29 July 2010

Chapter I - The Union

 

 

1. The name of the Union shall be Sidney Sussex College Students' Union (SSCSU). The Sovereign Body of SSCSU shall be its Open Meeting which all members of SSCSU may attend, and which shall have sole power to take decisions regarding its policy, officers and finances, subject to the provisions contained below.

 

1. SSCSU shall comprise all Full Members, Honorary Members and Life Members, as defined in Chapter II. Any Full Member shall be entitled to opt out of SSCSU in accordance with the provisions in Chapter II (2).

 

1. SSCSU shall financially support all its affiliated clubs and societies, which are listed in the Standing Orders.

 

1. The aims and objectives of SSCSU shall include:

 

1. Promoting the interests and social and academic welfare of all Sidney students, as defined by Sidney students.
2. Collating the opinions of Sidney students on matters relating to College and the University and to be the channel of communication for these views.

 

• Being the official representative body for all Sidney students in College, University and National bodies.

 

• Organising and providing social activities for Sidney students.

 

• Working to create an atmosphere within College which promotes mutual respect.

 

• Administering monies and properties to the benefit of all Sidney students.

 

• Promoting the equality of all Sidney students.

 

 

1. SSCSU shall remain independent of any political party organisation or religious body.

 

1. SSCSU shall operate in a fair and democratic manner in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1994.

 

Chapter II - Membership

 

 

1. There shall be 3 classes of member:

 

1. Full Members: Full Members shall be members of the College who are pursuing a course of study at the College, other than the Master, Fellows, and Research Fellows. They may vote and speak at Open Meetings and are all entitled to shared use of facilities and equipment.

 

1. Honorary Members: The Chair, Vice-Chair and Senior Treasurer shall be Honorary Members of SSCSU. They may attend and address any Open Meeting, but may not vote at a meeting or in an election.

 

1. Life Members: Anybody who has paid nine termly subscriptions to SSCSU, and is no longer in statu pupillari, nor a Full Member, nor an Honorary Member, shall be a Life Member. Life Members may attend Open Meetings and speak if invited to do so, but shall not have any
   
   voting rights and may not stand for any office.

 

 

1. Any Full Member may in any academic year by written notice declare that he/she does not wish to be a member, and in that case such a person shall not be a member of SSCSU for that academic year. Such written notice shall be served on the President of SSCSU by the division of the Michaelmas Term of that academic year.

 

1. A junior member of the College who exercises the right described in clause 2 above shall not be unfairly disadvantaged with regard to the provision of services or otherwise.

 

Chapter III - Grievances

 

1. All junior members of the College, or groups of such members who are dissatisfied in their dealings with SSCSU, or who claim to be unfairly disadvantaged by reason of having exercised their right not to be a member of SSCSU, and whose complaint cannot be satisfactorily resolved by the Officers of SSCSU, may refer their complaint to the College Dean.

 

Chapter IV - The Constitution

 

1. Any reference herein to "the Constitution" shall mean the Constitution of SSCSU.

 

1. This Constitution shall be submitted to the College Council for review, in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1994, at the second College Council meeting of Michaelmas Term 1995 and at intervals of five years thereafter.

 

1. This Constitution may only be amended by a resolution of a referendum of all SSCSU Members, and such an amendment shall not take effect until approved by the Council of Sidney Sussex College.

 

1. No alterations shall be made to this Constitution except in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1994.

 

1. Standing Orders may be amended by a 2/3 majority of those present and voting at a SSCSU Open Meeting where quorum is reached.

 

1. The interpretation of the Constitution and Standing Orders shall be the prerogative of the President in consultation with the Executive and with the guidance of the Senior Tutor and Chair.

 

Chapter V - Executive Officers

 

1. The Executive Officers of SSCSU shall be the Chair, the Vice-Chair, the Senior Treasurer, and the Executive Committee.

 

Chapter VI - The Executive Committee

 

1. The Executive Committee (hereinafter described as Exec.) shall be the Executive body of SSCSU responsible for carrying out the policies of SSCSU. All members of Exec. shall be Full Members of SSCSU.

