Constitution of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science Graduate Students Association
Amended April 9, 2007; Effective May 1, 2007.
Ratified October 25, 2004; Effective November 1, 2004.
Article I. Name
This organization shall be known as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Graduate Students Association
(MIT EECS GSA) and it shall serve the graduate students of the MIT EECS
department.
Article II. Purpose
The purpose of the EECS GSA shall include the following items:
- To promote social, professional and academic development of MIT EECS
graduate students.
- To foster communication and interaction among graduate students and
between graduate students and the rest of the department.
- To encourage a sense of common identity among graduate students within
the department.
- To facilitate outreach by the EECS Graduate Student Body to the community
at large.
Article III. Membership
Section III-1. Eligibility
Only and all those students who are enrolled in a graduate degree
program that requires admission by the MIT EECS department
shall be considered members of the EECS Graduate Student Body.
The EECS Master of Engineering program shall be considered one such
graduate program, but this statement shall not
be construed to exclude other graduate degree programs offered by MIT EECS.
All students of the EECS Graduate Student Body are members of this Association
(henceforth refered to as "Members").
Any person who has been admitted to a graduate degree program that requires
admission by the MIT EECS department, but who has not yet
enrolled in that program, and any alumnus or alumna of such programs,
shall be a Member
immediately upon expressing in writing such a desire to a member of the
Executive Committee.
Section III-2. Minimum Membership
This Association shall consist at all times of at least five MIT students
and be over 50% MIT students.
Section III-3. Nondiscrimination
This organization shall not discriminate based on any characteristic listed in
MIT's Nondiscrimination Statement.
Section III-4. Membership Dues
Members shall not be required to pay any dues to the Association.
Article IV. Structure and Organization
Section IV-1. Officers
There shall be at least two Officer positions within the EECS GSA:
at least one President, one Treasurer, and any other Officer
positions to be determined by the By-laws.
No person may hold the same Officer position, Acting or otherwise,
for more than two and a half years.
Section IV-2. Committees
There shall be Committees that handle specific affairs of the EECS GSA.
The Executive Committee is the only Committee created by this
Constitution; it is the only Constitutional Committee.
Standing Committees are defined in the By-laws.
Any Member can join any Standing Committee.
Ad Hoc Committees shall be created as needed by
passing legislation at a General Body Meeting as described in Section VII-3.
All Committees shall be chaired by one or more Members.
The Executive Committee shall be the supreme executive organ of the
GSA. The Executive Committee must include the Officers.
The other members of the Executive Committee shall be specified in the By-laws
and legislation.
Section IV-3. Holding Multiple Positions
No individual may hold more than one position within the EECS
Graduate Students Association, Acting or otherwise, at any given time.
Article V. Voting Procedures
Section V-1. Purposes of Voting
Official votes shall be used for the following four distinct purposes:
- Electing or ratifying the appointment of Members of the Association,
as described in Article VI.
- Passing any sort of official legislation as described in Section VII-3.
- Amending the By-laws to this Constitution, as described in Article IX.
- Amending this Constitution, as described in Article IX.
Section V-2. Definition of Voting Thresholds
Except when otherwise stated, the calculation of all voting thresholds in this
Constitution, the By-laws and legislation shall not include abstentions.
Article VI. Elections, Appointments and Terms of Office
Section VI-1. General Purpose
The following election, appointment and office removal procedures
act to complement the voting procedures outlined in Article V.
The process used to manage and to determine the outcome of an election
shall be specified in the By-laws.
Section VI-2. Officers
The Officers shall be elected by the Members of the EECS GSA for terms
lasting no longer than 400 days. The terms for all Officers shall begin
and end at the same time.
Section VI-3. Committee Chairs
Committee Chairs shall be elected by some combination of the Members of the
EECS GSA, Officers, and members of their respective Committee for terms
lasting no longer than 400 days.
Section VI-4. Vacancies and Acting Roles
A position in the Association may be occupied by a Member in an
Acting role to fill in a vacancy. Acting holders of positions shall
exercise all the
rights, powers and responsibilities of the position, except as
specified in this Constitution. The By-laws shall determine
how vacancies are created, how Acting office holders are installed
and how Acting office holders are elevated to conventional office holders
or removed from office.
