Article I
Section 1.1
Article II
Section 2 1
Section 2 2
Section 2 3
Article III
Section 3.1
Sub. Section 3.1.1
Mission Statement
The Parkside Residence Council (“Council”) will act as the representative body of all students residing at XXX Property XXX, to provide an overall positive experience and support based on the needs and requests of their resident constituents in an environment conducive to personal, academic, and social development.
Preamble
The Parkside management agrees to support the Constitution and Council as they represent the Resident body in all endeavors relating to Council activities.
Management continues to have the responsibility to manage Parkside on behalf of ownership, in doing so responsibly service the Resident body in outlined in all leases. Parkside retains the right to manage the facility on behalf of Ownership, Canadian Campus Communities, and other key stake holders.
We support post-secondary organizations, on and off site, which promote the aforementioned mission statement. It is further understood that said principles applyto all Council Committees andtheir practices.
Council Composition
Composition
Interested residents will need to submit a nomination form and participate in the determined campaign by the residence. At Large representatives are elected by residence-wide general election on the 3rd week of September. There will be a maximum of four (4) At-Large representatives that will be elected and will make up the General Council.
Sub. Section 3.1.2
Sub. Section 3.1.3
Sub. Section 3.1.4
Section 3.2
Sub. Section 3.2.1
Sub. Section 3.2.2
Sub. Section 3.2.3
Following the election, elected representatives will form the Council. Following the completion of electing the representatives, the representatives will select a Council Executive via a paper ballot voting system amongst them. The elected executive will consist of:
(a). President
The Residence Life Coordinator (1) or a Senior Community Assistant (1) oversees the Residence Council as an advisor for council.
Vote participation is only open to elected Council members.
Term of Office
Representatives must be enrolled as a student at any post-secondary institution in the Toronto Area (or Greater Toronto Area).
The term shall run from two business days following the elections, until one week prior to the departure day of the Representative or shall coincide with the regular academic year which begins in September and ends in April.
From May 1st to August 31st, the duties of the Council will be delegated to the office of Residence Life.
Sub. Section 3.2.4
Sub. Section 3.2.5
Sub. Section 3.2.6
Section
3.3
Sub. Section 3.3.1
Sub. Section 3.3.2
Sub. Section 3.3.3
Sub. Section 3.3.4
Section
3.4
Sub. Section 3.4.1
Sub. Section 3.4.2
Sub. Section 3.4.3
Sub. Section 3.4.4
Sub. Section 3.4.5
Sub. Section 3.4.6
Representatives may resign at any time by submitting written notice to the Executive.
Failure to attend 2 meetings in any given term (Fall or Winter) may result in a Council Member’s removal from Council by majority vote of Council.
Vacant positions may be refilled by council special election.
Powers and Responsibilities of Council
The Residence Life Coordinator must authorize the allocation of all Council funds.
Council is not a fundraising venue for any organization, which is not directly involved with Parkside Student Residence
Council may consult with Parkside Management as the official representative body of the students of residence.
In keeping with Community Standards, the Council shall not host events and programs where alcohol or Illicit substances are present.
Meetings
The President will chair Council meetings.
The Residence Life Coordinator / Senior Community Assistant may be present at all Council meetings.
Council and its Committees are to meet a minimum of once a month, on a date and time decided by Representatives. Meetings will take place from September to November and from January to March.
Quorum for Council shall be met when fifty percent of the voting Representatives are present.
A Community Assistant will be scheduled on rotation to attend the residence council meetings.
Minutes of the meetings will be written down by the Community Assistant in attendance and distributed to the council and Parkside management team within 24 hours.
Section 3.5 Voting
Sub. Section 3.5.1
Sub. Section 3.5.2
Sub. Section 3.5.3
Sub. Section 3.5.4
Sub. Section 3.5.5
Voting on council matters will be put to order via presented motion(s) by representatives. The Executive must entrain votes should the vote motion be seconded by at least one more representative
Votes are conducted by paper ballot or roll call as specified by the representative setting forward the motion.
