DSC Constitution
From cunydsc.org
CONSTITUTION OF THE DOCTORAL AND GRADUATE STUDENTS ORGANIZATION
- Approved unanimously by the Doctoral Students' Council on February 26. 1987
- Updated May 11th 2007
Article 1. NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Doctoral and Graduate Students' Organization (DSO). The name of the elected body which represents the DSO shall be the Doctoral and Graduate Students' Council (DSC).
Article II. DSO MEMBERSHIP
All graduate students in the C.U.N.Y. whose student activity fee is paid to the Graduate Center (GSUC) shall be members of the Doctoral and Graduate Students' Organization.
Article III. PURPOSES
- A) To promote an atmosphere of community and sociability among graduate students at CUNY.
- B) To promote the democratization of the City University of New York in order to enable its students, faculty, and employees to participate in the important social, political, and economic decisions that affect the quality of their lives and of their community.
- C) To serve as the College Association of The Graduate School of the City University of New York.
- D) To represent the interests of all graduate students registered at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
- E) To seek reciprocal channels of communication among graduate students, undergraduates, faculty, staff, and the administration of the City University.
- F) To secure voting participation in the decision making organs of the University Graduate Division.
- G) To organize and fund, via student activity fee monies, Graduate School student activities and services such as colloquia, seminars, and other Graduate School functions of general professional, cultural and social interest to its members, as deemed desirable by the Doctoral and Graduate Students' Organization.
Article IV. DOCTORAL AND GRADUATE STUDENTS' COUNCIL (DSC)
Section 1.0 Functions of the DSC
- A) To establish policy for the DSO.
- B) To be responsible for all decisions implemented in the name of the DSO.
- C) To maintain reciprocal channels of communication with the student body.
- D) To establish any committees it deems necessary for the discharge of its responsibilities.
- E) To ratify DSO budget allocations.
- F) To embody its own procedures in bylaws available for inspection by any member of the DSO.
Section 2.0 DSC Membership
A) Departmental Representatives
The students of each doctoral and each masters program shall elect representatives to the DSC for each academic year. For each doctoral and each masters program not affiliated with or part of a doctoral program there shall be:
- 1) one representative for the first one hundred (100) students of part thereof;
- 2) one (1) representative for each additional one hundred (100) students or part thereof.
B) Department Alternate Representatives
Each department gets one (1) alternate representative.
C) At Large Representatives
The students of the DSO as a whole shall elect representatives to the DSC for each academic year. For each two hundred (200) members of the DSO, or part thereof, there shall be one (1) at large representative elected from the membership as a whole.
Section 2.1 Nomination of Representatives
Nominations for both the At large and the Departmental Representatives shall open on the first business day of February. Any DSO member can nominate any other DSO member for the At Large representative seats, including him or herself. Each DSO member can only make nominations for the Departmental Representative seat(s) of the departmental program in which he or she is a student, and can nominate, in this case, only those DSO members who are within the same departmental program, including him or herself. If an individual is nominated for both an At Large seat and a Departmental seat on the DSC, and they accept both nominations, their name shall appear on both ballots. All nominations shall be submitted in writing. The nomination period shall be closed as of midnight on the first business day of March. A nomination form and letter explaining the nomination procedure shall be sent to every DSO member at the beginning of the nomination period.
Section 2.2 Election of Representatives
The election for the Representatives of the DSC shall be conducted by mail. Ballots shall be mailed to the members of the DSO so as to be postmarked by the first business day of April. The election period shall be closed as of midnight on the first business day of May. Ballots postmarked after this time shall be considered invalidated. [see bylaw #4 for elections]
A) Voting
Each member of the DSO shall be allowed one vote for each available seat in his or her department. Also, each member of the DSO shall be allowed to vote for a number of At large representatives; the number of votes which each DSO member may cast for At large representative seats shall be as close as is possible to 25% of the total number of At large representative seats available during the election concerned without exceeding 25% of that number.
