ELVYN RICHARDS HALL
CONSTITUTION
 
 
1.         PREAMBLE
 
1.1                 This constitution describes the running of Junior Common Room affairs in Elvyn Richards Hall, Loughborough University. In this Constitution Elvyn Richards Hall shall be referred to as the Hall.
 
 
 
  2.        INTERPRETATION
 
2.1           Any dispute concerning this Constitution shall be referred to the Warden, who shall hold
      the master copy.
 
2.2           Where it is deemed appropriate and in the interest of the Hall, the Committee, with approval of the Warden, may decide not to follow the guidelines as laid down below by means of a majority vote at a quorate meeting.
 
2.3           Any changes to the hall constitution must be passed at a Hall General Meeting, except where in emergency the Constitution may be changed by the unanimous vote of the Hall Committee. However, unless the amendment is carried at the next Hall General Meeting, the amendment shall lapse.
 
2.4           Any proposed Constitutional change must be ratified by a two-thirds majority of at least     
                               50 student members at the Hall General meeting.
               
3.         MEMBERSHIP
 
3.1           The members of the Hall shall be:
 
                                (a)           The Hall Warden and the Sub-Wardens.
                                (b)           Senior members.                                                                                                                  
(i)                   Fee-paying residents of the Hall, known as Student Members.
(ii)                 Those members registered as Associate Members on the “Associate Members List”.
 
3.2           The Associate Members List is available to those Undergraduates wishing to be                                                  associated with the Hall, provided they are not in another University Hall of Residence
                                or associated to another Hall.
 
3.3            All members of the Hall are expected to promote the well being of the Hall, to uphold its
       prestige and to observe the rules designed for this purpose and abide by the constitution.
 
4.         THE HALL COMMITTEE OF STUDENT MEMBERS
 
4.1           Aims
The Hall Committee shall exist to foster the community life of the Hall in all aspects, and to represent the views and interests of Student Members of the Hall. The Committee shall organize functions on behalf of the hall, be empowered to spend Hall funds and ensure that this constitution is complied with.
 
4.1a         The Committee shall deal with complaints and suggestions on Hall matters that are within its power. Any member of the Committee who is made aware of problems or issues concerning the Hall must bring them to the attention of the Hall Committee.
 
                4.2           The Committee shall be elected from Student Members as laid down in section 5
                                and shall comprise as prescribed below: -
               
4.3.          The following shall be Officers on the Committee: -
(i)                   Chairperson
(ii)                 Secretary
(iii)                Treasurer
(iv)               Social secretary 1
(v)                 Social secretary 2
(vi)               Male Sports Secretary 1
(vii)              Male Sports Secretary 2
(viii)            Female Sports Secretary 1
(ix)                Female Sports Secretary 2
(x)                  FREEC Representative
(xi)                Finalists Representative 1
(xii)               Finalist Representative 2
(xiii)             Media Representative
(xiv)             Action  Representative
(xv)              Rag Representative 1
(xvi)             Rag Representative 2
(xvii)           Freshers representative
(xviii)          Out of hall representative
 
4.4                 The Committee may invite other members of the Hall to form sub-committees when the need arises. In these cases, the Committee shall appoint a Chair of the sub-committee and shall provide the sub-committee with terms of reference, describing the responsibilities of the sub-committee.  
 
4.5             All Officers of the Committee have full voting and speaking rights at a Committee meeting, except that the Hall Chairperson shall not vote unless there is an even split of the vote at a meeting, in which case they shall have the casting vote.
 
4.5a           Any member of the Hall, with the majority consent of the Committee, may attend any                                           Committee Meeting.
 
 
4.5b           The Committee shall meet weekly during the academic semester to discuss Hall business. The Committee can only discuss Hall matters if 50% of its current members are present at the meeting to form a quorum.
 
4.5c           Any Committee member who fails to attend Committee meetings for two consecutive
weeks, without adequate apologies, shall have deemed to have terminated their membership of the Committee. This rule shall also apply to membership of external committees such as Union Council.
 
4.5d         The Committee shall have the power to request the termination of membership of any Committee member deemed not to be performing their duties, as outlined in paragraph 4.5f and 4.6. This shall require a two-thirds majority vote of the Committee. Upon this majority, the Chair must then seek the approval of the Warden, with written confirmation of the Warden’s decision given to the Chairperson within seven days of the application. The Chair will then exact such measures to terminate that position as soon as is deemed practicable.
 
4.5e         Along with the duties of Committee positions as set out in paragraph 4.6, all committee members are expected to assist other members of committee whenever necessary e.g. Freshers Week, Rag Week etc.
 
