Last Updated: Thursday, Feburary 09, 1995 9:08:42 AM

CONSTITUTION OF THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF MENLO SCHOOL

We, the associated students of Menlo School, aspiring to encourage maximum student participation in school activities, to promote the school's best interests, and to form a stronger alliance between the student body, the school administration, the parents, and the faculty, hereby establish this constitution.

The Student Council
1. The Student Council shall consist of 25 elected members, these being the student body President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, two appointed non-voting members (Curriculum Committee Representative and Assembly Coordinator),and the Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Secretary-Treasurers of each of the four classes.
2. The Student Council shall transact all business of the Associated Students in a manner hereafter prescribed, and for this purpose shall meet whenever necessary, typically four times per month. There shall be no fewer than two meetings per school month. No meeting of the Student Council shall have any legal standing unless a quorum is present. The Dean of Students shall serve as the advisor to the Student Council.
3. Thirteen (13) members and the faculty advisor or a substitute designated by the Dean of Students shall constitute a quorum, and a majority vote of the members present shall be necessary to pass a motion. All business must be moved, seconded and discussed before the Student Council may call it to vote. In the case of a tie vote, the motion should be decided in accordance with the vote of the President of the Student Body.
Duties of the Student Council
1. The Student Council shall act for and by the authority of the Associated Students in all matters of legislation, and its power to legislate for the Associated Students in all matters pertaining to school activities shall be limited only by this constitution and the authority of the school administration. Subject to these limitations, it shall have the power to supervise and regulate acts and resolutions.
2. It shall be the duty of the Student Council to audit all elections.
3. The Student Council shall have the power to adopt all needful regulations supplementary to, and not inconsistent with, this constitution, provided that no special tax, fee, or assessment shall be levied except by the regular vote of the Associated Students.
4. Any official student club may request funds from the Student Council. The Council has the power to require at any time the official student club petitioning for funds to submit its constitution to the Council for inspection and approval; it shall have the power to require that such a constitution be changed in any manner that it may deem fit. When submitting a request for funding, the club must submit a written declaration of the need for the funding requested. Funding by the Student Council will be decided on the basis of benefit to the Associated Students of Menlo School. The Council may also request at any time a list of the funded club's members.
Student Body Officers
1. The elective officers of the Associated Students shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Activities Coordinator.
2. Any upperclassman (sophomore, junior, senior) of the Associated Students, not on probation for any reason, shall be eligible for election to Student Body Office provided, however, that the office of Student Body President shall at all times be filled by a member of the junior or senior class who has been at Menlo for at least one year.
3. The student body officers shall be elected to office for one academic year.
4. The student body officers shall be present at all Student Council meetings.
5. The President shall preside over all meetings of the Associated Students and the Student Council, and shall have full power to appoint committees to perform all other duties hereinafter delegated to him.
6. The Vice President shall act for the President when for any reason the latter is absent. The Vice President shall assist the President in his duties.
7. The Student Body Secretary shall act for the Vice President when for any reason the latter is absent. The Secretary shall keep an accurate record of the proceedings of the Student Council meetings, including motions and votes. The Student Body Secretary shall also be responsible for the publication of the minutes of these meetings; these records shall be permanent.
8. The Treasurer shall act for the secretary if for any reason the latter is absent. The Treasurer shall work under the direction of the faculty advisor. Cooperating with him, he shall have charge of the business management of all student activities; the purchasing, invoicing, accounting, and care of all property of the Associated Students and the receipt, accounting and disbursement of funds.
9. The Activities Coordinator shall act for the Treasurer if for any reason the latter is absent. The Activities Coordinator shall oversee all school events as well as monitor the activities of other classes.
10. The Student Body officers shall serve as Student members of the Judicial Committee.
11. When any student body officer neglects the duties delegated to him, he is subject to recall by a 2/3 vote of the entire Student Council, with the member in question absent. When any student body officer has three unexcused absences, he is subject to review and possible recall.
Class Officers
1. Each class shall elect a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Activities Coordinator.
2. Any member of the Associated Students not on probation for any reason shall be eligible to appeal for nomination for election to office.
