Oberlin College Student Senate

By-Laws

Oberlin College Student Senate

By-Laws
Updated October 5, 2014
I. Composition of the Student Senate
A. As stated in the Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin College, the
Student Senate will be composed of 15 senators, elected at large from the members of the
student body, at least one of whom will be a Conservatory of Music or Double-Degree
student.
B. Election of Senators
i. Electoral Code of Conduct
a. The Electoral Code of Conduct must be sent to each candidate running
for election. The Code of Conduct prohibits a Senator from engaging in
the following activities during an election:
1. Falsifying or misappropriating ballots
2. Intentionally miscounting ballots or reporting incorrect
numerical data to a member of the Election Task-Force, the public,
or the press.
3. Releasing any numerical data to the public, the press, or any
individual before the election is finalized.
4. Making public any disparaging comments that have been written
on ballots about candidates
5. Intentionally counting ballots that should have been disqualified
6. Allowing the marking or handling of the ballots by any
candidate.
b. Violations of the Electoral Code of Conduct are grounds for
disqualification of a candidate or removal of a Student Senator.
ii. Requirements and Nominations
a. Any student regularly enrolled as an Oberlin student may vote or run in
a Senate election. A student may nominate any other Oberlin student,
including his-, her-, or hirself. Though anyone may be nominated, only
Oberlin students who plan to attend for the term in question may accept
their nomination and appear on the ballot. Students may run for election in
the spring semester before their graduation. Candidates may submit
candidate statements of up to 300 words for publication.
iii. General Elections

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a. Senate shall choose dates for its general elections as outlined in the
Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin College.
b. Students shall elect Senators by employing the Single Transferable Vote
(STV) system. Students shall be allowed to rank as many candidates as
there are seats available on Senate.
c. A general election shall last five days or until the election reaches
quorum, though no election may extend beyond the academic year. A
general election reaches quorum once at least twenty percent of the
student body has voted. Those students with the highest ranks according to
the STV system shall be offered an open seat on Student Senate; if a
winning student declines to accept a seat, the student with the next highest
rank who did not win a seat shall be offered the seat.
d. Online balloting shall be conducted if possible. The voting program
used in an election must allow voters to write in as many candidates as
there are open seats on Senate. The program must also provide the
candidate statements of all declared candidates, prevent voters from
choosing more than the allowed number of candidates, require an OCMR
and T-number, invalidate duplicate ID numbers, and provide a means of
comparing T-numbers and OCMRs on paper ballots.
e. Both online and printed ballots must include the names of all candidates
and a space for write-ins. One candidate is randomly selected to appear at
the top of the list, and the rest follow in alphabetical order by last name.
Each student must include his, her, or hir T-number and OCMR with their
ballot for it to be considered valid. Ballots without T-numbers or with Tnumbers that do not match their corresponding OCMRs shall not be
considered valid.
f. Oberlin students who are abroad, on leave, or do not have an OCMR
shall not be prohibited from voting. Such students shall either be provided
a provisional OCMR number or shall be allowed to cast ballots without
OCMRs. Such ballots shall be considered valid.
iv. Appointments
a. If a Senator resigns or is removed from Senate and there are still at least
two General Faculty meetings remaining in the semester, Senate will offer
the position to the candidate from that semesters elections who received
next highest rank according to the STV system and did not initially win a
seat on Senate. Such a candidate shall serve for the remainder of the
semester and the seat shall be considered vacant in the following
semesters election.
b. If a Senator resigns or is removed from Senate and there are less than
two General Faculty meetings remaining in the semester, Senate may
choose to leave the seat open until the next election.
v. Special Elections

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a. As noted in the Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin

College, Senate must call for a special vacancy-filling election if more
than three Senate seats become vacant and open nominations for a special
election within one week of such an occurrence. A special election shall
follow the same process as a general election as outlined in these bylaws.
A special election reaches quorum once at least ten percent of the student
body has voted. Senate may call for elections to fill a vacancy if there are
three or less seats vacant with a two-thirds majority vote.
vi. Tabulation
a. Those Senators on Interim Senate who are not seeking reelection shall
comprise the election taskforce responsible for the validation and tallying
of ballots. The election taskforce shall disqualify duplicate ballots or
ballots with partial information. The results of the election shall be made
public by the election taskforce after it has closed the election and
validated and tallied all ballots.
II. Duties of the Student Senate
A. As outlined in the Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin College, the
duties of the Student Senate are as follows:
i. Represent the student body in Oberlin College governance and pursue the
adoption of policies that are beneficial to the student body
ii. Provide a forum for constructive dialogue and decision making that is inclusive
of all students
iii. Appoint and remove student members of working groups and faculty and
administrative committees
iv. Create and abolish working groups
v. Approve charters of student organizations
vi. Serve as the board of appeal for the Student Finance Committee
vii. Approve Senate bylaws
viii. Election officers
B. In addition to the above responsibilities, the Student Senate shall publicize the
Class Trustee open forum.
III. Duties of the Interim Senate
A. As outlined in the Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin College, the
duties of the Interim Senate are as follows:
i. Conducting appointments
ii. Educating the student body about campus governance during orientation
iii. Conducting elections for other senators
B. Before the election of the full Student Senate, the Interim Senate must also:
i. Schedule initial meetings with administrators of Oberlin College
ii. Reserve a room for future Plenary Sessions
iii. Schedule the Senate retreat.
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v. Schedule a mandatory Power, Privilege, and Oppression workshop with the

Multicultural Resource Center to be completed within the first two weeks of the
incoming Senate.
a. This workshop is mandatory only for senators beginning the first
semester of their term. Senators beginning the second semester of
their terms are permitted to attend as well.
IV. Responsibilities of Student Senators
A. As outlined in the Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin College, the
responsibilities of Students Senators are as follows:
i. Serve as an officer
ii. Serve on a Faculty or Administrative Committee
iii. Serve on the General Faculty
iv. Serve on the College Faculty, if applicable.
v. Attend all Senate, faculty and administrative committee meetings, and working
group meetings of which the senator is a member in accordance with the Senate
attendance policy.
vi. Perform publicity and communication with the student body.
vii. Hold weekly office hours
viii. Contribute to the legislative work of Senate.
B. A Senator must also:
i. Electronically submit a weekly work log
ii. Attend Treasurer Training night each semester
a. If, for whatever reason, a Senator is unable to attend Treasurer Training
night, he, she, or ze is required to meet one-on-one with either the Student
Treasurer or the Assistant Student Treasurer within two weeks after
Treasurer Training night.
iii. Attend two meetings of the Student Finance Committee per semester,
including one policy meeting and one ad-hoc meeting.
a. If a Senator cannot attend either a policy meeting or an ad-hoc meeting
due to a scheduling conflict with a class, he, she, or ze may be excused
from that requirement.
iv. Adhere to the directive of Senate, the Bylaws of the Student Senate of Oberlin
College, and the Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin College. v.
Attend a Trans Training & Allyship Training each semester
a. If, for whatever reason, a Senator is unable to attend the scheduled
Multicultural Resource Center Trans & Allyship Training, he, she, ze, they
is required to meet one-on-one with either the LTBTQ Community
Coordinator or an MRC Community Coordinator within two weeks after
the scheduled trainings.
C. Officer Positions

