Constitution

Historical Summary

We, the RLGSA held our first informal meeting in the Fall of 2009. In September 2010, a meeting was called as part of Orientation Week to raise awareness of the desire and need for a unified student body representing the graduate students in the Department of Romance Languages. That same year, nominations for representatives of all three languages were encouraged and volunteers stepped forward. We held our next meeting in February of 2011 and we have met two to four times a month since then. We held our first official elections of the RLGSA Executive Board on Wednesday, May 18th, 2011, and were officially recognized by the ASUO on February 24th, 2012.

Goal Statement

1. To provide graduate students in the Department of Romance Languages an environment conducive to the successful completion of both personal and academic objectives.
2. To develop a space for productive discussions of concerns, issues, and ideas in a professional and supportive atmosphere, and to advocate for the interests of the graduate students in the Department of Romance Languages.
3. To create an opportunity for graduate students and professors to socialize and interact in formal and informal settings, and to develop active mentorship between faculty and graduate students, as well as between graduate and undergraduate students.
4. To organize intradepartmental events as well as community projects in order to build community and foster collaboration and academic growth.
5. To promote cultural and linguistic growth and awareness of Romance languages within the University of Oregon.

Membership

Active Members

• Active membership shall be open to all fee paying UO graduate students in the Department of Romance Languages interested in the objectives of this organization.
• An active member shall be subject to the following obligations: Attend general meetings and/or stay informed through the association webpage.
• An active member shall have the privilege of voting, running for office and participating in all functions of the organization.

Associate Members

• Associate membership shall be open to all faculty, staff, community members, and families of active members who are genuinely interested in the objectives of RLGSA.
• Associate members shall have the privilege of participating in all functions of RLGSA, but cannot vote or hold office.

Inactive Members

Inactive members shall include alumni who earned a graduate degree from the Department of Romance Languages and undergraduate majors in the Department of Romance Languages. Inactive members shall have the privilege of attending general meetings of the RLGSA as silent observers, but cannot vote or run for office.

Executive Board

• The Executive Board of the RLGSA shall be comprised of eight (8) elected members distributed as follows: one (1) Executive Board, comprised of four (4) members in distinct positions and four (4) representatives, necessarily divided into two (2) Masters and two (2) PhD students, from any language(s). The two (2) Masters representatives must be from different years: one first-year and one second-year student, from any language(s).
• The Officers of the Executive Board shall be elected by the larger RLGSA membership (active members) and shall be the President, Vice-President, Treasurer/Secretary and Public Relations Officer.
• The Executive Board shall meet as deemed necessary during the academic year, and not less than once per month
• All decisions made at Executive Board meetings shall be reported to the membership at the General Meeting immediately following and by email.
• Two (2) Graduate Committee Representatives shall be elected from the body of active members, although are not necessarily part of the Executive Board. These representatives must be from two different primary languages, and from two different degree programs (M.A. and PhD).
• One (1) to nine (9) GTFF Stewards shall be elected from the body of active members, although are not necessarily part of the Executive Board.

