At#Rockhurst#University#

Student Senate Platform for 2016-17

Zachary#Pohlman#and#Abby#Bergman#

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Table of Contents

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Purpose 3 Letter from Zachary Pohlman 3 Letter from Abby Bergman 4 Preparation 5 Goals 7 Structural Reform 8 Procedural Reform 11 Implementation Strategy 15 Timeline 15 Appendices 16 Appendix A: Senate Diversity Measures 16 Appendix B: Student Activity Fee Inquiry 17 Appendix C: Example Bill 18 Appendix D: Example Resolution 19

Purpose To Whom It May Concern: The Rockhurst University Student Senate is a powerful and known student organization on the Rockhurst University campus. Student Senate is known for its leadership in organizing events such as Town Hall and House of Representatives, its commitment to programs such as Midnight Breakfast and Leadership Symposium Week, and its initiative in campus-wide happenings such as the conversation around diversity and inclusion and the Social Event Policy. However, when I think of Student Senate, these well-known items don’t come to mind. What comes to my mind is the capacity and potential that Student Senate has to make a profound impact on this campus. The ability to see the potential that Student Senate holds has been acquired through serving as a General Senator for a year and serving on the Executive Board as Secretary for a year. I have experienced Senate’s ability to serve other student organizations through my time spent on the Student Activity Fee Budgeting Committee and co-chairing the Constitution Committee. I have experienced Senate’s capacity to impact the campus community as a whole by heading the project of instituting the Oath of Inclusion. Finally, I have been inspired to continue to seek growth through attending the National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference in Buffalo, New York, this past summer. This conference provided connections to other Jesuit Student Governments and a newfound realization of the purpose of a student government. These experiences have led me to Rockhurst’s core value of “Magis” or “more”. The value of Magis is described as the commitment “to find more purposeful and effective ways to carry out our work”. This value is where my passion to improve Student Senate is rooted. I believe that implementing this value can take Senate from where it is now to its absolute full potential. Reorganizing the structure of Student Senate, having clear goals and systems, and renewing the motivation of Senators are the “purposeful and effective ways” I see Student Senate utilizing to carry out its best work. I believe that intentional, strategic, and purposeful leadership is the best manner in which these new ideas can be implemented. I am deeply inspired by this idea of leadership, and, with that, I am thrilled to announce my campaign for the Student Senate Vice President for the 2016-2017 school year. It will take committed servant leadership to implement the vision I have for Student Senate, but I am ready to make the commitment. I ask of your patience if these plans have the opportunity to be set into action, as it will be a learning process. However, I can promise that these plans are backed with strong passion and motivation to succeed. I hope you too are able to recognize Student Senate’s potential and, further, envision the impending success of Student Senate through a commitment to “more”. Sincerely,

Theresa “Abby” Bergman

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Preparation

Over the past month, I (Zachary) have met with many Rockhurst administrators, faculty, and staff members to gather input about the current role of the Senate as well as what they believe the Senate could be. In my meetings, I pressed for feedback about the current relationship the Senate has with their respective university body. I shared my ideas and goals with them surrounding diversity and inclusion and received invaluable feedback, most of which I have incorporated into this proposal. Initially, I set up meetings with ten staff and faculty members whom I identified as having a significant role in the lives of students. As I learned more and more, I expanded my goals and met with more appropriate faculty and staff members to help accomplish those goals. This section of the proposal outlines the significant contributions I received from those individuals and is meant to display how their ideas are incorporated into all that the Senate can become. I hope to continue meeting with faculty and staff to not only develop ideas for the Senate, but to implement them regardless of whether or not Abby and I are elected President and Vice President. Kaitlin McAlexander

• Gather a wide variety of perspectives from faculty and staff • Compile thoughts and challenge ideas to be ready when others do • Keep an open mind • Consider the topics affecting the whole campus community

Dr. Laura Fitzpatrick

• Study other schools to see what they are doing and how • Keep a line of open communication and be transparent about goals • Evaluate the strengths and weakness of the Senate as it currently stands • Start generating support from students and faculty/staff members