Votes can only be held when fifty percent of representatives are present.
In the case of a tied vote, the Residence Life Coordinator or Senior Community Assistant will act as a tie-breaker vote.
Votes on major items as determined by the Executive will be conducted via a paper ballot process and read in front of Council by the President.
Article IV
Section 4.1
Sub. Section 4.1.1
Sub. Section 4.1.2
Sub. Section 4.1.3
Sub. Section 4.1.4
Council Executive
Voting
The Council Executive shall also hold office for the term and consist of a: (a) President
The Executive will be elected during the first council meeting of the academic year. The process will include a self-nomination followed by a paper-ballot vote read by a Residence Life Coordinator
Decisions made by the Executive must pass by two-thirds vote in an official council meeting
Minutes for all Executive meetings shall be documented and distributed to Council Members, Area Manager Residence Life, Residence Life Coordinator, the General Manager, and the Assistant General Manager within 48 hours of completion.
Section 4.2 The President
Sub. Section 4.2.1
Sub. Section 4.2.2
Sub. Section 4.2.3
The President shall act as a liaison between XXX Property XXX Management and Council.
The President shall chair all Council and Executive meetings.
The President shall act, as a consultant for committee programming, elections and finances should a committee see the need for resources, or an increase to their funding.
Article V Committees
Section 5.1 The Committees
Sub. Section 5.1
Section 5.2
Sub. Section 5.2.1
Sub. Section 5.2.2
Sub. Section 5.2.3
Section 5.3
Sub. Section 5.3.1
Sub. Section 5.3.1.1
Sub. Section 5.3.1.2
Sub. Section 5.3.1.3
Sub. Section 5.3.1.4
(a) Food Advisory Committee (b) Community Advisory
The Committees Chair Election
Committee Chairs will be elected during the first meeting of council.
Committee will have no more than 2 Co-Chairs.
Council members will have to self-nominate in order to be put for ratification by the majority of the general council.
Committee
Composition and Terms of Reference
The Food Advisory Committee shall consist of one Representative who shall act as Chair. The committee will be open to all residents.
The Food Advisory Committee shall meet as necessary at least once per month outside of regular meetings.
The Food Advisory Committee shall organize and facilitate a constructive feedback process between students and the Cafeteria.
The Food Advisory Committee shall report actions taken back to Council
The Food Advisory Committee shall be overseen by the Residence Life Coordinator
Sub. Section 5.3.2
Sub. Section 5.3.2.1
Sub. Section 5.3.2.2
Sub. Section 5.3.2.3
Sub. Section 5.3.2.4
Sub. Section 5.3.2.5
Sub. Section 5.3.2.5
Section 5.4
Sub. Section 5.4.1
Article VI
Section 6.1
Sub. Section 6.1.1
Sub. Section 6.1.2
Sub. Section 6.1.3
Sub. Section 6.1.4
Sub. Section 6.1.5
Sub. Section 6.1.6
Sub. Section 6.1.7
Sub. Section 6.1.8
The Community Advisory Committee shall be chaired by one Representative. The committee will be open to all residents. The committee shall:
The committee shall meet as necessary at least once per month outside of regular meetings.
The committee shall organize and promote residence- wide events as highlighted in the residence council plan.
The committee shall communicate requests and concerns in a constructive manner with the purpose of betterment of services provided to students, with respect to facilities and community life.
The committee shall organize and promote at least two residence-wide events per term.
The committee shall report actions taken back to Council.
The committee shall be overseen by the Residence Life Coordinator
Committee Modification
The Residence Life Coordinator, reserves the right to add, modify or remove these committees without the consultation of Council, for the purposes of advancing the mission of Parkside Student Residence
The Electoral Process
The Selection of Representatives
Any student, not including Community Assistant, currently residing in Parkside Student Residence are eligible for election.
Interested residents must provide their nomination by filling a council representative nomination form.
The Residence Life Coordinator will select a day where voting will be able to take place, and students will have the ability to vote for the candidate they think best represents their interests.
