| 1. |
General Provisions |
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1.1. |
Purpose |
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The purpose of these Bylaws is to
provide an effective governance structure for the Board of Governors
of the Student Bar Association of New York University School
of Law, hereinafter referred to as the SBA. |
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1.2 |
Transparency |
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The SBA shall strive to maintain transparency in all of its activities.
All members of the SBA shall have the right to access and review the following documents:
- The SBA Constitution and Amendments;
- The SBA Bylaws;
- Any and all Resolutions or Initiatives adopted in accordance
with the SBA Constitution;
- Internal Standing Committee Reports;
- Student-Faculty Committee Representative Reports;
- All periodic reports regarding expenditures and allocations
made by the Treasurer on behalf of the SBA; a reasonably
current statement indicating the financial condition of
the SBA; and a reasonably current report of budget allocations
made to Student groups; and
- Copies of the Minutes of all SBA meetings of the current
academic year.
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1.3 |
Antidiscrimination |
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The SBA shall not discriminate on the basis of
ancestry, color, or race; cultural or ethnic background; national
or regional origin; age; sex or gender; sexual orientation;
physical disability; marital or parental status; ideological,
philosophical, or political belief or affiliation; or religion.
The SBA shall not encourage or condone discrimination, either
explicitly or implicitly. |
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| 2. |
Organization |
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This bylaw was repealed on March 22, 2005. |
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| 3. |
Board of Governors Meetings |
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3.1. |
Frequency |
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Meetings should be held at a minimum of two times per month when classes are in session,
except for the last month of each semester (i.e. December and May) when there must be at least one meeting per month. |
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3.2. |
Scheduling |
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Meetings should be held at a regular time and place so that students
interested in coming to the meetings will be able to find it. Meeting time and place should be
appropriately advertised to encourage attendance. The first meeting of each semester shall be
called by the President and the Board of Governors shall agree on the regular meeting place and
time for any given semester no later than the first meeting after the end of the drop/add period. |
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3.3. |
Notice |
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In the event that the regular meeting cannot be
held (due to a holiday or scheduling conflict) the Board of
Governors shall be notified of the rescheduling no later than
3 days before the new meeting. |
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3.4. |
Agenda |
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The President shall prepare an agenda for every
meeting of the Board of Governors. The President shall include
recommended time limits for discussion on each agenda item.
This agenda must be distributed to the members of the Board
of Governors by the morning of the day any regularly held meeting
is scheduled for. The agenda shall be posted on the on the SBA
bulletin board to encourage attendance. |
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3.5. |
Roll Call |
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Before the start of every meeting,
the Executive Secretary shall call attendance and record those
present and absent. |
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3.6. |
Quorum |
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A quorum consists of fifty percent
of the Board of Governors plus one. No meeting shall begin without
there being a quorum present. A quorum is also required for
all votes on motions, resolutions, and amendments as explained
in section 3.9.3. |
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3.7. |
Sidebars |
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Conversations between members of the Board of
Governors on topics outside the scope of what is currently being
debated shall be discouraged. All side conversations shall be
discouraged. |
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3.8. |
Resolutions |
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3.8.1. |
Any member or Committee of the Board of Governors
may introduce a resolution to the entire Board of Governors
to vote upon. In all cases the President must be given enough
notice that notice of the resolution may be given in the agenda
for the meeting at which the resolution is to be voted upon. |
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3.8.2. |
Introduction |
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The member or Committee of the Board of Governors
shall have the opportunity to introduce the resolution and explain its origin. |
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3.8.3. |
Debate |
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The President shall provide an opportunity for the
Board of Governors to debate the resolution. Members of the Board
of Governors will indicate their desire to speak by raising theirhand.
The President shall designate who is to speak, making all efforts to
follow the order in which hands were raised. |
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3.8.4. |
Motions |
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All motions must be seconded and are adopted by
a majority vote unless indicated otherwise. All motions are
debatable unless otherwise noted. Motions are in order of precedence:
motions may be made only if no motion of equal or higher precedence
is on the floor (i.e., don't do a number 5 (move to end debate)
when the body is discussing a number 4 (move to suspend rules)).
