GSA Constitution

Constitution of the Graduate Student Association of Hunter College

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Article I

The name of this organization shall be the Graduate Student Association of Hunter College (hereinafter referred to as the GSA).

Article II

The purposes of the GSA are to:

1. Represent the interests of graduate students to the faculty, staff and administration and other members of the Hunter College community.

2. Provide a program of social enrichment and professional development for the graduate students of Hunter College;

3. Encourage high academic achievement by promoting accessibility to academic tools, resources, and technology.

4. Provide equal representation of graduate programs within departments; and

5. Facilitate partnerships within the larger Hunter College Community.

Article III

1. The GSA shall be composed of graduate students registered in a graduate program at Hunter College.

2. The GSA shall be governed by a Senate and an Executive Council. Executive Council officers and Senators shall be matriculated in a graduate program at Hunter College and registered for at least three credits during their term of service.

3. In the event that one-half of Hunter College graduate programs fail to elect a student Senate representative, the GSA will be governed solely by the Executive Council for said fiscal year. As such, the Senate relinquishes its responsibilities, and hereto after references to the Senate shall be substituted by the GSA Executive Council, which shall assume these duties and responsibilities.

Article IV

1. The Executive Council shall be composed of the President, Vice President of University Relations, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Student Affairs, Commissioner for Institutional Responsibility, Commissioner for Graduate Organizations and Commissioner for Finance.

2. The Executive Council shall implement a policy of decisions and conduct the general administration and revise articles and bylaws of the constitution when needed.

3. The Chairperson of the Executive Council shall be the President of the GSA, who will report to every regular meeting of the Senate.

4. The Executive Council shall meet on a bi-weekly basis and on the call of the President.

5. The Executive Council shall serve as the Finance/Budget Committee.

6. All programs using student activity fees or supplemental funding shall operate under the auspices of the GSA with the Executive Council and Senate as their allocating and governing body.

7. All expenditures of the GSA student activity funds must be approved by the Executive Council.

Article V

The GSA shall be comprised of the officers and positions listed below.  In addition to the individual responsibilities unique to each position, the following shared duties of the GSA officers and employees must be allocated in writing at the beginning of each the fiscal year:

1. To respond to all phone messages in a timely manner and to all email messages by deadlines;

2. To coordinate GSA meetings and keep minutes of all meetings attended, including GSA, AEB, CA, USS and Tech Fee Committee meetings;

3. To read and be thoroughly familiar with graduate student club chartering and officer handbooks;

4. To attend CA workshops and hold a follow up GSA workshop to assist clubs in the chartering and budgeting process;

5. To submit an individual action plan at the beginning of the fiscal year to be approved by the Executive Council, followed by monthly progress reports to the Executive Council at large; and

6. To maintain order in Thomas Hunter Hall, Room 218, the GSA office, including conducting an office inventory, cleaning and ordering supplies and submitting necessary work orders.

Executive Board Officers

President

The GSA President shall be a matriculated graduate student enrolled in a graduate program at Hunter College. The President’s duties are to:

1. Serve as the spokesperson for graduate students at Hunter College and the GSA Executive Council, and to express their concerns and interests to Hunter College’s Administration and Staff, students-at-large and the media;

2. Preside at functions of the GSA;

3. Preside at meetings of the Senate and of the Executive Council;

4. Act as liaison on behalf of the GSA;

5. Coordinate the allocation of supplemental funding sources;

6. Supervise the proper functioning of the graduate lounge, including but not limited to coordinating all events clubs desire to set in the graduate lounge and assisting the Treasurer in hiring a Lounge Attendant;

7. Serve as a member of the Auxiliary Enterprise Corporation (AEC); and

8. Assist the Vice President of Finance with his or her duties as a member of the College Association (CA)

9. Create new employee positions (contingent upon approval by the GSA Executive Council);

Vice President of University Relations

The GSA Vice President of University Relations (VPUR) shall be a matriculated graduate student enrolled in a graduate program at Hunter College. Should the President resign, or be unable to perform, the Vice President of University Relations is appointed by the constitution, without need for election or voting, to be the Acting President for the remainder of the fiscal year. The GSA Vice President of University Relations’ duties are to:

1. Assist the President in acting as liaison on behalf of the GSA with the Dean of Students and College President; and

2. Act as liaison on behalf of the GSA with graduate departments, including those departments not represented by graduate clubs.

