THE GRADUATE STUDENT SENATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AT AMHERST CONSTITUTION

In accordance with the provisions of the previous Senate Constitution, the present revised document was presented at a General Meeting of Graduate Students on February 18,1992, and was then adopted at a second such meeting on April 28, 1992.

ARTICLE I. Preamble
ARTICLE II. Powers
ARTICLE III. Representation
ARTICLE IV. Election of Senators
ARTICLE V. Election of Officers
ARTICLE VI. Meetings
ARTICLE VII. Committees
ARTICLE VIII. General meetings of Graduate Students
ARTICLE IX. Amending procedure
ARTICLE X. Ratification

ARTICLE I. Preamble.
Recognizing the necessity of organizing in order to attain the just, cooperative society which alone can be in the absolute interests of graduate students;and further recognizing the necessity for immediate and ongoing action to effectuate cooperation and participation among graduate students; the graduate students of this campus hereby establish a Graduate Student Senate for the University of Massachusetts (hereinafter 'The Senate").

ARTICLE II. Powers.
The Senate shall have the authority:
a. to speak and act in the name of the graduate students of the University in all appropriate contexts and arenas; which includes, but shall not be limited to, relations with University administrators, trustees, regents, staff, and faculty;

b. to organize and administer, and/or to join with other groups within and outside the University community in organizing and administering, projects and programs benefitting graduate students and building mutual aid and cooperation among graduate students and in the larger society;

c. to levy and administer the Graduate Student Senate Tax;

d. to enact, amend and repeal By-Laws for its internal functioning.

ARTICLE III. Representation.
a. The graduate students in every department, school or division offering a graduate degree, as recognized by authoritative University sources, shall have the right to elect at least one representative to the Senate.

b. The Senate may, from time to time, enact By-Laws recognizing other groups of graduate students as constituencies having the right to elect at least one representative to the Senate.

c. Representation shall be proportional to the number of graduate students in the department, school, division, or other constituency. The proportion of senators to graduate students shall be determined by the By-Laws.

ARTICLE IV. Election of Senators.
a. Any enrolled or fee-paying (including program fee, as long as the Senate tax is also paid) graduate student shall be qualified to vote in elections for senators and be elected to the Senate, and to vote in general meetings of graduate students.

b. Elections for senators shall be conducted within guidelines established by the Committee on Elections and as directed by the By-Laws. Such elections shall be in full compliance with Affirmative Action Policies of the Senate.

c. Senators shall take office in June or September of each year, following procedures specified by their constituent organizations. A term of office shall run for no more than one year, but a Senator may serve for more than one term if duly elected.

d. Special elections of senators shall be held to fill vacancies in a timely manner.

e. Any constituency represented in the Senate shall have the power to recall its representative(s) at any time, according to procedures specified by that organization.

f. In the event that a senator is recalled by said constituency, notice shall be given to the Senate within 48 hours.

ARTICLE V. Election of Officers.
a. The Executive Committee of the Senate shall consist of the President, the Vice President, the Treasurer, and the Executive Officer.

b. Elections for the offices of President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Executive Officer shall begin at a General Meeting of graduate students, followed by two days of open balloting. Elections for officers shall follow these guidelines:
-Nominations shall begin and end in April, and shall be open for two weeks. Nominations shall be open to all Senate tax-paying graduate students at the University (Amherst campus).
-Elections shall be held no less than one and no more than two weeks after the close of nominations in the Campus Center or Student Union building.
-There shall be at least one regularly scheduled Senate meeting between the close of elections and the end of the school year.

The Executive Committee shall serve from 1 June to 31 May of the following year. The President and the Treasurer shall serve as paid staff from 1 June to 31 August. Should either the Vice President or the Executive Officer perform substantive work during this period, appropriate compensation shall be made.
All members of the Executive Committee shall have full voting rights from 1 June to 31 May.

c. Officers of the Senate shall receive from the senate for the academic year a stipend equal to the median stipend received by full-time Teaching Assistants at the University for that academic year.

d. To ensure the effective transition of Executive Committee duties, each officer and officer- elect shall document that a comprehensive transition plan has been developed and agreed to by both the incumbent and the officer-elect. The plan will terminate when both parties have attested to the accomplishment of the goals set forth in the plan by way of their signatures.

e. Duties of the President and Treasurer shall be those usually assigned to those offices. Duties of the Vice President and Executive Officer shall be apportioned by the Executive Committee and the Senate as they see fit.

f. In the absence or disability of the President, the Vice President shall act for the President. In the event of the extended absence, disability, or resignation of any other officer, the Senate shall elect at the next regularly scheduled Senate Meeting an officer pro term who shall act as that officer. The By-Laws shall further specify procedures to be followed.

g. Each member of the Executive Committee shall be entitled to one vote as a member of the Senate during her/his term of office.

h. The Senate may prescribe in its By-Laws the method of election of officers; however, elections shall be held in full compliance with Affirmative Action Policies of the Senate as detailed in the By-Laws.

i. Officers may be recalled at any time by (i) a two-thirds vote of the Senate, or (ii) a simple majority vote of no confidence by the electorate at a general meeting of graduate students consisting of now fewer than 75 graduate students including Senators.

