Auburn University
Auburn University

Graduate Student Council

Auburn University
 

Constitution & Code of Laws of the Graduate Student Council of Auburn University

August 25, 2001

GRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL CONSTITUTION

PREAMBLE

The Auburn University Graduate Student Council (GSC) was conceived in recognition of the necessity for an organization that would strive to fulfill the unique needs of graduate students.It exists to provide a collective voice for its members, acting as the official graduate student representation in university affairs and the Student Government Association (SGA).

The organization has a mandate to promote research activities and to improve the conditions under which graduate students live and work.The effectiveness of the organization relies on the establishment and maintenance of communication among and between graduate students and in the university community.Through these means, it is hoped that the university as a whole will gain a greater appreciation for the importance of graduate education at Auburn University.

The Graduate Student Council shall not discriminate against any individual or group of individuals on the basis of age, socioeconomic status, gender, marital status, political orientation, religion, race, or sexual orientation.

Any official meeting of the GSC shall be open to the public.

GENERAL ORGANIZATION

The Graduate Student Council shall be organized into two branches:

  • The Executive Council and
  • The Senate

ARTICLE 1: EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

The Executive Council shall consist of the following positions:

  • Officers - President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer
  • GSC Student Government Association (SGA) Senators
  • Committee Chairpersons

SECTION 1: Duties/Powers of Executive Council

Section 1.1: President
  1. The President is determined by a campus-wide election process except when the position is vacated in the middle of the election term (see Article 7 Sec. 2 of Code of Laws).
  2. The President accepts all financial responsibilities of the GSC and must co-sign all financial forms with the Treasurer.
  3. The President acts as Graduate Student Representative on the Graduate School Council and on the Faculty Senate.
  4. The President appoints members of the GSC and/or non-GSC graduate students to University committees.
  5. The President may call meetings of the Executive Council and GSC Senate.
  6. The President serves as a non-voting member of all GSC committees.
  7. In meetings of the general GSC Senate and Executive Council the President has the ability to make motions, but does not have general voting rights.The President can only vote in order to break a tie.
  8. The President may be called upon to serve as an official representative to the National Association of Graduate and Professional Students Organization.
  9. The President does not act as the Senator for his/her department, because he/she does not have parliamentary voting rights.
Section 1.2: Vice-President
  1. The Vice-President executes all duties, powers, and responsibilities of the President in his/her absence.
  2. The Vice-President is determined by a campus-wide election process except when the position is vacated in the middle of the election term (see Article 7 Sec. 2 of Code of Laws).
  3. The Vice-President calls and chairs all meetings of the GSC Senate according to Robert's Rules of Order.
  4. The Vice-President does not have the ability to make motions or to vote in general Senate meetings while acting as Chair.
  5. When not acting as Chair, the Vice-President has the ability to make motions but does not have voting rights.
  6. The Vice-President has the ability to make motions and vote in Executive Council meetings.
  7. The Vice-President either serves as or appoints an official representative to the National Association of Graduate and Professional Students Organization.
  8. The Vice-President does not act as the Senator for his/her department, because he/she does not have parliamentary voting rights.
Section 1.3: Secretary
  1. The Secretary executes all duties, powers, and responsibilities of the Vice-President in his/her absence.
  2. The Secretary is determined by an election held within the GSC (see Article 7 Sec. 1 of Code of Laws).
  3. The Secretary composes meeting agendas for all meetings of the general Senate and Executive Council.
  4. The Secretary records, publishes, and distributes minutes for all general Senate meetings.
  5. The Secretary appoints all Senators of the GSC to standing Committees.
  6. The Secretary notifies any department of which its Senator(s) has been absent for three (3) consecutive meetings of the GSC Senate.
  7. The Secretary keeps a file of all GSC Resolutions and Bills of Law.
  8. The Secretary has all the parliamentary privileges of a GSC Senator.
  9. The Secretary has the ability to make motions and to vote in Executive Council meetings.
Section 1.4: Treasurer
  1. The Treasurer prepares the proposed GSC Budget annually (with cooperation from the GSC Budget and Finance Committee) and submits the proposed budget to the Treasurer of the SGA before the beginning of each fiscal year (see Article 6 Sec. 1 of Code of Laws).
  2. The Treasurer is determined by an election held within the GSC (see Article 7 Sec. 1 of Code of Laws).
  3. The Treasurer provides a monthly financial report to the Treasurer of the Student Government Association.
  4. The Treasurer accepts all financial responsibilities of the GSC and must co-sign all financial forms with the President.
  5. The Treasurer maintains responsibility to the GSC for any information regarding the GSC treasury (running balances of various accounts, reallocations of funds, etc.) and for all expenditures of GSC funds.
  6. The Treasurer has all the parliamentary privileges of a GSC Senator.
  7. The Treasurer has the ability to make motions and to vote in Executive Council meetings.
Section 1.5: GSC SGA Senator(s)
  1. An SGA Senator is determined by a campus-wide election process except when the position is vacated in the middle of the election term (see Article 7 Sec. 2 of Code of Laws).
  2. An SGA Senator represents the views, ideas, and opinions of the GSC to the SGA Senate.
  3. An SGA Senator reports the SGA agenda to the GSC Executive Council and/or Senate as it pertains to the welfare of graduate students.
  4. An SGA Senator abides by the GSC Constitution and Code of Laws as well as the SGA Constitution and Code of Laws.
  5. An SGA Senator has all the parliamentary privileges of a GSC Senator at general Senate meetings.
  6. An SGA Senator has the ability to make motions and to vote in Executive Council meetings.
Section 1.6: Committee Chairperson(s)
  1. A Chairperson presides over his/her respective committee meetings.
  2. A Chairperson is appointed by the President, Vice-President, or a majority of the committee members.
  3. A Chairperson promotes the ideas, opinions, and views of his/her committee to the Executive Council and/or Senate.
  4. A Chairperson gives progress reports to the Executive Council and/or Senate on any projects that his/her committee has undertaken.
  5. A Chairperson has all the parliamentary privileges of a GSC Senator.
  6. A Chairperson has the ability to make motions and to vote in Executive Council meetings.

