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Bylaws |
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SECTION 1.
OFFICERS AND
REPRESENTATIVES
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A. The Duties of the President shall be: |
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1. Plan, schedule and preside at all Graduate
Student Assembly (GSA) and Executive Board meetings.
2. Coordinate the activities of the GSA.
3. Implement all resolutions and business of the
GSGA.
4. Manage the GSGA office.
5. Appoint members of all internal and external
committees subject to Executive Board approval.
6. Cultivate leadership among GSA
representatives.
7. Perform other duties of the office of the
president as may be determined by the GSA.
8. Plan and implement, in consultation with GSA and
Executive Board, GSGA programs throughout the academic
year.
9. Consider disciplinary action regarding Member
Groups failing to comply with GSGA active status requirements.
(see Article II, Section 4 for description of "active status")
10. Advertise, seek nominations
for awards and participate in
the Graduate Awards committee.
11. Serve on various university committees as
needed.
12. Be available during scheduled office hours.
In case of personal absence,
the office hours shall be made up within a week.
13. Set
up an external committee made up of GSA members to audit
the books of the GSGA at the end of each school year. |
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B. The Duties of the Vice-President shall
be:
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1. Record minutes of all GSA, Executive Board and GRC meetings
and assume responsibility of sending copies to all Representatives
within two (2) weeks.
2. Plan, schedule and preside all Grant Review Committee
Meetings.
3. Maintain attendance records for all GSA meetings.
4. Notify Member Groups when active status is in question.
5. Preside over the GSA and assume all duties of the President in
her/his absence.
6. Verify GSGA and SOA registration of all graduate Member
Groups.
7. Serve on various university committees when needed.
8. Schedule space for GSA meetings.
9. Facilitate Member Group involvement with list-serv
and web page development,
including leading the search for a webmaster for the GSGA
website, if needed.
10. Communicate decision and rationale to Member Groups
concerning grant proposals.
11. Provide timely information to Member Groups on issues of
importance.
12. Be available during scheduled office hours.
In case of personal absence,
the office hours shall be made up within a week.
13.
Carry out additional responsibilities as decided by the
President and approved by the Executive Board.
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| C. The Duties of the Treasurer shall be: |
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1. Chair the Executive Board meeting on GSGA budget allocations
2. Collect and receive all funds paid to the organization and
deposit them in the GSGA account.
3. In conjunction with the GSGA President and Vice-President,
approve GSGA expenditures. Co-sign all checks with the
President in payment of bills.
4. Abide by all University Funding Policies and Procedures.
5. Abide by all Policies and Guidelines set down by the Budget
Board.
6. Complete and present the Year-end Report by the last
GSGA meeting of the current academic year.
7. Train her/his successor on the obligations of the position.
8. Keep account books, which will be open at all times to
inspection by the GSGA officers or any authorized auditor.
9. Make reports at monthly GSGA meetings and at other times as
the Executive Board may direct.
10 Organize and conduct training workshops, as necessary, for the
treasurers of Member Groups regarding access to GSGA monies.
11 Provide the necessary paperwork and forms for Member Groups to
access their funds and apply for travel reimbursements.
12. Process travel program applications and ensure compliance
with travel program guidelines. Provide needed follow-up when
required.
13. Represent GSGA interest on SACUB (Student Advisory
Committee on the University Budget
participate in the
Graduate Awards Committee and make monthly reports to the
GSA.
14. Present GSGA budget for the
forthcoming and the upcoming academic year at the last
monthly GSGA meeting of the current academic year.
15. Be available during scheduled office hours.
In case of personal absence,
the office hours shall be made up within a week.
16. Failure to abide by these policies will result in financial
probation of the GSGA as defined by University guidelines.
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| D. The Duties of the Campus
Representative shall be: |
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1. Attend all GSGA executive board meetings.
2. Attend all GSA meetings.
3. Act as a liaison between
the campus and the GSGA
officers. Help develop communication with different
student constituencies of UC.
