Constitution & Bylaws

Constitution

I. Name

The name of this organization shall be the Graduate Student Council of Dartmouth College, heretofore known as the Graduate Student Council (GSC).

II. Purpose

The GSC shall:

1. Serve as a forum for the discussion of matters pertaining to the welfare of graduate students at Dartmouth.
2. Serve as a liaison between the graduate student body and the College.
3. Contribute to the recognition and integration of graduate students at the College.
4. Select graduate students to serve on College committees for which graduate representation is necessary.
5. Foster unity among graduate students at Dartmouth by sponsoring social activities and other events.
6. Strive to continuously improve the standards of the academic experience of Dartmouth's graduate students

III. Membership and Voting Privileges

1. GSC membership shall be comprised of departmental representatives and the executive board. Each graduate department or program at Dartmouth shall elect a minimum of one graduate student representative to the GSC. In the case of departments with 26 or more students, departments may choose to elect more representatives according to the scheme detailed below, with the exception of Dartmouth Medical School, Tuck School of Business, and the undergraduate Student Assembly, which shall each have a maximum of 1 non-voting representative. In determining the number of departmental representatives, the population of a department or program shall be comprised of candidates of all post-graduate degrees in that department or program.

Number of Students in Department	Maximum Representatives
1 - 25	1
26 - 50	2
51 - 75	3
75+	4

2. Any full-time or part-time graduate or professional student at Dartmouth may participate in GSC meetings or activities, as membership is not a requirement for participation.

3. Voting privileges shall be extended to all members of the GSC, as described in Section I.

IV. Executive Officers

The executive officers of the GSC shall consist of President or Co-Presidents, Vice President, Finance Chair, Secretary, Activities Committee Chair or Co-Chairs, Student Life Committee Chair, and Academic Committee Chair. The North Park Activities Coordinator may serve as an executive officer at her/his discretion. No other persons shall be considered executive officers.

V. Meetings

1. The GSC shall meet no less than once per month during each of the fall, winter, and spring terms, and no less than once during the summer term, and as often as necessary to fulfill the Purpose stated in Article II.
2. The GSC shall meet at a consistent day and time each term to be designated by the President or Co-Presidents and approved by the membership.
3. The executive officers shall meet no less than once per month during each of the fall, winter and spring terms, separate from the GSC meetings discussed in Section I, and as often as necessary to fulfill the Purpose state in Article II.

VI. Amendments

1. Proposals for amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws must be presented in writing to the President or Co-Presidents. Proposals will be presented and discussed at the next GSC meeting following their submission.
2. Amendments to the Constitution shall require a three-fourths vote of a quorum of the GSC to be adopted.
3. Amendments to the Bylaws shall require a two-thirds vote of a quorum of the GSC to be adopted.

---

Bylaws

I. Duties of Executive Officers

1. The President or Co-Presidents shall:
   1. Convene GSC meetings as necessary
   2. Organize and advertise GSC meetings, or appoint members to do so
   3. Preside at all GSC meetings
   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
2. The Vice President shall:
   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.
3. The Finance Chair shall:
   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 his/her duties.
4. The Secretary shall:
   1. Record and distribute GSC meeting minutes.
   2. Record and distribute executive officer meeting minutes.
   3. Assist the President in the execution of his/her duties.
   4. Head the execution of the Departmental Representatives Election
5. The Activities Committee Co-Chairs shall:
   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.
6. The Student Life Chair shall:
   1. Propose, organize, and oversee actions and advocacy measures in the interest of furthering student health, happiness, and general wellbeing.
   2. Assemble a Student Life Committee to effectively address pertinent issues.
7. The Academic Chair Shall:
   1. Propose, organize, and oversee actions and advocacy measures in the interest of furthering the scholastic livelihood of graduate students.
   2. Assemble an Academic Committee to effectively address pertinent issues.

II. Voting

1. All 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.
2. If a member is unable to attend a meeting they may choose to assign a temporary replacement representative for that meeting who may vote in their stead. The absent member must notify the Records Chair of this action and provide the name of the replacement representative no less than 4 hours before the meeting.
3. All proposals, unless otherwise specified in the Constitution or Bylaws, shall require a simple majority of votes cast to be approved.
4. A quorum shall be defined as one-half of the minimum GSC membership plus one. Minimum GSC membership is defined as 1 representative from each department, for a total of 18. Therefore, quorum would be 10: half of 18, plus one.
5. If the council is unable to make quorum at a given meeting they may elect to, by a minimum two-thirds vote of the present members, grant attending non-member graduate students voting rights for that meeting, being sure to keep the composition of the new voting member population in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth in Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution.

III. Elections

1. All executive officers shall be elected at the last meeting of the spring term, or as positions become open, and shall take office in the next meeting following the election.
2. Any part-time or full-time graduate student at Dartmouth shall be eligible to be a GSC officer or committee representative, requiring a plurality of votes cast. No student may hold more than one office or serve as representative to more than one College committee, unless no other eligible person is willing to serve.
3. A quorum shall be required for any meeting at which an election takes place. The outcome of an election shall be determined by majority vote of the members present.
4. If an executive position becomes vacant, an election to fill the position may be held at the next General meeting of the GSC (General).
5. All candidates for executive officer positions or committee representatives shall be allowed to make a speech on their own behalf. Voting shall be by secret ballot.
6. Election of Departmental Representatives:
   1. A call for Departmental Representative Candidates will be held during the first full week of October, 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.
   2. Elections shall be open during the 3rd week of October, Monday through Friday, following the assembly of the candidate roster. The candidate(s) receiving the most votes will be awarded the position(s).
   3. The winning candidate(s) will, if possible, hold the position until next year's elections.
7. Dereliction of Duty
   1. If a Departmental Representative is absent from 2 General Meetings during the academic year (September-June), their position is automatically forfeit. The candidate receiving the next-highest number of votes in that Departmental Representative Election will be asked to officially represent the department in place of the previous representative.

IV. Use of Funds

1. The GSC must approve a yearly budget.
2. All funds must be approved by one of the following:
   1. Items or requests specifically approved in annual budget.
   2. Submit funding requests to the Finance Chair.
   3. If funding is requested for an event during a month in which the General Council does not meet, voting on the request by the General Council shall be carried out via e-mail pending majority approval of the Executive Officers.
   4. The GSC will not approve requests for funding retroactively.

---

The constitution and bylaws were originally drafted and adopted on October 17, 1998.

They were further amended on November 8, 2004, September 13, 2005, February 13, 2006, March 2008, and August 2008.