Graduate Student Association of the Catholic University of America

Constitution

CONSTITUTION
OF THE GRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCIATION OF
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
Revised September 23, 2009

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Text style on this page modified at A. XVI, sec. e for clarity.

Preamble
The Graduate Student Association of the Catholic University of America is comprised of all enrolled graduate students, is dedicated to the academic, social, and professional development of its members, and is guided in its means and ends by a firm duty to remain “faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ as handed on by the Church” (The Mission Statement of The Catholic University of America). The GSA sponsors events which promote learning and foster a sense of community within the graduate student population. As the official voice of graduate students, the GSA responds to the needs and concerns of the graduate community and strives to improve the quality of education and life at the University.

Article I: General Provisions
Section 1. Name. The name of this organization shall be the “Graduate Student Association of The Catholic University of America,” referred to herein as the “GSA.”

Section 2. Membership. Every graduate student of the University shall become a member of the GSA upon paying the activity fee at registration. Membership shall continue until the beginning of the next school year unless withdrawal, expulsion, or graduation occurs beforehand.

Section 3. Fee. The activity fee shall be $40 per graduate student per semester.

Section 4. Governance. The GSA shall be governed by the GSA Senate, referred to herein simply as the “Senate.” The Senate shall be comprised of the elected officers, the appointed officers, and the selected representatives of all departments or schools of the University that have graduate students as specified in Article III, section 1. The Senate shall be the representative body of and for the GSA. The selected representatives shall be called “Senators of the Graduate Student Association of The Catholic University of America,” referred to herein as “senators.”

Section 5. Scope. The GSA shall at all times operate within the framework of the aims and objectives of the University.

Article II: Duties of the Senate
Section 1. Representation. The Senate shall represent its members to external bodies. The Senate shall represent GSA members individually and collectively in all matters pertaining to the graduate student body that are brought to its attention by any graduate student, graduate student group, the administration, or any faculty or staff member. The Senate shall hear grievances and recommendations from graduate students and graduate student groups of the University.

Section 2. Liaison to community. The Senate shall serve as a liaison between its members and the administration and faculty; the institutions of the administration and faculty; other student organizations; and individuals and organizations of other universities.

Section 3. Scope of duties. The Senate shall have powers to enact policy in any matter pertaining to the graduate student body and to decide such other matters not provided for by the Constitution by a majority vote. The Senate may sponsor activities for the graduate student body. Requests for sponsorship from undergraduate groups or individuals to the GSA shall not be recognized unless specifically requested in writing to the GSA president by the chief officer of whatever organization acts as a student government for the undergraduates.

Section 4. Requests for assistance. The Senate may initiate or respond to requests for assistance to the University or its faculty, or any segment thereof; or any recognized student group of the University; and similar bodies of other universities. In particular the Senate reserves the right to transfer funds to non-University individuals or groups as it sees fit, within the University’s binding norms for the administration of fees.

Section 5. Budget. Because the Constitution mandates certain expenditures by the GSA, the Senate shall institute in its by-laws some mechanism by which to ensure that sufficient funds are available in each semester to fulfill those mandates.

Article III: Composition of the Senate
Section 1. Selection of Senators. Each department or school (whichever is smaller) of the University shall appoint senators to the Senate.
A. Each senator must be a GSA member, being registered in and duly appointed by the department or school he represents.
B. Each department or school shall send one senator to the Senate for every hundred graduate students who have paid the graduate activity fee, or fraction thereof.
C. A vacant position of senator may be filled at any time by any GSA member from the appropriate department or school with the written appointment of the dean or chair of said department or school contingent upon not being rejected by a majority of the Senate.

Section 2. Terms of Senators. The term of each senator shall begin upon the receipt of an annual letter of authorization from the chair or dean of each department or school by the secretary and shall expire on the first day of the school year subsequent to the representative’s appointment. The secretary shall notify those schools which are sending representatives.
A. Senators may serve unlimited terms if duly selected.
B. A two-thirds majority vote of the Senate may remove any senator for flagrant non-attendance or misconduct.
C. Any senator may be removed from his position by a two-thirds majority vote of the members of the represented department or school.
D. A department or school is actively represented if the total attendance to Senate meetings is at least one-half of the product of the number of regular Senate meetings and the number of positions for senators available to the department or school. Active representation is determined on a per-semester basis using the final tally of attendance for that semester.

