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- Constitution of the

- Student Government Association at Johns Hopkins University

- Ratified: April 11, 2023

- Table of Contents

- ✔ Preamble

- ✔ Article I: Bill of Rights

- ✔ Article II: Name, Authority, and Membership

- ✔ Article III: Executive Branch

- ✔ Article IV: Legislative Branch

- ✔ Article V: Judicial Branch

- ✔ Article VI: Standing and Ad-Hoc Committees

- ✔ Article VII: Caucuses

- ✔ Article VIII: Removal Procedures and Vacancies

- ✔ Article IX: Amendments

- Preamble

- We, the Undergraduates of the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the G.W.C.

- Whiting School of Engineering, realizing the necessity for student self-governance and

- understanding the importance of strengthening student unity, representing student interests, and

- providing a forum for the exchange of ideas, hereby establish this Constitution.

- Article I: Bill of Rights

- All persons enrolled as undergraduates in the Homewood Divisions of the Zanvyl Krieger

- School of Arts and Sciences and the G.W.C. Whiting School of Engineering have equal rights as

- students under this Constitution, as do persons who may be extended such status by the Student

- Government Association.

- 1. The SGA will not restrict membership and/or activity by reason of age, citizenship,

- disability, gender, race, religion, political affiliation, or sexual orientation.

- 2. Students have a right to run or to be appointed to the SGA, provided that they shall be

- an undergraduate student in the Homewood Divisions of the Zanvyl Krieger School of

- Arts and Sciences or the G.W.C. Whiting School of Engineering throughout the

- following term of office.

- 3. Students have a right to attend all meetings of the SGA, and all minutes and proceedings

- of the SGA shall be open to student inspection, except those deemed secure by a closed

- session motion by the Senate.

- 4. Students have a right to free speech in all matters relating to the SGA. The spirit of this

- sentiment shall be extended to all student activities on the Homewood campus.

- Article II: Name, Authority, and Membership

- Section One: Name

- The official governing body of the Homewood Undergraduates shall be referred to

- as the Student Government Association at Johns Hopkins University (SGA).

- Section Two: Purpose

- The purpose of the SGA is to protect and improve the rights, opportunities, and quality of life

- for every Homewood undergraduate student at the Johns Hopkins University.

- Section Three: Authority and Supremacy

- 1. The authority of SGA is derived from the students of the Johns Hopkins University and

- collectively recognized by the University President and other administrators.

- 2. This Constitution, Bylaws, and Senate Procedural Rules Bill shall govern the SGA.

- 3. This Constitution shall supersede all other governing devices of student organizations,

- commissions, and committees.

- 4. The SGA shall be the principal representative body of the undergraduates of the Krieger

- and Whiting Schools.

- 5. No student group within the jurisdiction of the SGA shall enact a constitution, bylaws, or

- any legislation which conflicts or supersedes the authority of the SGA.

- Section Four: Membership

- 1. The SGA shall be composed of the legislative branch, executive branch, and

- judicial branch.

- 2. No student may serve as a member of more than one branch, except in the case of

- Class Programming Councils.

- 3. A student may run for or be appointed to an office, provided that they maintain a 2.5

- overall GPA and are an undergraduate student in the Homewood Divisions of the Zanvyl

- Krieger School of Arts and Sciences or the G.W.C. Whiting School of Engineering

- throughout their term of office.

- 4. Terms of Student Senate and Executive Branch members shall end on the date of the

- annual inauguration ceremony of the new SGA, and the terms of their successors shall

- then begin.

- Article III: Executive Branch

- Section One: Structure and Basic Responsibilities

- The Executive Branch shall serve as the internal governing body of the SGA. All executive

- power shall be invested in the Executive Branch. Such power involves day-to-day affairs of the

- SGA and carrying out the instructions of the Senate. All members of the Executive Branch serve

- as non-voting ex-officio members of the Senate. The Executive Branch shall be composed of the

- Homewood Undergraduate Student Body President, hereafter referred to as the Student Body

- President, and the President’s Cabinet. The Student Body President shall serve as the

- spokesperson of the Undergraduate Student Body at Homewood and faithfully execute acts of

- the Senate.

- The Student Body President shall have a President’s Cabinet to advise them on all matters

- related to the Student Government Association. In addition to advising the Student Body

- President through regular meetings, the President’s Cabinet shall have the following

- responsibilities:

- 1. Student Body Vice President

- a. Shall assist the President in all their duties.

