The Constitution of the Student Congress

Student Congress is the representative body of students whose purpose is to promote the welfare of the Student Body of Hope College. Its purpose is to deliberate and initiate policy in any area of student concern or improvement, including academics, administrative relations, and the quality of student life, while adhering to the mission statement of the college. Student Congress functions within the campus governance structure by providing representation on campus-wide boards and committees, and to the Board of Trustees. Student Congress is the official liaison between the student body and the administration. Student Congress is responsible for recommending and administering the budget for student activities and groups.

The Student Congress will consist of a President, Vice-President, Chief of Staff, Controller, Controller- elect, Chief of Culture and Inclusion, Chief of Culture and Inclusion-elect, Chief of Public Affairs and Marketing, Secretary, and a body of elected representatives from the classes and representative districts defined in Appendix A.
The President, Vice President, Chief of Staff, Controller, Controller-elect, Chief of Culture and Inclusion, Chief of Culture and Inclusion-elect, and Chief of Assessment will be designated as the Executive Board.
The Executive Board in addition to the Social Media Chairs, the Public Affairs Chair, Secretary, and Task Force Chairs, will be designated as the Cabinet.
The Vice-President, Chief of Staff, Controller, Controller-elect, Chief of Culture and Inclusion, Chief of Culture and Inclusion-elect, Class Representatives, Chief of Public Affairs and Marketing, Secretary, and the District Representatives will comprise the voting membership of the Student Congress.
If any member of Student Congress is also the member of an organization or party to a resolution that has been brought before the Congress for voting, they will be asked to recuse themselves from the voting process for that issue.

The President will be the chief representative of the student body.
The President will be the chief officer of the Student Congress.
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.
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 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 at least twelve hours prior to the next meeting.
The President must preside over sessions of Congress when present.
The President will only vote in the case of a tie.

The Chief of Staff will be responsible for all Student Congress elections with the assistance of the Vice President.
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 give proper notification of all Congress meetings to the Representatives, the Cabinet, and the Student Congress Advisor.
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.
The Vice-President will be elected as per Article 12.

The Controller will be the chief financial officer of the Student Activities Fund and all of its allocations.
The Controller will serve as the chairperson of the Student Congress Appropriations Committee. As such, the controller will have all rights and duties designated by the Student Congress Appropriations Constitution.
The Controller will keep records of the monthly expenditures and income of every organization funded by Student Congress and will review these records for signs of fiscal abuse.
The Controller will be responsible for the upkeep and availability of yearly budget expenditure records.
The Controller will be a voting member of Congress.
The Controller will give a financial report to Congress at the beginning of every semester.
The position of Controller will be decided by an application and interview process, under the direction of the Vice-President, unless the Vice-President is applying for the position of Controller, in which case it is under the direction of the Chief of Staff.
Applications to the Controller position will be open to any Hope College Student who is not seeking another position within Student Congress.
There will be a committee to oversee the application process. The responsibilities of this committee will be to review the applications, to conduct interviews with candidates, and to select the most qualified candidate to be the Controller.
The committee will consist of:
1. The Student Congress Advisor and the Student Congress Appropriations Advisor, who will act as advisors to the committee, without voting power.
2. Up to three members of the Student Congress Appropriations Committee, as decided by the Student Congress Appropriations Committee. Appropriations Committee members will not be eligible for committee membership if they are candidates for the Controller positions. Provided the Controller is not a candidate, the Controller is eligible for committee membership.
3. Four members of Student Congress, not including Appropriations Committee members. The Executive Board and Cabinet jointly will solicit interest from Student Congress, and randomly select four individuals from the pool of interested candidates. Provided that the present Controller is not a candidate, the President and Vice-President are eligible for committee membership.
The Controller Elect will serve in a learning role before moving into the Controller position.
Primarily, the Controller Elect will serve as a liaison between Appropriations and General Congress in order to facilitate communication and cooperation.
The Controller Elect will also serve as the point person for the Congress Budget and work with the President and Executive Board to design the budget for the next year. Additionally, the Controller Elect will oversee the use of the Student Congress budget and ensure that Congress remains in good financial standing.

The President, Vice-President, and Controller will each serve at least four office hours each week in the Bultman Student Center.
These office hours will be posted each semester, so that Representatives and the students are aware of the hours.
Notification will be given of the Executive Board member’s whereabouts if not in the Bultman Student Center during these hours.
The Executive Board will hold an official meeting with the Cabinet no less than every other week. If needed, the Executive Board has the power to call an emergency meeting.