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i. The Senate shall elect officers at the first meeting of the full Senate and shall
elect interim officers at the last meeting of the full Senate. If an office is vacated,
a new officer shall be elected immediately. Amendments to the officer positions
may be made at any time.
a. Liaison
1. The Liaison shall be the Senates spokesperson with the student
body, staff, faculty, administration, Trustees of Oberlin College,
and the greater Oberlin community.
2. The Liaison shall coordinate the legislative work of the Senate
and send the Senates legislation and proposals to the appropriate
faculty committees or administrative offices.
3. The Liaison shall keep track of Senates outstanding business
and produce a monthly report to this effect. This report shall be
published on the Senate website and presented at the first Plenary
Session of each month.
4. The Liaison shall deliver a State of the Senate address once
per semester, to be printed in the student media. The spring
semester address shall also be presented at a meeting of the
General Faculty. This address will also be posted on the Senate
website.
5. The Liaison shall serve on the General Faculty Planning
Committee.
6. The Liaison shall, on behalf of Senate, send a thank you card to
each trustee that attends the Class Trustee Forum.
7. The Liaison shall manage the Senate email account.
8. The Liaison shall ensure that the Senate scrapbook is kept up to
date.
9. The Liaison may not hold any other officer positions.
10. Only one (1) Senator may serve as Liaison.
b. Associate Liaison
1. The Associate Liaison shall work with the Liaison to coordinate
Senates legislative work.
2. The Associate Liaison shall coordinate the network of student
advocates and meetings with the administrators of Oberlin College.
3. The Associate Liaison shall serve on the Student Life
Committee.
4. The Associate Liaison ensures that Senators, student committee
members, and the college community are informed about campus
governance. The Associate Liaison shall act as a resource for
Senators and students on the college governance system.
5. The Associate Liaison shall coordinate referenda in accordance
with the procedures set forth in the Constitution of the Association
of Students of Oberlin College and these bylaws.
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6. The Associate Liaison shall schedule and lead the Senate Retreat
in accordance with the requirements outlined in these bylaws.
7. The Associate Liaison may not hold any other officer positions.
8. Only one (1) Senator may serve as Associate Liaison.
c. Secretary
1. The Secretary shall keep the agenda and take minutes for Senate
meetings when the Designated Minute Taker is incapable of doing
so.
2. The Secretary shall publish the Senate bylaws, coordinate bylaw
revisions, keep the Senate handbook up to date, and look into
Senate reforms.
3. The Secretary shall act as a resource on Senates operating
procedures.
4. At the beginning of each semester, the Secretary shall send
copies of the minutes from the previous semester to the Oberlin
College Archives.
5. The Secretary will post all minutes to the Oberlin College
Student Website.
6. The Secretary shall keep the Senate handbook up to date.
7. The secretary shall manage the official senate blog, which will
be posted on the official senate webpage, and make updates on a
bi-weekly bases at the minimum.
8. The Secretary shall publish a weekly Senate update in the
Oberlin Review.
9. Only one (1) Senator may serve as Secretary.
d. Operations Manager
1. The Operations Manager is responsible for the internal functions
of Senate, individual Senator accountability, and monitoring the
attendance of Senators.
2. In the absence of the Secretary, the Operations Manager shall
take minutes for Plenary Sessions.
3. The Operations Manager maintains a list of all Senate working
groups and their members and publishes this information on the
Senate website.
4. The Operations Manager publishes the minutes for working
group meetings on the Senate website.
5. The Operations Manager manages the Senate mailbox, the
Senate office, Senators office hours, and the Senate website.
6. The Operations Manager shall act as a resource on Senates
operating procedures.
7. The Operations Manager will keep an up to date online record of
all senators points and rational behind each pointing. This page

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must be accessible to the senator who the points are allotted to.
The page shall also lists the consequences of each point total.
8. Only one (1) Senator may serve as Operations Manager.
9. The Operations Manager shall verify every Senators attendance
at his or her scheduled office hours and meetings by means of a
surveillance check.
- Though the time and frequency of checks are up to the
discretion of the Operations Manager, each Senator shall be
verified at least once a semester.
- Senators shall not be notified in advance of when
surveillance checks will occur.
- Verification is defined as:
a. For office hours, seeing the Senator at the time and
Place that is publically listed on the Senate website
(or a previously rescheduled location or time, given
that notice of the change was made available to the
public.)
b. For meetings, written confirmation from a meeting
participant who is not a Senator that the Senator in
question was in attendance at the stated date and
time.
- If a Senator is found to have been misrepresenting his or
her attendance at office hours, meetings, or other Senate
events, he or she shall be subject to a hearing at the next
plenary session. A vote shall be taken on removal, censure,
and the addition of 15 points for that Senator.
e. Treasurer
1. The Treasurer shall be responsible for Senates payroll and
collecting Senators work logs.
2. The Treasurer distributes new time cards to Senators.
3. The Treasurer shall write and submit a budget for the Senate to
the Student Finance Committee during the annual budgeting
process.
4. The Treasurer shall check the electronic time cards of Senators
every week and ensure that they are only requesting payment for
activities that are approved by these bylaws.
5. After checking them, the Treasurer shall download each
Senators electronic time card and publish it to the Senate website
by 11:59 P.M. Sunday night at the end of each pay period.
5. The Treasurer and Operations Manager shall meet at least once a
week to go over the work logs so the Operations Manager may
assign points to Senators who failed to carry out their duties.
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6. The Treasurer is responsible for tracking Senates wage pool

which was set at $35,000 per year in the Spring of 2010 and
requesting additional funds through SFCs ad-hoc process, as
needed.
7. The Treasurer must approve all expenditures that draw money
from the Senate budget.
8. The Treasurer shall keep the Senate payroll log up to date.
9. In the absence of both the Secretary and the Operations
Manager, the Treasurer shall take minutes for a Plenary Session.
10. Only one (1) Senator may serve as Treasurer.
f. Student Finance Committee Co-Chair
1. The Student Finance Committee Co-Chair shall serve as cochair of the Student Finance Committee (SFC).
2. The Student Finance Committee Co-Chair is responsible for
fulfilling all duties contained in the bylaws of the SFC.
3. The Student Finance Committee Co-Chair must inform the
Senate of the dates when Treasurer Training Night will be held
each semester, as well as the schedule of SFC meetings.
4. The Student Finance Committee Co-Chair shall chair the SFCSenate Working Group.
5. The Student Finance Committee Co-Chair shall give a brief
update on the current issues and dilemma the SFC is facing during
each plenary session.
5. The Student Finance Committee Co-Chair may only hold one
officer position.
6. Only one (1) Senator may serve as Student Finance Committee
Co-Chair
g. Chartering Liaison
1. The Chartering Liaison(s) is/are Senates principal liaison(s) to
all student organizations and ensures that organizations are
informed of and have the opportunity to be involved in the work of
student government bodies.
2. The Chartering Liaison(s) coordinate(s) prompt consideration of
organization charters. The Chartering Liaison(s) is/are responsible
for inspecting or coordinating the inspection of charters in
accordance with the proper format and recommending it to Senate
for approval.
3. Only one (1) or two (2) Senator may serve as Chartering
Liaison.
h. Events Coordinator
1. The Events Coordinator shall coordinate Senate referenda and
shall be responsible for organizing and conducting forums and
other Senate-sponsored events or community-building activities.
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2. The Events Coordinator shall be responsible for determining the

agenda and substance of forums in coordination with Senate.
3. The Events Coordinator shall assist in outreach for all events
sponsored by Student Senate, including: elections, forums, the
Trustee forums, committee openings, and other events as
necessary.
4. No more than two (2) Senators may serve as Events
Coordinator.
j. Committee Appointments Coordinator
1. The Committee Appointments Coordinator will recommend
student appointments to and removals from committees.
2. The Committee Appointments Coordinator shall maintain a
working database of student committee representatives that will be
made public to the student body via Senates website.
3. The Committee Appointments Coordinator solicits and
coordinates appointment interviews and ensures that at least two
Senators will be present at each interview. Whenever possible, the
Committee Appointments Coordinator shall arrange to fill
vacancies on committees before they occur.
4. No more than two (2) Senators may serve as Committee
Appointments Coordinator.
k. Committee Liaison
1. The Committee Liaison shall assist in maintaining a working
database of student committee representatives that will be made
public to the student body via Senates website.
2. The Committee Liaison will monitor the attendance and activity
of student members of working groups and of student members of
faculty, administrative, and ad hoc committees.
3. The Committee Liaison will present a report of student
committee member activity at the first Senate Plenary Session of
each month and shall make the monthly report public to the student
body via Senates website.
4. Only one (1) Senator may serve as Committee Liaison
l. Outreach Coordinator
1. The Outreach Coordinator shall be in charge of publicizing
Senate activities.
2. The Outreach Coordinator is in charge of communication with
existing campus publications and media. The Outreach
Coordinator will publicize all passed legislation to the student
body.
3. The Outreach Coordinator shall update the Senate Roster and
Office Hours Assignments when a new member is appointed to

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Senate. The Outreach Coordinator shall post office hours on the

bulletin board and on the Senate website.
4. The Outreach Coordinator shall publish a monthly newsletter
and post the newsletter on the Senate website.
5. The Outreach Coordinator shall manage Senates website,
Facebook fan page, Twitter account, list-server, and elections. If
the Outreach Coordinator is running for reelection, he, she, or ze
shall designate and train a Senator who is not running for
reelection to be responsible for running the election.
6. No more than three (3) Senators may serve as Outreach
Coordinator.
m. Green Liaison
1. The Green Liaison shall serve as a full voting member of the
EDGE board, with the power to bring proposals to Senate as
outlined in the charter of the EDGE fund. The Green Liaison shall
play a roll in publicizing the EDGE fund and recruiting proposals
and student participation.
2. The Green Liaison shall attend fortnightly Green Tea meetings
organized by the Office of Environmental Sustainability. At these
meetings, the Green Liaison shall report the discussion and actions
by Senate regarding environment-related issues.
3. The Green Liaison shall attend the Oberlin Student Cooperative
Associations (OSCA) Environmental Concerns Committee (ECC)
weekly meetings. At these meetings, the Green Liaison shall report
the discussions and actions by Senate regarding environmentrelated issues. The Green Liaison shall communicate the concerns
and projects of the ECC to Senate.
4. The Green Liaison shall keep Senate informed about other on
campus environmental events, news, and relevant information.
5. Only one (1) Senator may serve as Green Liaison
n. Wildcard Position
1. This officer position is designed to have one senator focused on
an issue that is relevant to a large number of students on campus.
a. If Senators present more than two (2) positions that the
Senate feels should be granted this semester, Senators who
are not running can vote to override this policy and replace
it with a different number for the semester wit ha two-thirds
majority yea vote.
2. During the first plenary of the semester, each senator who want
this will present an issue that they would like to work on and an
outline of specific duties of the proposed officer position.

