Article IX – Student Clubs
Section A. Chartering
Any student or group of students may organize a student club on campus. The club may not be started by a staff member or by outside organizations. To begin the process, the interested students will need to meet, organize, and elect officers. The following procedures govern the organization of a club:
Prospective clubs shall submit a constitution that details the purpose of the club. The constitution must follow the format supplied by SGA which can be found in the current version of the chartering packet. Clubs are eligible for SGA charter and funding only if their membership is open to any Western student who can meet their membership requirements.
The constitution must contain a list of members, officers to include a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and the faculty or staff advisor.
There are no deadlines for chartering, but it is recommended that each club charter as early as possible in the semester.
The constitution, and list of members will be distributed to SGA members at the next regularly scheduled meeting. It will be discussed and voted on in the Wednesday meeting that the charter is submitted.
Once the charter is approved, the SGA Vice-President will notify the club president and advisor of such.
Section B. Declaration of Active Club Status:
Clubs that have been previously chartered will need to declare their active club status each academic year before receiving SGA funding, or before reserving space for club meetings and activities.
The “Declaration of Active Club Status” form is for the club to state who the current advisor and four student officers are. This form will be submitted, reviewed, and approved by the SGA advisors and the SGA Vice-President. The advisor and club members will then be notified of official current active club status.
Section C. Funding:
All chartered clubs are eligible for SGA funding.
Chartered clubs will receive $200 per semester to spend on the support of their club. Expenditures must comply with college policy.
A simple majority vote of SGA is required for any funding request beyond the initial $200 that a club receives each semester.
No club may carry unused allocations over from one semester to another.
If the club does not utilize funds for the requested purpose, they must be returned to SGA.
Once the allocation is approved, the club must submit appropriate bills or receipts to an SGA Advisor and Treasurer.
Section D. Duties:
Each club must be represented at one Wednesday SGA meeting a month as assigned by their SGA representative. Clubs may attend additional meetings if desired. Each club will be allowed two unexcused absences per semester or four per academic year. If an SGA member is a representative for a club, they may not vote in matters concerning their club, to prevent a conflict of interest. Failure to attend meetings could result in revocation of the club charter. The SGA Secretary will take roll call at each meeting.
Each club is required to give a monthly report at their assigned Wednesday meeting describing their previous month’s activities. In addition, each organization is required to inform SGA of future events.
All clubs are required to follow established Western policies and procedures including:
- Reserving college facilities for any planned event.
- Making sure that all advertising materials/posters are approved/stamped by the Print Shop and that they are removed by club members when the event is done.
- At the conclusion of the event, the club must clean up any campus facilities used.
Clubs may be called upon to assist SGA with some of their sponsored events.
Clubs are required to hold at least one campus-wide event per semester.
Club absences may be approved by an SGA Officer.
Section E.
A club charter may be revoked for violation of any of the above guidelines or for any other violation of college policy.
A hearing within one week of the motion must follow a motion for the revocation.
Three-fourths (3/4) of the SGA members must be present before the hearing can begin.
A club will forfeit its charter upon two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of SGA members present.
The organization has the right to appeal through the Student Due Process policy.