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3.8.4.1. |
Motion to Adjourn: not debatable; goes to immediate
majority vote. |
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3.8.4.2. |
Motion to Recess: not debatable. May be for a
specific time. |
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3.8.4.3. |
Motion to Appeal the Facilitator's Decision:
Not debatable; goes to immediate vote. Allows the body to overrule
a decision made by the chair. |
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3.8.4.4. |
Motion to Suspend the Rules: suspends formal
process for dealing with a specific question. Debatable; requires
2/3 vote. |
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3.8.4.5. |
Motion to End Debate and Vote or Call the Question:
applies only to the motion on the floor. Not debatable; requires
2/3 vote. |
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3.8.4.6. |
Motion to Extend Debate: can be general, or for
a specific time or number of speakers. Not debatable. |
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3.8.4.7. |
Motion to Refer to Committee: applies only to
the main motion. Refers question to a specific group with a
specific time and charge. |
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3.8.4.8. |
Motion to Divide the Question: breaks the motion
on the floor into two parts, in manner suggested by mover. |
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3.8.4.9. |
Motion to Amend:. Amendments require a 2/3rds vote to pass.
If amendment is accepted as "friendly" by the proposer of the amendment then
it may be accepted without a formal vote so long as there is no objection. |
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3.8.5. |
Time Limits |
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The President may impose reasonable time limits on speakers. |
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3.9. |
Voting |
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3.9.1. |
Final Voting: Voting on resolutions, constitutional
amendments, or amendments to the by-laws shall be by roll call.
Other motions which take final action on a matter may be made
by voice or hand vote, provided that a roll call vote shall
be taken when requested by any member of the Board of Governors.
A roll call vote may be requested either before or after the
vote. As each member’s name is called out by the Executive
Secretary, that person shall either state “yes,”
“no,” or “abstain.” The Executive Secretary
shall record each member’s vote as it is made. |
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3.9.2. |
Voting on motions during debate: may
either be by voice or by raised hand, as the President may instruct. |
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3.9.3. |
A quorum, consisting of fifty percent
of the Board of Governors plus one, must be present for every
vote. |
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3.10 |
Automatic Removal for Non-Attendance |
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3.10.1. |
If any member of the Board of Governors be absent
from three consecutive regular meetings of the Board of Governors
without a valid excuse, he or she shall automatically be removed
from office. |
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3.10.2. |
The validity of the excuse shall be determined
by the Board of Governors. In all cases, if possible,
the excuse shall be given prior to the meeting to be missed. |
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| 4. |
Deans Meetings |
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4.1. |
Purpose |
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The purpose of the Deans Meetings are to inform the administration
of current student concerns, follow up on past recommendations made by the student
body, and allow the administration to give the SBA a briefing on issues the
administration is currently considering. |
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4.2. |
Scheduling |
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The scheduling of the Deans Meetings should
be a collaborative effort between the SBA Executive Board and
the Deans office. There shall be Deans meetings
at least once per month during the school year. |
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4.3. |
Attendance |
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All members of the SBA Executive Board
are required to attend the monthly Deans meetings. Two
other members of the Board of Governors may also attend each
meeting. A member of the Board of Governors other than the Executive
Board will not be allowed to attend a second Deans meeting
until all other members of the Board of Governors who wish to
attend have done so. |
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4.4. |
Issues |
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Two weeks prior to the monthly Dean’s meeting, the President
will send an email out to the SBA Student Groups listserve and weekly SBA email
soliciting topics to be discussed at the monthly Dean’s meeting. The President’s
email will explain that the SBA Exec board will take suggestions, but cannot
guarantee that the issues will be discussed at the earliest occurring Dean’s meeting. |
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4.5. |
Agenda |
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The Agenda for the Deans meetings shall
be created by a collaborative effort of the SBA Board of Governors
and the Deans office. The President will send the agenda
to the Deans office at least one (1) week prior to the Deans
meeting. |
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| 5. |
Internal Standing Committees |
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5.1 |
All members of the Board of Governors are required to
serve on at least one standing committee of the Student Bar Association. |
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5.2 |
Each standing committee shall be run by a chair
who shall be selected as set forth in subsections 5.3 –
5.8. The Finance, Student Life, Social and Student Group Committees
shall each be comprised of at least one representative from
each JD class and one representative from the LLM class. The
Transfer Representative shall be designated as a member of the
Student Life Committee. The Elections Committee shall be comprised
of the four Third Year Representatives. The Rules Committee
shall be comprised of one member from each of the other standing
committees. |
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5.3 |
Finance Committee |
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The Treasurer shall serve as the Chair of the
Finance Committee. The Finance Committee will decide matters
of fiscal policy and determine, according to the rules specified
infra, student group budgets. |
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5.4 |
Elections Committee |
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The President shall serve as the Chair of the
Elections Committee. In the event that the sitting President
is running in the upcoming election, the Board of Governors
shall designate a Third Year Representative to serve as Chair
of the Election Committee. The Elections Committee shall create
all handouts for elections; solicit candidates; tally votes; and perform any other tasks related to SBA
elections and voting on the NYU campus. |
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5.5 |
Student Life Committee |
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The Vice-President shall serve as the Chair of
the Student Life Committee. The Student Life Committee shall address all issues affecting student life.