Section 3. Alternates. A department or school may appoint alternates in addition to its official active senators.
A. A department or school may designate only one alternate for each senator.
B. The term of each alternate shall begin upon the receipt of an annual letter of authorization from the chair or dean of each department or school by the secretary and shall expire on the first day of the school year subsequent to his appointment.
C. A vacant alternate position may be filled at any time by any GSA member from the appropriate department or school with the written appointment of the dean or chair of said department or school.
D. Alternates may attend and speak at all sessions of the Senate, including executive sessions, may serve as committee chairs, and may serve on all Senate committees.
E. An alternate, as alternate, may neither bring a motion, second one, nor vote during sessions of the Senate unless the officially designated senator of the department or school that the alternate represents is absent.

Article IV: Officers
Section 1. Officers. There shall be six elected officers of the GSA. The elected positions shall be the president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and two university-wide academic senators. Elected officers must attend all regular GSA meetings. As members of the Senate, elected officers shall have one vote each in the Senate, with the exception of the president who shall vote only in the case of a tie. There shall be five appointed officers. The appointed positions shall be the parliamentarian, the chairman of the Conferences Committee, the chairman of the Lectures Committee, the chairman of the Social Committee, and the chairman of the Election Committee. Appointed officers, in their capacities as appointed officers may neither bring a motion, second one, nor vote during sessions of the Senate, but in all other respects have all the same general rights and privileges as any other member of the Senate.

Section 2. Constituency. An elected officer may not serve as a senator of a department or school but shall have the entire GSA as his constituency. All officers, elected and appointed, must be GSA members.

Section 3. Election of officers. The elected officers shall be elected each spring semester in accordance with the GSA Constitution, any by-laws, and the Election Committee standing rules.

Section 4. Appointment of officers.
A. After having sworn his oath of office and after having consulted with the elected officers for the new academic year, the president shall appoint the five appointed officers. If they accept, he then shall administer the oath of office to them and then in some written format shall inform the entire Executive Committee of these events.
B. If the position of one of the appointed officers becomes vacant during the academic year, the president then may nominate a new officer to fill the vacancy. Only after the Senate has confirmed the nomination, as further specified in the GSA by-laws but by no less than a majority vote of the Senate, may the nominee take the oath of office and officially take the position.

Section 5. Term of officers. The term of each officer shall expire either upon the swearing-in of the newly elected or appointed officer or upon first day of the school year subsequent to his election or appointment, whichever comes first.
A. The removal of an officer may be accomplished by a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate. This vote may occur no earlier than two weeks after a written notice of intent has been furnished to the officer in question as well as to the Senate. An officer so removed shall have recourse by a referendum of the GSA.
B. A vacant officer position, other than that of the president, may be filled by any GSA member who has been nominated by the president and has had this nomination confirmed by at least a majority vote of the Senate.
C. If the office of president becomes vacant, it shall be filled immediately by the vice president.
D. Officers may be elected or appointed to an unlimited number of terms.

Section 6. Compensation of officers. Officers shall be compensated for their work.
A. Compensation of GSA officers shall be based on a forty-week schedule. Payment begins the first week of August and continues until the conclusion of the following May. Payment shall be suspended only for university-wide academic breaks. The elected officers, along with the chairman of the Conferences Committee and the chairman of the Lectures Committee, shall be compensated at the rate of $10 per hour. Each officer on an hourly rate shall be compensated by the following schedule:
President-8 hours per week
Vice President-8 hours per week
Treasurer-6 hours per week
Secretary-5 hours per week
University-wide Academic Senator-4 hours per week
Conferences Committee Chair-4 hours per week
Lectures Committee Chair-4 hours per week
B. Other officers shall be compensated in the following manner:
Parliamentarian shall be compensated at the rate of $300 per semester.
Chairman of the Election Committee shall be compensated $500 after the successful conclusion of GSA Spring elections.
Chairman of the Social Committee shall be compensated at the rate of $500 per major event, with the maximum of two major events per semester. For the purposes of compensation, a major event is classified as costing in excess of $2000, and minor events may be added together to equal the amount of a major event in the calculation of compensation.
C. Each hourly compensated officer is expected to work these hours on average and shall not be compensated for hours that exceed these numbers. Any clear and deliberate avoidance of GSA work hours of any kind may be deemed as cause for removal under Article IV, section 4 of this Constitution.
D. Impeached officers shall forfeit all future compensation.

