- Purpose
welfare of our school, to bring about better cooperation among the
students, faculty and the administration, and to establish and maintain
high standards of citizenship, leadership and responsibility, and to
organize activities for the interest and enjoyment of all, hereby
establish this Constitution.
- Name
High School. The name is herein noted as the “Council.”
- Membership
Vice-President , Secretary, Historian, School Store
Manager, Community Service Liaison, Sergeant at Arms, Publicity Chair, Graphic Designer as well as General Council Representatives.
- Qualifications, Duties, and Powers
1.In order to be eligible to become a Council Representative, herein
noted as a “representative,” a student must fill out a membership
form and turn it into the Executive Board or an advisor. Once
accepted to the position of representative, the student is obligated
to perform the following duties:
a. He/She shall attend full council meetings on a regular basis.
b. He/She must volunteer on a regular basis for various
activities, for the benefit of the community and the council as
a whole.
c. Meet a required amount of dedication given by the current
year’s point system.
2. Representatives have the power to voice an opinion and vote on
any motion before the general council.
3. Representatives will be chosen by the Executive Board to head
various activities throughout the year including: Homecoming
Dance, Homecoming Parade, Homecoming Pep Rally, Mr.
Oswego, Talent Show, Turnabout Dance, Etc.
B. President
1. In order to be eligible to become a candidate for President, a student
must meet the following requirements:
a. He/She must be enrolled at Oswego High School as a full time student
during the year of the election and during the year for which the office is being sought.
b. He/She must be a Junior or Senior during the term of office.
c. He/She must have at least two years of previous experience on
the council.
d. He/She must have served on the Executive Board one year unless all current Executive Board members are of the current graduating class or do not wish to run.
e. He/She must be willing to devote a majority of their time to the
Council.
2. The President will have the following duties:
a. The President presides at all Council meetings.
b. Shall represent the student body at all assemblies, conventions,
and other gatherings.
c. Shall supervise other Council officers in the performance of their
assigned tasks.
d. Shall prepare and distribute agendas for the full council and
Executive Board meetings.
e. Shall be the host to the annual Mr. Oswego and Talent Show unless he or she is performing in the show.
C. Vice-President
1. In order to be eligible to be a candidate for Vice President, a student
must meet the following requirements:
a. He/She must be enrolled at Oswego High School as a full time student
during the year of the election and during the year for which the office is being sought.
b. He/She must be a Sophomore, Junior, or Senior during the term
of office.
c. He/She must have at least one year of experience on the
Council.
d. He/She must be willing to devote a majority of their time to the
Council.
2. The Vice President has the following duties:
a. He/She shall assume the duties of the President, as outlined in
the above section, if the President becomes unable to serve at
any time.
c. He/She shall host the annual Mr. Oswego show, along with the President.
D. Secretary
1. In order to be eligible to be a candidate for Secretary, a student
must meet the following requirements:
a. He/She must be enrolled at Oswego High School as a full time student
during the year of the election and during the year for which the
office is being sought.
b. He/She must be a Sophomore, Junior, or Senior during the term
of office.
c. He/She must have at least one year of experience on the
Council.
d. He/She must be willing to devote a majority of their time to the
Council.
2. The Secretary has the following duties:.
a. Shall keep an official record of attendance at all Council
functions and meetings.
b. He/She shall prepare a directory of all Executive Board members
to be distributed before the Homecoming Dance and shall prepare a directory of all representatives for Student Services.
c. Shall serve as the liaison to the Executive Board for the Council’s
point system.
d. Shall provide the membership form required for all general
members to complete.
F. Historian
1. In order to be eligible to be a candidate for Historian, a student must
meet the following requirements:
a. He/She must be enrolled at Oswego High School as a full time student
during the year of the election and during the year for which the
office is being sought.
b. He/She must be a Sophomore, Junior, or Senior during the term
of office.
c. He/She must have at least one year of experience on the
Council.
d. He/She must be willing to devote a majority of their time to the
Council.
2. The Historian has the following duties:
a. He/She shall be the liaison for the Executive Board acting as the
keeper of this constitution.
b. He/She shall act as the liaison for the Executive Board in
presenting a PowerPoint of all committee reports, planning
schedules, activities, and dances at the end of the year banquet.
c. He/She shall be the Executive Board liaison for all photography.
d. He/She shall control the Council display in the commons.
e. He/She shall be the keeper of the school bulletin boards which
should be changed seasonally.
f. He/She shall be the in charge of birthday reminders.