The Transfer Representative shall be designated to serve on
this committee. |
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5.6 |
Social Committee |
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The Social Chair shall serve as the Chair of the Social Committee.
The Social Committee shall be in charge of all SBA - sponsored social events for NYU
School of Law Students. |
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5.7 |
Student Groups Committee |
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The Student Senator shall serve as the Chair of
the Student Groups Committee. The Student Groups Committee shall
handle all requests from students wishing to form new student
groups. The Student Groups Committee shall manage all communication
between student groups and the Board of Governors. Additionally,
the Student Groups Committee shall identify inactive groups
and recommend decommission by the Board of Governors and perform
any other tasks related to student groups at NYU School of Law. |
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5.8 |
Rules Committee |
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The Executive Secretary shall serve as the Chair
of the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee shall be in charge
of making any preliminary interpretations of the bylaws and
constitution. In addition, the Rules Committee shall oversee
any amendments to the constitution or bylaws including notice
and comment to the student body. The Rules Committee shall recommend
a Parliamentarian for the President’s approval. |
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| 6. |
Student Faculty Committees |
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6.1. |
Application |
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6.1.1. |
Students wishing to apply to serve on a student-faculty committee must
fill out electronic application form and email it to the the SBA at law.sba@nyu.edu.
The application will consist of general personal information and a short paragraph
(300 words or less) describing why the student wants to be on the particular committee.
There shall be one statement submitted per committee applied for. |
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6.1.2. |
Applications should be made available before Spring Break and should be
accepted up until mid-April, as determined by the Board of Governors. Choosing the new
representatives will be one of the first tasks of the incoming Board in the Spring. |
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6.1.3. |
Descriptions of the Student-Faculty Committees
is listed in Appendix
A. These descriptions and committees are subject to change. |
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6.2. |
Selection |
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6.2.1. |
Student Faculty Representatives will be chosen
by a vote of the Board of Governors on the SBA, except for those
students chosen in accordance with section 6.2.5. |
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6.2.2. |
A file will be created for each committee containing
information on any and all applicants
for said committee. The file will contain the anonymous applicant
number, the graduation year, the ranked list of committees applied,
and the pertinent personal statement. |
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6.2.3. |
The files will be sent from the Administrative Assistant to the
Board of Governors. The Board is charged with final approval of the student representatives. |
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6.2.4. |
Student Representatives will be notified by the President of their selection.
A complete list of Student Faculty Representatives, with their contact information, will be
emailed to the Dean’s Office before the end of finals in the Spring. |
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6.2.5. |
Student Members of the Academic Personnel Committee (APC),
Diversity Working Group (DWG) and the Bias and Harassment Committee will be
selected as follows: One student rep (out of a total of two student reps)
on the APC and two student reps on the DWG (out of a total of
three student reps) will be appointed by an ALSA Selection Board.