Officers' Duties

• The President shall:
1. Officially represent RLGSA to the public;
2. Have general supervision of the business of the organization, including maintaining the petty cash fund or assign to an officer as necessary;
3. Preside at regular meetings of the General Assembly and of the Executive Board; call and preside over emergency meetings when necessary; conduct elections (Exception: The President shall not conduct/preside over a vote for his/her removal. A special commission shall be established by the Executive Board and approved by the ASUO to recall the President);
4. Attend every RLGSA event and officers' meetings, delegate responsibilities and ensure the completion of these assigned duties by other officers;
5. Plan and schedule meetings;
6. Serve as the arbitration authority, or appoint someone to act in this capacity as needed, on disputes of procedure, election processes, floor debates, and all other procedural motions.
• The Vice-President shall:
1. Serve as the Program Officer of the organization, obtaining speakers and planning the organization's activities for the year, subject to the approval of the General Assembly;
2. Assume the duties of the president when directed by the president or in the event that the president is unable to carry out the duties of that office;
3. Assist the President with all of her/his responsibilities.
4. Reserve rooms and obtain necessary equipment for seminars and meetings.
• The Secretary shall:
1. Take Minutes at each General Meeting of the organization, noting which motions were passed and which were defeated.
2. Present and read at each meeting the Minutes of the previous meeting for approval, as read or as corrected, by vote of the General Assembly.
3. Make available to the active members of RLGSA copies of the Minutes of any meeting through email, and permanent archiving on the association's website.
4. Receive all incoming correspondence to RLGSA. He/She will read that correspondence.
5. File and record all official, incoming and outgoing correspondence of RLGSA.
6. Maintain a current list of all active and associate members;
7. Notify all members of meetings and other announcements;
• The Treasurer shall
1. Deposit all funds of the organization in the ASUO Student Activities account;
2. Have authority to collect and disburse funds as approved by RLGSA. She/He shall be, along with the President, one of two signatories on all RLGSA accounts;
3. Keep a full and accurate record of all financial transactions of RLGSA and present a finance report at every General and Executive Board meeting;
4. Participate, with the Finance Committee, in coordinating the RLGSA Annual Budget Proposal for activities during each year;
5. Submit a detailed Financial Statement to the Executive Board at the end of each academic term, including a statement of dues paid and unpaid; receipts collected and disbursed; and statements of the finances of all activities and programs.
• The Public Relation Officer shall
1. Handle all interactions with other organizations on campus and off campus
2. Advertise and publicize all RLGSA's special activities and events, including major speakers, at least a week in advance;
3. Advertise the various activities and programs sponsored by RLGSA;
4. Publicize the organization during orientation at the beginning of every Fall term;
5. Be responsible for fundraising.
6. Assist all other officers in fulfilling their duties as deemed necessary.

Non-Office Positions

• Graduate Meeting Representatives shall:
1. Be elected in the Fall of 2011 following the official acceptance of the RLGSA by the ASUO. Beginning in the Spring of 2012, Graduate Committee Representatives shall be elected during the Executive Board elections at the end of each spring term.
2. Be active members in the RLGSA, although not necessarily Executive Board members, and be actively involved in decision making and activities of the RLGSA.
3. Attend all RLGSA meetings and Graduate Committee meetings and serve as liaisons between the two organizations.
4. Bring relevant concerns and questions to the RL Graduate Committee and report back to the RLGSA in a timely manner.
• GTFF Stewards shall:
1. Be a group of one (1) to nine (9) active members in the RLGSA. Their position and election process follows the description and responsibilities as outlined in the GTFF Bylaws, Article V.

Election to Office

Eligibility for Office

Any person who has been an active member, with a 3.0 GPA, shall be eligible to run for president and any person who has been an active member, in good standing, for at least two full trimesters shall be eligible to hold an officer position, except where limited by the number of terms of eligibility and by minimum term requirements.

Terms of Office

All officers shall serve a term of one year from the date of elections. No member shall be elected to more than two consecutive terms for the same office. Should a vacancy occur in an office, the Executive Board shall appoint a member to fill the vacancy until an election can be held. The election must be within one month of the occurrence of the vacancy or no later than the next election cycle. Should the President's office become vacant, the Vice President shall assume the duties of the President for the rest of the term.