- b. Shall succeed the President in case of their impeachment or

- resignation.

- c. Shall accompany the Student Body President to meetings with

- administrators when necessary.

- d. Shall ensure the President’s Cabinet and the Senate are making

- progress towards the goals set at the beginning of the administration.

- 2. Student Body Secretary

- a. Shall be responsible for the creation and maintenance of internal SGA

- infrastructure.

- b. Shall keep detailed minutes of each meeting and shall take a roll call

- of attendance and votes.

- c. Shall be responsible for all record-keeping in SGA.

- d. Shall have the power to appoint an Assistant Secretary, subject to the

- confirmation of a ⅔ vote of the Senate.

- i. The Assistant Secretary shall assist the Secretary in fulfilling

- their duties, although the Executive Secretary shall have the

- final say in all secretarial matters.

- 3. Student Body Treasurer

- a. Shall work with the Finance Committee to formulate an annual budget for the

- SGA.

- b. Shall assist with the funding of student groups.

- c. Shall act as the financial officer of the SGA, keeping all of its ledgers

- and coordinating with the Finance Committee.

- 4. Director of Communications

- a. Shall appoint and chair the Communications and Marketing Commission,

- composed as outlined in the Bylaws, which will be tasked with all matters

- related to the marketing and promotion of the SGA, including but not

- limited to

- i. Social media management.

- ii. Website maintenance and construction.

- iii. Graphic design.

- b. Shall be responsible for maintenance of all SGA email lists and shall serve

- as the point of contact for all SGA communications.

- 5. Director of Research

- a. Shall appoint and chair the Policy Research and Development Commission,

- composed as outlined in the Bylaws, which will

- i. Provide background research and policy advisement to senators at their

- request.

- ii. Compose policy reports to be published with the majority consent of the

- Senate.

- b. Shall refer policy reports to the Student Body President to deliver to relevant

- administration if applicable.

- 6. Chair of Programming

- a. Shall oversee the Executive Team of SGA’s Class Programming Councils –

- which are tasked with providing regular programming and class-specific events.

- These councils will not be members of the President’s Cabinet.

- i. Class Programming Councils shall be led by an Executive Team

- consisting of a Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer, elected via a class-wide

- election.

- 1. Elections for the Class Programming Council Executive Teams

- shall be administered by the CSE, with roles given to those who

- receive the greatest plurality of votes.

- 2. One’s class is determined using the institutional “student

- classification” definition, not one’s graduation year. For instance, a

- student who entered the university in 2019, but is graduating in

- 2022, would still be considered a junior for the purpose of SGA

- 2021-2022 elections.

- 3. Additional members of each Class Programming Council can be

- appointed by the three-person Class Programming Council

- executive team, subject to confirmation by a majority of the

- Senate.

- b. Shall facilitate collaboration both amongst the Class Programming Councils and

- amongst other programming bodies.

- The Student Body President shall appoint the Director of Social Affairs and Director of Research

- and have the freedom to appoint additional cabinet members at their discretion with the majority

- consent of the senate. All other positions of the Cabinet shall be elected by the student body

- through an election administered by the CSE.

- While Directors, the Chair of Programming, and the Class Programming Council Executive

- Teams are considered members of the Executive Branch, appointed members on the

- Commissions and Councils they oversee are not. As such, these members remain eligible for

- positions in other SGA branches.

- Article IV: Legislative Branch

- Section One: Structure

- The Legislative Branch shall be composed of the Student Senate and shall meet at least once

- a week during the fall and spring semesters.

- The Senate shall be comprised of the following representatives, elected from amongst their

- constituent groups:

- 1. Five Class Senators from each graduating class, totalling twenty class representatives.

- a. One of these representatives, who shall be the primary class representative and

- must run as a separate position on the ballot, shall be chosen by a classwide

- election for “Class President”. This position remains that of a Senator for the

- intent of the Senate.

- b. The remaining four representatives shall be chosen by a concurrent classwide

- election for “Class Senators”.

- c. Class representatives may serve as non-voting ex-officio members of their

- Class Programming Council if they so choose.

- 2. Seven Academic Senators from the Krieger School and Five Academic Senators from

- the Whiting school, totaling twelve representatives.

- 3. One Senator from each category of student organizations SGA recognizes, elected

- from amongst the student body, totalling nine representatives.

- 4. A Chair of each SGA Caucus shall be elected from amongst the student body, and be a

- Senator in the Senate, if the following conditions are met:

- a. The caucus must have been established in the SGA Bylaws prior to January 1st

- of the election year.

