A Guide to the Student Government Association Records, 1915-2015 UA 0007

A Guide to the Student Government Association Records, 1915-2015 UA 0007


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James Madison University Libraries Special Collections

820 Madison Drive
MSC 1706
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
Telephone: (540) 568-3612
library-special@jmu.edu
URL: https://www.lib.jmu.edu/special/

Mary Ann Mason, Tiffany Cole

Repository
James Madison University Libraries Special Collections
Identification
UA 0007
Title
Student Government Association records 1915-2015
Quantity
12.74 cubic feet, 37 boxes
Creator
James Madison University. Student Government Association
source
James Madison University. Student Government Association
Language
English .
Abstract
The Student Government Association Records consist of 12.74 cubic feet of material relating to the activities of the James Madison University's Student Government Association from its establishment as the Student Association of the State Normal School for Women at Harrisonburg in 1915 until 2015.

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for materials authored or otherwise produced as official business of James Madison University is retained by James Madison University. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information, contact the Special Collections Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Staff have taken special care to identify and remove sensitive materials, particularly those relating to students' academic records, found within this collection. However, in rare instances, privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this collection. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information if found within this collection, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose. Researchers agree to alert Special Collections staff if potentially privacy protected information is found within this collection. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Conditions Governing Access

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Collection is open for research with the exception of certain records in series 8, Disciplinary files, that are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). FERPA protection of student records ends with the death of the student. Therefore, records are opened for research 80 years after their creation when it is presumed that the student is deceased. Individual restrictions are described in the Conditions Governing Access note for the file and may include additional information about the parameters of the restriction.

Access to original audiocassettes and other physical media contained within this collection is restricted; reformatted access copies of these materials may exist, or researchers may request digital access copies be made.

Please contact the Special Collections Reference Desk before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection (library-special@jmu.edu).

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Student Government Association Records, UA 0007, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

The material in this collection was donated by members of James Madison University's Student Government Association in several different accessions between 1993 and 2015. The earlier accessions (1993-2001) were previously processed and assigned archival collection numbers SGA 93-0401, SGA 93-1019, and SGA 2001-1010. These materials were reprocessed along with the later accessions and combined into one larger collection, UA 0007. Additional accessions (2015-0830, 2015-0828, and 2015-0505) were added to the collection in November 2018. On May 1st, 2019, an additional 2 storage boxes were donated by SGA Communications Director, Halle Forbes.

Processing Information

After reviewing the material in all accessions, about 2 linear feet of material was removed from one of the 2005 accessions. The material was largely financial forms that contained banking information or social security numbers. All binder and notebook material was removed from the original bindings and transferred into folders. All the pages from each of the scrapbooks were removed and photocopied. Photocopies were also made of the cover and back covers. This was done to help preserve the context of the photographs on the pages in preparation for possible adhesive failure.

Accruals

This collection may receive additions.

Administrative History

James Madison University's Student Government Association was established in February 1915 as the school's first student government. Although rumblings of self-government began with the founding of the school in 1908, it took a fair amount of effort to bring this idea to fruition. The roots of the university's SGA derive from the student Honor Council which began in the 1909-1910 school year. Students involved in the Honor Council began to create an unofficial student government that although unable to act in an official capacity, was instrumental in helping to bring about student support for self-government. By 1914, a small group of students worked together to draft a constitution for the planned student government organization and presented this constitution to the faculty. After completing revisions suggested by the faculty, the constitution was presented and voted on by the entire student body February 25, 1915 and as a result, the Student Association of the State Normal School at Harrisonburg was established. This first iteration of the organization required that the entire student body act as a member. Additionally, the Honor Committee was converted into the first Executive Board. This Executive Board included three officers (president, vice-president, and secretary), and several elected members of each class.

As the school and student population grew so did the organization and it eventually became unrealistic for the entire student body to act as members of the organization. Complications also arose within the organization with the introduction of full-time male students in 1946. At the time, it did not seem appropriate for men and women to govern students of the opposite sex. As a result, the male students decided to create their own self-government in 1950, labeling their organization the Men's Student Government Organization. The female students likewise formally relabeled their existing organization the Women's Student Government Association in 1953 to better distinguish the separation between the two groups; however, they rarely included this additional identifier. While the two groups worked together on many matters through the 50s and 60s, the organizations formally combine in 1970, creating the current manifestation of the Student Government Association.

