Your Student Association
The Student Association at Binghamton University is a non-profit organization that functions independently. Every undergraduate student is already a member so congratulations! You’ve already gotten involved.
You may not believe it, but the Student Association is behind almost anything that is student oriented at Binghamton University. From concerts to clubs, from the Blue Buses to Spring Fling, you can bet that students are behind it.
The Student Association is your student government. It is run by a system similar to the United States government. There is an executive branch, a legislative branch and a judicial branch. It is an organization by students, for students. Let your voice be heard!
Legislative Branch
The Legislative Branch is known as the Student Assembly. The Assembly is comprised of six representatives from each residential community and about twenty-five representatives who live off campus. The Assembly meets weekly at 7pm on Mondays and is the group that addresses and debates issues on campus, through a system of resolutions, very similar to most legislative bodies throughout the world.
Judicial Branch
The Judicial Branch, which we call the Judicial Board, is comprised of students appointed by the President and then approved by the Student Assembly. This is very much like the United States Supreme Court – people can appeal to the board if they feel that a group or a person has violated the constitution of the Student Association and the action or decision needs to be overturned.
Executive Branch
The Executive Branch is made up of the people that carry out the responsibilities of the Student Association. Included in the Executive Branch are the President, Executive Vice President, Financial Vice President, Academic Vice President, Vice President for University Programming, Vice President for Multicultural Affairs, and all professional and student staff that assist students on a daily basis.
The President acts as the chief ambassador between the students and the administration, while serving as the official representative of the student body. Additionally, the President coordinates the efforts of the Executive Branch, as well as guides the Student Association as a whole.
The Executive Vice President oversees the activities of each of all of the S.A. chartered student groups – almost every club on campus as well as all of the community governments. These groups provide programming and an extra-curricular outlet for students day in and day out. Additionally, the Executive Vice President serves as chair of the Student Assembly, and is responsible to ensure that the decisions made by the Assembly are carried out.
The Vice President for Finance oversees all income and expenditures made by the Student Association and all of its student groups. Everyday, the Vice President for Finance is faced with decisions concerning liability, legality, and financial sustainability.
The Vice President for Academic Affairs is responsible for representing the student body on all academic issues and concerns. The Vice President for Academic Affairs is the chair of the student delegation to Harpur College Council, and the Vice-Chair of the council as a whole, as well as the only student representative on the Faculty Senate. Through these two bodies, the Vice President for Academic Affairs has direct influence over academic policy. The Vice President for Academic Affairs is also the Student Advocate. In addition the Vice President for Academic Affairs is responsible to ensure academic programming for the campus such as the graduate school fair, college bowl, and many other programs.
The Vice President for Programming oversees all activities and programming sponsored by the Student Association. As chair of the Student Association Programming Board, the Vice President for Programming serves as the point person for the organizing of concerts, comedy shows, and lectures. The Student Association Programming Board plans and carries out all of the campus’s concerts, festivals, small-scale music performances, cultural and educational lectures as well as inter-residential programming.
The Vice President for Multicultural Affairs works with the vast plethora of cultural groups on campus as well as with the Inter-cultural Awareness Committee to organize programs and events to promote a better understanding between the many cultures on campus.
Staff
The professional staff of the Student Association consists of both an Executive Director and Administrative Director. The Executive Director works with student groups, the executive board and the University Programming Board on all of their programming needs from small fundraisers to large scale concerts. The Administrative Director handles all of the financial needs of the Student Association as well as coordinates it’s day to day operations. The student staff consists of several rotating Student Receptionists who work as secretaries during business hours, as well as the many Assistants that work for the executive officers in an effort to help them carry out their responsibilities.