Campus and Student Government
COMMUNITY ASSEMBLY
Constitution of the Community Assembly—Adopted by the Community Assembly in May 1971, amended spring 1972, spring 1973, spring 1984, spring 1991, 1997, 1999, 2007
I. Duties
A. The faculty has delegated to the Community Assembly the formulation and definition of college policy pertaining to student life and welfare.
B. The Community Assembly, as herein defined and constituted, has the express responsibility, subject to review by the faculty, to do the following:
1. Review and recommend changes in the Student Handbook.
2. Approve charters for campus organizations.
3. Create and define the duties of such committees as it finds necessary to carry out its business.
4. Oversee and act on its recommendations from its standing committees on such matters as co-curricular activities, cultural activities, and campus betterment.
5. Recommend to appropriate agencies rules and regulations for residence and campus life.
6. Discuss and consider making recommendations to appropriate agencies on matters such as curriculum, budget, admissions, student financial aid, and campus planning.
7. Reviews efficacy of campus judicial system in May of each year by examining a report compiled by the Student Life Office summarizing the number and types of cases heard and the sanctions rendered by all Campus Hearing and Appeal Boards.
8. Reviews the status of spiritual life on campus at its April meeting on basis of report of Campus Pastor.
C. The Student Government of Luther is defined as the Student Senate with composition and duties as described in Article VI of the Bylaws of this Assembly.
II. Membership
A. The number of student members of the Community Assembly shall be twenty. Elections shall be conducted and vacancies filled according to procedures stipulated in the Community Assembly Bylaws.
B. The number of faculty members of the Community Assembly shall be twelve and shall be representative of the three divisions of the college. At least half of the faculty members shall be tenured faculty. Elections shall be conducted and vacancies filled according to procedures stipulated in the Community Assembly Bylaws.
C. The administration members of the Community Assembly shall number three and shall be named by the President of the College. The President of the College shall be a nonvoting member of the Community Assembly except as provided for in Article IV.C.
D. The support staff members shall number two and shall be determined by the support staff.
E. For reasons of illness or necessary absence from campus, members of the Assembly may appoint proxies to vote in their places. The President of the Assembly shall be notified of the proxies prior to the meeting.
F. All the student, faculty, and administrative members shall report back to the respective hall governments, student organizations, divisions, or administrative bodies which they represent.
III. Officers
A. The President of the College shall be the President of the Assembly.
B. In the absence of the President, an administrative member of the Assembly, designated by the President, shall preside over the Assembly.
C. The Secretary of Student Senate shall be the Secretary of the Assembly.
IV. Meetings and Procedures
A. The Assembly usually meets during the months of September, October, November, February, March, April, and May, and at other times on call of the President, vote of the Assembly, or by petition of ten or more representatives.
B. A quorum shall be necessary to conduct business with a majority of the membership constituting a quorum.
C. The President of the Assembly shall vote only in case of a tie.
D. All Assembly meetings shall be open to the public.
E. An agenda prior to the meeting, and a report following, shall be published in two college publications. Two copies of the minutes of each meeting shall be deposited in Preus Library.
F. At the first meeting of the Community Assembly each year, the President of the Assembly and the Luther College Student Senate President shall review with the Assembly its history, duties, and procedures.
V. Implementation
Actions of the Community Assembly shall go into effect on the date set by the Assembly unless:
A. The President exercises his right to refer matters to the faculty for prior approval, or
B. One-third of the Assembly requests the approval of the faculty prior to the action going into effect.
Please see Article 6.16 of the Luther Code.
VI. Committees
A. The Community Assembly shall create and define the duties of such committees as they find necessary to carry out their business.
B. Membership on Committees:
1. When Assembly committees are appointed there shall be consultation with Student Senate to ensure the balanced and effective inclusion of students, preferably from the Assembly.
2. Faculty members shall be appointed by the President from the Assembly membership, unless otherwise appointed by duly-constituted faculty bodies.
3. An attempt will be made to appoint willing student chairs. Administrative support will be offered to assist students in carrying out their responsibilities.
VII. Amending Procedure
A. Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in the same manner by which items are placed on the Agenda of the Assembly.
B. Final action on proposed amendments may not be taken at the meeting in which they are introduced.
C. Proposed amendments must pass the Assembly by a two-thirds majority of those representatives present at the meeting of the Assembly.
D. Amendments, as passed, must be published in two college publications, and must be ratified after publication by the faculty and by the student body.
E. Amendments will take effect immediately after ratification by both faculty and student body and shall become a part of this document.
