The Constitution of the Student Congress

The current constitution of the Student Congress was ratified in spring 2024. The document declares the structure, defines the responsibilities and explains the procedures of the congress.

Preamble

An active and engaged student population is essential to the success of the institution of Hope College. Student involvement in the governance of their education aligns with Hope’s mission to educate students for lives of leadership and service in a global society. Student Congress aims to live into this mission by understanding and empowering the voice of the Hope College Student Body. Student Congress will strive to ensure that all students are represented by fighting for their safety, working towards belonging, upholding a standard of transparency, striving for equity, instilling the agency to engage, and having the courage to innovate.

We the Students of Hope College hereby establish this constitution to advocate for the betterment of the student experience and to promote student engagement in the administering of their education.

Article I: The Student Congress

Section 1: Membership

The Student Congress will consist of a body of elected and appointed student representatives.
The Student Congress will be divided into the Appropriations Committee, the Assessments Committee, the Culture and Inclusion Committee, the Critical Issues Symposium Committee, and the General Congress. All references to ‘Student Congress’ herein will be to the conglomeration of the entirety of these groups.
The General Congress will be divided into the Executive Board, the Cabinet, the Class Council, the District Representatives, the Culture and Inclusion Committee and General Congress Representatives. All references to ‘General Congress’ herein will be to the conglomeration of the entirety of these groups.

Section 2: The General Congress

The General Congress will be responsible for representing the student body on all matters of student concern.
The General Congress will consist of all Cabinet and Executive Board members (as dictated by Article II and Article III), as well as district representatives, class representatives, and campus representatives. These representatives will be apportioned as dedicated by Appendix A.
The General Congress will be elected as per Article I, Section 4
The term of office for the Critical Issues Symposium Chair shall begin at their election and end on the last day of the following fall semester. If a student studies off campus or otherwise opts to only hold a position for one semester, their term of office will end on the last day of the semester in which they hold office. For all other positions, the term of office shall end on the Monday after Spring Commencement Ceremonies. All positions must be re-applied for or re-elected for the new term, excluding those in vice positions.
All General Congress members shall be voting members, excluding the Secretary, President, and Presider unless otherwise indicated.
A quorum must consist of two-thirds of the total General Congress membership, excluding non-voting members, and is needed to vote on any matter.
In the event that there is a legislative action being brought to the full General Congress that is of a significant nature, there is a requirement for it to be disseminated five calendar days before the floor is opened for discussion and a formal vote. If desired by any General Congress member, the General Congress should be granted the opportunity to formally discuss a matter of significant importance before they are asked to vote. Significant proposals shall include but are not limited to major amendments to the Constitution, beliefs statements (Appendix D), the Student Activities Masterbook, assessment reports, or recommendations of policy change to the administration.
The General Congress will be responsible for approving, by majority vote, any allocation of the Student Activities Fee that exceeds $1500, as recommended by the Student Congress Appropriations Committee. This includes the approval of the Masterbook Budget for Student Groups.
Any meeting of Student Congress will be open to the public unless the presider determines that a session shall be closed due to the nature of the business being discussed. A closed meeting shall be called an Executive Session and all matters discussed therein shall be strictly confidential.
A visitor can speak at a General Congress meeting only if recognized by the presider.
The General Congress will meet weekly, barring any extenuating circumstances or scheduled academic breaks.
Any member of the General Congress may present policy to the presider and the Congress.
Any member of Congress will be responsible for serving as a representative on a campus governance committee, as outlined in Article I, Section 3.
In certain cases, a voting member may be required to recuse themselves from a volte. Recusal from a vote shall be determined as dictated by section 45:4 of Robert’s Rules. The Chief of Staff should be familiar with the recusal article of Roberts Rules, and should advise the General Congress on which members are required to recuse themselves from a vote.
Office Hours for all positions requiring them, as dictated by Articles II and III, will be posted on social media and the Student Congress website by the first General Congress meeting of each semester. These listings will indicate the member’s whereabouts if the office hour does not occur in the Jim and Martie Bultman Student Center.

Section 3: Board and Committee Appointments

The Vice President will, with the consultation of the Executive Board and the Cabinet, appoint General Congress members to the campus governance committees. Returning representatives will have a preference to return to their previous committees if desired. The Vice President may appoint Student Congress members outside of the General Congress membership if deemed necessary.
If a board or committee placement is vacated, the Vice President will appoint a replacement to fill the vacancy.
All board and committee appointments will be completed before or during the second meeting of the General Congress of an academic year.
A board or committee appointment may be appealed in writing by any member of Student Congress to the Cabinet. The Cabinet will consider this appeal and may overturn the appointment by a majority vote. This decision can be appealed to the General Congress wherein the issue will be decided based on a two-thirds majority vote after the Cabinet provides justification for the appealed decision.
The Executive Board and the Cabinet will represent the Student Body on appropriate boards and committees when the full Congress is not in session prior to the fall elections.
The Vice President will be responsible for being in communication with board and committee chairs and monitoring Congress members’ attendance at board and committee meetings. Upon three unexcused absences, the member will be subject to a mandatory attendance review as dictated by Article I, section 6.

Section 4: Elections

Elections shall be run by the Chief of Staff, with the assistance of the Vice President, unless either is running for a position on Student Congress. If this occurs, a Student Congress member is to be nominated by the General Congress and approved by a two-thirds majority vote to fill the position. The overseer of the election is not permitted to give any student advice on which candidate to vote for. The overseer of the election is not permitted to provide any indication regarding the outcome of the election before the close of voting.
Election cycles will be a two week period: the first week for position applications and the second week for voting. The results will be announced to the represented population within the following week of the election cycle by the Chief of Staff.
If the number of applicants totals equal to or less than open seats for a position, the candidates running for the position will immediately be elected, contingent upon obtaining their position’s required signatures as dictated by Article I Section 4.
In the case of a tie in any Student Congress election, a runoff election with the same eligible voters will be held within one week with a ballot including only those candidates who received tie votes in the original election.
The positions of President and Vice President will be elected by an all-campus ballot during the spring semester.
Class Representatives (Sophomore, Junior, Senior) will be elected following both the election of the President and Vice President and the appointment of the Executive Board and Cabinet.
Freshman Class Representative elections will take place in mid-November, following the same procedures for candidacy as other Class Representatives. The two elected representatives will start their terms at the beginning of the spring semester.
Every election cycle, a voter may cast one ballot for their class representative, one ballot for their district representative, and one ballot for the President and Vice President.
In order for a candidate’s name to be put on the ballot, the candidate must file a petition by the deadline given in the application which will be no less than twenty-four hours before the voting period begins.
1. Candidates for President and Vice President must obtain two hundred signatures from students in any district.
2. Candidates for Class Representative must obtain fifty signatures from students in their respective cohorts.
3. Candidates for district representation must obtain a number signatures proportional to the size of their district. All signatures must be from members of their respective district.
  1. Lichty, VanVleck: twenty signatures
  2. Durfee, Gilmore, Scott, Wyckoff, Voorhees, Neighborhoods, and off campus housing: twenty-five signatures
  3. Phelps: thirty signatures
  4. Dykstra, Kollen, Cook: thirty-five signatures
4. Signature requirements may be modified for all candidates in light of mitigating circumstances after a majority vote by the Executive Board.
Candidates for all positions are subject to academic, judicial, and financial reviews, conducted by Student Development, in order to confirm that the student is in good standing with the college.
1. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required in order to run for any Student Congress position. The Chief of Staff shall notify the disqualified candidate in writing.
2. Any individual seeking a position at the Executive or Cabinet level shall be prohibited from holding office if they are currently subject to probation or judicial review by Hope College. The Chief of Staff shall notify the disqualified candidate in writing.
No digital signage will be allowed anywhere on Campus property.
Verifiable proof that election rules were violated will result in expulsion from the election and a report will be filed with the Hope College Student Judicial Board
All candidates for congress positions must maintain the utmost integrity when campaigning. Violations of this policy include but are not limited to, any probable voter coercion, bullying, exceptional inducements, unethical campaigning, including but not limited to compensating individuals’ votes with US currency or other soft currency, any behavior that would not be representative of an honorable leader, or any other behaviors in violation of the student handbook policy. In the event of a reported/alleged violation of this policy, the Executive Board may disqualify a candidate by a majority vote. An appeal can be made to the General Congress and the Executive Board decision can be overturned by a two-thirds supermajority.
Campaigning of any kind is not allowed in computer labs, the library, or any room that is the official classroom space of any academic course.
Student Congress will not endorse any candidate or sponsor any election material.
In the case of an opening on Student Congress, refer to Article I, Section 7.

