The constitution and code of operations

UFB’s is granted its mandate by the language associated with the Student Activities Fee, as approved by The Corporation of Brown University. UFB’s Constitution, as amended many times since its founding, is the central document upon which the governance and organization of UFB is predicated. It outlines important matters such as the election of members, duties of the Chair and Vice Chair, and can only be changed by a vote of the Student Body.

The finer details of how UFB is organized, operated, and regulated were excluded from the UFB Constitution. Instead these details are articulated in the Code of Operations. The Code is the primary and most important document of the UFB By-Laws, and is always reviewed to make sure it never violates any provisions of the UFB Constitution. Just like a Supreme Court makes sure laws do not violate the Constitution, UFB’s Code cannot expand on the authorities granted by the Constitution.

Other Governing Documents

In addition to the Code and Constitution, UFB decides on the policies it uses to ensure fair and equitable distribution of funds to all eligible student groups. While the official policies are decided-on by the voting members of UFB (the Vice Chair and the 10 Representatives), the Chair has broad authority to regulate the procedure of UFB meetings and operations. Such procedures include the year-long calendar of UFB meetings, rules for how items are added to a meeting’s agenda, the order of agenda items, and the rules of decorum for UFB meetings. All UFB policies and procedures are written-out in great detail in the UFB Handbook, which is to be written in an easy-to-understand manner. The Handbook, therefore, is the de-facto secondary document of the UFB By-Laws.

SGA Membership Documents

As UFB is a member of the Student Government Association (SGA), its leaders (the Chair and Vice Chair) alongside leaders of the Undergraduate Council of Students and the Class Coordinating Board are joint heads of SGA. As such, all three member groups of SGA all relinquished certain authorities so that the three branches of Student Government at Brown would operate in a more consistent and unified manner. In addition, the Chair and Vice Chair work closely with the other heads of SGA to consensually enter-into agreements and deals to benefit the wider student body. Exact details of such agreements between UFB, CCB, and UCS are published and announced on the SGA website, where one can also find updated details on the history and structure of SGA.