Department of Student Engagement

Article IV: Duties of Senators

 

 Section 1

Senators shall attend all meetings of the Senate and committees on which they are required to serve and may miss up to two Senate meetings and two committee meetings (per committee) without an excuse per semester . If a Senator misses three Senate or committee meetings in a semester without an excuse, they will be removed from the Senate. The following conditions shall apply to this attendance policy:

  1. In the event of a university emergency (including but not limited to a snow emergency) or a meeting scheduled outside the regular meeting time with less than one (1) week's notice, no Senator shall be penalized for absence. 
  2. The Vice President, in conjunction with the Executive Senator, shall maintain a publicly accessible attendance document which lists every Senator and which meetings they have missed. Senate Chairs shall report committee attendance to the Executive Senator or Vice President, who will update the document accordingly. Any discrepancies should be reported immediately. 
  3. The Vice President, Executive Senator, or a designee shall notify a Senator after their second unexcused absence that another absence will lead to their removal. This message shall be sent to the Senator's official brandeis.edu email address, though the sender may choose, at their discretion, to notify them through additional means. 
  4. If a Senator cannot attend a meeting in person for whatever reason, the Vice President or pertinent Committee Chair may, at their discretion, allow that Senator to virtually attend via video chat or similar means. The Vice President, or pertinent committee chair, can also allow excused absences given extraordinary circumstances. The Vice President or pertinent Committee Chair is not required to allow this, and may reject any request to do so for any reason. If the Vice President or pertinent Committee Chair allows this, it will not count as an absence. 
  5. If a Senator is removed under this provision, an election may be held at the discretion of the Secretary. If no election takes place then the seat shall remain vacant for the remainder of the term.

Section 2

All Senators, with the exception of Committee Chairs, must serve on at least two committees.

  1. Committee Chairs need only serve on the committee which they chair.
  2. Senators may choose which committees to serve on, but can also be assigned at the discretion of the Vice President. 
  3. Serving as Representative to the Allocations Board or Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund (CEEF) Board shall fulfill the requirement designated in this section. 

Section 3

Each semester, the Senate shall elect an Executive Senator as a liaison between the Senate and the Executive Office.

  1. The Executive Senator or the Vice President shall have the right to deny an individual or group admittance to the Senate agenda. The Executive Senator or Vice President shall inform the Senate within 24 hours of their execution of this right. The Senate can overrule their decision on this matter by a majority vote. 
  2. The election procedure for the Executive Senator shall be as follows: 
    1. At the first Senate meeting of the school year, the President of the Union Senate shall announce the voting procedures, and willing Senators shall announce their candidacy to the rest of the Senate. 
    2. At the second Senate meeting of the school year, the Senate shall enter into executive session to elect the Executive Senator. 
    3. All voting shall be by secret ballot with the candidates not present at the time of voting. 
    4. The term of the Executive Senator shall expire on the second Senate meeting of the school year.
    5. If the Executive Senator is a graduating senior or otherwise unavailable, the duties of Executive Senator shall first fall to the Rules Committee Chair. If the academic year is still in process, then an election for Executive Senator shall occur at the first meeting following the vacancy. 

Section 4

No individual shall serve in an appointed capacity as a member of the Union Government unless nominated by the Union President and confirmed by the Senate, except as otherwise provided in these Bylaws. The Senate may require, by majority vote, the production of any application, or the presence of any nominee, for such a position.

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