As of 2015, the SGA at JMU is made up of appointed members on the Executive Staff, Representatives, and At-Large Senators. Elected members include Class Council Senators, College Senators, and Area Residence Senators. The mission: The Student Government Association of James Madison University is an organization dedicated to collaborating with all members of its community to advocate for student opinion, while fostering a proactive, inclusive environment.

Scope and Contents

This collection documents the activities of James Madison University's Student Government Association in Harrisonburg, Virginia from 1915-2015. The collection developed from seven different accessions from the Student Government Association received in the 1990s and early 2000s and contains a wide range of material which is organized according to physical type or corresponding to subject. Much of the material in this collection derives from different meetings within the organization including: the Student Council, Student Senate, Execution Board, Senate and Council Committees, and others. A large amount of the collection is administrative material regarding the work of these different internal groups as well as the procedures which govern them. Similarly, these different internal meetings produced a fair amount of the minutes, committee reports, and legislative files found in the collection. In addition to these materials, there are also a large amount of financial files related to the budget of SGA and other on campus organizations. This collection also consists of correspondence to and from different members of the SGA usually regarding issues of student conduct on and off campus. The last major section of the collection contains photographs, scrapbooks, and ephemera memorializing different SGA events. Further descriptions of the material can be found in the series descriptions. The collection has been arranged into twelve series.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into 11 series. All series are arranged chronologically.

Administrative, 1915-2015 Committees, 1931-2015 Correspondence, 1955-2003 Policies and Regulations, 1931-1971 Meeting Minutes, 1929-2012 Legislative Files, 1989-2012 Financial Files, 1987-2014 Disciplinary Files, 1922-1973 Photographs, 2000-2014 Scrapbooks, 2001-2009 Ephemera, 1930-2015

Related Material

Some of the material in this collection can be viewed on Special Collections' Student Government Association Digital Exhibit published on-line in April 2015. https://omeka.lib.jmu.edu/specialcollections/collections/show/2

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Bibliography

Raymond Dingledine, Madison College: The First Fifty Years, 1908-1958 (Harrisonburg, Virginia: Madison College, 1959).

Container List

1
Administrative
1915-2015
Scope and Content

This is the largest series in the collection and contains material related to the function and organization of SGA, featuring a variety of documents from 1923-2013, with the bulk of this series is from 1990-2013. There is a large gap in the material around 1980s. The first folder in the series, containing the organization's first constitution and by-laws, is not original to the collection. The document was located in the 1915 Faculty Minutes in the Board of Visitors Collection, 1908-2004 (PR 99-1122), photocopied, and added to the collection on March 25, 2015. This series additionally contains some interesting material related to student strikes which took place on campus in 1969 and 1970. There is particular information related to Jay Rainey, one of the student leaders, as well as SGA's Committee on Student Protest. Other materials to note in this series are documents from the early 2000s which relate to the sexual assault research on college campuses, reports related to the impact of Title IX on campus, and SGA research regarding the Forrest Hill Riot in 2000, which resulted in a conflict between the Harrisonburg Police Department and students at a spring block party.

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2
Committees
1931-2015
Scope and Content

This series contains material related to the work of the different SGA committees from 1931-2002. There is another large gap of material in the 1980s. The bulk of this series is from the 1960s and 1999-2002. This series also includes information related to the standards of conduct for female students in the 1930s and 1960s, such as proper dating procedures.

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3
Correspondence
1955-2003
Scope and Content

This series features correspondence from members of SGA to faculty and students on campus as well as several folders of correspondence to individuals off campus. The material in this series ranges from 1955-1971 with a small concentration from 2003. This series contains a fair amount of historical material, such as: a thank you card from Jackie Kennedy, 1963; material related to fears of communism on college campuses, 1965-1966; a letter from an upset parent regarding Jane Fonda's visit to campus in 1971; correspondence related to the proper conduct of female students during the 1950s and 1960s, especially in terms of interactions with males. This series also contains a collection of correspondence regarding the 2003 Board of Visitors decision to stop supplying students with emergency conception through the health center.