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3. Senators who are not running for the wildcard position will
decide which proposal is the most worthwhile to pursue
4. By the next plenary the senator who is chosen for this position
must write up a full officer position description for the officer
position they have created.
5. An appendix of previous wildcard positions will be kept at the
end of the bylaws.
o. Appendix of possible Officer Positions
1. City Liaison
i. The City Liaison is responsible for representing Senate in
affairs with the college to benefit the common welfare. The
City Liaison will attend City Council and City of Oberlin
meetings, as necessary.
ii. The City Liaison will hold at least one forum per
semester to discuss an issue pertaining to City relations.
iii. No more than two (2) Senators may serve as City
Liaison.
2. OSCA-Senate Liaison
i. The OSCA-Senate Liaison is Senates primary liaison to
the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA) and
is responsible for bringing to Senate the views and
concerns of OSCAs membership.
ii. The OSCA-Senate Liaison shall facilitate productive and
mutually beneficial communication between OSCA and
Oberlin College by serving as an intermediary between the
appropriate officers of both institutions.
iii. The OSCA-Senate Liaison shall attend the weekly
OSCA Board of Directors meetings receive the appropriate
organizational training (attend the OSCA Board of
Directors retreat or the equivalent).
iv. The OSCA-Senate Liaison shall attend a meeting of
OSCAs General Management Team approximately once
monthly, subject to invitation.
v. The OSCA-Senate Liaison shall pursue involvement in
and stay abreast of negotiations during a school year in
which OSCA and the College negotiate rent contracts.
vi. The OSCA-Senate Liaison shall not receive
compensation through Senate for the same work for which
the Liaison receives compensation (co-op hours) through
OSCA.
vii. Only one (1) Senator may serve as the OSCA-Senate
Liaison.
3. Student Health and Wellness Liaison
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i. Serve as advocate, representative and resource for

students concerning all aspects of health and wellness;
ii. Chair the Student Health Working Group, which
includes organizing meetings, taking notes;
iii. Coordinate with ongoing health and wellness efforts,
including the Counseling Center, Student Health, Dean
Morgan Flood, and others;
iv. Interface with students, the Center for Leadership and
Health Promotion, Active Minds, Meditation, Multicultural
Resource Center, Office of Religious and Spiritual Life,
and other health and wellness related organizations;
v. Work and plan with Events Coordinators to plan events;
vi. Collaborate with administrators to address policy issues;
and
vii. Collaborate with Phillips Gym and Director of
Athletics.
4. Liaision to the Conservatory
i. The Liaison to the Conservatory is responsible for the
promotion of cross-instrumental/studio engagement and
will work to remedy internal student divisions;
ii. The Liaison to the Conservatory will also work to make
Student Senate more visible in the Conservatory.
iii. Work with administration and students on community
building, planning and activities;
iv. Cross-studio engagements will be advertised.
v. Referendum related initiatives;
vi. Work to create a friendlier practice room environment;
vii. Promote jazz building Sky Lounge use
viii. Only one (1) Senator may serve as the Liaison to the
Conservatory.
ii. No Senator may hold more than two (2) officer positions at any given time.
iii. Any Senator who is up for reelection is responsible for training another
Senator who is not up for reelection to perform the duties assigned to his, her, or
hir officer positions.
iv. All Senators are required to create an entry for the Senate scrapbook at the end
of the semester, describing how he, she, or ze performed the duties assigned to
his, her, or hir officer position.
V. Senator Accountability
A. Electronic Time Cards
i. Senators who choose to receive compensation will fill out an electronic time
card on a weekly basis, to be submitted to the Office of the Student Treasurer and
to be reviewed by Senates Treasurer and Operations Manager.

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ii. Senators who choose not to receive compensation must fill out a weekly work
log, to be submitted to Senates Treasurer and Operations Manager.
B. Points
i. The Operations Manager shall penalize Senators for failing to execute their
duties and responsibilities by assigning points. Points accrued by a Senator shall
remain on that Senators record for the duration of their term. If a Senators term
is longer than one semester, then points from their first semester carry over to
their second semester. If a Senator is appointed to Senate as a replacement, they
do not acquire the points of the Senator who they replaced.
ii. If a Senator fails to perform the following obligations, the Operations Manager
shall assign the following amount of points to a Senator at his, her, or hir
discretion, subject to an appeal to the entire Senate:
Failure to:

Points:

Attend a plenary session

10 points

Attend a meeting of a General Faculty

5 points

Attend Treasurer Training night or meet oneon-one with the Student Treasurer or
Assistant Student Treasurer

1 points

Attend a policy meeting of the SFC

1 points

Attend an ad-hoc meeting of the SFC

1 points

Attend the Senate retreat

3 points

Create a scrapbook entry at the conclusion of

the semester

3 points

Attend Senate meetings with administrators

3 points

Hold a weekly office hour

3 points

Submit a completed electronic work log by

Sunday at 2:00 P.M.

3 points

Attend the minimum number of required

committee interviews, or an interview a
senator agreed previously to attend

3 points per interview

Attend a working group meeting

2 points

Attend a Senate-sponsored forum

5 points

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Be on time to a Plenary Session

1 point for every 15 minutes

(7:01-7:15pm 1 point;
7:16pm-7:30pm 2 points;
7:31pm-7:45pm 3 points;
etc.)

Remain for an entire Plenary Session

1 point for every 15 minutes

early that a Senator leaves
(9:16-9:29 1 point; 9:00-9:15
2 points; etc.)

Follow through on a senatorial commitment

made during check-outs before the next
plenary

1 Point

Follow through on a senatorial commitment

made during check-outs within 2 plenary
sessions

3 Points

Attend Trans Allyship workshop and Allyship 3 points

workshop or meet one-on-one with the
Workshop Coordinator at the MRC
(Multicultural Resource Center) if unable to
attend
iii. The following points will be assigned to Senators holding specific officer
positions if they fail to perform the following actions, subject to an appeal to the
entire Senate:
Officer Position:

Failure to:

Points:

Liaison

Produce and present a monthly

report on Senates outstanding
business

2 points
per month

Deliver a State of the Senate

address once per semester

2 points
per
semester

Associate Liaison Organize and coordinate at least

one referendum per academic
year

5 points

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Schedule and organize the Senate 2 points

retreat
per
semester
Secretary

Operations
Manager

Treasurer

Edit and publish minutes in

accordance with the policies in
these bylaws

1 point per
week

Keep the Student Senate

handbook up to date

2 points

Send copies of the minutes from

the previous semester to the
Archives

2 points
per
semester

Maintain and publish a list of

Senate working groups and their
members

2 points

Publish working group minutes

1 points
per week

Publish working group

attendance reports

1 point per
week

Failure to produce an accessible,

up to date online report of
senators points and rationale for
said points

3 points
per week

Write and submit Senates annual 5 points

budget during the annual
budgeting process
Ensure that the Senate wage pool 5 points
is not overdrawn
Maintain the Student Senate
payroll log

2 points

Check Senators electronic time

cards

1 point per
week

Post Senators electronic time

cards to the Senate website by
11:59 P.M. on Sunday

4 points

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Student Finance
Co-Chair

Committee
Appointments
Coordinator

Attend Treasurer Training night

or meet one-on-one with the
Student Treasurer or Assistant
Student Treasurer

5 Points

Inform Senate of the dates of

Treasurer Training night each
semester

2 points
per
semester

Inform Senate of the weekly

schedule of SFC meetings

1 point per
week

Attend Treasurer Training night

or meet one-on-one with the
Student Treasurer or Assistant
Student Treasurer

5 Points

Maintain a working database of

student committee
representatives

3 points

Publish the student

representatives database on the
Senate website

3 points

Ensure that the members of SFC

are appointed by May 1

3 points

Ensure that the members of

Forum Board are appointed by
May 1

3 points

Ensure that the first-year member 2 points

of the SFC is appointed by the
end of the second week of classes
in the fall semester.