Section 7. Duties of the officers.
A. The president shall: chair all meetings of the Senate, chair all meetings of the Executive Committee, serve as an ex officio member of all GSA committees, assume responsibility for withdrawing and depositing all GSA funds in the absence of the GSA treasurer, be a representative for the GSA at all University Board of Trustees meetings.
B. The vice president shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee, assume the responsibilities of the president in the president’s absence, carry out such duties as the president may assign and coordinate the treasurer and secretary in the rebate process.
C. The treasurer shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee, be responsible for collecting, maintaining, and distributing all GSA funds, maintain the financial records of the GSA, including GSA funds administered outside the GSA, submit necessary financial records at all regular meetings of the Senate, serve as an ex officio member of the Conferences Committee and Lectures Committee, and assume the responsibilities of the president and the vice president in the event that they both are absent.
D. The secretary shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee, maintain the files of the GSA, including committee reports, a volume of approved GSA minutes, and official roll book, be responsible for the recording of minutes at both Senate and Executive Committee meetings and the distribution of the first to Senate members, and be responsible for GSA correspondence as the president may assign. He shall also maintain an official list of all departments and schools and their senators to determine active representation in the Senate, maintain an official list of officers, representatives, alternates, delegates, and GSA committee members to ensure complete representation
E. The university-wide academic senators shall serve as members of the Executive Committee, represent the GSA on the Academic Senate of the University, report on activities and discussion of the Academic Senate to the Senate.
F. The parliamentarian shall be any GSA member appointed by the president. He shall be required to attend all regular GSA meetings, not be barred from sitting as a representative of a department or school, be a member of the Executive Committee, maintain the text of the Constitution and the by-laws of the Senate, clarify points of order at Senate meetings, and interpret the GSA Constitution, by-laws, and standing rules of committees upon request of any GSA member.
1. When called upon by the presiding officer, or by a member of the Senate, the parliamentarian shall inform the presiding officer and the Senate of parliamentary rules, as defined by the GSA Constitution and by-laws, or where they are silent, of whatever parliamentary procedure the Senate has adopted..
2. The presiding officer retains sole authority to make rulings on matters of Constitutional or parliamentary procedure, whether or not the parliamentarian has been called upon to inform the Senate, and regardless of what information the parliamentarian provides.
3. Rulings of the presiding officer on Constitutional and parliamentary matters may be overridden upon a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate.

Article V: Website Administrator

Section 1. Duties. The website administrator shall update the GSA website with minutes after each regular meeting of the Senate and as otherwise directed by the Executive Committee or Senate.

Section 2. Appointment. The president of the GSA shall appoint the Website Administrator at the beginning of the president’s term. The website administrator, as website administrator, is neither an officer nor member of the Senate.

Section 3. Compensation. The website administrator shall be paid $500 per semester.

Article VI: Nomination and Election of Elected Officers
Section 1. Procedure. Nominations and elections of the elected officers of the GSA shall be accomplished according to a schedule which has been proposed by the Election Committee and approved by the Senate. This schedule shall be made publically available.
A. The nomination form shall be available on the GSA website at least one week prior to the close of nominations. The date and time for balloting shall also be published on the GSA website and otherwise communicated to GSA members.
B. The Election Committee may elect to publish a notice of elections in the Tower one week prior to balloting.
C. The results of the elections shall be published in the Tower following the counting of ballots.
D. The person submitting a nomination for an officer position and the nominee must be members of the GSA, and the nominee must not expect to graduate before the completion of his term.
E. Nominations must be in writing and shall include the name, intended office, department/school, address, and phone number of the nominee and the nominator.

Section 2. Voting. Each member of the GSA shall have one vote for each officer position.
A. The Election Committee shall report on nominations, campaigns, elections, and associated matters to the Senate.
B. If the results of an election are not confirmed by the Senate by a majority vote, they shall be invalid.
C. Newly elected officers shall be inaugurated at the Senate meeting following the election. In the event that some newly elected officer is unable to attend such meeting, the officer will take his position only when he has at some future time had the oath of office administered to him by the president, or in the case of the president having been absent, by any member of the Executive Committee in the presence of at least one other member of the Executive Committee. D. At the Senate meeting at which new officers are inaugurated both the outgoing and the incoming officers shall be present. Final reports by outgoing officers shall be made to the Senate at this time.

