Preamble and Purpose:

The organization, known as the Hillsdale College Student Federation, shall exist to allocate student fees for the purpose of improving campus life; to approve of and regulate student clubs, organizations and honoraries; to act as a Federation in which students can participate in self-government; and, to support the College in its Mission of calling students toward the active cultivation of intellectual and moral excellence, humility before our Creator, courage in pursuit of justice and diligence in performing the duties of scholarship.

The Mission of the College is as follows:

Hillsdale College is an independent, nonsectarian institution of higher learning founded in 1844 by men and women "grateful to God for the inestimable blessings" resulting from civil and religious liberty and "believing that the diffusion of learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings." It pursues the stated object of the founders: "to furnish all persons who wish, irrespective of nation, color, or sex, a literary and scientific education" outstanding among American colleges "and to combine with this such moral and social instruction as will best develop the minds and improve the hearts of its pupils."

The College considers itself a trustee of modern man's intellectual and spiritual inheritance from the Judeo-Christian faith and Greco-Roman culture, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law.

By training the young in the liberal arts, Hillsdale College prepares students to become leaders worthy of that legacy.  By encouraging the scholarship of its faculty, it contributes to the preservation of that legacy for future generations.  By publicly defending that legacy, it enlists the aid of other friends of free civilization and thus secures the conditions of its own survival and independence.

Article I – Membership

A. The Federation shall be composed of students in good standing, having been either elected by the Student body or appointed by a Greek house.  Each member of the student body has the right to attend meetings.

1. Federation Membership

a. Representation shall be determined by one representative from each Greek house and an equal number, plus two, of independent students elected by the independent student body.

b. One representative from each nationally chartered Greek house shall be chosen.  Any student that pledges a fraternity or sorority shall be considered Greek.  Any independent representative that pledges a house during his term to Federation forfeits his position.

c. Freshman, Sophomores, and Juniors classes shall each be guaranteed two independent representatives. The remaining positions will be filled by independent candidates receiving the next highest number of votes.

d. The Vice-President of Student Affairs shall be the advisor.
 

2. Permanent Committees

a. Finance Committee, elected from and by the Federation, shall consist of three independents and two Greeks. The president and treasurer are non-voting members.

b. Elections Committee shall consist of the chairman elected from and by the Federation and those Federation members volunteering to monitor a given election.

3. Organizations

a. Federation organizations

Student publications funded by the Student Federation.

b. Campus organizations

Student Federation shall have the power to approve or deny the creation of new clubs, organizations, and honoraries. All clubs, organizations, and honoraries shall demonstrate a harmony in Purpose and Mission with that of Hillsdale College for admittance and perpetual good standing with the Federation. The Federation has the right to declare all clubs, organizations, and honoraries as in good standing, on probation, or defunct.

c. No Federation moneys shall be used for alcohol.

Article II – Powers

A. The power of the Federation is derived from the Board of Trustees with final authority in all matters being  vested in the President of the College.

B. The Federation is the legislative branch with the power to:

1. Receive and allocate student fees for Federation organizations;

2. Grant monetary requests of student clubs, organizations, and honoraries; 
        

a. Philanthropic allocations shall only be appropriated from the philanthropy budget, not student fees.

3. Approve creation of new student clubs, organizations, and honoraries;
 

4. Declare all clubs, organizations, and honoraries as in good standing, on probation, or defunct;

5. Audit and oversee student publications;

6. Create and abolish special committees;

7.  Discipline and/or remove officers or representatives with justified cause.  This shall require a 2/3 vote of the Student Federation representatives and the consent of the President, unless he is being removed.  In this case, the approval of the Vice-President and Treasurer is required as well.

C. Administrative Committees

1. Finance Committee shall supervise the finances of all organizations receiving Student Federation allocations;

2. Elections Committee shall supervise all elections held by Student Federation.

D. Federation Organizations

1. Publications shall operate according to the Federation constitution and bylaws and the Publications Board policy statement.

Article III – Election of Officers and Members; Duties of Officers

A. Elections

1. Federation officers shall be elected by the entire student body by a secret ballot four weeks prior to first-semester finals, and shall take office in January.