Committee
Liaison

Ensure that there is an alternate

SFC member throughout the
school year

2 points

Maintain a working database of

the student committee
representatives

3 points

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Publish the student

representatives database on the
Senate website

3 points

Present a report of student

2 points
committee member activity at the per month
first Plenary session of each
month and publish the report on
the Senate website
Outreach
Coordinator

Publish a monthly newsletter and 2 points

distribute the newsletter to the
per month
Student body
iv. The following points will be assigned to Senators who serve as chairs of
Senate working groups if they fail to perform the following actions, subject to an
appeal to the entire Senate:

Failure to:

Points:

Submit working group minutes by Sunday at 2 points

4:00 P.M.
Submit a working group attendance report by 2 points
Sunday at 4:00 P.M.
v. Senate may, by majority vote, assign points to a Senator for failing to carry out
the actions required by his, her, or hir officer position.
vi. If the treasurer finds that a Senator has requested payment for activities falling
outside of the by-laws, they must issue:
- 1st Occurrence: A warning via e-mail specifying the improper request(s)
and the bylaw(s) that have been violated.
- 2nd Occurrence: 3 points and a warning via e-mail specifying the improper
request(s) and the bylaw(s) that have been violated.
- 3rd Occurrence and any that follow: 10 points and a warning via e-mail
specifying the improper request(s) and the bylaw(s) that have been
violated.
If these warnings and checks fail and are caught later, the non-billable hours that
have been paid to a Senator will be docked from future paychecks.
vii. The following actions shall be taken if a Senator accrues the following
amount of points:

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Number of Points

Action

10 points

The Senator shall be warned, through

written communication of their points total.

20 points

The Senator shall be warned through

written communication of his, her, or hir
point total, and informed that the
accumulation of five (5) more points they
will be automatically censured.

25 points

The Senator is automatically censured, and

the campus media shall be notified.

30 points

The Senator is automatically removed from

the Senate, and the campus media shall be
notified.

ix. Senators may be excused from a mandatory event by notifying the Operations
Manager of a scheduling conflict at least 24 hours prior to said event. Senators
who fail to notify the Operations Manager of a scheduling conflict prior to a
mandatory event are not to be excused unless the situation was an emergency and
prior notification was impossible. Excused absences from events are granted at
the discretion of the Operations Manager, subject to an appeal to the entire Senate.
a. Senators may not be excused from more than two (2) plenary sessions
per semester.
b. Senators may not be excused from more than two (2) meetings of the
General Faculty per semester.
c. Senators may not be excused from more than two (2) Senate-sponsored
forum per semester.
d. Senators may not be excused from attending Treasurer Training Night
or a meeting of the Student Finance Committee.
e. If the Operations Manager is unable to attend an event, he, she, or ze
shall notify the Liaison of his, her, or hir pending absence.
C. Censure, Removal, or Resignation of a Senator
i. A censure is an official Senate rebuke of a Senators actions and can be issued
by a majority vote of the Senate. Any Senator can offer a proposal to censure a
Senator at any time. A Senator may be censured for accumulating points, or for
committing one of the following actions:
a. Purposefully breaking procedure, repeatedly creating distractions, or
otherwise impeding Senate meetings.
b. Showing disrespect, insulting others, or acting abusively during a
Senate meeting or when acting in a senatorial capacity.

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c. Purposefully violating any bylaw of the Senate, Senate directive, or any

section of the Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin
College.
ii. A Senator may be removed from Senate in a process outlined by the
Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin College, or by a two-thirds
majority vote of the Senate. Any Senator may be removed from Senate for
accumulating points, or for committing one of the following actions:
a. Misrepresenting the will of Senate
1. A Senator may not present himself, herself, or hirself as a
representative of Senate if Senate has not explicity approved his,
her, or hir representation of Senate.
b. Unfairly favoring or persecuting any student or groups of students
c. Violating the Electoral Code of Conduct
iii. A Senator may resign from the Senate at any time, either in person or by
notifying the Operations Manager and/or Secretary by mail or email. A
resignation letter is read at the next Senate meeting. The Operations Manager
should notify the appropriate committee chairperson(s) of a Senators resignation.
a. A Senators resignation takes effect as soon as the resignation has been
announced in a full Plenary session of the Senate.
D. Appealing points
i. Senators may appeal points that are assigned to them by the Operations
Manager within one (1) week of the said points being assigned.
ii. A Senator must prove that the Operations Manager assigned him, her, or hir
points in an unfair, arbitrary, and inconsistent manner.
iii. The Operations Manager shall be permitted to explain the rationale behind the
points that were assigned to a Senator.
iv. Senate must vote on whether or not the points were assigned in an arbitrary
manner. Both the Operations Manager and the Senator requesting the appeal must
abstain from such a vote. Such a vote only passes if there is a two-thirds (2/3)
majority.
a. If the vote fails to pass with a two-thirds majority, the point assignment
shall be considered upheld by Senate.
v. Senators may not appeal the same point assignment on more than one occasion.
Once an appeal fails, there is no way to remove those points from a Senators
record until his, her, or hir term has ended.
VI. Meeting Processes
A. Senate Plenary Sessions will be open to the public and minutes shall be taken and
published upon approval of the Senate. Senate shall have Plenary Sessions in accordance
with the Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin College and the will of the
Senate. The Senate must have a quorum of two-thirds of all Senators. Any Senator may
call quorum, and a failure to reach quorum requires the Senate to adjourn. Senate Plenary
Sessions will start, unless specified otherwise, at 7:00 P.M. Senate Plenary Sessions will
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end, unless specified otherwise, at 9:30 P.M. Senators are required to be in attendance for
the entire plenary session.
i. The Senate may enter and exit Executive Session, which is not open to the
public and in which minutes will not be taken unless decided otherwise by Senate.
The processes governing Senate Plenary Sessions shall govern Executive
Sessions.
ii. Senate may call for additional meetings through a majority vote of the Senate.
B. Formation of the Agenda
i. Senators may submit agenda items to the Secretary until 8:00 P.M. on the
Wednesday preceding the appropriate Plenary Session.
ii. The Secretary shall send the tentative agenda to all Senators by noon on the
Thursday preceding the appropriate Plenary Session.
iii. The Secretary shall publish the tentative agenda on the Senate website by noon
on the Friday preceding the appropriate Plenary Session.
iv. Revisions to the agenda may be made during Plenary Sessions, subject to
approval by general feelings.
v. Any person or persons with outside business for Senate to address are not
required to submit agenda items prior to a Plenary Session.
C. The Revised Feminist Process
i. Facilitators
a. A Senator shall be chosen to be a facilitator by a vote of general
feelings.
b. A facilitator keeps a speaking queue and determines the order in which
Senators and other individuals speak on an issue before the Senate.
c. A new facilitator may be chosen by a vote of general feelings.
ii. Discussion
a. Anyone may speak before the Senate during a Plenary Session by
indicating to the facilitator that they wish to speak. The facilitator will
then add the person to the speaking queue.
iii. Proposals
a. Any Senator may make a proposal regarding an issue at any point
during a Plenary Session.
b. When a proposal is made, the conversation continues, and anyone can
join the queue and speak on the issue to proposal addresses, or to speak on
the proposal itself.
iv. Process Suggestions
a. Process suggestions can be made at any time, without waiting for stack,
and require an immediate vote by general feelings. Permitted process
suggestions include:
1. Close stack anyone who wants to get on stack does so and no
additional persons may be added to the queue. When the queue is
exhausted, discussion is considered complete.