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4
Policies and regulations
1931-2000
Scope and Content

This series contains material related to the different standards and regulations applying to the students of the school 1931-1971. Most of the material from this series is from the 1950s and 1960s. These documents provide interesting examples of the different social expectations of men and women during the period as well as the restrictive nature of the school's administration in comparison to current campus regulations. The material from the 2000s relates to the policies student representatives are to follow during meetings of the Student Senate.

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5
Meeting minutes
1929-2012
Scope and Content

This series contains the minutes of the different branches of SGA, particularly Student Senate and the Executive Board, 1922-2012. There are two gaps in this series most notably between 1930-1940 with two smaller gaps in the 1970s and 2000s. These minutes generally provide information such as: meeting agendas, events taking place on campus, SGA members and committee chairs, as well as general insight into the everyday issues discussed in SGA meetings.

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6
Legislative files
1989-2015
Scope and Content

This series contains a mixture of bills and resolutions from SGA's Student Senate, 1989-2012, with the bulk from the 1990s. The series contains a large amount of resolutions related to the organization's contingency fund through which SGA assists in providing funding to different student organization on campus. However, there are also several folders of various bills presented to the Student Senate including proposed legislation that address contemporary social issues such as sexual orientation, campus issues such as better toilet paper, and student issues such as students' rights to privacy.

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7
Financial files
1987-2014
Scope and Content

This series contains a variety of financial documents ranging from purchase orders and yearly budget information to travel receipts. A majority of the materials in this collection are budget reports providing financial information for different fiscal years. These reports are usually connected to the creation of the university's front-end budgets and often include budget information for other campus organizations such as the University Program Board, The Breeze, Black Student Alliance, and Student Ambassadors. A majority of the material removed from this series were: purchase orders; accounting and banking information; invoices; and receipts. This material was removed due to the presence of account information and social security numbers, and/or it was deemed that the material had little research value.

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8
Disciplinary files
1922-1973
Conditions Governing Access

This series is open for research with the exception of files within the Restricted reports sub-grouping that are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). FERPA protection of student records ends with the death of the student. Therefore, records are opened for research 80 years after their creation when it is presumed that the student is deceased. Restricted files are not requestable.

Scope and Contents

This series contains records of disciplinary hearings conducted by Student Council, 1922-1973. Examples of students' misconduct include smoking cigarettes, possession of smoking paraphernalia, riding with dates without proper permission, going downtown or off campus without proper permission, cheating on assignments and/or examinations, mild hazing, stealing books, shoplifting, and drinking. Punishments included warnings, being "campused," probation, and indefinite suspension.

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9
Photographs
2000-2014
Scope and Content

This series features five different groups of photographs, 2000-2014. The bulk of these photographs are connected to the SGA research of the Forrest Hill Riot in 2000; however, there are also photographs of the Class of 2009 Ring Premiere, the SGA Halloween Party, JMU's Big Event, and one of SGA's lobbying trips.

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10
Scrapbooks
2001-2009
Scope and Content

This series contains material from eight different SGA scrapbooks dated 2001-2009. These scrapbooks have little descriptive text and mostly contain photographs of different SGA functions and events. These scrapbooks are some of the best representations of the SGA student experience, as the images in these book show the relationships and personalities of the individuals that comprise the organization. One of particular importance is the scrapbook containing the letters, pictures, and notes saved from the two-year anniversary memorial of 9-11. The SGA 2001-2002 scrapbook contains a photograph of SGA members with former Governor and Mayor Douglas Wilder and Senator Mark Warner.

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11
Ephemera
1930-2015
Scope and Content

This series contains a variety of realia related to the history of SGA, 1930-2014. There are several large gaps in this series; 1931-1954, 1970-1980, and 2002-2012. The ephemera in this collection primarily comprises shirts, posters, academic regalia, and installation programs; however, there are additional items such as an SGA travel mug and several plaques. "Mr. and Ms. Madison 2014" sashes are included.

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