Cindy Schmersal • Inclusion within Senate is important to ensure a variety of opinions • Look beyond racial diversity e.g. commuter students, first generation students etc. • Campus Ministry has great relationship with Senate, would appreciate suggestions from

the Senate • Always leave room for conversation and dialogue

Rob Hamilton • First meeting with a student Senator in his fifteen years at Rockhurst • Tap into the Dean’s student advisory groups to connect to each individual college • Continue to build relationships at conferences and with other student leaders on campus • Would be willing to continue the dialogue with Senate to see how Senate and the College

of Arts and Sciences can work together to address students’ concerns

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Mark Hetzler • The Senate is headed in a good direction • Be intentional about increasing the diversity on Senate • Condensing the number committees may be beneficial • Consider how Town Hall might be more beneficial to both administrators and students • Work to recognize other student organizations for their accomplishments

Lane Ramey • The Admissions office is interested in a relationship with the Senate • 17% of the undergraduate population is of a minority race • Keep in mind the whole time that the goal is inclusivity

Ashley Easterly • Commuter students find it difficult to join an appropriate club • Possible tap into the Rockhurst Transformation Alliance • There are about ninety-nine freshman/sophomore commuters currently

Sandy Waddell

• Inclusion and diversity is a good goal to work towards • Resident students have something in common, while commuter students are not a

cohesive group • It is worth a shot; if it fails it fails but it is better to at least try • Senate’s push for multiculturalism could help retention

Emily Kempf

• It is difficult to ensure that the student representatives show up to Diversity Committee meetings, so do not fill seats with unmotivated Senators just to fill seats

• Willing to send an email to professors to recommend that certain underrepresented students be sure to apply for Senate

• Conversations around diversity will remain a relevant issue

I hope to continue these conversations with many more faculty and staff members both to further develop this platform as well as to continue increasing awareness of the Student Senate.

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Goals

In consideration of the Senate’s performance in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic school years, the only years in which Abby and I have been a part of the Student Senate, we have identified areas of success and areas in need of growth as an organization. Our successes are plentiful and include but are not limited to:

1. Leadership Symposium Week 2. Sexual Assault Awareness Week participation 3. Midnight Breakfast 4. The Oath of Inclusion 5. Conversation and action around diversity and inclusion 6. Welcome Week participation

We desire to bring the foundations laid by the past Senates to full fruition in the 2016-17 academic year. We believe we have learned from our past mistakes and now offer a set of goals for which we will work diligently to accomplish. Our goals are plentiful and include but are not limited to:

1. Continuing the successes listed above 2. Further working towards a campus of inclusion and diversity 3. Increasing student awareness of and attendance at Senate sponsored initiatives on campus

i.e. Town Hall, Midnight Breakfast, Office Hours, SAFBC 4. Reformatting the House of Representatives meetings to be more conducive of a

collaborative community amongst Rockhurst student organizations 5. Standing firmly against sexual assault by promoting efforts of the university to curb its

prevalence on college campuses by assisting with the Green Dot initiative 6. Expediting the process by which new student organizations join the campus community 7. Publishing a biannual report expressing the actions of the Senate and to which

organizations the student activity fee is allocated 8. Establishing a Senate in which every members’ opinion is valued and one in which every

Senator is assigned meaningful work and is held responsible for its completion 9. Listening and responding to the complaints and suggestions of Rockhurst students,

especially as new issues arise 10. Working to make the Senate website a hub of information for students 11. Acknowledging and promoting the efforts of other registered student organizations at

Rockhurst

Call to Action

In consideration of the goals listed above, we believe that a two-pronged approach will best serve to fulfill them. First, we are calling for comprehensive structural reform, and second, we are calling for comprehensive procedural reform. Both of these proposed changes address all of the goals listed in an efficient and – in our opinion – fun manner.

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Structural Reform Rockhurst University has engaged in a plethora of diversity and inclusion conversations over the last two semesters. The Student Senate has continuously pledged to support the campaign to continue such conversations, and our structural reform proposals address those topics. We also believe that a restructuring of the Senate will lend itself to a more effective Senate, both inside and outside of meetings. We firmly believe that a more diverse Senate will foster increased support for diversity efforts promoted by the Senate. Thus, for the upcoming election, we are working diligently to make Rockhurst’s more diverse population – commuter students, minority students, and nontraditional students – aware of the Senate application process. Down the road, if the Senate decides to take more proactive measures to increase the diversity of students who serve on the Senate, we propose a course of action found in Appendix A. The core value for 2016-17 is Contemplation in Action, and what we propose – we believe – beautifully encompasses that core value. Listed below are our proposed positions for the Senate as well as what responsibilities the positions carry.