4.5f          The Senior Committee, comprising Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer will meet with the Wardening team once a week. The nature of this meeting shall be at the discretion of the Hall Warden and the Sub-Warden team. Regulations outlined in 4.5c apply.
 
4.5g         All members of committee are expected to support high table, attendance to be argreed at meetings
4.5h       All members of the committee have to follow the ‘social etiquette’ meaning that they can make no personal monetary gain from anything to do with the hall
 
4.6            Duties of the Committee Members.
 
Hall Chairperson
-         To chair Hall committee meetings and Hall General Meetings.
-         To delegate duties and responsibilities to committee members where necessary.
-         To liaise with the warden/sub-wardens regarding student welfare.
-         To represent the student body to the warden and to organisations within the University such as, the Students’ Union, the Residential Organisation, Security etc.
-         To allow a two-way flow of information between the students and the above organisations.
-         Ultimately, to be responsible for running the Hall committee, the committee members and their actions and to ensure the smooth running of Elvyn Richards Hall.
-         Automatically sits on the Hall Ball Committee. 
 
 
Hall Secretary
-         To take minutes of Hall Committee meetings and Hall General Meetings.
-         Returning Officer for the Hall Elections, unless another committee member is appointed by the Hall Chairperson.
-         Responsible for advertising, and producing an agenda, for the Hall General Meetings.
-         Responsible for keeping the Hall Constitution up to date.
-         Responsible for general communication within the Hall Committee, within the Hall itself, and external to the Hall.
-         Must organize the shooting and the distribution of the Hall Photograph at the end of the year.
-         Automatically sits on the Hall Ball Committee.
 
 
Treasurer
-         Shall, in collaboration with the Senior Treasurer, keep proper accounts of the Hall funds.
-         Responsible for the collection of Hall Subs at the beginning of each academic year.
-         Must produce termly statements of the Hall’s accounts for inspection by members of the Hall.
-         Must produce an annual budget for each member of the Hall Committee, where applicable.
-         Responsible for organising and collecting of Hall Sponsorship, in collaboration with Social Secs, Sports Secs and Finalist Reps.
-         Automatically sits on the Hall Ball Committee.
-         Must attend treasurer training as organized by Loughborough Students Union.
 
Social Secretaries
-         Responsible for the social activities of the Hall
-         Involved in the organisation of Freshers’ week.
-         Must report, to the Hall Committee, any income or expenditure they incur from Hall socials.
-         Must attend a Social Secretaries meeting 2-3 times a term.
-         Responsible for organizing and collecting Hall Sponsorship, in collaboration with the Treasurer, Finalist Reps and Sports Secs.
-         Must orgaise at least four socials per term excluding the hall balls and events run by the union
-         Must help in the organizing of the Elvyn Fun Day. Held in the summer term of each year
 
Sports Secretaries
-         Responsible for the organisation of Hall Sports and in seeing that the Hall is represented, if possible, in the intramural programme.
-        Attend a Sport Secretaries meeting on a regular basis.
-         Responsible for organizing and collecting Hall Sponsorship, in collaboration with the Treasurer, Finalist Reps and Social Secretaries
-         Involved in organizing interblock competition
 
F.R.E.E.C Representative (Food, Residential, Environment, Ethics and Campus Watch)
-         Responsible for the maintenance of all equipment purchased, or leased, from Hall funds.
-         Responsible for the liaison between the Hall and the Residential Organisation on matters concerning Hall Food and the facilities they provide within the Hall.
-         Responsible for liaison with the University Campus Watch scheme.
-         Must attend FREEC meetings on a regular basis.
-         To work in association to promote events such as “Blackout”
-         To encourage environmentally friendly behaviour in hall.
-         To promote the Energy League.
-         Responsible for organizing bottle collection
 
 
 
 
Finalist Representatives
 
-         To represent the finalist members of Hall in Hall Committee meetings.
-         To organize the social activities for the Finalist members of Hall.
-         To organize a Finalists Cabaret in the second semester of the year.
-         Responsible for organizing and collecting Hall Sponsorship, in collaboration with the Treasurer, Sports Secs and Social Secs.
 
Rag Representatives
-         Responsible for the running of Rag in Hall, including the organisation of fundraising socials and Rag Raids.
-         Must plan and co-ordinate Rag Week in Hall.
-         Must attend Rag council every week on a Tuesday evening and liaise with the staff of the Rag Office on a regular basis.
-         Must organize the Elvyn Fun Day. To be held in the summer term
 
 
Media Representative
-         Responsible for the advertising and promotion of all hall events.
-         In collaboration with the web team (establish if necessary) to edit hall website and pages on Union Website.
-         Responsible for producing multi-media for the hall eg. CDs and videos.
-         Will attend training at the Union Media Centre..
-         Is responsible for producing the Elvyn Newsletter every four weeks.
 