3. Serve as a delegate on the Hunter College Senate.

4. Serve on all relevant committees deemed appropriate by the executive board (such as Master Plan Committee and Middle States Committee)

5. Attend Technology Fee Committee meetings;

6. Attend University Student Senate (USS) meetings; and

7. Assist the President in overseeing the proper functioning of the graduate lounge, including but not limited to coordinating all events clubs desire to set in the graduate lounge and assisting in the hiring a Lounge Attendant.

Vice President of Finance

The GSA Vice President of Finance shall be a matriculated graduate student enrolled in a graduate program at Hunter College. The GSA Vice President of Finance's duties are to:

1.    Disburse graduate student activity fee funds as determined by the Senate and Executive Council;

2.    Be responsible for the receipt of all monies;

3.    Maintain records of all financial transactions for GSA internal accounts and student organization budgets;

4.    Handle all payroll transactions for officers and employees of the GSA;

5.    Be responsible for the allocation of student organization budgets;

6.    Assist the president in the coordination and allocation of supplemental funding sources;

7.    Serve as a member of the College Association Board (CA);

8.    Train, oversee and delegate responsibilities to the Commissioner of Finance;

9.    Serve as needed on any additional, relevant committees at the discretion of the President.
 

Vice President of Student Affairs

The GSA Vice President of Student Affairs shall be a matriculated graduate student enrolled in a graduate program at Hunter College. The GSA Vice President of Student Affair's duties are to:

1.    Be responsible for relations with the graduate student body, in its entirety, including but not limited to: flyers, bulletin boards, email, social networking, tabling, student events, newsletters, and any other forms of communication that the Executive Council may deem appropriate;

2.    Be responsible for all outreach and coordination concerning the Graduate Investment Fund, when fund is provided to GSA;

3.    Be responsible for all aspects of the G-Blasts including compiling announcements of graduate club events open to the Hunter College community, promoting funding opportunities available to individuals and clubs and announcing important matters to the graduate student body. Shall forward finalized G-Blast text to the Dean’s Office for distribution approximately once each week;

4.    Be Responsible for the development and execution of professional and academic development events which benefit the entire graduate student body, at the discretion of the Executive Board;

5.    Appoints and oversees duties of the GSA Webmaster. In the absence of a designated Webmaster, the VPSA will be responsible for the timely creation, update, and maintenance of the official Hunter GSA website, on-line calendar and blog;
 

Commissioner for Graduate Organizations

The GSA Commissioner for Graduate organizations shall be a matriculated graduate student enrolled in a graduate program at Hunter College. The GSA Commissioner for Graduate Organizations' duties are to:

1.    Maintain a database of all graduate organizations at Hunter College;

2.    Represent the main, Brookdale, Social Work, and MFA Campuses of Hunter College, including holding office hours at and/or making regular visits to these campuses;

3.    Act as liaison on behalf of the GSA with all graduate student organizations, including regular communication and reminders about important regulations and deadlines;

4.    Promote opportunities for inter-organization collaboration;

5.    Assist organizations in preparing maintenance budget and student activity fee applications, including holding workshops and advisory meetings;

6.    Assist organizations in using allocated monies during the fiscal year, including assistance with the four required organization events and paperwork required for those events;

7.    To assist the Vice President of Finance in helping graduate student organizations prepare and modify budgets and properly complete, submit and revise the required documents for reimbursements or other payments; and

8.    To act as mediator for graduate student organizations, assisting in organizational or leadership matters.

Commissioner for Institutional Responsibility

The GSA Commissioner for Institutional Responsibility shall be a matriculated graduate student enrolled in a graduate program at Hunter College. The GSA Commissioner for Institutional Responsibility's duties are to:

1. Conduct an annual survey of graduate student attitudes, opinions and general awareness of issues related to social, economic and environmental sustainability, preferably in the Fall semester;

2. Coordinate a planning effort with faculty, staff and students to create and implement a Sustainability Action Plan for Hunter College;

3. Coordinate and support campus-wide sustainability initiatives;

4. Promote campus sustainability awareness and responsibility through presentations, demonstrations, published articles, tabling and other outreach and education events; and

5. Promote opportunities for students to conduct research and further their knowledge in the field of sustainability and coordinate independent study opportunities in collaboration with Hunter College faculty.