The ALSA Selection Board shall be comprised of representatives
from APALSA, BALSA, CoLR, ILSA, LaLSA, Law Women, MELSA, OUTLaw,
and SALSA. All applications for these committees will be received
by the SBA. Files for these committees created pursuant to section
6.2.2 will be forwarded to the ALSA Selection Board which will
consider candidates that rank these committees in their top
two preferences. The ALSA Selection Board shall create a fair
and efficient process of student candidate selection. A description
of this process shall be kept on file with the SBA. The ALSA
Selection Board will notify the SBA of its selections prior
to the general SBA selection process. |
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6.2.6. |
Students selected as 2L Student Members will be invited to serve a second term following a reconfirmation vote by the SBA, or in the case of the members selected by the ALSA Selection Board, by the ALSAs. If a student does not wish to serve as a Student Member to their Student Faculty Committee for a second year, he/she must express so in writing to the SBA at least one week prior to the date the SBA distributes applications. If the Student Member was chosen by the ALSA Selection Board in accordance with section 6.2.5, he/she must also contact the ALSA Selection Board in writing about his/her decision not to remain on the Student Faculty Committee for a second year. In the interest of continuity, 2Ls will be given preference for appointment to Student Faculty Committees. Student Faculty Committees shall have both 2L and 3L members, and two-year terms shall be staggered in order to achieve this. |
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6.2.7. |
Section 6.2. does not apply to the Admissions Committee, which only accepts 3Ls as Student Members. |
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6.3. |
Reports |
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6.3.1 |
Student Faculty Representatives will give regular reports of the business
of their committees within 48 hours of their committee’s meeting. They will submit written
reports to the SBA. |
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6.3.2 |
Student Faculty Representatives chosen in accordance
with Section 6.2.5 will additionally be responsible for reporting
to the constituent groups of the ALSA Selection Board. |
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6.4. |
Appendices |
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Appendix
A. Definitions of the various Student Faculty Committee positions
Appendix B. Application
for Student Representative Position of Student Faculty Committee.
Appendix C. Nomination
Petition for Representative Positions |
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| 7. |
Student Groups and Organizations |
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7.1. |
Student Group Committee |
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This committee will be chaired by the Student Senator. |
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7.2. |
Recognition |
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7.2.1. |
Student Groups must be recognized as per the process outlined in Article 16,
Section 1 the Constitution. Proposed groups must submit a petition signed by peers supporting
formation of the organization, a mission statement, and a constitution which shall include
procedures for compliance with SBA funding guidelines, and shall provide for a procedure for
the group's members to select and remove its officers. The group must also submit a budget proposal
which complies with Section 8 of the SBA Bylaws. All of these documents are to be reviewed and
considered by the SBA Board of Governors prior to approval. |
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7.2.2. |
The Proposed Student Groups shall send a representative(s) to the SBA Board of Governors
meeting and deliver a presentation about their group. It is important that the proposed student groups
explain why their group satisfies a need that is NOT met by any other group. The group should also explain
how it plans to perpetuate itself. |
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7.3. |
Decommission |
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7.3.1. |
Approved Student Groups may lose their standing
if they are defunct (meaning, no programming and no activity)
for more than 4 semesters. |
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| 8. |
Appropriations |
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8.1. |
Finance Committee |
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8.1.1 |
The Finance Committee will be appointed by the
Treasurer within six weeks of his or her election during the
Spring semester. |
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8.1.2 |
The Treasurer will appoint, with the advice and
consent of the Board of Governors, members of the student body
to serve on the Finance Committee. Members of the Board of Governors
can serve on the Finance Committee. |
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8.1.3 |
The Finance Committee will perform all necessary
financial tasks of the SBA, including managing SBA funds, allocating
funds to student groups, and coordinating financial relations
with the University and the bank. |
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8.1.4 |
Where these bylaws and the SBA Constitution refer to a Treasury Committee,
Budget Committee, or a Summer Budget Committee, these terms are synonymous with the Finance
Committee elaborated on in this Section. |
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8.1.5 |
The Treasurer shall have discretion to approve allocations of less than
two hundred dollars ($200) without a vote by the Board; however, such approval must be
read into the minutes at the next SBA Board meeting. |
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8.2 |
Allocation |
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8.2.1. |
The annual budget of the Student Bar Association
shall be allocated using the following procedures. |
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8.2.2. |
The Finance Committee shall recommend, and the SBA Board shall approve
the allocation of funds for the next year in the following five categories:
- SBA Primary Funds;
- SBA Incentive Funds;
- SBA Family Funds;
- SBA Student Group Funds
- SBA Rollover Funds
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8.2.3 |
Rollover Funds |
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8.2.3.1 |
SBA Rollover Funds include all funds remaining
in all student group accounts at the end of the fiscal year.
