Student Senate of Wabash College

The Student Senate of Wabash College is the legislative body of the Student Body of Wabash College.

Creation

In the late 1960s, the original Senior Council of Wabash College lost political efficacy. It began when six African American freshmen refused to participate in a college tradition known as Chapel Sing. At the time the tradition consisted of the entire freshman class singing the college fight song, "Old Wabash," on the mall. Any student who erred was taken aside and a 'W' was shaved into his hair.

When the Senior Council could not force the students to comply, the tradition became optional and the Council's powers began to wane. Shortly thereafter, the Senior Council created a democratically elected, republican-style governing body called the Student Senate and dissolved itself.

The Student Senate has since governed the Student Body's affairs uninterrupted.

Membership

Membership in the Student Senate consists of two groups: members and voting members. Presently, with the exception of one office, the groups consist of the same people.

Voting Members

The voting members consist of the Vice-President of the Student Body, one Senator elected from each living unit (as well as an additional Senator from any living unit with more than eighty residence), the Representative appointed from among the students living in off-campus housing (if the total number of members living off-campus is at least twenty), twelve Representatives elected from the three under-classes, and the Chairman of each Student Senate Standing Committee.

Non-Voting Members

The President of the Student Body is a member without voting privileges.

Honorary Senators

The Bylaws of the Student Senate of Wabash College establish the title of Honorary Senator of the Student Body, which is held for life, and grants membership-like status. Unless otherwise specified by policy, Honorary Senators are treated as members without voting privileges. Honorary Senators should be referred to verbally as "The Honorary Senator, Mr. X" and in writing as "The Nth Honorary Senator of the Student Body, Mr. X," where N is the creation number.

The Honorary Senators of the Student Body include (in order of creation):

# Andrew T. Ford, Ph.D. H’01, Fourteenth President of Wabash College
# Terri Fyffe, Wabash College Business Office
# Kevin M. Pazour, Jr., A.B. ‘07, First President of the Student Body of Wabash College
# Brett T. Gann, Jr., A.B. ‘07, First Vice-President of the Student Body of Wabash College
# Jesse Jay James, '08, Second President of the Student Body of Wabash College
# Robert A. Boarman, ‘08, Second Vice-President of the Student Body of Wabash College

Governance

The Student Senate is governed first by the Constitution of the Student Body of Wabash College, then by its Bylaws, then by its policies, and finally according to the most recent edition of Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

The Student Senate is chaired by the Vice-President and in his absence by the Chairman Pro Tempore of the Student Senate. The body looks to the Vice-President to facilitate its meetings, and to the Chairman of the Constitution, Bylaw and Policy Review Committee, who serves as the Senate's parliamentarian, to interpret the rules.

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See Also

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