Truman State University

Residence Hall Association

Revised Constitution

 

Article I: Name, Purpose, Mission, and Affiliations

 

Section A: Name

The name of this organization is the Truman State University Residence Hall Association, hereafter referred to in this document as RHA.         

           

Section B: Purpose

The purpose of RHA shall be:

  1. To act as a board of people representing the governments of the residence halls and apartments of Truman State University
  2. To act as a liaison between residents and the office of Residence Life
  3. To promote cooperation between the residence halls
  4. To promote discussion and offer recommendations on Residence Life policies. 

 

Section C: Mission Statement

Our mission is to unify the Residence Halls by serving as a voice of the students to improve on-campus life.

 

Section D: Affiliations

  1. RHA shall be representative of the Truman State University campus located in Kirksville, Missouri.
  2. RHA shall remain an active affiliated member of the Midwest Affiliation of College and University Residence Halls (MACURH).
  3. RHA shall act in accordance to all MACURH regional policies and by-laws.
  4. RHA shall remain an active affiliated member of the National Affiliation of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH).
  5. RHA shall act in accordance with all NACURH national policies and by-laws.

 

Article II: Operational Procedures

 

Section A: Establishment of Standing Rules

  1. RHA shall establish a body of standing rules to govern the operation of RHA, RHA Committees, and RHA members in their duties of office and membership.
  2. The Standing Rules shall be a singular body of rules.
  3. The Standing Rules may be specific to one position, committee, or activity, but are not limited to such.

 

Section B: Proposal of Standing Rules

Standing Rules shall be approved in accordance with the following procedure:

  1. Rules or amendment to rules must be proposed by any member of RHA.
  2. Proposals must be submitted in writing at a general body meeting and seconded.
  3. Proposals that are moved and seconded will then be tabled without further discussion until the next general body meeting.
  4. Proposals that have been moved, seconded, and tabled, will then be distributed to every member of RHA before the next general body meeting.
  5. Proposals will then be introduced during the business portion of the general body meeting, where they must be moved and seconded again. 
  6. Discussion on the proposal will follow standard parliamentary procedure.
  7. When called to a vote, proposed standing rules or proposed amendments require approval of 3/5 of the voting membership before being accepted.
  8. Once approved, modifications to the Standing Rules take effect immediately.

 

Section C: Constitutionality of Standing Rules

  1. No Standing Rules established by RHA may supersede this Constitution.
  2. All Standing Rules may be reviewed at any time by an appropriate committee to ensure that all Standing Rules are in accordance with this Constitution.
  3. The appropriate committee may recommend to the membership that they nullify any Standing Rule in the Constitution considered unconstitutional.

 

Article III: Membership and Voting

 

Section A: Voting Membership

  1. Selection of Voting Members
    1. A residence complex shall be the building or buildings under the administrative oversight of a Hall Director.
    2. Each residence complex on campus shall be allowed five official members in the RHA body:

                                                              i.      One Residence Complex Senate Executive Board Member

                                                            ii.      One Student Advisor/Apartment Manager

                                                          iii.      Three residents at large that do not meet the above criteria

    1. The Senate Executive Board Member and the three residents at large shall be chosen according to the constitution of that Residence Complex.
    2. The Student Advisor/Apartment Manager for each hall shall be chosen by the Professional Staff of the Department of Residence Life.
  1. Duties of Voting Members
    1. The official members or their substitute delegates must have attended the previous two general body meetings in order to be eligible to vote. 
    2. Complexes not able to provide all five official members at any meeting may send substitute delegates to voice their complexes opinion, but these delegates may only vote if they or the official representative they represent were present at the previous two general body meetings.
    3. Official Members or a Substitute Delegates are required to attend all meetings of RHA.  Residence Complexes not having full representation will be penalized by the loss of RHA funding.
    4. If an official member is elected to an executive board position of RHA, they may no longer serve as a delegate of their residence complex. The residence complex may replace these delegates according to their constitution.

