Bylaws of the Dartmouth Graduate Student Council

2/1/22

Articles

1. Structure of the Organization

2. Voting

3. Procedures

Article I

Structure of the Organization

Section A

Duties of Executive Officers

The following duties shall be the duties of the President:
1. Convene GSC meetings as necessary.
2. Organize and advertise GSC meetings, or appoint members to do so.
3. Preside at all GSC meetings as Chair.
4. Represent the GSC in an official capacity at the College, regional, or national level, or appoint members to do so.
5. Perform any other functions necessary and proper for the welfare of the GSC not expressly prohibited or otherwise delegated by the provisions of the Constitution or Bylaws.
The following duties shall be the duties of the Vice President:
1. Serve as a liaison between the College administration and GSC, in conjunction with the President.
2. Report administrative decisions and developments impacting graduate student life to the GSC.
3. Serve as GSC parliamentarian, assuring proper interpretation and implementation of the Constitution and Bylaws.
4. Present and maintain records of GSC Recognized graduate student groups.
5. Assist the President in the execution of their duties.
The following shall be the duties of the Finance Officer:
1. Maintain financial records for all transactions utilizing GSC funds.
2. Submit and propose a yearly budget to the GSC for membership approval.
3. Collect and present all requests for funding from outside groups or individuals to the GSC or executive officers for approval.
4. Assist the President in the execution of their duties.
The following shall be the duties of the Communications Chair(s):
1. Record and distribute GSC meeting minutes.
2. Record and distribute executive officer meeting minutes.
3. Assist the President in the execution of their duties.
4. Head the execution of the election of department representatives.
5. Maintain the GSC website and posting of event to the GSC calendar.
6. Assemble a committee to effectively address pertinent issues.
The following shall be the duties of the Chairs of the External Affairs Committee:
1. Assembly a committee to effectively address pertinent issues affecting graduate students on domestic and international stages.
2. Oversee, meet with, and manage the External Affairs Committee.
3. Be in constant contact with domestic- and international-focused agencies (e.g., OVIS) to understand pertinent issues affecting graduate students.
4. The International Chair shall be responsible for finding, understanding, and disseminating information about international issues affecting graduate students (e.g., VISAs).
5. The Domestic Chair shall be responsible for finding, understanding, and disseminating information about domestic issues affecting graduate students.
6. Attend GRAD coalition meetings and communicate information with the rest of the GSC
The following shall be the duties of the Chair(s) of the Committee for Addressing Racism and Equity:
1. Oversee, meet with, and manage the Committee for Addressing Racism and Equity.
2. Encourage graduate programs to adopt initiatives that improve recruitment and retention of underrepresented minorities in graduate student and faculty positions.
3. Collect and evaluate data about policies, practices, demographics, campus climate, and supportive resources in graduate programs. These data will be used to advocate for effective policies that ensure anti-racism and equity are actively practiced in our graduate programs.
4. Support internal GSC efforts to make recruitment, events, and operating policies more diverse and equitable.
5. Collaborate with other committees in the GSC, such as (but not limited to) the Student Life Committee and the Service Committee to hold events to build community.
6. Assemble a committee to effectively address pertinent issues.
The following shall be the duties of the Academic Chair:
1. Propose, organize, and oversee actions and advocacy measures in the interest of furthering the scholastic livelihood of graduate students.
2. Assemble a committee to effectively address pertinent issues.
3. Collect all requests for GSC Conference Grant application from graduate students and appoint members to form a committee to review and approve requests.
The following duties shall be the duties of the Student Life Chair(s):
1. Propose, organize, and oversee actions and advocacy measures in the interest of furthering student health, happiness, and general wellbeing.
2. Assemble a committee to effectively address pertinent issues.
The following shall be the duties of the Social Chair(s):
1. Propose, organize, and oversee the execution of social events for graduate students during each of the fall, winter, spring and summer terms.
2. Procure and spend GSC funds for the execution of such events, in accordance with the wishes of the GSC.
3. Assemble a committee to effectively address pertinent issues.
The following shall be the duties of the Service Chair:
1. Oversee, meet with, and manage the Service Committee.
2. Collaborate with other service-oriented organizations on campus when appropriate/necessary to maximize and streamline outreach efforts.
3. Encourage graduate participation in on- and off-campus community service opportunities by arranging graduate volunteers.
4. Coordinate, plan, and lead all service and outreach events and initiatives sponsored by the GSC.
5. Assemble a committee to effectively address pertinent issues.
The following shall be the duties of the Inter-House Graduate Liaison:
1. Serve as a liaison between the various House Directors/Professors and the graduate student community by attending Interhouse Council meetings.
2. Ensure that graduate students are notified of House assignments during orientation
3. Plan/advertise House events that are open to graduate students