- b. The caucus must remain in existence at the time of elections.

- Representatives shall be chosen by raw vote total within each election (i.e. the top five

- representatives from each school are chosen).

- The Legislative Branch shall also have the authority to appoint a Senate Parliamentarian with

- the majority consent of the Senate. The Senate Parliamentarian shall be tasked with knowing

- and maintaining the Senate’s adherence to Robert’s Rules of Order and all governing

- documents of the SGA. The President of the Senate shall oversee this appointment process.

- Section Two: Presiding Officer

- The President and Vice President of the Senate shall be elected from amongst its

- members at the first Senate meeting following inauguration.

- 1. The President of the Senate shall preside over the meeting except in their absence or

- recusal, in which case the Vice President of the Senate shall chair the meeting. The

- chair of the meeting is hereafter referred to as the Presiding Officer.

- 2. The Vice President of the Senate shall be charged with facilitating communication

- between SGA positions and with fostering community amongst the membership.

- 3. In both cases, the election for President and Vice President of the Senate shall be

- facilitated by the Student Body President or, in their absence, the next position in the

- line of succession outlined in Article VIII Section Six.

- 4. At any time, a senator can motion for the re-election of the President or Vice President

- of the Senate. In such cases, the President of the Senate shall be granted five minutes

- to give their position on the matter. Thereafter, a vote to enable re-election shall be

- had amongst the Senate, facilitated by a JHU staff member. If the majority consent of

- the Senate for a re-election is reached, such an election shall take place through the

- same procedure as outlined in Section Two Part 3.

- 5. The Presiding Officer shall have a vote in matters of the Senate only when a tie exists.

- 6. After their election, the President of the Senate shall serve as a non-voting ex-officio

- member of the President’s Cabinet, and shall have the following roles and

- responsibilities:

- a. Shall preside over the Senate and set its agenda.

- b. Shall review legislation prior to adding it to the agenda.

- c. Shall refer legislation to the appropriate committee.

- Section Three: Basic Responsibilities

- Each senator shall have equal authority to cast votes and to introduce legislation during

- meetings of the Senate. No senator shall be restricted in their work on the basis of the

- constituent group from which they were elected.

- 1. All legislative power shall be invested in the Senate.

- 2. The Senate shall pass an annual Senate Procedural Rules Bill to govern special rules

- of each administration.

- 3. The Senate shall have jurisdiction over but not limited to: the appointment process

- of groups and finance, constitutional affairs, student life, and academic affairs.

- Section Four: Attendance

- 1. Attendance at Senate and Committee meetings is required of senators, and excused

- absences shall be granted at the discretion of the chair of the meeting for extenuating

- circumstances.

- a. If a member of the SGA misses 2 unexcused meetings per semester, they are

- automatically subject to impeachment.

- b. If the member misses a total of 4 unexcused meetings per semester, they are

- automatically removed from the SGA.

- 2. Attendance at another SGA event beyond the required Senate and Committee meetings

- can be required by the President of the Senate, but this requirement can be overturned by

- a ⅔ vote of the Senate.

- a. Further, in such cases, legitimate, previously held time conflicts shall be

- accommodated with an excused absence.

- Section Five: Special Rules

- 1. Proxy voting is not allowed; members must be physically present in meetings in order

- to vote.

- 2. All SGA meetings are open to the public except meetings that are closed by 2/3 (two

- thirds) of the Senate.

- 3. The Senate, in the spirit of open meetings, shall keep all votes public and shall only enter

- Closed Session to deliberate upon Impeachment and other sensitive matters deemed

- necessary by the Senate.

- 4. All documents, minutes, and proceedings of the Senate shall be open to the public

- for inspection, except those from closed meetings.

- 5. The Senate shall follow the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order to facilitate

- efficient communication in Senate General Body Meetings, unless suspended by a ⅔

- vote of the Senate.

- Article V: Judicial Branch

- Section One: Structure

- The Judicial Branch shall have jurisdiction on all matters relating to the SGA, including

- SGA-approved groups and their internal disputes.

- 1. Judicial shall be an independent branch, composed of:

- 1. The Judiciary Board, which shall be composed of five Justices, who shall

- elect a Chief Justice amongst them.

- a. Provided that Justices remain undergraduates of KSAS or WSE, they

- shall serve their term until resignation.

- b. Appointments to the Judiciary Board shall be proposed by the Student

- Body President, upon the advice of the Senate, and subject to the

- approval of 2/3 (two-thirds) of the Senate.

