Privacy comes first

What Charter & Gavel is

Charter & Gavel is an independent, student-built guide to Santa Monica College Associated Students (A.S.) and Inter-Club Council (ICC) processes. It is not an official SMC or A.S. website, and nothing it says is A.S. approval. Only the A.S. Board of Directors approves funding, and only the ICC installs clubs.

What we collect (test version)

When you start, we ask for your role, first name, club, advisor's name and an email address. Any email works; you don't need your SMC student email.

Your profile is saved in your own browser. It is only sent to Charter & Gavel when you run a proposal check (see below). Clear it anytime by clearing this site's data in your browser.

We never ask for student ID numbers, and you should never enter them or other students' personal information.

Your chats with the guide

Each message, plus your first name, role, office and club name, is sent to our AI provider, Anthropic, to write the answer. Your email is not sent.

Anthropic's commercial terms prohibit training its AI models on this data. Anthropic may keep request data for a limited period for safety and abuse monitoring, as described in its commercial privacy policy.

Charter & Gavel does not save your conversations. They disappear when you close or refresh the tab.

The proposal checker

When you run a check, your answers, the files you upload, and your profile (name, role, club, advisor and email) are saved so verified A.S. directors and the site admin can review submissions. Each check is encrypted (AES-256) before it is stored.

Your files are sent to Anthropic to be read and checked, under the same no-training terms as chats.

Checks and files are deleted automatically after the semester ends (Fall 2026: after December 20, 2026).

Only your browser holds the key to reopen your own results. Your check is also visible in the directors' portal to verified A.S. directors and the site admin. Directors join only with a single-use invite from the site admin, sign in with a password plus an authenticator code, and every view of a submission or file is recorded in an audit log.

Activity and field-trip forms can contain other students' information. Upload them only if you're allowed to share them, and never upload student ID numbers you don't have to.

Emails

Email alerts are opt-in and start only after you click the confirmation link we email you. You choose the topics: your proposals on agendas and their outcomes, ICC deadlines and installation, A.S. deadlines, and A.S. vacancies and elections.

Your email address is stored encrypted and used only for these alerts. Every alert has a link to change topics or unsubscribe, and mail apps' one-click unsubscribe works too.

Alerts are based on public SMC agendas and minutes, which are sometimes posted late or corrected. Always confirm with the official documents.

Questions

For anything about official A.S. or ICC rules, contact the SMC Office of Student Life. For questions about this site, contact the Charter & Gavel team.