 

1. The members of Exec. shall be answerable to SSCSU Open Meetings.

 

1. Exec. shall consist of the: President, Vice President, Junior Treasurer, MCR President, MCR Treasurer and all other offices as designated in the Standing Orders. Exec shall also consist of any other new office as may be created from time to time under the provisions of Chapter VIII.

 

1. Junior Members of College Council shall also sit on Exec., and may each hold one other office listed in clause 3 above, except President, providing that they are members of SSCSU.

 

1. The quorum of Exec. shall be 7 members present.

 

1. Exec shall meet at least 8 times in each of Michaelmas and Lent terms, and at least 6 times in Easter term, at the President’s discretion.

 

1. If a member of Exec. is absent from 3 consecutive ordinary meetings or from 4 ordinary meetings during the course of any term, or from 2 consecutive meetings of the Finance Committee (if attendance at such meetings falls within the scope of his/her duties), without providing a satisfactory reason to Exec. (as judged by Exec.) for his/her absence, a motion of removal shall automatically be put to an Open Meeting, sponsored by the Exec., proposed and seconded by the two most senior members not cited in the motion.

 

1. For the purposes of clause 7 above, the order of seniority shall be President, then Junior Treasurer, then MCR President, then MCR Treasurer then as defined in the Standing Orders for other officers. Officers for whom no seniority is defined in the Standing Orders shall have equal lowest seniority.

 

1. Exec. shall keep and distribute minutes of its meetings.

 

Chapter VII - Election of Officers

 

1. Election to SSCSU President and SSCSU Junior Treasurer shall be by election in a secret ballot in which all Full Members of SSCSU are entitled to vote, and at which a senior member of the College Council, to be appointed annually by the College Council, shall act as returning officer.

 

1. This chapter shall not apply to the election of the Junior Members of College Council, which shall be governed by the Statutes and Ordinances of the College .

 

1. The election to the Offices of MCR President and Treasurer shall be by a secret ballot in which only graduate Full Members of SSCSU are entitled to vote.

 

1. The election to Representational Offices shall be by a secret ballot in which only those Full Members of SSCSU who are to be represented by such an officer are entitled to vote.

 

1. The office of the Senior Treasurer shall normally be held by the Senior Bursar of the College ex officio. If, for any reason, the Senior Treasurer's duties cannot be fulfilled by the Bursar, then the Senior Treasurer shall be elected from amongst the Master, the Fellows and Research Fellows of the College, and the term of office shall be 6 full terms.

 

Chapter VIII - Creation of New Offices

 

1. New offices of SSCSU may only be created by an Open Meeting of SSCSU with the following provisions:-
   1. a. A motion must be forwarded to an Open Meeting advocating the establishment of a new office and the election of an officer to fill it.

 

1. Where the above motion passes, a further motion must be forwarded to the same Open Meeting advocating that the holder of the newly created office become a full-time member of the Executive with full voting rights.

 

1. Where both the above motions pass, the position must be reviewed two years later at an Open Meeting to confirm whether the holder of the new office shall remain a full-time member of the Executive with voting rights.

 

1. These motions imply a change to the list of SSCSU Officers in the Standing Orders. As such these motions will be subject to the same quorum, majority and other restrictions as a change to the Standing Orders as specified in Chapter IV.

 

Chapter IX - Removal of Officers

 

1. Officers of SSCSU may only be removed from office by an Open Meeting of SSCSU with the following provisions:-
   1. They may only be removed upon a motion of which three weekdays' notice shall have been given to the President and to the officers it is proposed to remove, together with the names of two Full Members as proposer and seconder, and the names of ten other Full Members as sponsors, or upon a motion which has been proposed by the Executive Committee in accordance with clause (f), or upon a motion which as been proposed by members of the Executive Committee in accordance with Chapter VI, paragraph 7. These motions may be carried only by a majority of 2/3 of those Full Members registering a vote or an abstention at an Open Meeting.

 

1. If the Officer to be removed is the SSCSU President, then the motion outlined in clause (a) must also be given to the Chair.