Commissioner for Finance

The GSA Commissioner for Finance shall be a matriculated graduate student enrolled in a graduate program at Hunter College. Should the Vice President of Finance resign, or be unable to perform, the Commissioner of Finance is appointed by the constitution, without need for election or voting, to be the Acting Vice President of Finance for the remainder of the fiscal year. The GSA Commissioner for Finance’s duties are to:

1.    Attend College Association meetings if designated to serve as a proxy by the President or Vice President of   Finance

2.    Assist Vice President of Finance in maintaining records of all financial transactions for GSA internal accounts and student organization budgets;

3.    Assist Commissioner for Graduate Organizations in helping graduate student organizations utilize student activity fee and maintenance budgets

4.    Resolve any outstanding financial issues including, but not limited to, rejected vouchers, budget modifications  and or line transfers;

5.    Obtain and reconcile account detail summaries with GSA records; and

6.    Ensure that President and Vice President of Finance are kept informed of all financial matters;
 

Non- Executive Board Positions

Executive Consultant

The Executive Consultant is not an officer of the GSA. The Executive Consultant is employed by the GSA and does not have voting privileges. The Executive Consultant may be a former Hunter College graduate student who has previously served as a GSA officer for at least one fiscal year. The serving length of this position is one semester, and can be extended for the length of one extra semester. The Executive Consultant’s duties are set by the Executive Council.

Office Manager

The Office Manager is not an officer of the GSA. The Office Manager is employed by the GSA and does not have voting privileges. The Office Manager must be a Hunter College graduate student. The serving length of this position is one semester, and can be extended for the length of one extra semester. The Office Manager’s duties are set by the Executive Council.

Article VI

1. The Senate shall be composed of one Senator from each graduate program, duly elected by the graduate student body of said program.

2. Senators shall hold office for one fiscal year, shall be eligible for reelection, and unless otherwise unqualified, shall hold office until a duly elected replacement is elected.

3. Eligibility for the Senate membership shall be matriculation in a graduate program at Hunter College.

4. Elections shall be held annually within each program during the Spring semester, and results shall be returned to the Office of Student Services. In case of a runoff, a majority of the votes cast within that program shall constitute the election.

5. Vacancies occurring during the course of the fiscal year shall be filled by special election held by the GSA Executive Council.

6. The Senate shall meet regularly during the fiscal year in October, December, March and May. A special meeting of the Senate may be called by the President of the GSA at his/her discretion or upon the petition of twelve senators.

7. Each Senator has one vote at Senate meetings and elections.

Article VII

1. The Senate shall elect from its membership the officers of the Executive Council. In the absence of the Senate, the incumbent officers are elected by the predecessors of the previous fiscal year.

2. The Senate shall require periodic reports, at least annually, from the Executive Council. In the absence of the Senate, individual officers shall report to the Executive Council at large on a monthly basis.

3. The Senate shall have the power to create standing and ad hoc committees. Membership on committees is not restricted to Senators.

4. The Senate shall act on behalf of the GSA, subject to the purposes and limitations contained in the constitution. The Senate delegates to the Executive Council, the implementations of policy decisions, the revision of bylaws and articles when deemed necessary and the general administration of GSA.

Article VIII

1. Quorum for Executive Council and Senate meetings, including elections, shall be 50 percent or eight GSA members, whichever is less, of the GSA Senate including the Executive Council. In the absence of a Senate, quorum for the Executive Council shall be 50 percent of the Executive Council.