Bylaws
Adopted spring of 1972
I. Elections
A. Election procedures for faculty members.
1. Faculty members shall be elected by the faculty prior to the first meeting of the Assembly.
2. Faculty are eligible for re-election for additional years up to a total of three consecutive years.
3. Vacancies shall be filled by election of the faculty.
B. Election procedures for Student Members.
The election procedures for Student Members are outlined in Articles VI, IX and X.
II. Assembly Organization Committee
A. Duties
Appoint Assembly committee chairpersons, appoint ad hoc committees formed by the Assembly, review and recommend necessary changes in the rules and procedures under which the Assembly functions, set the order of the agenda for Assembly meetings, act on requests from nonmembers to speak at Assembly meetings, and review irregular attendance of members at Assembly meetings.
B. Membership
The President of the Assembly and the President of Student Senate constitute the Assembly Organization Committee.
III. Assembly Committees
A. General Duties of Committees
The Assembly may appoint committees as needed. The Campus Betterment Committee and Co-curricular Activities Committee, previously Assembly committees and now Senate committees, shall report on a regular basis, including a year-end report to the Community Assembly.
1. Meet regularly throughout the year. Generally, meetings shall be open to all members of the community. Notification of committee meetings and their agendas should be published the day prior to the meeting in the daily announcements.
2. Perform those specific duties assigned by the Assembly and stipulated in the bylaws.
3. Regularly review and evaluate on a continuing basis the area of responsibility of the committee.
4. Submit an annual report to the Assembly at the end of the academic year to be included with the minutes of the May meeting.
5. Distribute printed copies of committee minutes to each Community Assembly member two (2) class days prior to the following Community Assembly meeting.
IV. Rules and Procedures for Community Assembly Meetings
A. The rules and procedures contained in this section shall remain in effect from year to year unless changed by the amendment procedure outlined in Section V. Additional rules and procedures may be adopted each year by the Assembly. Unless made a permanent part of the bylaws, these remain in effect only for the year during which they are adopted.
B. The Community Assembly shall normally meet seven times each year: Sept, Oct, Nov, Feb, March, April, and May during daytime work hours on dates established via the President’s Office. (Please refer to the 3/13/07 Assembly minutes for content and structure suggestions.)
C. The opening session of each Community Assembly meeting shall be designated as an Open Forum. During Open Forum any member of the community may bring up matters of concern to the Community Assembly. Each new item shall be limited to ten minutes of discussion. Nonmembers of Community Assembly who wish to discuss items on the agenda for the current meeting will be allowed to speak prior to the discussion of that item. The Chair may terminate the Open Forum and begin the business meeting once all new items have been addressed.
D. Items may be placed on the agenda by action of the Assembly at a previous meeting, by committees of the Assembly, by request of the faculty, by request of the Luther College Student Senate, and by petition signed by five Assembly members. All items to be included on the agenda must be submitted to the President’s Office at least six (6) days before the meeting in which they are to be considered. With the exception of non-action reports from Committees, these items must include the complete text of the proposal upon which the Assembly will be acting and must be accompanied by an expression of rationale including both positive and negative ramifications that have come out in discussion of said proposal. This information must be distributed to all Assembly members and be available for inspection to all nonmembers at least three (3) class days prior to the meeting in which it will be considered. The agenda, including at least a summary of all items, must be published in two college publications prior to the meeting.
Agenda items may be amended from the floor. However, if such amendment changes the substance of the proposal, final action must be continued until the next meeting. An exception to this would be amendments submitted ten days prior to the meeting by petition or minority reports of a committee. Additional items may be brought up for discussion, but not action, after the regular items on the agenda have been acted on.
E. Meetings of the Community Assembly shall be open to all members of the community, as well as alumni, parents of students, and friends of the college. Nonmembers of the Assembly may submit requests to speak at Assembly meetings to the President’s Office up to 5:00 p.m. the day before the meeting. The Assembly Organization Committee will act on such requests, establish the order of speakers, and set time limits for speaking. Other requests to speak from nonmembers may be honored only with the unanimous consent of the Assembly.
The President of the Assembly shall be responsible for proper decorum at all meetings.
F. The Secretary of the Assembly shall call the roll of the members at each meeting to determine if a quorum is present and to prepare a list of all members present and members absent for the minutes. The Secretary shall be responsible for seeing that two copies of the minutes of each meeting are deposited in Preus Library.
