Constitution and Constitutional Convention
The Constitution of the AWS was printed in the AWS Handbook given to every female student who lived in the residence halls. The AWS constitution from the 1968 AWS Handbook can be seen here.
Throughout the existence of the AWS there were many changes to the Constitution including the closing hours for the residence halls and sign out sheets. In 1967 the AWS officers held the Constitutional Convention to update the Constitution and insure that all groups of women were represented on the AWS Board. The AWS had an AWS Board and a House of Representatives or AWS Council chosen from each living unit to vote on the newest amendments to the Constitution. The women were interested in a Senior Key system and sought to end the sign-in sheets which would provide female students with more freedom for staying out late and weekend trips outside of Lincoln.
Nancy Coufal served as the Constitution Chairman. As Chairman she sent letters to other chapters of the AWS to learn about their Constitution and the way their chapters were organized. The AWS women were also concerned with Dean of Women, Helen Snyder’s role in the process of the Convention. The AWS was formed as the governing body of women students on campus, but female students were also governed under the campus government, ASUN. The women involved in the Constitutional Convention struggled with a way to ensure that the AWS did not become a separate entity from ASUN, which many believed was the plan of Miss Snyder. It was believed that the women should pledge their allegiance to ASUN first and AWS second (Don Sutton).
In 1968, the Constitution was amended, with only a few suggested revisions in the spring of 1969. However when the AWS ended in 1970, the Constitution was no longer affective.