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Our proposed Executive Board shall be composed of the following. The description under each Executive Board position is a more specific understanding of the description found in the current Senate Constitution.

A. Executive Board a. President

i. Speaker of the Senate ii. Chairperson for full Senate meetings

iii. Promotes Senate bills and resolutions to appropriate officials iv. Weekly meetings with each of four committee chairpersons v. All other responsibilities as listed in the constitution

b. Executive Vice President i. Assistant to the President

ii. Advertising and publicity iii. Connection to registered student organizations iv. All other responsibilities as listed in the constitution for “Vice President”

c. Vice President of Finance i. Chair of the Finance Committee

ii. Attends and coordinates Student Activity Fee Budgeting Committee iii. Manages Senate budget and reports its use at weekly Executive Board

meetings iv. All other responsibilities as listed in the constitution for “Treasurer”

d. Vice President of Programming i. Oversees planning and implementation of all Senate programs

1. Leadership Symposium Week 2. Town Hall 3. House of Representatives 4. Midnight Breakfast 5. All other spontaneous programs

e. Executive Secretary i. Minute keeper at full Senate and Executive Board meetings

ii. Writes and distributes agenda iii. Reserves rooms iv. Posts minutes weekly to the website v. All other responsibilities as listed in the constitution for “Secretary”

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We further propose that the number of standing committees be cut down from ten (10) to four (4). These four committees have specific areas of interest within the campus community. We feel as though ten committees stretches the chairpersons of those committees too broadly to the point that no committee is allotted enough Senators to accomplish anything substantial. By condensing the Senate to four committees, more goals can be set with more manpower to accomplish them. Every Senator serves on one committee except the President so that there are six to seven Senators serving on every committee. We recognize the importance and benefit of conducting bimonthly meetings with Rockhurst faculty and staff as currently happens. We do not want that practice to end. Rather, we propose that within these four committees, there are designated Senators who meet with faculty and staff whose position relates to the goals of the Senate committee. The committee chairperson has the responsibility of ensuring that Senators serving on his/her committee are meeting with their faculty or staff member and reporting those meetings at committee meetings. The committee chairperson reports that information at full Senate meetings, yielding the floor to members of his/her committee to speak more specifically on a subject where necessary. Moreover, each of the four committee chairpersons meets with the President on a weekly basis to go over any current projects or ideas. Listed below are our proposed standing committees as well as the faculty or staff position we believe best correlates to the specific goals of each respective committee.

B. Standing Committees a. Social Justice

i. Diversity, Inclusion, Multicultural: Chair of Diversity Committee ii. Sustainability: Associate Vice President for Facilities and Technology

iii. Jesuit Mission: Assistant to the President, Mission and Ministry iv. Connection to Kansas City Community: Director of Community Relations

and Outreach v. Service: Director for the Center of Service Learning

b. Finance (Chaired by the Vice President of Finance) i. Reviews all bills in Committees

ii. Manages Senate budget iii. Attends meetings of the Student Activity Fee Budgeting Committee iv. Tracks spending of the Student Activity Fee

c. Campus Life i. Dining: Dining Manager and/or Head Chef

ii. Residence Life: Associate Dean of Students, Director of Residence Life iii. Computer Services: Director of Infrastructure Services iv. Greek Life: Assistant Director of Student Life v. Athletics: Athletic Director

vi. Campus Ministry: Director of Campus Ministry d. University Affairs

i. Academic support: Vice President of Academics ii. Security: Chief of Security

iii. Admissions: Associate Vice President of Enrollment iv. Constitutions of new and registered student organizations

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Procedural Reform

Our procedural suggestions are closely linked to our structural suggestions. In an effort to expedite the time by which student organizations are passed to the Student Welfare Committee, to ensure that the goals of each committee are acted upon, and to clarify a process by which the Senate provides its opinion on a given issue, we propose minor reform in the following areas: meetings, committees, and legislation. Everything we are suggesting is found within the current Senate Constitution and By Laws. We merely wish to clarify those processes. We enjoy Senate meetings. We, and we know many other Senators feel this way as well, look forward to nine o’clock on Wednesday evenings. We hope to preserve the integrity with which Senate meetings are run. We suggest that the full Senate meets every week, as we do now. We additionally propose, however, that committees conduct their own meetings every other week in lieu of committee chair reports and conducting business as a Senate. That way, committees have an opportunity to work on their own agendas on a smaller scale before their ideas and legislation are brought before the full Senate for approval. The purpose of committee meetings will be further touched upon in this platform. Below is a typical agenda for a full Senate meeting. It does not change the way meetings are currently structured.