 

1. The officers of the affiliated clubs and societies may not be removed from any posts they hold on any SSCSU Committees by virtue of their being officers of an affiliated club or society.

 

1. The removal from office of the President shall not extend to his/her position on the Governing Body or College Council unless the Governing Body agrees to such a removal.

 

1. The removal from their positions on the SSCSU Committee of the junior members of the Governing Body and College Council shall not extend to their posts on those bodies without the approval of the Governing Body.

 

1. The President and Treasurer of SSCSU, by joint decision, have the power to suspend the Bar Secretary or either of the Bar Representatives of the Bar Committee, pending an enquiry by the Executive Committee. Such an enquiry should be completed within two
   
   weeks of the date of the Officer's or Officers' suspension. If the decision to suspend is approved by a simple majority of the Executive Committee (in the event of the Bar Secretary being suspended, the Executive Committee's vote on the outcome of the
   
   enquiry will be taken without his or her vote) a motion of removal, of which the Executive Committee are the proposers, will be put to an Open Meeting. No further sponsors of such a motion are necessary.

 

Chapter X - Candidature

 

1. Only Full Members of SSCSU or those who will be Full Members for the relevant term of office may stand for SSCSU elections.

 

1. On any first election for a SSCSU post there shall be an option on the ballot paper to Re-Open Nominations. A vote for this "candidate" will indicate a wish to restage the election. Should this "candidate" win the election, then the election shall be restaged with new candidates allowed to stand.

 

Chapter XI - SSCSU Finances

 

1. SSCSU's Finances shall be held in SSCSU's own account.

 

1. The financial year (hereafter the year) of SSCSU shall run from 1st July to 30th June.

 

1. At an Open Meeting before the division of every Michaelmas Term SSCSU shall agree a budget for the coming year and submit it to the College Council for approval.

 

1. The Junior Treasurer shall present to the Senior Treasurer before the first Open Meeting of every term the SSCSU accounts for the previous term and shall present to the Senior Treasurer annually the accounts for the previous year for submission to the College Auditors.

 

1. SSCSU shall produce annually to all junior members of College a financial report which shall also be presented to College Council. The report shall include details of any donations made by SSCSU to external organisations in the period to which it relates.

 

1. SSCSU shall set down in writing, and make freely accessible to all junior members of College and to the College Council, a statement of the procedure for allocating resources to groups and clubs, ensuring that the procedure is fair.The procedure is outlined in Appendix 1 of the Constitution.

 

1. Requests by affiliated clubs and societies for funding shall be submitted to the Junior Treasurer in Easter Term. Decisions regarding the allocation of money to affiliated clubs and societies for the following year shall then be taken at the first an Open Meeting in the Easter TermMichaelmas Term on the advice of the Exec.. It shall be the responsibility of the Treasurer to produce the draft budget for Exec. and Open Meeting approval.

 

1. In the event a budget should be rejected the treasurer must rewrite it based on the criticism of the open meeting and re-submit to the next open meeting. During this period a small allowance may be granted to clubs/societies at the treasurer's discretion, to allow them to continue in the interim. If the society should have its budget reduced so it is unable to pay the amount loaned SSCSU will absorb the loss.

 

1. Applications for significant funding outside the approved budget shall have to be presented toan Open Meeting.If the request is rejected it cannot be brought before another Open Meeting in the same format.
2.  

 

1. Payment of expenditures approved by an Open Meeting (i.e. the budget and any expenditures passed out of any contingency fund provided for in the budget) shall require the joint signatures of the Senior Treasurer and the Junior Treasurer.

 

1. Expenditures on food and drink by affiliated clubs will not be funded by SSCSU Finances, except where the provision of food and drinkto guests such as speakersis essential to the running of the society.

 

1. The SSCSU President is responsible to the College Council for the financial running of SSCSU.

 

Chapter XII - Open Meetings

 

1. Open Meetings of SSCSU shall be held at least four times per term (in parallel with College Council and CUSU Council) in Michaelmas and Lent Terms. There shall be at least three Open Meetings in Easter Term. The date and time of Open Meetings shall be determined by the
   
   President in consultation with the Exec.

