Bylaws

I. Purposes: The English Graduate Organization is designed to

Be a self-governing student organization
Provide departmental committee and university council representation for its membership
Organize activities for the personal and professional development of its membership
Act as an advocate for its membership within and outside the university
Provide a forum in which to discuss the concerns of its membership
Maintain a university-sanctioned organization to represent English Graduate students

II. Membership: All students enrolled in the Auburn University Department of English graduate program are considered members of the English Graduate Organization for which there are no dues to belong. A faculty advisor, selected by the executive committee, is considered an ex-officio member of EGO who advises and advocates for EGO at its request and who may attend an EGO meeting upon invitation. At the beginning of each academic year, the Secretary will send an email to all English Graduate Students. This email will ask them whether they want to receive EGO emails or not. If they do not wish to receive EGO email, members will respond to the email requesting to be removed from the EGO emailing list. With their removal, they sacrifice all voting rights and the possibility of being nominated for an EGO office or committee position and become “inactive” members of EGO. English Graduate Students may request (through an email to the Secretary) to be added to the list again at any time, at which points their rights would resume. EGO members who forfeit rights to vote will not be counted when considering quorum.

III. Officers: The organization will elect out of its body of membership the following officers: PhD Co-Chair, Masters Co-Chair, Secretary, and Parliamentarian. These officers are considered the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee and the elected committee representatives shall make up the Executive Board, which is responsible for the organization and oversight of EGO business and activities. The board members and their respective responsibilities are as follows:

A. Masters and PhD Co-Chairs powers and responsibilities:

Call and officiate at meetings

Hold an executive committee meeting before each EGO meeting to determine the agenda

Serve as liaisons between the membership and faculty/administration

Maintain the organization's official status through SGA registration

Ensure continued service by a faculty advisor

Appoint ad-hoc committees as necessary

Supervise election proceedings

Call and moderate executive board meetings

Develop with the executive board an agenda for each term's business

Frame questions for a vote

These responsibilities are to be divided equally between the co-chairs, who shall work closely together and keep one another informed of their activities. In the event that a timely decision must be made, either co-chair may be called upon, but all decisions must be reported to the other as soon as possible.

B. Secretary’s powers and responsibilities:

Develop and maintain the EGO email list

Take minutes in executive board meetings

Maintain or delegate the authority to maintain EGO's various media

Take steps to promote EGO's activities

Post minutes on email and the EGO board

Maintain the EGO board, clearing old materials and promptly posting new ones

C. Parliamentarian’s powers and responsibilities:

Interpret EGO's bylaws should a dispute arise

Receive and tally votes in each election

Receive and tally votes in non-election email voting

Ensure that all EGO elections, meetings and activities are executed in accordance with the bylaws

D. Committee Members and GSC Representatives’ powers and responsibilities:

Attend all meetings of their committee or organization and participate fully to represent EGO interests

Report pertinent information to the co-chairs in a timely manner

Post meeting minutes on email and/or the EGO board

A listing of all committee and representative positions will be distributed prior to annual elections. In the event that new committees are formed during the year, positions will be publicized and elections held, if the co-chairs deem there is enough time. If an election is not possible, the co-chairs will appoint a representative and inform the EGO membership of their action, explaining the reasons for their choice.

All committee positions are appointed by the department head. Though EGO elects desired committee members, there is no guarantee that elected members will be appointed by the department head. Furthermore, any positions on committees are available only at the discretion of the department head. All positions on standing/ad hoc committees requiring graduate student representation will be filled following EGO elections for that position, with final appointment privileges remaining with the department head. The following committees currently require graduate student representatives, although these may change on an annual basis. Beside each committee is listed any requirement for potential representatives to those committees.

English Center Committee—one position, no current restrictions/requirements

Composition Committee—one position, must have taught or be teaching ENGL 1100 or 1120

Graduate Student Council Reps—two positions, no current restrictions/requirements

Faculty Meeting Representative—one position, no current restrictions/requirements

Benson Lecture Committee—one position, no current restrictions/requirements

World Literature—one position, must have taught or be teaching World Literature, PhD students only

Graduate Studies Committee—one position, PhD students (current or rising) only

Business and Technical Writing—one position, must be an MTPC student

E. Executive Board’s powers and responsibilities:

The board is considered to be all EGO officers (the executive committee) and committee representatives. The board shall meet in the first three weeks of each term and set EGO's agenda. The organization's agenda includes not only the scheduling of EGO events and officer elections, but also the determination of legislative/policy goals that EGO will pursue that term. The Board is a planning body and has no power to set policy, but can submit recommendations to the membership via the email list or present such information in meetings. The co-chairs may call additional board meetings as needed. Board meetings are to be publicized and business is to be conducted in open forum.