Voting on each representative will be facilitated by the Community Assistant(s) assigned to the Houses, they shall act as the Poll Clerk and votes would be counted by them. All votes will be done by secret ballot process.
Candidates with the most vote count will be elected to council.
The Residence Life Coordinator shall enact an alternative electronic election process, if the beforementioned is inaccessible due any circumstance that would impede an in-person election process.
In the case of a one vote difference loss, a recount can be requested by the candidate at the discretion of the Residence Life Coordinator.
In the case where the number of nominations is less or equal to open representative seats, the Residence Life Coordinator may proceed to elect by acclamation. Herewith waiving the ballot election process.
Article VII
Section 7.1
Sub. Section 7.1.1
Sub. Section 7.1.2
Sub. Section 7.1.3
Filing Complaints & Removal from Office
Filing Complaints against a Representative
Anyone may file a complaint against a Representative. To do so they must meet in confidence with the Residence Life Coordinator Incident Reports or other documentation may be considered complaints.
If deemed an appropriate complaint, the Residence Life Coordinator shall notify the Representative in question, and council of the complaint issued in writing within 48 hours
Appropriate complaints include, but are not limited to, committing a federal or provincial offense; not upholding the Representative Accountability Agreement; not acting in accordance with the Parkside community policies.
Sub. Section 7.1.4
Sub. Section 7.1.5
Section 7.2
Sub. Section 7.2.1
Sub. Section 7.2.2
Sub. Section 7.2.3
Sub. Section 7.2.4
The Representative will be given one week to rectify the situation.
If the Representative in question fails to comply with the warning, Council may decide as to whether the Representative is to be removed from Council
Removal from Office
Removal from Council shall be made final through a motion passed by a majority paper ballot vote at an official Council meeting.
A removal motion shall be automatically placed on the Council meeting agenda if the Representative fails to rectify a complaint lodged against them, as outlined in 7.1.
The Representative fails to adhere to the Representative Accountability Agreement.
Parkside reserves the right to remove a Representative under extreme circumstances. This is independent of any Council ratification. This may include, committing a federal or provincial offense; not upholding the Representative Accountability Agreement; not acting in accordance with Parkside community policies
1. Representative mustbe enrolled asstudent at any post-secondary institution in the Greater Toronto Area for the entire duration of their term in office.
2. Term shall runfrom thetwo business days after the Council election, untilone week prior to the representative’s departure day from Parkside
3. Representative shallaccumulate no morethanthreeinfractions.
4. Representative willbe terminated inaccordancewith the Constitution.
a. This may also include but is not limited to: Committing a federal or provincial offense; not acting in accordance to Parkside Lease agreement and or the Handbook.
5. The Representative position is a volunteer position within Parkside where the student will act as an agentof Parkside Student Residence andarepresentative of Council. The individual will be heldaccountable for all actionsduringtheirterm.
Responsibilities:
1. Respond to the needs of residents and attempt to foster a positive and friendly atmosphere in the residence.
2. Strive to establish a sense of community for all students.
3. Be familiar with Parkside and post-secondary resources and services in order to serve as an information source for residents and visitors.
4. Act as a liaison between residents and the Council.
5. Ensure residents are represented at every Council meeting
6. Participate actively in as many Parkside events and activities, as possible.
7. Failure to meet these responsibilities may result in removal from office via a vote during a Council meeting.
Accountability:
1. Support and work within the framework of the Constitution while adhering to policy decisions made by Parkside Student Residence.
2. Be conscious of setting a good example for the other residents both inside and outside the residence facilities, ensuring that you are acting in a mature and responsible manner at all times. Council Members must always represent Parkside and Council in a respectable and professional manner.
3. Adhere to Community Policies and Handbook as set out in the Housing Agreement.
Conditions of Appointment:
I, accept the position of Representative to the Residence Council and in doing so agree:
1.To meet the terms of office as defined in this agreement.
2.To fulfill the responsibilities of Council as defined in this agreement and in the Constitution
I agree to the conditions outlined in this contract and accept the position of under the aforementioned terms, for the____________________academic term.
Representative Signature Date