The Student Government Association (SGA) acts as a liaison between the students and the administration. The members of the SGA shall serve as representation of the student body to each other and to the faculty and administration of XUSOM. They shall seek to represent the concerns of the XUSOM student body while striving to foster a strong academic and extracurricular community.
The executive members of SGA are the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Class representatives. Students partake in faculty standing committees and other XUSOM committees as voting members and participate in making policy that affects them directly or indirectly. Students are responsible for implementation of school policies and administration of matters that affect all four years of MD program.
In addition to elected class officers, SGA can appoint representatives for various committees. Students who want to serve on committees as representatives can present themselves at the meeting at which appointments will be made and indicate their interest. SGA selects its representative from those students.
SGA also oversee the student interest groups and provides support for conducting their activities. The Community outreach programs at XUSOM are implemented via these interest groups under the purview of Office of Student Affairs (OSA).
SGA shall be governed according to the precepts stated in this document while abiding by the Student Handbook as well as University policies and procedures.
Class Elections
The elections are held in the first week of November and the elected representatives serve for one year. The SGA oversees all elections. The following members of the SGA are elected: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Class representatives.
SGA executive members
The executive officers of the SGA are – President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and the Class Representatives.
Meetings are held at least once a semester. Minutes of each meeting are noted by secretary / Year 1 class representative and emailed to the President of the SGA to be reviewed and then emailed to the members of the SGA prior to the next meeting. The presence of more than half the number of executive officers constitutes a quorum, and matters are decided by a majority vote of members present. Special meetings of the SGA can be called at any time by the President, provided twenty-four hour notice of the meeting is given to every SGA member. The SGA representatives are responsible for advising their class of matters discussed at every meeting, for determining the sense of the class on issues by conducting class meetings or by other means, and for reporting class opinions accurately to the SGA. After three absences from the SGA meetings, a member can be suspended by vote of the members, and an officer will be appointed amongst the nominated candidates by the voting members in consultation with the Dean of Student Affairs, for the remainder of the term.
Any student can propose an agenda item for an upcoming SGA meeting by notifying the SGA President or other Representative at least one week prior to the meeting.
All of the SGA members meet regularly with the Deans on a monthly basis. Additionally, in conjunction with the Office of Student Affairs (OSA), the SGA is responsible for student-run activities such as: class elections, administration of Independent Student Surveys, global alumni meet, health fares and other school-wide social affairs.
The SGA is funded by the Student finance, XUSOM. With these monies, the activities such as SGA beach bash, research day, sports meet, other wellness activities approved by the OSA can be organized.
Bylaws of the SGA
Preamble:
The goals of the SGA are as follows:
- To serve as the voice of the student body.
- To serve as a liaison between the student body and the administration.
- To foster student unity.
- To provide financial support of events, projects, and organizations that benefit the medical education and wellness of the student body.
- To assist in coordination of student representation to the various intramural committees and extramural organizations requesting such representation.
- To oversee such activities as deemed necessary to ensure fair and just consideration for all students.
Article 1: Membership and Organization
1.1: The membership shall consist of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Class representatives.
1.2: A quorum shall be required to conduct meetings. A quorum shall consist of the presence of more than half the number of executive officers of SGA.
1.3: The officers of SGA shall be as follows:
- The President.
- The Vice President
- The Treasurer
- The Secretary.
- Class Representatives
1.4: All the executive members are elected by vote. All the class representatives shall be elected by vote. The term of each member shall run until the following November.
1.5: In the event that a vacancy occurs in the membership of SGA, an officer will be appointed amongst the nominated candidates by the voting members in consultation with the Deans of Student Affairs, for the remainder of the term.
1.6: Voting policy: The majority vote of a quorum shall be required for approval of any business conducted by the SGA. In the absence of a quorum, no business requiring a vote of the SGA shall take place, and all such business will be postponed until the next meeting of the SGA or until the presence of a quorum is obtained.