Section 3. Oath. The outgoing president shall administer the following oath of office to the incoming president, who shall administer the oath to all the remaining incoming officers:
“I, (name), do hereby promise to serve the Graduate Student Association to the best of my ability and to uphold the GSA Constitution.”

Article VII: GSA Committees (General)
Section 1. Standing Committees. The Standing Committees of the GSA shall be Executive Committee, Election Committee, Conferences Committee, Lectures Committee, and Social Committee.

Section 2. Ad Hoc Committees. Ad hoc committees, with stated expiration dates, may be established as deemed necessary by the Senate. The expiration date may be extended by a majority vote of the Senate.

Section 3. Committee Membership. Only one representative from any one department or school shall be permitted on a committee, excluding the chairman and those with ex officio membership. No GSA member may serve on more than two committees, excluding the GSA officers . All committee chairs must be members of the GSA Senate. These above rules of Article VII, section 3 may be waived upon a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate.

Section 4. General Obligations. All committees, both as corporate bodies and as individuals fulfilling their roles as committee members, in all of their actions, especially the expenditure of funds, shall observe the purposes and standards of the GSA as annunciated in the Constitution, especially the Preamble thereof. Consequently, all must before becoming members of a committee take the oath before the chairman of the committee if not already having done so for that academic year: “I, (name), do hereby promise to serve the Graduate Student Association to the best of my ability and to uphold the GSA Constitution.”

Article VIII: Executive Committee
Section 1. Membership. The Executive Committee shall consist of the GSA officers.

Section 2. Responsibilities. The responsibilities and powers of the Executive Committee shall be to represent the GSA between regular Senate meetings; to vote and act on matters requiring final decisions before a regular Senate meeting has time to convene as limited by the terms of Article VIII, section 3; to report all relevant Executive Committee actions to the Senate; to ensure a smooth transition of duties to the new Executive Committee members.

Section 3. Meetings. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once per semester before the first scheduled GSA meeting of the semester and thereafter on an as-needed basis. Meetings of the committee are called by order of the GSA president.
A. The Executive Committee may neither promise nor spend more than $500.00 per semester without prior approval of the Senate, except during the summer when it may, if a sudden matter occurs, promise or spend up to $2,000.00; in this case, however, it must inform the Senate at the first scheduled meeting.

Article IX: Election Committee
Section 1. Membership. The Election Committee shall consist of a chair and at least one other member of the GSA both of whom are not seeking an elected position. All other GSA members, whether or not belonging to the Senate, may assist this committee during elections and referenda.

Section 2. Duties. The duties of the Election Committee shall be to propose schedules and procedures for nominations and elections, and ensure that approved procedures are followed, to conduct all elections and referenda of the Senate.

Section 3. Meetings. The Election Committee shall meet as needed.

Section 4. Rules. The Election Committee shall operate under its own standing rules.

Article X: Conferences Committee
Section 1. Membership. The Conferences Committee shall consist of a chairman and at least two other members of the Senate. The treasurer of the GSA shall be an ex officio member of this committee. The chairman of the Conferences Committee shall serve as an ex officio member of the Lectures Committee.

Section 2. Duties. The duties of the Conferences Committee shall be to hear and fund appropriately requests from GSA members for expenses incurred in academic conferences or other similar events and to monitor its own expenditures in cooperation with the treasurer.

Section 3. Meetings. The Conferences Committee shall meet as needed.

Section 4. Rules. The Conferences Committee shall operate under its own standing rules.

Article XI: Lectures Committee
Section 1. Membership. The Lectures Committee shall consist of a chairman and at least two other members of the Senate. The Chair of the Lectures Committee shall serve as an ex officio member of the Conferences Committee.

Section 2. Duties. The duties of the Lectures Committee shall be specifically to hear and fund appropriately requests for on-campus lectures and presentations and to monitor its own expenditures in cooperation with the treasurer.

Section 3. Meetings. The Lectures Committee shall meet as needed.

Section 4. Rules. The Lectures Committee shall operate under its own standing rules.

Article XII: Social Committee
Section 1. Membership. The Social Committee shall consist of a chairman and at least two other members of the GSA. These two individuals are officially designated vice-chairmen of the Social Committee.

Section 2. Duties. The Social Committee shall organize and operate social events of the GSA which shall consist of at least one social event per semester.

Section 4. Meetings. The Social Committee shall meet as needed.

Section 5. Rules. The Social Committee shall operate under its own standing rules.