 
Action Representative
 
-       To actively recruit new volunteers for Action.
-       To inform volunteers of Action projects.
-       Attend the action council meetings and liase with staff of action
-       Attend action training
 
 
Freshers Representative
                                - Represent Fresher members of the hall at committee meetings
                                - Heavily involved in the organization of freshers week
                                - Coordinate the interblock competition
                                -   Responsible for the promotion ordering and distribution of hall merchandise
- stash must be ordered during the first 6 weeks of semester one, before the November                                        hustings
 
 
                                Out of hall Representative
-          Represent associate members of the hall in committee meetings
-          Maintain associate members list
-          Liase with the treasurer to collect the subscriptions of the associate members
-          Update associate members on activities within the hall
 
 
 
4.7           A member of the Hall Committee who is not intending to return to continue their
                studies for the next academic session (term or semester) shall resign not less than 7
                days before the end of the current academic session. The position will become a casual      vacancy.
 
4.7a         A member of the Committee who has not returned to continue their studies within 7
                days of the beginning of the academic session (term or semester) without prior notice
                in writing to the Hall Secretary, shall be deemed to have resigned. The position shall
                become a casual vacancy except in exceptional circumstances approved by committee.
 
4.7b         A member of Committee resigning their position, shall not be eligible to stand as a candidate for any other post on Committee until the full period of their original post has expired, without the express permission of the Hall Committee.
 
4.7c       If a member of hall committee is not returning to hall in the next academic year they must resign not less than 14 days before the end of the summer term
 
4.8     Any member of the committee planning an event must complete Event Planning Forms two weeks before the event where possible, for approval by the Hall Committee and the Warden. These forms must be made available for general viewing.
 
 
4.9     All committee members must submit an up to date section report of events to be posted on the website on a monthly basis.
 
 
5.         Elections To The Student Committee.
 
5.1a           Election for the following posts will take place
                                (A)          During week 6 of the first semester: -
                                               
(i)                   Secretary
(iii)          Social Secretary 1
(iv)          Rag Representative 1
(v)           Male Sports Secretary1
(vi)          Female Sports Secretary1
(viii)            Finalists Representative 1 and 2
(ix)                Media and Fresher Representatives
(x)                  Action and Fresher Representatives
(xi)                F.R.E.E.C Representative
(xii)               Freshers representative
 
(B)           during week 2 of the second semester:-
 
(i)              Chairperson
(ii)            Treasurer
(iii)          Social Secretary 2
(iv)          Male Sports Secretary 2
(v)            Female Sports Secretary2
(vi)          Rag Representative 2
(vii)       out of hall representative
 
5.1b         Two weeks preceding an election, an elections sub committee will be formed. This will be chaired by the returning officer (usually the secretary) and contain not more than 3 other members (officers of the committee not standing for election). This committee will be responsible for the organization of electoral registration, hustings, and any literature required for the smooth running of the election.
 
5.1c         All candidates for Hall Committee must be student members of the Hall. With the exception of the out of hall representative who must be on an associate members list. The term of all Committee members shall be two semesters from the date of election and Committee members shall be deemed to have automatically resigned after this period.
Election shall take place within two weeks of a position falling vacant where
                                practicable. In the event of a member resigning, elections will be held for the
remainder of the term of office. A retiring officer will continue in his/her duties until a successor is elected and will shadow the new member for the first two weeks of his/her office without voting rights.
 
                5.1d         Nominations will be recorded on a list that will be displayed on the Hall notice
                                board for at least 10 days before the date of election. Hall members shall be entitled to
                                propose or second a maximum of two nominations. These shall not be for the same
post. Serving members are not permitted to be involved in the nomination of candidates, and nominations will be closed 3 days before the election. Any Student Member or Committee Member is eligible to stand for election; however, election to a Committee position will automatically terminate any other such positions held. If a Committee member is standing for another position on the Hall Committee, and still would normally remain in Office after the date of the election, then they are deemed to have resigned their current post upon successful re-election to the Committee.
 
               
5.1e         Hustings will be held the day before the election, even if there is only one candidate
                                standing. All candidates shall make a speech. Questions may be addressed to the
                                candidates. All questions must apply to all candidates. The Chair of Hustings, which
                                should be the Returning Officer or his/her nominee, may disallow a question that is
not applicable to all candidates or that is irrelevant to the conduct of the election. Particular rules governing hustings are subject to change by the returning officer, and a copy of these will be made available to all candidates during the nomination period.
 