4. Attend all Group Grant
Review Committee meetings.
5. Convene and chair GSGA
Feedback/Grievance Committee.
6. Meet with the respective GSGA member
groups every quarter.
7. Carry out duties identified by the
President.
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| E. The President,
Vice-President and Treasurer are required to perform up to
twenty hours of work per week devoted to the GSGA objectives
and activities of which for at least five hours per week
they shall hold scheduled office hours at the GSGA office
(683A Steger Student Life Center). |
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1. The Campus Representative
shall have office hours for at least three hours per week at
the GSGA Office.
2. Office hours are suspended during exam and break
weeks, although appointments may be scheduled.
3. The Executive Board shall determine the office hours
served by each officer.
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| F. The Duties of the GSGA
Member Groups Representatives shall be: |
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1. Attend all GSA meetings.
2. Represent their Member Group.
3. Disseminate all information obtained from the GSGA
and GSA to Member Groups.
4. Obtain an electronic mail account and disseminate
information as needed.
5. Expedite the establishment and operation of her/his
Member Group's list-serv. |
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| G. The Duties of Committee Representatives
shall be: |
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1. Attend all meetings of the committee.
2. Provide written report to GSGA of relevant committee topics.
3. Give oral report to GSA if requested. |
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| H. The Duties of
(optional) Webmaster shall be: |
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1. Maintain information located
on the website.
2. Implement web based projects identified by the
Executive Board.
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SECTION 2.
FUNDING |
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| A. Academic Member Groups shall be funded by
the GSGA in accordance with guidelines established by the GSGA
budgetary process. |
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1. The Budgetary process shall be on file in the GSGA
office and changes shall be sent to each Member Group. |
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B. Funds shall be available to each Member Group with
"active status". (See Article III, section 3 of GSGA
Constitution for definition.) |
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1. Each Member Group is given an equal base
budget. Groups can augment this base budget through the
following: |
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a) Group's number of graduate
students
b) GSGA Group of the Year
Award
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2. Member Groups can apply for money for special projects through
the GRC grant process. Application does not guarantee funding
by GSGA.
3. Money allocated to a Member Group must be used for the benefit
of the largest possible number of UC graduate
students.
4. Groups are encouraged to raise revenue from other sources in
accordance with University Policies and with approval by the
appropriate University offices.
5. Monies earned from GSGA funded projects must be relinquished
by Member Groups. 100% of the profits from these projects must
be returned to GSGA not to exceed the amount GSGA contributed. If
monies must be paid back to other co-sponsors, GSGA will take that
into consideration. |
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| C. Member Groups are allowed to spend their
GSGA base budget on food. |
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1. No GSGA money can be used for the purchase of
alcohol or be used at events where alcohol is served. |
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| D. Member Groups must have
regular representation at GSA meetings
and hold meetings at least once a quarter to
maintain active status and be eligible for the above money
allocations. Groups lacking representation are
penalized as follows: |
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1. The Member Group is notified by email to the group's officers
upon missing two meetings.
2. Upon missing three (3) meetings the Member Group is on
probation. |
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a) Probation entails a decrease in Group budget and accessible
grant/travel funds by half of the total allocation.
b) Written notification will be sent to the Group and
to the Group's University Advisor stating that the group
is on probation within two (2) weeks of the group being on
probation.
d) Probationary status shall be lifted upon
representation at three (3) consecutive GSA meetings of
the group being on probation. |
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3. Upon missing five (5) meetings the Member Group is
considered "inactive". |
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a) Inactive status entails the loss of the Member Group's budget,
grant writing privileges and travel funds for the remaining academic
year or two (2) quarters, whichever is longer.
b) Inactive status shall be lifted upon representation at four
(4) consecutive GSA meetings of the group being
inactive. |
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4. Upon missing more than six (6) meetings, the
Member Group will be considered "defunct". |
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a) Defunct status entails the loss of the
Member Group's budget, grant writing privileges and travel
funds for three (3) quarters of the group being defunct.
b) Defunct status shall be lifted following representation at six
(6) consecutive GSA meetings of the group being
defunct. The Group must reregister with GSGA and SALD, submit a new Group Constitution and By-laws, and
present a letter from the Group's advisor stating that the group has
made significant strides in correcting the problem(s) that led to
the defunct status. |
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5. The missed meetings do not have
to be in the same academic year if they fall at the end of
one year and the beginning of the next.