G. Roberts Rules of Order shall be in effect for all meetings unless other procedures are stipulated by the Assembly. At the request of a member of the Assembly and two-thirds approval of the membership, either a signed ballot or a roll call may be the form of voting on any issue. Unless so directed, the presiding officer may call for a voice or a hand vote. A parliamentarian shall be appointed by the president of the Assembly.
Rules and procedures contained in this section of the bylaws may be suspended only with a vote of two-thirds of the total membership of the Assembly. Other rules and procedures, including those contained in Roberts Rules of Order, may be suspended with a vote of two-thirds of the Assembly members present and voting.
V. Amending Procedures
A. Section A of Article I of the bylaws may be amended by the faculty with the approval of the Assembly.
B. Section B of Article I of the bylaws may be amended by the Luther College Student Senate with the approval of the Assembly.
C. Except as provided in Sections A and B above, amendments to the bylaws may be proposed in the same manner by which items are placed on the agenda of the Assembly. Final action on proposed amendments may not be taken at the same meeting in which they were introduced. Proposed amendments must pass the Assembly by a two-thirds majority of those representatives present at the meeting of the Assembly.
D. Amendments will take effect on the date set by the Assembly and shall become a part of this document.
VI. Definition of Student Government
The Student Government is defined as the Student Senate as described in the Luther College Student Senate Constitution Procedures.
STUDENT SENATE
Luther College Student Senate Constitution Procedures
Preamble: Recognizing that the responsibility of organized Student Government at Luther College currently resides in the Student Senate and its officers, the following document is intended as a guide for the effective operation of that group.
Student Senate Mission Statement
Student Senate is the primary means for students’ participation in the governance of the Luther College community. Our mission is to serve Luther students and student organizations by providing them with resources to achieve their goals and to connect faith with learning and service with responsibility.
I. Name
The name of this organization shall be the Student Senate.
II. Eligibility
All full-time Luther students are eligible for membership on Student Senate.
III. Duties of the Student Senate
A. Serves as a forum for student concerns and opinions. Holds at least one public open forum discussion per semester on any item of interest to student life.
B. Makes recommendations to Community Assembly on changes in the Luther Code.
C. Serves as a consulting body on all matters affecting students for Student Life staff, administrators, and faculty committees. (Makes recommendations on and interpretations of existing regulations in the Student Handbook to those persons and collects and evaluates student opinion about student issues.)
D. Makes proposals to Community Assembly for changes in bylaws of Community Assembly.
E. Elects three of its members to serve on the Faculty Campus Life Committee and serves as a consulting body for that committee.
F. Appropriates expenditures from the Student Senate account.
G. Develops and implements programs it feels are necessary and proper in benefiting the student body, the college, and/or the Decorah community.
H. Directs and assigns committee responsibilities. (Please see Community Assembly Committees - General Duties)
1. Campus Betterment Committee
a. Duties
1. To act as a clearing house for ideas from members of the Luther community in order to generate input concerning the maintenance and development of the campus environment.
2. To promote resource and energy awareness.
3. To recommend policies and practices conducive to resource and energy conservation on the Luther College campus.
4. Review and recommend policies concerning vehicle registration and fees, parking, traffic regulations and fines.
b. Membership
Student Senate shall annually define and recruit membership, to include one representative from Facilities Services.
2. Co-curricular Activities Committee
a. Duties
1. Evaluate policies regarding co-curricular activities, counsel with faculty advisers to these student groups and make recommendations to the Assembly for changes in policy.
2. Recommend academic standards of eligibility for participation in all co-curricular activities.
3. Recommend policies for all-campus participation of individuals and groups representing the college.
4. Appoint (approve) editors of student publications and manager of the college radio station after consultation with the respective staffs.
5. Receive and examine financial reports from the above activities.
b. Membership
Student Senate shall annually define and recruit membership, to include the Student Activities Administrative Assistant.
3. Social Fraternity/Sorority Charter Review Board
a. Membership
The Co-curricular Activities Committee shall also function as the Social Fraternity/Sorority Charter Review Board. In addition to the regular membership, this board shall include the adviser(s) to IGC.
b. Duties and Responsibilities (see also Article VIII of the Luther Code)
1. Review the annual detailed evaluation of each organization.
2. Review the disciplinary file of each organization.
3. Review the annual prospectus of each organization.
4. Review any objections from the Luther community in regard to a charter approval.
5. Make available for community inspection all charter applications for a period of three days.
IV. Membership
A. The following officers shall be elected in the spring semester prior to their taking office.
1. Student Senate President
The duties of the Student Senate President shall be:
a. To call and chair all meetings of the Senate, of which there will be at least two per month.
b. To prepare an agenda for discussion at each meeting.
c. To call for a report of all committee activity at the President’s discretion.
d. To be responsible for relaying all pertinent information to Student Senate as a whole.
e. To be an automatic member of the Campus Appeal Board.
f. To serve as student representative to the Board of Regents.
g. To be an automatic member of the Assembly Organization Committee.