B) Counting the ballots
The ballots for the Departmental Representative seats shall be counted first. Departments shall have as their representatives those nominees who received the most number of votes from that department's members, with the number of that department's allowed representatives to be taken from the top of the list of nominees arranged in order of received votes. Each member of the DSO who has won a seat as a Departmental Representative to the DSC in this election shall not be eligible for a seat as an At large representative to the DSC and shall be removed from the list of At Large nominees. The At Large representatives shall be those nominees, up to the number of allowed At Large representatives, taken from the top of this revised list arranged in order of received votes. If an individual is nominated for both an At Large seat and a Departmental seat the votes obtained for either one of these seats shall not count towards the other seat under any circumstances. Tied votes in department and At large elections for DSC representatives shall be decided by the Steering Committee who will determine the winner by first asking the tied candidates to decide among themselves who shall serve. Lacking consensus among the candidates or if the candidates are unable to be contacted, the Steering Committee shall draw names in a chance lottery.
C) Alternate representatives
The person receiving the next to highest vote in a departmental election after the departmental representatives have been identified shall be the "alternate" department representative, having full representative capacity should a normal department representative be unable to attend a DSC function. Alternates shall receive all standard DSC mailings and are encouraged to attend all DSC meetings. If one of her/his department representatives or proxies are not present, she/he may vote. They may participate on all DSC committees with the exception of the Steering Committee and Co-Chairs. Concerning a tied election among alternate candidates or vacancy of office, the Steering committee shall designate the alternates according to the same procedure for primary department representatives.
Section 2.3 Tenure
The tenure of the office of the members of the DSC shall be one (1) year, commencing seven (7) days after spring commencement.
Section 2.4 Replacement Of Representatives due to Vacancy of Office
Whenever a seat on the DSC is vacated due to reasons other than the natural end of a term, the representative shall be replaced by following these procedures. The DSC shall fill the vacant seat within 30 calendar days of the occurrence of the vacancy. The DSC shall attempt these procedures in the listed order.
- A) The DSC member who received the next highest number of votes in the preceding elections for the vacant seat shall be asked to serve out the remainder of the term. This method shall be carried out until a member accepts the position or until the list is exhausted.
- B) In the case of Departmental Representatives, the DSC Steering Committee shall poll members of the affected department and based upon these findings select a member from that department.
- C) In the case of exhaustion of the list of At large nominees the Steering Committee shall appoint a representative.
- D) This selection shall be reported to the DSC at the next regular meeting of the body. It shall be ratified by a majority vote of a simple quorum.
Section 2.5 Proxies
A representative may choose someone, other than another representative, to take their place at any type of DSC meeting. This person who takes the place of the representative is called a proxy.
A) Proxies:
- 1) count toward quorum;
- 2) have all the powers and duties of a representative while at the
DSC meeting specified in the written authorization (see below);
- 3) can only replace one representative at a time.
B) A proxy is only valid when:
- 1) a member of the DSO;
- 2) holding a written authorization which contains:
- a) the date the proxy will replace the representative (an authorization is only valid for one meeting);
- b) the name and signature of the representative;
- c) the name and signature of the proxy;
- 3) the written authorization has been submitted to a member of the Executive Committee no later than the end of the meeting for which the proxy is serving.
Section 3.0 Duties of the Representatives
A) Elect Officers
Those members-elect constituted as a Doctoral and Graduate Students' Council Elect (DSCE) shall elect the Executive Committee and the Steering Committee for the following year within four (4) weeks of their own election.
B) Further the interests of the students.
It is the duty of the representatives to discover and further the interests of CUNY graduate students. To this end they shall:
- 1) solicit the opinions of their constituency on student matters;
- 2) inform their constituency of significant events. dates and deadlines announced by and actions taken by the DSC; to this end, the Executive Committee shall make available to all members of the DSC, within one week of any DSC meeting, an unofficial copy of the minutes for that meeting. It is specifically recommended that these unofficial minutes be posted in a public location within each department by that department's representative;
- 3) attend Council meetings. or if unable to attend they shall send a proxy. If written notice of inability to attend meetings is not given in advance of the meeting to any member of the Executive Committee for two consecutive meetings then the representative may be removed by a majority vote of the Steering Committee.