Section VI-5. Removal of Association Members from Office
Any third of the Executive Committee shall have the ability to
impeach an Officer or Committee Chair, and any three members of a
Committee shall have the ability to impeach the Chair of that Committee.
Removal of any of these individuals from office shall require the approval
of two-thirds of the Executive Committee followed by the approval of
two-thirds of the Members voting at the next General Body Meeting such that
quorum is met.
Article VII. Meetings
Section VII-1. General Body Meetings
The President or Co-Presidents
shall call and preside over regular General Body Meetings,
which shall be open to all Members.
Beginning with the Spring 2005 term, at least two such meetings per semester
must be held. Quorum shall be met if a majority of the Executive Committee
and at least ten Members who are not part of the Executive Committee
are present at the meeting.
Section VII-2. Special Meetings
Special meetings of the Association may be called to consider a special item
or items of business, by the President or Co-Presidents,
by any third of the
Executive Committee, or by petition of any twenty Members.
Section VII-3. Legislation
The Association may pass legislation during a General Body Meeting through a
majority vote of those Members voting at the meeting. Legislation shall refer
to any statement of purpose, support or action by the Association.
Legislation can only be passed if quorum is met for the meeting.
Article VIII. Open Records
Records and documents of the EECS Graduate Students Association shall be open
to inspection by any MIT graduate student, subject to Institute policy.
Article IX. Amendments
Section IX-1. Extraordinary Constitutional and By-laws Amendments
It is the goals of this Association eventually to represent the EECS Graduate
Student Body and to seek recognition as the Body's official student group from
the MIT EECS department and the MIT Graduate Student Council. The
realization of those goals shall require amendments to this Constitution
as well as consequential amendments to the By-laws.
Any amendment or set of amendments to this Constitution and the By-laws
that accomplishes these goals shall require the approval of
two-thirds of all the members of the Executive Committee followed by the
approval of a majority of the entire EECS Graduate Student Body. Upon
ratification of such an amendment, the new
status of the GSA
shall be announced within 30 days to the EECS Department, the EECS Graduate
Student Body, and the Graduate Student Council.
Section IX-2. Ordinary Constitutional Amendments
Amendments to this Constitution aside from those defined in Section IX-1
may shall be proposed and ratified
in the following manner. An amendment shall be considered proposed
if it is either approved by a majority of the entire Executive
Committee or a written petition by twenty members of the EECS Graduate Student
Body is presented to the Executive Committee. Proposed amendments must be
conspicuously posted for a period of at least two weeks before being voted upon
at a General Body Meeting where at least twenty Members are present.
The text of a proposed amendment, or instructions on where it can be
easily found, must be included in any announcement of a General
Body Meeting that intends to vote on them if this announcement is made within
two weeks of the Meeting.
The approval of two-thirds of those Members voting
at this meeting shall be required for the ratification of the proposed
amendment. A proposed amendment shall expire one year after its date of
proposal if it is not ratified within that period.
Section IX-3. Ordinary By-laws Amendments
Amendments to the By-laws aside from those defined in Section IX-1
shall require the approval of
two-thirds of the Executive Committee followed by the approval of
a General Body Meeting through legislation. Such a General Body Meeting
must pass the relevant legislation within six months of approval by the
Executive Committee.
Article X. Relationship with the ASA and the GSC
Section X-1. ASA God Clause
The MIT EECS Graduate Student Association agrees to abide by the rules
and regulations of the
MIT Association of Student Activities and its executive board. This
Constitution, amendments to it, and the By-laws of this organization
shall be subject to review by the ASA Executive Board to ensure that
they are in accordance with the aforementioned rules and regulations.
Section X-2. GSC Governance Clause
The MIT EECS Graduate Students Association agrees to abide by the rules
and regulations of the MIT Graduate Student Council and its executive board.
Article XI. Ratification
This Constitution and the accompanying By-laws shall be ratified upon the
the approval of five members of the EECS Graduate Student Body and shall go
into effect at noon Eastern Standard Time on November 1, 2004.
The Members who are listed as
holding positions in the GSA on the GSA's website at
http://eecs-gsa.mit.edu/ at that time
shall then officially take office for terms of office that end at
noon Eastern Daylight Time on May 1, 2005.