2. Student Senate Vice President
The duties of the Student Senate Vice President shall be:
a. To monitor Senate committees as needed, including the facilitation of publications/newsletter.
b. To serve as an automatic member of all ad hoc committees formed in the Senate, but will not necessarily chair these committees.
c. To fill in for the President in case of absence.
3. Student Senate Secretary/Treasurer
The duties of the Student Senate Secretary/Treasurer shall be:
a. To keep and promptly publish minutes of all Senate meetings. A roll will also be kept and published as part of the minutes.
b. To oversee the expenditure of Senate funds.
c. To maintain an operational list of the Senate members.
d. To be the Secretary of Community Assembly.
B. The following 28 positions constitute Student Senate:
President
Vice President
Secretary/Treasurer
Student Activities Council President
Luther Congregation President
Senior Class Representatives (3)
Junior Class Representatives (3)
Sophomore Class Representatives (3)
First Year Class Representatives (3)
Student Liaison to City Council
Diversity Center Representative to the Board of Regents
Diversity Center Representatives (5)
Wellness Representative
Inter-Greek Council Representative
Student Academic Support Center and Americans with
Disabilities Act Representative
Environmental Representative
C. Notes on Senate Positions.
1. The President and Vice President run as a pair for election.
2. Class representatives for the senior, junior, and sophomore classes are elected in the spring on a date selected by Senate. Candidates will need to be of the designated class standing for the following fall, per credit hours as defined by the Registrar’s Office.
3. Class representatives for the first year class are intended to be one representative from each hall, and elected on a date in the fall determined by Residence Life.
4. The Diversity Center Representative to the Board of Regents is appointed by the Diversity Council. (The Diversity Council determines a specific process for this position and the other five appointments, which could be elections.)
5. The Diversity Center Representatives are appointed by the Diversity Council. These positions, that is, the composition of representations (not the individual persons), are to be approved by Senate.
6. The Wellness Representative is appointed via a process determined by the wellness program.
7. The Inter-Greek Council (IGC) Representative is appointed by IGC.
8. The Student Academic Support Center (SASC) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Representative is appointed by a process determined by SASC.
9. The Environmental Representative is appointed via a process determined by the Environmental Studies Program.
10. Except as noted with the first-year representatives, the intent is that all other positions are elected or appointed in the spring for the following year.
V. Meetings and Procedures
A. The Senate shall meet at least two times every month during the months of October, November, December, February, March, April, and May, and at other times on the call of the President, vote of the Assembly, or by petition of ten or more Senate members.
B. A quorum shall be necessary to conduct business with a majority of the membership constituting a quorum.
C. All Senate meetings shall be open to the public.
D. The minutes of each meeting shall be made available via media as determined by Senate.
E. Notification of each meeting shall be published in at least one college publication prior to the meeting.
F. The Senate may form ad hoc committees at its discretion.
G. The Senate shall in conjunction with its adviser appropriate expenditures from the Student Senate account.
H. Attendance is required at all Senate or Community Assembly meetings, however, in such cases when a member must miss a meeting, that member is required to notify any Senate officer before the meeting.
I. A Senate member is allowed three (3) absences a year. After missing twice a warning will be given, and a fourth absence constitutes action by the Senate which can follow Section VIII and/or X of the Constitution on recall.
J. A member who knows they are going to miss a Senate meeting may ask a proxy to represent them (which does not count as an absence), however, proxies may not vote on motions and it should be understood that proxies should not be used more than 3 times within the school year.
K. Although it is on the honor of each member to report sickness, sickness will count as one of the three absences.
VI. Election Procedures for Student Senate Officers and other Positions
A. Time of the Elections
1. Officers for the Senate shall be selected in spring elections prior to the school year in which they take office.
2. The campus-wide election shall be held on “Reading Day” in the spring. In the absence of “Reading Day” Senate shall determine another acceptable date.
B. Applying for Office
1 . Applications for each office will be available in the Student Life Office one month before the election.