- 4) attend meetings of their constituents to discuss the expenditure of DSO funds allocated to programs;
- 5) responsibly obtain and disburse any funds allocated to the programs during the semester for which the funds will be allocated. Any unspent program allocations must be documented by the program representative each semester. Programs may not obtain financial allocations for past semesters.
Section 4.0 Election of Officers
The Doctoral and Graduate Students' Council Elect shall elect from its membership three (3) Co-Chairpersons who will comprise the Executive Committee, and six (6) officers who, along with the members of the Executive Committee, will constitute the Steering Committee. In all of the above cases the person(s) receiving the most votes shall be the duly elected officer(s).
- A) The Co-Chairpersons shall be nominated and elected for the particular office in the following order.
- 1) Officer in Charge of Student Affairs
- 2) Officer in Charge of Communications
- 3) Officer in Charge of Business Management
- B) Following the election of the Executive Committee nominations for the six Steering Committee positions will be opened. Following the nominations there will be an election for the six (6) Steering Committee positions. Each representative present will vote for no more than (6) officers. The six nominees who receive the most votes will serve on, the Steering Committee.
- C) Tenure and Vacancies of Offices.
The tenure of officeholders shall be one (1) year, commencing seven days after spring commencement. Vacancies shall be filled by the DSC within one (1) month.
Section 5.0 The Executive Committee
- A) The Executive Committee makes decisions on a day-to-day basis for the DSC. as per the policies established by the Steering Committee and the DSC. and subject to review by these bodies.
- B) The Executive Committee is responsible to execute all decisions made by the DSC. All such action is subject to review by the Steering Committee and the Council.
- C) The Executive Committee shall consist of three (3) officers each bearing the title of Co-Chairperson. Each Co-Chairperson shall be primarily responsible for the position for which he or she is elected; it is expected that at times one position will require more attention than another, therefore, this Article shall not be construed to mean that the positions are exclusive domains, but rather a division of labor in a cooperative effort.
- D) The duties of the Co-Chairpersons shall minimally be the following:
- 1) Officer in Charge of Student Affairs shall be responsible to:
- a) act as liaison between the DSC and chartered organizations, and to act in a supervisory capacity vis a vis these organizations to ensure that they are aware of and do not violate any of the relevant DSC by-laws;
- b) oversee cultural affairs so as to ensure that all such activities conform to the relevant DSC by-laws;
- c) act as official liaison between the DSC Newspaper and the DSC;
- d) prepare for and convene DSC meetings including the monthly meetings of the DSC and any special meetings that he or she deems necessary;
- e) prepare agendas for all meetings of the DSC and the Steering Committee;
- f) act as default Chair at DSC meetings if the Steering Committee, prior to the meeting, does not appoint a Steering Committee member to Chair the meeting;
- g) serve as a non-voting member, ex-officio, of all other committees of the DSC.
- 2) Officer in Charge of Communication shall be responsible to:
- a) interface with administration, faculty, and staff;
- b) act as official spokesperson of the DSC;
- c) report to the Council on the activities of all committees of the Doctoral and Graduate Students' Organization and relevant activities of the Board of Higher Education (B.H.E.), Graduate Council, Council of E.O.'s, President's Cabinet and University Student Senate (U.S.S.);
- d) serve as a voting member of the Graduate Council:
- e) act as default Chair at DSC meetings in the absence of the Officer in Charge of Student Affairs if, prior to the meeting, the Steering Committee has not appointed a Steering Committee member to Chair the meeting.
