BORDC: Sample Student Government Resolution Clauses

Bill of Rights Defense Campaign

Sample Student Government Resolution Clauses

Preambular Clauses

Operative Clauses

*to view more sample resolution clauses, visit our community resolution library.

Preambular Clauses

Important Role of Students in Social Justice Movements

WHEREAS students have played a vital role in many major social movements, including the school desegregation movement, anti-war movements, and the anti-globalization movement;

WHEREAS over the years, [student government] has supported various actions designed to increase civil liberties on this campus and to encourage the implementation of current rights as United States citizens, which include, but are not limited to, the expansion of the free speech policy, enabling students access to free legal advice, increasing due process rights in discipline proceedings, and securing students’ religious freedoms;

WHEREAS, [x # of campuses] throughout the country have enacted resolutions reaffirming support for human rights and freedoms of their students in the face of government and campus policies that threaten these values;

Affirming Civil Liberties

WHEREAS, [student government] reaffirms its support for academic freedom, personal privacy, protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, and freedom of speech, religion, and assembly and opposes portions of the USA PATRIOT Act, the Homeland Security Act, and related Executive Orders and Federal Regulations that threaten those rights;

Threats of Counter-Terrorism Law & Policy

WHEREAS federal government counter-terrorism laws and policy threaten academic freedom by:

Restricting who may conduct scientific research using certain biological materials;
Restricting the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act, which can affect the quality of academic research;
Limiting visas for foreign students and scholars and increasing the burden for foreign students to travel to and study in the United States through programs such as SEVIS and Special Registration (NSEERS);
Increasing surveillance of public and private communications, including infiltrating and monitoring student organizations engaged in political advocacy or religious practice; and
Allowing Federal agents to collect information from academic libraries while placing gag orders on librarians from disclosing occurrences of providing that information.

WHEREAS we believe that secret surveillance of individuals or groups based on racial, religious, national, or ideological profiling, or the monitoring of university records by law enforcement without probable cause has a chilling effect on free inquiry and free discussion, which are cornerstones of any institution of higher learning;

WHEREAS many students involved in the anti-war movement or similar political advocacy have been targeted by law enforcement, with their meetings infiltrated by law enforcement officials;

Student Privacy

WHEREAS the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 is designed to protect the right to privacy of students from unreasonable search and seizure by refusing the release of student records without a court order or subpoena;

Important Campus Characteristics

WHEREAS our campus community strives to foster democratic values and responsible national and global citizenship;

WHEREAS our campus community strives to create a climate that maximizes each individual's capacity to learn, which requires an institution where diversity is embraced, valued, and celebrated;

WHEREAS [campus] has a diverse population, including many foreign faculty, staff and students, whose contributions are vital to the culture, character, and learning environments of our campus;

Operative Clauses

Actions for the Campus Police

(choose among bullets)

[Student government] calls on the [Campus Police] to:

Refrain from engaging in the surveillance of individuals or groups of individuals based on their participation in activities protected by the First Amendment, such as political advocacy or the practice of a religion, without particularized suspicion of criminal activity unrelated to the activity protected by the First Amendment.
Refrain from assisting in the secret or military detention or deportation of any member of our campus community.
Refrain from participating in a joint search of the property or residence with any law enforcement agency, absent the assurance that simultaneous notice of the execution of a search warrant has been given to such member of our campus community.
Remind students that they are entitled to legal advice before they speak with law enforcement.
Consult with the Office of the General Counsel [or similar legal office] if local, state, or federal law enforcement asks you to cooperate in an action you believe to be against campus policy or unconstitutional.

Campus Library

[Student government] requests [Campus Library] to post in a prominent place within the library a notice to library users as follows: WARNING: Under Section 215 of the federal USA Patriot Act (Public Law 107-56), records of the books and other materials you borrow from this library may be obtained by federal agents. That federal law prohibits librarians from informing you if federal agents have obtained records about you. Questions about this policy should be directed to: Attorney General John Ashcroft, Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530

Campus Administration (Dean of Students/President)

(choose among bullets)

[Student Government] calls on [President or Dean] to:

Periodically request from law enforcement the following information in a form that facilitates a public assessment of the effect of federal counter-terrorism efforts on students, faculty, and staff at [Campus]:

a) The extent to which law enforcement agents are monitoring political meetings, religious gatherings, or other activities protected by the First Amendment on our campus
b) The number of times education records have been obtained from this institution under section 507 of the USA PATRIOT Act;
c) The number of times library records have been obtained from [campus] libraries under section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act;
d) The number of times that records of the books purchased by bookstore patrons have been obtained under section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act;
e) The number of times students, faculty and staff have been unable to enter the US and/or assume their studies or teaching functions due to visa denials;
f) The number of times faculty and student research and publications have been suppressed or otherwise restricted due to federal concern for security or political reasons;
Transmit to members of the [campus] community every semester a summary of the information obtained pursuant to the preceding paragraph and, based on such information and any other relevant information, an assessment of the effect of federal anti-terrorism efforts on all individuals within the [campus] community;
Provide all international students with information pertaining to their civil rights and liberties and inform them of relevant immigration policy;

Student Government

[President of Student Government] will transmit a copy of this resolution to: (pick among bullets)

the President of [campus]
members of the [Campus] Board of Directors [or Board of Regents]
Head of the campus police
Office of International Services- or the Admissions Office Dep’t that deals with international students
Mayor
City Council Members
[State] delegation to Congress

[Student government] will remain firmly committed to the protection of rights and freedoms for all students, faculty, and staff at [campus];

[Student government] will vigorously defend the constitutionally protected rights of all students to peacefully protest and express their political views within the confines of the First Amendment without fear of excessive governmental and campus administrative scrutiny;

[Student Government] commits to organizing a forum addressing student privacy concerns consisting of a panel of relevant campus administrators, professors, and community members

[Student government] will continue to do everything in its power to actively and deliberately foster free inquiry and discussion, both public and private, which is so essential to the mission of [campus], especially when there may be attempts to suppress or inhibit, or indirectly to chill those freedoms;

[Student government], acting on behalf of the best interest of the student body and faculty, reaffirm our support and dedication for academic freedom, personal privacy, protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, and freedom of speech, religion, and assembly, and opposes those portions of the USA PATRIOT Act, the Homeland Security Act, and related Executive Orders and Federal Regulations that threaten those constitutionally guaranteed rights;

[Student government] affirms that our campus is a hate-free zone and denounces all attempts to discriminate against or intimidate students based on their nationality, religion, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, or political ideology;