Student Council Constitution UWC Red Cross Nordic

Preamble

We, the members of the Student Council of UWC Red Cross Nordic, determined to make
our group more organized, functional and efficient in terms of representing and serving the
student community, communicating with the school faculty and administration, and promoting
the spirit of the UWC movement, solemnly establish this constitution as the basis for the running
of our Council.
 Principles

Article 1

1A. The Student Council of UWC Red Cross Nordic consists of the Chairperson, the Student
Representative on the RCN Board (henceforth referred to as the Board Representative), the
Communications Representative, a House Representative for each house, and 5 Aspect Workers.

1B. Each House Representative also serves as an Aspect Worker.

Article 2

2A. All Student Council members are equal, irrespective of gender, age, race, nationality,
religion, economic status and other factors that may lead to discrimination.

2B. All Student Council members equally hold the rights outlined in this constitution. They must
also equally fulfill the obligations outlined in this constitution. They follow the spirit of this
constitution and the spirit of the UWC movement.

2C. No member is allowed to have privileges that transgress this constitution.

2D. In the following text, this constitution uses “appropriate” to refer to following the spirit of
this constitution and the spirit of the UWC movement.

Article 3

3A. All Student Council members are democratically elected by the student community. Hence,
they are responsible to and supervised by the student community.

3B. Striving to represent the diversity present at the school, the Student Council may not present
any religious and/or political affiliation.
 Representation

Article 4

4A. Representation in meetings

The Student Council is present and representing the student community at the following
meetings:

I. Weekly Student Council meetings;

II. Monthly Student Council – Education and Management Team (SC-EMT) meetings;
III. Weekly SC-EMT Cookie Break meetings (held every Thursday);
IV. Monthly Committee meetings;
V. Monthly Education Staff meetings
VI. Fortnightly Residential Council meetings;
VII. Quarterly Board meetings;
VIII. Annual Council meeting.

The functions, significances, and responsibilities of each type of meeting are explained in detail
in the Student Council Handbook.

4B. Committees

The Student Council is represented in a total of eight committees:

I. Academic Committee
II. Extra-Academic (EAC) Committee
III. Environmental Committee
IV. Finance Committee
V. IT Committee
VI. Food Committee
VII. Humanitarian Committee
VIII. Nordic Committee
IX. Residential Committee

The composition of each committee is further described in the Student Council Handbook.
 4C. Committee Allocation

The Board Representative will automatically be placed in the Finance committee on the grounds
of the insight into the economy of the school as a member of the UWCRCN Board. The
Communications Rep. is normally present within the IT Committee. The Chair is not present
within any committees. All other members of the Student Council will be allocated after an
internal discussion and a collective decision by the Student Council, shortly after being elected.

Article 5

5A. Responsibilities and Forums of the Student Council

(NEEDS REVISION)

i. Annual Questionnaire
The Student Council is responsible for the drafting of an annual Questionnaire. This is further
described in the Student Council Handbook.

ii. RCN Today

The Student Council is responsible for the well-being of RCN Today events. More details can be
found in the Student Council Handbook.

Article 6

6A. Student Council members must not miss any meetings for reasons other than the following:

I. Illness.
II. Scheduled medical visits at an unavoidable time.
III. Bereavement or other personal or family crisis.
IV. Essential interviews on or away from the campus which cannot be scheduled otherwise.
V. At the request of college staff to participate in class trips or special events (see (a) below)
VI. When selected or elected to represent the college at events or meetings.
VII. To attend conferences or meetings for Student Council purposes.
VIII. Host family weekends

6B. If any Student Council member is to miss a meeting for any of the aforementioned reasons,
they must inform the entire Student Council via email prior to the meeting. In this case they will
be marked with a non-voluntary absence.

6C. After a prolonged period of non-voluntary absences, the person will be consulted by the
Student Council to make a decision whether or not they are able to continue in their position.
6D. If a Student Council member is absent from a meeting without a legitimate reason (as
outlined in 6A), they will be recorded with a voluntary absence.

6E. If a Student Council member accumulates two voluntary absences, an internal Student
Council meeting will be held to discuss the matter.

