Constitution of the Senate of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society

Preamble

Whereas the American Whig-Cliosophic Society is the nation’s oldest collegiate political, literary, and debating society,

Whereas that heritage compels us to maintain our tradition of free and open debate on the great public issues of our time, to make those debates open to all members of the University community, and to promote the public discourse in general,

Whereas the Senate, as the oldest and only non-subsidiary organ of the Society, serves a special and central purpose in maintaining that tradition through Senate Debates between the Whig and Cliosophic Halls and among the University community more broadly,

Whereas the American Whig-Cliosophic Society and the Senate in particular, as nonpartisan yet political institutions open to all members of the University community, have a special responsibility to foster a spirit of intellectual curiosity and critical inquiry, to encourage and protect the exchange and examination of ideas regardless of orthodoxy, and to serve as a forum for respectful and constructive dialogue,

Therefore, we, the members of the Senate of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society, in order to promote these values of the Society, to organize debates and events to that end, and to secure for future generations of Princetonians the opportunity to challenge, examine, and defend the great ideas of our time, do hereby establish this constitution and commit ourselves to carrying out to the best of our ability its precepts, values, and principles.

  1. Article 1 — Name
  1. NAME OF ORGANIZATION. — The name of the organization shall be “The Senate of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society.”
  2. USE OF NAME. — The words “Whig-Clio Senate,” “The Senate of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society,” and any other claim of association with or endorsement by the organization shall not be used by any individual or group of individuals without the express written consent of the President of the Senate, the Governing Council of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society, or the organization as a whole. 
  1. Article 2 — Applicability
  1. BASIC LAW. — This constitution is the fundamental law of the Senate of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society.
  2. SUPERSESSION. — This constitution may only be superseded by the Constitution of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society, ODUS policies, Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities, and applicable state, local, or federal laws.
  3. SEVERABILITY. — In the event any provision or part of this Constitution is found to be invalid or unenforceable, only that particular provision or part so found, and not the entire Constitution, will be inoperative.
  1. Article 3 — Participation and Voting Rights
  1. PARTICIPATION IN THE SENATE GENERALLY. — All members of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society shall carry, in Meetings for the Purpose of Conducting Parliamentary Debate, the right to speak and vote on the motion.
    1. Participation in the Senate shall also be open to all members of the Princeton University community who express interest in participating, including graduate students, staff, and faculty members.
    2. The President of the Senate may invite persons outside of the Princeton University community to participate in the Senate.
  2. VOTING RIGHTS. — Certain members of the Society shall, after a period of participation in the activities of the Senate, have the right to vote to amend the Constitution of the Senate of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society, the right to make motions and vote during Meetings of the Senate for the Purpose of Conducting Business, and to vote in elections as the President of the Senate may deem appropriate to hold.
    1. Members of the Society may gain the right to vote described above by meeting any of the following criteria:
  1. Attending at least two Senate Debates within the 12 month period preceding any referendum or election;
  2. Being an active member of a Party and attending at least one Senate debate within the 12 month period preceding any referendum or election;
  3. Being a Member in Good Standing of the Society and attending at least one Senate debate within the 12 month period preceding any referendum or election;
  4. Serving or having served previously as an elected or appointed officer of the Senate;
  5. Serving or having served previously as Speaker of the American Whig Party or Chair of the Cliosophic Party;
  6. Successful submission of a petition to obtain the right to vote and approval by the President of the Senate, contingent upon the provision of:
    1. A compelling reason for failing to meet the attendance criterion; and
    2. Evidence of participation in the activities of the Senate in any capacity.
  7. To obtain the right to vote as described in 3.2, members of the Society must additionally agree to the following oath, agreement to which may be indicated by print or electronic signature during the voter registration process or en masse during the first meeting of the Senate in a given session:

“I promise to respect and uphold the Constitution and the Standing Rules of the Senate, to uphold the rights of members to express themselves freely, to speak and act in good faith, and to respect other members of the Senate. I make this promise freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.”

  1. LOSS OF VOTING RIGHTS. — Members of the Society may lose their status as eligible voters if the member no longer meets the criteria set out in 3.2.
  1. Article 4 — Free Expression Rights and Media Policy

This section is partially adapted from the following sources:

Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities, quoting the Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression at the University of Chicago.

Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social Action of the University of Chicago.

