Start an Organization
(from the Loyola University New Orleans Student Handbook, chapter 6)
Any group of 10 or more Loyola students desiring to establish an organization which will be in support of the university goals, purposes and values, may petition the Student Government Association for initial recognition and the vice president for Student Affairs for final approval.
The criteria to be used to judge whether a proposed student organization deserves recognition by the University is as follows:
- Is there an identifiable need for the organization at Loyola University?
- Will the proposed student organization contribute to the quality of student life at Loyola?
- Does the proposed organization espouse a purpose and a program which makes it compatible with the mission, goals, and values of Loyola University?
- Has the proposed organization accurately and completely fulfilled the requirements of submitting an application, constitution and membership list as specified in the Student Handbook?
- Is there any other relevant, factual information which may affect the suitability of the organization’s chartering by Loyola University?
The proposed organization must submit the following:
- An application for University Charter obtainable from the Student Activities Office, lower level Danna Center or online in PDF format.
- Two typewritten copies of the constitution.
- A typewritten statement explaining both the need for the organization and how the organization proposes to contribute to the quality of student life at Loyola.
- Two copies of the signature list of 10 Loyola students who are members of the organization. Individuals’ permanent addresses should also be included on the list.
- The name of the advisor of the proposed organization, who is required to be a member of the Loyola faculty or staff.
- Completed application, constitution, justification statement and membership list should be submitted to the Assistant Director for Student Activities, who will review the material with the officers of the submitting organization.
After review of the application, constitution, justification statement and membership list by the Assistant Director for Student Activities, the organization officers will submit materials to the SGA for preliminary approval. Within one week after formal action, the SGA will forward the documentation to the Vice President for Student Affairs for final review and approval.
Any group of Loyola students wishing to gain recognition for a student organization must submit an "Intent to Charter Form" obtainable in the Danna Center and Student Activities Office. The interested students have (30) days in which to submit the application for recognition to the SGA. During that period of time, a proposed organization may be granted the opportunity to have limited organization privileges which may include the following: reserving a meeting space up to four (4) times for organizational planning purposes and advertising for the recruitment of members and announcing planned meetings. No program activities may be conducted during this period. If the Associate Director for Student Activities denies a proposed organization limited organizational privileges, that decision may be appealed to the Director of the Danna Center and Student Activities.
Constitution
The constitution of the proposed organization may be written and structured according to the desires of the authors; however, it must at least have the following topics covered in the document:
Name and purpose of the proposed organization.
- Qualifications and selection process for membership, including a statement of nondiscrimination based upon race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, physical impairment, national or ethnic origin, or age. Social fraternities and sororities who have a partial exemption under Title IX may so modify this statement as authorized by law.
- Election of officers, their duties, responsibilities and removal procedures.
- Meetings of organization.
- Relationship with university. A statement that the organization will support in its actions and programs the goals, purposes and values of Loyola (cf: Loyola Goals Character and Commitment Statements) and abide by university policies and procedures (cf: Student Handbook).
Presentation to the SGA
Once this information has been composed and completed, the proposed organization will be required to send a representative to one of the weekly SGA general assembly meetings. It is important to contact the SGA beforehand to inform the association of the intention to apply for the charter so that this fact may be included on the agenda of the SGA.
The representative shall be required to make a presentation to the SGA Congress to explain why there is a need for the organization and how the organization proposes to contribute to the quality of student life at Loyola. In addition, the representative should be prepared to respond to any questions regarding the application, proposed constitution or other relevant information which may impact the proposed organization or the quality of student life at Loyola.
After the presentation, the president of the SGA shall open the question of approval of the application to debate. If a member of the general assembly feels that additional research or review is necessary, a motion to send the application to the SGA Student Affairs Committee shall be in order and shall take precedence. The Student Affairs Committee shall submit a recommendation at the next SGA meeting.
If the application is not referred to the Student Affairs Committee, at the conclusion of debate the question shall be put to a vote.
When the SGA Congress is ready to vote on the charter application for recognition, a two-thirds affirmative vote shall be required to grant a conditional charter to an organization. Once approved, the SGA forwards its recommendation to the Vice President for Student Affairs for consideration. If the Vice President for Student Affairs approves the application, the organization is sent a letter informing it of its status as a chartered organization. If the Vice President for Student Affairs denies the application, a letter shall be sent to both the denied student organization and the SGA informing each of the specific reasons for denial of the organization’s application based upon the criteria for recognition of student organizations.
If the SGA does not approve a charter for the organization, the SGA president shall be required to send a letter to the Vice President for Student Affairs and the requesting organization providing the specific reasons why the proposed organization did not meet the criteria for recognition.
The requesting organization may appeal the decision of the SGA to deny a charter to the SGA Court of Review. It shall be the function of the SGA Court of Review to review the criteria for recognition of the proposed student organization to ensure that the SGA rendered an appropriate judgment based upon the criteria and provided factual and substantial reasons for recommending denial of recognition. The SGA Court of Review Chief Justice will forward the recommendation of the Court to the SGA in request of reconsideration of the organization’s application by the SGA for the reasons to be stated by the Court. If the SGA reconsiders the application for recognition and denies the application for a second time or refuses to reconsider the original denial, the SGA will inform the Vice President for Student Affairs of this fact and its reasons for denial. The Vice President for Student Affairs may accept the recommendation of the SGA or deny it and approve the application of the organization for university recognition.
If the SGA Court of Review agrees with the action of the SGA in denial of recognition, the SGA Court of Review Chief Justice should so inform the Vice President for Student Affairs of this fact and its reasons. The Vice President for Student Affairs may accept the recommendation of the SGA Court of Review or deny the recommendation and approve the application of the organization for university recognition.
The organizational chartering (recognition) process is not complete until the organization receives written notification from the Vice President for Student Affairs.
In addition to the normal chartering process, prior to submission to the SGA, campus media groups must submit for approval applications for charter to the University Board of Communications, religious groups to Campus Ministry and, club sports to the Department of Recreational Sports.