Section 5: Selection

The Chief of Staff will oversee the selection process for the incoming Executive Board, in conjunction with the President and Vice President-Elect.
The Executive Board will be selected by an application and interview process after the President and Vice President election results have been determined and announced.
The Executive Board will be selected by an application after the President and Vice President election results have been determined and announced.
A Chief of Staff Elect will be chosen by the President and Vice President-Elect, with the consultation of the current Executive Board.
Executive Board Selection Timeline of Events: Starting in mid-March, one week for applications, and one week for interviews, within the week following interviews, the President, Vice President, and Chief of Staff Elects will consult with the current Executive Board to select the vice Controller, the vice Chief of Culture and Inclusion, and the vice Chief of Assessment. The results will be announced in the two days after this consultation.
If a vice applicant desires a term length accommodation during their term as vice, they must disclose so during their application process. The vice may be granted a term length accommodation at the discretion of the Chief.
The Cabinet will be selected by an application after the Executive Board has been selected.

Section 6: Attendance

Congress members must have at least three days' notice, written if possible, of the meeting time and place if the meeting is taking place outside of the normal meeting time. If the members are not alerted at least three days prior, they are not required to attend the meeting.
Each member of Student Congress is allowed two unexcused absences per academic year. In addition to these two unexcused absences, each member is apportioned two excused absences per semester and an indefinite number of absences permitted by the 50/50 policy. The 50/50 policy is hereby defined as a Congress member may attend another conflicting function, but only with the stipulation that he or she forgoes the next conflicting event for a Congress function. Members holding positions that mandate office hours, as specified in Article II and III, are allowed a maximum of two excused absences and one unexcused absence for office hours per semester. The number of excused absences that are apportioned can be adjusted for extenuating circumstances under Attendance Review or per the discretion of the Vice President and the Secretary.
If a member of Student Congress is unable to regularly attend meetings, including but not limited to class schedule conflicts, athletic practices, etc, the member will be relieved from their position and it will be filled as dictated by Article I, Section 8.
An excused absence shall be given at the joint discretion of the Vice President and Secretary.
A member of Congress must be present at the meeting for the full duration of the meeting unless excused by the Vice President.
If a member is absent without excuse three times, the member will be subject to a mandatory Attendance Review by the Vice President, Chief of Staff, and the Secretary. The Secretary will notify the member under review via email. The member under review will have the opportunity to state the circumstances of the absences. The Vice President, Chief of Staff, and Secretary may jointly agree to accept their reasoning and the member under review will be allowed to continue in Congress. If another unexcused infraction of the Attendance Policy occurs during the academic year, or it is deemed necessary by the Vice President, Chief of Staff, and Secretary, the Attendance Review Committee will meet in Executive Sessions to discuss the issue of whether or not removal from office is in order.
The Attendance Review Committee will be chaired by the Vice President and consist of four additional members determined by a random drawing from a pool of persons who are currently elected General Congress Representatives. These names are to remain anonymous to all Congress Members except the Vice President, the Chief of Staff, the Secretary, and the members of the Committee.
A simple majority vote of the Attendance Review Committee will constitute the removal of the member from office. The Vice President will vote only in the case of a tie.
The Vice President will be responsible for notifying the member under review of the committee’s decision and rationale within two days of the committee’s decision. The member will be notified via email. If the member has been removed, the Vice President will be responsible for notifying the General Congress of the committee’s decision at the next Congress meeting.
If the member under review wishes to appeal the decision, the issue will be brought to the General Congress. The appellate will then be allowed to make rebuttals to the Attendance Review Committee’s rationale to General Congress. General Congress will decide the issue on the basis of a three-fourths majority vote needed for expulsion, with the Executive Board abstaining. The Cabinet should not make a recommendation as to how the General Congress should vote. The appellate will not be present for either discussion or voting.
Any member who is reviewed because of absences and allowed to remain in Congress will be allowed one more unexcused absence. Any member who misses two meetings unexcused after being reviewed will automatically be removed from office. If removed, the vacancy will be filled per Article I, Section 8.

Section 7: Accountability

The Executive Board and Cabinet will have the power to jointly recommend the removal of any representative of Student Congress. The removal of a representative must be approved by a three-fourths majority of Congress.
The General Congress will have the power to remove an Executive Board or Cabinet following a recommendation by five or more members of the General Congress, submitted to the president, or vice president in the case that the president is the member pending removal. The removal must be approved by a three-fourths majority of Congress. In this event, the vacancy will be filled per Article I, Section 8.
The students in a district may petition to remove their hall representative from Congress by obtaining a number of signatures proportional to the size of their district. The requirements are as follows:
1. Lichty, VanVleck: twenty signatures
2. Durfee, Gilmore, Scott, Wyckoff, Voorhees: twenty-five signatures
3. Phelps, and off-campus housing: thirty signatures
4. Dykstra, Kollen, Cook: thirty-five signatures
  
  A petition with the required number of votes can be submitted to the student Congress Advisor. Congress will then consider the removal of the member. A three-fourths majority vote will be required.
The students of any class level may petition to remove their class representative from Congress. To remove a class representative the petition must garner signatures from at least ten percent of the class. A petition with the required number of votes should be submitted to the Student Congress Advisor. Congress will then consider the removal of the member. A three-fourths majority vote will be required. If Congress does not remove the member, the class can then create a new petition with a requirement of twenty percent of the class for automatic removal of the member. This process will be done in collaboration with and assisted by the Student Congress Advisor.
The Executive Board and Cabinet will have the power to jointly recommend the removal of a representative of Congress from any board or committee without calling for their removal from Congress as a whole. The removal of a representative from a board or committee must be approved by a three-fourths majority of Congress. The President will appoint a replacement, subject to approval as per Article I, Section 8.
If a concern or complaint is made about a Student Congress member it should be submitted either in written form or electronically to the Student Congress advisor.
Following the submission of a complaint, or in any situation deemed necessary by the president and the Student Congress Advisor, an investigation committee will be formed consisting of the Student Congress Advisor, the Executive Board, and any other representatives of Congress as deemed necessary by the Chief of Staff.
The committee will investigate the reported infraction through communication with the students involved, as well as related Hope College Offices. If the member in question is a member of the Executive Board or Cabinet, they will not be included on the investigation committee. General Congress will not be notified about the investigation or the offense unless deemed necessary by the Executive Board.
The course of action for the committee following an investigation are as follows:
1. First Step: The Investigation Committee shall meet and discuss the issue(s) believed to be of importance, as well as decide on a course of action for steps two and three. Student Congress and/or Cabinet will be notified via email.
2. Second Step: The representative under investigation will meet with the Student Body President and the Vice President to discuss the issues that are believed to be of importance.
3. Third Step: The representative shall meet with the Advisor and discuss disciplinary action. This may take the form of immediate expulsion from Congress, a formal apology to those harmed by the representative’s actions, or the creation of a disciplinary contract, where failure to comply results in expulsion from Congress. However, since every situation is unique, it will be up to the discretion of the advisor and the investigation committee to determine the exact nature of the consequence.
4. The investigation committee shall then be disbanded following the termination of the investigation.
If deemed necessary, the investigative committee will have the power to immediately expel a representative of Congress following an investigation. To do so, the investigative committee must reach a two-thirds majority consensus with the approval of the Student Congress Advisor.
In the event that the investigation involves discrimination or harassment towards any underrepresented student population, the role of the President in Article 2 Section 2b will instead be performed by the Chief of Culture and Inclusion and Vice Chief of Culture and Inclusion, respectively.

Section 8: Vacancies and Succession

In case of a resignation or dismissal of an elected Student Congress representative other than the President or Vice President, the position will be opened up for reelection, whereupon candidates are required to collect a petition which satisfies the required amount of signatures of their position (as described in Article I, Section 4). If no candidates decide to run, then the representative will be chosen via an interview process of interested parties within the district/class; candidates will then be recommended jointly by a majority vote of the Executive Board and Cabinet, and subject to Congressional approval by a majority vote. This secondary election process will be overseen by the Chief of Staff, who will be responsible for communicating the openings, providing the guidelines for candidacy, and announcing the winner. In the case of a tie, there will be a runoff election.
In the case of a resignation or dismissal of an appointed Student Congress representative, the position will be reopened and another selection cycle for that candidate will be initiated by the Chief of Staff as dictated by Article I, Section 5.
If the President can no longer fulfill the duties of the office, the Vice President will become the President.
If the President and Vice President are not able to fulfill the duties of the President, the Chief of Staff will become interim President until a special election can be held (campus-wide to elect a new President or Vice President). Both of these emergency elections would be run by the Chief of Staff unless they were running for either position, in which case the Cabinet will appoint a Congress Member, via majority vote, to administer the election.
If the Vice President, Chief of Staff, or any Cabinet member not aforementioned can no longer fulfill the duties of his or her respective office, the Student Congress will elect a member of Congress to fill the position by a majority vote.
If the Controller, Chief of Assessment, or Chief of Culture and Inclusion can no longer fulfill the duties of the office, the Vice Chief for the respective role will fill the position. In the absence of a Vice Controller, the position will be filled by a majority vote, following the recommendation of the Student Congress Appropriations Committee.