 

Section B: Other Voting Membership

  1. Members-at-Large shall be those students[1] who do not fulfill the criteria for another voting or non-voting membership position, and who the general body feel would be beneficial to RHA as a voting member.
    1. Members-at-Large must have attended at least 4/5 of the RHA General Body Meetings for the previous semester.
    2. Members-at-Large must be approved by a simple majority of the membership of RHA before they can be voting members[2]
    3. Members-at-Large must continue to meet the 4/5 attendance requirement during the year that they are a Member-at-Large
    4. Members-at-Large are approved for a one year period.
  2. Every member of the executive board shall hold one vote in RHA.
  3. The President shall have a vote in all circumstances, whether the body is evenly divided or not.[3]

 

Section C: Non-voting Membership

  1. RHA Advisor(s)
    1. A Truman State University faculty or staff member(s) may serve as an RHA Advisor.
    2. The advisor(s) will have full speaking privileges at meetings of either the general body or of the executive board.
    3. The advisor(s) is not allowed to vote on any motion or question.
    4. The advisor(s) is not allowed to introduce motions to RHA.
    5. The advisor(s) will hold final authority over business and legal matters.
    6. The advisor(s) will assist RHA in any manner deemed necessary.
  2. Student Senate Representative
    1. A representative of the Student Senate may serve as the Student Senate Representative.
    2. The representative will have full speaking privileges at meetings of the general body, but not of the Executive Board.
    3. The representative is not allowed to vote on any motion or question.
    4. The representative is allowed to introduce motions to RHA.
    5. The representative shall be chosen by Student Senate, in accordance with their policies.
    6. The representative may not hold a concurrent voting position in RHA.

 

Section D: Voting Procedures

  1. A Quorum will consist of a simple majority of the voting membership of RHA.
  2. Procedures for voting on issues not proscribed in this constitution will be determined in the standing rules.

 

Article IV:  Executive Board

 

Section A: Members of Executive Board

The Executive Board of RHA shall consist of the following Officers:

  1. President
  2. Vice-President
  3. Secretary
  4. Treasurer
  5. Treasurer Elect (when applicable)
  6. National Communications Coordinator (NCC)
  7. National Communications Coordinator In-Training (NCC-IT) (when applicable)
  8. Advisor

 

Section B: Duties

The duties of the Executive Board shall be to:

  1. Hold one Executive Board meeting per week, in addition to the weekly general meeting.
  2. Audit the Treasurer's records at the end every fall and spring semester.
  3. Each member of the executive board must staff the RHA office at least 2 hours per each week during the Fall and Spring semester, with exceptions to be declared by the President.
  4. Compile a Continuity Report at the end of each school year, including a report from each outgoing officer and committee chair.
  5. Return to campus before the start of the Fall Semester as ResLife Prep Crew.
  6. Members of the Executive Board may not hold any other voting membership in RHA, other than their elected office.
  7. Each member of the Executive Board must live on campus for their entire term of office.

                                       

Article V:  Officers' Duties

 

Section A: President

  1. Plan and preside over all general body meetings and executive board meetings.
  2. Appoint members to fill officer positions, should they become vacant, until an election can be held.
  3. Appoint members to fill Committee Chair positions.
  4. Facilitate communication between university professionals and RHA.
  5. Shall serve as a resource to all members as needed.
  6. May not be a Student Advisor or Apartment Manager during their term of office.
  7. The President is required to staff the RHA office one additional hour each week, on top of the two hours required as part of the executive board.

 

Section B: Vice-President

  1. Oversee committees.
  2. Attend to all duties of the President in the President’s absence.
  3. Succeed the President should the office of President be vacated for whatever reason, until a new election can be held to replace the President. 
  4. Recognize accomplishments of RHA Members and Hall Senates.
  5. Chair the programming committee of RHA.
  6. Fulfill the duties of a Committee Chair.
  7. Communicate with MACURH and NACURH.
  8. May not be a Student Advisor or Apartment Manager during their term of office.
  9. The Vice-President is required to staff the RHA office one additional hour each week, on top of the two hours required as part of the executive board.