An individual student group’s funds may not be rolled-over
directly to that same student group. |
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8.2.3.2 |
An exception to this prohibition shall apply when
the roll-over is requested in advance of the Spring expense
report deadline and when the student group demonstrates that
the funds in question have been derived from an outside donation
or are proceeds from a fundraising event. |
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8.2.3.3 |
The SBA Treasurer shall announce to all Student
Group Treasurers well in advance a “Rollover Date”
on which Student Group accounts will be emptied. This “Rollover
Date” shall be no less than six weeks after the deadlines
for the submission of Student Group Expense Reports and no more
than two weeks before the first day of fall classes. The announcement
of this “Rollover Date” shall be accompanied by
a copy of §8.2.3 of these bylaws. |
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8.2.3.4 |
No later than one week before the announced “Rollover
Date,” Student Group Treasurers must notify the SBA Treasurer
of any outstanding checks on their account that have not been
cashed or deposited. |
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8.2.3.5 |
Student Group Treasurers may only write checks
after the deadline for Expense Reports with the approval of
the SBA Treasurer. |
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8.2.3.6 |
On the Rollover Date the SBA Treasurer shall leave
in a Student Group’s account funds sufficient to cover
any check of which s/he has been notified in accordance with
8.2.3.4; any overdraft fees that result from the SBA Treasurer’s
oversight shall—along with the original expense—be
paid out of SBA Family Funds, and any overdraft fees that result
from Student Group Treasurer oversight shall—along with
the original expense—be paid by that Student Group upon
the receipt of their share of incoming Rollover Funds. |
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8.2.3.7 |
By the first day of class, all SBA Rollover Funds
will be distributed to each student group in the same proportion
as that group’s allocation to the entire Student Group
Funds allocation, calculated per 8.2.11. |
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8.2.4 |
Budget submission worksheets, deadlines, and guidelines
shall be distributed to groups seeking SBA budget allocations
no later than five weeks before the deadline for budget allocation
requests. |
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8.2.5 |
The Treasurer shall determine the “total
allocation” that each group received in the closing fiscal
year. “Total allocation” shall only include money
allocated to the group by SBA through the annual budget process
or via incentive funding; it shall not include money spent that
was received from outside sources or from SBA family funding.
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8.2.6 |
Each group's maximum potential allocation ("MPA")
for the opening fiscal year is as follows:
- The MPA for any group launched or reinstated during the
closing fiscal year, as well as for any group whose total
allocation during the closing fiscal year was less than
or equal to $1150, shall not exceed $1500.
- The MPA for all other groups shall not exceed that group’s
total allocation during the closing fiscal year by more
than 30%.
- The MPA for a group which requests an allocation exceeding
part 8.2.7(a) or 8.2.7(b) of these bylaws shall be reduced
punitively by 10% from the amount derived from part 8.2.7(a)
or 8.2.7(b) of these guidelines.
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8.2.7 |
The SBA Treasurer shall adjust budget requests
in accordance with 8.2.7(c) as necessary and then forward the
budget allocation requests to the Finance Committee. |
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8.2.8 |
The Finance Committee shall determine, based
on the guidelines promulgated in section 8.3 of these bylaws,
the amount of SBA funding appropriate for each proposed event.
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8.2.9 |
The sum of all funding determined appropriate
for a group’s events under 8.2.9 will serve as that group’s
preliminary budget allocation, which shall not exceed that group’s
MPA arrived at under 8.2.7. |
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8.2.10 |
The SBA Treasurer shall calculate each group’s
allocation as a percentage of the total allocation granted.
Rollover funds, calculated per 8.2.3, will be distributed along
this percentage; the main fall and spring disbursements shall
be distributed along these percentages promptly once SBA receives
its allocation from the University. |
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8.3. |
Event Funding Guidelines |
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8.3.1 |
The Finance Committee will use the following
criteria to appropriate SBA Funding to student groups:
- Does the event contribute to the intellectual life of
the law school community?
- Does the event contribute to the social life of the law
school community?