5.1f          Candidates for all positions must be representative of the members they seek to represent. First Years only may run for Freshers’ Representative, Final Year Students only for Finalist Representative. Only members of the associates list can vote for the out of hall representative. The Sports Secretary positions are gender specific in accordance with the rules of the Intramural Program from the Sports Development Centre.
 
                5.2           Voting shall be by secret ballot of all Student members, except in the election for
Finalists and Fresher Representatives and Sport Secretaries. Elections for Finalists Representatives will be by those in their final year only. Elections for the Fresher representative will be from the fresher year only. Elections shall be by the single transferable vote system (as defined in paragraph 5.8) and the count shall be supervised by the Returning Officer. The system of voting shall be clearly publicized before the opening of nominations. There will be no postal or proxy vote and this shall be clearly publicised. If the result is a tie, a re-election shall be held between the drawing parties not more than 8 days after, and not less than 3 days after the date of the election. This will also apply to a second election, when no candidate has stood for election to a post. A “No Candidate” alternative will be automatically added on the ballot paper for each post.
               
5.2a         The ballot box shall be available during the whole of the lunch and evening meal
                                periods and this shall be publicised at least one week before the election. Identity
                                cards of all candidates will be displayed adjacent to the ballot box. Canvassing of any
form shall not be allowed in the vicinity of the ballot box (see Appendix ‘B’). This can lead to immediate disqualification at the discretion of the elections committee. (See paragraph 5.5).
 
                5.2b         Should a post be offered for the election and not filled after a second election, the
                                Committee shall be empowered, upon a unanimous vote, to install an eligible member
                                offering themselves for the post, the position will become a casual vacancy.
 
5.3           Any complaints of electoral malpractice against the elections committee or any candidates shall be addressed in writing to the Hall Warden within 7 days of the election. The receipt of this letter shall be acknowledged in writing to the complainant within 3 days. If it appears to the Hall Warden that the grievance is trivial or invalid, he/she may with the agreement of the returning officer dismiss it summarily, or take no action upon it. Notification shall be made in writing to the complainant within 10 days of receipt of the complainant if this is so. Otherwise, the Hall Warden or his/her nominee shall conduct an investigation and present a report to the Hall Committee within 14 days of the receipt of the complainant. The Hall Committee shall hear the case and the report of the Hall Warden or his/her nominee and then decide at that meeting whether to uphold the complaint. The decision of the Hall Committee shall be subject to an appeal body to a meeting of the Chair of the Wardens working Group, the Chair of the University Hall Chairs Committee and the President of the Students’ Union whose decision shall be final. An appeal must be lodged with the Chair of the Wardens Working Group within 14 days of the decision of the Hall Committee.
 
5.4           In the event of a sandwich placement student being elected as Chairperson, elections will be held for the position of ‘Chairperson Elect’. This should be held immediately upon the Chairperson accepting their placement. The outgoing Chairperson shall resign his/her position before the end of the Summer Term and the ‘Chairperson Elect’ shall succeed the outgoing Chairperson without further election.
 
5.5      The returning officer (on consultation with the warden) may call a void election if they believe the electoral malpractice has occurred and take whatever action the committee feel appropriate.
 
5.6           Within one week of elections, newly elected committee members should read and sign a copy of the constitution to acknowledge that they agree to abide by its contents. Any Committee Member failing to do this shall be deemed to have terminated their membership of the Committee.
 
5.7           A casual vacancy shall be filled as soon as possible by the Hall Committee or election. This shall be where a Hall Committee post falls unexpectedly vacant during the term of office due to resignation, deselection or other.
 
5.7a         A Hall Member may be co-opted onto the Hall Committee to fill a casual vacancy pending an election.
 
5.7b         If the remaining term of Office is less than 10 academic weeks then elections may be held at the Committee’s discretion. The Committee is therefore able to co-opt members to fill such vacancies.
 
5.7c         If the remaining term of Office is greater than 10 academic weeks then elections must be held within 21 days of the date of the position falling vacant.
 