A. Meetings a. Full Senate

i. Call to Order ii. Roll Call

iii. Prayer iv. Pledge of Allegiance

b. Open forum for any non-Senators or visitors c. Approval of the minutes d. Executive Board Reports

i. President ii. Executive Vice President

iii. Vice President of Finance iv. Vice President of Programming v. Executive Secretary

e. Committee Chair reports i. Social Justice

ii. Finance iii. Campus Life iv. Student Welfare

f. Old Business g. New Business h. Announcements i. Motions or proposals

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Committee meetings are to be held every other week in the place of committee reports and conducting business. Thus, the Executive Board gives reports weekly to the full Senate, but this amended schedule offers each committee its due time to develop proposals, ideas, and legislation in a more directed manner.

Legislation The Rockhurst University current Student Senate By Laws contain a process by which legislation passes through the Senate. That process, however, is not utilized to its fullest capabilities. We believe that the Student Senate can better fulfill our purpose by promoting the use of actual legislation within our meetings. The problem, we believe, is that because the By Laws are not specific, we do not currently discuss or pass any bills or resolutions. We do business that could very well be documented in the form of official legislation. Not only will written legislation ensure that the opinions of the Senate are valid and voted upon, but it will provide the Senate a platform to publish all official business that we conduct to the Rockhurst student population, its administrators, and the Board of Trustees. Organizing and formalizing the process by which we act as a representative body of the student population helps everybody on campus: the Senate and far beyond. We offer two examples of legislation, one bill and one resolution. Bills deal with matters of allocating money to campus interests from the unallocated account of monies collected by the Student Activity Fee OR amendments to the Constitution or By Laws. See Appendix B for our inquiry regarding the Student Activity Fee. Resolutions deal with matters when the Student Senate promotes their opinion on an issue and are non-binding. These issues can include but are not limited to opinions on university procedural questions, opinions when university administrators or organizations request them, and opinions on current events beyond the Rockhurst community. Bills are to be numbered in the 100’s and resolutions in the 200’s following the year in which they are brought before the Senate. The SB that appears before pieces of legislation stands for Senate Bill. The Executive Board numbers legislation. Bill SB 2016-101 is an example of what legislation may have looked like to support Holocaust Speaker Esther Bauer during the fall of 2015 and is found as Appendix C. Resolution SB 2016-201 is an example of what legislation may have looked like in the Senate’s support of library website reform in the spring of 2016 and is found as Appendix D.

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Current By Laws Article I – Student Senate Section 1. Legislative Powers All legislative powers of the Student Body shall be vested in the Student Senate. Section 2. Rights and Responsibilities The Student Senate shall have the right and responsibility to:

1. Be actively involved in the decision-making processes concerning administrative policies before public implementation thereof;

2. Review the present administrative policies and recommend changes where necessary; 3. Concern itself with the full spectrum of problems, opportunities, and responsibilities

affecting the student community; 4. Legislate its own rules of procedure; 5. Provide for the control and disbursement of the student allocated funds; 6. Require information and/or appearance from any student officer of any organization

receiving student activity fee funding; 7. Be free from arbitrary intervention 8. Sponsor, encourage, or publicize any activity or program deemed appropriate by the

Student Senate which promotes students’ interests; 9. Levy and collect special fees for Student Senate sponsored events; 10. Approve or deny the charter of a proposed student organization; 11. Enact and amend constitutional provisions necessary for the general well being of the

student government; and 12. Take all necessary steps needed in order to achieve the above mentioned rights and

responsibilities.

