The Pennsylvania State University
Agricultural Student Council
Constitution
Constitution of the Agricultural Student Council
The Pennsylvania State University
College of Agricultural Sciences
(Revised March 25, 2007)
Article I
Purpose
Section 1. It shall be the purpose of this council to unite the various
organizations and departments in the College of Agricultural Sciences
into one operative entity to promote the welfare and physical conditions
in the College of Agricultural Sciences; to establish, foster and
develop a spirit of unity, friendship, and sociability among, the
students and faculty of the University, particularly in the College of
Agricultural Sciences; to create in the students a spirit of pride in
and zeal for agriculture; to maintain and ever promote high standards of
scholarship and character among, students within the classroom and in
extra- curricular activities and to help promote the College of
Agricultural Sciences in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Article II
Membership
Section 1. There shall be two types of members in the Agricultural
Student Council. Active members are currently employed faculty, staff,
and currently enrolled students. Active members may vote, hold office,
and officiate for or on behalf of the Agricultural Student Council.
There must be fifty percent plus one active members who are
undergraduate students.
Section 2. Associate members are all others who are interested in
furthering the purpose of the organization yet do not fall under the
criteria for being an active member. Associate members may not vote,
hold office, preside, officiate, or solicit funds for the Agricultural
Student Council.
Section 3. The Agricultural Student Council shall be composed of two
elected representatives from each agricultural student organization.
Representatives must be considered active members, in order to properly
represent and vote for their clubs/organizations. Any active member who
wishes to be a member of the Ag Student Council, but is not a
representative to any organization, shall be considered an independent
representative. One will be considered an independent representative
only if the individual is present for the whole duration of the first or
second meeting of each semester in order to establish their name and
record with the Parliamentarian.
Section 4. Any agricultural student organization with a constitution
that has been ratified by the University Supreme Court is eligible for
membership in the Agricultural Student Council. Application to the
Council shall be made in the form of a written request to the Council
president. The applying club shall be accepted upon a two-thirds
majority of voting members at a regularly scheduled meeting. If
membership is denied, reapplication can be made on a semester basis.
Official notification of acceptance or rejection will be in the form of
a written letter to the organization president from the Council
secretary.
Section 5. Any department with an undergraduate major which does not
have a curriculum club may propose any student to represent that
department and major in the Agricultural Student Council. The student's
name will be submitted to the Council to be approved or rejected. The
same procedure will also apply for any major in the Associate Degree
Programs. Each major will be entitled to one representative to
Agricultural Student Council, to be proposed by the department for
action by the Agricultural Student Council.
Section 6. Each club representative on Council is entitled to designate
an alternate from the same organization as the representative.
Independent representatives may not designate an alternate for
themselves.
Section 7 When a club representative of Council misses one meeting,
without sending an alternate, a check mark shall be placed on his/her
attendance record. When the representative misses his/her second
consecutive meeting without sending an alternate, the Council secretary
shall send a card to the club president and/or advisor station that
their organization has not been fully represented due to the absence of
the said delegate from the two previous Agricultural Student Council
meetings. If a representative is not present at the next Council
meeting, the club will lose that vote for the rest of the individual's
term. Independent representatives will undergo the same criteria as
mentioned above. After a second missed meeting a card shall be sent to
the individual notifying them of their absence. If an independent
representative fails to attend a third meeting, that individual loses
his/her vote for the rest of that semester.
Article III
Officers
Section 1 Only full-time, officially registered students shall be
eligible to serve as appointed or elected officers in the Agricultural
Student Council. Officers of Council must have served a minimum of one
semester as a member of Council and/or actively participated in Council
activities for one semester.
Section 2 The officers of Agricultural Student Council shall be known as
the president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and parliamentarian.
Section 3 It shall be the duty of the president to preside at all
meetings, to direct or appoint committees and to call meeting-s. In the
absence of the president, the vice-president or the next ranking,
officer in the order named in Article III, Section 2 shall perform the
duty. The president shall prepare an agenda before each meeting and
provide for an executive meeting prior to the regular meeting.
Section 4. It shall be the duty of the vice-president to preside at all
meetings in the absence of the president. The vice-president shall be an
ex-officio member and assist in the coordination of all committees,
coordinate updates to the Program of Activities, and arrange for
programs at meetings.
Section 5. It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep minutes of all
meetings and to attend to correspondence. In addition, the secretary
must submit a new officers list to the UPUA, as well as a copy of the
current constitution.