  1. COMMITMENT TO EXPRESSION. — Because the Senate is principally a platform for the discussion, debate, and contestation of ideas, except insofar as such restrictions are absolutely necessary to the proper functioning of the Senate, it guarantees to all its members the broadest possible latitude to speak and discuss ideas while the Senate is in session.
    1. IN GENERAL. — Although the Senate values civil discourse, and all members of the Senate share in the responsibility to create it, concerns over civil discourse, disagreeability, or offense alone may never be used to prevent a member from speaking or being recognized to speak while the Senate is in session.
    2. Consequently, in the course of debate:
      1. The presiding officer of the Senate may not prevent or stop a member from speaking on those grounds alone.
      2. The presiding officer of the Senate may take action to stop members from preventing other members from speaking or being recognized to speak in the course of debate.
      3. Unless it becomes so disruptive as to prevent a speaker from being heard, tapping to express agreement and hissing to express disagreement during the course of a speech is not to be considered as preventing a speaker from speaking or being recognized to speak.
  2. RESTRICTED EXPRESSION. — The President of the Senate, as the presiding officer, retains the right to disallow speech, including by refusal to recognize the speaker, which:
  1. Violates the law;
  2. Falsely defames a specific individual;
  3. Constitutes a genuine threat or harassment;
  4. Unjustifiably invades substantial privacy or confidentiality interests; or
  5. Is otherwise directly incompatible with the functioning of the Senate.

Such an exception is narrowly tailored and shall not be interpreted in a manner that is inconsistent with the Society’s commitment to free and open expression.

  1. UNPARLIAMENTARY LANGUAGE. — The President of the Senate, as the presiding officer, may also rule specific language unparliamentary in nature.
    1. The only permissible grounds for ruling a remark unparliamentary are that it:
  1. Suggests that another member is dishonest or not acting in good faith;
  2. Suggests that another member is dishonorable; or that it
  3. Uses profane language.
  1. Unless a member refuses to withdraw and apologize for a remark that has been ruled unparliamentary, unparliamentary language is not grounds for refusing to recognize a speaker.
  2. Prohibition of speech on the basis of unparliamentary language is narrowly tailored and shall not be interpreted in a manner that is inconsistent with the Society’s commitment to free and open expression.
  1. RESPONSIBILITY FOR SPEECH. — Members have primary responsibility for not violating 4.2, and in the case of such a violation the President of the Senate is not obliged to provide warning to a member of the Senate before ruling that a speaker will no longer be recognized for the remainder of the meeting.
  2. APPEALS FOR WRONGLY DISALLOWED SPEECH. — In the case that a member of the Society feels that their speech has been wrongly disallowed under 4.2 or 4.3, they may appeal to the Governing Council of the Society. In the case of a majority vote by the Governing Council that such speech was wrongly disallowed:
    1. The President of the Senate shall be prohibited from disallowing that speech or substantially similar speech, and
    2. The President of the Senate shall review and demonstrate understanding of the speech guidelines in this Constitution as well as Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities Section 1.1.3 to the Governing Council.
    3. In the case that the Governing Council determines that the President of the Senate acted correctly, upon the written dissent of two voting members of the Governing Council, the dispute shall be referred to the Constitutional Compliance Commission of the Society, who shall make the final determination. Otherwise, the ruling of the President of the Senate shall stand.
  3. CONTROVERSIAL EVENTS. — If the President of the Senate anticipates that a debate or other event may result in activities or protests that would interfere with the normal functioning of the Senate, they shall consult with ODUS or other relevant officials to ensure that the normal functioning of the Senate continues.
  4. NO MEDIA POLICY. — In order to protect the liberty of the members of the Senate to exercise the “broadest possible latitude to speak and discuss ideas in the course of debate,” the President of the Senate is responsible for enforcing, including by expulsion from a debate, a policy strictly prohibiting the following:
  1. The presence of members of the media, acting in their capacity as members of the media;
  2. The usage of analogue or digital recording devices, including the recording of video or audio of members speaking;
  3. The usage of analogue or digital photography;
  4. The creation of artistic depictions of members speaking;
  5. The digital or analogue transcription of the speech of members; and
  6. The provision of any specifically attributed Senate debate quotations, direct or indirect, to non-Senate organizations.
  7. CHATHAM HOUSE RULE. — The President of the Senate is additionally responsible for enforcing the Chatham House Rule, which reads:

When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.