Election to Office

1. Officers and members of the Executive Board shall be elected annually. The elections will be publicly announced by email to the Romance Languages Graduate Student body, during Fall orientation, and at meetings.
2. The elections shall be held before the end of the last academic month (during spring term), except for first year incoming Master's students who shall be elected before the end of the following Fall term. First year Master's students cannot be elected to Officers' positions before the following round of elections in the Spring.
3. Interested active members shall fill out an election application and return it to the president by the stated deadline on the form.
4. Nominations for each office shall be made from the floor by any active member. Members need not be present at the meeting to be nominated. If appointed by the Executive Board, a Nominations Committee may compose an initial slate of nominees from the roster of active members in good standing for presentation to the General Assembly. Then, additional nominations can be made from the floor.
5. Voting shall be by secret ballot and a majority shall elect. No proxy voting shall be permitted (active members must be present to vote). If on the first ballot, no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast for the office, the person receiving the least number of votes shall be eliminated and a run-off election shall be rescheduled, within two weeks, for the two top candidates.
6. The President of RLGSA is responsible for overseeing the elections and notifying the Programs Administrators or Election Coordinator(s) before the elections. The Election Committee shall be comprised of active members not running for office.

Removal of Officers

By way of motion, any member may recommend the removal or recall of any RLGSA officer who fails to adequately perform the duties of his/her office. A two-thirds majority vote shall be required to remove an officer. Upon removal, the officer shall become a regular active member with all privileges thereof, and replacement of the officer shall follow in accordance with Article IV, Section 2.

1. All officers must attend all meetings (Executive Board and General) and events of the organization without fail. All officers must be present at the beginning of all RLGSA meetings and events (officers must be early to all meetings and events). Officers must inform the President of an absence or tardy prior to a meeting or event.
2. An officer may be recommended for removal from office for:
   • Failure to fulfill duties;
   • Failure to coordinate a designated event.

Update new officer contact information with the ASUO

New Officers

• Newly elected officers, termed "Officers-elect", shall take office immediately to begin the orientation process. This transition period shall be conducted in an orderly manner for the remainder of the current year, approximately two weeks. Each outgoing officer, termed "Intermediate Past Officer", shall assist the Officers-elect with the assumption of their new duties. Officers-elect must attend Executive Board meetings during that period.
• The new "Intermediate Past President" is responsible for updating new contact information with the ASUO upon results of elections and will refer to Program Administrator with any transitioning questions.

Rlgsa Does Not Hire Staff

Meetings

Section 1

The General Assembly shall consist of all active members of RLGSA and shall elect the officers and approve any constitutional changes.

Section 2

The organization shall hold regular weekly or bi-monthly meetings during the academic year.

Section 3

Special meetings shall be called as necessary by the President, the Executive Board, or the General Assembly if one-third of the members petition it. In the latter case, the Executive Board shall call for a meeting within two weeks from reception of the petition.

Grievance

1. In the case of grievance against or between officers, faculty, members, etc, concerned parties shall first intend to solve the issue among themselves. If no agreement can be reached, they shall address their representatives in the following order: the representative of their cohort, the representative of other cohorts, other members of the Executive Board, and Officers.
2. In the case of grievance, rules and bylaws are interpreted by the President provided that she/he is not directly involved in the conflict. In case of conflict with the President, the by-laws shall be interpreted by the Vice-President and in the decreasing hierarchical order of the organization (Officers, Executive boards, General Assembly), as long as they are not involved in the grievance. The use of a third party to interpret the by-laws may be used as an ultimate resort.
3. If mediation is unsuccessful, please refer to the Green Tape notebook Exec. Rules 80.1 and 81.1.

Dissolution of the Program

1. The RLGSA dissolution shall be determined upon complete agreement of all Executive Board members and only after having announced their intent in writing to the General Assembly prior to the meeting.
2. In the event of Program dissolution, all fundraised money shall go to the Department of Romance Languages and all Incidental Fees, equipment and material returned to the ASUO Executive.

Amending the By-Laws

Section 1: Amendments

The by-laws may be amended at any regular meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote, provided that at least 4 active members not on the board are present. The amendment shall have been submitted in writing at the previous regular meeting.

Section 2: Acceptance

These by-laws shall become effective upon adoption by two-thirds (2/3) majority vote, provided a quorum (Article VI, Section 2) is present. Amendments take immediate effects unless notified otherwise.

Section 3: Notification

Members shall be made aware of any amendments to the By-Laws by email and at the following meeting.