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English Graduate Student Organization Constitution [currently under revision]

Section 1.   English Graduate Student Organization (English GSO).

Section 1.   It shall be the purpose of this organization to represent the interests of graduate students within the English Department at the University of Washington. This organization will be responsible for electing representatives and liaisons to department committees and working to expand graduate student representation in the English department. The organization will serve as a link between students and the administration, and it will strive to foster departmental communication and coordination.

Section 1.   All graduate students in English (MA, PhD, MFA, TESOL, MAT) shall be members of this Organization. Only those members who are currently registered UW students have voting privileges.

Section 2 — Eligibility Requirements.   All members must be graduate students in English at the University of Washington.

Section 1 — Duties of All Officers.   All officers shall be jointly responsible for responding to email sent to the English GSO (englgso@u.washington.edu) email address, attending all English GSO meetings, and making themselves available to both students and administration.

Section 2.   The officers of this organization shall consist of:

• President — duties shall consist of running English GSO meetings, representing English GSO positions to departmental administrators when necessary, and registering the organization every fall.
• Vice-President — duties shall consist of running English GSO meetings when the President cannot, tending to the organization's finances, and applying for funds.
• Secretary — duties shall consist of taking notes at meetings, providing meeting minutes at subsequent English GSO meetings, communicating with the membership via email and flyers, scheduling meetings, publicizing them, and getting them on the departmental calendar.
• Committees Coordinator — duties shall consist of facilitating communication between students on committees, students who are liaisons to committees, and the rest of the membership as well as maintaining communication with the chairs of the Events and PhC committees.
• Elections Coordinator — duties shall consist of publicizing and running elections for English GSO officers, GPSS Senators, departmental committee members, and departmental committee liaisons. Elections should be announced seven days in advance via email and a notice on the mail room door, and results of all elections should be announced to the membership in a timely fashion. If the Elections Coordinator is running for another position, he or she must choose a temporary proxy, who must be approved by the other officers.

Section 3 — Term of Office.   Term of office shall be one year from the final meeting of each academic year (currently May to May). At this meeting, incoming officers will meet outgoing officers to discuss the responsibilities of their offices and share information about the GSO.

Section 1 .   Selection of officers shall be held annually during April. The Elections Coordinator or his/her proxy will inform the membership of the election and distribute candidate statements at least one week before voting begins. Voting may be done electronically or by in-person balloting as organized by the Elections Coordinator. Prospective officers should submit a no more than 150-word statement of their qualifications and plans to the Elections Coordinator.

Section 2 — Vacancies.   Officer vacancies will be filled by special election to be held with notice of one week as soon as possible after the vacancy is known. The Elections Coordinator or his/her proxy will notify the membership of the vacancy as soon as possible after it is known. Prospective candidates will be given four days to submit a no more than 150-word statement of their qualifications and plans. The vote will be held seven days after the Elections Coordinator has distributed the statements to the membership.

Section 3.   Voting will be coordinated by the Elections Coordinator and a proctor. A majority of the votes cast shall be sufficient to elect officers.

Section 4.   If, in any election, there is only one candidate, the Elections Coordinator shall send out that candidate's statement with a note to the effect that there is only one candidate for the office, and if another is not found, the one candidate will become an officer without an election. If another candidate does not come forward within three days, the candidate will become an officer without an election. If another candidate comes forward, his or her statement must be distributed to the membership three days before the election.

Section 5 — Removal of an Officer.   An officer may be removed from office by a vote of 2/3 of the votes cast in a vote conducted with ten days notice. At least ten days before the vote, the reasons for removal and the officer's statement in his or her own defense must be sent to all members.

Section 1.   The first obligation of all Representatives and Liaisons is to represent the interests and concerns of the other graduate students.

Section 2 — Specific Responsibilities.   Departmental Committee Representatives and Liaisons shall be responsible for:

• attending English GSO meetings, where they shall provide brief reports on committee activities
• attending all meetings of the committee to which they are elected
• communicating as necessary with the membership via email
• reporting to the Committees Coordinator after each committee meeting within a time limit specified by the Committees Coordinator
• making themselves available to graduate students via email and through office hours
• soliciting input from graduate students regarding all committee decisions in a timely fashion

Section 3.   Failure to fulfill any of the responsibilities and obligations in Sections 1 and 2 above is grounds for removal. Procedures for removal of a Representative or Liaison are the same as those for officers as specified in Article V.

Section 1.   Except as specified below, procedures for Election and Removal shall be the same as for officers.

