Student Association's Student Bill of Rights

Student Bill of Rights by EC's Student Association

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Amendments

While we acknowledge the College's right to suspend these rights, we believe that the students should have a right to receive a warning and an opportunity to address these concerns which led to the proposed suspension.

I. Every member of the Elmira College community has the right to all forms of free expression, the right to peaceably assemble for all non-destructive and non-hateful purposes, and the right to freely associate with any member of the Elmira College community without fear of retribution, or undue censorship by the administration.

II. The students of Elmira College have the right to establish and maintain a governing body under the authority of a student-controlled Constitution. The Student Government and all of its organizations will not be controlled, altered, or dissolved without the approval of the student body.

III. Every member of the Elmira College community has the right to be free from harassment and discrimination on the basis of age, gender or gender identification, race, national origin, ethnicity, economic status, sexual orientation, political affiliation, disability, marital/family status, veteran status, or religion.

IV. All students have a right to maintain their scholarship or other financial aid provided by the college, campus jobs, organization membership, and other awards provided they honor the commitments to which they have agreed.

V. In the event that major policy changes are proposed by the Elmira College administration, students have the right to have their views and welfare considered, as well as receive adequate warning before these changes take effect to allow time for comment by the student body. Furthermore students have the right to be represented on committees that affect students as members of the Elmira College community.

VI. In the event that students are required to pay fines for damages, students have a right to know what they are fined for to avoid repeating said damages.

VII. Students have the right to be present for search and seizure procedures. If they are not present, then every attempt will be made to contact them. Furthermore, when fire checks are being conducted, the search shall not go beyond a routine fire check, regardless of student disciplinary status.

VIII. All students have the right to be presumed innocent and to have a fair hearing before an impartial tier of the discipline system. Prior to their hearing, students will be informed of their rights, the disciplinary procedures, the accusation(s), and the evidence brought against them. At their hearing, students have the right to have an individual of their choosing present as an advisor. After their hearing, students have the right to receive the minutes taken during the hearing.

IX. All students have the right to an impartial appeal of any decision regarding disciplinary violations, dormitory damages and fines, parking violations, academic dishonesty, and final grades.

X. If a member of the Elmira College community feels that his or her rights have been violated, that individual has the right to access a fair and impartial system of recourse.

XI. We, in order to exercise our rights fairly, have the responsibility to respect the rights and opinions of others.

Additional Amendments

XII. As this document is made up of a series of amendments to the constitution, once passed, any alteration to the document must be approved by two-thirds of the Student Senate, in accordance with the usual procedure to amend the Constitution.

XIII. Student Association hereby affirms there are no restrictions on allowing non-senators to speak during the concerns and announcements portion of the senate. Non-senators will be allowed to speak during moderated caucuses as long as they abide by Robert's Rules of Order.

XIV. All club reports will hereby be submitted electronically to the Student Association Secretary. Failure to do so will result in one senate absence for every week it is late.

XV. Senators will hereby be allotted two and a half minutes of unmoderated discussion time prior to moderated caucuses.

XVI. Club constitutions: Voting shall be left up to the discretion of club constitutions, and all club constitutions will delineate whether the power of the President to appoint officers during club officer elections exists or not. The Constitution Committee will review all constitutions in which all changes will be clearly highlighted.

XVII. The Update Amendment: In light of the evolution of the Student Association of Elmira College, the Student Senate has found it just and necessary to remove the following bodies from the Student Association Constitution and By-Laws, redistribute their functions as required, and update the language to reflect these changes: the Judicial Board in its entirety, the Residence Hall Governments in their entirety, the Off-Campus Student Association in its entirety, Advising Committee, Curricular Affairs Committee, Review Committee, Academic Concerns Committee, Handbook Committee, Security Advisory Committee, Technology Resource Committee, Campus Climate Committee, Purchase and Operations Committee, the role of Freshman Class Chairperson, and the role of Parliamentarian.”

XVIII. Committees: In light of the evolution of the Student Association of Elmira College, the Student Senate has found it just and necessary to alter the required makeup, conduct, and creation, selection, and dissolution processes of committees. A committee is an officially endorsed group of the Student Senate tasked with aiding in the execution of certain tasks that meets at least once a month. In order to create a committee, a senator or executive may propose the creation of a committee by presenting a case for the creation of said committee to the Student Senate to pass a simple majority vote. Each committee must have a Chairperson and a Secretary, which may be any member of the Student Senate. The Chairperson plans meetings, brings forth an agenda to make sure that progress is being made, and reports to the Student Senate the progress on relevant issues. The Secretary keeps a record of all in attendance, what is accomplished at each meeting, and submits MMRs each month in the interests of transparency. There are no further regulations for the number or position of members in committees. To dissolve a committee, a senator or executive must present a case for the dissolution of the committee, to be voted on by the Student Senate in a simple majority vote.

XIX. Membership Regulation: In light of the evolution of the Student Association of Elmira College, the Student Senate has found it just and necessary to alter its policy regarding the regulation of membership. All clubs may decide for themselves the criteria on which they discriminate membership, on the condition that the reasons for such discrimination are included in the club’s constitution and that the discrimination does not involve discrimination on the basis of age, gender or gender identification, race, national origin, ethnicity, economic status, sexual orientation, political affiliation, disability, marital/family status, veteran status, or religion. If a student feels that they have been denied membership on an unfair basis they may appeal to the Constitution Committee for a ruling on the case.

XX. Due to the reorganization of the Student Senate, amendment XIV will be disregarded.

September 2026