The idea of student self-government at the University of British Columbia was realized in the fall of 1915 during a meeting of the student body at which time Sherwood Lett was elected as the first president of the Alma Mater Society (AMS). In the summer of 1915, a provisional constitution for the Society was drafted. Every student becomes a member of the AMS upon enrolment in a credit course at UBC and the payment of the AMS fee. In working toward its mission of improving the quality of the educational, social and personal lives of UBC students, the AMS administers resource groups, campus businesses and over two hundred clubs. Politically, the Society has the mandate to represent the student body to the University administration, to federal and provincial governments and to society in general. The AMS is governed by a 45 member Student Council consisting of the Executive (President, Vice President, and Directors of Administration, Finance, and External Affairs), and representatives from undergraduate societies and schools, student representatives from the Board of Governors, UBC Senate and the Graduate Society and the AMS Ombudsperson. The AMS Executive, Senate and Board of Governors representatives are elected by the general student population each January.