Section 9: Constitutional Revision

The Constitution should be the governing document of the Student Congress.
When a discrepancy arises between the Constitution and another governing document, the principle stated in the Constitution should prevail unless amended during constitutional revision.
Every two years, a Constitutional Revision Committee will be organized by the Executive Board to revise the Constitution
The Chief of Staff has the authority to call for a Constitutional revision at any time.
The Chief of Staff will chair the Constitutional Review Committee. The Committee shall be composed of a selection of Executive Board, Cabinet, and General Congress members.
In the event that the Chief of Staff cannot chair the committee, a chair will be selected by the President and must be a member of cabinet but cannot be the President, the Vice President, or the Controller.
At the discretion of the Chief of Staff, committee members will propose amendments to the Committee
Unless a meeting is deemed a closed meeting by the chair, meetings should remain open for guests to attend and discuss. The chair of the committee should dedicate no less than one meeting to be open for any General member to attend and share their opinions. Meeting guests are not to vote on any committee matters.
The committee must vote by majority to send a proposed amendment to the General Congress for ratification
Any proposed Constitutional Revisions must be approved by a three-fourths majority of all General Congress Members, present or otherwise. A quorum of General Congress must be present for discussion of Constitutional Revisions.
Following approval by General Congress the revisions will then be presented to CoCAC for approval for them to be fully put in place
The Appropriation Charter and Fiscal Responsibility Policy will be revised at the discretion of the Controller with assistance from the President and Chief of Staff.

Section 10: Task Forces

There will be three Task Forces within the General Congress that align with the missions of the three Campus Governance Boards. These Task Forces will be the Academic Affairs Task Force, the Administrative Affairs Task Force, and the Campus Life Task Force.
Each task force will be responsible for working on projects tabled to or otherwise designated to them by the General Congress, the President, or the Executive Board.
Each member of the General Congress that is not on the Executive Board or Cabinet will be assigned to a task force by the Vice President. These assignments will be determined by the conclusion of the second regular meeting of the General Congress each academic year. Returning General Congress Members will have the preference to return to their previous task force assignment if desired.
The Task Force Chairs will serve as members of the Cabinet during the year and will report the status of the task forces at the Cabinet, Executive Board, and General Congress meetings at the discretion of the President.
Each task force will be chaired by a Task Force Chair and will be selected as dictated by Article I, Section 5.
The President may create a temporary task force for a specific, pressing issue when deemed necessary.

Section 11: Class Council

Each class shall elect two representatives who shall serve to represent the interests of their class in Student Congress.
The Class Council shall consist of the Vice President and two representatives of each class.
The Class Representatives shall elect from among themselves a Class Council Chair at the first Class Council meeting of the Academic Year. The President, Vice President, and Chief of Staff shall not be voting members for the selection.
The Class Council will be responsible for representing the concerns of each class to the General Congress and for sending a monthly newsletter with relevant information to each class.
Class Representatives will be elected as dictated by Article I, Section 4.

Article II: Voting

Section 1: Voting Members

Every member of the General Congress is entitled to one vote in matters brought before the General Congress, except for the presiding member of the session in which the vote is conducted, in addition to the Secretary, President, and Vice President.
Recusal from a vote shall be determined as dictated by section 45:4 of Robert’s Rules. The Chief of Staff should advise members on when they are required to recuse themselves from a vote.

Section 2: The General Congress

The General Congress shall follow the voting procedure as outlined in the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.
As a motion to vote shall be necessary to vote on any matter, any voting member can motion for a vote.
1. A motion to vote requires a second from any voting member in order to proceed to the voting procedure.
2. In the event that there is a legislative action being brought to the full General Congress that is of a significant nature, there is a requirement for it to be disseminated five calendar days before a formal vote can occur. Significant proposals shall include but are not limited to major amendments to the Constitution, beliefs statements as listed in Appendix D, the Student Activities Masterbook, assessment reports, or recommendations of policy change to the administration.
3. A motion to vote shall only be considered if there is a quorum of voting members present at the meeting of the General Congress.
The method of voting on any significant issues shall occur with the guidance of the Vice President.
1. The Vice President, in consultation with the Executive Board, shall determine the most effective method of voting.
2. Members of Congress may vote in the affirmative, negative, or choose to abstain from voting provided they are not previously prohibited from voting under Section 1 of this Article. Non-voting members including those recusing themselves shall not count towards the total number of members required in determining a majority.
A vote on any issue not considered a significant issue shall be conducted by a voice vote in accordance with Robert’s Rules.
A simple majority vote is sufficient for passage of measures except those outlined here:
1. The removal of a member of the Executive Board or member of the General Congress in the case of a petition shall be subject to a three-quarters majority vote.
2. Approval of Reports from the Assessment Committee are subject to a three-fourths majority vote to be approved by the Congress.
3. The affirmation, in case of appeal, of the expulsion of a member on the account of attendance or by the Financial Review Committee outlined in Article III, Section 4F shall be subject to a three-quarters majority vote.
4. Any proposed Constitutional Revisions must be approved by a three-fourths majority of all General Congress members.
5. The override of an Executive Board decision on election disqualification shall be subject to a two-thirds majority vote.
Voting shall occur only within the session during which the motion to vote was made.
The Presiding Officer shall verbally announce to the General Congress the results of each vote at the conclusion of the voting period and prior to adjournment of the body.
The Vice President shall assist the Secretary in keeping a record of the result of each vote brought before the General Congress, the Cabinet, and the Executive Board.
The results of a vote shall be disseminated to all affected parties by the Vice President.

Article III: The Executive Board

Section 1: Purpose

The Executive Board will consist of the President, Vice President, Chief of Staff, Controller, Vice Controller, Chief of Culture and Inclusion, Vice Chief of Culture and Inclusion, Chief of Assessment, and the Vice Chief of Assessment.
The Executive Board will be responsible for guiding the mission of the Student Congress and all of its subdivisions.
The Executive Board will hold an official meeting, with the Student Congress Advisor present when possible, weekly, when class is in session, barring scheduled academic breaks or other extenuating circumstances. The President may decide to cancel a weekly meeting if deemed unnecessary, but the meeting can be called by a majority vote of Executive Board members.
Executive Board members will serve at least three (3) office hours each week in the Bultman Student Center. One of those hours must be with the members' direct report team. Vice members must serve at least one of the three hours with their direct report.
The Executive Board will have the power to call, by a simple majority vote of the Board, an emergency meeting of the General Congress in its entirety. The President will have the power to call an emergency meeting of the Executive Board as well as the Cabinet.
All members of the Executive Board cannot serve in more than one role in Student Congress for the duration of their term.
Executive Board Members with Vice positions are limited to a combined two-year term of Vice and/or Chief service.
At the conclusion of a member's role and after the election or selection of the successor, the current member will meet with the incumbent to transfer information and necessary documents.

Section 2: The President

The President will be the chief representative of the student body.
The President must advocate for student representation in all places where student-based decisions are made.
The President will be the chief officer of the Student Congress.
The President must maintain positive relationships with the college administration, including extensive knowledge of what each role does.
The President must maintain an extensive knowledge of all big-picture projects within Congress and the greater Hope College, as well as an intricate understanding of how each group in General Congress operates.
The President has the power to refer an issue or policy for further examination to a task force appointed by the President and chaired by a Cabinet member appointed by the President.
All positions on the Executive Board report directly to the President, and it is the responsibility of the President to engage with those roles frequently.
The President is the chief overseer of the cabinet.
The President will have the power to call, with proper notification, emergency meetings whenever necessary; provided the Congress meets weekly as per Article 9.9.
The President must attend monthly meetings with the President, Provost, and Vice President of Student Formation.
The President must preside over sessions of Congress when present.
The President will only vote in the case of a tie.
The President will serve a full term of 2 semesters on campus.