Section B

Duties of Department Representatives

Attend all regular meetings of the GSC.
Join one or more of the various GSC committees that are overseen by an executive board member.
Volunteer to assist with the execution of GSC events when the need arises.
Vote on finance requests submitted by graduate students and graduate student organizations at GSC meetings.
Act as the liaison between the broader graduate student body of the GSC and their individual program—disseminate information collected at GSC meetings to their constituents (program peers).
Advocate on behalf of their constituents to the GSC and introduce topics and issues at meetings that the GSC should pursue, be aware of, or vote upon.

Section C

Recurring Ad Hoc Committees

An Orientation Ad Hoc Committee will be created every February and last through the completion of Guarini's Orientation of the same year (mid-September).
1. This committee will consist of the GSC President, GSC Vice President, GSC Communications Chair(s), GSC Social Co-Chairs, GSC Student Life Chair(s), Guarini Activities Fellow, Guarini International Mentoring Fellow, Guarini Housing Fellow, the Guarini Assistant Dean of Diversity and Recruitment, and any graduate student volunteers.
2. The GSC President and the Guarini Assistant Dean will co-chair this committee.
3. This committee will organize and host Guarini’s Orientation for the incoming Guarini student class.
A Benefits Ad Hoc Committee will be created every February and last through August of the same year.
1. This committee will consist of the GSC President, GSC Vice President, and any graduate student volunteers.
2. The GSC President and Vice President will co-chair this committee.
3. This committee will update the Graduate Student Benefits Report with the changes to graduate student benefits from that year.
A Budget Ad Hoc Committee shall be created every September and last until the GSC ratifies its annual budget.
1. This committee shall consist of the Finance Officer, at least one of the GSC President and GSC Vice President, and no fewer than two graduate student volunteers outside of the GSC Executive Board.
2. The Finance Officer shall chair this committee.
3. This committee shall produce a budget proposal for the fiscal year, which lasts from October through September, and the Finance Officer will present this proposal at the October general body meeting.

Article II

Voting

Section A

All voting GSC members, as defined in Article III of the Constitution, shall be entitled to cast one vote on any proposal or in any election. Members must be present at the meeting at which a vote is conducted.

Section B

If a member is unable to attend a meeting they may choose to assign a proxy for that meeting who may vote in their stead. The proxy may not be another representative or member of the Executive Board. The absent member must notify the Communications Chair(s) of this action and provide the name of the proxy no less than 4 hours before the meeting.

Section C

All proposals, unless otherwise specified in the Constitution or Bylaws, shall require a simple majority of votes cast to be approved.

Section D

For matters that are time-sensitive and must be decided before the next monthly meeting but do not merit a full session (e.g. an emergency meeting, see Article V of the Constitution), the GSC may, at the discretion of the President, vote electronically. Any means of electronic voting must include the options, "Yes," "No," and "Abstain."
All members will receive an email about the vote (in addition to communication via other electronic channels) and be given at least 24 hours (and at least one business day) to discuss. A simple majority of all the representatives shall be required to pass legislation virtually (NOT quorum).

Section E

The percentage of voters for each option: yes, no, and abstaining, for each proposal and election shall be published by the Graduate Student Council on its website. The votes of each voting GSC representative shall be available to Dartmouth graduate students in their departments upon request to the GSC Vice President. The votes of each voting GSC executive board member shall be available to all Dartmouth graduate students upon request to the GSC Vice President. Dartmouth graduate students only have the right to request the votes of current GSC representatives, and not those who have previously served but now left office.