  1. INSTITUTIONAL NEUTRALITY. — The Senate shall adhere to the principle of institutional neutrality, as described in the University of Chicago’s Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social Action. As such:
    1.  The Senate as an institution shall:
  1. Act as a home and sponsor of critics, and not a critic in and of itself;
  2. Sustain an extraordinary environment of freedom of inquiry and maintain an independence from political fashions, passions, and pressures; and
  3. Embrace, be hospitable to, and encourage the widest diversity of views within its own community.
  4. The Senate as an institution shall not:
  1. Insist that all of its members favor a given view of social policy;
  2. Take collective action on the issues of the day; or
  3. Adopt, as an institution, a political or policy stance.
  1. This section shall not be interpreted as precluding the membership of the Senate from voting on and adopting a motion in Meetings for the Purpose of Parliamentary Debate.
  2. Additionally, this section shall not be interpreted as preventing the Senate from, in times of crisis, opposing measures which restrict free expression and actively defending its interests and values.
  1. Article 5 — Officers of the Senate, Standing Rules of the Senate
  1. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, STANDING RULES. — The President of the Senate shall be the presiding officer of the Senate, and is thus charged with the enforcement and execution of this Constitution as well as any additional rules the Senate may adopt.
    1. WITH CONSULTATION. — The President of the Senate may, with the consent of the majority of the voting members of the Governing Council, appoint, and with a ⅔ majority remove, a Deputy President or Presidents of the Senate, and delegate their authority to those deputies.
    2. SOLE PREROGATIVE AND STANDING RULES. — The President of the Senate has the sole authority to:
  1. Produce, enforce and interpret the Standing Rules of the Senate, which shall govern the typical conduct of the Senate and Senate Debates, with changes to the Standing Rules subject to revision and review by the voting membership;
    1. The President of the Senate must publish any proposed amendments to the Standing Rules of the Senate at least one week before those amendments come into effect; and
    2. At least one meeting of any type must take place before the proposed amendments come into effect, during which the members shall have and be informed of the ability to motion by majority vote to modify the agenda to review the proposed changes, and
    3. These amendments may be rejected or amended during that meeting, regardless of meeting type, by a majority vote of the voting membership.
  2. Moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, and announce the results of votes;
  3. Select and invite speakers and observers to Senate events, including those outside the University community, contingent upon their observing the Senate rules and their not charging an honorarium.
  4. For Meetings for the Purpose of Parliamentary Debate, set the topic, time, and location of the debate;
  5. Represent the Senate in public fora;
  6. Determine and execute the direction and activities of the Senate, so long as the direction and activities of the Senate are Constitutional and otherwise consistent with its mission of providing a forum for free and open debate and discussion,
  7. Create, recognize, and assign a budget to bodies of the Senate consistent with its mission of advancing the public discourse;
    1. Any modifications to the Senate budget shall be done in consultation with the Treasurer of the Society and other relevant officials;
  8. Appoint and remove additional officers of the Senate, who shall not be considered members of the Governing Council, as they deem necessary to carry out specific tasks, and to delegate tasks to those officers.
  9. Enforce this Constitution and the Standing Rules of the Senate.
  10. Execute any otherwise Constitutional powers vested in the position of the President of the Senate by the Society.
  11. OBLIGATIONS. — The President of the Senate shall be obligated to:
  1. Maintain and make publicly available the Constitution and Standing Rules of the Senate,
  2. Create and maintain a list of eligible voters,
  3. Create and execute a budget for the Senate,
    1. The President of the Senate shall consult with the Treasurer and President of the Society before adoption of a final budget, and before any extra-budgetary spending;
  4. Regularly make a report to the President of the Society and the Board of Trustees on the State of the Senate,
    1. The President of the Senate may optionally address the membership of the Senate on the State of the Senate during a Meeting for the Purpose of Conducting Senate Business;
    2. Such a report shall be provided to the President of the Society and the Board of Trustees in the form of a written text in addition to any verbal presentations made;
  5. Reserve the Senate Chamber for the purposes of conducting Senate business;
    1. Such a reservation shall be made with the Secretary.
  6. Enforce the provisions of this Constitution to the best of their ability;
  7. Maintain a diversity of views in the topics and speakers presented for debates; and
  8. Protect and preserve the unique, distinct, and open nature of the Senate, including through the maintenance of Senate-specific styles of debate and other Senate traditions.
  1. ABSENCE OF PRESIDING OFFICER. — In the absence of the President of the Senate, the President may designate a member of the Society who has attended at least one Meeting for the Purpose of Parliamentary Debate as the President Pro Tempore of the Senate for the purposes of presiding over a meeting.
    1. If no such determination is made, the Deputy President of the Senate shall presumptively serve as the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
    2. The President Pro Tempore may not be the Speaker of the American Whig Party or the Chair of the Cliosophic Party, or one of their deputies.
  2. NEUTRALITY OF THE PRESIDENT. — Regardless of the President of the Senate’s current or prior affiliation with one or both Parties, they shall not privilege the viewpoints or activities of either party and shall generally act in a neutral and nonpartisan manner while occupying the office of President of the Senate.
  1. THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT. — The Deputy President of the Senate shall serve as the President Pro Tempore of the Senate in the event of the absence of the President and the failure of the President to designate a member as the presiding officer, and shall also execute any duties delegated to them by the President of the Senate.
  2. VOTES OF NO CONFIDENCE. — In the event of a successful vote of No Confidence in the President of the Senate, the Deputy President of the Senate, or any other Senate officer, they shall be compelled to resign from their office within the Senate.
    1. Such a vote of No Confidence shall require an affirmative vote of three quarters of the total number of eligible voters, to be counted by the Secretary of the Society.
    2. Replacement procedures for Senate Officers who are also members of the Governing Council shall be governed by the Constitution of the Society.
    3. The President of the Senate shall appoint replacements for Senate Officers who are not also members of the Governing Council.
  3. OATH OF OFFICE. — All Officers of the Senate shall be obligated to take the following oath:

“I, [Name], do solemnly swear that I have read and understood the Constitution of the Senate of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society, that I will respect and uphold that Constitution, that I will perform the duties of my office to the best of my ability, that I will defend the right to free and open debate while acting with respect toward the members, and that I take this oath freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.”

  1. Article 6 — Meetings of the Senate
  1. SENATE MEETING TYPES. — There shall be two types of Meetings of the Senate: Meetings for the Purpose of Conducting Senate Business and Meetings for the Purpose of Conducting Parliamentary Debate.
  2. BUSINESS MEETINGS GENERALLY. — Meetings for the Purpose of Conducting Senate Business shall be held for the purpose of managing the affairs of the Senate as an institution.
    1. TIME OF MEETING. — Meetings for the Purpose of Conducting Senate Business shall be held at the first meeting following the election of a new President of the Senate and:
  1. With at least seven days notice, upon the call of the President of the Senate, or
  2. With at least three days notice, preceding a Meeting for the Purpose of Conducting Parliamentary Debate, or
  3. Upon petition by ⅓ of the total number of eligible voters, at a date and time determined by those eligible voters..
  1. AMENDING STANDING RULES. — Except where otherwise stated, motions to adopt or amend the Standing Rules of the Senate, to amend the Constitution, or to call for a vote of No Confidence in a Senate Officer are considered privileged motions and may only be considered during the Meeting for the Purpose of Conducting Senate Business.
    1. The Motion to Adopt the Standing Rules of the Senate shall be considered in the first meeting following the election of a new President of the Senate.
    2. The President of the Senate shall provide Standing Rules for the consideration of the Senate at least three days prior to the first Meeting in a new session.
    3. In the case that the Motion to Adopt the Standing Rules fails, the previous Standing Rules shall govern debate until such time as new Standing Rules are adopted.
  2. ORDER OF BUSINESS. — The General Order of Business for Meeting for the Purpose of Conducting Senate Business shall be:
  1. Announcements
  2. Special Orders and Privileged Motions
  3. General Orders and Unfinished Business
  4. New Business
  1. DEBATE MEETINGS GENERALLY. — Meetings for the Purpose of Conducting Parliamentary Debate shall be held for the purposes of allowing the members of the Senate to debate and discuss public issues and other non-Senate topics of interest.
    1. Meetings for the Purpose of Conducting Parliamentary Debate shall be held at the discretion of the President of the Senate.
    2. Meetings for the Purpose of Conducting Parliamentary Debate shall consider one question or motion for the duration of the session for the purpose of discussion of public issues, and motions by the body to amend the motion or — except for the condition in 5.1.2 — otherwise act to conduct Senate business shall be considered out of order.
    3. The President of the Senate shall publish a motion to be debated during the Meeting for the Purpose of Conducting Parliamentary debate at least three days in advance of the meeting, and shall select and recognize speakers for and against the motion.
      1. With the exception of a motion to call a Meeting for the Purpose of Conducting Senate Business, members may not make motions during Meetings for the Purpose of Conducting Parliamentary Debate.
  2. OBLIGATION TO DESCRIBE. — The President of the Senate shall, in the Standing Rules of the Senate, address and provide rules consistent with Constitutional provisions governing both types of meetings.
  1. Article 7 — Senate Parties and Caucuses
  1. PARTIES OF THE SENATE. — The American Whig Party and the Cliosophic Party shall be recognized as the Parties of the Senate.
    1. The leaders of the Parties of the Senate shall be entitled to, by mutual agreement between the Speaker of the American Whig Party and Chair of the Cliosophic Party, compel the President of the Senate to select and recognize their joint nominees speakers and joint selection for the motion to be debated for one Meeting for the Purpose of Conducting Parliamentary Debate.
      1. Such a request must be made to the President of the Senate at least one week prior to the proposed Meeting.
      2. The President of the Senate may choose to recognize additional requests as described in 7.1.1. subject to a one week notification period.