Section 6. It shall be the duty of the treasurer to receive and transfer
all funds of Council to the Associated Student Activities Office. The
ASA will be responsible for holding, all income and writing checks for
all disbursements. The treasurer shall also keep a careful account of
all expenditures and receipts, and shall authorize the ASA to write
checks for only those disbursements which Council has approved. The
outgoing treasurer, after closing, his/her books, shall have them
audited by the advisors, and shall then turn them over to the incoming,
treasurer. The treasurer shall prepare and propose a budget to gain ASA
restricted funds.
Section 7. It shall be the duty of the parliamentarian to keep an
official copy of the Constitution of Agricultural Student Council, a
copy of Robert's Rules of Order, to maintain listserv/attendance records
in conjunction with the secretary as outlined in Article II, Section 7,
and distribute copies of the newly revised Program of Activities and
Constitution to Council members within a month after the beginning, of
fall semester. The parliamentarian shall be responsible for reserving
rooms for the regular Ag Student Council meetings
Section 8 The officers shall be elected in the order as named in Article
III, Section 2 between the 7th and 9th weeks of the Spring semester and
shall serve the succeeding year during which Council is active or until
their successors have been elected and installed. Installation,
including oath of office, shall take place at the first meeting,
following the elections. Council officers may be removed for
non-performance of duty by a 2/3 vote of the eligible members present at
a regular meeting. Fifty percent plus one of the total membership is
needed as a quorum when removing an officer.
Section 9. Club representatives elected to offices of the Council need
not be reinstated by the representative club. In the event that they are
not reinstated, they shall retain their offices.
Section 10. Vacancies occurring in any office of the Council caused by
resignation, removal, or otherwise, shall be filled by election for the
unexpired term of office, except for the president, in which case the
vice-president shall be the successor and an election shall be held for
a new vice-president.
Section 11. No officer shall succeed himself/herself.
Section 12. Fifty percent of-the total membership of the Agricultural
Student Council is needed as a quorum when filling a vacancy of office.
Section 13 The majority shall be defined as fifty percent plus one of
active member votes. If no one candidate receives fifty percent plus one
votes, the candidate with the lowest percentage of votes is dropped from
the ballot and another vote is conducted with the remaining candidates.
The majority is derived from the active membership at the meeting-.
Article IV
Meetings
Section 1 Meetings of the Council shall be held on the 2 nd & 4 th
Tuesday of the month during the fall and spring, semesters, unless
otherwise specified by the executive committee. There should be a
minimum number of four meetings per semester.
Section 2. The president shall have the power to call special meetings
whenever necessary.
Section 3. Adequate advance notice must be given to the membership at
all times.
Article V
Voting
Section 1. Only active members of the Agricultural Student Council may
vote.
Section 2. A 50% of the total membership of the Agricultural Student in
Council shall constitute a quorum to vote.
Section 3. The majority shall be defined as fifty percent plus one of
active member votes. The majority is derived from the active membership
at the meeting.
Section 4. Each member of Council or their alternate shall be entitled,
only when present, to one vote on each proceeding, even if the
individual is a representative to more than one club or organization.
The president votes only in the case of a tie.
Section 5. Election of officers shall be by secret ballot.
Article VI
General Business
Section 1. Quorum needed for general conduct of business shall be 50% of
the total membership of the Agricultural Student Council.
Article VII
Finances
Section 1. All funds are to be deposited and handled through the
Associated Student Activities.
Section 2. There shall be no dues for the Agricultural Student Council
members.
Article VIII
Advisors
Section 1. There will be two elected faculty advisors on Agricultural
Student Council, one to serve as advisor and one to serve as associate
advisor. The duties of the advisors shall be to act in an advisory
capacity at all Council meetings and Council functions. The advisors
must be a member of the University Community.
Section 2. The term of each advisor shall be for two years. The
individual shall serve as associate advisor the first year and as
advisor the second year.
Section 3. If for any reason the advisor would be forced to leave
his/her position, an election will be held for associate advisor, and
the associate will then become advisor for the remainder of the two-year
term. If the associate advisor is forced to leave, an election will be
held for an associate advisor to complete his/her term.