Article III

Procedures

Section A

Meetings

Order of Business
1. Roll call. Each standing committee chair shall report the attendance of their members.
2. Approval of minutes. The minutes of the previous regular meeting are reviewed and approved unless objections or amendments are raised.
3. Approval of agenda. The agenda is approved. Amendments to the agenda may be raised and voted on prior to approval of the agenda. Once the agenda has been adopted, the business items on it are the property of the meeting, not of the groups or individuals who submitted the items. Any change to the agenda, once it has been adopted, can be made by motion, but any such motions require a supermajority two-thirds vote of quorum to pass.
4. New business from the floor. The Chair asks for any issues from the floor. Members may raise issues not on the Agenda and place them under New Business.
5. Reports from committees. Reports will proceed in the following sequence: Communications, CARE, Academic, Student Life, External Affairs, Service, Social, ad hoc, external. At the discretion of the Chair, motions may be moved to the New Business section of the agenda. If a committee foresees substantial discussion of an issue, they should notify the Chair in advance.
6. Appointments. Nominations of and appointments to new officers and committees.
7. Old/new business. Old business shall include items reviewed at a previous meeting that could not be completed or decided at that meeting. Old business discussions usually consist of follow-up information that provides meeting attendees the answers to questions they had at the last meeting. New business items are those that have not been discussed by meeting attendees previously and that do not belong in a committee report.
8. Announcements. Any member may make an announcement. Announcements are for informational purposes only.
9. Adjournment. A motion to adjourn must be seconded and accepted without objections.
Rules of Order
1. Roberts Rules. Except where otherwise specified in the Constitution or Bylaws, regular meetings shall be governed according to the most recent official edition of Robert’s Rules of Order. Robert’s Rules may be suspended by a majority vote of the quorum.
2. Any graduate student of Dartmouth College may ask any member to place items on the agenda for a regular meeting.
3. Sequence of duties. If an officer is unable or unwilling to perform one of their duties, those duties will fall on the next officer in this order: President, Vice President, Finance Officer, Communications Chair(s), CARE Chair(s), Academic Chair, Student Life Chair(s), External Affairs Chairs, Service Chair, Social Chair(s).
4. Motions. All motions from the floor must be seconded before a vote is taken. Only one motion may be on the floor at any given time.
  1. Any member may suggest amendments to a motion. If the motion's original sponsor agrees, the amendment is automatically included in the main motion as a friendly amendment. If the motion’s original sponsor does not agree to the amendment, a vote must first be taken on whether or not to accept the amendment before the main motion can be accepted or rejected.
  2. The Chair may decide to call a vote on a motion at their discretion. If a member on the floor objects, a vote must be taken on whether to call the motion to a vote. Any member may also move that a vote be taken.
  3. Members may vote in the affirmative, vote in the negative, or abstain on a motion. A motion passes on a simple majority, unless otherwise stated in the Constitution or Bylaws, with abstentions not counted. If abstentions outnumber affirmative votes, the Chair must re open discussion of the motion on the floor.
5. Opposition views. After the GSC passes a motion, any member may express opposition to the vote just taken from the floor. The opposing member will briefly state the nature of the objection, which will be entered into the minutes. Alternatively, the opposing member may compose a written explanation of their objection following the meeting, which will be appended to the minutes by the Secretary
6. Speaking sequence and time limits. The Chair shall keep a speaking order. The Chair may impose a time limit at their discretion. Alternatively, a time limit may be proposed from the floor and agreed upon by a majority of the GSC. As standard procedure, speakers from the floor should limit their time to one minute.
7. Absence of quorum. If quorum has not been reached, no vote shall be binding. At the next regular meeting when quorum is reached, all motions approved shall be read out. The GSC may then vote on these motions together or individually.
8. Removal of officers. With prior notice, on the grounds of failure to fulfill duties or other misconduct, a member of the Executive Board may be removed from office by a supermajority two-thirds vote of "no confidence."
9. Transitional Meeting. The first regular meeting after the Executive Board election shall be called the Transitional Meeting. The outgoing Executive Board sets the agenda for this meeting, which is chaired by the outgoing Chair. The incoming Executive Board is officially appointed at the Transitional Meeting.