Section 3: Vice President

The Vice President is a significant contributor of shared Congress culture, ensuring every member is involved and assigned to task forces/committees.
The Vice President is responsible for planning the agenda and budgeting time for all General Congress meetings.
The Vice President must serve a full term of two semesters on campus.
The Vice President must maintain an extensive knowledge of all big-picture projects within Congress and the greater Hope College, as well as an intricate understanding of how each group in General Congress operates.
The Vice President will assist the Chief of Staff in all Congress-based elections.
The Vice President is responsible for running all General Congress meetings in adherence with Robert’s Rules.
All Task Force Chairs report directly to the Vice President, and it is the responsibility of the Vice President to guide and direct them.
The Vice President must attend monthly meetings with the President, Academic Affairs Board, and Dean of Students.
The Vice President must ensure each task force and level of Congress (Executive, Cabinet, General) has appropriate responsibility in the campus governance process.
The Vice President will coordinate the selection of the Secretary, Chief of Staff, Public Affairs Chair, Chief of Culture and Inclusion positions, Controller positions, and Social Media positions.
The Vice President will be responsible for preparing the weekly agenda and ensuring that the agenda and all relevant information–including but not limited to proposals–are disseminated to the Congress and Student Congress Advisor by email at least thirty-six hours prior to the next meeting.
The Vice President, with the aid of the Secretary, will be responsible for overseeing all Student Congress records, including but not limited to attendance and voting, and submitting those records to the Joint Archives of Holland.
In the absence of the President, the Vice President will preside over Congress sessions.
The Vice President is a voting member of Congress unless presiding.

Section 4: Chief of Staff

The Chief of Staff will be responsible for all Student Congress elections with the assistance of the Vice President when requested or by an appointed Cabinet member if the Vice President is a candidate.
The Chief of Staff will be responsible for the adherence to the Student Congress Constitution by all members of Congress, including but not limited to members of the Executive Board, the Cabinet, the Appropriations Committee, advisors, and other Student Congress Committees and Task Forces.
The Chief of Staff will be responsible for ensuring that all meetings of Student Congress follow parliamentary procedure guidelines found in the most recently published edition of Robert’s Rules of Order to a degree deemed necessary by the Chief of Staff, with the consultation of the Executive Board.
The Chief of Staff will assist the Secretary in attendance, voting, and submitting records to the Joint Archives of Holland when requested by the Secretary.
In the absence of the President and the Vice President, the Chief of Staff will preside over Student Congress meetings.
In the absence of a Secretary, the Chief of Staff will be responsible for Secretarial duties.
The Chief of Staff is responsible for the constitutionality and integrity of all proposals. Repetitious proposals will not be considered until adequate time has elapsed, at the discretion of the Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff will recommend the tabling of a proposal if it does not meet formatting requirements or quality standards.
The Chief of Staff must have served at least one semester on General Congress in order to be eligible to run for the position.
The Chief of Staff will be selected as dictated by Article I, Section 5.
The Chief of Staff must serve a full two term semester on campus.

Article IV: The Cabinet

Section 1: Purpose

The Cabinet will be the chief advising committee to the Executive Board under the direction of the President and will consist of the Executive Board in addition to the Secretary, Treasurer, Chief of Public Affairs, Public Affairs Coordinators, Critical Issues Symposium Chair, Task Force Chairs, and any other positions deemed necessary by the Executive Board.
Any reference herein to Cabinet will refer to the Cabinet membership inclusive of the Executive Board membership unless otherwise specified.
The Cabinet will meet no less than once every other week.
The Cabinet will assist in the functions of Executive Board Positions when requested.
Each member of the cabinet will serve at least one office hour each week in the Bultman Student Center with their direct report. However, Task Force Chairs must serve at least two office hours each week. If a member of the Cabinet holds two positions that require office hours, as dictated by Article II and II, that member must serve at least one office hour for each position.

Section 2: Chief of Public Affairs

The Chief of Public Affairs will be responsible for scheduling external events for General Congress, as well as assisting, when necessary, in the planning of events for all of the committees and task forces of Student Congress, including the Appropriations Committee, The Culture and Inclusion Committee, and the Critical Issues Symposium Committee.
The Chief of Public Affairs will be responsible for the unification of the Student Congress Brand through the oversight of a Student Congress Style Guide, Social Media, and Posters distributed by the Public Affairs Coordinators.
The Chief of Public Affairs will be selected as dictated by Article I, Section 5.

Section 3: Secretary

The Secretary will perform all necessary clerical functions of the General Congress and the Cabinet.
The Secretary, under the supervision of the Vice President, will take and distribute all minutes and other necessary materials, and submit records of Congress business to the archives.
The Secretary will not be a voting member of Congress.
The Secretary will be selected as dictated by Article I, Section 5.

Section 4: Treasurer

The Treasurer is the chief financial officer for all Student Congress spending, not including the allocations of the Appropriations Committee to all other student groups.
The Treasurer will be responsible for maintaining a record of all Student Congress Expenditures, ensuring the fiscal responsibility of Student Congress (excluding the Appropriations Committee), and managing all budgeting, including but not limited to reimbursement forms, department charges, and ad hoc requests for Student Congress.
No student on Student Congress, besides the Treasurer, shall turn in an ad hoc request, reimbursement form, or department charge for any Student Congress expenditures without prior approval from the treasurer.
The Treasurer will be selected as dictated by Article I, Section 5.
The Treasurer will ensure that there is no fiscal spending or use of reimbursement forms without the approval of the Treasurer.
If fiscal spending occurs without the approval of the Treasurer more than two times, the member responsible for the spending will be subject to a mandatory review by a Financial Review Committee composed of the Treasurer, Chief of Staff, Controller, and Student Congress Advisor. The member under review will have the opportunity to state the circumstances of the expenses. The Treasurer, Chief of Staff, Controller, and Student Congress Advisor may jointly agree to accept their reasoning and the member under review will be allowed to continue in Congress. If that member partakes in another unapproved expense during the academic year, or if it is deemed necessary by a majority of the Financial Review Committee will meet to discuss the issue of whether or not removal from office or other sanctions are in order.
If the Financial Review Committee votes to remove the member under review, they will have the right to appeal as outlined in Article II, Section 2E(c).

Section 5: Public Affairs Coordinators

The Public Affairs Coordinators will be responsible for the care and maintenance of the Student Congress website, social media presence, and all subsidiary web pages. The Public Affairs Coordinators will aid in the social media needs of and the creation of graphics for all of the committees and task forces of Student Congress, including the Appropriations Committee, The Culture and Inclusion Committee, and the Critical Issues Symposium Committee.
The Public Affairs Coordinators will serve under the Chief of Public Affairs and assist in all related tasks defined under Article III, Section 2
The Public Affairs Coordinators will be selected as dictated by Article I, Section 5.

Article V: The Appropriations Committee

Section 1: The Appropriations Committee

The Appropriations Committee will consist of the Controller, the Vice Controller, and up to ten appointed representatives from the Student Body. These representatives will be chosen jointly by the Controller, Vice Controller, and the Appropriations Advisor, through a campus-wide application process.
The Appropriations Committee will be responsible for the management and recommendation of all allocations of the Student Activities Fee, including the Student Activities Masterbook.
The Appropriations Committee will review the Student Activities Fee prior to the last week of class and develop a tentative recommendation to retain the current fee or raise or lower it. Over the summer, the Controller, Vice Controller, President, Vice President, and Appropriations Advisor will meet to develop a recommendation for the following academic year.
The Appropriations Committee will adhere to and operate under the Student Congress Constitution.
The Appropriations Committee will be governed by a supplemental Appropriations Charter and Fiscal Responsibility Policy under the Student Congress Constitution. In the event that these two documents are contradictory, the Student Congress Constitution will take precedence. The Appropriations Charter and Fiscal Responsibility Policy is outlined in Appendix C and is subject to Student Congress Ratification under the same process outlined for the Student Congress Constitution in Article I, Section 9.
If the Student Congress Appropriations Budget ends a fiscal year with a surplus, the surplus will be deposited to a special account, labeled the Contingency Fund. The surplus funds can be used to adjust current budgets, for special projects, or retained in the account for protection against possible deficits. The dollar amount of this account will be included in each financial report issued to Congress by the Controller.
Allocations of the Contingency Fund will be made upon the joint recommendation of the Executive Board and the Appropriations Committee, with majority approval of Student Congress. The Executive Board will provide at least one week’s notice to the Appropriations Committee and Appropriations Advisor of a proposal for allocation. The Appropriations Committee will make a recommendation to the General Congress alongside the recommendation of the Executive Board. Allocation will be approved by a majority vote of the General Congress.
Necessary summer allocations of the Contingency Fund or Student Activities Funds will be made upon the recommendation of the President, Vice President, Controller, and the Appropriations Advisor, with the majority approval of the Executive Board. General Congress will receive a detailed report of all such allocations at the first meeting following the fall election. These summer allocations cannot be for projects considered and voted on in the academic year preceding it.
The Appropriations Committee will have two Appropriations Representatives, other than the Controller and the Vice Controller, that will sit on General Congress. The Appropriations General Congress Representatives will be appointed by the Controller and Vice Controller at the first meeting in the fall semester and will be the representatives for the remainder of the academic year.
The Vice Controller will assist the Controller in all of their responsibilities in a learning capacity and will rise to the position of Controller at the conclusion of the term of the Controller. The Vice Controller will be selected as dictated by Article I, Section 5.