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2. Open stack a closed queue is reopened and anyone who

wished to speak may be added to the queue.
3. Table Tabling an issue removes it from discussion during that
meeting. If an issue is tabled the queue for the issue is not
completed.
4. Limit speaking time the Secretary times each speaker and calls
time once a speaker has reached the specified time limit. This
motion applies only to the discussion of a specific issue and not to
the rest of the meeting.
5. Limit or extend discussion time sets or extends a time limit on
discussion. When the time runs out, the queue is considered
cleared and closed.
6. Enter or exit Executive Session Senate enter or exists
Executive Session.
7. Extend Plenary Session extends the ending time of a Plenary
Session beyond the two-and-one-half hour time limit. A process
suggestion of this nature must include a new ending time for the
Plenary Session. If this process suggestion fails, no more process
suggestions of this nature may be made in the same meeting. If a
Plenary Session is extended, Senators are not required to be in
attendance for anything beyond the two and one-half hour time
limit.
v. Points of Order
a. A Senator may make a point of order when another Senator violates a
rule of the Bylaws of the Student Senate or the Constitution of the
Association of Students of Oberlin College.
vi. Clarifying Questions
a. A Senator or visitor may ask a clarifying question of another speakers
comments, or of a process the Senate proposes to follow, when recognized
by the facilitator.
vii. Direct Responses
a. A Senator or visitor may make a direct response to another speakers
questions or comments, but only if the response is factual in nature.
viii. Priority of Senate Processes
a. A facilitator shall take the processes in the following order:
1. Points of order
2. Clarifying questions
3. Direct responses
4. Process suggestions
5. Proposals
D. Meeting Structure
i. Senate shall structure its agenda for Plenary Sessions as follows:
a. Check-ins Senators review their activities over the past week.
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b. Approval of Agenda Senators may add and/or remove items from the
agenda of the meeting, subject to approval by general feelings.
c. Outside Business Senate discusses business brought before Senate by
outside parties
d. Announcements Senate hears business that requires little discussion
or decision
e. Office Hours Report Senators report on discussion held with students
during office hours.
f. Committee Reports Senate hears updates from the committees on
which Senators serve
g. Decisions Senate hears issues that require a decision to be made.
h. Discussion Senate shall discuss other topics and may or may not
make decisions in regards to these topics.
j. Facilitator for Next Week Senate selects a facilitator for the next
Plenary Session
k. Check outs Senate ends its meetings with each individual Senator
checking out. Senators will declare goals and tasks they plan to carry out
during the upcoming week and said goals be recorded by the Secretary in
the minutes.
E. Voting
i. Senate shall vote on process suggestions by taking general feelings. Each
Senator indicates support, neutrality, or opposition to a process suggestion by a
thumbs-up, thumbs-sideways, or thumbs-down, respectively. The facilitator shall
accept the process suggestion if there is no opposition.
ii. Senators shall vote on proposals when a queue is empty or when a process
suggestion requires an immediate vote. Senate shall hold formal votes on proposal
by hand vote, roll call vote, ballot vote, or secret ballot vote. Senate shall vote on
a given proposal using a hand vote by default unless any Senator requests a roll
call vote, ballot vote, or secret ballot vote. The Secretary shall note the proposal,
vote, and the results of the vote in the minutes.
iii. If there are two conflicting proposals concerning the type of voting process,
the order of precedence for the process shall be as follows:
a. Secret Ballot Vote All Senators write their vote for, against, or in
abstention of a proposal on a piece of paper. Facilitator counts the votes
and announces the results.
b. Ballot Vote All Senators write their name and vote for, against, or in
abstention of a proposal on a piece of paper. Facilitator reads the name and
vote on each piece of paper, to be noted by the Secretary in the minutes.
The facilitator counts the votes and announces the results.
c. Roll Call Vote The Secretary calls the name of each Senator who
responds with a vote for, against, or in abstention of a proposal to be noted
explicitly in the minutes. The Secretary counts the votes and announces
the results.
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d. Hand Vote Senators raise their hands for, against, or in abstention of a

proposal. The facilitator will count the number of Senators for, against,
and in abstention and will announce the results.
iv. Senate shall vote on multiple, non-conflicting proposals in the order in which
they were made.
v. Senate shall vote on conflicting proposals by using approval voting to select the
order in which proposal shall be voted on.
a. Approval Voting: A hand vote shall be taken by the facilitator on each
proposal to rank the order of competing proposals by popularity. Senators
may vote for as many competing proposals as are proposed and they may
not vote against any of the proposals. The proposal that receives the
highest number of votes is then subjected to a formal vote to determine
whether it passes. If the proposal does not pass, the proposal that received
the next highest number of votes in approval voting is voted on, and so
forth, until a proposal passes or all proposals have failed. If two or more
proposals receive an equal number of votes in approval voting, Senate
shall use approval voting to determine the order in which these proposals
shall be voted on.
vi. On time sensitive issues, Senators may make online proposals to be voted on
by Senate electronically. The Secretary shall tabulate the vote. The vote will be
conducted as a ballot vote unless a Senator requests a secret ballot vote. The
Secretary will announce the results of the vote at the next Senate meeting and
record it in that meetings minutes.
a. Senate may not appoint committee members using electronic proposals.
b. Senate may not vote on a budget appeal request using electronic
proposals.
vii. Senate shall pass a resolution that has more affirmative votes than negative
votes and abstention votes together. If the number of negative and abstention
votes outnumbers or is equal to the number of affirmative votes, Senate shall
reject the motion.
a. A Senator may call quorum for a vote before the voting takes place, but
may not call quorum for a vote after the voting has occurred.
1. Calling quorum on a vote requires that the affirmative, negative
and abstention votes combined must be greater than or equal to the
number of Senators required for quorum.
2. If the affirmative, negative and abstention votes combined are
not greater than or equal to the number of Senators required for
quorum, the proposal fails.
b. When announcing a quorum call, a Senator shall distinguish between a
quorum call for a meeting and a quorum call for a specific vote.
viii. In the case of a proposal that any Senator feels uncomfortable or unwilling to
vote for, they may recuse themselves for the vote. If a Senator recuses themselves

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for a vote they will not be counted toward quorum or in the affirmative, negative
or abstention vote counts.
G. Approval of Minutes
i. The Senate shall hire a Designated Minute Taker (who will by default be the
OST Committee Coordinator), who shall take minutes at each plenary session.
ii. The Senate has the ability to relieve the Designated Minute Taker of this duty
by a majority vote.
VII. Senate Retreats
A. The Associate Liaison and the Senator who ran the elections shall hold a training session for
new Senators to explain the internal workings of Senate guided through the handbook prior to the
first plenary session of the newly elected Senate.
B. The Associate Liaison is responsible for coordinating a Senate retreat within the first two
weeks of the new Senate.
C. The Senate may hold additional retreats as it sees fit.

VIII. Referenda
A. Referenda may be called through the processes outlined in the Constitution of the
Association of Students of Oberlin College.
B. Referenda last at least one week. Referenda that include potential changes to the
Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin College shall have a quorum of
one person more than 50 per cent of the student body and shall last until either one week
has passed or quorum has been met, whichever is longer. Referenda cannot extend
beyond the end of an academic year.
C. Votes are validated and tallied in accordance with the process outlined in the Election
of Senators section of these bylaws. Votes on issues that are left blank count as
abstentions.
D. Each issue shall have both affirmative and negative options, though each of these may
be split into further options. If more than one options exists under either the affirmative
or negative response, the majority on affirmative/negative is ascertained first and then a
majority is established from among the included options.
E. Voters shall be given the option to abstain on every question.
F. A referendum question passes only when more than 50 per cent of votes are in the
affirmative.
G. The Associate Liaison is responsible for coordinating referenda.
IX. Forums
A. Senate shall sponsor at least three (3) forums per semester.
B. Any Senator may propose a topic for a forum.
C. Senate may sponsor forums only if the forum will occur more than two weeks from
the date of the proposal.
D. Senate may not sponsor more than two (2) forums per month.
E. The Events Coordinator is responsible for organizing all forums.
E. The Outreach Coordinator shall publicize the forum.
G. All Senators are required to attend Senate-sponsored forums.
X. Committee Appointments

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A. Senate shall appoint students to committees as outlined in the Constitution of the