Section B

Legislation

Types of Legislation
1. Referendum. If a referendum is approved, an ad hoc committee is appointed to administrate it.
2. Bill. A bill is any action internal to the GSC but not limited to forming an ad hoc committee, passing or revising the budget, and amending the Bylaws.
3. Resolution. A resolution states the opinion of the GSC on an issue. Resolutions should be addressed to a recipient and state the reasons for the position of the GSC. Recipients can include, but are not limited to, university administrators, academic departments, and the graduate student body.
Rules for Legislation
1. Eligibility to submit legislation. Only voting members may introduce pieces of legislation.
2. Submission of legislation to the Chair. All pieces of legislation must be presented to the Chair in final form at least 72 hours before a regular meeting so that they may be placed on the agenda and distributed to all GSC members beforehand. Exceptions to this rule shall be permitted at the discretion of the Chair.
3. Title and sponsor. All pieces of legislation shall have a title and at minimum one sponsor, both of which must be listed at the top of the bill. At the discretion of the sponsor(s), a bill may be designated as being “on behalf of” one or more individuals or committees of the GSC, or the entire graduate student body.
4. Record of bills. Copies of all bills and a record of the votes on each bill, regardless of outcome, shall be posted to the GSC website.
5. Amendment and debate of legislation. A bill may not be amended or debated until it is eligible to be put to a vote. Until this time, only questions of a factual nature may be directed toward the bill’s sponsor(s).
Numbering System
1. All legislation shall be numbered according to semester, year, and sequence of introduction in the following format.
  - Semester: “Fa,” “Wi,” “Sp,” “Su”
  - Year: The last two digits of the calendar year, followed by a dash.
  - Sequence: The order in which the bill was introduced during the semester.

Section C

Elections

Elections of Department Representatives
1. Elections of departmental representatives shall be held centrally by the GSC itself
2. Nomination phase. A call for Departmental Representative Candidates will be held during the first full week of September, Monday through Friday. Graduate students interested in serving as a representative for their departments will have this week to contact the GSC expressing their intent. Accepted nominees shall appear on the GSC website, by department, for no less than one week prior to elections.
3. Election phase. Elections shall be open during the 3rd week of September following the assembly of the candidate roster. Elections shall take place via approval voting, so that each voter can vote for any number of candidates. In the event of a tie, a runoff election between the frontrunners shall take place via first-past-the-post voting, so that each voter can vote for at most one candidate. In each of these elections, the candidate(s) receiving the most votes shall be awarded the position(s). In the event of a tie in the run-off election, a candidate shall be chosen uniformly at random from the frontrunners of the run-off election.
4. Voting shall be by secret ballot. The winning candidate(s) will, if possible, hold the position for one year.
5. If a department fails to elect a representative, the GSC shall have the power to recognize a representative from that department.
6. If a department chooses to reelect a representative who failed to fulfill their duties during the previous academic year, the reelected representative will be expected to attend all meetings, fulfill all volunteer requirements, and be allowed to vote on regular GSC actions items; however, the reelected representative will not be allowed to run for an Executive Board position, or to vote in the Executive Board elections.
Elections of Executive Officers
1. Nomination phase. A call for Executive Board Candidates will be held during the first full week of April. The nomination period shall be no shorter than two weeks. Accepted nominees shall appear on the GSC website, by order of position, for no less than one week prior to elections.
2. Election phase. Elections shall commence during the May regular meeting and elected members shall take office at the next meeting following the election. Elections shall take place via approval voting, so that each voter can vote for any number of candidates. In the event of a tie, a runoff election between the frontrunners shall take place via first-past-the-post voting, so that each voter can vote for at most one candidate. In each of these elections, the candidate(s) receiving the most votes shall be awarded the position(s). In the event of a tie in the run-off election, a candidate shall be chosen uniformly at random from the frontrunners of the run-off election.
3. Voting shall be by secret ballot. All candidates for executive officer positions shall be allowed to make a speech on their own behalf.
4. The winning candidates will, if possible, hold the position for one year.
5. If the newly-elected Executive Board member previously served as a GSC representative for their department, the newly-elected Executive Board member will appoint a new representative from their department. The newly appointed member will serve on the GSC until the General Council elections.
6. A member of the Executive Board may withdraw from office before the expiration of their term by submitting a resignation to the President.
7. If an elected officer position becomes vacant, an election to fill the position may be held at the next regular meeting of the GSC.

