Appendix B

1/23/18

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES AND RULES

Revisions to Bylaws; Article II – Membership, Section 5(c)

(Legislative)

Implementation: Upon Approval By the Senate

Rationale:

Student senator representation to the Senate is detailed in the Constitution, Article II, Section 5(c) where it states that, “The full-time, degree-seeking students at the University shall be represented by student senators elected by their units and by two ex officio student senators from undergraduate student government organizations.”

The Bylaws go on to stipulate the election of student representatives from various colleges, locations and units (including the Graduate School, Dickinson Law, Penn State Law, and the College of Medicine).

Article II, Section 5(c)(4) goes on to allocate student senators as:

“Two leaders of undergraduate student government organizations as follows: One representative of the University Park Undergraduate Association; One representative of the Council of Commonwealth Student governments.  Whenever comparable units are added to the University or created through reorganization, each new unit shall elect one student senator.  The term of a student senator shall be one year.”

Given that each undergraduate and graduate student unit is represented by an elected student senator, it seems inequitable that undergraduate student government organizations are provided representation, while the graduate and professional student government is not afforded similar representation.

The duly recognized Graduate and Professional Student Association was established in 1951 (originally as the Graduate Student Association and then reorganized in its current form in 2014).  Moreover, there is already a provision for adding representation as needed.

It is therefore the opinion of the CC&R that this inequity in representation be redressed by providing for a senator from the Graduate and Professional Student Association.

Recommendation:

That Article II, Section 5(c) of the Bylaws be and is hereby amended as follows:

Please note that the following contains bold text for additions and strikeouts indicating deleted text. Deleted text is notated with [Delete] [End Delete]. Added text is notated with [Add] [End Add].

Article IV

Section 5(c)

The full-time, degree-seeking students at the University shall be represented by student senators elected by their units and by [Delete] two [End Delete] [Add] three [End Add] ex officio student senators from [Add] two [End Add] undergraduate student government organizations [Add] and one graduate and professional student government organization [End Add].

Section 5(c)(4)

[Add] Three [End Add] [Delete] Two  [End Delete] leaders of [Delete] undergraduate [End Delete] student government organizations as follows: One representative of the University Park Undergraduate Association; One representative of the Council of Commonwealth Student governments.; [Add] One representative of the Graduate and Professional Student Association [End Add].  Whenever comparable units are added to the University or created through reorganization, each new unit shall elect one student senator.  The term of a student senator shall be one year.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES AND RULES

  • Jonathan Abel
  • Michael Bérubé
  • Victor Brunsden
  • Mark Casteel
  • Ann Clements
  • Amy Dietz
  • Beth King
  • Richard Robinett
  • James Strauss
  • Jane Sutton
  • Ann Taylor
  • Kent Vrana (Chair)
  • Nicole Webster (Co-Chair)
  • Matthew Woessner