- Does the event foster a sense of community in the law
school community?
- Does the event foster networking between the student
body and external organizations?
- Does the event provide services to the wider community?
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8.3.2 |
The Finance Committee will scrutinize
the expected attendance for every event listed by each student
group. If the number estimated seems unrealistic, the Committee
will reduce the estimation and respectively the allocation amount
to reflect a more realistic expected number of attendees. |
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8.3.3 |
In order to receive funding for speaker events,
student groups must provide a reasonable amount of detail describing
the guest speaker, the subject matter, and the specific expenses
of the event.
- Honoraria and/or speaker’s fees are highly discouraged
and may only be considered by the Finance Committee in extraordinary
circumstances. At all times, Student Groups shall strive
to secure expert speakers from within the NYU Law School
Community or within the tri-state area.
- Travel expenses for speakers, including local transportation, shall be limited to $200
for speakers traveling less than 750 miles and to $400 for speakers traveling from farther away.
- Hotel costs are limited to $150 per speaker visit.
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8.3.4 |
For conferences and retreats SBA funding will
be limited to $300 per group per year according to the following
guidelines. Groups are encouraged to apply for Prominence Funding
for conferences through the office of Student Affairs.
- Conferences within the tri-state area are limited to
$50 per person.
- Conferences outside the tri-state area are limited to
$150 per person.
- Retreats are limited to $20 per person.
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8.3.5 |
Allocation of funds for food and beverage will
be limited to:
- three events per semester at $5 per person and
- two events per semester at $10 per person.
- exceptions may be made for groups holding cultural events
that are open and publicized to the entire student body
as well as for events where members have specified dietary
restrictions.
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8.3.6 |
If a group charges participants a fee for an event,
the amount of that fee must be disclosed in the allocation request. |
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8.3.7 |
Spending on publicity may not exceed $25 per event.
Student Groups are encouraged to make use of the Docket, the
Commentator, the Online Calendar, and other free channels of
information distribution in order to publicize their events. |
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8.3.8 |
No money will be allocated for student groups wishing to provide awards, whether to group members, faculty, or otherwise.
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8.3.9 |
Self-dealing by groups is strictly forbidden.
Self-dealing includes—but is not limited to—payment
for goods and services provided by any member of the sponsoring
group or any member of a student group which regularly cosponsors
events with the sponsoring group. The Treasurer may grant an
exception to this rule only when the exception is requested
in writing before the goods and services are provided and only
when compelling reasons justify the approval of the request.
Violations of this rule may result in penalties, including a
reduction of student group funding and/or a removal of the group’s
Treasurer. Penalties shall be imposed only by a majority vote
of the Board of Governors. |
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8.4 |
Expense Reports |
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8.4.1 |
Expense Reports and all receipts are required
by the NYU Law School Administration for all payments by Student
Groups. An expense report shall include a standardized spreadsheet
Ledger, an online Citibank statement, labeled copies of all
receipts, any Personal Reimbursement Forms required, and a cover
letter explaining any irregularities with the Expense Report. |
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8.4.2 |
Student Group Treasurers shall obtain receipts
upon making any payment whatsoever. |
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8.4.3 |
If a payment is made to a member of a Student
Group, a Personal Reimbursement Form shall be filed. |
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8.4.4 |
If a receipt is lost, the person who lost the
receipt shall submit a written letter with the Expense Report
explaining the loss and stating the amount of the receipt. |
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8.4.5 |
The SBA Treasurer shall announce an Expense Report deadline
no less than two months before that deadline. As a part of that announcement,
the SBA Treasurer shall supply all Student Group Treasurers with the necessary
forms as well as a copy of Section 8.4 of the bylaws. |
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8.4.6 |
The SBA Treasurer shall grant an extension in
extraordinary circumstances for the submission of a Student
Group Expense Reports when requested in writing. |
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8.4.7 |
Any Student Group who fails to submit an Expense
Report by the submission deadline and does not request an extension
in writing shall forfeit one percent per day of their funding
for the coming semester. This money shall be placed in the Incentive
Funding Account. |
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8.5 |
Charitable Contributions |
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8.5.1 |
The SBA does not make direct allocations to charitable organizations, whether requested by a Student Group, or at the initiative of a member of the Student Bar Association. |
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8.5.2 |
At its discretion, the SBA may allocate funds to SBA and Student Group led efforts to independently fundraise for a non-profit charitable organization. Under no circumstances wi ll funding be allocated for efforts to benefit a for-profit charitable organization. |