Article XIII: University Committee Delegates
Section 1. GSA Representation. The GSA shall be represented on the following committees and entities of the University: committees of the Board of Trustees, committees of the Academic Senate, the Office of Student Life, and other committees of the University which may affect graduate students.

Section 2. Delegates. Delegates of the GSA to these committees must be members of the GSA.
A. The president sits, ex officio, on the Board of Trustees and on all committees there-of to which the GSA is entitled representation. If for reasons of scheduling or time the president is not able to represent the GSA effectively at all the meetings of and all the committee meetings of the Board of Trustees, he may appoint as many delegates in addition to himself as necessary for effective representation. The president shall inform the Senate of his appointments before they take effect.
B. The university-wide academic senators sit, ex officio, on the Academic Senate and all committees there-of to which the GSA is entitled representation, dividing these responsibilities among themselves. If for reasons of scheduling or time the university-wide academic senators are not able to represent the GSA effectively at all the meetings of and all the committee meetings of the Academic Senate, they, in agreement with each other and in consultation with the president of the GSA, may appoint as many delegates in addition to themselves as necessary for effective representation. The university-wide academic senators shall inform the Senate of their appointments before they take effect.
C. All other delegates to other university entities are nominated by the president. Preference is to be given to GSA senators and officers, and the president should consult with the Executive Committee. They must be confirmed by a majority vote of the Senate before beginning to represent the GSA in anyway with regard to this appointment.
D. The terms of committee delegates shall expire at the end of the Spring semester, unless replacements have not been appointed by the appropriate officer.
E. Committee delegates may succeed themselves, subject to renomination by the newly elected GSA president.
F. Committee delegates who are not such ex officio may be removed by a majority vote of the Senate.
G. The committee delegates shall be required to attend the Senate meetings that immediately precede and immediately follow their University committee meetings. The requirement to attend such meetings may be waived or modified by a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate. The committee delegates shall receive direction from and shall report to the Senate. Reports of the proceedings of the committees and entities indicated above with detailed note of any intervention by delegate(s) of the GSA shall be submitted to the GSA secretary within 72 hours of the completion of such meeting. The secretary shall distribute these reports to the GSA Senate.
H. The president, or, if he so delegates, the vice-president, may represent the GSA in the place of a designated delegate if the Senate has not been able to consider the proposed appointee of the president.
I. All delegates if not already having done so, after having been directly appointed or after having been nominated and confirmed, only become delegates officially upon having taken the oath, in front of an officer of the GSA: “I, (name), do hereby promise to serve the Graduate Student Association to the best of my ability and to uphold the GSA Constitution.”

Article XIV: Senate Meetings
Section 1. Number of meetings. The Senate shall hold at least six regular meetings per semester, usually on alternating weeks, according to a schedule decided upon at the beginning of each semester to be set by the president in consultation with the Executive Committee.

Section 2. Special meetings. Special meetings may be called by the president or by a majority vote of the Senate.

Section 3. Attendance. All GSA members may attend all regular Senate meetings. Any GSA member may invite non-members to attend.
A. The Senate may restrict attendance (executive session) to portions of its regular meetings (for specific debate only) by a two-thirds majority vote.
1. Officers, senators, official alternates, and the GSA advisor may attend GSA executive sessions. Special invitees may be requested to attend executive sessions at the discretion of a majority vote of the Senate.

Section 4. Procedure. A two minute time limit shall be imposed on all speakers (excluding presenters of official reports) unless altered by a majority vote of the Senate.
A. There shall be a section of each regular meeting during which GSA members who are not Senate members may speak. With the exception of this section of the meeting, only those enumerated beforehand or specially designated may speak during the meetings of the Senate.
B. Each senator and elected officer of the Senate shall have one vote, except for the president who shall vote only in case of a tie.
C. The attendance of a quorum shall be required for the Senate votes to be binding.
D. A schedule of meetings shall be made available to members of the GSA at least a week prior to the first meeting of the semester.

Section 5. Preemption. In cases where parliamentary procedure is in conflict with the GSA Constitution or by-laws, the established rule of the GSA shall prevail. In cases in which the GSA Constitution or by-laws are silent, whatever parliamentary procedure the Senate has adopted shall govern. If the Senate has adopted no such parliamentary procedure, previous custom as understood by the president shall govern.