2. The deadline for returning applications is two weeks before the election.
C. Election Committee
1. The Student Senate President shall organize an election committee at the beginning of spring semester..
2. At least two of the members of this committee should be of at least sophomore standing or above.
3. The adviser to the Student Senate or his/her designee, shall be a member of this committee and oversee voting on election day.
4. The election committee shall annually review the "Election Guidelines," revise as needed, and present them to the Senate annually prior to the election process.
5. The Election Committee is responsible for the following duties:
a. To make sure the “Election Guidelines” are followed and carried out by the candidates and the committee.
b. To nominate a slate of possible candidates for the Senate, realizing that nominating is only a form of encouragement and that one doesn’t have to be nominated in order to run for office.
c. To produce the Senate Campaign/Election Newspaper, separate from the campus newspaper, which, at minimum, shall include the list of declared candidates. This newspaper must be made available to the Luther community at least 3-4 days before the election.
d. To sponsor (and advertise) an "elections" open forum. This must be held at least 2-3 days before the election, and will provide, but not necessarily require, the opportunity for candidates to meet other students.
e. To make sure candidate "position statements" are present at the voting booths on election day. Candidates will be provided the opportunity, but not be required, to provide a picture.
VII. Vacancy of a Student Senate Office
A. In the case of a vacancy in the position of President of the Senate, the Vice President shall assume the duties and responsibilities of that office.
B. If vacancies occur in the positions of Vice President of the Senate or Secretary/Treasurer, they shall be filled by a special campus-wide election conducted by the Senate.
C. Other Senate vacancies. Student Senate shall determine on an "as needed" basis, the manner by which they fill vacant Senate or committee seats as they become available. While elections of some form are an option, they are not required.
VIII. Recall of Student Senate Officer
If any of the officers fail to meet the duties and responsibilities of their positions, they may be recalled by a three-fourths vote of the Student Senate members. Such a ballot may be taken upon the formal presentation of a petition bearing the signatures of one-fifth of the student members of the Senate.
IX. Membership of Community Assembly
A. The following 20 Student Senators are the student members of Community Assembly:
President
Vice President
Secretary/Treasurer
Student Activities Council President
Luther Congregation President
Senior Class Representatives (2)
Junior Class Representatives (2)
Sophomore Class Representatives (2)
First Year Class Representatives (3)
Student Liaison to City Council
Diversity Center Representative to the Board of Regents
Diversity Center Representatives (2)
Special Interests Representatives (2)
B. Notes on Community Assembly Representatives
1. Each group of senior, junior, and sophomore class representatives shall select which two will represent the class.
2. The first year representatives are intended to be from each first year hall.
3. The two Diversity Center representatives shall be determined by the Diversity Council.
4. The two Special Interests representatives shall be determined by the four representatives (Wellness, IGC, SASC/ADA, Environmental). Lacking consensus, they will be randomly selected.
C. Students are eligible for re-election or re-appointment as long as they are full-time students.
X. Election Procedures for Student Members to Community Assembly Committees and College Committees
A. Student Senate will elect and appoint internal and external committees as needed.
B. Although most committees will involve senators, Senate may decide to solicit non-senators for come committees. Depending on timelines, practicality, and nature of the position, Senate will decide whether or not to give public notice regarding these opportunities.
C. Senate, by three-fourths vote, may recall committee members for failure to fulfill responsibilities.
XI. Board of Regents Representatives
A. The student representatives to the Board of Regents shall consist of:
1. Student Senate President
2. Luther College Congregation President
3. Student Activities Council President
4. Diversity Center Representative
B. The student representatives to the board shall attend all meetings of the board and shall attend the particular committee meeting of which each representative is a member.
C. These representatives shall be prepared to present a report to the Senate at the calling of the Senate President.
XII. Amendment Procedures
A. Amendments to the “Student Senate Constitution Procedures” shall be accepted by a three-fourths vote of the Student Senate and shall become an official part of this document at that time.
B. Any amendment that changes the Senate Election Procedures for student members of the Senate must be sent to the Community Assembly for approval before it becomes an official part of this document.
College Governance - Student Input
Students have had a long and healthy tradition of participation in the workings of Luther College. In May 1997, the faculty voted to restructure the governance system and eliminated numerous permanent committees. This also eliminated many permanent student committee positions. Some of the traditional committee input from students will be replaced by involvement on ad hoc committees, departmental committees, special appointments, or newly-defined subcommittees. Student Senate appoints three seats for the Campus Life Committee. There are also four student representatives to the Board of Regents. Students interested in participation and governance issues should contact the Student Senate president, or the Student Senate adviser, located in the Student Life Office.