What is the ASA?
The Association of Student Activities (ASA) is a joint committee of both the Undergraduate Association (UA) and the Graduate Student Council (GSC). The ASA Executive Board advocates on behalf of student groups to gain resources for student groups' benefit, allocates resources among student groups, and arbitrates among student groups and any other involved parties. In general, the ASA oversees student group activity and is the governing body of students groups on the MIT campus.
Who serves on the ASA?
The ASA Executive Board is comprised of ten student members: one President, one Treasurer, one Secretary, one Student Member-At-Large, two Undergraduate Members-At-Large, two Graduate Members-At-Large, one UA Representative to the ASA, and one GSC Representative to the ASA. Each member must be an MIT student. The UA President appoints the UA Representative to the ASA, and the GSC President appoints the GSC Representative to the ASA. The General Body, which is made up of all ASA-recognized student groups, elects the other eight officers of the ASA Executive Board at the Spring General Body Meeting.
What does it mean to be an ASA-recognized organization?
An ASA-recognized student group has access to all the resources and privileges provided by the ASA. Recognized groups are considered to be recognized by MIT, which is important for national organizations and organizations that compete. Being a recognized group is a privilege and entails certain responsibilities. These responsibilities include following the 5/50 and ASA Governance clauses and the inclusion of these clauses in the student group's constitution.