GSIL :: SC-Ling

ARTICLE I:  NAME AND PURPOSE

Section A. NAME

Part 1. The official name for this organization is Graduate Students in Linguistics.

Part 2. This organization will use this name or its acronym, GSIL, in all publicity material and correspondence

Section B. PURPOSE

The purpose of the Graduate Students in Linguistics Organization is

1. to enhance the quality of graduate education in Linguistics at USC,
2. to provide service to the department,
3. to offer graduate students an auxiliary means by which to express their needs to the department,
4. to further the reputation of the linguistics department within USC and further afield
5. to foster a sense of community amongst linguistics graduate students

ARTICLE II.  MEMBERSHIP 

Section A. REQUIREMENTS

Part 1. All currently enrolled graduate linguistics students are eligible to be voting members.

Part 2. All other USC students and USC staff, faculty, alumni and alumnae are eligible to be non voting members.

Part 3. All members are required to demonstrate support for the purpose of this organization.

Part 4. Membership decisions will not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion or creed, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability or sexual orientation.

Section B. PRIVILEGES

Part 1. All members are eligible to attend all meetings and events of this organization.

Part 2. All new members are will be added to the GSIL email list, or will be given instructions on how to do so, and will be able to post to this list.

Section C. WITHDRAWAL OF PRIVILEGES

Part 1. Members may have their privileges withdrawn for inappropriate conduct and for failing to report incidences of non-consensual biting.

Part 2. A simple majority vote of the quorum of membership at a regular or special meeting shall be sufficient to withdraw privileges on the basis of Part 1.

Part 3. Members to be voted upon in this regard will be notified of the intention to do so in writing at least one week prior to the meeting at which the vote will be taken.

Part 4. Members to be voted upon will be given the opportunity to present their case at the meeting at which this vote will be taken, but will not be present for the vote itself.

Part 5. Members whose privileges have been withdrawn will continue to receive email on the GSIL list, but may not be permitted to post messages or to attend GSIL meetings or other GSIL events.

Section D. RESTORATION OF PRIVILEGES

Part 1. Members whose privileges have been withdrawn can request restoration of said privileges at the following GSIL meeting.

Part 2. A simple majority vote of the quorum of membership at a regular or special meeting shall be sufficient to restore privileges.

Part 3. Members who wish to request restoration of privileges must notify their intention to do so in writing at least one week prior to the meeting at which they wish to have their privileges restored.

ARTICLE III.  OFFICERS

Section A. OFFICER TITLES

1. President
2. Vice President
3. Treasurer
4. Secretary
5. Faculty and GSC Student Representative
6. Publications Director
7. Librarian
8. Events Coordinator
9. Technology Director
10. Webmaster

Section B. DUTIES

Part 1. It is the responsibility of all officers to consult with previous officers to learn about their role, and to pass on what information they have to new officers.  All officers are expected to attend GSIL meetings.

Part 2. The president will coordinate the activities of the other officers and will be the contact person for all concerns not relevant to other officers.  (S)he will chair and moderate all meetings of GSIL, encouraging, guiding and restraining discussion as appropriate, and will call special meetings as needed. The President will vote on GSIL matters only in case of a tie.

Part 3. The Vice President will share of the duties of the president equally.

Part 4. The Treasurer will be in charge of all GSIL finances, consulting with faculty and staff as appropriate, and will represent GSIL as the Linguistics Senator at all GPSS meetings.

Part 5. The Secretary will take minutes at all GSIL meetings, will report them to the GSIL list, and will be in charge of preparing the agenda for GSIL meetings in collaboration with the President and Vice President.  Students wishing to bring up an issue for discussion at GSIL should contact the Secretary in the first instance.

Part 6. The Publications Director will head a committee responsible for the publication of working and occasional papers.

Part 7. The Faculty and GSC Student Representative will represent GSIL in faculty meetings and in the GSC, and will provide timely reports of said meetings.

Part 8. The Librarian will be responsible for coordinating the ongoing cataloguing, shelving and maintenance of the Jaeggli collections.  (S)he will also ensure that books are returned to the library or renewed at the end of every semester.

Part 9. The Events Coordinator will be in charge of organizing any social events sponsored or co-sponsored by GSIL, such as tea time and the annual welcome back barbecue.  If appropriate (s)he will do so in co-operation with members of the faculty.

