Princeton Undergraduate Student Government

Article I.  Purpose

The purpose of the Undergraduate Student Government Student Group Recognition Committee (hence forward, “the Committee”) shall be to assess to approve or deny the instatement of proposed student groups as deemed appropriate.  The Committee shall also serve to direct applicants to organizations already in existence, to proper faculty and administrators, and to other resources that may prove helpful in the pursuit of applicants’ goals.

Article II.  Members

Section 1. Membership Defined

The Committee shall consist of seven voting members.  Among these seven members shall sit the USG Student Groups Liaison, the USG President, the USG Treasurer, the USG Projects Board Co-Chairs, and two undergraduate representatives at large.  The at-large members of the Committee shall be selected through an application process in the spring, and their terms will last one year. These positions shall be appropriately advertised and made available to all undergraduates. The selection committee for the at-large members will consist of the Student Groups Liaison, the USG President, and the USG Treasurer.

 Section 2. Appointment of the Student Groups Liaison

The USG President shall appoint the Student Groups Liaison, subject to the approval of a majority vote of the USG Senate.

Section 3. Role of the Student Groups Liaison

The Student Groups Liaison shall serve as the chairperson of the Committee.  S/he shall be responsible for planning and directing all meetings of the Committee. At each meeting, s/he shall introduce the requests for student group approval to the members of the Committee and facilitate discussion. The Student Groups Liaison shall furthermore present all decisions of the Committee to the next chronological meeting of the USG Senate.  Finally, the Student Groups Liaison shall ensure that the members of the Committee attend meetings regularly, oversee the maintenance of the Committee’s web-site, and perform other administrative duties as necessary.

 Section 4. Quorum Requirement

In order for a Committee meeting to convene and render decisions, there must be at least five members present, including the Student Groups Liaison.

Article III.  Meetings

Section 1. Meeting Times

The Committee shall meet at least eight times per academic year. The schedule of meeting dates, times, and places shall be set by the Student Groups Liaison and made available to all students no later than the first regular meeting of the Committee.

Section 2. Applicants Defined

Applicants are defined as the proposed officers of the proposed group.  The number of applicants for any given applicaton may not exceed five undergraduates, and in the case that there are more than five proposed officers, the five highest ranking shall serve as the applicants.

Section 3. Format of Meetings

Meetings of the Committee shall be closed to the public before, during, and after the presentation of proposed student groups, and only applicants and Committee members may attend.  At the discretion of the Student Groups Liason, the presentation portion of meetings may be made open to the public.  Groups shall present in an order determined by the Student Groups Liaison, and groups should come with a prepared presentation.  Following their presentations, groups will be subject to questioning by Committee members.

Section 4. Voting

Each member of the Committee shall have one vote for all applications. All applications that garner a majority vote of all members present shall be approved. Unless otherwise determined by the USG Senate, all approvals are subject to repeal by a 2/3 vote of the USG Senate.

Section 5. Appeals

In the case that an applicant(s) is denied approval, the Student Groups Liason shall inform the applicant(s) of potential means of improving their application.  Each applicant(s) will subsequently have one opportunity to resubmit their application within six weeks of intial submission for reconsideration by the Committee.

 Section 6. Conflicts of Interest

A member of the Committee who is applying for student group approval, or who is a familiar acquaintance of a student applying for approval must remove him/herself from deliberation for that proposal at the discretion of the Student Groups Liason.

Section 7. Censure of Members

Any voting Committee member (excepting the USG Student Groups Liaison, President, Treasurer, and Projects Board Co-Chairs) may, with unexcused absences from two regular Committee meetings in a given semester, be brought before the USG Senate for failure to adequately discharge enumerated duties. That member may be dismissed from his/her position by a 2/3 vote of the USG Senate. In addition, the USG President and a majority of the USG Executive Committee, may call for the review and dismissal of the Student Groups Liaison or any Committee member (excepting the USG President, Treasurer, and Projects Board Co-Chairs) for failure to perform. That member may be dismissed from his/her position only by a 2/3 vote of the USG Senate.

Article IV.  Powers and Authority

Section 1. Eligible Applicants

All currently enrolled undergraduates of Princeton University may apply to the Committee in order to establish a new student organization.

Section 2. Applying for Student Group Recognition

Any student or group of students who wish to apply for student group recognition shall submit a formal application to the Committee.  Applications shall be made available via the Committee’s website, and shall address all areas of consideration that the Committee deems necessary.  Applicants failing to fully complete the online application and/or failing to meet any other investigative request made by the Committee shall forfeit their application.

 Section 4. Criteria for Approving Applications

The Committee, in deliberating over applications, shall consider in no particular order:

(1)  the future viability of the proposed group, as determined by potential conflict with University rules and regulations, including those that govern student group funding;

(2)  the future viability of the proposed group, as determined by the existence of similar groups that draw on potentially overlapping sections of the student body;

(3)  the future viability of the proposed group, as determined by the quantification of explicitly stated interest by members of the student body;

(4)  the quality of responses given during the Committee’s inquiry;

(5)  the definitional clarity of the objectives and goals of the proposed group; and

(6)  any other circumstances associated with the application that the Committee deems relevant.

 Section 5. Prohibition of Discriminatory Considerations

Neither the political or religious ideology of an application, nor an applicant’s age, gender, race, creed, or sexual orientation shall affect decisions made by the Committee.  Furthermore, as stated in Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities, “recognition will not be withheld from any group pursuing lawful objectives merely because its aims seem unorthodox.”   

Section 6. Review of Student Group Recognition

The Committee reserves the right to revoke or amend a student group's charter upon review, taking into consideration the same criteria found in Article IV, Section 4.

Article V. Amendments

This Charter may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the USG Senate.