Graduate Association of

Aeronautics & Astronautics

 

 

Home

About

  Group Structure

    Committee List

    GSC Rep List

  Constitution

  History

Activities
Seminar
IM Sports

Resources

Contact

The Constitution
of the
GRADUATE ASSOCIATION
OF
AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS (GA3)




ARTICLE I : PURPOSE

  1. Promote student well-being.
    1. Academic: Qualifying/General exams, curriculum, etc.
    2. Quality of Life: Cost-of-living, stipends, etc.
  2. Establish a formal student-department relationship.
    1. Provide a forum for faculty and administration feedback from the student body.
    2. Maintain student awareness concerning important topics or changes in the department.
  3. Foster a sense of professional and personal community within the department.
    1. Within the student body.
    2. Between students and faculty.
  4. Increase department presence and student involvement throughout MIT.
    1. Represent department consensus to outside groups.
    2. Inform department of Institute-wide events or issues.




ARTICLE II : MEMBERSHIP AND OFFICERS

  1. Membership
    1. Any member of the MIT student community is eligible for membership.
    2. Any graduate student in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics is automatically a member of this organization.
    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.
  2. Membership Structure
    1. This organization will consist of an Executive Committee.
    2. The Executive Committee will consist of (at least) ten [10] members:
      1. President
      2. Vice President
      3. Treasurer
      4. MIT Graduate Student Council Representative(s)
      5. Social Chair(s)
      6. Academic Chair
      7. International Students Chair
      8. Technical Communications Chair
      9. Intramural Sports Chair
      10. Webmaster
    3. Any other commitees will be comprised of members of the general council.
    4. The offices of President and Treasurer must be held by current MIT Students.
  3. Duties of Officers and Members
    1. President [up to 2]
      1. The President shall be the official representative of the group to the AeroAstro Department, to any other organization and to MIT.
      2. The President will preside over all Executive meetings.
      3. The President shall be responsible for determining the time and location of meetings and publicizing this to the group.
      4. The President can access organizational funds in the absence of the Treasurer.
      5. Two [2] members may serve as co-presidents to mitigate the demanding nature of the responsibilities associated with the office of president.
    2. Vice President [1]
      1. The Vice President fulfills all presidential duties in absence of the President.
      2. The Vice President maintains record of council proceedings.
      3. The Vice President facilitates elections.
    3. Treasurer [1]
      1. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the finances of the group.
      2. The Treasurer is required to sign all checks/vouchers of the group.
    4. MIT Graduate Student Council (GSC) Representative(s)[up to 3]
      1. The GSC Representative fulfills prescribed duties of Departmental GSC Representative.
      2. The GSC Representative makes the GA3 aware of Institute-wide student issues.
      3. The GSC Representative represents the views of the department to the GSC.
      4. Up to three [3] members may serve as GSC Representatives depending on the needs and demands of the organization.
    5. Social Chair [up to 3]
      1. The Social Chair is responsible for organizing social events open to the general student body.
      2. The Social Chair works with members of other Institute or departmental groups for co-organizing social mixer events.
      3. Up to three [3] members may serve as Social Chairs depending on the needs and demands of the organization.
    6. Academic Chair [1]
      1. The Academic Chair is responsible for acting as the intermediary between the graduate student body and the AeroAstro department on academic issues.
    7. International Students Chair [1]
      1. The International Students Chair is responsible for acting as the representative for international students within the graduate student body.
    8. Technical Communications Chair [1]
      1. The Technical Communications Chair is responsible for organizing periodic seminars for members to practice presenting technical content related to their work/research at MIT, called Technical Communications Seminars.
    9. Intramural Sports Chair [1]
      1. The Intramural Sports Chair is responsible for organizing and managing the various grad-level leagues and teams associated with the AeroAstro department.
    10. Webmaster [1]
      1. The Webmaster is responsible for maintaining the GA3 website.
  4. Elections
    1. Elections of Executive Committee officers shall occur annually in the month of November, and the transition to new officers is effective as of January 1.
      1. Incoming officers are expected to be in contact with the current position holder during the transition period to learn the duties associated with their respective positions.
      2. Incoming officers are advised to start participating in GA3 meetings as of their election in November, to ensure a smooth transition.
    2. Quorum for elections is two-thirds of the group.
    3. Any member is elected if he or she wins a majority of the voting members.
    4. If more than two people are running and no one wins a majority, the person with the fewest votes is dropped from the ballot and votes are recast.
  5. Removal from Office vote of the members.
    1. An Executive Committee officer may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the members.




ARTICLE III : MEETINGS

  1. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be held at least once per month and are intended to occur on average every two weeks.
  2. All meetings shall be presided over by the President, unless he/she is absent, and in that case the Vice President shall preside.
  3. All meetings shall be open to the entire student body.
  4. All decisions shall be made by a majority vote of all members present.
  5. Quorum during a meeting shall be two-thirds of the Executive Committee.




ARTICLE IV : AMENDMENTS

  1. Amendments shall be presented by any member of the organization.
  2. Amendments shall be passed by a majority of the members present.
  3. Quorum for amending this constitution shall be one third of all members of the organization.
  4. Meetings with Amendment voting shall be announced at least one week ahead of time.




ARTICLE V : ASA GOD CLAUSE

The GA3 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 subject to review by the ASA Executive Board to insure that they are in accordance with the aforementioned rules and regulations.

 

 

 © 2008 GA3. All Rights Reserved.