SECTION 2: SENATE

The GSC Senate consists of Senators who are graduate student representatives from each recognized University department (see Article 2 Sec. 1 of Code of Laws).

Section 2.1: Duties/Powers of a GSC Senator
  1. A Senator is expected to interact with graduate students in his/her department to determine what issues need to be addressed at the GSC Senate.
  2. A Senator is expected to disseminate information from GSC meetings to graduate students and faculty/staff in his/her department.
  3. A Senator is expected to become actively involved in promoting the agenda of the GSC to his/her fellow graduate students.
  4. A Senator is expected to attend all meetings of the GSC Senate.
  5. A Senator must notify the GSC Secretary prior to a meeting that he/she will not be able to attend.
  6. A Senator has the ability to make motions and vote on all decisions of the GSC Senate.

Graduate Student Council Code of Laws

ARTICLE 1: AMENDMENTS

  1. Any member(s) of the Graduate Student Council (GSC) may propose amendments to the Constitution or Code of Laws.
  2. All proposed amendments should be presented, in writing, at least one (1) week in advance of the next regularly scheduled GSC meeting.
  3. All proposed amendments shall be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Senate members present.

ARTICLE 2: MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE

SECTION 1: Graduate Degree Program Representation
  1. Any department with students enrolled in a graduate degree program may appoint or elect a senator(s) to the GSC.
  2. Any degree programs of study with no enrolled graduate students, degree programs of study which have officially stated their desire to be excluded from the Senate rolls, or degree programs of study who previously have been suspended due to excessive or intolerable lack of attendance of their elected senators are not recognized by the GSC and may not have Senator representation.(See Article 2 Sec. 3.1)
  3. Each department may have one Senator to represent up to fifty graduate students within that department, not to exceed three representatives from any one department.
SECTION 2: Ex-Officio Membership
  1. The President of the Auburn University Student Government Association shall be an ex-officio, non-voting member of the GSC Senate.

