The University Senate

The University Senate, believing that student participation, responsibly carried out, enhances the educational process which is the principal function of the University, establishes under, and in conformity with the rules and regulations of the University, student representative committees whose guiding principles shall be:

1. The committees shall act in the interest of the student body and the University as a whole.
2. The actions of the committees shall, in all instances, abide by the spirit and letter of the rules and regulations of the University.
3. The committees operating within their competence shall, in all their actions, be responsible before the University.
4. Each of the five faculties of the University and the School of Business, hereafter referred to as the Faculties, shall have a student representative committee.

Article I - Name

The name of these committees shall be the Student Representative Committees of the American University of Beirut. They shall be referred to hereafter as the "committees".

Article II - Eligibility for Office

1. Any student of the University who is not on probation and who is registered for at least 12-credit hours as an undergraduate, or for 6-credit hours, or thesis, as a graduate, is eligible.
2. The question of student eligibility shall arise at the time he/she is being considered for election and shall be decided by the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs, in accordance with the above conditions.
3. Any duly elected member of the committees shall not be entitled to take office if he/she has been placed on probation, dropped, suspended, dismissed, or expelled by the University in the intervening period since his/her election.
4. Members of the committees shall continue to hold office as long as they are registered for the academic year in which they are serving, as specified under 1 above, unless they are dropped, suspended, dismissed, expelled, or placed on probation.
5. If the membership of any student is dropped for any of the above reasons, election for a replacement shall normally take placed within a period of two weeks.

Article III - Composition, Elections, and Term of Office

1. Members of the committees shall be elected by the respective classes in the various faculties of the University. The exact composition of each committee shall be defined in its bylaws.
2. The Office of the Dean of Student Affairs shall supervise and certify the election of student representatives to the committees.
3. A faculty advisor shall be selected by each of the six committees, subject to the approval of the respective dean. The faculty advisor shall be a non-voting member of the committee.
4. The committees shall hold office from November 1 to October 31 of the following year.

Article IV - Responsibilities of the Committees

1. To communicate to the students' information on faculty issues within the competence of the committees.
2. To ensure that students have the freedom and opportunity to express their opinions on such issues.
3. To promote and coordinate social, recreational, and cultural activities of students at the faculty level.
4. To study problems of faculty-wide interest and submit recommendations for their solution to proper faculty authorities. 
5. To elect a student representative to the Admissions, Scholarship, and Curriculum Committees in the various faculties of the University. Student representatives in the Admissions and Scholarship Committees in the various faculties shall be non-voting members. Student representatives shall always respect the confidentiality of the proceedings on the various committees on which they serve.
6. To establish sub-committees to study various issues in accordance with the bylaws of the committees.
7. To coordinate their activities in matters of common interest within the provisions of this article.

Article V - Officers and Their Election

The officers of the committees shall be: the president, the vice president, the secretary, and the treasurer. They shall be elected by the committees by a plurality vote

Article VI - Duties and Prerogatives of the Officers

1. The president of the committee shall represent the committee and preside over its meetings. He/she shall call meetings of the committee whenever necessary. 
2. The vice president shall preside over meetings of the committee in the absence of the president.
3. The secretary shall keep the minutes of the committee and shall take charge of all correspondence. He/she shall send copies of all minutes to the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.
4. The treasurer shall be responsible for the receipt and disbursement of all funds of the committee. He shall make periodic reports to the committee, and an audited final report at the last meeting of the year. All accounts of the committee must be cleared through the Office of the Comptroller.

Article VII - Funding and Expenditures

1. A fee, to be determined by the committee, shall be collected from each student by the comptroller of the University at the time of registration. The money thus raised and any other funds coming to the committee shall go to the committee's account of which the university comptroller is the custodian.
2. The committee shall submit to the University an annual budget for the coming year by the end of June of each year.
3. The president of the committee, jointly with its treasurer, is authorized to spend committee money without prior approval, committee approval must be obtained at its next meeting. Expenditures in excess of this amount require prior committee approval.
4. Money shall be withdrawn from the committee account by voucher to be signed by the president and treasurer. All expenditures from the committee account shall be in accordance with the approved budget.

Article VIII - Quorum, Decisions, and Minutes

1. An absolute majority of the committee membership shall constitute a quorum, in case there is no quorum on an assigned date, a meeting shall be held 48 hours later at the same time and place. At that meeting those present shall constitute a quorum.
2. Decisions taken at meetings are considered valid if passed by a majority vote of those present and voting. Each member will have one vote, with no proxy voting allowed.
3. Decisions pertaining to committee-sponsored activities of students outside the campus and activities of outside persons on campus require the approval of the University Student Faculty Committee.
4. Any differences between faculties and committees or between committees themselves shall be referred to the University Student Faculty Committee for final decision.
5. All meetings of the committee shall be conducted according to the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order, copies of all minutes of the meetings of the committee shall be filed with the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.

Article IX - Suspension of the Constitution

The committee constitution may be suspended by an absolute majority of the entire student body of each faculty and approval of the University Student Faculty Committee. A petition for suspension should be submitted by at least one-fifth of the entire student body of the faculty.

Article X - Amendments

Amendments to this constitution can be proposed by an absolute majority of the entire committee membership. Proposed amendments can be voted upon after two weeks of prior written notice to the members, and by a two-thirds majority of the entire committee membership.
Such amendments are subject to final approval by the University Student Faculty Committee and by the Senate.

Article XI - Bylaws

Each committee shall draw up its own bylaws which must be approved by two-thirds of the entire membership of the committee and by the University Student Faculty Committee.

Article XII - Ratification of the Constitution

1. This constitution becomes effective once approved by the University Senate and the president of the University.
2. No provisions in the constitution or bylaws of the Student Representative Committees shall contravene any provision in the constitution of the University Student Faculty Committee.

This document was presented by the dean of student affairs to the University Senate for its approval.
It was approved by the senate at its meeting on June 26,1981 and by Acting President David Dodge.