Section 2: Controller

The Controller will be the chief financial officer of the Student Activities Fund and all of its allocations.
The Controller will review records of the monthly expenditures and income of every organization funded by Student Congress and will review these records for signs of financial abuse.
The Controller will be responsible for the upkeep and availability of yearly budget expenditure records.
The Controller will give a financial report to the General Congress at the beginning of every semester.
The Controller will be selected as dictated by Article I, Section 5.

Section 3: Vice Controller

The Vice Controller will be chosen in a manner consistent with the Student Congress Constitution.
The Vice Controller will assist the Controller in all of their responsibilities and will rise to the position of Controller at the conclusion of the term of the Controller.
The Vice Controller is responsible for distributing to the committee a written or digital version of all materials necessary for general meetings.
The Vice Controller will act as secretary in all Appropriations Committee meetings.

As Secretary, the Vice Controller will be responsible for recording a summary of the business discussed during the meetings of the Committee and shall submit these records to the archives.

The Vice Controller will be selected as dictated by Article I, Section 5.

Section 4: Charter and Fiscal Responsibility Policy

The Charter serves to establish and outline the financial procedures of officially recognized student organizations of Hope College, specifically those funded by the Student Activity Fee, and to guide the administration of that fee for the creation and maintenance of social, cultural, political, and religious activities, open to all students; for the improvement of student life; and to augment the general student welfare (Appendix C).

Article VI: Culture and Inclusion

Section 1: The Culture and Inclusion Committee

The Culture and Inclusion Committee will consist of representatives from historically underrepresented minority student groups, including but not limited to the Black Student Union (BSU), the Latino Student Organization (LSO), the Asian Student Union (ASU), the Pan-African Student Association (PASA), Pan-Indigenous Student Organization (PISO), the Phelps Scholars Program (PSP), PRISM (LGBTQ+ Students), the Women’s Empowerment Organization (WEO), Hope Advocates for Invisible Conditions (HAIC), International Relations Club (IRC), First Generation Student Union, Campus Ministries Social Justice Team Representative, and Women of Color United (WOCU). The Center for Diversity and Inclusion Keppel House Manager (see paragraph H), as well as three appointed students chosen by the Culture and Inclusion Committee Chair as students who are culturally fluent and passionate about Diversity and Inclusion initiatives on campus will also serve on the Committee.
Each group listed above will be responsible for selecting their representative prior to the first meeting of the committee.
The Culture and Inclusion Committee will be chaired by the Chief of Culture and Inclusion.
The Culture and Inclusion Committee will meet weekly unless otherwise determined by the Committee Chair.
The Culture and Inclusion Committee will attend weekly General Congress meetings.
Culture and Inclusion Committee meetings will be closed to guests, including other members of Student Congress not on the committee, unless approved by the Committee Chair a minimum of 24 hours prior to the meeting.
The Committee Chairs will regularly relay relevant committee discussions and concerns with the Executive Board and Staff Advisor, as well as with General Congress when necessary.
The Keppel House Manager, a paid student through the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, will act as a liaison between the Culture and Inclusion Committee and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion professional staff.
If a representative is absent from the committee meetings three or more times, the committee members will assess the representative's status on the committee.
In the event that the Culture and Inclusion Committee accepts a new historically underrepresented minority student group, an emergency Constitution Revision Committee will be organized within a week of their acceptance in order for that group to have a voting representative in Congress. This process will be taken in accordance with Article I, Section 9 of the Student Congress Constitution.

Section 2: Chief of Culture and Inclusion

The Chief of Culture and Inclusion shall be responsible for ensuring equity and inclusion in all Student Congress actions and discussions.
The Chief of Culture and Inclusion will develop and plan projects and initiatives that encourage engagement of the student's voice, with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. These efforts should be programmatically centered, encompassing both the curricular and co-curricular goals of the institution, focused on direct engagement with student groups and organizations, and paying particular attention to the voice of the student body, especially those who have been traditionally underrepresented.
The Chief of Culture and Inclusion will act as a liaison between the Hope College President, the Hope College Culture and Inclusion Office, and Multicultural Student Organization leaders to assist with communication and action on key strategic issues.

Section 3: Vice Chief of Culture and Inclusion

The Vice Chief of Culture and Inclusion will assist the Chief of Culture and Inclusion in all of their responsibilities in a learning and facilitating capacity and will rise to the position of Chief of Culture and Inclusion at the conclusion of the term of the Chief of Culture and Inclusion.
The Vice Chief of Culture and Inclusion will be on campus during their time as Chief of Culture and Inclusion.
The Vice Chief of Culture and Inclusion is to attend all Executive, Cabinet, General Congress, Culture & Inclusion Committee, and administrative meetings in addition to Office Hours held by the Executive Board and Chief of Culture and Inclusion.
The Vice Chief of Culture and Inclusion will be responsible for the Minutes of weekly committee meetings
The Vice Chief of Culture and Inclusion will be selected as dictated by Article I, Section 5.

Article VII: Assessment

Section 1: Purpose

The assessment process will serve the Student Body by ensuring the best student experience possible through the accountability of the Administration of Hope College and its various departments. Assessment will examine student involvement in decision-making roles, accessibility of departments, and the service quality to all Hope Students.
Each Semester, the Assessment Committee will oversee the assessment of three co-curricular departments or programs. They will participate in interviews with staff or faculty members involved and also survey the general student body to understand the impact that the department has. At the conclusion of the data collection, the Assessment Committee will work to create a report through an examination of the strengths and weaknesses of the department culminating in a final recommendation and presentation of the report to the department or program being evaluated.
The schedule of department assessment is outlined in Appendix B.
The Assessment Committee will collectively complete a report for each department being assessed, then recommend approval of each report to the General Congress by a majority vote within the committee.
General Congress will approve the assessment report by a majority vote before it is disseminated to the department and the student population.

Section 2: The Assessment Committee

The Assessment Committee will administer the Assessment Program on the behalf of Student Congress and the entirety of the Student Body.
The Assessment Committee will be chaired by the Chief of Assessment.
The Assessment Committee will consist of the Chief of Assessment, The Vice Chief of Assessment, and three or more additional members jointly selected by the Chief of Assessment, the Vice Chief of Assessment, and the Executive Board.
The Assessment Committee will be responsible for scheduling interviews on behalf of the task forces, researching the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) relevant to each assessment, and drafting reports and proposals for the assessment process.

Section 3: Chief of Assessment

The Chief of Assessment will be a year-long position that includes a summer job with the Frost Center for Data and Research. The Chief will also serve on the Student Congress Executive Board. This position may also be split into summer and school year pieces so that two different individuals fill that position for the year.
The Chief of Assessment will be in charge of working with the Frost Center for Data and Research and the Assessment Committee to plan the year’s assessments. The Chief will present the plan to the Assessment Committee and also work with the Assessment Committee to present findings to General Congress.

Section 4: Vice Chief of Assessment

The Vice Chief of Assessment will assist the Chief of Assessment in all of the responsibilities of that role in both a learning and participating capacity, including, but not limited to supervising the assessments committee, collaborating with the Frost Center for Research on Survey and Data coding, finalizing Assessment reports, and presenting the Assessment reports to Student Congress and the College Administration.
A Vice Chief of Assessment will rise to the position of Chief of Assessment at the conclusion of the term of the Chief of Assessment.
The Vice Chief of Assessment will be selected as dictated by Article I, Section 5.

Article VIII: The Critical Issues Symposium Committee

Section 1: Critical Issues Symposium

The Critical Issues Symposium will provide an opportunity for the student body and the greater campus community to engage in an important and relevant topic by bringing in speakers and expert panelists, creating interactive events and discussions, and incentivizing student participation.
The Critical Issues Symposium is an equal partnership with the Office of the Provost, wherein students and faculty will have the opportunity to influence and plan this event.
The Critical Issues Symposium will occur once every fall semester on a day specifically set aside in the academic calendar. Class will not be in session on that day.