SECTION 3: Attendance Policy

Section 3.1: Senators
  1. GSC Senators are required to attend all general meetings of the GSC Senate.
  2. A Senator must notify the GSC Secretary prior to a meeting that he/she will not be able to attend.
  3. A Senator may, in his/her absence, send a departmental proxy, but the Senator must notify the GSC Secretary prior to doing so.
  4. The term “proxy” shall be defined as any representative authorized to act for a member of the GSC Senate and shall be designated to be a substitute with all the rights and privileges defined in Section 2.1 of the Constitution.
  5. No person can be a proxy for more than one Senator at any one meeting, and no Senator may be a proxy for another Senator.
  6. Any Senate seat vacant (no Senator or proxy present) for three (3) consecutive meetings shall be deemed “inactive” and will remain so until a new Senator is determined by that department.
Section 3.2: Executive Officers
  1. GSC Executive Officers are required to attend all general meetings of the GSC Senate.
  2. An Executive Officer must notify another officer prior to a meeting that he/she will not be able to attend.
  3. Any officer who fails to attend two (2) consecutive meetings of the general Senate will be asked for his/her resignation.
  4. After an officer fails to attend three (3) consecutive meetings of the general Senate, the President will move for said officer’s impeachment.
ARTICLE 3: IMPEACHMENT
  1. The impeachment of any GSC member may be initiated by a motion presented at a meeting of the general Senate.
  2. The motion for impeachment must outline the specific reasons that warrant impeachment and should delineate any infractions of the GSC Constitution and/or Code of Laws.
  3. The GSC member in question must be notified of the motion at least one (1) week before the GSC meeting where that motion will arise.
  4. The GSC member in question must be given fair opportunity to defend himself/herself.
  5. After the GSC member in question has been given an opportunity to be heard, debate of the motion must ensue.
  6. The GSC member in question must not be present during such a debate.
  7. Motions for impeachment must be passed by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote by secret ballot.

ARTICLE 4:CALLING OF SENATE MEETINGS

  1. The GSC President and Vice-President have the power to call meetings of the GSC Senate.
  2. A meeting of the Senate may be called by a petition of at least twenty-five percent of the Senators on the active roll.

ARTICLE 5: SENATE COMMITTEES

SECTION 1:General Rules Governing Committee Operations
  1. All Chairpersons must be members of the Senate.
  2. All meetings of GSC committees shall be held at the discretion of the Chair of that particular committee.
  3. Any member of the Executive Council or the Senate will be allowed to attend any committee meeting, but only recognized members of said committee may be allowed parliamentary privileges during the committee meeting.
  4. No Senator may be appointed to serve as Chairperson for more than one (1) committee.
  5. All Senators shall be appointed by the Secretary to serve as a member of at least one (1) standing committee.
SECTION 2:Ways and Means Committee (WMC)
  1. The WMC shall recommend GSC Senate rules of procedure in addition or in exception to Robert’s Rules of Order.
  2. The WMC shall study any and all proposed changes to the GSC Constitution and/or Code of Laws made by the President of Auburn University or the appointed representative, the Executive Council, or any member of the Senate.
  3. The WMC shall make recommendations to the Senate concerning proposed changes to the GSC Constitution and/or Code of Laws (see Article 1 of the Code of Laws).
  4. The WMC shall strive to ensure consistency with the Constitution and Code of Laws.
  5. The WMC shall ensure that nominations for President, Vice-President, and SGA Senator(s) are conducted fairly.
  6. The WMC shall oversee the nominations and elections of Treasurer and Secretary to ensure that these are conducted fairly.
SECTION 3:Budget and Finance Committee (BFC)
  1. The BFC recommends and monitors the use of all GSC funds.
  2. The BFC is required to make a preliminary written recommendation to the Senate for the allocation of GSC monies.
  3. This recommendation shall be made within two weeks after the final requests for GSC monies are received from Senate committees and any member of the Executive Council.
  4. The BFC shall monitor GSC funds and assist the Treasurer in the performance of his/her duties.
  5. The BFC shall also examine requests for non-budgetary funds from the GSC treasury.
SECTION 4:Student Welfare Committee (SWC)
  1. The SWC addresses issues of concern to graduate students (i.e. academic affairs, financial affairs, housing, health insurance, child care, social, etc.).
  2. The SWC is required to research and promote all pertinent issues concerning graduate students.
  3. The SWC shall organize activities for the graduate student awareness.
SECTION 5:Publicity and Communications Committee (PCC)
  1. The PCC ensures communication and public relations between the GSC and all facets of the University.
  2. The PCC is responsible for the publication of the annual GSC Handbook as well as the GSC Times, published once/month.
  3. The PCC is responsible for the maintenance of the GSC Web-Site.
  4. The PCC must work closely with the Events committee in order to better promote upcoming activities and/or important dates relevant to the GSC calendar.
SECTION 6:Events Committee (EC)
  1. The EC organizes and promotes GSC activities and events.
  2. The EC is responsible for organizing the annual Graduate Student Appreciation Week and the Graduate School Spring Picnic.
  3. The EC coordinates the annual Research Forum.This includes issuing a fair call for abstracts from all curricula, selecting fair and unbiased judges, and seeking award monies.
  4. The EC must consult with the Treasurer and BFC to ensure funding for events.
  5. The EC must work closely with the PCC in order to better promote upcoming activities and/or important dates relevant to the GSC calendar.
SECTION 7: Ad-Hoc Committees
  1. An Ad-Hoc committee may be formed to pursue any issue that GSC deems important, and beyond the scope of any one standing committee.
  2. Ad-Hoc committees must follow all rules set in Article 5 Sec. 1 of the Code of Laws.

