Constitution

The Constitution of the Physics Graduate Student Council

Name

  1. The name of this organization shall be the Physics Graduate Student Council [PHYSICS-GSC].

Purpose

The PHYSICS-GSC shall:

  1. Understand the concerns and needs of students at physics department and work with faculty to address those needs.
  2. Take our voice to the MIT Graduate Student Council on a regular basis.
  3. Host well planned and well funded socials, and try to increase the level of student-student and student-faculty interactions.
  4. Create a more unified graduate student population whose unique academic and social needs are better known, represented and met.
  5. Act as an intermediary between students and the faculty and administration in the Department of Physics.
  6. Foster a sense of community among the student body of the Department of Physics.

Membership

  1. Any MIT student is eligible for membership. Membership shall comprise inclusion on the Moira list physics-gsc@mit.edu.
  2. The membership of this organization will at all times contain at least 5 MIT students and be more than half MIT students.
  3. This organization will not discriminate based on any characteristic listed in MIT’s Nondiscrimination Statement.
  4. If this organization charges any monetary dues, there will be exceptions made for students that cannot afford these dues.

Election of Representatives

  1. Election of representatives and officers shall occur once a calendar year, begin no earlier than one month before the beginning of the MIT Department of Physics fiscal year, and end no later than one month after Registration Day.

  2. Any MIT student may nominate themselves as a representative and/or officer.
  3. Elected representatives and officers are expected to attend PHYSICS-GSC meetings regularly.
  4. Removal from position

    1. Quorum for representative removal requires all officers.

    2. If at least two-thirds of the body vote for removal, then the representative shall be removed.

PHYSICS-GSC Officers


  1. PHYSICS-GSC shall have at least three officers, of which two are President and Treasurer.

    1. President
      1. The president shall be the official representative of the PHYSICS-GSC to any other organization and to MIT.
      2. The president shall preside over all meetings.
      3. The president shall assume responsibility for all official correspondence of PHYSICS-GSC business outside of the PHYSICS-GSC and the Physics Department student body.
      4. The president shall hold elections in accordance with this Constitution.
    2. Treasurer

      1. The treasurer shall represent the group in all financial matters.
      2. The treasurer shall maintain the group’s monetary account(s).
      3. The treasurer shall be the primary financial signatory of the PHYSICS-GSC.

  2. Removal from office

    1. Quorum for officer removal requires either at least 3/4 of PHYSICS-GSC membership or all but one officer.
    2. An officer may be removed by a 2/3rds majority vote.
  3. All officers of this organization must be distinct persons and MIT students.

PHYSICS-GSC Activities and Meetings

  1. The PHYSICS-GSC shall endeavor to foster community amongst the students in the Department of Physics. This may include, but is not limited to organized events and activities.

  2. At least one meeting shall be held in each of the fall and spring terms of an academic year.

  3. Meetings shall be presided over by the president, unless he/she is absent; in which case any other officer may preside.

  4. All decisions shall be made by a yea vote of at least one half of all members present.

  5. Quorum for a meeting shall be either two officers and one member, or one officer and four members.

Amendments

  1. Amendments shall be presented by any member of the PHYSICS-GSC at a meeting.

  2. If, after three weeks have passed, no member has raised an objections to the President, the amendment shall be approved only by a unanimous vote of the officers. Otherwise, a meeting shall be called for the objection to be presented, and a vote shall be held. The amendment shall pass if at least two-thirds of the votes are yea.
  3. The president shall make provisions for absentee ballots to be submitted to the aforementioned vote.

ASA God Clause

The PHYSICS-GSC agrees to abide by the rules and regulations of the Association of Student activities and its executive board. This constitution, amendments to it, and the by-laws of this organization shall be subjected to review by the ASA Executive Board to insure that they are in accordance with the aforementioned rules and regulations.