Governing Documents

of the Rutgers University Student Assembly 

What are the RUSA Governing Documents?

The RUSA Governing documents are the foundational documents we use as a baseline and rulebook to run the student government at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. These documents include the RUSA Constitution and Standing Rules. Those documents can be found below. Unless specified otherwise in the Constitution or Standing Rules, RUSA operates under the latest version of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (currently the 12th edition).

RUSA Constitution: 

The RUSA Constitution lays out the basis of the legitimacy of RUSA and establishes the basic purpose and structure of RUSA. The Constitution outlines the Assembly, Executive Committee, Judicial Council, and Allocations. It also creates a way to add more detail to these rules through amendments to the Constitution or the Standing Rules of RUSA.

RUSA Standing Rules:

The Standing Rules detail the basic outline that the Constitution provides. It goes into detail on the specific roles and duties of certain members of the assembly, such as Executive Committee members, while also setting general rules for RUSA, such as the Code of Ethics and General Funding Guidelines. It also conveys the details of meeting rules, attendance, allocations, and other such assembly information.

Introduction to RUSA

Membership

RUSA’s Legislative Branch conists of elected Voting Members and the General Public.

Voting Members are elected by their constituents and have the ability to make motions and vote during meetings. For example, our College Avenue Representatives are elected by those who will be living in a College Avenue Residence Hall for the upcoming semester; these Representatives attend RUSA meetings and vote to represent the best interest of College Avenue residents.

The General Public is also invited to all Assembly meetings. The General Public is welcome to attend meetings, ask questions, and participate in debates without any requirements (such as being elected into a position or weekly attendance)

Assembly Meetings

RUSA Assembly meetings follow Robert’s Rules of Order. Agendas are structured as follows:

  • An assembly meeting officially begins when the Student Body Vice President calls it to order (by banging their gavel)

    Language to expect: “I call this meeting to order at 7:30PM on Thursday, February 5th”

  • The Land Acknowledgement is read by the Vice President during the first meeting of every month per the 15th Assembly’s Bill to Accommodate for Indigenous Students and Organizations.

  • Each week’s agenda must be approved by the Assembly before presenting the following items. To do this, a voting member must make a motion to approve the agenda, have this motion seconded by another voting member, and receive no opposition. Before the agenda is approved, a voting member may motion to “amend” the agenda to change a part of it. This could include adding an item, removing an item, or changing the order of items on the agenda.

    Language to expect:

    “Motion to amend the agenda to add/remove …”

    “Motion to approve the agenda”

  • Officer Updates are a section of RUSA General Meetings where members of the Executive Board share what they’ve accomplished throughout the week. During this time, officers give quick updates on the projects they’ve been working on, any meetings they attended, and the initiatives or progress they’ve made on behalf of the student body.

  • Legislation in RUSA refers to official written proposals (bills or resolutions) that are introduced to address student issues or improve campus life. These ideas are usually reviewed in committees, debated, and then voted on by the Assembly. If passed, legislation becomes an official stance or action taken by RUSA on behalf of Rutgers students.

    Language to expect:

    “Motion to skip standard debate procedure and approve with….”

    “Motion to approve with unanimous consent”

    “Motion to approve by hand vote”

    “Motion to approve by Google Form vote”

  • External Representatives is an open forum discussion for RUSA representatives to highlight events or initiatives their constituents do in collaboration with RUSA.

  • Public Sector is an open forum discussion for the general public to highlight any events for other clubs they are a part of or make public comments, addressed to the student body

  • Adjournment marks the official end of an Assembly meeting. Like the call to order, the Student Body Vice President adjourns each meeting (by banging their gavel) following a motion to adjourn.

    Language to aspect:

    “Motion to adjourn”

    “This meeting is adjourned at 9:00 PM”