Graduate Student Association
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GSA Constitution
(Prepared November, 1986,
Finalized March 5, 1987 - Revised September 13, 1994, November 12, 1998, April 6, 2000)
Article I - Name
The
name of this organization shall be The New York Medical College Graduate School
of Basic Medical Sciences Graduate Student Association (BMS-GSA).
Article II - Purpose
1.
To
provide a means of communication between individual graduate students and a
forum for the discussion of mutual problems.
2. To
provide an instrument through which graduate students can express to the
administration their reactions to policies and conditions of the College.
3. To
provide a vehicle through which graduate students can participate in the
formation of the policies of the College.
4. To
provide information regarding services or assistance to graduate students,
where possible, that would not otherwise be provided by the College.
Article III - BMS-GSA
Membership
- Membership with voting privileges is established upon payment of a student activity fee, per semester. The amount of said fee shall be determined or re-evaluated each semester at a general membership meeting by a majority vote of those present. If a change in the fee schedule is recommended, the Dean of the Graduate School and the Board of Trustees Finance Committee must approve of such a change. If no change is requested, the previous semester's established fee will remain effective unless re-evaluated and voted on accordingly.
Each
paid member shall have one vote at all general membership meetings.
Article IV - Officers,
Representatives, Meetings, and Election Procedures
Section 1. Departmental Representatives
There shall be two (2) representatives for each of the
Basic Medical Sciences' Graduate School departments: Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, Cell Biology and Anatomy, Experimental Pathology, Microbiology and
Immunology, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Basic Medical Sciences. Three (3) of these representative positions
shall be available for the evening Masters degree program division. One representative from each department must
attend all meetings.
Section 2. Officers
Officers shall be chosen from among the matriculated
student population and shall serve as President, Vice President/Research Forum,
Vice President/Social Events, Treasurer and Secretary. Their term should not be less than one
semester nor exceed one year (two consecutive semesters) unless re-elected.
Section 3.Meetings
1. General membership meetings for all BMS graduate students must be called at least once each semester.
2. Upon
written petition by any member of the Association to the Representatives, a
general membership meeting shall be called within two (2) weeks.
3. Announcements
for all meetings shall be distributed to department representatives and be
posted on the bulletin board outside the Graduate Student Office in the BSB
Building by the secretary.
4. Departmental
representatives and Officers have the responsibility to meet monthly and
discuss topics for consideration by the general membership. This group will be hence named The Executive
Council of the Graduate Student Association.
At each meeting, quorum is at least one representative from each
department or an attendance of seven representatives. At such meetings, each member has one vote on any motion. A plurality wins.
Section 4. Term of Office and Elections of
Representatives
1. Selection
of two (2) departmental representatives shall be made by the graduate students
of the respective departments once a year, or as needed should the present
representative step down.
2. If
greater than two people wish to be representatives for a particular department,
nominations for representatives will be taken and voted on at the beginning of the
academic year. The choice of
representative will be determined by a majority of votes cast. This shall be presided over by the previous
year's representatives.
3. Any
representative stepping down from duty must notify the other departmental
representatives.
Section 5. Term of Office and Elections of Officers
1. Nominations
for the positions of all officers shall be made by a member of the graduate
school, at an open general meeting, at the end of the spring term for the
following academic year. No absentee
nominations are accepted. This meeting
will be presided over by the current year's officers.
2. Election
of Officers shall be held two weeks after nomination at a general meeting by
paper ballot distributed to all graduate students. This shall be run by the current year's officers.
3. Any
officer stepping down from duty must notify the other officers.
Article V - Duties of
Officers and Departmental Representatives
1.
President
It shall be the duty of the President to call and
preside over all meetings and elections, to appoint representatives to faculty
and administrative standing committees, to attend Graduate Faculty Council
meetings, to attend the meeting of the Board of Trustees, to meet, when
necessary, with the Dean, faculty and administration, and to report all
business at GSA meetings.
2.
Vice President/Research
Forum
It shall be the duty of the Vice President/Research
Forum to organize and oversee the organization of the annual Graduate Student
Research Forum, including all aspects of public relations.
3.
Vice President/Social Events
It shall be the duty of the Vice President to
organize and oversee all social activities regarding the GSA, including all
matters of public relations with exception to the forum. It shall also be the
duty of the Vice President to oversee an annual GSA community service project.
4.
Treasurer
It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to oversee the
finances of the GSA including all matters of fundraising concerning, but not
limited to, the Annual Research Forum.
5.
Secretary
It shall be the duty of the Secretary to make a
written record of the business addressed at all general and executive committee
meetings and to distribute such information to the departmental
representatives. The secretary is also
responsible for the production (one/semester) and distribution of the GSA
newsletter (Out of Touch) as well as keeping the GSA WebPage up to date.
6.
Representatives
Departmental
It shall be the duty of the Departmental
Representatives to attend all meetings and elections, or ensure that one
representative from their respective department is at all meetings. Representatives are responsible for
providing departmental representatives for the following year. The representative shall communicate all GSA
matters to the graduate students in their respective departments.
Library
It shall be the duty of the Library Representative
to meet with the library staff and attend meetings, at the request of the
library staff, to discuss library
issues concerning the graduate students. The representative shall communicate
all matters to the GSA. This representative is also responsible for keeping all
GSA materials on reserve in the library current and in order (e.g. old exams,
and course evaluations). This representative, with the approval of the Dean,
will serve on the Library and Academic Service Committee.
International Student Representative
It shall be the duty of the International Student Representative to meet with the Department of International Students and Scholars on issues concerning our international student population. It shall also be the duty of the representative to hold one annual meeting of the international students to discuss the concerns of these students. The representative shall communicate all matters to the GSA.
The Library and International Student representatives can be, but are not limited to, an Officer or Departmental Representative. The representative must be a matriculated student.
Article VI - Non-member
Representation
Faculty and administration of New York Medical
College's Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences may be invited to attend
general membership meetings. None
shall, however, have a vote but may speak to the membership after recognition
from the floor by any of the departmental representatives.
Article VII - Separation of
Basic Medical Sciences from Health Sciences Graduate Student Association
The organization, The New York Medical College
Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences Graduate Student Association (BMS-GSA),
is a separate organization from that of the Graduate School of Health Sciences
Student Association (GSHS-GSA), the Student Senate serving the medical
students, or any other student association at New York Medical College.
Article VIII - Amendments to
the Constitution
1. All
proposed amendments to the Constitution must be sponsored by a minimum of three
(3) members of the Association and submitted in written form to one of the six
departmental representatives.
2. It
shall be the duty of the departmental representatives to distribute copies of
the proposed amendment(s) without change to each of the other departmental
representatives for their distribution to the general membership.
3. Two
(2) weeks after submission, the representatives shall call for a general
membership meeting at which time the amendment(s) shall be considered.
4. Ratification
of amendment(s) shall occur by open vote and by final majority approval by the
six departmental representatives.
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