Association of Students of Oberlin College and in accordance with the membership
guidelines established by committees charters.
B. Senators shall sign up for a position on a committee as outlined in the Constitution of
the Association of Students of Oberlin College. In the event that more Senators wish to
sit on a committee than there are seats available, the matter shall be decided by a majority
vote of the Senate. Senators may not sign up for a seat on Student Union Board in this
way.
C. Senate shall fill the two student seats on the General Faculty Planning Committee with
Senators.
D. Senate shall appoint seats to the Student Finance Committee, Judicial Board,
Community Board, Honor Committee, Forum Board, and Student Union Board
committees are outlined in the Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin
College. Senate may appoint students to fill vacancies on these committees as necessary.
E. Senate shall conduct interviews for Student Union Board in accordance with current
members of the Student Union Board. Three Senators and four Student Union Board
members must interview potential Student Union Board candidates. These interviewers
shall recommend an appointment slate to Senate.
F. At the beginning of each semester, the current Committee Appointments
Coordinator(s) will work with the Committee Liaison to contact the various committee
chairs for update on the number of people each committee will require for that semester
and basic information on the committee. The basic information may include, but is not
limited to, the recent committee activity, meeting times/frequency/locations, the general
purpose of the committee (if unknown), what kind of students they are looking for, and
whether or not the committee itself has its own application.
i.The Committee Appointments Coordinator(s) (and Committee Liaison, if they
so desire) will compose an all-campus email with open committees listed (and
applications, if available), as well as work with Outreach Coordinator(s) to
ensure news of committees are spread throughout campus.
G. Each semester, every Senator is required to attend a minimum of four of the
committee interviews schedule by the Committee Appointments Coordinator. In the fall
semester, two of Senators required interviews must take place prior to Fall Break. In the
spring semester, two of the Senators required interviews must take place prior to Spring
Break. Senators will be assigned two (2) points for each interview that they fail to attend
on schedule. Points will not be assigned if the Committee Appointments Coordinator has
not scheduled interviews.
H. The Committee Appointments Coordinator shall arrange and coordinate interviews of
candidates for committee seats with the exception of Student Honor Committee
interviews, which are organized in conjunction or by the Student Honor Committee
Coordinator. Interviews will be conducted on an as-needed basis throughout the semester,
depending on the number of applying students.
The Committee Appointments
Coordinators should ensure that there are no less than two Senators at a given interview.
It is the responsibility of Senate to provide a minutes-taker at all committee interviews,
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regardless of committee. Senate may choose to appoint a student for a term longer than
one year.
i. An exception to the general interview practice is the Student Honor Committee,
for which appointment interviews are conducted by a group of three Senators and
three current Student Honor Committee members. After each of these interviews, t h e
interviewers vote as a group by majority to pass the candidate on to Student
Senate
for final consideration. If there are under three interviewers from either b o d y , t h e
decision to pass the candidate must be made by consensus. Quorum is
two members
from each body. Following each interview, the Student Honor
committee will
provide the resume and application of the candidate to be available
for
the
following plenary.
I. Each semester, every Senator is required to attend a minimum of four of the committee
interviews schedule by the Committee Appointments Coordinator. In the fall semester,
two of Senators required interviews must take place prior to Fall Break. In the spring
semester, two of the Senators required interviews must take place prior to Spring Break.
Senators will be assigned two (2) points for each interview that they fail to attend on
schedule. Points will not be assigned if the Committee Appointments Coordinator has not
scheduled interviews.
i. If a Committee Appointments Coordinator fails to attend 50% of the interviews
conducted each module (measured retrospectively before Fall or Spring Break depending on semester - and before Finals Week), they should be given 5 points. If they
fail to attend 75% of the interviews, they should be given 10 points. If they
fail to
attend any of the interviews in a given module, they should be awarded 15
points
for failure to perform their job to any satisfactory degree.
J. Voting procedures in Senate plenary for committee appointments are as follows:
Following discussion of a candidate, Senate will vote to appoint the candidate. If a
majority votes in favor, the candidate is automatically appointed to the committee. If a
majority that is less than a two-thirds votes against the candidate, Senate will seek further
information. This can include, but is not limited to, contacting the candidate or
organization (if applicable - for instance, in the case of the Student Honor Committee)
with further questions, etc. If a majority that is two-thirds or more votes against the
candidate, the candidate will not be appointed. In the case of limited seats on a
committee, this procedure in no way prevents Senate from choosing one or more
candidates over others.
i. To preserve confidentiality, when making Student Honor Committee
appointments, Senate must go into executive session.
ii. At the close of executive session, a senator will report the results of the
vote and provide their reasoning for the decision.
K. Senate may remove, by formal majority vote, any student holders of committee seats
who show poor attendance to their committee(s) or to their working group(s).
i. Senate may not remove members of the Student Finance Committee or Forum
Board in this manner.

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a. To remove members of the Student Finance Committee or Forum

Board, Senate must abide by the procedures established in the respective
charters and bylaws of these organizations.
L. Senate must appoint members to the Student Finance Committee for the following
academic year by May 1, excluding the Senate-elected Student Finance Co-Chair and the
first-year seat on the committee, but including an alternate. The first-year seat for SFC
must be appointed by the end of the second week of classes during the fall semester. .
i. Both the Student Treasurer and the Assistant Student Treasurer shall be invited
by the Committee Appointments Coordinator to attend the interviews to appoint
students to the Student Finance Committee.
ii. At least five (5) Senators must attend SFC member interviews.
M. Senate must appoint five (5) members to Forum Board for the following academic
year by May 1.
XI. Working Groups
A. Working groups are the principal forum for students to formulate recommendations
and proposals to the administration, Senate, and faculty and administrative committees on
certain issues.
B. A working group may consist of Senators, student members of faculty and
administrative committees, and other students and non-voting faculty and administrators
appointed by the Senate.
C. Working groups shall be established by a majority vote of Senate.
D. The chair of a working group may invite students, faculty, and administrators to
participate in said working group. This may include ex officio, non-voting members.
E. Working groups meetings are open to the public and any students, staff, faculty
members, or members of the greater college community may attend as guests.
F. Working groups are required to meet once every two weeks.
i. The chair of the working group will establish the time and location of meetings.
a. The time and location of working groups meetings shall remain
consistent.
ii. Meeting times and locations will be submitted to the Operations Manager, who
will publish the meeting times and locations of working groups of Senates
website.
iii. Working groups may meet more than once every two weeks, but the times
must be published and remain consistent.
G. The chair of each working group is responsible for submitting minutes of the biweekly meetings to the Operations Manager.
i. Minutes must be submitted to the Operations Manager by 4:00pm on the
Sunday of a Plenary Session that follows the meeting of the working group.
ii. The Operations Manager will publish working group minutes on the Senate
website.
H. Senators are required to attend working group meetings for the working groups of
which they are members.

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i. The chair of each working group shall submit bi-weekly attendance reports to
the Operations Manager by 4:00pm on the Sunday of a Plenary Session.
ii. If a Senator is unable to attend regular working group meetings due to a
scheduling conflict, he, she, or ze shall resign from that working group.
J. Working groups shall be disbanded with a majority vote of Senate.
i. If a working group fails to meet twice in a row, the Operations Manager will
propose to disband the working group at the following Plenary Session.
K. Senate may have no more than fifteen (15) active working groups at any given time,
including the two permanent working groups listed below.
L. In addition to other working groups, Senate shall maintain the following permanent
working groups:
i. The SFC-Senate Working Group
a. The working group shall be the main body of communication between
Student Senate and the Student Finance Committee.
b. The working group shall be composed of at least 11 voting members, as
follows:
1. The Senate-appointed Student Finance Co-Chair
a. The Senate-appointed Student Finance Co-Chair shall
serve as the facilitator and administrator for the working
group.
2. The Associate Liaison of Student Senate
3. The Treasurer of Student Senate
4. The Operations Manager of Student Senate
5. The Committee Appointments Coordinator of Student Senate
6. The Committee-elected Student Finance Co-Chair
7. At least three (3) members of the SFC
a. This number does not include the Committee-elected
Student Finance Co-Chair
8. The Student Treasurer
9. The Assistant Student Treasurer
c. Other Senators may join the working group, if they have the desire to do
so.
XII. Chartering Organizations
A. The chartering process
i. Purpose
a. Any group of students must be chartered in order to use the name of
Oberlin College, or its buildings, facilities, or services. This includes
anyone on the Oberlin campus who wishes to:
1. Publish literature intended for on or off-campus distribution.
2. Bring outside speakers to address open meetings
3. Carry out activities for the benefit of non-members
4. Participate in off-campus activities in the name of Oberlin
College.
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5. Ask for yearly funding from the student activity fee.

