About Student Meeting for Business

- Student Government Structure
- How can I get involved?
- Student Committees
- SMB Officers
- Student Representative Positions
- SMB Student Funding

About Student Meeting for Business

A description of ESR Student Government and how you can get involved (Approved April, 2001).

Student Government Structure

The intent of Student Meeting for Business is to shape and nurture the community life of the ESR student body, in both its academic and spiritual aspects. Participation in SMB is a way for students to have a voice in the decisions which affect them. To this end, committees of Student Meeting for Business organize community activities, offer pastoral care to individual students and the community as a whole, and plan Spring Banquet. Joint SMB-faculty committees oversee worship and Common Meal. Representatives appointed by Student Meeting for Business gather student comment to offer in dialogue with both the ESR faculty and the joint faculty.

Both SMB meetings and separate issues meetings offer a place for students to discern the way in which the Spirit intends to lead our community. We hold our meetings in the manner of a Friends' meeting for business in which decisions are made not by a vote, but by the meeting's collective sense of the will of God. This discernment process requires open, prayerful seeking rather than persuasion or argument.

Welcome to SMB - Where do you fit in?

1. Come to SMB meetings to support student life at ESR.

2. Read the following pages to see what committees, offices, and representative positions are like.

3. Think about which of these you are interested in and for which you might have useful gifts and talents.

4. Talk to someone who is or has been in that position to get a sense of what it's really like. Better yet, go to a committee or SMB meeting and participate!

5. Prayerfully consider involvement, then give your name and interest to a Nominating Committee member.

6. Nominate fellow students for committees or as representatives, and consider prayerfully what they nominated you for.

Student Committees

The Nominating Committee selects committee clerks from the student and faculty members of each committee. The clerk or designated member is responsible for reporting to the Student Meeting for Business on important committee concerns.

All committee meetings, except those of the Student Pastoral Care Team, are open to the entire ESR Community. All are encouraged to participate in at least one committee.

Ministry and Worship Committee

The worship committee exercises oversight of Meetings for Worship and of worship issues. These include the place of worship in our community life, the quality of worship, educating the community about worship, and addressing controversies.

The Committee arranges for and supports members of the community in planning and leading Meetings for Worship. Each year, they provide a sign up sheet for community members to schedule themselves to lead the weekly programmed and unprogrammed worship. As needed, they provide proactive nudging of community members to sign up. The committee coordinates the timing of joint worship services and special events with other ESR and BTS committees to avoid scheduling conflicts.

Common Meal Committee

The Common Meal Committee meets to plan ESR Common Meal programs and details. They arrange and schedule speakers, ask people to lead the blessing, choose conveners for the program, and coordinate people to do clean-up duties. The committee strives to provide a balanced diversity of programming, including both invited guests and ESR community members on a range of topics, from social action to talent show events.

Community Life Committee

The Community Life Committee seeks to provide a holistic way to nurture community life at ESR and to meet the various needs of people in our community.

Its purpose is to fill the gaps that aren't addressed in the community by:

• Helping the school community find balance

• Doing activities that will help nurture a sense of community

• Coordinating activities and nurturing our relationship with the Bethany community

• Giving individuals space for expression and creativity

The Community Life Committee is responsible for coordinating two activities each semester and the yearly Advent dinner.

Finance Committee

The finance committee consists of the Treasurer and one other member. The committee assists in SMB budget design, modifies­­if necessary­­and approves SMB Conference Scholarship requests, and, in concert with the Clerk of the Student Pastoral Care Team, administers the Student Emergency Revolving Loan fund. This committee also gathers and articulates students’ financial concerns.

Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee serves to prayerfully discern and nominate students to serve in all appointed student offices, committees, and as representatives.

Student Pastoral Care Team

The Student Pastoral Care Team offers support and care to any member of the ESR community. Team members meet regularly to pray for the community and to sustain each other in supporting community members with needs. Individuals may ask to meet with the team confidentially for prayer and/or support. The Team is also available to meet with individuals for pastoral care as part of the process outlined in the ESR Harassment Policy. Students must be in the second semester of their first year (or beyond) to be nominated to this committee and in the first semester of their second year (or beyond) to fill a position on this committee.

