Constitution of Associated Students of the University of California – Hastings College of the Law
ARTICLE 1 - Name and Purpose
Section 1 -Name
This organization shall be known as Associated Students of the University of
California - Hastings (ASUCH).
Section 2 - Purpose
The purpose of this organization shall be to govern the affairs pertaining to the
welfare and activities of the associated students.
ARTICLE II - Membership
All registered students at Hastings College of the Law shall be deemed, upon payment of
their membership fee, to be members of ASUCH.
ARTICLE III - General Council
Section 1 - Membership
a. The General Council of ASUCH shall be comprised of the following
members:
President, Internal Vice-President, External Vice-President, Secretary.
Treasurer, Director of Community Affairs, First Year Representatives,
Second Year Representatives, and Third Year Representatives.
Section 2 - President
a. The President shall be elected by the procedure set forth in Article IV, Section 3, at a general election held in the Spring Semester.
b. The President shall serve as the chief executive officer of ASUCH.
c. The President shall preside over meetings of ASUCH and the General
Council.
d. The President shall have all appointive power, subject to the provisions of
Article VI, Section 9.
e. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees of ASUCH.
Section 3 - Internal Vice-President
a. The Internal Vice-President shall be elected in the same manner as thePresident.
b. In the absence of the President, the Internal Vice-President shall preside at meetings of ASUCH and the General Council.
c. In the event of the permanent incapacitation or removal of the President, the Internal Vice-President shall succeed to the duties and powers of the President.
d. In the event of Presidential succession, the General Council shall appoint, by a vote of three-fourths of its members present, a new Internal Vice-President.
e. The Internal Vice-President shall have the following duties:
1. chair the Elections Committee;
2. allocate space to student groups with the consent of the General
Council;
3. manage student facilities;
4. be a liaison to student organizations.
Section 4 - Secretary
a. The Secretary shall be elected in the same manner as the President.
b. The Secretary shall:
1. keep a written account of all proceedings of ASUCH and the General Council;
2. be responsible for the custody of the Constitution and all other documents possessed by ASUCH,
Section 5 - Treasurer
a. The Treasurer shall be elected in the same manner as the President.
b. The Treasurer shall:
1 . be responsible for all monies of ASUCH;
2. chair the Finance Committee;
3. make a report at each General Council meeting as to the balance of the student organization account and ASUCH account;
4. make a report at the second General Council meeting of each month as to the current balance of each student organization's ASUCH funding allocation;
5. cause to be published in the Weekly or otherwise make publicly available, the initial funding allocation for each student organization;
6. oversee the implementation of the Smith v. Regents guidelines.
Section 6 - Director Of Community Affairs
a. The Director of Community Affairs shall be elected in the same manner as the President.
b. The Director of Community Affairs shall be responsible for:
1. planning, supervision, and implementation of social events;
2. coordination and oversight of athletic programs;
3. general oversight of the Fitness Center; and
4. other recreational activities for the benefit of ASUCH.
Section 7 - External Vice-President
a. The External Vice-President shall be elected in the same manner as the
President.
b. The External Vice-President shall:
Section 8 - First Year Representatives
a. There shall be two representatives from each section of the First Year Class.
b. An election for such representatives shall be held in the Fall Semester as
provided in Article IV, Section 5.
c. First Year Representatives shall represent the interests of their section and act
as a liaison between the General Council and their section.
Section 9 - Second Year Representatives
a. There shall be ten representatives from the Second Year Class.
b. An election for such representatives shall be held in the Spring Semester as
provided in Article IV, Section 6.
Section 10 - Third Year Representatives
a. There shall be ten representatives from the Third Year Class.
b. An election for such representatives shall be held in the Spring Semester as provided in Article IV, Section 7.
c. Third Year Representatives shall represent the interests of their class and act as a liaison between the General Council and the Third Year Class.
d. All Third Year Representatives shall constitute the members of the Elections Committee.
c. All Third Year Representatives shall constitute the Third Year Class Council.
1. Third Year Class Council shall be responsible for coordinating graduation events and other third year activities.
2. Third Year Class Council shall be chaired by the Third Year Class President.
f. Classification as a Third Year student shall be based on the date of matriculation.
