A Community Representative is essentially a senator that sits on the Culture, Ethnicity, and Community Affairs Committee, with full Senate voting powers except in regards to the distribution of the student activities fee. Any legitimate student organization can petition to obtain a Community Representative seat, and if approved in a campus-wide vote, the individual to fill that seat is nominated and elected by that student organization. ECOM oversees these organizational election meetings annually before the spring general elections, and administers the campus-wide votes to approve new seats and re-approve existing seats (required every four years).
Community Representative seats are currently held by the Pan-African Association (PAA), the Queer Straight Alliance (QSA), the Asian Community at Tufts (ACT), and the Association of Latin of American Students (ALAS). All four seats will be up for re-approval in the spring of 2011.
Official Guidelines
Community representative elections are carried out in accordance with the TCU Constitution Article II, Section D; Article II, Section E; as well as with the ECOM Bylaws Article VII.
Community Representative Election Procedure (Annual)
1. Organization leaders should check the TCU Constitution and the ECOM Bylawys for any changes from previous years.
2. The current Community Representative for each organization with an existing Community Representative seat must notify ECOM of the date and time for the organizational meeting at which the election to fill the seat will take place. The election, run according to that organization's constitution, must occur not more than 3 weeks before the spring general election and no later than one week prior.
Community Representative Seat Re-approval (Every 4 Years)
1. ECOM will pose the question of re-approval on the spring general election ballot.
2. ECOM will make information available to voters regarding the nature of a Community Representative seat in general, but will not advertise nor facilitate the advertisement of specific seats. As this process is relatively new, however, future revisions of the ECOM Bylaws may alter this.
New Community Representative Seat Approval
1. Representatives from a student organization wishing to form a new seat should first read the TCU Constitution in its entirety and attend Senate meetings to ensure a firm understanding the TCU government.
2. The organization must then petition the TCU student government with 250 signitures from members of the TCU.
3. Per Article II, Section D, Subsection 1 of the TCU Constitution, ECOM shall organize the campus-wide vote for approval of the seat.
Eligibility
"Any TCU recognized student organization may petition the TCU for a Community Representative seat on the Senate by collecting 250 signatures from members of the TCU... A majority vote of at least 25% of all members of the TCU shall be required for the student organization to receive a Community Representative."
TCU Constitution, Article II, Section D, Subsection 1