6. Students whose travel takes place prior to the
Member Group's absence that removed them from active status are not
restricted in applying Individual Travel Grants. All other
travel rules and guidelines apply.
7. Reinstatement of
"active status" in any situation entails fulfillment of attendance
and registration requirements.
8. In order for any GSA to obtain an attendance
waiver for a certain quarter, the dean of the college or
directors of all programs represented must provide a letter
certifying that no graduate student is available to attend
the GSGA monthly meetings at the stipulated time. In
addition, the group requesting such waiver must be willing
to serve on some GSGA related committees, as determined by
the Executive Board. |
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| A. GSGA elections shall be held at the
preantepenultimate meeting of the academic year. |
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| B. The GSGA President must be notified in
writing by all prospective candidates one week prior to the
announced election date. |
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1. Each candidate must be present at the GSA meeting to be
formally nominated.
2. Each candidate should speak for five minutes, and
answer any questions the GSA may pose, while the other
candidates step outside of the meeting room.
3. Any member in attendance with floor speaking rights may ask
questions.
4. Quorum must be present for elections to take place. |
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| C. Any graduate student registered in an
approved / official graduate program may run for office. |
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| D. All voting must be done at the election
meeting. No absentee ballots will be accepted. Election of officers
and Campus Representative shall be by secret ballot and
requires a majority vote. The order of elections
shall be for the posts of the GSGA President, followed by
the Vice-President, the Treasurer, and the Campus
Representative. A candidate who has not been successful at
election for a post, may choose to run for further positions
that are contested. Should a majority not be achieved by
any candidate, a run-off vote shall be held during the same meeting
involving the two (2) top vote recipients. |
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| E. In the event of a withdrawal, resignation,
or removal of any elected officer, an election to fill that vacant
position shall be held at the next general GSA meeting. The
replacement election shall be conducted as above, with written
notification of the results sent to all Member Groups. |
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| F. Elections will be run by outgoing GSGA
officers. If all GSGA officers are running for re-election
then a suitable GSGA representative will run the
election. |
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| G. The vote of a Member Group equals its
official GSA attendance representation. |
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SECTION 4.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
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| A. The Executive Board shall be composed of
the elected officers of the GSGA and the campus
representative. |
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| B. The Executive Board shall advise the GSGA
on the policies, activities, disciplinary measures of Members and
Member Groups, and shall have general managerial control of the
GSGA. |
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| C. The Executive Board is subject to GSA
review. An at-large member designated by GSAs may attend
Executive Board meetings. |
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| D. The Executive Board shall review attendance
at the meetings and discipline any Member Groups who have violated
attendance requirements (see Section 2D). |
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| A. Any Member Group charged with conduct not
in accord with the purposes of the GSGA or the University and
against whom such charges are sustained after due and proper hearing
before the Executive Board may be expelled from membership. Expelled
Groups shall forfeit all interest in any funds and privileges and
may not use the GSGA name in connection with any further activities. |
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| B. The Member Group will have the privilege of
appealing to the GSA. The Member Group must request said appeal in
writing to the GSA within five (5) school days after the issuance of
the ruling. |
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| C. If the GSA supports the Executive Board's
ruling, a final appeal may be requested from the Dean of Students
within five (5) school days of the GSA ruling. |
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| D. Each of these appellant groups must act on
hearing the appeal within fifteen (15) school days, and must issue a
written decision to be placed on file in the Office of Student
Activities and Leadership Development within seven (7) days after
the appeal has been completed. |
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| A. For all scheduled meetings of the GSA,
voting can only be completed by Representatives and Alternates of
Member Groups. |
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| B. The vote of a Member Group equals its
official GSA attendance representation. Each GSA Member
Group shall have a Voting Card. The Voting Card indicates
the Member Group and the Academic Year. |
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| C. A quorum shall be a majority of voting
members of the GSA meetings. |
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1. Voting shall normally be by voice or show of hands.