- 2. The Committee on Student Elections (CSE), which shall be composed of

- seven members who shall elect a Chairperson amongst them. The CSE shall

- be responsible for facilitating elections for all elected SGA roles.

- a. Appointments to the CSE shall be proposed by the Judiciary, upon the

- advice of the senate, and subject to the approval of 2/3 (two-thirds) of the

- Senate.

- b. Current SGA members are ineligible to be members of the CSE.

- c. CSE members shall serve for one academic year.

- 3. Membership of the Judicial Branch is detailed in Article 2, Section

- 4: Membership

- 4. Resignations of Judicial Branch members shall follow the details in Article VIII.

- Section Two: Basic Responsibilities

- 1. The Judicial Branch shall operate according to its own Rules and Guidelines.

- 2. The Judiciary Board shall be responsible for interpreting the Constitution and Bylaws,

- enforcing election procedures, and serve as the final avenue of appeal for all matters

- relating to the SGA.

- 3. The CSE shall operate according to its own Constitution and Election Rules and shall be

- free from SGA interference during election periods.

- a. Such rules may limit free speech rights of candidates during election periods, but

- not in a manner that disrupts a campaign atmosphere.

- b. The SGA Judiciary Board shall handle appeals of CSE decisions.

- Section Three: Attendance

- 1. Attendance at Judiciary Board meetings is required of Justices and attendance at CSE

- meetings is required of CSE members. Excused absences shall be granted at the

- discretion of the chair of the meeting for extenuating circumstances.

- a. If a member of the SGA misses 2 unexcused meetings per semester, they are

- automatically subject to impeachment.

- b. If the member misses a total of 4 unexcused meetings per semester, they are

- automatically removed from the SGA.

- Section Four: Judicial Branch Decisions

- 1. Decisions made by the Judicial Branch on matters relating to the Senate, Executive

- Branch, or election procedures may be encouraged for reconsideration by either a

- ⅔ vote from the Senate or from a petition containing signatures from 15% of the

- Homewood undergraduate student body.

- Article VI: Standing and Ad-Hoc Committees

- Section One: Standing Committees

- 1. Each committee shall choose its chair by a procedure established in the Bylaws.

- 2. The number and type of committees of the Senate shall be established in the Bylaws.

- 3. The duties and responsibilities of these committees shall be established in the

- Bylaws.

- 4. Committee meetings shall be open to students at large, unless closed by a ⅔ vote of the

- committee.

- 5. Committees, as per the Bylaws, may submit recommendations to the full Senate.

- Such recommendations are not binding themselves, and must be approved or denied

- by the body.

- 6. The President of the Senate shall, at the second Senate meeting, following the

- Bylaws, sort Senators into committees subject to confirmation by the Senate.

- Section Two: Ad-hoc Committees

- 1. The Senate may, by a 2/3 vote, convene ad-hoc committees to deal with matters of great

- importance. Such committees will expire at the end of an academic semester.

- Article VII: Caucuses

- 1. Caucuses shall be established by the Senate for representation of a defined body of

- students with unique challenges and perspectives, and which are currently represented by

- a cohort of student organizations. The number and type of caucuses shall be outlined in

- the bylaws; as such, a caucus can be proposed through a bylaws amendment.

- 2. A bylaws amendment establishing a Caucus shall include procedures for internal

- elections of a Chair for situations in which the Chair position is not eligible for a

- school-wide election, and for when vacancies in the role arise. Chairs must be confirmed

- by a majority vote of the Senate.

- 3. Any bylaws amendment which seeks to establish a caucus shall be accompanied with a

- non-legislative addendum outlining the following:

- a. Purpose of the caucus.

- b. Goals of the caucus.

- c. The first Chair of the Caucus.

- d. Why there is a need for this caucus on campus.

- e. The signatures of at least 50 interested individuals.

- 4. Caucus membership is open to all Homewood undergraduate students, including current

- SGA members.

- 5. The Caucus shall be chaired by the representative elected by a school-wide election as

- defined by Article IV Section 1, with one chair for each caucus.

- a. If the Caucus is not yet eligible for a school-wide election as defined by Article

- IV Section 1, the Caucus shall be chaired by the potential first Chair defined in

- the non-legislative addendum of the establishing legislation.

- 6. Caucuses must maintain a membership of 10 Homewood undergraduate students to

- maintain status as an SGA body. Caucus membership shall be defined in the Bylaws.