Spring Banquet Committee

Spring Banquet is a community event recognizing the contribution and departure of the seniors from ESR. Historically it has involved a catered meal, followed by a program and a post-program activity (dancing, etc.). Spring Banquet Committee responsibilities are two-fold: first, making arrangements (reserving the location, meal decisions, selling tickets, and coordinating the post-program activity); and second, creating the program (recruiting performers, developing ideas, and facilitating rehearsals).

SMB Officers

Co-clerks

Two SMB co-clerks are responsible for clerking SMB meetings and preparing agendas, coordinating student business in the SMB meeting setting, and serving as the student representatives to ESR faculty meetings and Joint ESR/Bethany faculty meetings. The co-clerks divide SMB clerking responsibilities, including preparing and printing agendas, facilitating the meetings of the SMB, and reporting on faculty issues. They report faculty issues to the students and reflect student issues and opinion to the faculties. They meet together regularly for prayer and discussion of student and faculty business, to articulate the student voice within the student body and within the institution of ESR. They work closely with the Issues Meeting Coordinator to bring relevant student and faculty issues to that forum. Co-clerks give a second signature on expenditure authorizations.

Arrangements Clerk

The arrangements clerk is responsible for reserving the room for SMB meetings, opening and closing that room, facilitating the set-up and break down of an appropriate room arrangement for SMB meetings, coordinating the ordering and pick-up of the SMB meal, and organizing clean-up afterwards.

Recording Clerk

The recording clerk is responsible for SMB minutes and publicity. She or he records discussion and action minutes of SMB business meetings for approval during the meetings. Following the meeting, the recording clerk types and archives the minutes. Copies are distributed to all students, the ESR Dean, and the Clerk of the Faculty Meeting for Business. One copy is posted on the SMB bulletin board. He or she should be ready in SMB meetings to answer questions about previous minutes. When necessary, the recording clerk can give a second signature on expenditure authorizations.

Treasurer

The treasurer keeps account of SMB finances and expenditures, creates and archives financial records including a working SMB budget, and authorizes payments and reimbursements. The treasurer receives requests for SMB Conference Scholarships and for the allocation of non-budgeted money. These requests are modified­­if necessary­­and approved by the Treasurer in consultation with the other member of the Finance Committee or with another SMB officer. The Treasurer will notify the student body of the approval and nature of the requests and the current level of funding left for future requests either through e-mail or at SMB meetings. The treasurer also works with the snack room coordinator in purchasing supplies. At the end of the spring semester, the treasurer is responsible for preparing the next school year's budget for approval by the SMB. At the close of the fiscal year, June 30, the treasurer balances the books, referring to Earlham Accounting Office statements.

Issues Meeting Coordinator

The SMB Issues Meeting Coordinator arranges for and publicizes Issue Meetings. Issue Meetings, a special function of SMB, provide student forums for concerns too complicated or time consuming to be given full consideration in a regular Student Meeting for Business. Issue Meetings are intended to gather student opinion on matters of significant student concerns.

Duties of the Issues Meeting Coordinator include gathering relevant presenters on the issue, arranging for the recording clerk or a replacement to take minutes, convening the meeting or finding a suitable convener, and reserving the necessary time and place. Any ESR community member may bring a request for an issue meeting to SMB for approval. The Issue Meeting Coordinator also coordinates one Common Meal program each semester which provides students a forum to ask questions of and air issues to SMB officers and the Dean and allows the SMB officers and the Dean to offer information or solicit comments from students.

Student Representative Positions

Each student in the following representative positions reports as appropriate to the Student Meeting for Business on their involvement, important issues, and any need for SMB action.

Council on Religion at Earlham (CORE)

One ESR student is named to meet with Earlham's CORE committee, an inter-faith gathering that represents each major religious group on the Earlham College and seminary campus. This group discusses events and interactions between Earlham faith groups and helps to plan the Religious Emphasis Week held each fall. This committee meets weekly.