Section D

Use of Funds

The GSC must approve a yearly budget.
All funds must be approved by one of the following:
1. Items or requests specifically approved in annual budget.
2. Standard or a block funding request to the Finance Officer.
In the event that funding is requested for an event that shall occur before the next regular meeting, the GSC may, at the discretion of the President, vote electronically.
The Executive Board may, with majority approval, allocate up to $250 from buffer funding. All funds allocated in this way will be presented for review at the next regular meeting.
Allotted block funding is specific only to the current academic year. Previous block funding does not carry over to the subsequent academic year, and a new block funding request must be submitted yearly. Standard funding requests may be used to sponsor events between the end of one academic year to the next.
To ensure proper use of funds, the GSC may only approve requests for standard funding prior to the date of the event in question.
Standard funding requests over $250 must be made in person except under special circumstances and may be considered for approval via electronic voting upon approval by the executive board. In order to make a standard funding requests, applicants must:
1. Provide detailed itemized budget list.
  1. Can be based on previous events and the number of people who attended.
  2. Ensure that students’ dietary needs are met.
2. Provide proof of reserved space and/or options for the proposed event.
  1. Confirmation or application for the space is satisfactory.
3. Advertisement requirements
  1. Flier to be sent to GSC communications chair and shared on slack/social media by the organization within 24 hours of standard funding request approval.
  2. Must be advertised for a minimum of 1 week before the event. Does not apply to block funding events.
Approval from the General Council (simple majority) is required for GSC funds to be used for the purchase of, or awarding of, a single individual a prize or award with a value in excess of the student activities fee, as set by the Guarini School for the academic quarter during which the prize will be awarded. This rule applies to block funding and standard funding requests.
Events must be advertised for a minimum of 1 week before the event through GSC channels (i.e. circular and calendar). If the advertisement requirements are not met (ie the Finance Officer receives a reimbursement request for an event not advertised through GSC Channels), the following steps will be taken:
1. First Infraction of the budget year: Clubs will receive a warning/reminder email
2. Second Infraction: Clubs will receive a hold on their block funding for the budget year, which can be removed by meeting with the Finance Officer
3. . Third Infraction: Club will lose access to block funding for the reminder of the budget year

Section E

GSC-Recognized Student Organizations

Any graduate student group may petition to become a GSC-recognized group.
In order to do so, student groups must fill out the “Application for Graduate Organization Recognition” on the GSC website.
To be eligible for recognition, the graduate student organization must consist of at least six graduate students from, at minimum, two departments from Guarini, Thayer, or TDI.
The graduate student organization must appoint a faculty club advisor. Advisors must be Dartmouth faculty or staff.
The GSC may withdraw recognition of a GSC-recognized group in response to violations of the requirements outlined in the “GSC Organization Recognition Packet” or if members of the GSC determine that the organization is no longer functioning in a manner consistent with its stated Statement of Purpose.
1. Any GSC member may bring before the GSC at any time a motion for the withdrawal of recognition of a recognized organization.
2. The GSC reserves the right to withdraw recognition from any organization at any time, provided:
  1. The organization shall be notified of the intent to withdraw recognition and the reason(s) for which recognition is to be withdrawn. This notice must be given at least two weeks before the next general council meeting. Furthermore, the officers of the organization shall be given opportunity to appear before the Council before any motion for withdrawal of recognition shall be brought to vote.
  2. A majority vote of quorum shall be required for the withdrawal of recognition from a student organization.
  3. Withdrawal of recognition of an organization shall not prevent such organization from re-applying for recognition at the end of six (6) months following the affirmative withdrawal vote of the GSC General Council.
A student organization may choose to withdraw their group and label it “inactive.” This may be done by written notice to the Vice President of the GSC by the current leader of the group. This action does not require a vote from the General Council. Groups that chose to become inactive may re-apply for recognition at any time.