5.8           The following describes the counting procedures of the single transferable vote system. Counting will be coordinated by the returning officer and assisted by the elections committee:
a)       Sort the voting papers according to first preferences, setting aside any invalid papers. Determine the number of invalid papers and hence the total valid vote.
b)       Check the sorting and count the papers for each candidate into bundles.
c)       Check the counting. Determine the first preference vote for each candidate and enter on a vote record form for each candidate.
d)       Call the first preference votes from the vote record forms to an election result sheet, and reconcile the total of first preference votes on the results sheet with the total valid vote.
e)       Determine the quota. Divide the total vote by one or more than the number of places to be filled (i.e.2). Ignore any remainder and add one to the result. Enter the quota on the result sheet and on the vote record.
f)        Deem to be elected any candidate whose vote equals or exceeds the quota.
g)       If no candidate has secure a number of votes equal to or in excess of the quota, exclude the candidate with the least vote to his credit. If the votes of two or more candidates are equal least, exclude the candidate who had the least vote at the earliest stage at which they had unequal votes.
h)       Transfer the batch of papers according to the next available preferences for continuing candidates, and set aside as non-transferable those papers on which no next available preference is expressed.
i)         Check the counting and determine the number of papers for each candidate and the number of non-transferable papers and enter on the vote record forms.
j)         Prepare an exclusion form, call the number of papers for each candidate and the number of non-transferable papers and enter on the vote record forms. 
k)       Place the voting papers for each candidate with those previously received.
l)         Deem to be elected any candidate whose vote now equals or exceeds the quota.
m)      Call the new vote for each candidate and the new non-transferable vote from the vote record forms to the result sheet.
n)       Reconcile the total on the result sheet with the total valid vote.
o)       The process of exclusion will continue until one candidate obtains votes equal to or in excess of the quota, but if at any time during the count the vacancy is unfulfilled but the votes of one candidate are greater than the total vote credited to another or other continuing candidates, then that candidate shall be deemed to be elected.
 
 
6.         GENERAL MEETING OF STUDENT MEMBERS
 
6.1           The Chairperson shall call a Hall General Meeting at least 2 times a year. One Hall
General Meeting shall be held within the first week of the second semester, and one in the summer term.
 
6.2           An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) shall be held as a result of the representation to the Chairperson, in writing, of at least 50 members of Hall.
 
6.3           Notice of a General Meeting shall be publicised at least 10 days in advance. Formal
motions must be displayed at least 24 hours beforehand, except under exceptional circumstances, when with the written permission of the warden, motions may be added after this time. All motions must be displayed until the time of the meeting.
 
6.4           All General Meetings will be held in accordance with the Hall Standing Orders. (Refer
              to Appendix A)
 
6.5           A quorum shall consist of 50 of the Student Members of the Hall. The meeting will
                be declared inquorate if a quorum is not achieved within 30 minutes of the time
                appointed for the meeting.
 
6.5a         A quorate meeting shall remain quorate until challenged and found inquorate.
 
6.6           An inquorate meeting will be reconvened within a week when it will automatically                be deemed quorate for the consideration of only business which was to have been
                brought up at the previously inquorate meeting.
 
6.7           All Student Members of Hall may attend and vote at a General Meeting. Other hall members may attend but can not vote
               
 
 
7.         HALL FINANCES
 
7.1      The signatories to any Hall bank account will be the Warden, the Chairperson, Student 
Treasurer and the Secretary.
 
7.2           Any cheque issued on a Hall account must bear the signature of the Hall Chair and should be countersigned by either the Treasurer or Secretary.
 
 
7.3           Condidtion 7.3(a) will be made part of the terms of any account held by the Hall with any institution or other financial body.
 
7.4           Concise accounts of all Hall funds will be kept by the Treasurer. One week before the          first Hall meeting of each period, a statement of accounts for the previous period will be                displayed on the Hall notice board. Any member of the Hall shall be allowed to examine               the accounts by arrangement with the Treasurer.
 
7.5           The rate of Hall subscription will be fixed at the last Hall Meeting of the preceding   
      academic year.
 
7.5a         Hall subscriptions are to be paid by all Student Members of the Hall. Any Student
Member failing to pay Hall subscriptions within 21 days of arrival in Hall shall not be entitled to use any Hall facilities (provided by the Hall), attend any Hall functions or participate in any Hall activity, including elections, until the subscription is paid in full. As this also represents a breach of contract with the University, all cases must be notified to the Warden.
 
7.5b         An agreed amount of Hall funds shall be given as a donation to Loughborough Students Charities Appeal (RAG) at the start of each academic year. The level of this will be fixed at the last Hall Meeting of the preceding academic year.
 