G. School Store Manager
1. In order to be eligible to be a candidate for School Store Manager, a
student must meet the following requirements:
a. He/She must be enrolled at Oswego High School as a full time student
during the year of the election and during the year for which the
office is being sought.
b. He/She must be a Sophomore, Junior, or Senior during the term
of office.
c. He/She must have at least one year of experience on the
Council.
d. He/She must be willing to devote a majority of their time to the
Council.
2. The School Store Manager has the following duties:
a. He/She shall organize, maintain, and be in charge of the school
store.
b. He/She shall organize the sale of tickets for all events.
c. He/She shall organize the time slots for any event sign up during lunch hours.
H. Community Service Liaison:
1. In order to be eligible to be a candidate for Community Service
Liaison, a student must meet the following requirements:
a. He/She must be enrolled at Oswego High School as a full time student
during the year of the election and during the year for which the
office is being sought.
b. He/She must be a Sophomore, Junior, or Senior during the term
of office.
c. He/She must have at least one year of experience on the
Council.
d. He/She must be willing to devote a majority of their time to the Council.
2. The Community Service Liaison has the following duties:
a. He/She shall be in charge of a monthly community service
project.
b. He/She shall create a monthly activity calendar to be distributed at full council meetings.
I. Sergeant at Arms
1. In order to be eligible to be a candidate for Sergeant at Arms, a
student must meet the following requirements:
a. He/She must be enrolled at Oswego High School during the year of the election and during the year for which the office is being sought.
b. He/She must be a Sophomore, Junior, or Senior during the term of office.
c. He/She must have at least one year of experience on the Council.
d. He/She must be willing to devote a majority of their time to the Council.
2. The Sergeant at Arms has the following duties:
a. He/She will host the annual Talent Show unless he/she is performing in the show.
b. He/She shall be in charge of keeping order at all Full and Executive Board meetings.
J. Publicity Chair
1. In order to be eligible to be a candidate for Publicity Chair, a
student must meet the following requirements:
a. He/She must be enrolled at Oswego High School during the year of the election and during the year for which the office is being sought.
b. He/She must be a Sophomore, Junior, or Senior during the term of office.
c. He/She must have at least one year of experience on the Council.
d. He/She must be willing to devote a majority of their time to the Council.
- The Publicity Chair has the following duties:
b. He/She shall be in charge of planning/creating advertisements for events around school and on Panther TV.
c. He/She shall be in charge of social media accounts representing Student Council.
V. Elections:
A. Any student who meets the requirements listed in the previous section
may become a candidate for a position on the Executive Board. No
student may apply for more than one position during any one year unless advisors recommend it.
B. Members of student council are eligible to vote for the executive board in student council elections. Members are defined as students who have attended one official student council meeting in that school year.
A. Officers
1. The Executive Board shall be elected in April/May of the school year
previous to the term of office.
2. Each potential candidate must complete an application for
candidacy. This application shall contain the following:
a. A list of qualifications, duties, and powers as outlined in the
previous section.
b. Questions pertaining to the applicant’s ability to meet these
requirements
c. Questions pertaining to previous experience
d. A place for the applicant’s signature
e. The deadline date for this application
3. Any applicant whose application lacks his/her signature, or is
incomplete in any way, shall be disqualified from the election.
4. The slate of candidates shall be announced within three days of the
application deadline date. After this time, candidates have three
days to withdraw from the race, and cannot change the position for
which they are running.
5. The Executive Board shall be elected by the Council
6. No person may be elected to the same position for more than two years.
7. Each potential candidate must undergo an interview conducted at an appointed date
prior to the week of the election.
8. The Executive Board has the following powers:
- They shall be the interpreters of this constitution.
If there are no candidates for one or more of the Executive Board positions, the Advisor(s) shall extend the deadline for applications for two days, and announce this to the student body. If a deficiency in the number of candidates still exists, the Advisor(s) have the right to open the election to a lower grade level, and the election process shall proceed as scheduled. If a deficiency still exists, the Advisor(s) will eliminate Executive Board positions as needed. They may be reinstated the following year.