Section 4. An election will be held each year at the 5th regular meeting
of Spring, semester to choose a new associate advisor. The associate
advisor of the previous year will then serve as advisor for the
remainder of the two-year term. The nomination committee will nominate
faculty members, with their consent, for the position of associate
advisor. The candidate receiving the largest number of votes shall be
elected.
Article IX
Elections
Section 1. Nominations for officers shall take place on the meetings of
the 7th and 9th weeks of the spring semester. Elections of officers
shall occur on the 9th week of the spring semester. Nominations and
elections for non-officer positions in the Agricultural Student Council
will be held at the discretion of the president.
Section 2. There should be a quorum of 50% of the total membership of
the Agricultural Student Council to hold nominations and elections.
Section 3. The majority shall be defined as fifty percent plus one of
active member votes. If no one candidate receives fifty percent plus one
votes, the candidate with the lowest percentage of votes is dropped from
the ballot and another vote is conducted with the remaining candidates.
Section 4. One may nominate another for an office/position, if the
nominated person is an active member of the organization and he/she is
present to accept/reject the nomination. The nominated person accepts
the nomination in the presence of the officers, by telling them that
he/she formally accepts the nomination.
Section 5. A person nominated for an office/position, who has already
accepted the nomination, may decline the nomination anytime before
voting in the presence of the officers.
Section 6. Nominations for each office/position must be closed before
voting.
Section 7. The club shall vote by secret ballot, and the advisors shall
tally the votes.
Section 8. Elections for officer positions shall occur in this order:
President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Parliamentarian.
Section 9. If a nominee is not elected into the office he/she is running
for, he/she may be run for a lower office, as long as a formal
nomination is made and accepted.
Section 10. Before or during officer elections, the council shall
appoint a member to serve a one (1) year term as student representative
to each of the following faculty committees: Academic Standards,
Instruction and Curriculum, Student Activities. The council shall also
appoint a member to serve a one (1) year term as the College of Ag
Science student representative to the Faculty Senate.
Article X
Amendments
Section 1. The constitution may be revised or amended with a 50% quorum
of all members of the Agricultural Student Council and a two-thirds vote
of those present at two consecutive meetings. An advisor must be present
both times the constitution is voted upon. All proposed amendments shall
be submitted in writing. AR amendments are subject to the approval of
the USG Supreme Court.
Article XI
Parliamentary Authority
Section 1. The proceedings of the Council meetings and cases not covered
in the Constitution shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order, Newly
Revised by Sarah Corbin Roberts et al. 2000, 10 the edition.
Article XII
Constitution
Section 1. Copies of the Agricultural Student Council Constitution will
be made available to anyone upon request.
Article XIII
Duties of Representatives
Section 1. It shall be the duty of each club and independent
representative to attend all meetings of Agricultural Student Council or
provide for a specific alternate, if needed.
Section 2. It shall be the duty of each club representative to report
all pertinent Council transactions and activities to the club they
represent.
Section 3. It shall be the duty of each club representative to be
responsible for correspondence from the club which they represent to the
Council and for arranging, correspondence to the Ag Sci Student News.
Section 4. It shall be the duty of each active member to actively serve
on at least one committee as set forth in the program of activities.
Section 5. It shall be the duty of each club representative to inform
the election committee of replacements of representatives in their club.
Article XIV
Committees
Section 1. The following committees will serve as standing committees
for the Agricultural Student Council: Social, Finance and Awards, and
Professional Development and College Coordination. The President has the
right to appoint ad hoc committees if the need arises.
Section 2. The Executive Committee shall be made up of all elected
officers, advisors, and the committee chairs on the Council. The
Executive Committee shall attend to all affairs of the organization, but
its acts shall not conflict with action taken by Council.
Section 3. The following committees shall exist as permanent
sub-committees of the standing committees stated in Article XIV section
1: Mushroom Stand Committee in the Finance and Awards Committee; The Ag
Hill Olympics Committee in the Social Committee; and the Spring Agri-Fling
Committee in the Social Committee.
Section 4. Each standing committee shall have one (1) or two (2)
committee chairs. Committee chairs are appointed by the President during
the first meeting of the fall semester, and if a vacancy is present,
during the first meeting of the spring.
Section 5. It is the duty of the committee chair(s) to oversee the
progress of their respective committees, coordinate between the
committee and the executive committee, appoint subcommittee chairs, and
act as a contact person for the committee. The committee chair(s) shall
serve as member of the executive committee and make regular reports at
regular and executive committee meetings.
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