ii. Charter format
a. All charters must include the following sections:
1. Name: The official name of the organization. This should
include an acronym, if one is to be used.
2. Purpose: The organization shall give the general goals of the
organization and must have the following values and principles
clause: (group) acknowledges the values and principles of
Oberlin College, as expressed in the Oberlin College Student
Regulations, Policies, and Procedures Handbook, the Preamble of
the Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin College,
and the Oberlin Statement of Goals and Principles in the Preface
to the Oberlin College Bulletin. If the organization wishes to
receive funds from the Student Finance Committee, the values and
principles clause should be followed by the preamble to the
Student Financial Charter which is: (group) acknowledges the
Preamble of the Student Financial Charter: to establish and
outline the financial system of the Association of Students of
Oberlin College. The system shall regulate and administer the
collection and allocation of the Student Activity Fee; this fee being
designed for the creation of social, cultural, religious and
educational activities for students; for the improvement of student
life, and to augment the general student welfare.
3. Membership: The charter shall specify that the organization is
open to all Oberlin students. Non-students may be members of an
organization, but if so, the charter must state that a majority of its
members must be Oberlin students. This section of the charter
must also include a nondiscrimination clause.
4. Officers: Besides those officers the organizations wishes to
have, the organization must have one officer who acts as a liaison
to the Student Union. The charter shall also give information
regarding officer eligibility, method of selection, terms of office,
date of selection, and the duties of each officer. All officers must
be enrolled students of Oberlin College.
5. Finances: If the organization wants funding, they shall specify
from where they will receive their funds. The charter shall explain
what will happen to disposable property if the organization
disbands. Groups involved in commercial operations must
designate a student in the group who will meet with appropriate
administrators to determine the effects of their activities on the taxexempt status of the college.
6. Operating Procedures: The organization shall outline the rules
by which their meetings are organized. This section shall indicate
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that an officers list, for the upcoming year, signed by their advisor,
will be filed in the Student Union Office by May 1 of each
academic year. Organizations must also determine and state a
method of publicizing their meetings and activities to the entire
student body. The organization must also state that it will abide by
its charter and the rules and regulations of Oberlin College.
7. Amendment Procedures: The charter must allow for
amendments and revisions to be made. Amendments may require
the approval of the Student Senate, Student Life Committee, and
the JCSC.
8. Signatures of founders: Five founding members must sign their
names at the end of the charter, and their OCMR and email
addresses.
iii. How a charter is considered for passage
a. A new charter must be submitted to the Student Union Office. The
charter shall be forwarded to the Student Senate via Senates Chartering
Liaison(s).
b. Within one week of class days while classes are in session from the date
of submission, the Student Senate Chartering Liaison(s) will contact the
founding members to serve as a resource and to assist with revision.
c. The charter will then be considered for passage by the Joint Chartering
Subcommittee (JCSC). The JCSC will be composed of Senates
Chartering Liaison(s) (at least one must be present), Senates Liaison, a
senator elected from within Senate, the Student Life Committees (SLC)
Charter Liaison, a non-senator student member of the SLC, and a faculty
member of the SLC. Senates Chartering Liaison(s) will be an ex officio
(non-voting) member. The Dean of Students (or designee) will serve as a
member of the JCSC (also ex officio and non-voting). Any member of the
JCSC who is also a member of the petitioning organization (whether the
recognition or review) may not be present during the deliberations or
voting pertaining to that organization. Should more than two voting
members be affected by this provision, Senate will appoint Senators to
temporarily serve on the JCSC. Deliberations on recognition or review of
charters will be conducted in closed session. The Senates Chartering
Liaison(s) will contact the members of the JCSC to schedule a hearing on
the charter. The JCSC will not consider charters in the final two weeks of
classes or when classes are not in session.
d. The JCSC shall act on each charter within two weeks (of class days,
while classes are in session) of the charters submission to the JCSC.
e. The JCSC must explicitly consider the following aspects during
deliberations:
1. Liability concerns relating to potentially dangerous activities.

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2. Tax-exemption concerns relation to the Colleges non-profit

status.
f. When the JCSC passes a charter, the Chartering Liaison(s) shall contact
the organization with changes proposed by the JCSC; if the changes are
approved by the organization, the charter (as amended) shall be forwarded
to Student Senate and to the SLC for approval.
g. Senate and the SLC shall consider the charter within one month (of
class days, while classes are in session) of its passing the JCSC.
h. Should the JCSC decide not to forward the charter, it must provide the
petitioning organization with a written rationale for its decisions, which
may be made public. An organization may appeal the decision to the
Student Union Board. The deliberations of the Student Union Board will
occur in closed session. The decision of the Student Union Board is final.
j. If Senate and the SLC decide to recognize the charter, the General
Faculty will consider the charter at the next General Faculty meeting.
k. If the General Faculty approves the charter, the organization will
become active. Active status entitles an organization to:
1. Request funds from the Student Finance Committee
2. Request space from the Student Union
3. Represent the organization as an officially chartered
organization of Oberlin College.
iv. Revocation of a charter
a. Should an organization violate its charter, any member of the College
community may present a written grievance to the JCSC concerning the
nature of the violation. The JCSC shall hold deliberations on the issue and
is encouraged to gather community input or information regarding the
alleged violation. Should the JCSC find that no violation has occurred, a
statement describing the conclusions and the process that produced them
shall be made public and a copy held on file in the Student Union Office
with the organizations charter. Should the JCSC find that the violation has
occurred, two possibilities exist for action:
1. The organization may be publicly censured. A statement
describing the conclusion of the JCSC and the process that
produced them shall be made public and a copy held on file in the
Student Union Office with the organizations charter.
2. The organization may be sanctioned. This results in immediate
suspension of all privileges of an active organization. A
statement describing the conclusion of the JCSC and the process
that produced them shall be made public and a copy held on file in
the Student Union Office with the organizations charter. A
sanction may be lifted by the JCSC after the organization provides
a written statement to the community and presents this statement to
the JCSC regarding the violation and the organizations plans for
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reconciliation with the community. After four years a sanction is

automatically lifted, although the organization remains inactive.
b. Senate may also sanction a student organization with a two-thirds vote
of Senate.
v. Privileges of an organization in the chartering process
a. A charter-pending organization may reserve a room in the Student
Union on an ad-hoc basis and may receive ad-hoc funding as specified by
the SFCs bylaws and policies on mid-year funding.
vi. Maintenance of charters
a. Charters will be maintained in the Student Union office and will be
made for public reference.
B. A Senator may consider the following criteria when voting on a charter of a new
student organization:
i. Whether the charter breaks any rules and regulations of the College.
ii. Whether the charter follows the correct format.
iii. Whether the activities of the chartered group may cause the College liability
problems.
iv. The recommendation from the Chartering Liaison(s).
v. The Senators own conscience.
C. A Senator may not consider the following criteria when voting on a charter of a new
student organization:
i. Whether there are other groups on campus that accomplish the same goals
outlined in the purpose section.
ii. Whether this group should receive funds from the Student Finance Committee.
iii. Whether the purpose of the charter is morally or socially acceptable.
XIII. SFC Allocation Appeals Process
A. In accordance with Section 11 of the Constitution of the Association of Students of
Oberlin College, student organizations may appeal the allocation granted to them by the
SFC for their annual budget, if they believe that the allocation was made in an unfair or
arbitrary manner. The Student Senate shall serve as the body of appeals, and these bylaws
outline the process to be followed by both the SFC and Student Senate in the event of a
budget appeal request.
B. Eligibility
i. Only chartered, active student organizations may submit a budget appeal
request.
ii. Allocations through the ad-hoc process are not eligible for an appeal, unless
they constitute the annual budget of a student organization.
iii. Neither the Senate, the SFC, nor the Office of the Student Treasurer may
appeal their budgets.
C. Initiation of the Appeals Process
i. In order to initiate a budget appeal, an organization must submit a written
complaint and request for a budget appeal not less than one week prior to the
Senate Plenary session at which the appeal request will be heard.
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ii. This complaint must thoroughly document the organizations grievances

against the budget allocation decision made by the SFC, and reasons that the
organization believes the decision to have been made in an unfair or arbitrary
manner.
iii. This request must be submitted to:
a. The Committee-elected Co-Chair of the SFC
b. The Senate-elected Co-Chair of the SFC
c. The Liaison of Student Senate
d. The Operations Manager of Student Senate
iv. The Operations Manager of Student Senate is obligated to place the appeal
request on the agenda for the next Senate Plenary session that is at least one week
after the submission of the written request, and to ensure that all Student Senators
receive a copy of the written request at least three days prior to the Plenary
session at which the appeal will be heard.
a. If the Operations Manager fails to sent the written request to all Student
Senators, he, she, or ze shall be assigned 10 points and shall be
automatically censured by the Senate, regardless of his, her, or hir overall
point total. In addition, Senators will then be obligated to set aside time
during the plenary session in order to review the written request.
v. The Committee-elected Co-Chair of the SFC will notify all members of the
SFC than an appeal has been requested, and that all members may attend the
meeting at which the appeal request will be heard.
D. Budget Appeal Process
i. The initial appeal will take place during a regularly scheduled Plenary session
of the Student Senate. At least three (3) SFC members, including the Committeeelected Co-Chair, must be present. The Liaison and the Treasurer of the appealing
organization must also be present, in addition to any other appropriate
representatives.
ii. For budget appeal requests, the Senate facilitator may not have any affiliation
with either the appealing organization or the SFC. Senate is required to choose a
new facilitator if the current facilitator has a past or present connection to either
organization.
a. For the purposes of this process, an affiliation is defined as follows:
1. Past or present membership in an organization
2. Signing an organizations charter, even if one does not become a
member of the organization.
iii. The appealing organization will be granted a ten-minute period in which to
argue that the SFCs budget allocation was made in an unfair and arbitrary
manner.
a. The Secretary shall give the appealing organization a two-minute
warning prior to the end of the ten-minute period.