    2. The Speaker of the American Whig Party shall be the Floor Leader of the Left, and the Chair of the Cliosophic Party shall be the Floor Leader of the Right, and responsible for managing their respective coalitions during Meetings for the Purpose of Conducting Senate Debates.
    3. Floor Leaders shall preside over meetings of their respective coalitions.
  2. SENATE CAUCUSES. — The Standing Rules of the Senate may make provisions for the formation of Caucuses within the American Whig and Cliosophic Parties for the purposes of intra-party debate.
    1. Such Caucuses must minimally:
  1. Name a Chair;
  2. Have a distinct, descriptive, and non-profane name;
  3. Form a distinct ideological grouping within the American Whig or Cliosophic Parties,
  4. Obtain the consent of the Floor Leader of the Left or the Floor Leader of the Right to register within their coalition, and
  5. Not take the place of a substantially similar and already existing Caucus.
  6. CAUCUS RULES. — The Standing Rules of the Senate may additionally provide for membership requirements, debating format, and other regulations governing the formation, dissolution, and conduct of Caucuses.
  1. Article 8 — Dispute Resolution
  1. SENATE DISPUTES. — In the event of a dispute between members of the Senate with regard to Senate business or the interpretation of the Standing Rules, the President of the Senate shall determine the resolution of the dispute.
    1. The membership may, by ¾ vote, reject this resolution.
    2. A rejection of the resolution must also provide an alternate resolution, which shall be presented to the Governing Council and adopted by majority vote.
    3. In the event of the Governing Council rejecting such a resolution, it may:
      1. Provide a binding alternate resolution, or
      2. Allow the original resolution made by the President of the Senate to stand.
  2. CONSTITUTIONAL DISPUTES. — If the dispute is of a Constitutional nature, the President of the Senate shall provide a resolution to be voted on by the Governing Council by ⅔ vote.
    1. If the Governing Council does not approve of the resolution, the President of the Senate, seconded by voting one member of the Governing Council, may make an appeal to the Constitutional Compliance Committee of the Society to be voted on by ¾ vote.
    2. If the CCC does not approve of the resolution by ¾ vote, it may provide an alternate resolution by ¾ vote. In the case that the CCC is unable to agree upon an alternate resolution by ¾ vote, the dispute shall be referred to the Trustees.
  1. Article 9 — Ratification and Amendment
    1. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. — An amendment to this Constitution shall be considered to be valid if the following conditions have been met:
      1. A successful Motion to Amend the Constitution was made in the course of a Meeting for the Purpose of Conducting Senate Business;
      2. The motion was sustained within one month by ⅔ affirmative vote of the total number of Members in Good Standing of the Senate, and
      3. The amendment was ratified by ⅔ of the total number of voting members of the Governing Council.
    2. RECORDING OF AMENDMENTS. — Amendments shall be appended to the end of the Constitution, and inoperative sections shall be indicated through strike-throughs of those sections.
    3. RATIFICATION OF CONSTITUTION. — This Constitution shall be considered to be ratified upon completion of the following conditions:
  1. Approval by the President of the Senate, Speaker of the American Whig Party, and the Chair of the Cliosophic Party;
  2. Approval of ⅔ of the total number of voting members of the Governing Council; and
  3. Approval of the majority of members present and voting at a Senate meeting called for the purposes of ratifying this Constitution or at an American Whig-Cliosophic Society Assembly.
  4. Approval of this Constitution by the Trustees of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society.
  1. Amendments.
  1. Appendix.
    1. Definition of Majority
      1. Unless otherwise stated, for the purposes of this Constitution, a majority or other numerical threshold is considered to be that threshold plus one of members present and voting as long as at least one third of the total number of eligible voters are present.
    2. Rules of Procedure.
      1. Unless otherwise specified, meetings of the Senate shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order.
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