ESR Board of Advisors

Several students­­usually a Programmed Friend, an Unprogrammed Friend, and a student of another denomination­­are nominated to attend ESR Board of Advisors meetings, to be available for input to the Board, and to bring reports of the sessions back to SMB. The Board sessions are held over a weekend, and student representatives usually share those hours by coordinating to ensure a student presence at every session. Different students may be nominated for each Advisory weekend.

ESR Harassment Board

Two Students and an alternate are named as representatives to the ESR Harassment Board. This Board hears cases of alleged harassment within the ESR community, as needed. See the ESR Harassment Policy in the Student Handbook for further details. Time commitment varies, generally minimal unless a case arises.

Joint Academic Planning Committee (JAPC)

One student is named to represent SMB on this ESR and Bethany academic committee. This group reviews joint academic issues such as course scheduling, credit requirements, and the academic calendar, and makes recommendations to the ESR and Bethany faculties.

The student representative gathers and reports student opinion on these matters to JAPC. The representative works closely with the Bethany JAPC representative and the Issues Meeting Coordinator when appropriate.

Faculty Search Committee (Ad Hoc)

One student is named to meet with and bring student feeling to the Faculty Search Committee. The representative facilitates and publicizes candidate student discussion sessions, introduces the candidate at the discussions, passes out evaluation sheets at those sessions, gathers student in-put after the discussions, and attends the candidate teaching sessions. Time commitment varies, generally heavy while a search is in progress.

Other Representative Possibilities

Ad hoc student representative needs arise from year to year and are filled through the Nominating Committee process.

SMB Student Funding

SMB has two sources of student funding: SMB Conference Scholarships and SMB Student Emergency Revolving Loan Fund (SERLF) loans. Both the scholarships and the loans may be requested through the Treasurer via scholarship or loan request forms.

SMB Conference Scholarships

1. SMB offers the SMB Conference Scholarships to ESR students as grants so that they may more easily attend conferences, retreats, and seminars.

2. The Conference Scholarships are administered by the Treasurer and either the other member of the Finance Committee or any one of the other SMB officers. The Treasurer keeps a record of all scholarships.

3. Discernment of the appropriateness of the scholarship requests is the responsibility of any two of its administrators: the Treasurer, the other member of the Finance Committee, or any other of the SMB officers.

4. The Conference Scholarships are available to ESR students on a first come, first-served basis.

5. The limit on a Conference Scholarship, per ESR student, is $50 each semester.

6. Students should make requests for a Conference Scholarship to the Treasurer. The Treasurer will notify the student body of the nature and dollar amount of the request(s) and the current level of funding left for future requests either through e-mail or at SMB meetings.

7. Although SMB expects no monetary repayment, SMB does anticipate that scholarship recipients will bring the information they have gained back to enrich the community. This may be done in a variety of ways including offering a seminar or workshop, leading worship, or speaking at Common Meal.

SMB Student Emergency Revolving Loan Fund

1. SMB offers the SMB Student Emergency Revolving Loan Fund (SERLF) to ESR students as no-interest, no-term, and no-dunning loans.

2. The SERLF is administered by the Finance Committee (consisting of the Treasurer and another member) and the Clerk of the Student Pastoral Care Team. The Treasurer keeps records on all loans and their current status.

3. Discernment of the appropriateness of the loan requests is the responsibility of any two of its three administrators: the Treasurer, the other member of the Finance Committee, or the Clerk of the Student Pastoral Care Team.

4. The SERLF is available to ESR students on a first-come, first-served basis.

5. The limit on an SERLF loan, per ESR student, is $500.

6. ESR students may receive an SERLF loan as many times a semester as necessary; however, a student’s combined outstanding loans may not exceed the $500 limit.

7. The confidentiality of the student requesting an SERLF loan is to be maintained.

8. Students should make requests for an SERLF loan to the Treasurer. The Treasurer will notify the student body of the dollar amount of the request(s) and the current level of funding left for future requests either through e-mail or at SMB meetings.

9. SMB expects that students will repay SERLF loans as quickly as possible so that funds are available to others.

10. Since SMB is not charging interest, SMB encourages loan recipients and others to make donations to maintain this fund.

11. Repayments are to be made out to ESR and sent or given to the SMB Treasurer.