- f) maintain all correspondence. including all mailings concerning the DSO, and any non-financial records of the DSO, including all reports of the various committees of the DSO. These records are to be kept up to date at all times and available for presentation within 48 hours to the Council and/or Steering Committee when requested;
- g) record and keep the minutes of the DSC and/or the Steering Committee meetings if the Steering Committee does not select a Steering Committee member to do so for any meeting as per Section 6.1.C of this Constitution.
- 3) Officer in Charge of Business management shall be responsible to:
- a) maintain the treasury which shall be understood to include responsibility for
- i) collecting and depositing all monies into the Treasury and
- ii) processing the disbursement of all funds within two weeks upon receipt of a valid request;
- b) manage the DSC office;
- c) supervise the office staff;
- d) keep and prepare all financial records of. the Doctoral and Graduate Students' Organization. These records shall be kept up to date at all times and available for presentation within 48 hours to the DSC and/or Steering Committee when requested;
- e) prepare a preliminary proposal for the yearly budget for consideration by the executive and steering committees;
- f) act as default Chair at DSC meetings in the absence of both the Officer in Charge of Student Affairs and the Officer in Charge of Communication if, prior to the meeting, the Steering Committee has not appointed a Steering Committee member to Chair the meeting.
- a) maintain the treasury which shall be understood to include responsibility for
- 1) Officer in Charge of Student Affairs shall be responsible to:
- E) If none of the Co-chairs are able to attend, and the Steering Committee has not prior to that meeting selected a Steering Committee member to Chair the meeting, then the DSC as a body shall have the option of either choosing a chair for that meeting from among the Steering Committee members present, or canceling the meeting.
- F) Executive committee as a whole shall be jointly responsible to
- 1) make interim appointments in the event of vacancies in the office of any of the other co-chairs or steering committee members, which appointment shall lapse at the next scheduled DSC meeting;
- 2) consult and seek the advice of the Steering Committee on the Chairpersons' duties;
- 3) establish whatever committees are deemed necessary to discharge its responsibilities.
- G) Although the co-chairs making up the executive committee are intended to act in a balanced and cooperative manner as specified in section 5.0.C above it is recognized that unusual circumstances may arise which would make a more rigidly hierarchical organization preferable. To that end the DSC retains the option to establish clearly delineated duties and functions for each of the co-chairs in such hierarchical organization as the DSC shall consider necessary. This option may only be invoked
- 1) at a meeting of the DSC with a quorum attending;
- 2) quorum must be counted before the option is invoked;
- 3) and the motion to invoke this option shall only be open for discussion if moved by at least three (3) members of the DSC, only one of whom may be a member of the Steering or Executive committees.
- H) Both the option itself and any reorganization decided upon by discussion of the general DSC membership must pass by a vote of at least three fifths (60%) of those present after quorum count, and any such reorganization made under this option shall expire seven days after the spring commencement following the reorganization.
Section 6.0 Steering Committee
The Steering Committee shall be composed of the members of the Executive Committee and six (6) other officers. No more than two members of the Steering Committee shall be from the same department. A quorum shall consist of at least two thirds (2/3) of the officers of the committee including at least one Executive Committee member. Decisions shall be made by majority vote.
- A) The Steering Committee makes decisions for the DSO on a weekly basis, as per the general policies set by the DSC, and subject to DSC review.
- B) The Steering committee sets policy when timely action on setting such policy is required before the next meeting of the DSC. Such emergency policy should be consistent with established DSC policy, and is subject to review at subsequent Council meetings.
- C) The Steering Committee shall be chaired on a rotating basis with no one member acting as chair for two consecutive meetings, unless agreeable to a majority of those present.
Section 6.1 Duties of the Steering Committee
- A) To meet at least once a month and hold other meetings at the request of at least three (3) of its members.
