ARTICLE VI: The Representative Council

Section 1: Composition and Purpose

Subsection A: Purpose of the Representative Council The Representative Council shall act as the Voting Body of the Assembly and SGA. Representatives shall attend and participate in the Representative Council meetings. Representatives will vote on behalf of the representative’s constituents in Representative Council meetings. Representatives may serve on committees formed by the Representative Council. Representatives shall participate in achieving the Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals. 

Subsection B: Composition of the Representative Council The Representative Council shall consist of: 

  1. Affinity of Multicultural Organizations (AMO) Leaders
  2. ​Class President(s) from each class year
    1. Senior Year President(s) 
    2. Junior Year President(s) 
    3. Sophomore Year President(s) 
    4. First Year President(s) 
  3. ​Dorm President(s) from each residence hall
    1. Batten
    2. Brecon
    3. Denbigh
    4. Erdman
    5. Merion
    6. New Dorm
    7. Pembroke East
    8. Pembroke West
    9. Radnor
    10. Rhoads North
    11. Rhoads South
    12. Enid Cook ’31 Center
    13. Rockefeller
  4. Elected Student Representatives
    1. Activities and Orientation Assistants Representative
    2. Athletic Association Representative
    3. Board of Trustees Representative(s) 
    4. Career and Civic Engagement Representatives
    5. Independent Major Representative(s)
    6. McBride Representative
    7. Off-Campus Representative(s) 
    8. Pensby Center Representative
    9. ​Representative(s) to the Faculty
    10. Representative(s) to the Tri-College Consortium
    11. Transfer Representative(s)
  5. Heads of Committees 
    1. The Access Services Committee (Led by elected role of Access Services Representative)
    2. The Bryn Mawr Concert Series Committee
    3. The Committee on Institutional Memory (Led by elected role of the ​SGA Archivist) 
    4. The Conflict Resolution Committee
    5. The Constitutional Review Committee
    6. The Elections Board (Led by elected Election Heads)
    7. The Film Series Committee
    8. The Financial Aid Advisory Board
    9. The Gender Inclusion Committee
    10. The Health Center Advisory Board
    11. The Outreach and Communications Committee
    12. The Plenary Committee
    13. The Seven Sisters Committee
    14. The Social Committee
    15. The S.TEAM Committee
    16. The Student Finance Committee 
  6. Heads of Councils
    1. The Campus Safety Council (Led by internally-elected Campus Safety Committee) 
    2. The Green Ambassadors Council (Led by internally-elected Campus Greening Head)
    3. The Major Council (Led by internally-elected Major Council Head) 
    4. The Residence Council (Led by internally-elected Residence Council Head) 
    5. The Student Curriculum Council (Led by internally-elected Student Curriculum Head) 
    6. The Traditions Council (Led by elected role of Traditions Mistexes) 
  7. Members-At-Large
Section 2: Purpose and Importance of Representative Council Roles 

Subsection A: Affinity of Multicultural Organizations (AMO) Leaders The Affinity of Multicultural Organizations Leaders will participate in the Representative Council. Each year, the Eboard, with coordination from the Chair of Social Justice and Equity, will update the list of all AMOs to ensure all AMO leaders are included in Repco votes. 

Subsection B: Class President(s) The office of Class President may be held by up to two people. The duties of the Class Presidents shall include: 

  1. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings, and participating in achieving Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.
  2. Being in charge of all class functions for their respective classes.
  3. Being liaisons between their respective classes and the Assembly.

Subsection C: Dorm President(s) The office of the Dorm President(s) may be held by up to two persons per dorm at one time. For more information on the role of the Dorm President, see Article VII, Section 2. 

Subsection D: Elected Student Representatives Elected Student Representatives work to represent student groups to SGA, and often to represent SGA interests to other groups around the campus. Occasionally, students may be elected to be Heads of Committees or Heads of Councils, in which case their role is listed in the Committee Head or Council Head Section. For more information, see Section 3. 