ARTICLE 6:FINANCE LAW

SECTION 1:GSC Budget
  1. All committees that require use of GSC funds must submit a written request to the BFC by the fourth week in October.
  2. The BFC shall recommend a monetary allocation of GSC funds to the Treasurerby the fourth week in November.
  3. The Treasurer shall present the allocated budget to the Senate and to the Executive Council.
  4. The Senate shall approve all changes in the GSC budget by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Senate members present.
  5. The Treasurer shall be responsible to the GSC for enforcing the provisions of the GSC budget.
  6. The President shall be responsible to the Treasurer of the SGA for enforcing the budget approved by the SGA Senate.

ARTICLE 7:ELECTION LAW

SECTION 1:Election Law and Procedure
  1. Nominations for Secretary and Treasurer shall be opened the first week of March.
  2. The Secretary and Treasurer shall be nominated from enrolled students in the Graduate School of Auburn University.
  3. Nominations will close and the elections will be held for Secretary and Treasurer in the first week of April.
  4. The Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected by secret ballot by a majority of the Senate members present.
  5. Duties of newly elected officers shall commence May 1st.
SECTION 2:Executive Council Vacancy
  1. If the office of President is vacated, the Vice-President will take over the role of President.
  2. If any other position on the Executive Council is vacated the President will appoint a replacement with a majority approval of the GSC Senate.

ARTICLE 8:USE OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA

SECTION 1: GSC Web-Site
  1. The GSC Web-Site shall be used as an information resource for graduate students.
  2. The GSC may use the web-site to post meeting agendas and minutes as well as upcoming elections and GSC events.
  3. The web-site may be used as a link to the GSC Constitution and Code of Laws.
  4. The web-site may be used for discussion of topics, that pertain to the GSC, outside of general Senate meetings.
  5. The web-site may be used as a contact link to all members of the GSC.
  6. The web-site may not be used to advertise non-GSC business.
  7. The web-site may not be used as a parliamentary medium.
SECTION 2: Electronic Mail (E-mail)
  1. E-mail may be used to disseminate information regarding the GSC (events, elections, etc.) to the general graduate student body in accordance with regulations set by the Graduate School.
  2. E-mail may be used to distribute meeting agendas, minutes, and proposed motions or referenda to the members of the GSC.
  3. E-mail may be used for discussion of topics, that pertain to the GSC, outside of general Senate meetings.
  4. E-mail may be used to collect nominations for GSC elections.
  5. E-mail may not be used to collect votes for GSC elections.

Note: This Graduate Student Council Constitution and Code of Lawssupercedes all previously adopted versions of the Graduate Student Council Constitution and Code of Laws.