C. Ballots
1. Ballots for the Executive Board shall use the following format:
a. At the top of the ballot shall be a clear, understandable statement
informing voters as to what is being voted on, and how to mark
their ballot.
b. Immediately following the statement shall be a list of candidates
for each position, with a place for voters to mark their choice.
c. In the event that there is no candidate for one or more positions
on the Executive Board, there shall be a statement regarding
this fact, and a space for candidates nominated from the floor to
be written in.
d. Rankings from the Advisor(s) will also be listed on the ballot. These rankings include: Interview, Participation, and Qualification.
D. Results
1. Results shall be tabulated by the Advisor(s) or by anyone appointed
by him/her/them.
2. In the event of a tie, a revote between the involved students shall be
held within one week of the general election. The format of the revote shall be the same as the format of the general election.
3. Results of the elections shall be announced to the full council at the
end-of-year banquet.
4. Any disputed result must be reported to the Advisor(s) within two
days of the announcement of the results. The Advisor(s) has/have
the final decision to decide whether or not the dispute is valid, and
the appropriate course of action to be taken.
VI. Term of Office
- Representatives and Officers shall serve from the day after the end-of-year banquet in the year they were elected up to and including the day of the end-of-year-banquet of the following year.
VII. Succession of Office
A. Should the President become unable to perform his/her duties for any
prolonged period of time, the Vice-President shall become the
permanent President.
B. Should the Vice-President become unable to perform his/her duties for
any prolonged period of time, the duties of the Vice-President shall be
absorbed by the other executive board members.
VIII. Dismissal of Members
A. The following guidelines constitute grounds for dismissal of any member:
- Violation of the Oswego High School Code of Conduct
- Any dismissal of membership is the decision of the Student Council Advisor(s) and the student’s Dean.
- If the member has three unexcused absences from a required event, they may be subject to dismissal.
- An absence may be excused if the student’s parent contacts an advisor and notifies them of the situation at least three days prior to the event.
- The member is responsible for finding someone to take their place.
IX. Meetings
- Regular meetings of the council shall be held weekly at a regular time appointed by the Advisor and the Executive Board.
- Special meeting of the council may be called by the Advisor(s).
- Once a format for the agenda is decided upon, the consequent agendas shall follow the same format.
X. Point System
A. The Point System will commence at the beginning of the school year
and will last until the end-of-year banquet. The Secretary shall design
the point system and it shall be unanimously approved by the
Executive Board before being placed into effect. The Secretary is also
held responsible for keeping a current record of points for members.
Members will receive points for participation in activities and for
attendance at meetings. Each member of the council will be required to
meet the quota, determined at the beginning of each year by the
Executive Board, of points to be considered a member of the Council.
XI. Amendments
- Any Representative may suggest an amendment to this constitution during any meeting of the Council.
- Within one week of the suggestion, the President must create and appoint a special committee to formally develop the proposed amendment.
- This committee shall consist of the sponsor of the amendment, the Historian, two other Executive Board members, and at least three other Representatives.
- This committee shall have a completed proposed amendment for the next regularly scheduled meeting.
- This amendment must pass unanimously in the committee in order to proceed to the Executive Board’s vote.
- Within one week of the passage of the amendment in the committee, the Executive Board will vote on ratifying the new amendment.
- The amendment must receive the majority vote and the Advisor(s) vote/votes in order to proceed to the Executive Board’s vote.
- For the amendment to be completely ratified, the Council must make the final vote in a two-thirds majority. If this passes, then the amendment is considered to be part of this constitution and shall begin to take effect immediately, or when the amendment deems appropriate.
- Spelling, grammatical, and typing errors may be corrected without an amendment being passed.
XII. Dissolution
A. If the Representatives vote to dissolve the Council, all money, records,
and other property of the Council shall be given to Oswego High School. If the school is also being dissolved at this time, all
property shall be given to Oswego Community Unit District 308. If the
school district is being dissolved at this time, Representatives shall
choose another proper organization to receive the property of the
Council.
XIII. Resignation of Position
- In the case that an officer resigns from their position, the rest of the executive board will nominate a full council member to take his/her place.
- It is recommended that the full council member nominated is either someone who has previously run for an executive board position or is an actively involved member.
- All executive board members must vote on new member. Majority of votes wins.