Section 3: Prohibitions The Student Senate shall not:

1. Enact any legislation in violation of the constitution; 2. Allocate funds for a period of more than one year; or 3. Deny speaking privileges to non-members of the Student Senate, provided that they abide

by Robert’s Rules of Order.

Section 4: Required Procedures 1. All members and non-members shall follow Parliamentary procedures under Roberts

Rules of Order at Student Senate meetings. 2. All senators shall receive one vote on all legislation, with the exception of the President,

who shall not vote except as necessary to break a tie. 3. No legislation shall be valid unless a student Senator introduces the legislation, the

legislation is read, and the legislation passes by majority vote of the Student Senate. 4. Vetoed legislation may be enacted if passed by a two-thirds Super Majority vote of the

members of the Student Senate present and voting on it for a second time. 5. Legislation of the Student Senate shall be classified as an amendment to the Constitution.

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Legislative Process

Given that the current legislative process is vaguely outlined in the By Laws, we propose a more specific legislative process. This does call for a revocation of Article I Section 4.5 of the By Laws, but we believe the purposes stated in Article I Section 2 lend themselves to a wider interpretation of what types of legislation the Senate may pass. The process we propose is one that we hope to bring before the Senate at a meeting for official approval into the By Laws. Below is an outline of what that process may look like, but a more detailed plan will be put together this summer. 1) Legislation idea

a) Any Senator or non-Senator may propose that a bill or resolution be drafted b) If a non-Senator wishes to propose legislation, he/she must find a Senator to sponsor the

legislation 2) Submittal to Executive Board

a) A Senator who writes a piece of legislation must submit it to the Executive Board before Monday at 8 am for it to be considered at the next meeting of the Executive Board

3) Committee Referrals a) Once the Executive Board receives a bill or resolution, they are tasked with assigning

said legislation to two standing committees that may have a particular interest in the legislation at hand

b) All funding requests shall be sent, as one of the committees, to the Finance Committee for approval

c) If the legislation is deemed to be time sensitive, the Executive Board may temporarily slate it for the Senate docket i) Legislation slated in this manner must be approved by a majority vote of the full

Senate before it is considered at a full Senate meeting 4) Committee Meetings

a) The Senator(s) who sponsor the piece of legislation must present it to two standing committees and answer questions about the legislation

b) If they wish, the sponsoring Senator(s) may yield the floor to answer questions to someone in the university community whom the legislation affects i) For example, asking the VOICES for Justice President to answer questions about a

piece of Fair Trade legislation c) Legislation shall pass through a committee by a majority vote of committee quorum

5) Senate Agenda a) Once a piece of legislation passes through two standing committees it may be slated to be

taken up by the full Senate b) If a piece of legislation is amended and passed in two different ways in committee, the

Executive Board shall determine how it appears when it is brought before full Senate 6) Senate Meeting

a) The piece of legislation passed through two committees or slated by the Executive Board as time sensitive shall be placed on the full Senate agenda under New Business

b) The sponsor of the legislation shall give a sponsorship speech of no longer than five minutes followed by two minutes of questions

c) If a motion is made, discussion on said legislation may be held

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d) A motion to vote is required to consider the legislation for adoption e) “No legislation shall be valid unless a student Senator introduces the legislation, the

legislation is read, and the legislation passes by majority vote of the Student Senate” i) By Law Article I Section 4.3

f) “Vetoed legislation may be enacted if passed by a two-thirds Super Majority vote of the members of the Student Senate present and voting on it for a second time” i) By Law Article I Section 4.4

Implementation Strategy

Implementing our proposed reforms is no small task for the Senate, but it is one we deem necessary. There are specific steps that need to be taken to ensure that the new structure and procedures are properly brought before the Senate. Through meetings, training sessions, retreats, and office hours, Abby and I plan to make ourselves readily available to assist any Senators who may need help adjusting to writing legislation, Robert’s Rules of Order, what types of issues to bring before the Senate, and any other concerns anyone may have.

