Notre Dame of Maryland University Student Government Association records

The Student Association (SA), dated from approximately 1947, is evidently the successor to the Board of Student Organizations (which appears in 1945-1946 and earlier catalogs) and the Student Government (which appears only in 1946-1947). The 1947-1948 catalog states “Every student is a participant member of the Student Association, which has for its aim the integration of student life and activities with a view to the formation of the whole woman. The Executive Committee, composed of Association officers, class presidents and representatives, is the policy-making body of the Association.”

A constitution for SA was issued in 1949 and revised in 1965. The revised constitution states the purpose of SA to be “to assume the responsibility for the conduct of the student body in college life and to coordinate the non-scholastic activities of the school. It shall act as the official representative of the student body to make its views articulate and to care for its student interests in affairs involving student-faculty and student-administration relations. It shall also serve as the official representative of the student body in relations with national and international organizations. It shall promulgate and administer the honor system among the students.” As earlier, “all students…are ipso facto members of the Student Association.”

The March 15, 1973 minutes of the Executive Board state “There was a motion to change Student Association to Student Government because it is more in tune with what our function is.” The motion passed unanimously. These and subsequent minutes are headed “S.G. Board.” In the 1979-80 catalog, the organization is identified as the Student Government Association, in which “every student is automatically a member” and which is “run by representatives elected from the total student body.”

Throughout out its existence, the Notre Dame of Maryland University’s student government consisted of a number of boards, committees, and councils over the years including the Student Association Board, later known as the Student Government Board; the Judicial Board, also known as the Honor Board; the Judiciary; the Inter-Organization Council (IOC); the Student Senate; the Apportionment Board; and the Executive Committee. Members of the student government represented the University at the National Student Association (NSA) and the National Federation of Catholic College Students (NFCCS).