1.7: SGA reserves the right to conduct business as it deemed necessary to fulfill its goals as outlined in the Preamble to these Bylaws.
1.8: SGA shall establish committees as it deems necessary to conduct business as established by Bylaws.
Article 2: Meetings of the SGA
2.1: All meetings of the SGA shall be open to any member of the student body and Dean’s Office who wishes to attend. Other non-students will be allowed to attend at the discretion of the SGA.
2.2: The Student SGA year shall run from November to November. Regular meetings of the SGA will be held every semester. Special meetings of the SGA may be called at any time at the request of the SGA President or at least three members of the SGA.
2.3: The President shall notify the members of the SGA of meetings at least one week before the date of the meeting. The student body will be notified through email from the SGA President. In case of a special meeting of the SGA, notification to all parties will be made at least twenty-four hours before said meeting is to be held.
2.4: The President shall set the agenda for meetings of the SGA. Any student who wishes to raise an issue or question before the meeting should notify the SGA President at least one week before the meeting for inclusion in the agenda.
2.5: The order of business for all meetings of the SGA shall be as follows:
- Introduction
- Approval of minutes from the last meeting
- Old business
- New business
- Reports of committees/representatives
- Class business
- Date for next meeting
This order of business may only be changed by unanimous consent of the SGA members present in the meeting.
Article 3: Duties
3.1: The President of the SGA shall
- Act as liaison between students and the Administration
- Preside over monthly class officer meetings
- Coordinate SGA fundraising activities in conjunction with the treasurer and Interest Groups
- Oversee all other class officers
- Responsible for planning and preparing for White Coat ceremony, administering Independent Student Analysis and other survey’s in coordination with the OSA.
3.2: The Vice President shall
- Preside at any SGA meeting in the absence of the President and shall assume such duties and responsibilities as requested by the President.
- The Vice Presidents shall
- Organize and coordinate all social events
- Serve as a member of the Orientation program
- Work with the Interest Groups to plan Health fares, community outreach programs and other social events
3.3: The Treasurer shall:
- Be responsible for distribution, collection, and management of SGA funds.
- Be responsible for keeping an up-to-date record of all financial transactions of the SGA.
- Will make available to any SGA member upon request, and to any other interested party with the approval of majority of the SGA, all financial records.
3.4: The Secretary shall:
- Keep a written record of all meetings in the form of minutes: attendance, business discussed and voted upon, reports of committees, and future meetings. This responsibility may be delegated to other members of the SGA at the Secretary’s discretion, with the approval of the SGA
- Email said minutes to the President by a date no more than two weeks after the meeting. The President will review the minutes and email them to the SGA before the following meeting.
- Provide to the Office of Student Affairs, all the data and documents as requested.
3.5: The Members of the SGA shall:
- Attend all meetings of the SGA or its committees to which the member is assigned, either in person or via internet. Absenteeism from more than three meetings may be grounds for dismissal upon review and approval of such action by the SGA.
- Make a report to their class of the business discussed at SGA meetings.
- Define issues and opinions of their class for presentation to the SGA.
- Act as a liaison between their class and the Medical School administration as requested by their class.
- Assume such duties and responsibilities as requested by the President, a majority of the SGA, or the members of their class.
- Facilitate training of incoming Student SGA members/officers.
Article 4: SGA representation in Committees
4.1: The members of SGA shall partake in committees that directly or indirectly affect the student body.
4.2: The Committees participation shall involve but not limited to the following committees:
- Curriculum Committee
- Research Committee
- Promotions and Progress Review Committee
- Student Handbook and bylaws committee
4.3: The representatives of the committees shall be elected by the members of SGA by vote or appointed by the president of the SGA.
4.4: The committee representative shall report all the matters to the SGA in the following meeting.
Article 5: SGA Bylaws Committee and Policy
5.1: The SGA will review and revise the Bylaws as required to reflect any changes in policy or practice made during the preceding year.