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iv. The SFC will then be granted a ten-minute period in which to explain and
defend the methodology and rationale behind its allocation to the appealing
organization.
a. The Secretary shall give the SFC a two-minute warning prior to the end
of the ten-minute period.
v. The Student Senate will then have a period no longer than twenty minutes to
ask factual questions of the members of the SFC and the appealing organization.
a. Senators may not use this period for a discussion or to present their own
personal opinions on the matter. They may only use this time to ask factual
questions of either the members of the SFC or the members of the
appealing organization.
b. If a Senator attempts to abuse this process by stating personal opinions
or asking questions that are not factual in nature, the Operations Manager,
at the conclusion of the twenty-minute period, shall propose to assign the
Senator who attempted to abuse the process 5 points and to have them be
censured. If the Operations Manager is the Senator who is attempting to
abuse the process, the Liaison shall make this proposal.
vi. At the conclusion of these three processes, the Senate must vote whether the
appeal is legitimate. Senate may not delay this vote to a following Plenary
session. As per the Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin College,
an appeal is only legitimate if and only if the appealing organization demonstrates
that the SFC exercised its power in an unfair or arbitrary nature.
a. The following Senators are required to recuse themselves from voting
on the legitimacy of the appeal:
1. The Senate-elected SFC Co-Chair
2. The Chartering Liaison(s)
3. Any Senator who has an affiliation with the appealing
organization of the SFC, as defined by these bylaws.
vii. The appeal shall be deemed legitimate and shall move forward if and only if
two-thirds of the Student Senators who are not required to recuse themselves vote
in the affirmative.
a. For the purposes of this vote, quorum is two-thirds of all Senators who
are not required by these bylaws to recuse themselves.
E. Appeal Allocation Process
i. If the Student Senate determines that an appeal is legitimate, they must call an
additional Plenary session prior to the next regularly scheduled Plenary session in
order to review the budget of the appealing organization and to allocate funds.
ii. The Student Treasurer shall be invited to this specially scheduled plenary
session to serve as a resource on SFCs allocation policies.
iii. The Student Senate shall be bound by all allocation policies of the SFC.
iv. The meeting will be open to the public and minutes shall be taken, but only
Senators who are permitted to vote under the stipulations outlined in these bylaws
may participate in discussion.
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v. The following Senators must recuse themselves from the appeal discussion and
allocation:
a. The Senate-elected Co-Chair of the SFC
b. The Chartering Liaison(s) of Senate
c. Any Senator who has an affiliation with the appealing organization or
the SFC, as defined previously in these bylaws.
vi. The Plenary session shall begin with a period of discussion, to last no longer
than one hour, in which no proposals can be made.
a. The Secretary will give regular updates as to how much time remains in
the discussion.
vii. At the conclusion of the discussion period, there will be a voting process in
which the budget will be reviewed on a line-by-line basis. During this time,
proposals may be made but no discussion shall take place.
a. In the event of conflicting proposals, approval voting shall be used to
determine the order in which the proposals shall be voted on.
viii. The Student Treasurer shall mark up the budget in accordance with standard
procedures of the SFC as Senates proposals are voted upon.
F. Return of the Budget to the Student Finance Committee
i. Following the Senate Plenary in which a new allocation decision is reached, the
Student Treasurer shall send the marked up budget to all members of the SFC.
ii. The SFC will then have one week in which to review the budget and the
minutes of the Senate Plenary meeting.
iii. Following its budget review, SFC will make a recommendation to Student
Senate concerning the allocation for the appealing organization. There are three
options for this recommendation:
a. To accept the first allocation made by SFC, during the annual allocation
process.
b. To maintain to decision made by Senate during the appeal Plenary
session.
c. To accept a new allocation, determined during the review session.
iv. In the subsequent Plenary Session, Senate will review SFCs recommendation,
and will make a final decision concerning the budget allocation. There are two
options for this decision:
a. To accept the recommendation of the SFC
b. To maintain the allocation made during the appeal Plenary session.
v. As with all other parts of this process, the Senate-elected SFC Co-Chair, the
Chartering Liaison(s), and any senator with an affiliation with either the SFC or
the appealing organization may not participate in Senates vote on this matter.
G. An organization may only appeal their budget on one occasion during each academic
year, including a failed appeal request.
H. The rules governing the appeal process must appear in the bylaws of both the SFC and
the Student Senate. As such, revisions to this process may only be made by the mutual

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consent of both the SFC and the Student Senate, in accordance with the processes for
bylaw revisions of each organization.
XIV. Senator Compensation
A. A Senator may be compensated after filling out an electronic time card every two
weeks. Electronic time cards are submitted to the Office of the Student Treasurer.
Senators may choose to not get paid, but a Senator cannot divert pay to another source
without getting paid first. Senators must have appropriate paperwork filed, including a
student employment card and I-9 form, in order to be compensated.
B. Senators may be compensated for the following activities:
i. Plenary sessions
ii. Holding office hours by tabling in a public place
iii. Contributing to the webpage, newsletter, Facebook page, and Twitter account
iv. Meetings of a working group of which the Senator is a member
v. Meetings set up officially during plenary sessions concerning Senate business.
vi. Meetings of the General Faculty
vii. Meetings of any faculty or administrative committees of which the Senator is
a member as that Senators committee pick, with the exception of Judicial Board
and Community Boards.
viii. Meetings made in advance by appointment relating to Senate business.
ix. Any duties directly related to a Senators officer position
x. Time spent at a Senate retreat
xi. Time spent doing tasks approved by a two-thirds majority vote of Senate
(which, previously, has included time spent on elections, committee
appointments, etc.)
C. Copies of completed time cards shall be made and documented by the Treasurer.
D. Senator compensation is capped at 20 hours per week. A Senator can seek an
exemption from the Senate at the Plenary following a week during which a Senators
work exceeds 20 hours. Such an exemption is approved via a majority vote.
XV. Institutional Memory
A. The Student Senate Handbook
i. The Student Senate Handbook is the responsibility of the Operations Manager.
ii. The Student Senate Handbook shall exist in print form and shall be kept in the
Senate office.
iii. The following documents shall be included in the Student Senate Handbook:
a. The Bylaws of the Student Senate
b. The Constitution of the Association of Students of Oberlin College
c. Instructions for how to run an election.
d. A list of current Senators and their contact information
e. A list of all current Senate working groups and their members
B. Senator Interviews
i. To preserve institutional memory, each senator shall participate in an interview
at the close of each semester on Senate, regarding his/her/their experience on
Senate.
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ii. Each senator will have the ability to choose the interviewer of his/her/their
choice, provided that said interviewer is currently a student senator.
iii. Each interview will consist of a set of pre-prepared questions that are agreed
upon by all senators before interviews start, and which can be rewritten each year
if desired.
iv. The interview questions should address the following topics:
a. The general background/introduction of the Senator being interviewed;
b. The officer position(s) of the Senator being interviewed;
c. The specific working group(s) that Senator was a member of, especially
and working groups that Senator may have chaired;
d. The specific committee(s) that the Senator served on; and
e. Any further topics regarding Senate that Senate considers to be of
importance.
iv. A copy of questions shall be given to each Senator at the beginning of each
semester, and, in the event that the list of interview questions is amended at any
point in the semester, a new list of questions shall be distributed to each semester.
v. Each interview shall be recorded for posteritys sake, and a transcription of
each interview shall be made available on the Senate website.
a. Members of the Institutional Memory Taskforce shall transcribe each
interview, and have all transcriptions completed before the last Senate
Plenary session of the semester.
b. The interview recordings must be available to future senators, but they
do not need to be posted to the Senate website.
v. The Operations Manager shall ensure that all interviews are successfully
scheduled, and that all transcriptions are posted to the Senate website.
vi. There will be a penalty of 3 points to any Senator who fails to complete his/
her/their interview by the end of the semester.
vii. At the conclusion of the interview, each Senator will be given access to the
transcription of his/her/their interview to make any additions, amendments, or
other edits to the transcript, to better reflect that Senators opinions,
before it is posted to the Senate website.
C. The Student Senate Payroll Log
i. The Student Senate Payroll Log is the responsibility of the Treasurer.
ii. The Student Senate Payroll Log shall exist in print form and shall be kept in the
Senate office.
iii. The Student Senate Payroll Log shall contain the weekly work logs and/or
payroll records for each Senator.
XVI. Amendments to these Bylaws
A. Amendments may be made to these bylaws with a two-thirds majority vote.
B. The bylaws may not be changed without a written proposal including exact language.

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