The Cabinet will be the chief advising committee to the Executive Board under the direction of the President and will consist of the Secretary, Chief of Staff, Public Affairs Chair, Media Coordinator, Graphics Coordinator, and Task Force chairs.
The Cabinet will assist in fall elections upon the request of the Chief of Staff.
The Cabinet will attend a meeting with the Executive Board no less than once, every other week.
The Task Force chairs will serve as members of the Cabinet during the course of the year, and the designated chairs will report the status of the task forces at the Cabinet, Executive Board, and Congress meetings at the discretion of the President. Task Force chairs shall be appointed by the discretion of the President, Vice President, and Executive Board.
Each member of the Cabinet will serve at least one office hour each week in the Bultman Student Center.
Task Force Chairs will report to the Vice President. The Secretary, the Public Affairs Chair, the Media Coordinator, and the Graphics Coordinator will report to the Chief of Staff.

The Secretary will be selected from applicants within Student Congress by the Executive Board, to perform all necessary clerical functions.
The Secretary, under the supervision of the Chief of Staff, will take and distribute all minutes and other necessary materials and submit records of Congress business to the archives.
The Secretary will be a voting member of Congress.
In absence of the Secretary, the Chief of Staff will be responsible for Secretarial duties.
The Secretary will also be in charge of managing an email account that provides the archival record for the business of Student Congress.
At the end of each semester, all task force and committee chairs including Class Council, Culture and Inclusion, Appropriations, Academic Affairs, Administrative Affairs, and Campus Life will compile a summary of their work for the semester and submit it to the President and Secretary. The Executive Board will also compile a summary of General Congress’ work for the semester and submit it to the Secretary. After all of these reports are submitted, the Secretary will submit them to the archives.

The Chief of Staff will be appointed by the new Executive Board, under the direction of the previous executive board from a pool of candidates within Congress that submitted the appropriate application. The General Congress will either accept or reject the joint selection by a majority vote.
The Chief of Staff will be responsible for all Student Congress elections with the assistance of the Vice President.
The Chief of Staff will be responsible for the following of the Student Congress Constitution by all members of Congress, including but not limited to the Executive Board Members and the Advisor.
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.
In the absence of the President and the Vice-President, the Chief of Staff shall preside over Student Congress meetings.
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 manages election-process for Controller in the case of a Vice-President who is running for the position of controller.

The members of Congress will be responsible for representing the Student Body on all matters of student concern.
The Congress will be elected as per Article 12.
A quorum must consist of two-thirds of the total Student Congress membership and is needed to vote on any matter.
The Congress will be responsible for approving, by majority vote, any allocation of the Student Activities Fee as recommended by the Student Congress Appropriations Committee.
The Congress will be responsible for approving, by majority vote, any allocation of student funds recommended by the Student Congress Appropriations Committee, which exceeds $500.00.
The Congress will be responsible for recommending to the Board of Trustees the setting of the Student Activity Fee. This recommendation, if deemed necessary, will occur before the end of the first semester.
Any meeting of Student Congress will be open to the public unless the President 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 meeting of Congress only if recognized by the chair.
Student Congress will meet weekly, barring any extenuating circumstances.
Any member of Congress may present policy to the President and the Congress.
Any member of Congress will be responsible for serving as a representative on a campus governance committee.

The President shall appoint members of the Executive Board and Cabinet to one of the three campus governance boards (Academic Affairs, Administrative Affairs, and Campus Life). Returning Student Congress representatives will have a preference to return to their previous committees if desired.
The President will, with the consultation of the Executive Board and Cabinet, appoint student members to the appropriate campus governance committees. The student representatives to the Board of Trustees will be approved separately from the appointments to the other boards and committees as per Article 11.
If a member of Student Congress can no longer fill a board or committee position, the President will appoint a replacement to fill the vacancy.
All appointments will be completed before or during the second meeting of Congress. Returning Student Congress representatives will have preference to return to their previous committees if desired.
An appointment may be appealed in writing by any member of Congress, first to the Executive Board and Cabinet, and second to Congress as a whole if necessary. If proper justification for appointment is not provided by the Executive Board and Cabinet, the appellate may appeal to the Congress wherein the issue will be decided on the basis of a two-thirds majority vote.
The Executive Board and 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 monitoring Congress members’ attendance of board and committee meetings. Upon three unexcused absences, the member will be subject to a mandatory review by an Attendance Review Committee in a timely manner as per Article 13.5.

