Penn State Dickinson School of Law

Mission Statement
The name of this organization shall be the Speakers Trust Fund of the Student Bar Association. The Speakers Trust Fund of the Student Bar Association shall provide a forum for the equitable distribution of the Speakers Trust portion of the Student Activities Fee. It shall maintain an open door policy for every student organization at The Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University. The Trust shall promulgate an agenda for the student body that shall include, but not be limited to, providing students with a slate of speakers that will enhance the quality of life at the school and encourage diversity of ideas.

The Speakers Trust shall review student organization proposals for speakers in an objective, nondiscriminatory manner. It shall encourage student organizations to sponsor speakers of premier quality and esteem with various backgrounds and experiences to reflect the growingly diverse student body. While student organizations may invite speakers with controversial, and even offensive, ideologies, the Trust does not necessarily endorse these speakers.

The Speakers Trust shall also sponsor speakers on its own. The Trust shall strive to invite speakers who contribute to the stimulation and diversity of ideas and who are of interest to a majority of the student body. The speakers invited personally by the Trust will not be offensive in nature.
Definitions
1. Nominate: To propose by name as a candidate for election. Each nominee must be approved by the Student Bar Association before assuming the respective position.
2. Appoint: A binding selection by the Student Bar Association for an office or position in the Speakers Trust.
Officers of the Trust
The Trust shall have as its administrative and executive officers a President, Vice-President, and Secretary.
1. PRESIDENT
  1. The President of the Speakers Trust shall be nominated by the SBA President with the majority consent of the SBA , and serve at the SBA President's pleasure. The term of office shall be for one academic year. The President shall:
    1. preside over all meetings;
    2. set the date, time, place, and agenda for all meetings;
    3. appoint any such sub-committees deemed necessary to effectuate the purpose of the Trust;
    4. certify all requests for disbursement made by the Trust;
    5. prepare a bi-annual report regarding the Trust's activities for the SBA;
    6. examine, on a yearly basis, the feasibility of an increase in the Speakers Trust portion of the student fee and report these findings to the SBA President; and,
    7. vote in all actions undertaken by the Trust.
2. VICE-PRESIDENT
  1. The Vice-President shall be nominated by the SBA President upon the recommendation of the President of the Speakers Trust. The Vice-President shall serve at the pleasure of the President of the Speakers Trust. The term of office shall be one academic year. The Vice-President shall:
    1. assist the President in his or her duties;
    2. assume the duties of the President in the President's absence;
    3. maintain the Speakers Trust webpage, so as to ensure that the students of the Dickinson School of Law have a source of information on the makeup, purpose, rules, and the application process for funds of the Speakers Trust; and,
    4. vote in all actions undertaken by the Trust.
3. SECRETARY
  1. The Secretary of the Speakers Trust shall be nominated by the SBA President upon the recommendation of the President of the Speakers Trust. The term of office shall be one year. The Secretary shall serve at the pleasure of the President of the Speakers Trust. The Secretary shall:
    1. record the proceedings of all meetings of the Trust;
    2. provide both the Dean and the Associate Dean for Student Affairs of The Dickinson School of Law with copies of all minutes of meetings;
    3. publish said records, placing copies in the Sheely-Lee Library for general student access, in the official files of the SBA, and providing a certified copy to the SBA President and DSL Financial Officer;
    4. publish and record all requests for disbursement made by the Trust;
    5. vote in all actions undertaken by the Speakers Trust.
Board of Trustees
1. The Trust shall be governed by a board of trustees in conformity herein:
  1. The SBA President shall serve as Chair of the Board;
  2. The SBA Treasurer shall serve as Vice-Chair of the Board;
  3. The Chair and Vice-Chair will oversee the activities of the Trust, but will not serve in an administrative capacity. They will be voting members and will execute disbursement requests and other actions undertaken by the Board of Trustees. The Chair may appoint a representative to serve in his or her stead.
  4. Each class shall be represented by two Trustees. The Trustees shall be selected through a competitive process initiated by the SBA President and serve for one academic year. Representatives shall only be removed for cause.
2. Selections for the trustees and officers of the Speakers Trust shall be made in accordance herein:
  1. Nominations for the representative trustees of the second- and third-year classes shall be made no later than May 1 of each year and shall be put to a vote of the Student Bar Association either before cessation of the Spring semester or at the first meeting of the Student Bar Association in the subsequent academic year.
  2. Nominations for the Trustees representing the first-year class shall be made no later than September 15, and put to a vote of the SBA at its next scheduled meeting.
  3. Nominations for the Officers of the Speakers Trust shall be made no later than May 1 and shall be put to a vote of the Student Bar Association at the final SBA meeting of the academic year or at the first meeting of the Student Bar Association in the subsequent academic year.
  4. Nominations shall be taken for trustees (individuals may nominate themselves or others). The SBA Treasurer shall collect all nominations and present to the SBA a slate of candidates. All nominations, however, must be provided and considered by the SBA .