Timeline

• March o Present platform to Dr. Quick o Continue meeting with University faculty and staff o Meet with small groups of Senators to garner feedback on platform o March 29th begin collecting signatures for application

• April o Continue to meet with Senators and students about platform o April 4th begin public advertisements o April 12th Senate Forum o April 13th elections open o April 20th ask for motion to table Executive Board appointments until the fall OR

introduce necessary constitutional amendments to be voted upon at the next meeting

• May o Vote on Tripartite Committees

• June o Write Senate calendar for the first semester

• July o Attend National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference

• August o Training session for Senators o Diversity training o Release fall Senate applications

• September o Senate retreat for all Senators o Remain available for any Senators seeking assistance

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APPENDIX A Senate Diversity Measures

These suggestions are a basis for a more direct route to achieve a diversity of Student Senators. Implementing a program similar to this, if the Senate deems necessary, would require meeting with the Rockhurst offices affected to hash out the details.

• The Student Senate shall be composed of 36 members.

• The President and Executive Vice President shall make up 2 of those 36 and shall be

elected by popular vote of the undergraduate student population.

• The Executive Board shall include the President and Vice President as well as 3 other Senate members as elected by the Senate after the spring elections.

• The general student population shall elect 18 Senators.

• 8 seats shall be reserved for fall appointments and elections. Of the 8 open seats for the

fall semester, the Senate shall appoint 4 seats and 4 seats shall be elected.

• The remaining 8 seats shall be filled by Senators selected from the following University committees.

• Diversity Committee 3 • Commuter Student 2 • These are subject to change based on student populations and should be reviewed from

year to year.

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APPENDIX B Student Activity Fee

Abby and I are interested in exploring the possibility of the Student Senate controlling the Unallocated Funds generated by the Student Activity Fee. The co-chairs of the Student Activity Fee Budgeting Committee have expressed that it is difficult for student organizations to request same semester funds as the process now stands. By having the Senate allocate the rollover funds from the previous semester’s Student Activity Fee, the Senate will be able to better address where the extra money should go and in a timelier manner. It will also alleviate some confusion from SAFBC requests. We look forward to the possibility of discussing this matter further with the proper university administrators.

Rockhurst University STUDENT SENATE

FINAL BILL No. SB 2016-101 Date approved: 9/24/2015 Sponsored by: First Last, Social Justice Committee

A BILL TO FUND HOLOCUAST SURVIVOR ESTHER BAUER WHEREAS, the Rockhurst University Student Senate supports and promotes campus

organizations and events; WHEREAS, social justice awareness on campus is furthered by exposure to cultural and historical events and speakers; WHEREAS, the Rockhurst core values of “Finding God in All Things” and “Wisdom” and “Cura Personalis” are deepened through learning of the trials and tribulations of others so as to use their insight to further a campus of inclusion; WHEREAS, the Holocaust was a horrific historical event whose survivors carry invaluable stories of hope and inspiration; WHEREAS, Rockhurst University has been blessed with the opportunity to invite Esther Bauer, a holocaust survivor, to speak a the students of Rockhurst; WHEREAS, the Social Activities Board has requested Senate co-sponsorship of said event by providing funds; WHEREAS, the Student Senate has a “School Spirit Budget” to be used for the sponsorship and promotion of campus events; BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Rockhurst University Student Senate hereby agrees to sponsor Esther Bauer via the Student Activities Board, and that the sum of $2000 be allotted from the Student Senate School Spirit Budget for the following: Esther Bauer speaking fee $2000 Total: $2000 _____________________________ _____________________________ First Last First Last Student Senate President Student Senate Vice President _____________________________ Veto

APPENDIX C

Rockhurst University STUDENT SENATE

FINAL BILL No. SB 2016-201 Date approved: 2/29/2016 Sponsored by: First Last, University Affairs Committee

A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF REFORMATTING THE GREANLEASE LIBRARY WEBSITE

WHEREAS, the Rockhurst University Student Senate has a vested interest in the academic

affairs of the student population; WHEREAS, the Greenlease Library plays a pivotal role in research and study materials for Rockhurst students; WHEREAS, the “Library” section of the website was recently remodeled; WHEREAS, the “ask a librarian” chat box and database and references are more difficult to locate on the new website format; WHEREAS, the Library has requested the opinion of the students to further promote website reformatting; BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Rockhurst University Student Senate hereby supports the Greanlease Library in their efforts to make their website more user friendly through (a) easier access to the “ask a librarian” feature and (b) front page access to the databases and reference materials online. _____________________________ _____________________________ First Last First Last Student Senate President Student Senate Vice President _____________________________ Veto

APPENDIX D