 

Section C: Secretary

  1. Take accurate minutes of Executive Board meetings and file for public access in the RHA office.
  2. Take accurate minutes of General Body meetings and distribute to all members within four days of the meeting. 
  3. Compile a membership roster at the beginning of each semester and distribute to all members within two months of the first day of classes.
  4. Attend to all duties of the Vice-President in the Vice-President’s absence. 
  5. Manage the RHA office.

 

Section D: Treasurer

  1. Manage all RHA monetary transactions and holdings.
  2. Facilitate fund-raising.
  3. Be a member of the Fundraising committee.
  4. Keep the RHA General Body informed of the monetary status of RHA.
  5. Prepare an annual budget at the beginning of each academic year, which must be approved by 2/3 of the general body within two months of the start of the academic year.
  6. Ascertain the feasibility of all budget requests before their approval, and inform the general body of such.
  7. Attend to all duties of the Secretary in the Secretary’s absence.

 

Section E: Treasurer Elect

  1. Assist the treasurer in the attendance of their duties.
  2. Attend to all duties of the Treasurer in the Treasurer’s absence.
  3. Will become the Treasurer at the expiration of the Treasurer’s term of office.
  4. Elected approximately one semester before the expiration of the Treasurer’s term of office.

 

Section F: National Communications Coordinator (NCC)

  1. Communicate with MACURH and NACURH.
  2. Submit monthly reports on the status of the Truman residence halls to other schools affiliated with MACURH and NACURH.
  3. Approve and coordinate all conference delegations.
  4. Comply with all regulations set forth in NCC handbook.
  5. Be a resource for spirit.
  6. Chair the Conference Delegation Committee.
  7. May not be a Student Advisor or Apartment Manager during their term of office.
  8. The NCC is required to staff the RHA office one additional hour each week, on top of the two hours required as part of the executive board.

 

Section G: National Communication Coordinator in Training (NCC-IT)

  1. The NCC-IT shall assist the NCC with all duties of the position of NCC.
  2. Will become the NCC at the expiration of the NCC’s term of office.
  3. Elected approximately one semester before the expiration of the NCC’s term of office.

 

Section H: Webmaster

  1. Maintains the RHA website.
  2. Report relevant information to the general body.

 

Section I: External Organization Liaison(s)

  1. Be responsible for communications with the organization they are assigned to.
  2. Report back relevant information to the general body.

 

Section J: Parliamentarian

  1. Maintain a current working knowledge of the operational procedures of RHA.
  2. Maintain a current working knowledge of parliamentary procedure and Robert’s Rules of Order.
  3. Act as a reference to the general body in cases or questions of procedure.
  4.  

Section K: Committee Chair(s)

  1. Designated by members of the committee, with approval of President.
  2. Be responsible for the responsibilities of the assigned committee.
  3. Hold committee meetings.
  4. Report on activities of the committee to the general body.
  5. Each Committee Chair must staff the RHA office for one hour each week during the Fall and Spring semester, with exceptions to be declared by the President.

 

Article VI: Committees

 

Section A: Establishment of Committees

  1. RHA shall create several standing committees to assist the organization in its activities.
  2. The members within each committee shall designate a committee chair, with the approval of the President, to fulfill the duties of the Committee Chair listed in Article V.
  3. These committees shall be established by and abide by the constitution and the standing rules of RHA.

 

Article VII: Elections

 

Section A: Officer Election Timeline

  1. The month of election may be prescribed by the Standing Rules.
  2. The President of RHA shall announce to the general body the date of election 28 days prior to the date of election.
  3. Only members on the roster of membership who meet voting requirements will be allowed to vote in officer elections, as verified by the Secretary.
  4. Nominations for each open officer position shall be made one general body meeting before the date of election.
  5. The Secretary will verify no later than three days prior to the date of election that all candidates meet the requirements for the office they seek.  All candidates must have been either voting or non-voting members of RHA for at least one semester prior to their election.
  6. A one half page letter of intent must be sent to the RHA Secretary by each candidate no less than three days prior to the date of election.
    1. The secretary will provide these letters of intent to the membership of RHA and post these letters of intent on the RHA website.
    2. If a candidate for any office intends to run for any lower office should they not be elected, they must indicate in their one page letter of intent the specific offices that they intend to consider.
  7. If a quorum is not met on the day of election, the election will take place at the next general body meeting where quorum is met.