Section 2: The Critical Issues Symposium Committee

The Critical Issues Symposium Committee will work with the Office of the Provost to coordinate this event through the invitation of speakers, the planning of activities and discussions, and the creation of student incentives.
The Critical Issues Symposium will consist of the Critical Issues Symposium Chair and three additional members selected jointly by the Critical Issues Symposium Chair and the Executive Board from a pool of candidates from the entire student body.
The three additional members will be appointed as the Speaker Coordinator, the Public Affairs Coordinator, and the Special Events Coordinator.
The Speaker Coordinator will be responsible for researching, inviting, and organizing the speakers and panelists.
The Public Affairs Coordinator will be responsible for communicating with the Hope College Events & Conferences Office, the Public Affairs & Marketing Office, and any other college department involved with event planning. The Public Affairs Coordinator will work on any publication that is sent to the student body including, emails, posters, and social media, in conjunction with the Student Congress Public Affairs Chair and Social Media and Graphics Coordinators.
The Special Events Coordinator will be responsible for organizing all non-speaker-related events and initiatives.

Section 3: Critical Issues Symposium Chair

The Critical Issues Symposium Chair will chair the Critical Issues Symposium Committee.
The Critical Issues Symposium Chair will be responsible for coordinating the efforts of the Critical Issues Symposium Committee, assisting Committee members with their responsibilities, and being the chief liaison between the Office of the Provost, the Student Congress Cabinet, and the committee.
The Critical Issues Symposium Chair will be selected as dictated by Article I, Section 5.

Appendices

Appendix A: Campus Representation

District Representative Seats are to be allocated as follows:

Cook (2), Durfee (1), Dykstra (3), Gilmore (1), Kollen (3), Off-Campus (2), Phelps (2), Scott (1), Wyckoff (1), Voorhees (1), Lichty (1), Van Vleck (1), Neighborhood Representatives (9), Campus Representatives (no more than 5).

Appendix B: Departmental Assessment Schedule

The Assessment Committee will administer the assessment of on-campus co-curricular structures in accordance with the following schedule:

Year A

Fall: The Boerigter Center for Calling and Career, Campus Safety, and Dining Services.
Spring: Campus Ministries, Center for Diversity and Inclusion, and Equity and Compliance Office.

Year B

Fall: Admissions, The Health Center, and The Registrar.
Spring: Counseling and Psychological Services, Disability and Accessibility Resources, and Residential Life and Housing.

Year C

Fall: Orientation Programs (Orientation/Step2Success/Summer Bridge), Physical Plant, and Van Wylen Library.
Spring: Advising, Business Services/Financial Aid, and International Student Programs (Center for Off-Campus Engagement)

Every 3 years these lists will be reviewed by the Student Congress Executive Board in the Spring of Year C in order to reflect the structure of the College.

Appendix C: Appropriations Charter and Fiscal Responsibility Policy

PREAMBLE
The purpose of this document is to establish and outline the financial procedures of officially recognized student organizations of Hope College, specifically those funded by the Student Activity Fee, and to guide the administration of that fee for the creation and maintenance of social, cultural, political, and religious activities, open to all students; for the improvement of student life; and to augment the general student welfare.

ARTICLE 1: PURPOSE
The purpose and intent of the student financial system of Hope College is to judiciously allocate the monies of the Student Activities Fund, to provide a standard system of accountability to all student organizations for the student body, and to continually strive for the accomplishment of the goals stated in the Preamble. The officers and organizations shall be accountable to the Hope College student body for their actions.

ARTICLE 2: THE STUDENT ACTIVITIES FUND

2.1 The Student Activities Fund shall consist of the receipts of the Student Activity Fee and certain funds received by student organizations. The Board of Trustees sets the Student Activity Fee with the consultation of Student Congress Appropriations Committee and is charged through the Business Office.

2.2 The Student Activity Fee may not be increased more frequently than every two years. Proposed increases to this fee must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote of the Appropriations Committee.

2.3 The use of this fund in distribution, allocation, and expenditure shall in no way discriminate on the basis of race, sex, culture, ethnic group, or political orientation.

2.4 No members of the student body may be denied opportunity for participation in activities provided for by the Student Activity Fee.

ARTICLE 3: THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

3.1 The Student Congress Appropriations Committee will administer and allocate the Student Activities Fund.

3.2 The Appropriations Committee will consist of the Controller, Vice Controller, and at least six members. Members will be chosen by the Controller, Vice Controller, and the Student Congress Appropriations Advisor after application. No members of the Appropriations Committee shall be members of the Executive Board of Student Congress other than the Controller and Vice Controller. No more than half of the Appropriations Representatives to Student Congress members shall hold Cabinet positions on Student Congress.

A quorum consists of five voting Appropriations Committee members.

3.3 The Appropriations Committee will allocate a portion of the Student Activities Fund to officially recognized student organizations.

It reserves the right to make line-item specifications.
It reserves the right to set all student stipends in accordance with its best interpretation of the Hope College Student Stipend Policy.
It reserves the right to deny any organization funds for a specific action if that action is not consistent with the goals stated in the Preamble.

3.4 The Appropriations Committee reserves the right to formally examine the financial records of any organization funded by the Student Activities Fund. Individual Committee members reserve the right to audit student organization accounts as deemed necessary by the committee, under the supervision of the Controller and guidance from the Advisor.

3.5 The committee will meet once a week unless otherwise agreed upon by the committee.

3.6 It will make every effort to acquaint itself with the specific purposes and functions of the organizations funded by the Student Activities Fund.

3.7 No member of the Appropriations Committee shall participate in the discussion, participation, or voting concerning a proposal directly related to an organization or committee of which that Appropriations member is currently a member.

3.8 An Appropriations Committee member may be considered for removal following the joint recommendation of the Controller, Vice Controller, and the Advisor. This process shall follow the Accountability process as defined in Article I Section 7 of the Student Congress Constitution.

If the Appropriations Committee member serves as the Appropriations Representative to the General Congress, removal from the Appropriations Committee also serves as removal from the position on the General Congress.

ARTICLE 4: THE CONTROLLER

4.1 The Controller will be chosen in a manner consistent with the Student Congress Constitution.

4.2 The Controller will chair the Appropriations Committee and will be responsible for its agenda. The Controller shall not be a voting member of the committee. In the event of a tied vote, the Controller will cast a tie-breaking vote.

4.3 The Controller is the chief financial officer of the Student Activities Fund and all of its allocations

4.4 The Controller is responsible for the Appropriations Committee account and Contingency Fund. The Controller’s signature, along with that of the faculty advisor, is considered proper authorization for these funds.

The Controller will keep records of the monthly spending of every organization funded by the Student Activity Fee.
The Controller is responsible for making clearly known to all leaders of student organizations the consequences of overspending. These leaders must provide written acknowledgment of these consequences.

ARTICLE 5: VICE CONTROLLER

5.1 The Vice Controller will be chosen in a manner consistent with the Student Congress Constitution.

5.2 The Vice Controller will assist the Controller in all of their responsibilities and will rise to the position of Controller at the conclusion of the term of the Controller.

5.3 The Vice Controller is responsible for distributing to the committee a written or digital version of all materials necessary for general meetings.

5.4 The Vice Controller will act as secretary in all meetings.

As Secretary, the Vice Controller will be responsible for recording a summary of the business discussed during the meetings of the committee and shall submit these records to the archives.

ARTICLE 6: FINANCIAL HEADS

6.1 Each organization shall designate a financial head who is responsible for the fiscal condition of that organization.

6.2 The signature of either the financial head or the student leader of an organization as well as the signature of the organization’s advisor is considered proper authorization for the allocation of funds from the account.

6.3 The financial head will keep records of all income and all expenditures of that organization.

6.4 The financial heads of all organizations will meet in a forum called by the Controller not less than once a year, to discuss financial matters including the spring budgeting process.

ARTICLE 7: BUDGETING

7.1 There are two accepted methods in which organizations shall receive financial backing by the Appropriations Committee, to be disbursed from the Student Activities Fund: through the annual allocation process occurring each spring, and through Ad-Hoc requests throughout the school year.

7.2 Requests at the annual spring allocations process shall be considered in two categories:

Operational requests are the monies necessary for the continued operation of the organization.
Capital Requests are the monies designated for purchases of items that are permanent in nature, such as equipment. Items purchased as a result of approved Capital Requests must be kept by the organization for a minimum of three years, and shall be properly stored on-campus in accordance with Student Life procedures. All approved Capital Requests will be allocated from the Appropriations Capital Account.