Article IX

1. Amendments to the constitution shall be presented by members of the Senate or Executive Council officers.

2. Said amendments shall be passed by 3/4 of the Executive Council officers.

Article X

1. Any member of the Senate may bring a question of interpretation of the constitution to the Judicial Board, composed of two Executive Council officers and two members of the Senate, whose decision shall be binding. In the absence of the Senate, the Judicial Board shall comprise four Executive Council officers, excluding the officer who raised the question of interpretation.

2. The University Student Senator shall chair the Judicial Board; and in the case of a tie he/she shall vote.

Article XI

1. Referenda shall be held in accordance with ARTICLE 16.12 of the bylaws set forth by the Board of Trustees.

Article XII

1. The Executive Council shall reach out to graduate student clubs and shall hold individual appointments and/or workshops, in addition to the CA workshops, to assist in the club chartering and budgeting processes.

2. The Executive Council may create an advisory committee comprising representatives from graduate student clubs, and for those departments not represented by a graduate club, a graduate student department representative. The advisory committee shall meet on an as needed basis and advise the Executive Council in issues related to the chartering and budgeting processes.

3. The Executive Council shall require the following documents from each graduate student club to be chartered. These documents shall comprise the club chartering packet:

1. Attendance sheet and minutes of election meeting – this shall include printed names and signatures of all members present at the meeting at which executive officers are elected, as well as the minutes from that meeting;

2. Signature profile form – this shall include three (3) original signature profile forms, completed and signed by the club President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary;

3. Constitution – this shall include the graduate club name, purpose, membership, officers, committees, meetings, quorums and amendments; and

4. Graduate Student Organization Registration Form – this shall include at least 10 graduate students as active members, including the club President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary.

4. The Executive Council shall upon validation of club membership, notify the graduate student club of its decision, in writing, two weeks after the deadline for submission of chartering packets.

5. Following the chartering process, the Executive Council shall require the following documents from each graduate student club, that is chartered:

1. Budget request form;

2. Completed line budget for student club;

3. Consolidated budget form; and

4. Cover letter – the format of this letter shall be developed by the Executive Council and shall include such items as, explanation of previous budget request, allocation and expenditures, explanation why monies were not spent, if applicable, explanation of current budget request and prioritization of said requests.

6. The budget allocation process shall be a rollover process and the Executive Council shall notify the graduate student club of its budget allocation, in writing, two weeks after the deadline for submission of budgeting documents.

7. The student club shall revise the required budget documents to reflect the budget allocation and resubmit to the Executive Council. Graduate student clubs shall hold the right to appeal the budget allocation and meet with the Executive Council and advisory committee to discuss this appeal.

Article XIII

1.    Upon resignation of any GSA officer of the Executive Council, the Executive Council shall convene, nominate a replacement and bring their choice before the Senate for approval.

2.    The Senate shall vote on the new choice and elect based on majority approval (two vote margin over nearest opponent shall constitute a majority)

3.    If more than two candidates are seeking office and a majority vote is not reached, the candidate with the fewest votes shall be eliminated and a second vote shall be taken.

4.    In the absence of the Senate, the Executive Council shall nominate and elect a replacement officer.

5.    In the interim period, the line of succession shall be as follows:


 

Article XIV

1. Terms of office for both the GSA Executive Council and GSA Senate shall be in accordance to the fiscal year, July 1 through June 30.

Article XV

1. If any Executive Council member of the GSA is absent for three consecutive Executive Council meetings, despite extraneous circumstances, he or she may be removed from office by a majority vote of the Executive Council members present at the next Executive Council meeting.

2. If the President or Treasurer is absent for three or more consecutive College Association meetings, or more than six College Association meetings within a calendar year, and the GSA is not represented at said College Association meetings, despite extraneous circumstances, he or she may be removed from office by a majority vote of the Executive Council members present at the next Executive Council meeting.

Article XVI

1. No more than two senators from any one department, or from any number of graduate programs within the same department, or from any single student club, shall simultaneously occupy the Executive Council officer position of: President and Vice President of University Relations or President and Vice President of Student Affairs.