The University of North Florida’s Student Government released its revised constitution, and students will determine its approval through a vote in Tuesday and Wednesday’s SG election. Here are some of the many changes that were made, including adding a new article.

All mentions of the Student Alliance for Inclusion and Diversity have been removed and replaced with Representatives of External On-Campus Student Organizations.

Articles II and V, which concern legislative composition and elections, were revised. The constitution now divides the Senate into fall and spring semester seats, and the Student Body President may appoint substitute senators with confirmation from the Senate. 

Fall mid-term elections will decide the first 20 seats, and spring general elections will determine the other 20, along with all other SG officers. Instead of all 40 Senate seats allocated as general seats, 20 are now apportioned seats. The Office of Elections will reapportion these seats once a year in the fall. 

Senate officer positions were reduced to Student Senate President and Pro Tempore.

A new section was added to Article IV: The Judiciary, which institutes mock trials for SG twice per semester. 

Article VII: Sunshine was also added and contains the following:

• All Student Government Members are responsible for adhering to the requirements of the Florida Sunshine Law, the policies and procedures of the University of North Florida, and all requirements of the Sunshine Act and, the Public Records Act, as specified by
• All individuals requesting to inspect or obtain copies of public records from Student Government shall be permitted to do so as specified in the Public Records Act in Florida Statutes.
• A statement must be placed in a conspicuous location on the Student Government website and all e-mails sent from Student Government e-mail accounts notifying the recipient(s) that Student Government communications may be subject to public records laws.
• The Attorney General shall be responsible for educating Student Government members on all provisions and changes to the Sunshine Act and Public Records Act as they relate to Student Government.

The Senate has already approved these changes, but to officially become part of the constitution requires majority student approval in this week’s election and Senate validation of those election results.

The whole constitution with outlined revisions can be found here.

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