Position openings shall be determined by the Secretary of the Board of Trustees. Student Congress representatives will be made aware of these openings concurrently with openings on the general Boards and Committees.
The student liaison members to the Board of Trustees’ committee will consist of the President, Vice-President, Controller, and selected members of Student Congress as determined by the Student Congress President, Vice President, and Student Congress Advisor – who will be members ex officio.

The elections shall be run by the Chief of Staff and Vice-President unless either is running for a position on Student Congress. If this occurs, a Student Congress member is to be nominated by Congress and approved by a two-thirds majority votes to fill the position. The overseer of the election is not permitted to give any advice on candidates, how to vote (referring to candidates), or any indication as to the outcome of the election.
The positions of President and Vice-President will be elected by an all campus ballot during the Spring Semester. The Controller will be elected as per Article 4.
The positions of Chief of Staff and Chief of Assessment will be appointed from a pool of applicants by the incoming President and Vice President with the consultation of the outgoing Executive Board. The positions of Public Affairs Chair, Secretary, and Social Media Chairs will be chosen by the incoming President and Vice President with the consultation of the outgoing Executive Board and incoming Chief of Staff from a pool of candidates within Congress.
In the case of a tie for the position of either President or Vice-President, a campus-wide election will be held within one week. The runoff will include only those candidates who received tie votes in the original election.
The Class Representatives’ (Sophomore, Junior, Senior) election will take place subsequent to the election of the President and Vice-President.
Freshman Class Representative elections will take place in mid-November, following the same procedures for candidacy as other Class Representatives. This will allow active Freshman District Representatives the potential to advance to Class Representatives. However, the election will also be open to those interested within the general Freshman class. Two Freshman Class Representatives will be chosen, starting their terms at the beginning of the spring semester.
In the case of a tie in a Class Representative election, a new class election will be held within one week. The runoff will include only those candidates who received tie votes in the original election.
Campus representation will be in the form of districts which will be based on the population of housing units as per Appendix A.
District Representatives will be elected in early September as dictated by Appendix A.
A voter in any election shall be allowed to vote once for his/her district and once for his/her class representative.
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 election materials which will be no less than twenty-four hours before the voting period begins.
1. Candidates for President and Vice-President must obtain one hundred signatures from students in any district.
2. Candidates for Class Representative must obtain fifty signatures from students in their respective cohort.
3. Candidates for District Representative must obtain twenty-five signatures from students in their respective district.
4. Signature requirements may be modified for all candidates at the discretion of the Executive Board in light of mitigating circumstances.
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. A minimum GPA requirement of 2.5 or higher is required in order to run for any Student Congress position.
The names will be listed on the ballot in the order that the petitions were filed.
All the results of the election are to be saved no less than one year.
No digital signage or signs will be allowed in the dining halls.
Verifiable proof that election rules were violated will result in eviction from the election and judicial action.
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, or any other behavior that would not be representative of an honorable leader or behaviors in violation of the student handbook policy. In the event of a reported/alleged violation of this policy, an 8-person group appointed by the Vice President (or Parliamentarian) will follow the judicial process outlined by the Greek Judicial Board to decide whether or not to evict the results of the election or the individual from the election. See article 14.2 for more details on decision thresholds.
Campaigning of any kind is not allowed in the computer labs. 19. Student Congress will not endorse any candidate or sponsor any election material. 20. In the case of an opening on Student Congress, refer to Article 15.1.

Representatives must have at least three days notification, written if possible, of meeting time and place if the meeting is taking place outside of the normal meeting time.
Each member is allowed two unexcused absences per academic year. In addition to these two unexcused absences, each member is apportioned two excused absences, and an indefinite number of absences permitted by the 50/50 policy. The 50/50 policy states that 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.
If a member of 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 under the discretion of the Executive Board.
An excused absence shall be given at the Vice-President’s discretion.
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 review by an Attendance Review Committee in a timely manner. The member under review will have the opportunity to state the circumstances of the absences. Then, the Attendance Review Committee will meet in Executive Sessions to discuss the issue of whether or not removal from office is in order. A simple majority vote of the Attendance Review Committee will constitute removal of the member from office. The Vice-President will vote only in the case of a tie.
The Attendance Review Committee will be chaired by the Vice-President and consist of four additional members. A random drawing from a pool of persons who are currently Student Congress Representatives will make up these four additional members. These names are to remain anonymous.
The Vice-President will be responsible for notifying the member under review of the committee’s decision and rationale. If the member has been removed, the Vice-President will also be responsible for notification of Congress of the committee’s decision with rationale at the next Congress meeting.
If the person under review wishes to dispute the decision, the issue will be brought to Congress. The appellate will then be allowed to make rebuttals to the rationale to the Congress as a whole. The Congress, Cabinet included, will decide the issue on the basis of a three-fourths majority vote needed for expulsion, with executive board abstaining. Cabinet should not make an exclusive recommendation. The appellate will not be present for either discussion or voting.
Any member who is reviewed because of absences and allowed to remain on Congress will be allowed one more unexcused absence. Any member who misses two meetings unexcused after being reviewed will automatically be removed from office.