Part 10. The Technology Director will be responsible for the maintenance of computer-related hardware in all student areas and the Jaeggli Library, will verify, on a weekly basis, that said hardware is fully operational and will contact the appropriate departmental administrator in case of insurmountable problems.

Part 11. The Web Master will maintain the GSIL website and will correspond with the Linguistics Department Web Master to keep all information relevant to linguistics graduate students up to date.

Part 12. The Publicity Director will coordinate the publication of the department newsletter at least once per semester and will be responsible for the creation of posters to advertise linguistics events.  (S)he will also be responsible for ensuring that the GSIL emailing list is fully functional and up to date.

Section C. REQUIREMENTS FOR RUNNING FOR AND HOLDING OFFICE

Part 1. All officers and candidates for office must be currently enrolled USC students.

Part 2. All officers must be voting members of GSIL.

Section D. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Part 1. Nominations for all offices will be taken from the floor of the first regular meeting of the fall semester each year, or by prior email contact.

Part 2. Members may nominate and vote for themselves and may be nominated and voted for by any other member.

Part 3. Elections will be held at the last regular meeting of the spring semester and will be conducted by voice vote.

Part 4. A simple majority vote of the quorum present will be sufficient to elect an officer. If there are more than two candidates and no candidate receives a majority, there will be a run-off vote between the top two vote recipients in the general voting.

Section E. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

Part 1. Officers may be removed from office for failure to perform duties, failure to show support for the purpose of the organization, inappropriate conduct, or failure to report cases of non-consensual biting.

Part 2. Officers to be voted upon in this regard will be notified of the intention to do so in writing at least one weeks prior to the meeting at which the vote will be taken.

Part 3. Officers who have been notified of said intention may submit a written formal complaint to the GSIL President, and address personally the GSIL, before the vote takes place.

Part 4. A two-thirds majority of quorum present at a regularly scheduled or special meeting shall be sufficient for removal from office.

Section F. TERMS OF OFFICE AND VACANCIES

Part 1. The term of office shall be from the first meeting of the fall semester until the first meeting of the next fall semester.

Part 2. Should a vacancy in office occur, there will be another nomination procedure and election for the vacant office, which will be held at the following regular or special meeting.  The term of office will take effect immediately.

ARTICLE IV.  MEETINGS

Section A. SCHEDULE

Regular meetings will be held on a monthly basis, at a convenient time for the majority of members.  Meeting times for any given semester will be scheduled at the beginning of the semester, and all members will be informed.

Section B. SPECIAL MEETINGS

Special meetings may be called by any combination of three of the officers.

Notice of special meetings must be communicated to all members at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting.

Section C. BUSINESS

To conduct business at any meeting, seven voting members must be present to form a quorum.

ARTICLE V.  AFFILIATIONS 

Section A. USC

Part 1. This organization is a recognized student organization at the University of Southern California, but it is not a part of the University itself.

Part 2. In all correspondence and business transactions, it may refer to itself as an organization at USC, but not as part of USC itself.

Part 3. GSIL agrees to abide by all pertinent USC policies and regulations. Where USC policies and regulations and those of GSIL differ, the policies and regulations of USC will take precedence.

Part 4. This organization recognizes and understands that the University assumes no legal liability for the actions of the organization, and that the University is not providing blanket indemnification insurance coverage for any activities of the organization, unless those activities expressly benefit and further the goals of the University, and have received prior review, approval and consent of the Offices of Student Activities, Risk Management and /or General Council.

ARTICLE VI.  ADVISOR

Section A. ADVISOR REQUIREMENTS

Part 1. As a recognized student organization at the University of Southern California, GSIL is required to have an official advisor from the USC faculty and staff.

Part 2. Other persons may serve as special advisors as needed.

Part 3. The Advisor should be a member of the GSC

Section B. DUTIES

Part 1. The advisor must sign the recognition application each year, or whenever officer information changes or amendments are made to the constitution.

Part 2. An advisor may not vote in GSIL matters, hold office or unduly influence decisions of the student organization.

ARTICLE VII.  BY-LAWS AND AMENDMENTS

Section A. BY-LAWS

Part 1. By-laws can be added to this constitution by a simple majority vote of the entire membership.

Part 2. This constitution takes precedence over any and all by-laws.

Section B. AMENDMENTS

This constitution can be amended by a majority vote of the entire membership at a regular meeting of GSIL.