Subsection E: Heads of Committees Committees and Boards are considered to be the same type of organization. Committees will have heads selected by the Appointments Committee unless otherwise specified in their description. A list of Committees and their roles can be found in Article V. Committees may present a Plenary resolution in order to start selecting leadership through internal election. 

Subsection F: Heads of Councils Councils are larger organizations, often involving Dorm Leadership. Councils elect heads internally via full-council election unless otherwise specified. A list of Councils and their roles can similarly be found in Article V. 

Subsection G: Members-at-Large There may be no more than six Members-at-Large at any one time. The duties of the Members-at-Large shall include:

  1. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings, and participating in achieving Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.
Section 3: Roles of Elected Student Representatives

Subsection A: Activities and Orientation Assistants Representative The offices of the Activities and Orientation Assistants Representative may be held by one person at a time. This person must be an AOA on campus. 

The duties of the Activities and Orientation Assistants Representative will include: 

  1. Acting as a representative of the AOAs and liaison between the SGA and the group.
  2. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings, and participating in achieving Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.

Subsection B: Athletics Association Representative The offices of the Athletics Association Representative may be held by one person at a time. 

The duties of the Athletics Association Representative will include: 

  1. Serving as liaison between the Assembly, Department of Physical Education and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. 
  2. Representing the concerns of student athletes on Bryn Mawr Campus to SGA. 
  3. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings, and participating in achieving Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.

Subsection C: Board of Trustees Representative(s)  The offices of Board of Trustees Representatives may be held by two people at any one time. The duties of the Board of Trustees Representatives will include: 

  1. Meeting with the Board of Trustees and representing the student body at those meetings. 
  2. Serving as liaisons between SGA and the Board of Trustees of Bryn Mawr College. 
  3. Reporting back to SGA about important information that came up in Board of Trustees meetings. 
  4. Reporting important SGA information to the Board of Trustees. 
  5. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings, and participating in achieving Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.

Subsection D: Career and Civic Engagement Representatives The offices of Civic Engagement Representative and Career and Professional Development Representative may each be held by only one person at any one time. The Civic Engagement Representative and the Career and Professional Development Representative will consult and share one vote representing the Career and Civic Engagement Center in the Self-Government Association Representative Council. 

The duties of the Civic Engagement Representative shall include:

  1. Regularly attending meetings of the Civic Engagement staff.
  2. Serving as a liaison between CE and the Assembly.
  3. Sitting in on SFC budgeting as necessary, with the capacity to be involved in the transportation aspect of budgeting for Community Service and Activism groups as an informant, not as a decision-maker. 

The duties of the Career and Professional Development Representative shall include:

  1. Attending meetings of the CPD staff and serving as a liaison between the CPD and the Assembly.
  2. Serving as a liaison to SGA-funded groups who might benefit from CPD resources, when necessary.

The duties of both Representatives shall include: 

  1. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings, and participating in achieving Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.

Subsection E: Independent Major Representative The offices of Independent Major Representative may be held by two people at any one time. The Independent Major Representative is appointed as a junior, and this role is a two year commitment; as a junior, this person will work with the previously appointed IMR, and will tutor the next IMR as a senior. They should be an active member of campus and have knowledge of many departments. 

The duties of the Independent Major Representative will include:

  1. Organizing an email list of all Independent Majors as each semester begins.
  2. Calling a meeting each semester with all Independent Majors to discuss their needs on campus and how best to represent their concerns to SGA. 
  3. Helping students with the Independent Major application process. 
  4. Helping advise Independent Major students in what courses to take. 
  5. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings, and participating in achieving Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.

Subsection F: McBride Representative(s) The Office of the McBride Representative may be held by two people. If there are two people holding office, only one Representative is required to be present at meetings of the Representative Council. The duties of the McBride Representative(s) shall include:

  1. Being responsible for the representation of the McBride Scholar Members at each meeting of the Representative Council and being the liaison between the Assembly, the McBride Scholar Members, and SGA.
  2. Calling and presiding at all meetings of the McBride Scholar Members. The McBride Representative(s) must call at least one such meeting each semester of the academic term.
  3. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings, and participating in achieving Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.