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8.5.3 |
Funding for law school sanctioned events, such as the Annual Dean's Cup, Public Service Auction, and Public Service Dinner, shall not be covered by the restrictions in section 8.5. |
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8.6 |
Other Sources of Funding (Family Grants; Incentive Funds) |
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8.6.1 |
Where two or more SBA member groups, one of which may be the SBA itself, co-sponsor an event, that event may be eligible for a Family Grant. The Grant will cover up to 40% of the total cost of the event. Member groups are responsible for demonstrating that they are all actively involved in funding and arranging the relevant event. The Treasurer will have discretion to award Family Grants under $250. Other applications will require the approval of a majority of the Board of Governors. |
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8.6.2 |
Incentive funds will be available to student groups that conceive an event but do not have the funds to begin or complete the event. Such funds will also be available to fund groups that apply for SBA membership after the allocation process. The Treasurer will have discretion to award Incentive Grants under $250. Other applications will require the approval of a majority of the Board of Governors. |
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8.7 |
Ad-Hoc Event Funding |
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8.7.1 |
Students wishing to initiate a one-time only academic, cultural, or community service event may apply to the SBA for funding. |
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8.7.2 |
The proposal must describe the subject matter and budget of the event and demonstrate that:
- The event does not fit within the scope of an existing student group's activities, or alternatively, that a good faith effort has been made to work with an existing student group.
- A good faith effort has been made to secure other sources of funding (such as the Dean's Office), and that such effort was unsuccessful or was not sufficient to cover full cost of event.
- An identifiable potential audience exists (estimate attendance level).
- The event will be open and publicized to all students.
- The proposed date of the event does not conflict with a major school event.
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8.7.3 |
There is no cap on the total amount that may be requested or granted, but all other spending bylaws shall apply (See e.g. 8.3 and 8.5). |
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8.7.4 |
Approval by the SBA is discretionary, and may be based on the following factors:
- Quality of the proposal
- Uniqueness or value of the event to the law school community
- Cost-benefit analysis, considering projected attendance and budget
- timeliness of proposal's submission to the SBA
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8.7.5 |
Political ideology shall not be considered. All proposed events must comply with antidiscrimination bylaw (bylaw 1.3). No purely social events shall be approved under this scheme. Students wishing to organize social events should work with the SBA's Social Chair and Social Committee. |
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8.7.6 |
Funds shall be distributed on a reimbursement basis or by check issued by the SBA treasurer on receipt of invoices (from the incentive fund). To receive funds, receipts and a one-page summary of the event must be submitted to the SBA (including number in attendance, and any suggestions for improvement). |
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8.7.7 |
The SBA shall designate a member of the Board of Governors as a contact for all Ad-Hoc Funding matters, preferably the same member with Incentive Funding responsibilities. That member shall keep records of all Ad-Hoc Event Funding proposals and approved events. |
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8.8 |
Appeals |
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8.8.1 |
Student Groups may appeal Finance Committee Allocation Decisions in
accordance with the SBA Constitution Article Sixteen, Section three. |
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| 9. |
Elections |
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9.1. |
Preparation |
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9.1.1 |
The Election Coordinator shall announce the election with all relevant dates
(when packets will be available, when they are due, and when the polls will be open) in the
weekly email, on the SBA board, etc. |
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9.1.2 |
The Election Coordinator, with the Administrative
Assistant, shall prepare an election packet (samples can be
found on the SBA computer, and an example is in Appendix
C) including: 9.1.3.1 Cover
Sheet with date information 9.1.3.2
Petition form 9.1.3.3 Election
Rules |
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9.1.3 |
The Election Coordinator shall make the election packets available
on the SBA board and at the SBA office at least three (3) weeks before the election. |
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9.1.4 |
The Election Coordinator shall make the due date to return the election
materials no less than one (1) week after packets are available and no later than one (1)
week before elections start. |
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9.1.5 |
The Election Coordinator shall email or call all of the candidates that
returned a valid petition and confirm their candidacy. |
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9.1.6 |
The Election Coordinator, in consultation with Information and Technology Services, shall create an electronic ballot with links to the candidate's personal statements. |
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9.2. |
Election Administration and Results |
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9.2.1. |
The Election Coordinator shall work with the
Project Management Office to administer an on-line election. |
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9.2.2. |