1. The Executive Board and Cabinet will have the power to recommend jointly the removal of any representative of Student Congress. The removal of a representative must be approved by a three-fourths majority of Congress.
The Congress will have the power to remove an Executive Board member by a three-fourths majority. In this event, the vacancy will be filled per Article 15.
The students in a district may petition to remove their representative from Congress with a minimum of thirty-five signatures from the population within that district. 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 representative from Congress with a minimum of thirty-five signatures from the population within that class. Congress will then consider the removal of the member. A three-fourths majority vote will be required.
The Congress will have the power to remove any member of a board or committee with a three-fourths majority vote. The President will appoint a replacement, subject to approval as per Article 10.2.
If a concern or complaint is made about a Student Congress member it should be either submitted in written form or using the electronic form to the Student Congress advisor.
Following the submission of a concern or complaint, There will be an investigation of the reported infraction led by the Student Congress advisor and members of the Executive Board and Cabinet.
The Executive Board and Cabinet will have the power to recommend jointly the removal of any representative of Student Congress after an investigation is conducted by a three-fourths majority vote.
If the member in question is a member of the Executive Board or Cabinet they will not be included in the investigation, review, or voting process.
The investigation will involve the Executive Board, Cabinet, and any other supporting Hope College Offices.
General Congress will not be notified about the investigation or the offense unless it is deemed necessary and prudent by the Executive Board.
The consequences for infractions that do not uphold the mission of Student Congress and Hope College will be as follows:

First Step*: The Representative (and/or Cabinet Member) shall meet with the Advisor, and discuss the issue(s) the Executive Board and Cabinet believes to be of importance. Student Congress will not be notified.

Second Step*: The Representative will meet with the Student Body President and the Vice President to discuss further issues that are believed to be of importance.

Third Step*: The Congress Member shall meet with the Advisor and develop a contract to adhere to for the rest of his or her term as a member of the Congress. If this contract is broken, it will result in the expulsion of the member.

*Since every situation is unique, it will be up to the discretion of the advisor and investigation committee to decide where the consequences for the offense fits in the above list.

In case of a resignation by a representative or the dismissal of a representative, the candidate who received the next highest number of votes in the departing candidate’s district/class shall replace that person in Congress and in committee assignments. In the case of a tie of candidates who were on the ballot, a runoff election will be held. If there are no remaining candidates, then the representative will be chosen via an interview process of interested parties in the district/class, recommended jointly by a majority vote of the Executive Board and Cabinet, and subject to Congress approval by a majority vote.
If the President can no longer fulfill the duties of the office, the Vice-President will become the President.
If the Vice-President, Secretary, or Chief of Staff 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 can no longer fulfill the duties of the office, the Controller-elect of Congress will fill the position. In the absence of a Controller-elect, the position will be filled by a majority vote, following the recommendation of the Student Congress Appropriations Committee.
The term of office for all Student Congress members will end the Monday following annual Commencement ceremonies.
The term for the President-elect, Vice President-elect, Controller-elect, and Class Representatives-elect will begin on the Monday following annual Commencement ceremonies.