7.6        Hall funds are for the benefit of all hall members.
 
7.6a         The HGM shall set a spending limit for any single item of expenditure or social event. The Committee may not spend beyond this limit without the approval of an HGM or EGM, unless the expenditure is specifically related to self-financing social events. The Student Treasurer shall ensure cheques in excess of the amount agreed shall be countersigned; on an expenses form by the senior treasurer. Before signing the senior treasurer shall satisfy himself/herself that the conditions of this paragraph have been met.
 
7.6b         Hall funds shall not be used, unless passed by the membership of the Hall at an HGM, for any events organized that exclude members of the Hall for any reason (e.g. Committee meals, Finalist only events, sports tours and private parties).
 
7.7           The Hall Chairperson and the Treasurer shall issue instructions to all new committee members about petty cash spending limits. All claims for re-imbursment must meet these conditions and must be fully supported by receipts. Cheques will only be handed over at committee meetings. Claims which do not meet the above conditions, must be referred to the senior treasurer for approval.
 
7.8           The Hall shall be liable for a sum which will be decided from time to time by the
                Loughborough Student’s Union Executive, to cover the part of any damage to a
Loughborough Student’s Minibus by Student Members of the Hall (excluding use by Rag or any other club/society not specifically acting on hall business, who shall be liable to pay their own damages).
               
 
8.                  REVISIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION
 
 
Remade                  June        1987
Revised                  Nov        1987
Remade                  Oct          1988
Revised                  Mar         1990
Revised                  Jan          1992
Revised                  Jan          1993
Revised                  Dec         1995
Revised                  Feb         1997
Revised                  Nov        1997
Revised                  Feb         1998
Revised                  Mar         1999
Revised                  Mar         2000
Revised                  Feb         2001
Revised                  Nov        2001
Remade                  Feb         2003
Revised                  Nov        2003
Revised                  Nov        2006
Revised                  May        2008
Revised                  Feb         2009
Revised                  April       2009
Appendix A
ELVYN RICHARDS HALL
STANDING ORDERS REGULATING THE
PROCEEDINGS AT HALL GENERAL MEETINGS
 
1.                   PERSONS ENTITLED TO ATTEND
 
                The following shall be entitled to attend the Hall General Meetings:-
 
(a)            Those described in clause 6.7 of the Hall Constitution.
(b)            Any other person whose presence is approved by resolution of the Hall and whose
                right to attend shall only continue at the Hall’s pleasure and not for a period longer
                than the duration of the meeting at which their attendance was passed.
 
2.             SPEAKING RIGHTS
               
(a)            Order of speeches:
                Every speaker shall rise and address him/herself solely to the Chairperson. If two or
                more members request at the same time to speak, precedence shall be given to his/her
                whose request is first observed by the Chairperson. On the Chairperson rising, any
                speaker on his feet at that time should sit and remain silent. Speakers should precede
                their remarks by stating whether they support or oppose the motion.
(b)            Any member may interrupt another member’s speech by calling the Chairperson’s
                attention to an infringement of standing orders. The Chairperson shall consider the
                objection and if he/she finds it sustained he/she will call defaulting members to order.
                If any member wishes to challenge the Chairperson’s Ruling on any question he/she
                may challenge the Chair under a point of order. The procedure is as follows:
 
(i)              The Chair shall immediately pass to the next senior Committee member
                present.
(ii)            The challenger may then propose his/her challenge.
(iii)          The challenged Chairperson may then reply.
(iv)          The challenger may then sum up.
(v)            No other member has the right to speak.
(vi)          The question shall immediately be put to the vote.
(c)           Points of information:
Any member may interrupt another member’s speech by requesting him/her, through
the Chair, to answer a point of information. The request can be rejected or accepted
by the speaker.
 
 
(d)           The proposer has a maximum of three minutes to propose the motion. There will then be a maximum of five minutes of questions before the motion must be put to vote.
 
3.            THE AGENDA AT A GENERAL MEETING SHALL BE BASED ON:-
 
a) Apologies for absence
b) Minutes of the previous meeting
c) Business arising from the above minutes
d) Correspondence
e) Report from the Committee Members and business therefrom.
f) Other business submitted by the Secretary
g) Formal motions
h) Any other business not excluded by rule 6 of the standing orders.
 
4.               APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
 
Apologies for absence from a Hall General Meeting must be submitted in writing to the Secretary at least 24 hours before the meeting.
 