6F. If a Student Council member accumulates three voluntary absences, they will be issued an
internal Student Council warning.

6G. If a Student Council member has four voluntary absences they may be automatically
removed from the Student Council and a re-election for their post will be held.
 Elections

Article 7

7A. It is the responsibility of the Student Council, following this constitution, to organize annual
democratic and impartial elections to determine its new members.

7B. Every individual student of UWC Red Cross Nordic is an independent voter in all the
elections. Every first-year student has the right to run and to vote. Every second-year student has
the right to vote.

7C. After the new Student Council has been formed and has taken over all duties and
responsibilities, the former Student Council may not intervene in the work of the new Student
Council unless approached for help or guidance.

Article 8

8A. There will be one formal Student Council election every academic year, over a three-day
period from mid-March to mid-April.

8B. The dates must be decided by the Student Council in January, in liaison with the Deputy
Rektor.

Article 9

9A. Eligibility of candidates

For a student to be eligible for candidacy, they must have attended at least five Student Council
meetings.

For a student to be eligible to run for the position of the Board Representative, they must be 18
years old before the first official Board meeting.

9B. Requirements for candidacy

A deadline for handing in an essay of maximum 350 words will be in place and must be strictly
followed. If a student misses this deadline, they will not be eligible for candidacy. Candidates
may utilize the essay as a platform to communicate their ideas to the entirety student body. In the
essay, the candidate must specify which position within the future Student Council they are
running for.
Any form of extravagant campaigning is not allowed during the lead-up to the election.
Candidates are allowed to express their manifestos/views during the Q&A session(s).

Article 10

10A. General guidelines for election procedures

I. For an election to be valid, a turnout of two thirds of the student body is required.
II. Staff may be present only as observers, with no speaking or voting rights.
III. Use of cell phones, computers and other electronics is not allowed inside the
election chamber.
IV. Other means of communication, including, but not limiting to, clapping, thumbs up,
smirks and shouting, are not allowed so as to reduce bias.
V. The order of speeches for the candidates is determined randomly through a
computerized process.
VI. Students may vote in favor of one of the candidates running, or they may abstain
from voting.
VII. For students off campus on the dates of the election, online voting must be made
available.
VIII. Candidates who are off campus on the dates of the election may delegate another
student to hold a speech on their behalf. No questions will be asked in that case.

Article 11

The elections extend over a three-day period, and proceed according to the following order:

11A. Chairperson, Board Representative and Communication Representative

I. On the first day, elections are to be held for the Chairperson, Board
Representative and the Communication Representative in the Auditorium during
Connect Time.
II. House Representatives will be connecting at the entrance door.
III. Each student is to be given a voting ballot while connecting.
IV. The ballot will be taken away should the student leave the chamber; it will be
given back once the student returns to the chamber.
V. All candidates start with a 2 minute speech followed by two questions from the
student body. Each question and response may not exceed a length of 60 seconds.
 VI. The alternative voting method will be used. Further details on this can be found in
the Student Council Handbook.

11B. House Representatives

I. On the second day, elections are to be held in each house for the respective House
Representatives, in the presence of a minimum of two Student Council
representatives.
II. All candidates are to hold a 2 minute speech, followed by two questions coming from
fellow house-mates. Each question and response may not exceed a length of 60
seconds.
III. The alternative voting method will be used. Further details on this can be found in
the Student Council Handbook.

11C. Aspect Workers

I. On the third day, elections are held for Aspect Workers in the Auditorium during
Connect Time
II. House Representatives will be connecting at the entrance door.
III. Each student is to be given a voting ballot upon entering.
IV. The ballot will be taken away should the student leave the chamber; it will be given
back once the student returns to the chamber.
V. All candidates are to hold a 1 minute speech, followed by a question from the student
body. The question and response may not exceed a length of 30 seconds.
VI. All positions are to be voted over one round. The candidates obtaining the five
highest numbers of votes are to be elected.