The stipends of the Cabinet and Executive Board shall be set by the Student Congress Appropriations Committee with the approval of Congress.
There will be a minimum of $10,000 to be frozen in the Student Congress Appropriations account to provide for emergency funding. It will be the responsibility of the Controller to make sure that at least $10,000 is in the Appropriations account when school is adjourned in May. If less than $10,000 is available at that time, then it will be replenished at the beginning of the following academic year.
The amount of $3,000 will be set aside in the annual Student Activities Budget for the graduating Senior class. This money will be used for a Senior class gift or an event to be held in the Spring.
If the Student Congress Appropriations Budget ends a fiscal year with a surplus, the surplus will be deposited to a special account, labeled the “Rollover Fund.” The surplus funds can be used to adjust current budgets, for special projects, or retained in the account for protections 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 Rollover Fund will be made upon the recommendation of the Executive Board and Cabinet, with majority approval of Student Congress.
Necessary summer allocations of the Rollover Fund will be made upon the recommendation of the Executive Board, with the majority approval of the Cabinet. The full Student Congress will receive a detailed report of all such allocations at the first meeting following the fall election.
The Student Congress Appropriations Committee is a sub-committee of Student Congress and:
1. Shall be composed of the Controller, Controller-elect, and representatives chosen by the Controller and the Student Congress Appropriations Advisor after application. These representatives may be any student whether or not they are concurrently serving in General Congress.
2. Shall be responsible for the maintenance of the current Student Activities’ Budget, additional financial allocation as the need arises, and organizational funding for the following academic year.
3. Shall maintain a contingency fund as specified in the Student Congress Appropriations Constitution.
4. Shall operate and act under the functions, procedures and rules outlined in the Student Congress Constitution.
Appropriate tier-level funding will be determined by the Student Congress Appropriations Constitution, as per the Student Stipend Guidelines.
The Student Congress Appropriations Constitution is subject to review and revision no less than every two years.
All allocations of the Student Activity Fund, under the discretion of the Student Congress Appropriation Committee, must abide by all guidelines set forth in the Student Congress Appropriations Constitution.

The Constitution will be subject to review and revision every two years or more frequently if deemed necessary. The President will be responsible for organizing a Constitutional Review Committee.
The Chief of Staff will chair the Constitutional Review Committee.
In the event that the Chief of Staff cannot chair the committee, a chair will be selected by the President but cannot be the President, the Vice President, nor the Controller.
Any proposed Constitutional revisions must be approved by three-fourths majority of the Student Congress.

The Public Affairs Chair will be responsible for scheduling external events for Congress (including “pop-ups,” or Congress sponsored events).
The Public Affairs Chair will be appointed by the new Executive Board, under the direction of the previous executive board from a pool of candidates within Congress that submitted the appropriate application. The General Congress will either accept or reject the joint selection by a majority vote.

The Graphics Coordinator and Media Coordinator will be responsible for caretaking and maintaining the Student Congress website, social media presence, and all subsidiary web pages in a timely manner.
The Social Media Chairs will be appointed by the incoming President and Vice President with the incoming Chief of Staff, under the direction of the previous executive board from a pool of candidates within Congress that submitted the appropriate application.
The Media Coordinator will be responsible for the production of video updates and the Graphics Coordinator will be responsible for creating posters and other graphics. Both positions will share the responsibility of posting on Congress’ social media accounts.

The positions of the Chief of Culture and Inclusion and the Chief of Culture and Inclusion Elect were developed to aid in executing the mission of Student Congress to be a representative student organization striving to advocate for all students.
The Chief of Culture and Inclusion Elect will be selected by the President and the current Chief of Culture and Inclusion, with consultation of the advisor from a pool of candidates who have been nominated or applied.
The Chief of Culture and Inclusion will serve in their role for at least one year.
The Chief of Culture and Inclusion will fulfill three weekly office hours in the Bultman Student Center Student Organization office space.
The Chief of Culture and Inclusion will aid in the development of the endowed funds program in conjunction with the President and Controller of Student Congress. The Chief of Culture and Inclusion is a member of the Executive Board.
The Chief of Culture and Inclusion will develop and plan projects and initiatives that encourage engagement of the student voice, with a focus on culture, inclusion, and equity. These efforts should be programmatically centered, encompassing both the curricular and co-curricular goals of the institution, and focused on direct engagement with student groups and organizations, and pay particular attention to the voice of the student body, especially those who have been traditionally underrepresented.
The Chief and Culture and Inclusion will create opportunities for students and key leaders within the college to collaborate, and serve as liaison between the President and student organization leaders to assist with communication and action on key strategic issues.
The Chief of Culture and Inclusion will, in collaboration with the President, meet with members of the administration to further their joint initiatives.