 

1. Emergency Open Meetings shall be called by the President within three weekdays of the receipt by him/her of a written request for such a meeting signed by at least 30 Full Members of SSCSU.

 

1. The President shall give seven days notice of every ordinary Open Meeting by posting a notice on all SSCSU notice boardsor by emailing the SSCSU mailing list.

 

1. At the start of each Open Meeting, the minutes of the previous meeting shall be approved by the meeting as correct and then signed by the President or his/her deputy.

 

1. The President shall chair all Open meetings, and in conjunction with the Chair, shall act as teller.

 

1. The quorum shall be at least 20 Full Members. A higher quorum may be set by Standing Orders.

 

Chapter XIII - Policy

 

1. With the exception of the categories listed below, any policy established by the Open Meeting shall cease to have effect three years after the Open Meeting at which it was made policy.

 

1. For these purposes "policy" shall be defined as a decision made by the Open Meeting which cannot be put into practice by means of a single, one-off action (e.g. a donation, permission to use the Bar for a single event, abolition of previous policy) or which, whilst falling into this latter category, has not yet been put practice and which has not been rescinded or suspended by another Open Meeting.

 

1. Substantively similar changes to policy may not be re-presented to an Open Meeting before the fourth Open Meeting after it was originally presented.

 

1. For the purposes of clause 3 above, the interpretation of what constitutes re-presentation of policy shall be at the discretion of the President and Chair.

 

1. After a policy has lapsed, the President and the Executive Committee shall no longer be responsible for carrying out that policy, nor shall members of SSCSU be bound by any of its provisions.

 

1. The President shall be responsible for reporting to the Executive Committee and to the Open Meeting any such policies at the time of their lapse, so that it can be decided whether these policies should be re-established.

 

1. Lapsed policy can only be re-established by the passing of an Ordinary or Emergency Motion at an Open Meeting.

 

1. The following policies shall not fall under the provisions of Policy Lapse and shall therefore remain binding until they are rescinded by the Open Meeting:
   1. Amendments to Standing Orders

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 1:  Procedure for the allocation of SSCSU funds

The budget

Around the start of May each year the junior treasurer will send an e-mail round the student's list requesting each club/society to fill in a budget allocation form. This e-mail shall note the closing date for the submission of such forms and the consequences of failure of a club/society to submit a form, which may at the junior treasurer's discretion include removal of the club/society's budget. Attached to this e-mail should be a copy of the budget request form for individuals to print off and fill in.

            A second e-mail shall be sent round two weeks from the deadline to remind everyone that it is approaching, and to reiterate the points noted above.

            At the close of the deadline the junior treasurer shall examine all the returned form and allocate the budget based on this. While it is impossible to give a mechanical method for allocation of the money the following shall be considered:

• The amount of money requested
• The number of people affected by the spending
• The opportunity represented by that activity to the student body
• The accuracy of the costings contained within the request
• The overall total requested by all clubs and societies
• The previous budget of the club/society in question

 

The decision will not be completely clear cut, and it will ultimately be left to the judgement of the junior treasurer to decide the allocation.

            The resulting budget will then be e-mailed round the college list, and at the first open meeting of term the members of SSCSU will vote whether  to accept the new budget or not. If it accepted the budget will be passes before college council, and come into force. If rejected the junior treasurer will alter the budget based on the criticisms voiced in the open meeting and submit an altered budget to be voted on in the second open meeting of term. Once the students have accepted the budget it will be passed before college council and brought into force for the year.

Other requests

Where an unforeseen expense develops, a club/society wants to expand its scope or a new society wishes to be formed a request for money may have to be made outside the budget cycle. The budget shall included provision for this, and for small sums the request may be accepted at the discretion of the treasurer. For large sums, or when the treasurer deems it pertinent, the club/society will have to submit a motion for extra funding to the next open meeting and the issue must be voted on. Should the motion pass the funding will be allocated. In the event of the motion being rejected it may not be submitted again without modification. Should the request come near the end of a budget cycle the junior treasurer has the right to make the club/society wait and submit a request as part of the next budget.