Bates College Student Government Records

The first student council at Bates was formed in 1890, at the behest of the Alumni Association, and as an agreement between the faculty and students of the college. The first student-initiated government was created in 1910, and was male-only. A women's student government was created around 1912. These separate organizations merged in 1965.

The Bates Student Government is responsible for overseeing the organization and management of student funds, residential life, and student committees/organizations on campus. It is composed of an Executive Council and Representative Assembly.

The Executive Council is made up of the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Chairs of the advisory committees. Responsibilities of the Executive Council include overseeing elections, establishing budgets, allocating funds for student organizations, passing legislation, and acting as a liaison for the Representative Assembly and student body.

The Representative Assembly is the second body of the student government, and is made up of elected representatives. Five student representatives are elected every year from each class of the study body. The Representative Assembly also includes Residential Life Representatives and Officers. The Residential Life Representatives are elected every school year by each dorm or house. The Representative Assembly Officers are the Chair, Secretary and the Parliamentarian. The officers are elected by current members of the Representative Assembly from the previous year and are elected at the beginning of the school term. The Officers oversee the Representative Assembly, to make sure the RA is following its responsibilities and procedures as established in the Constitution.

The Student Government is also made up of many committees, such as Student Committees, Student/Faculty Committees, Advisory Committees and Ad Hoc Committees.

(Background knowledge for the historical description was found at the Bates Student Government website. More information about the Student Government can be found at http://abacus.bates.edu/bcsg/)