  5. The Speakers Trust officers shall be afforded an opportunity to make recommendations in this open forum.
  6. A simple majority vote of the SBA is necessary to appoint the Trustees and Officers.
  7. Once selected, each representative shall have one vote in all matters pertaining to the Speakers Trust.
Meetings
The Speakers Trust shall meet no less than six (6) times during and academic year. Meetings shall be held during the months of September, October, November, February, March, and April. The speakers Trust reserves the right to hold additional meetings when circumstances deem necessary.
Meeting Procedure
1. The following guidelines shall govern each Speakers Trust meeting:
  1. Every meeting shall begin when the President calls the meeting to order;
  2. The Secretary must take roll and determine whether a quorum is present for voting purposes;
  3. The Secretary will read the minutes from the previous meeting;
  4. The President will announce all proposals for discussion at the present meeting;
  5. The President will then ask the designated representatives of all organizations requesting funds to present such request before the Speakers Trust;
  6. After all representatives have presented, the President will dismiss them and discussion of the requests will commence;
  7. Each request will be discussed. At any time a member can move to vote on the request. Another member must second the motion.
  8. Deliberations may be made in executive session.
  9. Proposals that do not obtain a majority vote will be denied.
  10. Upon discussion of all proposals, the President will adjourn the meeting.
Voting
To vote on any matter, a quorum must be present. Two-thirds of the student members constitute a quorum. Any time a vote is taken, the question shall be approved by a simple majority vote.
Grant Application Process
In September and January of each academic year, the Speakers Trust shall make available to the entire Dickinson School of Law community a grant application form, which will enable anyone to submit a proposal to the Speakers Trust. The grant application form shall be made available to all committee chairs and organization leaders and made available generally to the student body in The Dickinson School of Law mailroom.
1. Two weeks prior to all scheduled meetings, the Speakers Trust will notify all clubs and organizations of the time, date, and location of the upcoming meeting.
2. Grant applications must be submitted a week before the scheduled meeting. This deadline must be posted.
3. A representative from the requesting club or organization or individual must discuss the purpose of the grant application before the Speakers Trust.
4. The grant application form will contain the following:
  1. Requested funds;
  2. Approximate number of attendees;
  3. Value speaker will contribute to the student body;
  4. Time and location of the intended assembly;
  5. Acknowledgement that the speaker must be available to the entire student body;
  6. Measures which will be taken to publicize speaker's attendance; and
  7. Any other additional requirements the Speakers Trust deems necessary.
Publicity Requirements
1. The Speakers Trust shall ensure that every requesting body, at a minimum:
  1. give the Student Body notice of the speaker's attendance.
    1. The notice of the speaker's attendance must include:
      1. time;
      2. date; and,
      3. location of the assembly.
  2. The notice must be posted and/or distributed in a reasonable manner so as to make the student body aware of the speaker's attendance.
  3. The Speakers Trust has the authority to determine what publicity is reasonably required to alert the Student body of the speaker's attendance.
  4. The Speakers Trust also has the authority to withhold approved funds if publicity requirements are not met.
Support of Student Organizations
1. The Speakers Trust shall:
  1. advise all organizations and associations of the student body of the Dickinson School of Law on the procedures and availability of funds for inviting speakers to The Dickinson School of Law;
  2. compile a memorandum, each academic year, to the Presidents of each student organization on the procedure to attaining funds from the Speakers Trust;
  3. make known to each student organization that it is available as a consultative body on all aspects of hosting and organizing speakers;
  4. present to each DSL organization, once a semester, a copy of the Speakers Trust Memorandum on Hosting Speakers, the bylaws of the Speakers Trust, and all forms necessary to host a speaker; and,
  5. select one trustee to represent the Speakers Trust at each SBA meeting.
Fees, Dues, Political Contributions, Donations, etc.
1. The Speaker's Trust will not allocate funds directly to charities. The Speaker's Trust, however, may fund incidentals to an event whose proceeds go to charity
2. The Speaker's Trust shall not allocate funds that may potentially contribute to political parties or campaigns.
Student Organizations that seek funding must follow these steps throughout the allocation process:
1. Unused allocated funds for a specific event will be placed back into the Speaker's Trust general fund if the funds are not reallocated through the reallocation process. Typically the Speaker's Trust will exercise this recapture provision at the conclusion of the first semester or if the group has failed to submit the appropriate forms within seven (7) business days of the event. Student groups will be informed by the Speaker's Trust of the proposed action and will have five (5) business days to file a grievance.
Amendments
1. All amendments to these bylaws shall be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the SBA.

Bylaws of the Speakers Trust Fund as amended on January 30, 2008

Bylaws of the Speakers Trust Fund
as amended on January 30, 2008