Honors Student Council

Activity Central

The Honors Student Council serves as the primary organization to plan and organize extracurricular activities, including social and community events, on-campus gatherings, and special off-campus affairs.

The HSC is fully self-governing, with the power to create its own rules, offices, and procedures as its members judge best. Committees include:

Community Engagement

Academic/Program Development Committee

  • Responsible for attending and recording notes at Honors Program Committee meetings.
  • Coordinates and publicizes academic events held by the HSC and other Merrimack organizations.
  • Works with honors program faculty to coordinate events in which students and faculty interact.
  • Facilitates various academic and student input surveys to gather feedback and promote change.

Diversity and Enrichment Committee

  • Establishes an inclusive honors community by organizing events such as films, shows, plays, etc. that focus on diversity and multicultural awareness.
  • Works with Merrimack organizations such as the Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations to facilitate an integrated community dedicated to inclusivity.
  • Builds an inclusive community with the Honors Commons and residential communities by incorporating Merrimack’s ideals and traditions with other organizations on and off campus.

 Service/Civic Engagement Committee

  • Focuses on planning and executing service-related activities, such as the Wounded Warrior Project, Thanksgiving Basket Drive, Random Acts of Kindness Week and Relay for Life.
  • Connects with various organizations, including campus ministry and the Office of Student Engagement to participate in service opportunities as an honors program community such as Mack Gives Back.
  • Facilitates fundraising activities and events to collect donations for outside organizations and charities.

Student Engagement

Events/Programming Committee

  • Responsible for all logistical aspects and coordination/facilitation of social programming and events.
  • Ensures the facilitation of honors events such as snack attacks, socials, movie nights, etc.
  • Works with the honors resident advisers and honors peer mentors to plan events in the honors residential communities, focusing on activities for the entire honors program community.
  • Works to interconnect all students of all classes in the honors program through community-building events.

Council Initiatives Committee

  • Plans and executes honors program events in conjunction with other committees.
  • Coordinates with the executive team to help facilitate new-member recruitment.
  • Tracks the honors engagement expectation system and assists with the Terrific Tuesday Update weekly email.

 Public Relations Committee

  • Focuses on publicizing the honors program through the use of  social media.
  • Advertises events and important information, including helping write for the honors program newsletter and website.
  • Assists with the Terrific Tuesday Update weekly email.

Programming Events

  • Snack Attacks. Take a snack break and mingle with other honors students in the honors lounge. 
  • Movie Nights for honors students in the honors living-learning communities.
  • Service opportunities include fundraising such as for Lazarus House and the Wounded Warrior’s Project. HSC has also organized teams for the Merrimack Thanksgiving Basket Drive, Mack Gives Back, and Relay for Life. 

Additional Responsibilities

  • Advocate for academic changes, student needs, program changes, etc.
  • Eligible to represent Merrimack honors at the annual National Collegiate Honors Conference.
  • Oversee the Engagement Expectation. See the honors student handbook.

Honors Student Council Structure

The council consists of at least nine members with respective council positions. All members must be in good standing with the honors program, including maintaining a 3.4 GPA for first-year students and 3.5 GPA thereafter. The council comprises a chair, two co-chairs, secretary, committee officers, assistant officers and committee members.

Executive Team

The Executive Team consisting of the Chair and Co-Chairs will be responsible for serving as the liaison between the HSC and the Honors Program Staff. They will be expected to attend executive meetings with members of the Honors Program staff as needed. Additionally, they will report to the Program Manager with information stemming from the committees.

Chair
The Chair, to be elected by the members of the HSC, is expected to manage the operations of the Council. He/she manages and oversees the two co-chairs, the secretary, council officers, their respective committees, and tracks the financial budget. He/she works very closely with the Honors Program Staff to ensure student engagement, event success, and Program retention.

Co-Chairs (2)
The two Co-Chairs, elected by the members of the HSC, are expected to assist in managing the operations of the Council. They manage and oversee their respective committee areas and council officers, and assist to track the financial budget. They work very closely with the Chair and Honors Program Staff to ensure student engagement and event success. Each co-chair will be designated a certain committee group, either the Student Engagement Group or the Community Engagement Group, and they will specifically manage and oversee the committees of that group (see below).

Leadership Team

The HSC is structured into committees, creating the Leadership Team, which focuses on specific areas of programming or advocacy. Positions on the leadership team include Officers, Assistant Officers, and Committee Members. All members are responsible for coordinating, executing, and attending to all agreed aspects of their respective committee. This includes reserving rooms and spaces, and ordering & receiving needed supplies. Each committee officer reports to the Executive Team for guidance and approval. The committees are subject to change at the discretion of the Executive Team upon the beginning of their terms.

Officers and Assistant Officers
Officers and Assistant Officers are responsible for overseeing the operations of their specific committee, and for working with their team of individuals. Officers and Assistant Officers work to plan and execute specific events pertaining to their committee’s description. All committees have an officer that leads the group, and most committees have an assistant officer who will serve as an additional leader for the committee.

Committee Members
Committee members are responsible for performing the duties assigned by the respective committee officer. Members remain in close communication with their committees. They also bring to light any requests, concerns, or comments from the general population of the Honors Program and help the HSC plan, execute, and attend HSC events.

See the HSC Handbook for more extensive information regarding the election process and other information about the Honors Student Council.