the membership of ASG by the Executive Board, subject to the approval of the BOG.
Four members of ASG are appointed from the membership of ASG to serve on the Elections Commission, subject to the approval of the BOG. No candidate for elected office can serve on the Elections Commission.
The Elections Commission shall guarantee the following:
1. A minimum of two poll workers must be present at the polling place at all times the polls are open.
2. Poll workers cannot be prevented from discharging their duties. 3. Poll workers cannot advise voters in any way except to provide assistance
in actually voting a ballot. 4. Each voter fills out his or her ballot in privacy. 5. The polling place and the area within fifty feet of the polling place do not
contain any campaign materials except those carried by voters. 6. No campaigning of any kind takes place in the polling place or within fifty
feet of the polling place.
Ballots are prepared by the Elections Commissioner in accordance with the RHA Elections Code.
Section 3. Campaigning
Campaigning takes place in accordance with RHA Elections Code and the following guidelines:
1. All campaigning shall be conducted in an orderly manner. 2. Door-to-door campaigning is allowed only with approval of the Ashton
Community Council. 3. No campaign material can be placed under residents' doors. 4. Campaign posters cannot exceed these dimensions: twenty-four inches in
width and thirty-six inches in length. 5. Mailbox stuffing is allowed only with the approval of the Ashton
Community Council. 6. Disposal of campaign materials after the election is the sole responsibility
of the candidates and done within one week of the elections. 7. The Elections Commission has the authority to take disciplinary action
against the candidates who violate these regulations.
Section 4. Election Process
Ballots are counted only by the members of the ASG Elections Commission in the presence of the Ashton Residence Manager or his/her designee.
The Elections Commissioner judges the validity of each ballot cast.
The Elections Commission must count the votes for each candidate and certify the final count. The certification statement must contain the signature of each Elections Commission member.
The certification statement must contain the number of votes cast for each candidate, the total number of votes cast, the total number of invalid votes cast, and the total number of votes for each office in the election.
The Elections Commission declares any candidate who receives the simple majority of the valid votes cast for the office the candidate is seeking the winner of the election to that office.
In the event no candidate receives a majority of the valid votes for an office which two or more candidates are seeking, the Elections Commission must hold a run-off election one week after the first election, subject to the same regulations as all other ASG elections.
The Elections Commission submits the certification statement, and declarations of winners, and any orders for run-off elections to the BOG for verification. Upon verification by the BOG, the election results are considered official and binding.
Protests and contests of ASG elections must be conducted in accordance with the RHA Elections Code.
Section 5. Special Elections
If there is no President elected in March or if acting officers decline full time responsibilities, a special election will be held
A special election is a private election where any member of BOG or Executive Board may seek an open position.
The President is responsible to appointing a replacement Executive and the RA is responsible for appointing a new governor if one leaves for a different position
Article XII. Bylaw Amendments
Section 1. Authority
This document yields authority to the RHA Constitution, the RHA Bylaws, and the ASG Constitution.
Section 2. Amendments
Any member of ASG may propose an amendment to these Bylaws. The amendment must be presented to the Board of Governors, and, upon approval of three-fourths of the voting membership of the BOG, the amendment shall become effective immediately.
Article XIII. Reestablishment
Section 1. Process of Reestablishment
In case ASG must disband, in order to reactivate Ashton Student Government, the following must be met:
1. All positions on the Executive Board are filled with compliance to these bylaws
2. Governors are established for each unit
3. The new ASG recognizes this constitution as well these bylaws as their own or create a new constitution and bylaws
4. RHA recognizes the establishment of the new ASG