Senate Procedures: Petitions

Article I - Purpose of a Petition

Definition

A Petition is a statement of advocacy, concern or call to action; Petitions are specifically not exclusive SGA initiatives and can be designed, initiated and pursued by any entity,

A Petition can be submitted to SGA for conversion into a Resolution, though it need not be; henceforth this document will outline the process for submitting a Petition for ratification as a Resolution within Senate,

A Petition ought not be used as the first step in addressing items of concern on campus, but rather should be the culmination of ongoing discussions and reflect a dedication to maintain attention on the item(s) of concern.

Role in SGA

Petitions do not have to outline specific action steps, but can:

  1. Recommend agenda items to the Mount Holyoke College Administration,
  2. Express affirmation, condemnation, and/or identify a topic for further study,
  3. Act as a formal declaration, documenting progress on an item of concern to spread awareness.

Authoring Parties

  1. Any SGA constituent may author a petition for consideration of the SGA Senate to be converted into a Resolution. This includes individual students, student organizations, committees, Senate Commissions, the SGA Executive Board, etc.,
  2. All Petitions must list the Authoring Party.

Sponsoring Parties

  1. All Petitions must receive 200 individual SGA constituent signatories to be submitted to the SGA Executive Board for consideration and conversion into a Resolution.
  2. Once 200 signatures have been acquired, a Petition may be sent to the SGA Executive Board, which will work with the Authoring Party to convert the Petition into a Resolution,
  3. After conversion, the new Resolution is to be sponsored by the SGA Executive Board for Senate consideration (see Senate Procedures: Resolutions),
  4. All Petitions brought to the attention of the SGA Executive Board must be sent to archives, without regard to the 200 signature requirement or passage as a Resolution by SGA Senate.

Article II - Structure of Petition Process

Identifying a problem for a Petitions

Petitions can address many different types of items of concern, but should be germane to the Mount Holyoke campus.

Petitions should never be the first step in addressing items of concern; Petitions ought to reflect research and careful preparation,

Petitions are only to be introduced to the Senate after considerate communication has occurred between the authoring or sponsoring parties and those who are to be most directly affected by the Petitions, which is to be documented within the Resolution upon conversion.

Authoring a Petition

A Petition must be written clearly, and must inform the signatories of the intent to be presented to the SGA Executive Board for conversion into a Resolution,

The Authoring Party must sign the Petition.

All Petitions shall reflect consideration for accessibility in their formatting.

Signatures

Petitions must communicate clearly what item of concern they are intended to address and what will be done with the Petition after signature collection has ended,

Petitions must have a clear record of individual signatories who are constituents of SGA in order to be considered for conversion into a Resolution,

200 SGA constituent signatures shall act as sponsorship for a Petition, which shall be effected by the SGA Executive Board,

No significant changes shall be made to the Petition or subsequent Resolution without a recount of signatories.

Submission of a Petition and Conversion into a Resolution

A Petition must be sent to the SGA Executive Board for review, whereby recommendations may be made for the Authoring and Sponsoring Parties,

Any changes made to a Petition must be approved by the Authoring Party before the changes are to be officially adopted.

Senate Consideration

A Petition can only be presented for passage in the SGA Senate as a Resolution,

Petitions may be presented to the Senate to inform Senators of the initiative and to request signatories, but this must be scheduled no less than one week in advance in collaboration with the Chair of Senate of SGA.

Amendments

Once converted into a Resolution, Petitions are subject to possible amendments by the SGA Senate.

Documentation of the Petition

All Petitions which are submitted to the SGA Executive Board and SGA Senate shall be sent to the Mount Holyoke Archives with the original Petition, Resolution, amendments and vote record.

Article III: Petition Format

Requirements for Conversion to a SGA Resolution

Petitions may take any format, so long as they are accessible, clearly express their objective, and communicate to the signatories that the Petition is to be submitted to SGA for passage as a Resolution should 200 signatures be acquired.

Sample Language

"This Petition is intended to raise awareness and build a coalition of support for the aforestated item(s) of concern. If this Petition should reach 200 individual Mount Holyoke College student signatures, it will be submitted to SGA for conversion into a Resolution which will be voted on within the SGA Senate. For more information about this process, please see the SGA Senate Procedures for Petitions and the SGA Procedures for Resolutions, which can be found on the Mount Holyoke website."