The GSCGB Constitution

1.1) The GSCGB shall meet at least three times per quarter during the academic year. Dates and times for regular meetings should be arranged at the first meeting of each quarter and entered into the academic calendar.

1.2) Special meetings of the GSCGB may be called by the President, the Vice-President, or the Facilities Manager when necessary.

1.3) Emergency meetings of the GSCGB may be called by the President, Vice-President, or Facilities Manager in the event of an unforeseen emergency condition that may result in a detriment to the GSCGB, the GSC, UCSC, or the public interest if not addressed.

1.4) All meetings are to be run based on Robert's Rules of Order as modified by this Constitution and its Bylaws and Amendments.

1.5) All meetings and portions of meetings are open to any officer, empoyee, or registered student student of the University of California unless declared closed by a simple majority decision. Meetings or portions of meetings are normally declared closed when dealing with personnel or legal issues. Only members of the GSCGB, including non-voting members, may be present during a closed meeting or closed portion of a meeting.

1.6) The first order of business for every regular, special, and emergency meeting of the GSCGB is discussion and approval of the agenda for that meeting. Until the agenda for a meeting is approved, the only decisions the GSCGB can make are changes to and approval of the agenda. Changes to the agenda must be decided by simple majority.

1.6.1) The agenda for a regular or special meeting, along with the text of any questions to be decided at the meeting, is to be prepared and distributed to all members of the GSCGB and posted in the GSC by the Facilities Manager at least four days prior to the meeting.

1.6.2) The President may make changes to the agenda of a regular or special meeting up to four days prior to the meeting. Such changes must be reported to all members of the GSCGB at least four days prior to the meeting.

1.6.3) The agenda for an emergency meeting may be set by the President at any time prior to the meeting or by the GSCGB as the first order of business at the meeting.

1.7) At every meeting, the Vice-President shall record minutes documenting all decisions made by the GSCGB.

1.7.1) Separate minutes must be recorded for closed meetings or closed portions of meetings.

1.7.2) The minutes of a meeting must be approved by the GSCGB at the next regular meeting.

1.7.3) At least one copy of the minutes from every meeting must be kept by the Facilities Manager. Any member of the University of California may request a copy of the minutes from any open meeting or open portion of a meeting. Minutes for closed meetings or closed portions of meetings are available only to members of the GSCGB.

2.1) Quorum is defined as the combination of the Chair of the meeting plus four voting members. At least two of the voting members counted for quorum must be currently enrolled graduate students at UCSC. The four voting members may consist of four graduate students or three graduate students and the undergraduate representative.

2.2) Graduate student majority occurs when the number of voting members who are graduate students is equal to or larger than the number of voting members who are not graduate students.

2.3) No question may be decided unless both quorum and graduate student majority are satisfied. If either quorum or graduate student majority is not satisfied for fifteen minutes, the meeting may be cancelled.

2.4) Each voting member may cast one of three possible votes to decide a given question: an Aye vote, a Nay vote, and an Abstention. Voting members must be present in order to cast a vote; no absentee or proxy votes are allowed.

2.5) A question may be decided in one of four ways: white ballot, plurality, simple majority, and two-thirds majority. The Chair chooses which method will be used to decide each question when the method is not already determined by this Constitution or its Bylaws and Amendments. The GSCGB may veto the Chair's choice by a simple majority decision.

2.5.1) A question decided by white ballot automatically passes unless there is a single Nay vote, in which case, the question must be decided in one of the three other ways. Decision by white ballot is typically used for inconsequential or uncontroversial issues such as approval of the minutes, changes to the agenda, or approval of the agenda.

2.5.2) A question decided by plurality passes if the number of Yea votes is greater than the number of Nay votes. Abstentions do not count towards Yea or Nay votes, so a question decided by plurality may pass with only a single Yea vote, if all other votes are Abstentions. If the number of Yea votes is equal to the number of Nay votes, the Chair must cast a vote to break the tie. The Chair cannot cast an Abstention when breaking a plurality tie. Decision by plurality is often used for elections and other questions in which multiple options are available. In these cases, a Yea vote for one option counts as a Nay vote for all the other options.

2.5.3) A question decided by simply majority passes if the number of Yea votes is greater than the sum of all other votes cast (Nay votes plus Abstentions). If the number of Yea votes is equal to the sum of all other votes cast, the Chair must cast a vote to break the tie. The Chair can cast an Abstention when breaking a simple majority tie. Decision by simple majority is used for most GSCGB business of any consequence.

2.5.4) A question decided by two-thirds majority passes if the number of Yea votes is at least as large as twice the sum of all other votes cast (in other words, the number of Yea votes must be at least two-thirds of the total of all votes cast). The Chair may not cast a vote in a two-thirds majority decision. Decision by two-thirds majority is typically used for important issues with long-lasting or far-reaching impact.

2.6) A major question must be decided by two-thirds majority and must be announced at least two weeks in advance of the meeting in which the question is to be decided.

3.1) The GSCGB may appoint standing and ad hoc committees for the purpose of preparing information for and recommendations to the GSCGB. Standing committees are permanent or semi-permanent committees with ongoing or long-term goals. Ad hoc committees are temporary committees with short-term goals.

3.2) Committee recommendations must be approved by the GSCGB before taking effect.

3.3) Committee Chairs must be voting members of the GSCGB.

3.4) All committees must consist of at least two members, including the Committee Chair.

3.5) Membership appointments and charges to standing committees are established by a simple majority vote of the GSCGB.

3.6) Membership appointments and charges to ad hoc committees are established by the President, subject to approval by the GSCGB.

3.7) There are at least two standing committees that are always in existence.

3.7.1) The Finance Committee is responsible for the review and reporting of financial matters such as the annual budget.

3.7.2) The Programs Committee is responsible for organizing social, cultural, and other activities in the GSC that enhance the graduate student community.

4.1) The fiscal year for the GSC begins July 1st of a calendar year and ends June 30th of the following calendar year.

4.2) The GSCGB shall allocate registration fees and other income for GSC operating expenses, including, but not limited to, staff salaries, standard and deferred maintenance, general building supplies, and GSCGB expenses.

4.3) A preliminary budget report shall be provided at the end of each academic year by the Facilities Manager in consultation with the GSCGB Finance Committee. Official reports shall then be submitted at the beginning of fall quarter for review and approval. Before the end of each fiscal year, the Facilties Manager, in consultation with the GSCGB Finance Committee, shall submit an annual budget for the following fiscal year to the GSCGB for review and approval.

4.4) The Facilties Manager shall submit the annual budget for a given fiscal year to the Student Affairs Division office no later than the start of said fiscal year.

5.1) The Facilities Manager is an employee of the University of California. The Facilities Manager reports directly to ____.

5.2) The Facilities Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the GSC, including, but not limited to, daily opening and closing of the GSC, maintenance, and enforcing GSCGB policy regarding the GSC.

5.3) The Facilities Manager is also responsible for staffing of the GSC, including, but not limited to, advertising open positions, interviewing and hiring candidates, training new staff, creating staff schedules, and signing staff timesheets. All GSC staff shall be employees of the University of California.

5.4) At the first meeting of every quarter, the Facilities Manager must give an address to the GSCGB, including, but not limited to, a summary of his/her actions in the previous quarter and planned actions in the current quarter, an estimate of the GSC's current finances, and a report on the current status of staffing and maintenance of the GSC.

5.5) The Facilities Manager must adhere to all decisions made by the GSCGB. Any actions taken by the Facilities Manager are subject to review by the GSCGB.