5.3: The President shall organize the review each year, and shall solicit proposed revisions from the SGA and student body. The President make such revisions known to the SGA. He or she will then solicit any criticisms of any proposed revisions and determine their validity and need for change before making a final recommendations to the SGA.
5.4: The President shall be required to present a final revision to the SGA following this review process. At that time, the SGA shall then vote on the proposed revisions based on the recommendations.
5.5: Exceptions to the provision to this Article shall be considered as circumstances warrant, and only with the approval of a majority of the voting members.
Article 6: Rights of the Student Body
6.1: The student body has the right to expect that the SGA functions in the student body’s best interest. The student body shall have the right to petition the SGA to bring any issue before the entire student body provided at least 25% of the body petition the SGA. In such a case, the wishes of the majority of the student body shall be followed.
Article 7: Student SGA Policy on Alcohol and/or Tobacco
The Student SGA will not fund alcohol and/or Tobacco for any organization or events where alcohol and/or Tobacco is served.
Article 8: Fundraising
If interest groups via SGA does any fundraising, they may handover the proceeds to treasurer. The treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining and disbursement of the funds to different causes. The allocation of the funds shall be decided by the members of SGA by vote.
Interest group elections
Term Duration: All positions within interest groups shall be held for a duration of one year.
Election Timing: Elections for interest group positions are to be conducted during the fall semester, specifically in the months of September and October.
Available Positions: The available positions within each interest group shall include President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Event Coordinator.
Eligibility for Key Positions:
- Only MD students are eligible to run for interest group positions
- Students enrolled in MD 2-4 are eligible to run for the positions of President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and Event Coordinator.
- Students enrolled in MD 1 are eligible to run for Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and Event Coordinator.
- Students enrolled in MD 5 are eligible to run for the positions of Secretary and Event Coordinator.
- One student can hold maximum of two positions, one major position (President, Vice president) and one supportive position (Treasurer, Secretary and Event Coordinator)
Re-elections: Should a member step down from a position, at any point, a re-election for that position is required. Re-elections before the month of September or October shall only be allowed for interim positions.
Interim positions: Interim positions shall be served only until the next fall semester at which time they will be up for election along with all other positions.
Newly established groups: Groups that have been newly established must adhere to the same rule and hold an election in the Fall semester for all board positions. All board members will be serving in an interim capacity until that point.
Founders of a newly established group are advised to start in the Fall semester to hold their positions until the next official election.
When founding a new group, the initial positions appointed can only include the roles of President and Vice President. All other positions will be decided through an election held after the first inaugural meeting.
Funding Policy: Financial resources allocated to interest groups shall not roll over from one semester to the next. Any unutilized funding will be dissolved without exceptions.
Event Requirement: Each interest group is mandated to organize and conduct at least one event per semester.
Dissolution: Groups failing to adhere to any of these requirements may face dissolution at the discretion of the faculty advisors and SGA.
SGA Elections Rules
Election Schedule: SGA (Student Government Association) elections will be held during the first week of October.
Eligibility for Key SGA Positions:
- Only MD students are eligible to run for SGA positions
- Students enrolled in MD 2 - MD 4 are eligible to run for the positions of President, Vice President, and Treasurer.
- Students enrolled in MD 1 and MD 5 are eligible to run for the position of Secretary.
Candidate Expression of Interest: A preliminary survey will be distributed to collect the names of individuals interested in running for SGA positions before the election period.
Candidate Speech Requirement: Each candidate running for an SGA position must deliver a 5-minute speech for each position they are contesting.
Annual SGA Events:
Fall Semester
- Med ball- September
- Halloween party- October
Spring Semester
- All out Xavier day
Summer Semester
- Graduation which is organized and hosted by the school and alumni
These rules and guidelines serve as the framework for conducting interest group and SGA elections, as well as for planning and executing annual SGA events. They are intended to ensure transparency, fairness, and the effective functioning of student organizations and governance.