Section 11 - Vacancies
a. Subject to the Provisions of this section, vacancies in the General Council shall be filled through appointment by the President with approval by a majority of the General Council.
b. When vacancies arise, the President shall take nominations from both the General Council and the student body.
c. The Secretary shall provide for a notice of each vacancy to appear in the Hastings Weekly for one week prior to any appointment.
d. Members of the General Council appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve until the end of the current term of the position vacated.
c. The above provisions shall not apply to vacancies in the office of the President.
Article IV - Elections
Section 1 - General Election
a. A general election shall be held each year in the Spring Semester to fill the offices of President, Internal Vice-President, External Vice-President, Director of Community Affairs, Secretary, Treasurer, and the Second and Third, Year Representative positions.
b. A general election. shall be held in the Fall to fill the First Year Representativepositions.
c. The general elections shall be administered by the Elections Committee.
Section 2 - Eligibility to Vote
a. All members, in good standing, of ASUCH, may vote in any election governed by the General Council.
b. For each class representative election, only members of that class, based on date of matriculation, may vote.
Section 3 - Special Election
a. The General Council may provide for a special election by a vote of a majority of its members present.
b. Upon presentation to the President of a petition signed by at least fifteen percent of the members of ASUCH, the General Council shall provide for a Special Election.
c. A Special Election shall be administered by the Elections Committee.
Section 4 - Election of Executive Positions
a. When only two candidates are seeking election to an office, a simple majority is required.
b. When three or more candidates are running for an office, each voter is to rank the candidates in order of preference.
1 .If one candidate is listed as first preference on a majority of the ballots, that candidate is elected.
2. If no candidate is elected by simple majority, the candidate with the least number of first preference ballots is eliminated and his/her ballots are redistributed to the candidates ranked next on those ballots.
3. This process of elimination of the candidate with the lowest count and redistribution to the remaining candidates is continued until one candidate receives a majority count of ballots.
Section 5 - Election of First Year Representatives
a. Subject to the provisions of this section, the election of first year representatives will be through the same procedure under Article IV, Section 4.
b. Each First Year section shall elect two representatives.
c. When only two candidates are seeking election both shall automatically be the
representatives of that section.
d. When three or more candidates are running for office, each voter shall rank
the candidates in order of preference.
1 .The ballots shall be counted and redistributed until one candidate has acquired a majority. This candidate shall be one representative.
2. To determine the second representative, the first preference ballots of the already elected representative shall be redistributed to the second preference on those ballots.
Section 6 - Election of Second Year Representatives
a. Each voter shall vote for up to ten candidates.
b. The ten candidates receiving the highest number of votes are elected as representatives.
Section 7 - Election of Third Year Representatives
a. Each voter shall vote for up to ten candidates.
b. The ten candidates receiving the highest number of votes are elected as
representatives.
c. The third year representative candidate receiving the highest number of votes
shall be the Third Year Class President.
d. In the event of a tie, the newly elected Third Year Representatives shall vote
to elect the Third Year Class President.
1. If this vote yields a second tie, those candidates who tied shall be Co-Class Presidents.
Section 8 - Referendum
a. Upon the presentation to the President of a petition signed by at least fifteen percent of the members of ASUCH, any act of the General Council must be submitted to a vote by the members of ASUCH.
b. The deadline for submission of a referendum petition shall be the date thirty days before the last day of instruction for that semester.
c. Any petition submitted after the date 30 days prior to the last day of instruction in any semester shall be deemed to have been submitted on the first day of the following semester.
d. A referendum submitted in a timely manner shall be put to a vote within twenty days of submission.
e. A referendum must be voted on by at least twenty-five percent of the members of ASUCH.
f. A two-thirds majority of those voting is required to pass a referendum.
Section 9 - Recall
a. A recall vote may be initiated by a petition signed by at least fifteen percent of one of the following:
1 . For recall of a member of the Executive Board, the petition shall be signed by at least fifteen percent of the members of ASUCH.
2. For recall of a second or third year representative, the petition shall be signed by at least fifteen percent of the members of the class of the representative sought to be removed.
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