IV. Voting Procedures:

A. Non-election Voting: Most EGO business shall be conducted via an email distribution list maintained by the Secretary. Any member may pose a question for discussion, and after at least three working days of consideration either co-chair may frame the question as a yes/no statement and call for a vote. The voting is conducted by the Parliamentarian. Individual members send their votes directly to the Parliamentarian via university email. The Parliamentarian will compile the results after three working days of voting. Non-votes are considered abstentions, and the motion passes on a majority of votes cast. If the number of votes cast is less than 50% of the active members on the email list, then the vote is tabled for lack of a quorum. Either co-chair may, at his/her discretion, extend the voting period for up to six days to accommodate breaks and holidays. After the decision is announced, the Parliamentarian will print out the ballots cast via email, removing names, and place them in the EGO files.

B. Election Voting: Between three and five weeks before the end of the spring term, EGO will hold elections for officer and committee positions. All offices and committee positions, regardless of term, are up for reelection. Committee representatives who have time remaining on their departmental term may seek reelection to that committee, as may any officer who wishes to fill his or her position again. No EGO member may run for more than one executive position unless there are no other candidates willing to serve in at least one of the positions he or she has been nominated for; in the event that one person holds two officer positions, that person shall only have one vote in executive committee meetings. A member may run contested in one race and still be nominated for other, uncontested positions. No member may run in more than one contested race. In any event, no EGO member may hold more than two positions.

1. All elections will be conducted via email. A co-chair will announce to the email list what position(s) are open and provide general information regarding responsibilities. One week after open positions have been publicized, an EGO meeting will be held to hear all nominations and acceptances/declinations of those nominations. A co-chair will post nominations, accepted or otherwise, to the email list within twenty-four hours. All unaccepted nominations must be accepted within seventy-two hours. Any person may nominate himself or herself, but self-nominations must be seconded by another member within seventy-two hours as well. Immediately after nominations have been solidified, the official nominations will be distributed via the email list. One week later (to allow time for candidates to post platforms on the EGO board or on the email list, see section 2), elections will begin. As specified in section IV-A, EGO members will vote via email. After three days of voting, the Parliamentarian will tabulate the votes, having removed all identification markers before the current co-chairs witness the count. Any EGO member elected to more than two positions will be asked to choose which two they would like to fill. Within twenty-four hours, the final results will be distributed via the email list and posted on the EGO bulletin board. This final list will show any position choices made by candidates, but will not indicate runners-up who fill positions. After the decision is announced, the Parliamentarian will print out the ballots cast via email, removing names, and place them in the EGO files.

2. All candidates are encouraged, but not required, to post a brief platform on the EGO bulletin board. Candidates may send one copy of their platform via email; additional campaign emails are prohibited. This platform should be less than one single-spaced page and should describe goals, plans, aims, and thoughts concerning the position being sought and the candidate's qualifications for filling this position.

3. Should no candidate gain a majority of votes for a position, the two candidates who receive the most votes will be announced as runoff candidates, with a subsequent election held.

4. Upon election, officers and committee representatives must sign a contract outlining the basic requirements of elected duties. These requirements include, but are not limited to, regular attendance of all EGO meetings, regular attendance of all pertinent committee meetings, delivering pertinent reports at EGO meetings. Failure to attend two or more EGO meetings, without providing written notification to the executive committee, shall result in automatic dismissal from elected office.

5. Should any officer or committee representative fail to satisfy the requirements of his or her position, a quorum of the EGO membership may call for the removal of that officer or committee representative, which can be accomplished through a 2/3 vote, for which process the voting procedures outlined in Section IV-B should be followed.

6. Concurrent with the co-chair's announcement of available positions, a co-chair will call for applicants for Parliamentarian to submit to the executive committee a C.V. and cover letter outlining one's qualifications and abilities. After reviewing these applications, the current executive committee shall appoint an applicant to the position of Parliamentarian one week before election voting begins. The newly appointed Parliamentarian will be announced with the election results. The Parliamentarian will not have a vote in elections during his or her term(s).

7 . If any position is being sought by only one candidate, the candidate wins by default, and no election for that position will be held.

C. Resolutions can be offered to the email list by any EGO member. When a co-chair deems sufficient discussion has taken place, he/she may frame the resolution for a vote. If a resolution passes, it may be publicized as the co-chairs see fit.

D. Annual Officer elections must be completed at least one week before the end of the Spring term. Terms of office begin Fall term. Results of elections shall be announced before the end of the Spring term via university email.

V. Adoption and Amendment of these Bylaws

A. These bylaws will go into effect upon the approval of a two-thirds majority vote conducted under the procedures of the 1995 bylaws.

B. Amendments to these bylaws will go into effect upon the approval of a two-thirds majority vote conducted under the procedures outlined in Section IV.

VI. Activities: The level of activity in EGO is to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Committees involving travel, funding, colloquia, community service, etc. can be established by vote on the email list.

(Additional Revision Adopted March 5, 2006)
(Revision Adopted December 4, 2000 )

Questions about this program
Last updated April 5, 2006