Section 2.   Eligibility to run for Departmental Committee Representatives and Liaisons — all members of the English GSO, including officers, shall be eligible to serve as committee representatives and liaisons.

Section 3 — Graduate Studies Committee.   Both candidates for these positions (2) must be MA or PhD students. One position shall be filled by a student who is pre-exam and one position shall be filled by a student who is a PhD candidate. If a PhD candidate is not available to fill the PhD candidate position, or if a pre-exam student is not available to fill the pre-exam position, the membership should be notified of this fact by the Elections Coordinator. If more diverse candidates haven't come forth within three days, two PhD candidates or two pre-exam students may be elected to the committee. If additional candidates come forth, their statements should be distributed to the voters three days before the election.

Section 4— Undergraduate Education Committee.   All members of the English GSO shall be eligible to run for these positions (2).

Section 5 — Placement Committee.   Only PhD candidates or students currently taking their exams shall be eligible to run for positions as liaisons to the Placement Committee. All members shall be eligible to vote for liaisons to the Placement Committee. Candidates should be asked to specify in their candidate statements whether they are primarily interested in a research or a teaching position. The committee should have one teaching position and one research position. If only teaching or only research candidates apply, the membership should be notified of this fact by the Elections Coordinator. If more diverse candidates haven't come forth within three days, two people with research interests or two people with teaching interests may be elected to the committee. If additional candidates come forth, their statements should be distributed to the voters three days before the election.

Section 6 — Development Committee.   All members of the English GSO shall be eligible to run for this position (1).

Section 7 — Ad Hoc Committees.   Representatives shall be appointed by Executive Committee as outlined in the English Departmentís Bylaws. When possible, the English GSO will suggest appropriate appointees. These representatives shall be expected to follow the same duties of elected liaisons and committee representatives as outlined in Section VI.

Section 8 — Other Committees.   Representatives or Liaisons may be elected to other committees as well.

Section 1.   The first obligation of the two GPSS (Graduate and Professional Student Senate) Senators is to represent the interests and concerns of the other graduate students.

Section 2 — Specific Responsibilities.   GPSS Senators shall be responsible for:

• attending English GSO meetings, where they shall provide brief reports on GPSS activities
• attending all meetings of the GPSS
• communicating as necessary with the membership via email
• making themselves available to graduate students via email and through office hours
• soliciting input from graduate students regarding all GPSS decisions in a timely fashion

Section 3.   Failure to fulfill any of the responsibilities and obligations in Sections 1 and 2 above is grounds for removal. Procedures for removal of a GPSS Senator are the same as those for officers as specified in Article V.

Section 1.   Selection of GPSS Senators shall be held annually during May. The Elections Coordinator or his/her proxy will inform the membership of the election and distribute candidate statements at least one week before the vote is held. Vote will be done by in-person balloting as organized by the Elections Coordinator. Prospective officers should submit a no more than 150-word statement of their qualifications and plans to the Elections Coordinator.

Section 2.   If only two individuals choose to run for GPSS Senator, no election will be held; instead, the two self-nominated candidates shall become GPSS Senators to represent the English Department.

Section 1.   Regular meetings of this organization shall be held at least monthly. The Secretary will notify members by email at least 7 days before the meeting and by flyer on the mailroom door at least two days before the meeting.

Section 2.   A quorum shall consist of ten voting members.

Section 1 — Standing committees.   The following standing committees shall be chaired and filled by volunteers from the English GSO membership. Committee chairs shall be responsible for reporting ongoing activities and events at the monthly English GSO meetings.

• Events Committee — the Events Committee shall be responsible for the planning of events and activities for the English GSO membership as a whole, such as the beginning of the year pot luck. Additionally, the Events Committee shall be responsible for sponsoring events relevant to pre-exam students such as the Conference Symposium, the Exam Symposium, and the Publication Symposium.
• Ph.C. Committee — the Ph.C. Committee shall be responsible for the planning and coordination of events relevant to Ph.D. candidates.

Section 2.   Ad-hoc committees may be formed by a vote of four of the officers (if there is not time to call a meeting) or of 50% of the members present at one meeting.

Section 3.   Committee positions will generally be filled by volunteers. If there is more than one volunteer for a single position, the President will decide who will sit on the committee.

Section 1.   The constitution may be amended by a vote of three-quarters of the members present at any regular or special meeting.

Section 2.   The constitution may not be amended without advance notice of ten days. Ten days before the amendment meeting, the proposed amendment must be emailed to all members by the Secretary.