7.3 Any monies not allocated during the spring shall remain in the Student Appropriations Account, from which Ad-Hoc Requests can be filled. Ad-Hoc consists of any requests not made during the spring budgeting process and come in three categories: Appeals, Additions, and Special Requests.

An Appeal is an Ad-Hoc request based on an inadequacy within the specific intentions of the current budget.
An Addition is an Ad-Hoc request made to expand upon the specific intentions of the current budget, but not to appropriate funds for requests which were submitted and denied during the original budgeting process.
A Special Request is an Ad-Hoc request made by an individual or group sponsoring a special event or project that will benefit the student body as a whole.
Any Ad-Hoc request under $1,500.00 shall be approved or rejected by a simple majority vote of the Appropriations Committee. Any Ad-Hoc request over $1,500.00 must also be approved or rejected by a majority vote of Congress following approval of the request by the Appropriations Committee.
Any Ad-Hoc request may be rejected at the discretion of the Controller in the event of insufficient funds.
Any Ad-Hoc request may be appealed by the organization to Student Congress on the grounds that the Appropriations Committee has violated any procedures outlined in this document. All appeals such as this fall under the jurisdiction of the Student Congress President and must be submitted within five calendar days of receiving the committee’s decision for the original Ad-Hoc request in order to be considered. The appeal procedure for an Ad-Hoc decision shall follow the guidelines outlined in Article 10.3 pertaining to all Appropriations Committee financial decisions.

7.4 If the Appropriations Committee has allocated the monies to each group as the Committee sees fit and the total for all groups is not within the required budget range, an across the board percentage cut will be issued. This percentage cut will be taken off the total of each group’s budget with the only exception being the Capital Request budget. It will be the responsibility of the individual groups to then determine where in their own budgets they can sustain a shortage of funds and spend accordingly.

7.5 If no monies in the approved budget of student organizations have been spent after 90 days from the official beginning of the academic year, then the entire budget /or all monies allocated to the group will be returned to the Student Appropriations Account.

The operating budgets of these organizations will have no funds available to spend after this 90 day period has passed.
After 90 days have passed, the Appropriations Committee will meet to review the constitution and activities of the organization in question.
If the organization wishes to regain control of these funds, the financial head of the organization must request a budget hearing from the Controller within 30 days of the seizure of these funds.
The intent of this section is to ensure that organizations still exist and to ensure that the Student Activity Fee is not funding inactive groups.

ARTICLE 8: STUDENT ORGANIZATION INCOME

8.1 Income is defined as money received by the organization in return for products or services.

8.2 Income levels will be determined by the student organization’s financial heads and approved by the Appropriations Committee.

8.3 The Appropriations Committee reserves the right to set specified income levels for all student organizations.

8.4 Income amounts set for an organization must be filled in full by the end of the fiscal year. Any income not earned by an organization will be counted as a deficit.

8.5 Any income earned by an organization over their allotted amount shall be reported to the Appropriations Committee and held under the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Committee to be allocated as follows only after the entire Student Activities Fund has been balanced and finalized:

50 percent to the Student Activities Fund
50 percent retained by the Student Organization that earned the income.

ARTICLE 9: THE ANNUAL ALLOCATION PROCESS

9.1 The Appropriations Committee will publish a schedule of hearings and submission deadlines for the budgets of student organizations seeking funding.

The budgeting process will take place during the spring semester of each academic year.
The schedule of hearings and deadlines will be published at least two weeks prior to the first scheduled budgeting deadline.

9.2 As dictated by the schedule published by the Appropriations Committee, each student organization will submit a budget request and appear before the committee to explain their request.

In the event that a new group is approved by the Co-Curricular Activities Committee after the conclusion of the budgeting process, they must submit a draft of their proposed expenditures to the Controller no later than the end of the fall semester of the fiscal year in which it was approved.

Revised 9.3 Each organization seeking funding must present the Appropriations Committee with a list of officers with leadership roles in the organization.

The officers of each organization must submit both a current membership tally as well as a reasonable estimate of the number of members of the student organization for the upcoming school year.
The officers of each organization must submit a general plan of intended programs for the upcoming school year.

Revised 9.4 At the conclusion of the spring budgeting hearings, the Appropriations Committee will prepare recommendations for the budget of the following year.

Records of reasoning for each decision will be maintained by the Controller.
A Contingency Fund will be maintained by the Committee totaling at least 2.5% of the cumulative budget.

9.5 Capital requests (See Article 6.2) will only be considered by the Appropriations Committee after all operating budgets have been determined.

9.6 After approval from the Appropriations Committee, the Controller will present the Committee’s recommendations to the Student Congress for approval.

At this time, the Student Congress will review the Appropriations Committee operating budget.
After approval by the General Congress, the Campus Life Board will review the final budgets to determine consistency and fairness.

9.7 After the Campus Life Board has reviewed and approved the recommendations of the Committee, the Appropriations Committee will return the finalized budget and reasoning to the student organizations requesting funding.

9.8 After the final budgets have been approved by the Campus Life Board, the Controller will submit the budgets to Business Services.

ARTICLE 10: APPEAL

10.1 Any Appropriations Committee financial decision shall follow the guidelines presented in this document. An appeal shall be warranted if a decision of the Appropriations Committee specifically violates any of the articles contained in this document.

10.2 Any Appropriations Committee financial decision for a specific organization shall be within the context of all student organization budgets. An appeal shall be warranted if the Appropriations Committee budgeting decision presents a clear discrepancy between the particular organization's budget and that of other Student Organizations.

10.3 Should an organization wish to make an appeal of the original Appropriations Committee budgeting decision, the following procedure should be followed:

Any organization wishing to appeal any Appropriations Committee financial decision must do so in writing to the Student Congress Controller within five calendar days of receiving approved budgets.
The Controller will then give this appeal to the Student Congress President. The president will be responsible for setting up a committee to make a final decision on this appeal. The committee will consist of five Student Congress members (one of whom is the president, and none of whom are Appropriations members). The Student Congress Advisor and Appropriations Committee Advisor will also be present. Only those submitting a written appeal may personally appear before the Congress sub-committee.
The Controller will have an opportunity to present the Appropriations Committee with justifications for the budgeting decision and the financial head of the organization making the appeal will have an opportunity to present that organization’s reason for appeal.
The final decision for an appeal can be expected within 10 calendar days of the receipt of the appeal.

10.4 Should an organization have an overdrawn account and be in debt at the end of a fiscal year, the following penalties shall take effect:

The amount of the debt shall be taken into consideration when budgeting for the organization the following year.
An overdrawn account shall exclude an organization from Special Requests and Capital Expenses in the following year, unless approved by a majority vote of Student Congress, if:

An organization budgeted for $1000.00 or less is overdrawn by $50.00 or more.
An organization budget for over $1000.00 is overdrawn by $100.00 or more.

Should an organization be irreparably (with irreparably being defined as 10% or more) over budget during the fiscal year, or in the estimation of the Appropriations Committee, be unable to stay within budget that fiscal year, the Appropriations Committee may do one or more of the following:

Appropriate funds from the Contingency fund to cover any outstanding or estimated debts.
Direct Business Services to accept no new expenses from that account, except for those which goods or services have already been received.
Withhold student salaries.
Recommend officers to the appropriate Judicial Board for disciplinary actions.

10.5 Any mandated disciplinary decision made by the Appropriations Committee can be appealed to the Student Congress President and will be dealt with in the same manner as detailed in Article 10.3.

ARTICLE 11: MALFEASANCE

11.1 Should an organization seek to deliberately deceive the student body in the expenditure, allocation, or distribution of the Student Activities Fund, the organization is subject to disciplinary action by the Appropriations Committee. Punishment may include fines issued to the organization; denial or withdrawal of Special Requests, Capital Requests or entire budgets; or any other actions described under Article 9.2c of this Charter. These decisions may be appealed to the Student Congress.

11.2 Should an individual seek to deliberately deceive, defraud, or cheat any organization or the student body of funds, that individual shall be subject to disciplinary action by the Appropriations Committee and the College. The Appropriations Committee may recommend the individual to any or all of the following persons for disciplinary action; Advisor of Appropriations, Student Congress Advisor, Dean of Students, Associate Dean of Student Life, Hope College Judicial Board, or Hope College Public Safety.