 
 
5.             FORMAL MOTIONS
               
a)              General:
Every motion shall be proposed and seconded and shall thereafter be open for discussion. Any member of the Hall may formally oppose the motion before a general meeting by informing the Chairperson of his/her wish to do so. The formal opposer shall have the right to speak after the proposer and before the general discussion, and to sum up immediately before the proposer at the conclusion of the debate. Immediately following summing up, the vote will take place.
 
b)              Amendments:
                Amendments to a motion before the meeting may be proposed at any time before the
summing up and if seconded will be immediately discussed (in the context of the original motion) and thereafter voted upon. An amendment when proposed cannot be amended, but must be considered and voted upon without alteration.
If an amendment is carried it is merged with the original motion, which then becomes the substantive motion. All further amendments shall then refer to the new substantive motion.
                If an amendment fails, discussion continues on the motion as it stood before the failed
                amendment was proposed.
                The right to sum up in favour of the substantive motion, at the debates conclusion (see
paragraph 5a) lies with the proposer of the last carried amendment or if he/she prefers, the proposer of the original motion.
                The Chairperson can refuse to accept an amendment if its purpose can be fulfilled by the
                rejection of the original motion or if its style or content is unintelligible or irrelevant to
                the original motion.
 
c)              Withdrawal of Motions:
Any motion having been passed and seconded at the meeting may only be withdrawn with the consent of the meeting.
 
6.              ANY OTHER BUSINESS
 
No business shall be submitted under this heading of the agenda paper when:
a)              It is intended to result in a motion of censure on any person and that person has
                not had an adequate opportunity to make representations on his/her own behalf,
                or
b)              It involves the suspension of standing orders.
c)              It would result in the Hall becoming liable to spend a sum in excess of £50.
 
7.            VOTING
               
a)              Rights:
                Only Hall student members shall be entitled to vote and they shall be accorded
                one vote each with the exception of the Chairperson, who shall, on an equality of votes
                have a casting vote.
 
b)              Procedure:
                The General Meeting may indicate its assent or dissent of any motion by an oral
                declaration of “ayes and nayes” and where this clearly shows the meeting’s intention
                the Chairperson may announce the meeting’s findings without further formality. Any
                motion may also be passed on a show of hands but where this does not give a clear
                indication the Chairperson may order a poll of hands.
 
                Notwithstanding the above, any three members may order a poll to be undertaken on any
                motion before the meeting but this right must be exercised before the meeting has moved
                into the next business.
 
 
                Any motion will be passed by a simple majority of votes cast in its favour, except for
                motions amending standing orders or the Constitution where a two-thirds majority will
                be necessary.
               
It shall be competent for the Chairperson in the absence of discussion on any motion to
                express his/her intention to declare the motion carried. If there is no dissent to the
                expression of this intention he/she can proceed to declare the motion carried.
 
The Chairperson may also order a secret ballot to be taken where he/she considers such a course to be warranted.
 
Tellers will be appointed by the Chairperson whenever there is a poll of hands or a secret ballot.
 
8.             PROCEDURAL MOTIONS
 
a)              That The Question Be Not Now Put:
At any time other than when an amendment is before the meeting it shall be competent to move that the “The Question Be Not Now Put.” This motion prevents further discussion of the original motion until it has been decided. If the motion is not carried then the discussion shall continue on the original motion.
 
b)              That The Question Be Now Put;
                At any time during the discussion of the motion it shall be competent for any member to
                move to the closure by proposing that the “Question Be Now Put.” It shall be at the
                discretion of the Chairperson whether this motion is put to the meeting. If the closure is
                put and carried, the opposer (1st) and the proposer (2nd) shall be given the opportunity to
                sum up and the question shall be then put to the meeting immediately.
 
c)              The Guillotine:
                The Chairperson may order the meeting to move to the next business when he/she
                considers that the due time has been spent on any one discussion. This right shall not be
                invoked while a vote is being taken and it shall be competent for any member to propose
                under any other business arrangement for the resumption of the discussion.
 
 


Appendix B           REGULATIONS AS TO THE FAIRNESS OF THE BALLOT
 
  1. No publicity material shall be displayed by candidates until they have registered their nomination and it has been confirmed by the returning officer.
 
  1. All publicity shall be in support of the candidate and their campaign.
 
  1. No canvassing, intimidation or distribution of publicity is permitted in the same room as the ballot box. The Returning Officer and assistants shall ensure that any publicity material posted or situated in the vicinity of the ballot box is removed and destroyed immediately prior to the commencement of voting.
 
3a. Candidates are responsible for the removal of all campaign material within 7 days of the ballot                  closing
 
  1. It is not permitted for anyone to deliberately attempt, against a person’s will to ascertain how they voted.
 
  1. It is not permissible to willfully deface, remove or obscure election publicity, except under point 3. above.
 
  1. A poster shall be displayed at the ballot box, declaring that the ballot is secret and any violation of the regulations may lead to the disqualification of votes.
 