- B) To hear the reports of the other committees of the Council and make decisions and take actions in accordance with the purposes of the Doctoral and Graduate Students' Organization, on its own initiative, making public such actions through the Co-Chairperson in charge of Communication;
- C) To select one of its own members to Chair the monthly DSC meetings and to select someone to record and keep minutes for the Steering Committee meetings and the DSC meetings;
- D) To call special meetings of the DSC by a majority vote of its members;
- E) To review the structure and operations of the DSO and make recommendations to the DSC;
- F) To advise the Dean of Graduate Studies, the President of the Graduate School, and the Chancellor on all matters concerning graduate students at the City University;
- G) On the initiative of any of its members, to review general and departmental policies on student discipline and procedures for implementing these policies, and to establish internal Council disciplinary policy and procedure;
- H) To establish any subcommittee it deems necessary;
- I) To prepare the yearly DSO budget in consultation with the appropriate standing committees, and based on the preliminary budget proposal submitted by the Co-Chair in Charge of Business Management. as per section 5.0.D.3.e above;
- J) To conduct the election of representatives from each graduate program to the Council, and to serve as the Graduate School Student Elections Review Committee.
- K) To select members of the DSO for the standing committees of the DSC subject to approval by the DSC;
- L) To make interim appointments chosen from among all members of the DSO in case of vacancies which may occur on any other committee;
- M) To invite suggestions from the members of the DSO concerning all nominations within its purview;
- N) To call for a mail vote of the DSC and/or the DSO upon a specific motion. or motions:
- O) To convene the meeting of the new DSC Elect for election of its officers and Steering Committee.
Section 7.0 Recall
All officers and representatives Of the Doctoral Students' Council are Subject to recall by their constituency. The Executive Committee members and the Steering Committee members of the DSC are recallable as officeholders on an individual basis by a two thirds (2/3) vote of the Council at a meeting at which a one third (1/3) quorum is present. A recall motion for a particular office shall not be voted upon until seconded by at least five DSC members from the floor. In the event that a recall vote fails to win the necessary votes to dislodge an officeholder from his/her position. another recall motion for this particular officeholder cannot be entertained until the next general meeting. A representative cannot move to recall an officer unless he/she notifies that officer in writing by certified mail at least ten business days in advance of the meeting at which the motion will be entertained. The mailing address of all DSC officeholders shall be made available to all DSO members upon request.
Section 8.0 Meetings
The Council shall hold General and may hold special meetings.
Section 8.1 General Meetings
The DSC shall hold meetings once per month each academic year except January. Notification of place, date, time and an agenda of these meetings shall be sent by mail to all members so as to be postmarked at least two weeks prior to the meeting.
Section 8.2 Special Meetings
- A) Special meetings of the DSC may be called by a unanimous Vote Of the Executive Committee, by majority vote of the Steering Committee, or by written petition presented to the Officer in Charge of Student Affairs and signed by at least one tenth (1/10) of the members of the Council. The Co-Chair in Charge of Student Affairs shall convene the petitioned meeting within two (2) weeks of the receipt of said petition. Notification of place, date and time of these meetings shall be sent by mail to all DSC members so as to be post-marked at least one week prior to the meeting.
- B) It is the right of the members of the DSO as a whole to call a special meeting or their elected representatives on any issue. A meeting of the Steering Committee will be held within 15 academic days upon submission of a written petition presented to one of the Chairs of the DSC or one of the members of the Steering Committee, stating the issue to be discussed, and with the valid signatures of 40 members of the DSO.
Section 8.3 Quorum
At a general or special meeting of the DSC a quorum shall consist of 25% of the representatives, except for elections, recall, amendment of the Constitution, and DSC budget approval where a quorum shall consist of one third (1/3). In the absence of a quorum, business may be conducted on an emergency basis by the representatives present and voting. All such action is subject to review at a general meeting with a quorum present. The approval of the minutes of such a meeting shall constitute acceptance of all such business as was conducted.
