What is Student Assembly?

The Student Assembly is the official student government of the College. Composed of elected student representatives and non-elected delegates, the Assembly is responsible for representing student opinions and concerns to other constituencies of the Dartmouth community, including trustees, administrators, faculty, and staff.

How do I get involved / gain voting rights in SA?

It’s as easy as 1,2,3 – literally: you attend three GA (general assembly) meetings, and at your fourth meeting you will be granted full voting member privileges – i.e. you can vote on all resolutions / proposals / amendments put forth before the assembly. Don’t worry if you didn’t start coming to meetings at the beginning of a term. You can join SA at any point during any term. To join a committee (which is necessary to do in order to maintain voting status) all you have to do is pick the one you like and attend its weekly meetings. Also, feel free to join more than one committee if you are interested.

Another way you can receive voting privileges is by being elected (or appointed) as an organizational representative to the assembly. Any group on campus is welcome to have an organizational rep sit on the assembly, and he or she will be automatically granted voting rights!

How does SA work / what does being involved entail?

The way SA works is it is comprised of several different committees. Each committee is responsible for a different aspect of student life. Projects are created and divvied up between committee members so each member has a job to do. However, any project that you are interested in starting (even if it doesn’t directly correlate with your committee) you are encouraged to pursue. Projects that require funding or assembly support (if they are going to be presented to the administration) are written up as legislation (as either a resolution / proposal / amendment). The legislation is then presented at the GA meeting where it is voted on and (hopefully) passed. Therefore, committees are where the real work of SA is accomplished and the GA is where committees’ ideas are presented to the assembly as a whole and voted on.

Being involved includes attending all weekly GA meetings (if you miss a minimum of 3 in a term your voting privileges will be revoked) as well as attending your weekly committee meetings. In addition to just showing up, being an active SA member includes working on and helping out with several different projects throughout the year.