11D. Counting Procedures

I. Two Student Council members collect all votes in boxes.

II. Three observers are chosen from random among the audience. The observers must
not be contesting in the elections.
III. Before commencing the counting process, all observers must sign a document of
confidentiality regarding the details of the counting.
IV. In a room with three desks, two Student Council members and one observer are
assigned to each table.
V. One Student Council member is to read the ballots, while the other makes note of the
count.
 VI. The observer is not to touch or interfere, unless they believe something is being done
incorrectly.
VII. After the first counting, the Student Council members are reallocated to another
table.
VIII. A recounting is done.
IX. If the second count is in agreement with the first count, the Principal Counter will
note down the result from each table, and calculate the sum under the supervision of
all present.
X. The result is then to be passed onto the moderators by the Principal Counter to
announce the persons elected.
XI. IMPORTANT: After votes are counted, the winning candidate will be contacted by
the Student Council privately in order to confirm the appointment. The candidate
reserves the right to reject the position. The position would then be awarded to the
runner-up, after the runner-up also confirms.

Article 12: Recalling a SC member

12A. Any member of the Student Council may be recalled through referendum in the presence of
90% of the student body. The recall procedure is initiated when a petition carrying at least seventy-
five student signatures is presented to the Student Council asking for a specific Student Council
member to be recalled. The Student Council is then to organize a recall election to ask the student
body as a whole whether the member ought to be conclusively recalled. If more than two-thirds of
the students vote in favor of the recalling, the member in question is recalled. Subsequently, the
Student Council is to organize an election for the vacant position in the Student Council.

12B. Recall Procedures

I. The Student Council is to appoint a moderator for the management of the recall
procedures. The moderator must remain neutral and cannot, under any circumstances,
be the Student Council member that is being recalled.

II. During the recall election, the sponsors of the recall are allotted 5 minutes to present
an argument to the student body explaining the reason behind the proposed recalling of
the member of the Student Council.

III. The member of the Student Council facing recall is reserved the right to reply and
defend their position on the Student Council for an allotted time of 5 minutes.

IV. Two questions are allowed from the student body; the member being recalled is
allowed a response of one minute.
 V. The member of the Student Council being recalled is then given the opportunity to ask any
member of the student body to hold a two-minute speech to defend their case.

12C. House Representatives may only be recalled by their respective Houses. The Houses follow
the same procedure as elucidated above, except that they then need 20 signatures from the
members in the house. The Student Council is responsible for the administration of the recall
procedure within the House.
 Operation

Article 13

13A. The Student Council must make decisions as a collective body, through voting procedures.
Each Student Council member has one vote. They can choose to vote in favor, to vote against, or
to abstain.

13B. A simple majority is needed for a collective decision to be made by the Student Council.

13C. In matters of contention, a referendum on particular matters may be held with the entire
student body. A collective decision must be made by the Student Council on whether or not to
hold a referendum.

Article 14

14A. The Student Council, can approve, change or abolish any and all previous decisions with a
two-third majority, except on matters that contradict this constitution.

14B. Any Student Council decision is subject to reconsideration if a petition signed by 50% of
the student body is presented against such a decision.

Article 15

The Student Council must use appropriate methods to reach an internal collective decision to
deal with a Student Council member who violates this charter or other internal rules as described
in the Student Council Handbook.

Article 16

The Student Council cannot violate the authority of this constitution.

 Altering the Constitution

Article 17

17A. This Constitution can only be altered through referendum with at least two-thirds of the
student community present.

17B. Two thirds of votes in favor out of the total turnout number are needed for the proposed
motion to be implemented. No changes are valid until the voting over all motions that are
proposed is completed.

17C. The Student Council reserves the right to make editorial changes (i.e. correcting grammar,
restructuring sentences, etc.). However, such changes will not be considered valid until the entire
student body is notified via e-mail of the specific modifications.
Adopted by the Student Council 30.04.2015
Adopted by the Student Body 30.04.2016

Signature by current Chairperson:

______________________
Mindy Taenda

Student Council members’ signatures

______________________ ______________________ ______________________

Shaim Tess Faith

______________________ ______________________ ______________________

Vemund Liv Nikita

______________________ ______________________ ______________________

Magnea Hayley Elodie

______________________ ______________________ ______________________

Andres Maria B. Bernard