In response to a need for increased urgency for Culture and Inclusion initiatives on campus, the Chief of Culture and Inclusion and the Chief of Culture and Inclusion Elect will Co-chair a Culture and Inclusion Committee, herein referred to as the C&I Committee in an effort to better include the voices of minority students in campus and administrative discussion.
The Committee will consist of representatives from historically underrepresented minority student groups, including but not limited to the Black Student Union (BSU), the Latinx Student Organization (LSO), the Asian Student Union (ASU), the Pan-African Student Association (PASA), the Phelps Scholars Program (PSP), PRISM (LGBTQ+ Students), the Women’s Empowerment Organization (WEO), persons with disabilities (DAR), International Students, Hope’s Interfaith Youth Alliance (HIYA), and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion Keppel House Manager (see section x), as well as the Chief of Culture and Inclusion, the Chief of Culture and Inclusion Elect, and three appointed students chosen by the Co-chairs as students who are culturally fluent and passionate about Diversity and Inclusion initiatives on campus. Each group listed above will be responsible for selecting their representative prior to the first meeting of the committee.
In order to create a safe environment for committee members to speak openly about their experiences and concerns, C&I Committee meetings will be closed to guests, including other members of congress not on the committee, unless approved a minimum of 24 hours prior to the meeting.
C&I Committee meetings will be held bi-weekly unless otherwise determined by the Committee Chairs.
The Committee Chairs will provide a Committee debrief 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 C&I Committee and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion professional staff.
The C&I Committee will have two Culture and Inclusion Committee Representatives other than the Committee Chairs that will sit on General Congress in order to represent and advocate for the C&I Committee on Congress as well as provide input on behalf of the C&I Committee in General Congress discussions. The Culture and Inclusion Committee Representatives will be elected by the committee at their first meeting in the fall semester and shall be the representatives for the remainder of the academic year.
The C&I Committee will have at least one representative that will sit on the campus governance Committee on Diversity and Inclusion that operates under the Administrative Affairs Board. This representative will be chosen by the C&I Committee Co-chairs and the President of Student Congress and one of the representatives sitting on General Congress.

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 selected in combination with the Executive Board of Student Congress, the Student Congress advisor, and the Frost Center for Data and Research.
The Chief of Assessment will be in charge of working with the Frost Center for Data and Research and Task Forces to plan the year’s assessments. The Chief will present the plan to the task force chairs and also work with the task force chairs to present findings to General Congress.
Each semester, a Task Force will assess a department, program, or topic (Campus Safety and security, accessibility, etc). The task force would participate in interviews with staff or faculty members involved, students that work in the department or hold leadership roles, and also survey the general student body to try and understand the impact that the department has. At the conclusion of the data collection, the Task Force will work to finish the report through an examination of the strengths and weaknesses of the department culminating in a final recommendation portion of the report.
The division of jurisdiction will be as follows:

Administrative Affairs: Campus Safety, accessibility, The Boerigter Center for Calling and Career, the library, Student Congress, the Judicial Process, Admissions.

Academic Affairs: FYS, Senior Sem, curriculum, advising, registration, the Academic Success Center, Disability and Accessibility Resources (DAR), the Klooster Writing Center, Off-Campus Study.

Campus Life: Dining services, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Residential Life, Student Life, Campus Ministries, the Health Center, Athletics, Center for Diversity and Inclusion.

Every 3 years these lists will be reviewed by the President, Vice President, and Chief of Staff in order to reflect the structure of the College.

Culture and Inclusion: Two members from the Culture and Inclusion Committee will join each of the three standing task forces for their assessment process. The review reports will also be sent to the Culture and Inclusion committee before being passed on to General Congress.
The purpose of the assessment process is to understand and empower the voice of the Hope College Student Body to ensure the best experience possible pursuant to the Preamble. These assessments serve as a way for Congress to represent the needs of the student body through assessing different parts of the student experience. These assessments would focus on various aspects of the said department, examining things such as student involvement in decision making or roles, which students on campus are being served, and the accessibility of the department to all students.

The Class Council shall consist of the President, Vice- president, Chief Of Staff, and two representatives of each class.
Each class shall elect two representatives who shall serve to represent the interests of his or her class on Student Congress.
The Representative(s) shall elect from among themselves a Council Chair to lead the meeting. A. The Council Chair election will take place at the first Class Council meeting of the school year. B. The President, Vice-President, and Chief Of Staff shall not be voting members for the selection.
The duties of the Class Representatives shall include, but shall not be limited to:
1. The Representative(s) shall represent the concerns of their class to Student Congress, organize class events, disseminate relevant information to the class, and perform other duties as assigned by the President or Vice President.
2. The Representative(s) shall send a once-a-month- email disseminates relevant information to their class and section.
The Class Council shall be responsible for communicating with the student body and responsible for monitoring campus culture and issues. Class Council will have the responsibility to respond to the concern of the student body including but not limited to emergency, incident, news, and action of Student Congress.
The Class Representatives shall be elected pursuant to the election procedures stated in Article “ XII”.

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)