Section 9.0 Referendum
It is the right of the members of the DSO to call a referendum vote on any issue or legislation which the members deem appropriate. An issue will be placed on the next regular DSO election ballot if a petition bearing the valid signatures of five percent (5%) of the membership of the DSO is submitted to the Steering or Executive Committee on or before March 1st. If the members of the DSO deem it necessary. a special referendum ballot will be mailed out to all DSO members within 20 academic days of any petition calling both for a referendum and for an immediate vote. Such a request for an immediate vote must be clearly specified in the required petition. Passage of such a referendum will require a majority affirmative vote with not less than ten percent (10%) of the members of the DSO voting within twenty (20) business days of the mailing.
Article V. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY
Section 1.0 Authorization
By deposit of the official minutes of any and all DSC budget meetings by the DSC Co-Chairperson in Charge of Business Management with the Business Office of GSUC, the Business Office of the GSUC shall be authorized to make payments for allocations.
Section 2.0 Student Activity Fee
It is the right of the members of the DSO to request changes in the level of the student activity fee. A majority vote of the DSC can call for a referendum to change the level of the fee, or such a change can be initiated by a petition requesting a referendum as per Article IV, Section 9.0. above. Passage of such a referendum will require a majority vote and a quorum of not less than 10% (ten percent) of the members of the DSO within twenty (20) business days of the mailing.
Section 3.0 Budgeting
The fiscal year of the DSO shall run from 1st July to 30th June of the following year. The Co-Chair in Charge of Business Management shall a present a budget proposal for the following fiscal year to the DSC Steering Committee (see Article IV, Section 5.0.d.3.e, above) by 1st March of the current year. The Steering Committee shall present a budget proposal for the following fiscal year to the DSC (see Article IV, Section 6.I.i, above) by 1st April of the current year. The DSC shall pass a budget for the following fiscal year by 1st June of the current year, or by 1st October of the next acdemic year. The current budget shall be in effect until the new budget is passed. Budgeted expenditures may not exceed estimated income.
Section 4.0 Stipends and Wages
All paid positions within the DSO. including all employees and officers receiving either stipends or wages shall be categorized in the bylaws of the DSO and known as the "DSO, Wage and Stipends Schedule." The stipends and wages paid by the DSO to its employees and officers shall be based on this classification as defined in this schedule. Any changes in either the classification of positions or in the level of reimbursement shall take effect during the following year and be included in the budget for the following year.
Section 5.0 Capital Expenditures Fund
The DSO shall maintain a Capital Expenditures Fund at a level equivalent to 5% (five percent) of the annual income of the DSO. Moneys from this fund may he expended only on capital expenditures or fiscal emergencies. Should the fund drop below the mandated level, the DSO shall allocate either sufficient monies to return the fund to its maintenance level or allocate a minimum or 1% (one percent) of the DSO's annual income. All expenditures from this fund must be approved by a majority vote of the DSC. The DSC shall have five years from the revision of this constitution to bring this fund up to the specified level.
Section 6.0 Reserve Fund
The DSO shall maintain a Reserve Fund at a level equivalent to 5% (five percent) of the annual income of the DSO. This fund shall be used to cover end of fiscal year deficits, and large unexpected expenditures of a legal or contractual basis. Should the fund drop below the mandated level, the DSO shall allocate either sufficient funds to return the fund to its maintenance level or a minimum of 1% (one percent) of the DSO's annual income. All expenditures from this fund must be approved by a majority vote of the DSC. The DSC shall have five years to bring the fund up to this level after the revision of this constitution.
Section 7.0 Budgeted Expenditures Fund
If at the end of the fiscal year there should be a deficit of funds, then monies shall be moved from the Special Allocations Fund into the fund for Budgeted Expenditures, subject to the approval of the Steering Committee. If there are still insufficient funds, monies may be transferred from the Reserve Fund, subject to the approval of the Steering Committee. No more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or one-third (1/3) of the Reserve Fund, whichever is smaller, can be used for this purpose in any one fiscal year. If additional funds are required to cover a deficit, they must come from the following year’s budget. If at the end of the fiscal year there should be a surplus of funds after all expenditures have been paid out, then the remaining monies from the Budgeted Expenditures Fund shall be placed, in equal proportions, into the Reserve Fund and the Capital Expenditures Fund.
