Bonchek House Congress

On March 6, 2006, our House became the first College House to elect a House government.  The structure of the Bonchek House Congress (then called the “South Ben House Congress) was the brain-child of the group of Bonchek students who drafted our House Constitution, which was the first Constitution to be ratified by any House.  These students were Vince Lombardozzi (2008), Mariyah Salem (2008), Shane Sunday (2008), and Thomas Ternan (2008).

The Congress is composed of twenty Bonchek House members elected in the beginning of the fall semester each year. There are 5 freshmen, 5 sophomores and a combination of 10 juniors and seniors. The students reside mostly within the house, but there is off-campus representation among the upperclassmen. They elect from their own ranks a Speaker, and they maintain three main committees—the Finance, Programming, and Rules committees. The Congress has the ability to create additional committees as needed throughout the year.

The Bonchek Congress is the approval mechanism for a majority of the social and service events that go on in the House. These events and activities include yearly House trips, finals week activities, Zombies vs. Humans, the Community Outreach Dinner, the Dump 'N' Run, and all campus wide activities that the House partakes in.  All events, funding requests, and activities that the House is involved in must have the approval of the Congress.
The House Congress meets on a weekly basis, normally on Sundays at 7 pm. The group meets in the Seminar Room of the new Bonchek House Commons. The meetings are open to the campus.

In addition to the Congress (a legislative body), the Bonchek House government has an executive branch (led by our Chancellor) and a judicial branch (the Court).

The Chancellor is the representative of the House to the campus. Some of the duties that are bestowed upon the Chancellor include representing the voice of Bonchek students to outside groups, including the Franklin & Marshall Diplomatic Congress, and appointing members of the House Court. The first Bonchek House Chancellor was Mike Fox ‘07, followed by Rob Fleischer ‘09, then Laura Schimberg ‘10. The current Chancellor is Shahnaz Hanna ‘11. The Chancellor is elected in the beginning of the spring semester every year and the position is open to any Bonchek House Member that is a sophomore, junior, or senior.

The House Court deals with all issues that arise with House members that involve disturbances within the actual House.

-- written by Shahnaz Hanna, class of 2011