3. Class officers shall be elected for one academic year.
4. Class officers shall be present at all Student Council meetings.
5. The President shall preside over all class meetings.
6. The Vice President shall act for the President when for any reason the latter is absent.
7. The Student Body Secretary-Treasurer shall act for the Vice President when for any reason the latter is absent. The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of all class meetings; these records shall be permanent. He shall also have charge of the business management of all class activities.
8. The Activities Coordinator shall be responsible for organizing all class events.
9. When a class officer neglects the duties delegated to him he is subject to recall by a 2/3 vote of his class; however, such a vote may only be taken only if first deemed appropriate by a 2/3 review vote of the Student Council.
Elections
1. All elections and run-offs shall be scheduled and regulated by the Student Council. Any Student Council member running for election shall not be permitted to participate in the ballot counting.
2. Each eligible student who wishes to campaign for an office must first obtain the signatures of his advisor and the Dean of Students. A student may become a candidate with only one of these signatures only if he successfully comes before the Student Council in appeal and fulfills all other requirements. A student who has obtained these signatures or has successfully appealed may then be put into nomination by petition. The offices of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, or Activities Coordinator of the student body require a petition signed by not less than 30 members of the Associated Students. The offices of President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer, or Activities Coordinator of a class require a petition signed by not less than 10 members of that class. All petitions shall be filed with the faculty advisor to the Student Council within the prescribed time limit for the election called. Each student may sign only one petition per office; all signatures that appear in support of more than one candidate for the same office shall not be counted for that office.
3. At the close of the nominating period for student body officers, printed ballots shall be prepared with the names of the candidates for each office arranged in alphabetical order. These ballots shall be used at the general election. All voting shall be by secret Australian ballot. The candidate for any office shall receive a majority of all votes cast before he is declared elected.
4. If no candidate receives a majority of all votes cast, the names of the two highest on the list for each office shall be placed on the ballot for a special election. If, in a class election, the candidate with the third greatest number of votes has within five votes of the second candidate, a three way run-off shall be held. If, in a student body election, the differential between the second and third candidates is fewer than sixteen votes, a three way run-off shall be held.
5. At the special election the candidate receiving the plurality vote shall be declared the winner. In case of a tie, the Student Council shall call as many additional special elections as are necessary until one candidate receives a plurality vote.
6. A special election shall be called when a vacancy occurs in any Student Body or Class Office. If a vacancy occurs in an office of the President, the Vice President shall fill the office and a special election shall be held for Vice President.
7. No candidate shall spend in excess of thirty dollars on his campaign. The Council need not approve the wording of the campaign speeches or posters.
8. Class meetings, as designated by the Student Council, shall be held for campaign speeches. There shall be a twenty-four hour lapse of time between the time of nomination and the election. The faculty advisor of the Student Council shall monitor the eligibility of nominees.
9. All voting for class officers shall be by secret Australian ballot, and the ballots shall be counted under the supervision of the Dean of Students. All members of the class must get an opportunity to vote before the results are announced.
Committees, Publications and Clubs
1. An official student club, as such, is any organization of students with officers and a faculty advisor. Any official student club funded by the Student Council must have an approved constitution and must keep an updated list of its members.
Amendments and Approval
1. This constitution is subject to amendment by the Associated Students, provided the following procedure has been observed:
2. Amendments shall be proposed at any regular or special meeting by a majority vote of the Student Council, provided such amendments have that approval, in advance, of the Dean of Students.
3. Proposed amendments may be ratified at a special election of the Associated Students approved by a majority of the votes cast.
Student Body Attendance at Council Meetings
1. No member of the Associated Student Body shall be denied admittance to meetings of the Student Council, provided that he shall have made a request of the President before the meeting. These observers may not vote in a meeting.
2. The date, time, and location of all meetings of the Student Council shall be announced at least a day before the meeting.
3. The Student Council shall pass any measures necessary to enforce this article.
4. Any person or group who wishes to present a subject for discussion at a Student Council meeting must have made a request of the President before the meeting.