The object of this union shall be to safeguard and promote the welfare of its members.
--Constitution of the Student Body
Student Senate is a branch of the Carnegie Mellon Student Government that derives its power from the undergraduate student body. We serve as a conduit between students and administration concerning issues that affect all undergraduates on campus. Additionally, we are also responsible for recognizing student organizations, and divide a portion of the Student Activities fee for organizations and events designed to benefit students.
To see what Student Senate's been up to recently, check the main page, or read the minutes of recent meetings.
The Student Senate's key purpose is to speak with the voice of the students; to do that we need to know what you have to say!
Find your Student Senators and contact them with your concern.
You may want to get in touch with the specific committee responsible for handling your concern. Contact the committee chair to request time to speak with the committee about an issue.
If you're not sure who to direct your concern to, you can always send it to concerns@andrew.cmu.edu. The Student Body President will review your concern and forward it to the person who can handle it directly.
Recognized organizations may reserve meeting places on campus, set up displays in campus buildings (subject to University regulations), leaflet or petition on campus, and solicit special allocations from Student Senate. Funded organizations have all of the privileges of recognized organizations and may solicit an annual budget from Student Government.
For your organization to become recognized or funded, you will need to present a petition to the Funding and Recognition Chair with a statement of purpose, a set of operating rules, a list of officers for your organization, a mailing address, authorized signature for accounts, the name of your advisor (if any), and the source of your funds (if any).
If you are concerned about something on campus, have a complaint or compliment, or just want to make your opinion known, we want to hear from you! See "How can I express my concerns to Student Senate?" to find out how to get in touch with someone who can help.
If you are planning to start a new organization on campus, Student Senate can help your organization become recognized. Recognition grants several benefits; contact the Funding and Recognition Committee to find out more.
If your organization is already recognized but is seeking a special allocation or feels that an annual budget is needed, Senate can grant allocations from the Special Allocations budget or funded recognition status.
To become a Member-at-large, you must be nominated by a Student Senator. Nominations can occur during Senate meetings and must be approved by a majority vote.
Members-at-large do not have voting privileges, but can speak on any topic during Senate meetings, serve on any committee, and learn about Student Senate.
There is occasionally a vacant seat in Student Senate. If it is in your college, you can fill the seat by submitting a petition with the printed names, signatures, and e-mail addresses of at least twenty-five members of your college. The Internal Development Committee will contact you to let you know when the seat is being filled. Vacancies are filled by a vote of the current Student Senators.
Any activities-fee paying student or campus organization can solicit special allocations from Student Senate. These allocations can be used to fund special events. Organizations may not use the funds provided by Student Senate for political, religious, or academic purposes.
To request a special allocation, contact the Finance Committee Chair.
New Student Senators are elected every Spring during the Student Government elections.
Before running for Student Senate, you should familiarize yourself with the Student Body Constitution, the Student Senate Bylaws, and the Election Rules. You should also attend a few meetings to get a sense of how Student Senate works.
To have your name placed on the elections ballot, you will need to submit a petition with the printed names, signatures, and e-mail addresses of at least twenty-five members of your college. You may submit a short platform statement with your petition, which will be placed on the elections web site.
You do not need to wait for an election to get involved with Student Senate. You may be able to fill a vacancy or become a Member-at-large.
Elections for all Student Government positions are held every Spring. You can read candidate names and positions at the elections web site. This is also the place to go to vote during elections. The Elections Board also hosts a voting table during elections that is traditionally placed either outside Doherty Hall or in the University Center commons area.
The Carnegie Mellon Student Government consists of an executive branch and a legislative branch. The Executive Branch consists of three inidviduals: the Student Body President (SBP), the Student Body Vice President (SBVP), and the Student Body Vice-President of Finance (SBVPF). They serve the entire student body, graduate and undergraduate. The Legislative Branch has graduate and undergraduate components: the Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) and the Undergraduate Student Senate. These bodies pass legislation, recognize organizations, allocate student activities funding, and otherwise act on behalf of all student interests.
This is the core of traditional student government, as governed by the Student Body Constitution. The Activities Board (AB) is an external committee of the Student Senate, that acts more or less independently to provide events, concerts, films, lectures, technical assistance, and other activities for the campus. The Student Dormitory Council (SDC) is composed of student representatives from campus housing and is engaged in improving the quality of student life for residents.
There are also formally identified cooperative efforts among these components. The Joint Funding Committee is charged with creating a recommendation for the allocation a large portion of the total student activities fee, and is composed of representatives from the GSA and the Student Senate. The Student Body Dining Committee includes representation from the Student Dormitory Council, Undergradute Student Senate, and the Graduate Student Assembly, among other students. Finally, the Student Government Executive Committee brings together the leaders of student government: SBP, SBVP, SBVPF, Student Body Dining Chair, Student Senate Chair, GSA President, AB Chair, and SDC President.
Other non-student led organizations which are relevant include: Student Activities (and more generally, Student Affairs) which controls much of the infrastructure and processes relating to student organizations, Faculty Senate (the representative legislative body for faculty), and Staff Council (the representative legislative body for university staff).
The Student Body Constitution requires any organization that receives funding from Student Government for an event to advertise its source of funding by placing this notice in all the advertising for the event. The Activities Fee is paid for by every Carnegie Mellon University student.
Student Senate always wants to know what students think, so if you liked, disliked, or were totally apathetic about an event, be sure to let us know!
Only non-academic, non-political, and non-religious organizations may be recognized as funded although any recognized organization may request a special allocation. See "How do I get a special allocation?"
Certain areas of this web site contain information that is only pertinent to members of the Carnegie Mellon University community. When you try to access these areas, the web site will require you to use Carnegie Mellon's WebISO system to certify your identity. If you're having difficulty with WebISO, several things could be the cause, including an incompatible web browser or problems with secure HTTP connections. If you are a member of the campus and feel you should have access, contact the technology coordinator for help.
Additionally, certain areas of the site are intended for use only by current members of Student Senate or heads of student organizations; all other users will be disallowed from those areas.