Section 8.0 Special Allocations Fund
During each budgeting session, the DSC shall set aside a minimum of $5,000 of its Student Activity Fee income for Special Allocations. Any projected income not budgeted as an expenditure for the fiscal year shall be placed in the Special Allocations Fund. Any unexpected income received during the fiscal year shall be placed in the Special Allocations Fund. The DSC shall have the authority to disburse any and all monies in the Special Allocations Fund at any time by a majority vote of the DSC.
Section 9.0 Steering Committee Discretionary Fund
To further the fulfillment of the responsibilities of the Steering Committee, the DSC shall set aside no less then one and seven tenths percent (1.7%) from its Student Activity Fee income for discretionary spending. All expenditures from this account must be approved by a majority of the Steering Committee before the Co-Chairperson in Charge of Business Management is authorized to release any funds. All expenditures in excess of ten percent (10.0%) of the amount of this discretionary fund at the time the budget is ratified shall be reported at the next regular meeting of the DSC.
Article VI. ACCOUNTABILITY
The DSO shall abide by the BHE bylaws.
Article VII. ANNUAL REPORT
The Steering Committee shall review its actions for the year and submit an annual report to the GSUC President and the DSO membership. This report shall be published in full in the DSC Newspaper, made available to all departments and in the DSC office.
Article VIII. AMENDMENTS
Section 1.0 Constitutional Amendments
- A) A proposed amendment to this Constitution may be considered by the DSC upon written presentation to it by any member thereof.
- B) Written notice of the proposed amendment shall be sent to every member of the Council so as to postmarked at least ten (10) business days before the amendment is to be considered.
- C) Passage of the proposed amendment by the DSC will require a two thirds (2/3) affirmative vote of a one third (1/3) quorum of the DSC.
- D) Upon adoption of the amendment by the council, a copy of it shall be sent to each member of the DSO with a ballot and a DSC business reply return envelope.
- E) The amendment shall be considered ratified unless rejected by a majority of the respondents and the total vote is greater than ten percent (10%) of the DSO within twenty (20) business days of the mailing.
Section 2.0 Amending the DSO Bylaws
Amendment of the DSO Bylaws shall be done in the following manner.
- A) the proposed amendment must be read at a meeting of the Council.
- B) at the next meeting of the Council this amendment must be passed by a majority vote to take effect.
Article IX. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE
Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern all general and committee meetings when applicable and consistent with this Constitution and DSO Bylaws.
Article X. RATIFICATION
A copy of this Constitution, along with a ballot. shall be sent to every graduate student matriculated at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. This Constitution shall be ratified by a majority affirmative vote of those graduate students responding within four (4) weeks of the mailing. and it shall take effect immediately (where possible.) The officers and Steering Committee and representatives of the preceding Council shall continue to hold their elective positions.
Article XI. MEDIA BOARD
The Media Board shall consist of five members:
- The DSC Co-Chair for Communications,
- Two DSC representatives appointed from the Council, and
- Two delegates elected in the Spring by the student body.
- The senior employee of each DSC-operated medium shall be a nonvoting advisor.
Members of the Media Board shall serve for terms coterminous with DSC officers and shall appoint their own chairperson. In the event that one of the delegates elected from the student body is not able to complete his or her term of office, a new delegate shall be selected from the student body by the DSC. The appointed delegate may not serve concurrently as a representative to DSC. The Media Board shall meet no less than twice per semester.
The Media Board will propose an operating budget for each DSC-operated medium to the DSC Co-Chair for Business Management annually, as well as propose capital expenditures as required.
The Media Board shall be responsible for the selection and/or removal of the senior employee of each DSC-operated medium by a majority of at least three votes.
The Media Board will act as arbitrator when necessary in order to resolve conflicts within the media staff.
Neither the DSC nor the Media Board are responsible for the editorial content of the student newspaper.