ARTICLE 12: AMENDMENTS

12.1 All areas of this charter may be amended by the following procedure:

The Student Congress Cabinet or the Appropriations Committee will present the proposed amendment to Student Congress.
Student Congress can amend or reject the amendment according to the same procedure for the amendment of the Student Congress Constitution.

ARTICLE 13: STUDENT CONGRESS FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY POLICY

Student Congress, recognizing the need for fiscal responsibility among all student organizations, has implemented a five tiered funding system. This system is intended to maximize the use of the Student Activities Fund so that every student dollar is used in the way intended.

The Controller, in association with the Executive Board, will look at all student organizations’ budgets 1 at the end of the fiscal year, June 30th. This review will happen no later than the Friday before classes begin. This will be the responsibility of the rising Executive Board that will serve in the following school year. After reviewing the budgets, these three members will decide if an organization needs to change to a different tier level and if any fiscal sanctions need to be put into place. The greater Cabinet will review any appeals as soon as possible, but these appeals must be received by the end of the second week of classes. In the event that an organization’s budget has been reduced due to the regulations of this document, the excess money will be directly placed into the Ad-Hoc fund in the Appropriations Budget. This money may then be used throughout the year under the discretion of the Appropriations Committee.

While it is required that an organization drop a tier level if overspending occurs, as spelled out below, it is the discretion of the Executive Board, with appeal to the Cabinet, to move an organization to a lower tier level than the one immediately below the tier they are currently on. This should only happen should an extreme grievance occur. The five tiers are outlined below:

Level One: An organization has not overspent in the past year; they show excellent fiscal responsibility:

The organization is in good fiscal standing and may present a budget request to the Appropriations Committee for the following fiscal year.

Level Two: At the end of a given fiscal year, if a level one organization has overspent by over 5% of their budget, the organization will be considered a level two organization and the following will happen:

The Executive Board will notify the student leader(s) and advisor(s) of the organization.
The organization will receive a budget no greater than the budget received in the previous year, even if the Appropriations Committee has already approved an increase in the proposed budget.
The Executive Board will take into account how much the organization has overspent and could make further modification to the budget, if deemed necessary.
A level two organization will not receive funding for capital requests.
If an organization maintains their budget while at level two, the following year they will be considered a level one organization.

Level Three: At the end of a given fiscal year, if a level two organization has overspent by over 5% of their budget, they will be considered a level three organization and the following will happen:

The Executive Board will notify the student leader(s) and advisor(s) of the organization.
The leader(s) of the organization must meet with the Controller or members of the Appropriations Committee once a semester.
The organization will receive a budget no greater than the budget received in the precious year, even if the Appropriations Committee has already approved an increase in the proposed budget.
The Executive Board will take into account how much the organization has overspent and will decrease the budget by at least 10% more if deemed necessary.
A level three organization will not receive funding for capital requests or ad-hoc requests.
A level three organization will not be allowed to ask the Appropriations Committee for more than their current allocation during the budgeting process for the upcoming year.
If an organization maintains their budget while at level three, the following year they will be considered a level one organization, however due to the previous stipulation, they will only be funded what they received as a level three organization.

Level Four: At the end of a given fiscal year, if a level three organization has overspent by over 5% of their budget, they will be considered a level four organization and the following will happen:

The executive Board will notify the student leader(s) and advisor(s) of the organization.
The leader(s) of the organization must meet with the Controller or members of the Appropriations Committee each month.
The advisor(s) of the organization must meet with the Controller once a semester.
The organization’s leader(s) and advisor(s) must meet with the Extra Curricular Activities Committee, or a like committee under the Campus Life Board, to discuss reform in the organization’s fiscal responsibility and the future of the organization.
The organization will receive a budget no greater than the budget received in the previous year.
The executive Board will take into account how much the organization has overspent and will decrease the budget by at least 10% more if deemed necessary.
A level four organization will not receive funding for capital requests or Ad-Hoc requests.
A level four organization will not be allowed to ask the Appropriations Committee for more than their current allocation during the budgeting process for the upcoming year.
If an organization maintains their budget while at level four, the following year they will be considered a level two organization; however, due to the previous stipulation, they will only be funded what they received as a level four organization.

Level Five: At the end of a given fiscal year, if a level four organization has overspent by over 5% of their budget, they will be considered a level five organization and the following will happen:

The Executive Board will notify the student leader(s) and advisor(s) of the organization.
The organization will not receive any funding from the Student Activity Fee.
A level five organization will not receive funding for capital requests or Ad-Hoc requests.
In order for the organization to be considered for funding in the future, the organization’s leader(s) and advisor(s) need to meet with the Extra Curricular Activities Committee, or a like committee under the Campus Life Board, as well as Student Congress, to discuss how they plan to correct and responsibly use their budget in the future.
It is the sole discretion of Student Congress to reinstate this organization for funding from the Student Activity Fee and at what tier level the organization will be placed.
Student Congress could ask this organization to repay any monetary grievances to the Student Activity Fee.

Appendix D: Student Congress Guiding Principles

Student Congress is committed to representing all students of Hope College. In order to do that best and to hold our organization accountable, it is essential that Congress acts in accordance with a set of values and principles that guide the work we do on a daily basis. These beliefs are not partisan or divisive, but rather aim to unite the organization around its support of the student body. These values drive the work of Student Congress, and narrate the interactions that we have with the student body and with the administration of the college.

Safety	Above all else, Student Congress stands for the safety of all students. As an organization, Congress will always keep student safety at the forefront of every conversation and will advocate for it when discussing issues and decisions with the administration. Safety^[1] is the expectation that each and every student on campus will not be in fear of danger, harassment, or unprecedented risk. Congress will strive for the ideological and faith-based safety of every student to feel confident expressing their beliefs. Safety serves as the base of the entire student experience, without it education and belonging are not possible.
Belonging	As an organization, Student Congress strives towards a campus where all students experience belonging. Belonging is a person’s ability to be celebrated, affirmed in their identity and the intersection of those identities, and treated with dignity throughout their college experience. We acknowledge that our students bring a variety of perspectives that can be in tension with each other. Student Congress values and provides opportunities to live into difficult conversations with many voices while expecting the mutual respect of each students’ humanity. Decisions made by Student Congress are led by the recognition that all people are made in the image of God and have a place in His kingdom.
Transparency	Student Congress is the official representative organization for the student body. Because of this, Congress is committed to transparency with its constituents; meeting minutes are published for every official meeting of General Congress, updates are consistently posted on social media, and semesterly summaries are uploaded to the website. Student Congress strives to maintain a mindset of openness within our leadership and our representatives. Transparency with students ensures the accountability of our elected body.
Equity	Student Congress believes that each and every member of the Hope community is made in the image of God. We celebrate diversity while also recognizing the systemic inequalities in our world that impacts students’ lives. Treating everyone equally is not enough when considering differences in privilege and access. Therefore, Student Congress is dedicated to equity in the actions we take and the work we produce. We are committed to listening to others’ needs and taking action when needed to ensure every student is receiving equitable access to their Hope College education and experience. In connection with this, we recognize the importance of empowering our members to increase their knowledge of the diverse world we function in, and what challenges are faced by different members of various communities. We are committed to continuously improving diversity, equity, and inclusion on Hope’s campus.
Agency	The Student Congress mission explicitly states our commitment to empowering the voice of Hope students. Empowering these voices means we believe in the power and value of student agency. Each student has a voice worthy of being valued and amplified. We empower each student to use their voice to continue to better Hope College. Student Congress members are dedicated to representing these voices and bringing student concerns to the administration. Students should be equal partners with the administration in determining the direction of their Hope experience. Thus, Student Congress will actively empower students to engage with the decision making processes of the institution.
Innovation	With all of the above-mentioned values in mind, Student Congress is driven to push for innovation. Congress will intentionally advocate to maintain and enhance student experience. We are committed to curating an academic and co-curricular experience that prepares students to be leaders in an increasingly global and changing society.

The aforementioned values of safety, belonging, transparency, equity, agency, and innovation are at the heart of what Student Congress advocates for as an organization. These beliefs, in conjunction with the mission of Student Congress, drive the way that the organization supports the student body, and works with administration to continually better Hope College.

This document was ratified by General Congress on Monday, April 4, 2022

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^[1] Safety is defined as compliance to the following Hope College documents:

Hope College Equity and Compliance Office Notice of Nondiscrimination
Hope College’s Christian Aspirations

The Revised Constitution was approved in full by the General Congress in a vote ending January 23, 2024.

The Appropriations Charter was approved in full by General Congress in a vote ending November 27, 2023.

The Constitution will be revised in the Fall of 2025.