ARTICLE VI. Meetings.
a. The Senate shall hold regular meetings at such times as may be determined by the Senate, but shall meet at least four times during the Academic Year. Dates for regular meetings from June Commencement to September registration day shall be decided at the last meeting of the Spring semester.

b. Either the President or the Executive Committee of the Senate shall have the power to call special meetings of the Senate, and shall call special meetings on petition of ten senators.

c. An agenda for each regular or special meetings shall be available to every senator at least twenty-four hours in advance of the meeting. Every senator shall be contacted individually at the address or telephone number filed with the Senate at least twenty-four hours in advance of a special meeting.

d. A quorum for business on the published agenda for either a regular or a special meeting shall be those present. A quorum for business not on the agenda from September registration day to May Commencement shall be 50% of the total number of currently accredited senators on the Senate.

e. The Executive Committee shall have the power to act for the Senate between 1 June and 1 September of each year and to call special meetings during that period. The Senate shall have the power to limit the amount of funds which the Executive Committee may spend during the summer, the procedure for setting the limit shall be outlined in the By-Laws.

ARTICLE VII. Committees.
a. The Senate shall have the power to establish and/or appoint such standing and ad hoc advisory committees to the Senate as are deemed necessary for the successful conduct of its business. The composition, powers and function of each standing committee shall be clearly set out in the By-Laws. In general:
i. committees shall function collectively according to principles of maximum participation of the membership;
ii. committees shall keep accurate written minutes of their meetings and shall forward them promptly to the Senate for review;
iii. the Executive Committee shall be responsible for the initial organizing of standing committees no later than the fifteenth of October of each year;
iv. committees shall be responsible for electing their own chairpersons, subject to formal ratification by the Senate.

b. The President or her/his designee shall appoint representatives to committees of other groups or organizations, or such joint boards as shall have been established with other groups or organizations according to the Senate's entitlement. All such appointments shall be subject to formal ratification by the Senate. The President and/or the Executive Committee shall be able to recall all such appointees to the approval of the Senate. (In all cases where the President is listed as having such right, it shall be understood that the decision may be overturned by the other three members of the Executive Committee.) Appointees shall be bound by standing or otherwise expressed policies of the Senate at all times.

c. The Senate shall have the right to recall its representatives on any Senate (standing or ad-hoc) or external committee or board at any time.

d. AH appointees shall be selected in full compliance with Affirmative Action Policies of the Senate, as detailed in the By-Laws.

ARTICLE VIII. General meetings of Graduate Students.
a. The Executive Committee and/or the Senate shall have the power to call a general meeting of graduate students. The Executive Committee shall call such a meeting on the petition of a number of graduate students as stipulated in the By-Laws. However, such a meeting shall be called at least once each academic year.

b. Any action of the Senate may be rescinded by a majority vote of those present and voting at a general meeting of graduate students; such a body consisting of no less than 75 graduate students, including senators.
Rules for voting at such a meeting shall be outlined in the By-Laws.

c. A call shall be issued for a general meeting of graduate students at least one full week in advance of the meeting, and shall include a specified provisional agenda. The call shall receive wide-ranging advertisement. Further notification, including a final agenda, shall be posted in each constituency at least three days in advance of the meeting. A motion for recall of an officer under Article VI (g) must appear on both provisional and final agendas.

d. One general meeting of graduate students to be held in the spring of each year, as specified in Article V (b), shall include in its agenda the election of Senate officers.

e. All senators shall be required to attend said electoral meeting. In the event that a senator cannot attend said senator shall send an alternate as outlined in the By-Laws.

ARTICLE IX. Amending procedure.
This constitution may be amended by a majority vote of those present and voting at any general meeting of graduate students, provided that the proposed amendment(s) has/have been presented at a previous general meeting of graduate students.

ARTICLE X. Ratification.
This amended Constitution shall be ratified when approved by a majority of those present and voting at a general meeting of graduate students, provided that it shall have been presented at a previous general meeting of graduate students, and shall become effective as of that date.