  1. The Returning Officer shall provide an electoral role from which names will be removed as votes are cast. The Returning Officer shall make the electoral role available 7 days prior to the date of the election for the members of Hall to check. Any errors shall be brought to the attention of the Returning Officer at least 3 days before the date of the election.
 
  1. There must be two members of staff on the ballot box at all times. Staff are not to leave the ballot box station until relieved by more staff or the returning officer.
 
  1. Ballot box staff must not express personal preferences or offer advice that could influence the voter.
 
  1. Candidates are allowed to vote.
 
  1. Voter may not take their ballot papers away from the polling station.
 
  1. The Hall’s returning officer or another senior committee member will collect ballot box at the end of the voting session.
 
  1. All void papers should still be placed in the ballot box.
 
  1. Voting procedure:
 
·         Ask student their name.
·         Confirm this with their room number.
·         Mark off name on Hall register.
·         Cross off categories on ballot paper.
·         Explain voting is order of preference:
                                No Ticks or Crosses.
                                Vote using 1, 2, 3 etc with 1 as most preferred.
                                Voters need not specify preference for all candidates.
·         Voter should fold ballot paper and place in the ballot box.
·         Please thank the voter for voting in the election.
 
 
Appendix C     GUIDELINES FOR THE AWARD OF HALL TROPHIES
 
1.             THE HAGGER TROPHY
 
Presented to the Hall by The Late Professor Elfyn Richards in memory of David Hagger, past President of Loughborough Students’ Union. Awarded to the student in Hall who has done the most to maintain its well being and friendly spirit. Presented annually at the Hall Ball.
 
Awarding procedure:
Approximately 4 weeks prior to the Hall Ball, the Hall Secretary should give notice that nominations, accompanied by a written statement of recommendation, should be submitted to the Chairperson within 14 days (precedent has it that the Chairperson is not usually the recipient of this award during his/her year in office). Once nominations are received a small awarding committee is appointed to decide, in confidence, who is to receive the award. This committee should be composed of three senior/respected members of the student body who are in no way closely associated with the main nominees, and it should be chaired by either the Hall Warden or a Sub-Warden to act as a neutral assessor to ensure all sides are taken into account. Tradition has it that the winner of this award only be announced at the Hall Ball during the speeches.
 
2.             CHRIS STEELE TROPHY (MALE) AND WILLIAM NAVAN (FEMALE)
 
Annually awarded to the student who makes the greatest contribution to Hall sport. This trophy is also presented at the Hall Ball.
 
Awarding procedure:
Traditionally, the male and female Sports Secretaries, past and present, have held a meeting, chaired by one of their number, and received nominations from amongst their numbers on that occasion. After discussion and vote, a winner usually emerges, but if this proves difficult, the Chair may refer the issue to the Hall Chairperson or the Hall Warden to reconvene the Sports Secretaries meeting to gain a decision. (It is usual that if one of the Sports Secretaries accepts nomination, they withdraw from the group).
 
3.             ELVYN AND OLIVE RICHARDS CHARITY TROPHY
 
Awarded annually to the student, or students, who have done the most charitable activities within or outside the Hall. This is presented at the Hall Ball.
 
Awarding procedure:
The Warden shall seek nominations from as many sources as possible to discover the names of students who have worked charitably in a range of ways (e.g. for specific groups – the disabled/ handicapped, elderly, under privileged, organizing fund raising activities, working with groups in the community etc.).
Awarding committee shall be composed of the Warden, a Sub-Warden and two nominated Hall Committee members.
 
4.             PETE SMITH TROPHY
 
Was presented to the Hall in 1987 by the parents of Pete Smith, a former member of Elvyn Richards Hall, in his memory. It is awarded to the winning block of the inter block competition.
 
5.             AYRES RAG TROPHY     
Awarded annually to the student who contributes most to RAG over their time at Elvyn. This is presented at the Hall Ball.
 
Awarding procedure:
Nominations shall be given to the Hall Chair or Secretary from as many sources as possible. They should be students who have contributed most to RAG over their time at Elvyn, not necessarily raising the most money.
 
Awarding committee shall consist of Senior committee, the Hall Warden and members of the committee.
 
 
OTHER AWARDS MAYBE MADE FROM TIME TO TIME AT THE DISCRETION AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE RELEVANT EVENT SUB-COMMITTEE.
 
Matt Sharp- Man of Elvyn
Woman of Elvyn
 
Both awarded to the student who embodies the spirit of Elvyn Richards and contributes to the hall.