- a. If a caucus fails to meet the membership requirement by the last day of classes of

- a semester, that caucus will be considered to hold advisory status and the

- Secretary shall notify the Caucus Representative of their new status. A caucus

- may be removed from probation by meeting the membership requirement for a

- semester. If a caucus does not meet the membership requirement by the end of

- their second consecutive semester on probation, the Caucus will be considered

- inactive and the Secretary shall notify the Caucus Representative of their new

- status.

- b. In such cases, the portion of the bylaws which established the Caucus shall be

- considered null and void. The Caucus Representative shall remain an ex-officio

- member of the Senate, with no voting power, until such time as their Caucus is

- reestablished by legislative action.

- Article VIII: Removal Procedures and Vacancies

- Section One: Recall

- 1. The CSE shall hold a recall election for any SGA member upon receipt of a petition

- that contains an at least 50-word justification for recall and the signatures of no less

- than ⅓ of students eligible to vote for the position in question.

- 2. The recall election shall be held within two weeks of the CSE’s receipt of the recall

- petition.

- 3. All students eligible to vote in an election for the position in question shall be eligible

- to vote in the recall election.

- 4. A majority vote in said election may remove the representative from office.

- Section Two: Resignation

- 1. Any member of the SGA may resign by submitting a statement of resignation to the

- Student Body President.

- Section Three: Removal

- 1. Impeachments may be carried out for serious breaches of the Constitution and Bylaws,

- breaches of University, local, state, and federal laws or for a lack of good behavior.

- 2. Charges of impeachment against any member of the SGA shall be brought in the

- following ways:

- a. Any member of SGA may introduce impeachment charges, provided that they

- collect the signatures of at least one-third of the Senate membership and present

- them to the President of the Senate at a meeting of the Senate.

- b. Upon receipt of said document, an impeachment hearing shall be scheduled at

- least one week after the receipt of charges, and no later than three weeks later.

- Section Four: Impeachment Process

- 1. Members with clear conflicts of interest are asked to recuse themselves from

- impeachment proceedings.

- 2. Impeachment hearings shall be closed, and the accused shall have time to provide their

- defense. At no point shall the accused take part in any deliberation whatsoever.

- 3. After the accused has left the room, the Senate shall deliberate and then vote to

- remove the member in question.

- 4. Secret ballots shall be used, with no identifying marks. The election shall be administered

- by a JHU staff member.

- 5. A 2/3 vote of the entire Senate is needed to remove the member. If in the affirmative, the

- member shall be thanked for their service and dismissed.

- Section Five: Senatorial Vacancy

- 1. Vacancies in the Senate shall be filled by a process administered by the President of the

- Senate and Vice President of the Senate as designated by the SGA Bylaws.

- 2. In the case of a vacancy in the President of the Senate position, the Vice President of the

- Senate shall ascend to the role and an election for Vice President of the Senate held

- amongst the Senate members as previously outlined. The remaining Senatorial vacancy

- shall be filled by a process as designated by the SGA Bylaws.

- Section Six: Executive Branch Vacancy

- 1. The Student Body President shall be succeeded in the order in which the Executive

- positions are outlined in Article III Section One.

- 2. In the case of a vacancy in any other elected executive position that is not a Class

- Programming Council position, the Student Body President shall propose three current

- members of the legislative branch, and the Senate shall, by secret ballot, choose one to

- fill the vacancy. The Senatorial vacancy shall then be filled by the process outlined in

- Article VIII Section Five.

- 3. In the case of vacancies on the Class Programming Council Executive Team, the Chair of

- Programming, in conjunction with the remaining members of the Council’s Executive

- Team, shall solicit applications from the affected class and present a nominee to the

- Senate for confirmation.

- Section Seven: Judicial Branch Vacancy

- 1. In the case of a vacancy in the Judiciary Board, the Senate shall solicit applications

- within three days and then follow the regular appointment process.

- 2. In the case of a vacancy in the CSE, the Judiciary Board shall solicit applications through

- the regular process outlined in Article V. Once received, the Senate shall then consider

- those applications at the first General Body Meeting following application receipt that

- occurs outside of an election period.

- Article IX: Constitutional Amendments

- 1. This Constitution may be amended by a ¾ vote of the Senate.

- 2. Semantic Amendments

- a. Amendments related to incorrect grammar, terminology, or specifying

- acronyms may be made by the Internal Affairs without a Senate vote.

- i. Internal Affairs Committee will notify the Senate of these changes.