Section 6. Terms
A. The explanation of these terms shall be understood to apply to the whole of the Constitution.
B. “Majority” is defined a more than half of the quantity being considered.
C. “Quorum” is defined a majority of the official membership of the Senate.
D. “Majority vote” is defined as a majority of the voting members of the Senate at the Senate meeting, unless otherwise specified.
E. “Two-thirds majority vote” is defined as at least two-thirds of the voting members of the Senate at the Senate meeting, unless otherwise specified.

Article XV: Rebates
Section 1. Amount and procedure. Upon achieving active representation as defined in Article III, section 2D of this Constitution, forty percent (40%) of the per-semester student activities fee paid by each graduate student in the actively represented department or school shall be transferred by the GSA Treasurer to each graduate student department or school for use by its students.
A. The graduate students shall be informed of the transfer of rebate monies upon completion of the funding transfer.
B. Rebates shall be transferred by the GSA only to the designated GSA account of the graduate department or school and as soon as possible.

Section 2. Misuse of funds. Misuse of these funds (as defined by the Executive Committee standing rules) by the graduate department/school may result in action by the University Hearing Board (or any organization that might replace it), and/or action by the Senate.

Article XVI: Affiliated Membership

Section 1. Affiliated membership provisions. A department or school that has more than five hundred GSA members and has a duly elected student government which is fully representational may choose to forego the rebate structure described in Article XV and instead become an affiliated member according to the following provisions:
A. ninety percent (90%) of the student activity fees paid by that department or school shall be transferred to the University account of the affiliated department or school each semester without satisfaction of any precondition or requirement;
B. members of an affiliated department or school forego the right to participate in GSA elections, except in the case of referenda;
C. members of an affiliated department or school are ineligible to hold elected positions;
D. an affiliated department or school shall have one (1) representative to the Senate who shall be appointed according to a process to be determined by the affiliate, and this representative shall present a letter of appointment to the GSA secretary according to the requirements of Article III, section 2;
E. an affiliated department or school shall be invited to participate in all GSA social events and required to participate in the major GSA social event each semester, and shall share a proportionate burden of the cost according to the following formula:

Total enrollment of affiliate [x]

divided by

total graduate enrollment including affiliate [y]

equals result [z].

Result

multiplied by

budgeted cost of event for projected attendance including the affiliate [A].

[x/y = z]
[z x A = cost burden]

For the purpose of this formula, the budget shall be determined by the Senate and projected attendance shall be fixed by the Social Committee.
F. A written application for affiliated status must be received by the GSA parliamentarian no later than April 1 for a term beginning with the following fall semester. Once an application has been submitted, affiliated status may not be terminated until the end of a whole academic year.
G. The status shall renew each year without the need for further application unless:
1. the enrollment of the affiliated department or school falls below five hundred or;
2. the affiliate submits a written application by April 1 to return to non-affiliate status.
H. Failure to meet any of the above requirements after the receipt of fund transfer shall result in a penalty to be determined by the Senate including, but not limited to, the forfeiture (in whole or in part) of the affiliate’s GSA funding for the next semester.
J. Nothing in the foregoing shall be construed to supersede the Preamble or Article I of this Constitution. All members of affiliated departments and schools remain members of the GSA, and the GSA is the official voice of the graduate students.

Article XVII: Amendments
Section 1. Procedure. The Senate may amend this Constitution by a two-thirds majority vote. The Senate must be notified of the proposed amendment in writing at least two weeks before the vote is taken.
A. The GSA may amend this Constitution by a referendum.
B. The Senate shall ensure that each proposed amendment is clearly stated. A proposed amendment must address and amend all corresponding articles, sections, and paragraphs of this Constitution.

Article XVIII: Referenda
Section 1. Definition. A referendum is a vote taken by the entire GSA membership on a specific issue.

Section 2. Requirements. A referendum may be initiated by a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate, or by petition of ten percent (10%) of the GSA to the Senate. A petition shall:
A. contain printed name, signature, and student ID number of each signing member;
B. be composed in cooperation with the Election Committee in order to ensure exact, clear wording and thorough treatment of the issue;
C. be valid if presented at least two weeks prior to the referendum vote. This time frame is intended to allow verification of the signatures by the Election Committee.

Section 3. Procedure. All referenda shall be conducted by the Election Committee in accordance with the GSA Constitution and the standing rules of that committee.
A. Written notice of the referendum shall be given to the GSA by the Senate.

Section 4. Effect. Each referendum is binding if it obtains a majority of all valid votes cast.

—Constitution Ends Here—