 

Section B: Officer Election Procedures

  1. Only those candidates verified by the Secretary will be eligible to run for an office.
  2. The election will be conducted by the President. 
  3. Each candidate shall be given the opportunity to speak before the general body as assembled.
    1. Each verified candidate for President will be given two minutes to speak before the general body.
    2. Each verified candidate for Executive Board Positions other than President will be given one minute to speak before the general body.
    3. While a candidate is speaking to the general body, all other candidates for similar positions will be removed from the room.
    4. After a candidate has spoken or after a candidates time to speak has elapsed, any person present in the room may question the candidate.  This question period will last no longer than three minutes.
    5. The Vice-President shall keep the time of speeches and question periods, and will signify to the candidate when they have 10 seconds left.
    6. If the Vice-President is unable to keep time, the Treasurer will fulfill the time keeping duties of the Vice-President
  4. The Residence Hall Association Advisor(s) may offer direction or advice when appropriate during elections.
  5. After all candidates for each office have spoken, the Secretary will distribute one slip of blank paper to each voting member.
    1. No discussion by members will be allowed after the discussion/question period has ended until all ballots have been collected.
    2. Each voting member will write the name of the candidate they wish to elect on the slip of paper, and then submit the ballot to the Residence Hall Association Advisor(s).
    3. A member may abstain from voting by turning in a blank slip of paper.
    4. The Advisor(s) will count the ballots when all ballots have been submitted, and will present the President with the name of the candidate have the most votes.  The president will then announce the name to the general body.
    5. The Advisor(s) may have other non-voting members of RHA assist in counting ballots.
    6. In the event there in only one candidate running for an office, the President will ask if any voting member objects to the candidate. 

                                                              i.      If the President hears any objections, the election must be sent to a written ballot with the option of the sole candidate or no confidence. 

                                                            ii.      If there are no objections, the sole candidate will win the election by acclamation, and no written ballot is necessary.

  1. Those candidates not elected will be given the opportunity to run for the next open office, with the order of elections being as offices are listed in Article V of this Constitution. 
  2. If any office does not have an expired term, there will not be elections for that specific office.

 

Section C: Election Ethics

  1. If a newly elected officer was elected in violation of the constitution, but have not taken office yet, they may be removed as Officer-Elect by a complaint signed by two-thirds of the General Body.
    1. In the case an Officer-Elect is removed, the general body will repeat the election procedures for that office. 
    2. The removed candidate may be nominated again for that same office in the election following their removal.
  2. All candidates and members are expected to act ethically during their tenure, as interpreted by the President and Advisor(s) and enforced by the Executive Board.
  3. If there is only one candidate for an office and they are not elected, it will be treated the same as if they had been removed.[4]

 

Article VIII: Meetings

 

Section A: General Body Meetings

  1. RHA General Body Meetings shall occur once every full academic week during the Fall and Spring semesters at a time and place determined by the executive board at the beginning of the semester.
  2. RHA General Body Meetings shall be chaired by the President, or in absence of the President, the Vice President.

 

Section B: Executive Board Meetings

  1. The executive board shall meet each full academic week prior to the full body meetings at a regular place and time to be determined by the executive board at the beginning of the semester.
  2. The executive board meetings shall be chaired by the President, or in absence of the President, the Vice-President.

 

Section C: Standing Committee Meetings

Each standing committee shall meet at least once every other week during the Fall and Spring semesters and report their activities to the general body.

 

Section D: Transitional Meeting Period

Following any election, newly elected executive board members shall attend the executive board meetings for the rest of the semester.  That shall be considered a transitional period for those positions.