The Election Coordinator and at least one additional member of the Election Committee shall have electronic access to election results. |
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9.2.3. |
The Election Coordinator shall notify all candidates of the results of election. |
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9.3. |
Tallying Votes |
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9.3.1. |
The Election Coordinator will ensure that the Election Committee verify the results of the election. The Election Coordinator shall promptly notify all candidates of the results of the election. |
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9.3.2. |
The Election Coordinator will send the names and emails of the newly elected representatives to the current President. |
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| 10. |
Proxy Voting |
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10.1. |
Proxy voting will not be allowed at meetings of
the SBA Board of Governors. |
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| 11. |
Coase’s List |
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11.1. |
Purpose |
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Coase's List is a resource for current law students and alumni to exchange and sell property and services with each other, to publicize law school related and noncommercial events, and to seek advice and opinions on matters incident to life at the law school. |
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11.2. |
Access |
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Membership on Coase’s List is open to current and past NYU Law students with valid NYU email addresses. Members of the Administration and non-law school students are not eligible for membership. |
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11.3. |
Conduct |
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Conduct on Coase’s List must comply with the law school and SBA’s nondiscrimination policies. The sale of class spots is not permitted. The SBA in consultation with the NYU School of Law Administration, reserves the right to ban the sale of other law school quasi property at its discretion. Commercial advertising is not permitted. |
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11.4. |
Regulation |
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Violation of these policies will result in a warning from Coase’s List’s SBA administrator, and subsequent violations will result in removal from the List for a period determined by the SBA Executive Committee. Violation of the law school or SBA nondiscrimination policy is grounds for removal without warning. Appeals of decisions to remove a person from the List can be made to the SBA Board of Governors. |
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| 12. |
Panchitos |
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12.1. |
Under no circumstances will any SBA event or meeting be held at Panchito's Mexican Restaurant ("Panchito's"), 103 MacDougal Street , New York , New York , 10012 . |
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12.2. |
The SBA shall not allocate any Family Grant or Incentive funds for expenditures at or for the benefit of Panchito's. (For an explaination of Section 12, please see Appendix D). |
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| 13. |
Lockers |
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13.1. |
Lockers are distributed by the Office of Student Affairs to commuter students. There are 94 large lockers available for distribution. |
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13.2. |
Twenty (20) large lockers will be set aside for SBA Executive Board members and students with special needs. SBA Executive Board members and students with special needs which require a large locker shall submit locker requests to the Office of Student Affairs. |
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13.3. |
The remaining lockers shall be distributed by lottery. The Vice-President shall manage the lottery process. |
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13.4. |
No later than the last day of the first week of classes, the Vice-President shall announce the large locker lottery. Those commuter students who desire a large locker shall submit their name and e-mail address to the Vice-President no later than one week after the announcement. |
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13.4.1 |
If less than 74 students request large lockers by the deadline, those students shall all be assigned a large locker and any of the 74 large lockers remain following the lottery process, they shall be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
If more than 74 students request large lockers, the Vice-President shall randomly select 74 students. |
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13.5. |
The Vice-President shall inform the 74 students selected to receive large lockers, and provide a list of those students to the Office of Student Affairs no later than one week following the deadline for locker requests. Students assigned large lockers may obtain their large locker assignment from the Office of Student Affairs. |
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13.6. |
Any student assigned a large locker must surrender the locker automatically assigned to him/her at the beginning of the year. |
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| 14. |
Effective Date |
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14.1. |
These Bylaws shall take effect immediately upon
acceptance by the SBA, and replace any and all prior Bylaws. |
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| 15. |
Appendicies |
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Appendix A. Definitions of the various Student Faculty Committee positions |
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Appendix B. Application for Student Representative Position of Student Faculty Committee. |
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Appendix C. Nomination Petition for Representative Positions |
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Appendix D. Explaination of Bylaws Pertaining to Panchitos |