VOTE USM 2008
Student Government Elections
Position Descriptions
Taken from the USM Student Senate
Constitution
Student Senate Mission Statement
The members, officials, and entities of the USM Student Senate shall strive to achieve the following:
1. Preside over and delegate the Student Activity Fee monies. The Student Senate will make every effort to include all students in the appropriation of this fund for activities, organizations, and events that seek the betterment of student life within the USM community.
2. To be an advocate of student concerns and a vehicle for undergraduate student input to the USM administration and the University of Maine System.
3. Strive for excellence in academics and applaud all attempts at intellectual growth within the student body at USM.
4. Work to formulate positive working relationships with members of the USM administration in order to foster growth and expediency in the USM community.
5. To serve as a non-profit business organization working through the University, to appropriate the Student Activity Fee to a set of entities that serve student needs, and to keep partnership between these entities strong.
6. To emulate the diversity that exists within the USM community. The Student Senate, its partners, officials, and entities shall not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, veteran or marital status, religion, or any other diverse identification.
Responsibilities of the Student Senate
The Student Senate shall make recommendations on any matters or concerns
affecting the USM undergraduate body to the appropriate
University
officer or policy-making body to which the question pertains.
The Student Senate’s areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Student Government. The Student Senate shall be responsible for the functions normally associated with student government, such as the conduct of social affairs; certification or sponsorship of student publications and communication; the charter of student social, political, or other organizations; and the sponsorship of cultural programs.
2. Student Life. The Student Senate shall be responsible for reviewing and making recommendations concerning policies in such areas as student life, admissions, financial aid, discipline, advising, counseling, housing, food services, placement, and recreational facilities and activities.
3. Nominations. The Student Senate shall be responsible, upon request, for the appointment of student representatives to standing or ad-hoc committees, boards, or councils.
4. Counsel. The Student Senate shall provide advice on any matter the President or USM administration chooses to bring before the Student Senate.
5. Student Activity Fee. The Student Senate shall be responsible for the allocation and expenditure of the Student Activity Fee. Although these funds are designed and intended for the use of Student Senate-recognized student groups and Student Senate-sponsored student events, any other funding request will be considered. In recognition of First Amendment principles, the Student Senate shall allocate 30% of gross Student Activity Fee receipts to the Student Communications Board (SCB) within three business days after disbursement by the University. In order to revoke or amend this allocation or its percentage, the bylaws which govern their expenditure, or either the SCB’s, WMPG’s or The Free Press’s recognition as a student group, a 2/3 vote of both the Student Senate and the SCB is required, or a 2/3 vote of either the entire Student Senate or SCB and a majority of those voting in a student referendum. For appropriate uses of the Student Activity Fee money, see the Student Activity Fee Statement of Policy.
Duties and Term of Office for a Student Senator
Duties. All Senators have the following duties:
1. To attend all scheduled Student Senate meetings.
2. To serve on at least one (1) active Student Senate standing committee, the application for which must be submitted within the first two weeks of the Spring or Fall Semester. Appointees are required to submit an application within two meetings of taking their seats.
3. To make reasonable and ongoing efforts to remain cognizant of all issues pertinent to the student body.
4. To responsibly and courteously listen to and evaluate all information and testimony presented to the Student Senate in order to make informed decisions during the voting process.
5. To serve at least three (3) office hours per week in the Student Senate office or other locations deemed appropriate by the Student Senate Parliamentarian.
Term of Office. A Student Senator’s term of office shall commence
two weeks prior to the end of the Spring Semester in which they are
elected
(finals’ week
excluded) and shall continue until two weeks prior to the end of the
following Spring Semester (finals’ week excluded). Prior to the
commencement of
this term, candidates elected to the Student Senate for the next
academic year shall be required to participate in a period of
transition. The
newly elected Senators shall sit with the outgoing Student Senate for
three weeks prior to their seating as stated above. During this
period, the
incoming Student Senate shall serve as ex-officio members of the present
Student Senate with all the duties and responsibilities therein
but shall not vote
unless they have voting rights under the current Student Senate.
Responsibilities of the Student Body President
Responsibilities. The Student Body President is the chief executive
officer of the student government; to this end, the Student Body
President
shall be
responsible for enforcing the rules and regulations of the Student
Senate, supervising Student Senate entities, chairing the Personnel
Review Board,
and acting as the backup signer for all accounts for all Student Senate
personnel. The Student Body President, or designee, shall
be the
student representative to all University committees and is responsible
for representing the student government to the wider community. The
Student Body
President shall be a guest speaker at least once every three student
senate meetings. The Student Body President may not be an
officer in
any Student Senate entity or a member of the Student Senate.
Privileges. The Student Body President shall have the right to make
recommendations on any budget and/or policy item which is before the
Student
Senate. The Student Body President has the right to veto any act of the
Student Senate by the submission of a letter to the Student
Senate
Secretary within seven days of the act’s passage.