Subsection G: Off-Campus Representative(s) The Off-Campus Representative(s) work to represent the concerns of non-resident members of SGA, including commuter students and students residing at Haverford. 

The office of the Off-Campus Representative may be held by up to two people. A Bryn Mawr student residing at Haverford may not hold this position on their own (except in the case that no other students run), but may co-hold this position. The duties of the Off-Campus Representative(s) include:

  1. Representing the non-resident members of SGA at each meeting of the Representative Council and being responsible for communication between the Assembly and the non-resident members of SGA.
  2. Acting as a support system for non-resident members of SGA, including students residing at Haverford. 
  3. Calling a meeting of all non-resident students at least once per semester, much in the way a dorm president would call a meeting. 
  4. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings, and participating in achieving Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.

Subsection H: Pensby Center Representative The office of Pensby Center Representative may be held by only one person.

The duties of the Pensby Center Representative shall include:

  1. Serving as a liaison between the Office of Intercultural Affairs and the Assembly.
  2. Spending at least one hour every two weeks in conversation with the full time and/or student staff of the Pensby Center.
  3. Serve on the Elections Board.
  4. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings, and participating in achieving Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.

Subsection I: Representative(s) to the Faculty The office of Representative to the Faculty may be held by up to two people. The duties of the Representative(s) to the Faculty shall include:

  1. Attending each Faculty meeting and representing SGA at each meeting of the Faculty.
  2. Being responsible for communication between the Faculty and its committees and the Assembly.
  3. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings, and participating in achieving Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.

Subsection J: The Representative to the Tri-College Consortium The Representative to the Tri-College Consortium works to improve communications between the SGA boards of Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore. 

The office of The Representative to the Tri-College Consortium may be held by up to two people. These may be any student majoring or minoring at either Haverford or Swarthmore campus. The duties of the Haverford Representative(s) shall include:

  1. Attending Haverford College Student Council meetings at the discretion of the office-holder and at the request of the Assembly. Occasions on which the student attends Student Council meetings instead of Representative Council shall not be counted as absences from Representative Council. 
  2. Communicating with the Haverford Students’ Council and Swarthmore Student Government Organization (SCCS) in an effort to increase collaboration among the three schools, as well as represent the needs of students at Bryn Mawr to its Consortium members. 
  3. To whatever degree possible, directly attend any SGA meetings at Swarthmore as requested by the Representative Council or Assembly. If this is impossible, the student may appoint a proxy to attend. 
  4. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings (with the above exception), and participating in achieving the Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.

Subsection K: Transfer Representative The Transfer Representative works to represent the concerns of Transfer students on campus. The offices of Transfer Representative may be held by one person at any one time. 

The duties of the Transfer Representative will include:

  1. Representing the concerns of Transfer students on campus. 
  2. Keeping an email list of Transfer students and holding a meeting once per semester aimed towards easing transition. 
  3. Working to create support networks for Transfer students on campus. 
  4. Voting in the Representative Council votes, attending all SGA meetings, and participating in achieving Representative Council’s long- and short-term goals.

Section 4: General Procedures of Committees and Councils

Subsection A: Procedure of Committees, Boards, and Councils Committees and Boards are the same type of organization and will have heads selected by the Appointments Committee. Councils will elect heads internally via full-council election. 

All committees, boards, and councils shall be responsible for providing information to and receiving suggestions from the community in so far as the subject matter falls within their jurisdiction as stated in this document. Tasks of the committees will serve to support the needs of the community. 

All committee, boards,  and council heads shall report to the Representative Council when called upon to do so and/or once a semester. 

All committees, boards, and councils are responsible for documenting their procedures for future generations of SGA to consult and learn from. At the end of each semester, all committees and councils will ensure their folder in the Committees Drive is entirely updated with documentation of their events and procedures in the preceding year. 

Subsection B: Elections and Membership All Committees will be appointed by the Appointments Committee unless otherwise noted in the Constitution. 

All Heads of Committees and Boards will be selected by the Appointments Committee. All Councils will elect Heads internally via a full-council election unless otherwise noted in the Constitution. 