 

 

 

Article IX: Ratification and Amendments

 

Section A: Ratification of this Constitution

The ratification of this constitution shall require the following procedure:

  1. The proposed constitution shall be moved for adoption before the general body of RHA at any regularly scheduled general body meeting.
  2. The motion to adopt must be seconded by any member of RHA.  The motion to adopt is then tabled until the next general body meeting with no further discussion at the meeting the original motion was made at.
  3. The general body of RHA shall be allowed sufficient time to discuss the proposed constitution at the next general body meeting, and may continue the discussion into a special meeting of RHA, should the executive board decide to do so. 
    1. The President of RHA may close this special meeting at any time should they feel that that is in the best interest of RHA. 
    2. The Executive Board may overturn the President’s decision to close the meeting with the dissent of 2/3 of the Executive Board.
  4. After sufficient discussion has been allowed, the question will be called to a vote.  The consent of ¾ of the members of RHA present shall be required to approve this constitution and any future constitutions.
    1. A member is any on-campus resident who has attended at least one-half of the general body meetings during the previous semester.
  5. Upon approval by RHA, the approved constitution shall be presented to each Hall Senate currently being advised by a Hall Director. 
    1. Approval of 2/3 of the Senates shall be required to approve the proposed Constitution.
    2. No Senate may amend the constitution.  They may choose to approve or reject the Constitution in its entirety. 
    3. Upon approval of 2/3 of the Senates, this constitution shall go into effect for a probationary period of one year.
    4. All current officers shall be allowed to serve the remainder of their terms.
  6. The constitution shall go into full effect if during the probationary period the following actions all occur:
    1. The Center for Student Involvement is presented a copy of the Constitution and approves it in the manner they are accustomed to.
    2. Student Senate is presented a copy of the Constitution.
    3. The Director of Residence Life is presented a copy of the Constitution and signs in support of the Constitution.
    4. The Dean of Student Affairs is presented a copy of the Constitution and signs in support of the Constitution.
  7. If all of the above steps are completed, this constitution shall be considered ratified and in full effect.

 

Section B: Amending the Constitution

Amendments to this constitution shall require the following procedure:

  1. The proposed amendment shall be moved for adoption before the general body of RHA at any regularly scheduled general body meeting.
  2. The motion to amend must be seconded by any member of RHA.  The motion to amend is then tabled until the next general body meeting, with no further discussion at the meeting the motion to amend was made at.
  3. The general body of RHA shall be allowed sufficient time to discuss the proposed amendment at the next general body meeting, and may continue the discussion into a special meeting of RHA, should the executive board decide to do so. 
    1. The President of RHA may close this special meeting at any time should they feel that that is in the best interest of RHA. 
    2. The Executive Board may overturn the President’s decision to close the meeting with the dissent of 2/3 of the Executive Board.
  4. After sufficient discussion has been allowed, the question will be called to a vote.  The consent of ¾ of the members of RHA shall be required to approve the amendment
  5. Upon approval by RHA, the approved amendment shall be presented to the government of every residence complex.
    1. Approval of 2/3 of the complex governments shall be required to approve the proposed Amendment.
    2. No government may amend the amendment.  They may choose to approve or reject the amendment in its entirety. 
    3. Upon approval of 2/3 of the complex governments, this amendment shall go into effect for a probationary period of one year.
  6. The amendment shall go into full effect if during the probationary period the following actions all occur:
    1. The Director of Residence Life is presented a copy of the amendment and signs in support of the amendment.
  7. If all of the above steps are completed, this amendment shall be considered ratified and in full effect.

[1] It is intended that both on-campus and off-campus students be allowed to serve as members at large, to ensure there is an off-campus voice to the residence halls. 

[2] This is to maintain a level of diversity and to keep RHA a representative body.

[3] This allows the president to maintain impartiality.  By only voting in cases of ties, the President is only showing partisanship on the controversial issues.  By being able to vote in all circumstances, the President can reserve their vote on non-controversial issues and on controversial issues, the president can vote to ensure a tie, thus making it so the motion is neither passed nor rejected. 

[4] The way that a sole candidate is not elected is as follows:  When the President asks if any voting member objects to the candidate, and there is objection, the election is sent to a written ballot between the sole candidate and a vote of no confidence.  If there are more votes for no confidence than there are votes for the candidate, the candidate cannot be elected.  The candidate can only be elected if they receive more votes than there are votes of no confidence.