2. A mail ballot may be taken only during an inactive summer
quarter on any issue except a constitutional amendment, and must be
accompanied by a pro and a con statement, each written by a major
proponent on each side of the issue under consideration. |
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SECTION 7.
REGISTRATION OF MEMBER
GROUPS
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| A. GSGA Member Groups must have ratified
constitutions and by-laws on file in the GSGA office. They
must be re-submitted when any changes are made. |
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| B. Member Groups must submit GSGA and Student
Activities and Leadership Development (SALD) registration forms by the
deadline determined by SALD. |
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| C. Member Groups must select a
contact person
during the Spring Quarter to facilitate an effective transition
between academic years. Duties would include: attending (or
appointing a representative to attend) GSGA Fall Quarter meetings
which fall before group elections, overseeing group elections, and
receiving the e-mail and paper mail during Summer Quarter. |
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D. A student can only be a member of one GSGA Member
Group and therefore cannot serve as an officer in more than one
Member Group. |
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| A. The Executive Board may raise revenue from
other sources subject to approval by the GSA, in accordance with
University Policies and approval by the appropriate University
office. |
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| B. GSGA member groups shall have the right to
raise their own revenue. |
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1. Monies earned from GSGA funded projects must be relinquished
by Member Groups. 100% of the profits from these projects must
be returned to GSGA not to exceed the amount GSGA contributed. If
monies must be paid back to other co-sponsors, GSGA will take that
into consideration.
2. Means used to raise money must be in accordance with
University policies. |
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SECTION 9.
UNIVERSITY ADVISOR
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| A. The faculty advisor will be selected by the
Executive Board, subject to approval by the GSA. |
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| B. The faculty advisor will also carry out
University responsibilities, and will: |
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1. Be consulted on all major business of the GSGA.
2. Give approval for all off-campus activities of the GSGA.
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SECTION 10.
GSGA COMMITTEES
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| A. Committees may be established by the
Executive Board and the President and shall perform such duties as
defined in their establishment. |
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| B. The Executive Board or President shall
appoint and may remove committee members. |
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SECTION 11.
UNIVERSITY
COMMITTEES
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| A. The University may ask the GSGA for
graduate students to serve on a variety of committees. The Executive
Board will actively search to find graduate students to fill these
positions. The President will appoint these
individuals. |
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| B. The duties of the committee members shall
be as listed in section 1E. |
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| C. A committee member who fails to report on
her/his respective committee will receive a written warning,
followed by suspension from the committee if duties are not
filled. An interim member will be appointed as soon as is
convenient. |
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A. Officers of the GSGA may be impeached on charges of
nonperformance or malfeasance of duties as specified in Section 1. |
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| B. Charges must be in writing and brought by a
majority of voting GSA representatives. |
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| C. After charges have been made, the Officer shall
answer the charges in writing within ten (10) days. |
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D. After the officer's answer has been received by the GSA, a
vote shall be taken at the next regularly scheduled meeting to
determine the outcome of said charges. |
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| E. A three-quarter vote of the entire GSA is necessary
for conviction. |
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| F. The officer shall have the right of appeal. After
conviction, the officer may appeal to the Office of Student Affairs
and Services in writing within two (2) school days. The appeal shall
be heard by three members of the Student Affairs and Services
Office. The Appeal Board must hold a hearing within thirty (30) days
after the request has been made. A written decision must be made
within seven (7) school days after the hearing.
These Bylaws were last amended at the May 6, 2009, GSGA
General Assembly Meeting. |