Students applying to be general Committee, Council, or Board members must be current members of the Self-Government Association (i.e. an undergraduate student matriculated at Bryn Mawr College). 

Subsection C: By-Laws Any committee, board, or council is encouraged to form its own Bylaws to be subordinate to and compatible with this document. All committees operating under Bylaws shall submit them to the Executive Board. Master copies of all Bylaws must be kept in the Committees Drive, overseen by the Vice President. 

Section 5: Authority of the Representative Council

Authorities given to the representative council include:

  1. The Representative Council may make recommendations to the Faculty, Administration, and other relevant members of the campus community on behalf of SGA. 
  2. The Representative Council, at their own initiative, may establish long- and short-term goals for SGA.
  3. The Representative Council may register a vote of confidence for a committee’s change in Bylaws, a committee’s recommendation to the Administration, or other matters brought to the Representative Council which are deemed prudent. The Representative Council may, by a two thirds vote, change its own Bylaws.
  4. The Representative Council shall establish new committees by vote. 
  5. A meeting of all members of SGA, not including Plenary, may be called by a vote of the Representative Council.

A meeting of the Representative Council may be called by a vote of the Representative Council, the President of SGA or by petition signed by 10% of the members of SGA.

Section 6: Responsibilities of the Representative Council

Subsection A: Meetings The Representative Council shall hold a weekly meeting open to all members of SGA to discuss campus concerns. Issues for the meeting may be referred by members of SGA and Representative Council. 

At the beginning of each semester, the Representative Council shall vote on an established meeting procedure to be followed for the duration of the term of the Executive Board. These shall be established as the Representative Council Bylaws and placed in the SGA Drive for posterity and as a resource to future Representative Council members. The Representative Council must vote to ratify its Bylaws each year, and are encouraged to review and debate any non-functional elements. 

Additionally, under the guidance of the SGA President, the Representative Council and Executive Board shall consult on a list of general Goals for the year. Keeping in mind the values and purpose of SGA, these goals should aim to further community well-being, build community trust in SGA and the Honor Code, pursue antiracism, and improve upon existing structures of SGA. 

Subsection B: Single Position Voting

If two members hold one position, only one Representative is required to be present at meetings of the Representative Council. Each position on Repco holds one vote. If two or three people are holding the office, they will share one vote rather than having two. 

Subsection C: Responsibilities

All meetings of the Representative Council shall be publicly announced and the agenda posted three days in advance. Minutes of each Representative Council meeting shall be distributed to SGA each week in accordance with the Bylaws.

Section 7: Voting Procedures of the Representative Council

Subsection A: Voting Procedures A quorum shall be required for any vote and shall consist of two-thirds of the voting members of the Representative Council. 

All members of the Representative Council, except the Executive Board, shall have one vote.

The Voting Options shall be:

In favor of the Motion

Against the Motion

Abstain, which shall be included in the count for quorum but shall count neither for nor against the Motion. As a member of SGA, one has the right not to vote, which shall count against quorum.

All voting shall be by simple majority unless otherwise specified. The President shall vote in case of a tie. 

The Representative Council may vote on proposals brought before it by any source. The proposals may be referred to the appropriate committee.

Subsection B: Voting in Absentia An absentee vote on a specific previously announced question may be submitted in writing to the Secretary of SGA prior to the meeting at which the vote is to be taken, on the condition that significant changes in the question have not been made. Otherwise, the absentee vote shall not be counted in the final tally. Neither a proxy nor an absentee vote shall be counted as being present.

Subsection C: Special Rules The Representative Council shall approve, by two-thirds vote, any change in Common Treasury Dues. The Representative Council shall approve, by two-thirds vote, the Bryn Mawr and Bi-College budgets in full at the beginning of each semester.

A two-thirds vote shall require that two-thirds of those present vote and that two-thirds of those voting agree. 

A decision by consensus may be requested by two-thirds of all members present.

A roll call vote may be requested by any member of the Assembly and the results shall be placed in the minutes.

Voting may be done by hand or written ballot at the discretion of the President.