2. Independent Federation members shall be elected by the independent body by a secret ballot four weeks prior to first-semester finals, and shall take office in January.  Greek houses shall be responsible for choosing their representatives at a similar time.

B. Qualifications

1. Candidates for president shall be full-time students with at least three semesters at Hillsdale College, have served as a representative on the Federation for at least one semester, and have a cumulative average of at least 3.0.

2. Candidates for treasurer shall be full-time students with at least three semesters at Hillsdale College, have served as a representative on the Federation for at least one semester, and have a cumulative average of at least 3.0.

3. Candidates for vice-president shall be full-time students with at least two semesters at Hillsdale College, have served as a representative on the Federation for at least one semester, and have a cumulative average of at least 2.75.

4. Candidates for secretary shall be full-time students with at least two semesters at Hillsdale College, have served as a representative on the Federation for at least one semester, and have a cumulative average of at least 2.75.

5. In the absence of a qualified candidate, a new candidate shall be considered eligible upon:

a. the approval of the president and a simple majority of the Federation; or

b. a 2/3 majority of the Federation.

6. Candidates for independent representative shall be full-time students at Hillsdale College. When an independent representative vacancy appears, it shall be filled by the alternate with the next highest vote total.

C. Duties

1. The president shall preside at all Federation meetings, keep order, and direct business.  He shall use Robert’s Rules of Order to conduct meetings. He shall have the power to break a tie vote of the Federation. He shall confer with the Vice-President of Student Affairs as necessary to improve communication between the Student Federation and administration.

The president shall call regular meetings at least once a month in order for the Federation to approve expenditures, allocate funds, and carry out its constitutional powers.

2. The treasurer shall pay bills after a majority approval by the Finance Committee, unless a check must be written before approval can be made by the Committee, and said checks shall then be approved by the Vice-President of Student Affairs or the Vice-President of Financial Affairs.  He shall receive funds made payable to the Federation.  He shall be responsible for keeping an accurate, up-to-date set of books.  Each year he shall see that the officers are bonded. The books shall be audited by a reliable accounting firm if deemed necessary by the Vice-President of Financial Affairs.

The president and treasurer shall sign all checks.  Said checks and/or disbursals may be drafted and made payable only by the treasurer.  The treasurer shall present at least once a month a financial statement showing bills to be paid, income, and budget balances.  Said statement(s) shall be presented to the Federation for approval by resolution.

During the summer months and winter semester break, the Hillsdale College Vice-President of Financial Affairs and the Vice-President of Student Affairs shall have the authority to write checks, make disbursements, and collect outstanding accounts in order to clear the Federation account for the following semester.

3. The vice-president shall preside when the president is unable to attend.  He shall assume the role of Homecoming chairman and Federation representative to the Academic Honesty Committee. He shall also assume the responsibility for organizing at least one philanthropic project each semester of the term in office. He shall also hold at least one philanthropic fundraiser for the term in office.

4. The secretary shall record all minutes of the proceedings of the Federation meetings, distribute them, and submit them for publication in the Collegian and on the official Student Federation website.

5. Officers shall be present at Federation meetings.  They shall submit a written excuse in advance when they expect to be absent.  The Federation shall have the power to remove an officer after two absences in a semester.

D. Vacancies

1. If the office of president should become vacant for any reason, the vice-president shall be the president.

2. If the office of vice-president, treasurer or secretary should become vacant for any reason, the Federation shall select a replacement for the remainder of the term.  The Federation shall select a person from its current membership, including officers.

Article IV-Amendments

A. The Constitution shall be amended by the following procedure:

1. The amendment shall be proposed by a simple majority of the Federation;

2. The proposed amendment(s) shall then appear in two successive issues of the Collegian;

3. For enactment, said amendment(s) shall be approved by two-thirds of the student body that voted.  The voting for the amendment shall take place before the final four weeks of the semester;

4. Said amendment(s) shall be approved by the College president before its enactment;

5.  The ratification by a 2/3 majority of those voting shall be sufficient for the immediate adoption of an amendment to the constitution after approval by the College president.

Article V – Bylaws

The Federation shall be empowered to enact its own bylaws, which must be coded and added accordingly as official governing authority of the Federation.