Constitution of the Computer Science Graduate Society

Recent changes are highlighted in GREEN.

Article I — Name

The name of this organization shall be (include acronym): Computer Science Graduate Society (CSGS)
Hereinafter referred to as (ie, the “Society”, or the “Association”, etc): CSGS

Article II – Purpose

The purposes of the society is to serve needs of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows registered in the school of Computer Science at McGill university.

The objectives of CSGS are:
2a: to promote social interaction among CS graduate and postdoctoral students
2b: to sponsor and funds activities and organizations which improve the quality of life for all CSGS members.
2c: to represent members’ interests and concerns to the school of Computer Science as well as PGSS.

Article III – Membership

All graduate and postdoctoral students currently registered in the school of Computer Science are regular members of this Society.
Aside from this stipulation, CSGS shall not discriminate in any way deemed unlawful or inappropriate by the PGSS constitution, or McGill University ethics guidelines.

Article IV – Officers

4a: There shall be seven (7) executive officers of the Association, hereafter referred to as the “Executives”, they are:

President
Vice President Finance and Operations
Vice President Communications
Vice President Academic
Vice President Social
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Commissioner
PGSS Councilor

4b: The Executives shall be elected annually as per the election guidelines set out in this Constitution.

4c: The Executives shall be jointly charged with the responsibility of:
a) Ensuring prudent fiscal management of the Association’s funds.
b) Producing Council Meeting and General Assembly agendas.
c) Relaying to Council comments, questions, and concerns of relevance to the Association
d) Producing and maintaining guides detailing procedures of individual executive functions.
e) Providing all documents generated by their respective offices to the Secretariat.
f) Clearly communicating to all members and other Executives the state and activities of the CSGS.
This will be done through McGill-assigned email addresses (i.e. mail.mcgill.ca).
These responsibilities shall hereafter be referred to as the “joint responsibilities of the Executives”.

4d: The duties of the officers shall be as follows:

President

Further to the joint responsibilities of the Executive, the President shall:
a) Be the official representative of the Association to all external entities;
b) Be responsible for all official correspondence with all external entities;
c) Be familiar with the content of the University’s Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities, and in particular the Charter of Students’ Rights with respect to defending the rights of the Association;
d) Be one (1) of the two (2) required signing officers;
e) Maintaining and organize up to date document of the Association’s Constitution;
f) Compiling meeting agendas with duties including:
i) receiving and compiling reports from all other executives and committees;
ii) previous meeting records; and
iii) agenda items as approved by the Executive.
g) Be one of the PGSS Councillors for the Association;
h) Conduct all of the Association’s elections according the procedures and regulations specified in this Constitution;
i) Chair Council Meetings.
j) Compile and maintain a list of organizations to which the Association is related, and produce records of all procedures and documents required in establishing and maintaining such relationships;
k) Maintain and transmit the records and documentation of the Association’s activities required by the PGSS to the appropriate PGSS representative within the deadlines stipulated by the PGSS for a Graduate Student Association (GSA);
l) Verify adherence by the Association to all required regulations concerning the activities of a GSA as specified by the PGSS.

Vice President Academic

Further to the joint responsibilities of the Executive, the VP Academic shall:
a) Plan and execute academic events
b) Producing and maintaining a list of alumni
c) Produce and maintain a comprehensive list of facilities and procedures for aiding Members in obtaining information and solutions to issues relating to academic activities.
d) Plan and execute social events and activities when the Association does not have a Vice President Social

Vice President Social

Further to the joint responsibilities of the Executive, the VP Social shall:
a) Plan and execute social events and activities
b) Ensure that social events follow all applicable rules and laws
c) Ensure all events are advertised to the Membership

Vice President Finance and Operations

Further to the joint responsibilities of the Executive, the VP Finance and Operations shall:
a) Be one (1) of two (2) required signing officers;
b) Be responsible for ensuring all financial transactions adhere to the approved Association budget;
c) Maintain official financial records for auditing purposes including:
i) Retaining all Financial records for six (6) years after the year of initial transaction;
ii) Keeping the Association’s budget and Constitution for reference; and
iii) destroying all financial records after the six (6) years period.
d) Be responsible for preparing the Association’s yearly budget and final annual financial statement;
e) Administering and maintaining the Association’s assigned facilities and resources.

Vice President Communications

Further to the joint responsibilities of the Executive, the VP Communications shall:
a) Act as Webmaster with duties including maintaining up to date website content including:
(1) The Association’s Constitution;
(2) The names and contact information of:
(a) The Executive;
(b) Committee members;
(c) PGSS Councillors.
(3) Archives (meeting minutes, council reports, etc…);
(4) Materials provided by the Executive (lists, statements, reports, records, etc…);
(5) Maintaining the functional and aesthetic qualities of the website;
(6) Ensuring that the Association’s website is in compliance with all applicable rules, regulations, policies, laws, etc…

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Commissioner

Further to the joint responsibilities of the Executive, the EDI Commissioner shall:

a) Promote equity, diversity, and inclusion for underrepresented groups in the computer science graduate student body and generally within the department;

b) Act as a liaison to other diversity groups within and outside of the university, including the EDI Committee of the School of Computer Science;

c) Plan and execute initiatives to build a supportive and inclusive community within the department;

d) Ensure accessibility and inclusion at society events, working with the Executives;

e)Participate in at least one equity training session or workshop.

PGSS Councilor

Further to the joint responsibilities of the Executive, the PGSS Councilor shall:

a) Act as a liaison between CSGS and PGSS;

b) Attend every PGSS General Council meeting;

c) Communicate updates on PGSS affairs to constituents and actively represent their interests.

Article V – Executive

5a: The Executive shall be the officers of the CSGS, and shall be elected once per year as per the election guidelines set out below.

5b: The Executive shall hold office from October 1st of each year until the following September 31st

Article VI – Council

6a: The CSGS Council shall be the working body of the CSGS between General Meetings.

6b: The Council shall be comprised of
i) the Executives
ii) all CSGS representatives to PGSS Council (if different than the above members).

6c: Quorum shall be ⅓ (number of members of Council to have Quorum)

6d: Council meetings are open to all members of CSGS.

Article VII – Representatives

7a: The CSGS shall elect representatives to the PGSS and to all committees and bodies within the school of Computer Science on which graduate students are entitled to representation.

Article VIII – Finances

8a: The CSGS shall conduct fundraising for such programs or activities as it sees fit.

Article IX – General Meeting

9a: The General Meeting shall be called by a decision of regular quorum of council.

9b: Notice of a general Meeting shall be given by email at least one week before the meeting.

9c: Quorum for the General Meeting shall be (e.g.) 10% of the general membership.

9d: All motions shall be passed upon a simple majority of 50% + 1 vote present.

Article X – Elections

10a: Elections shall be held once per year.

10b: Notice of open positions shall be given at least one week prior to the beginning of the voting period.

10c: Any regular member of CSGS may seek election for open positions, providing they acquire the nomination of one (1) other regular member.

10d: Elections shall be held through the PGSS online voting system for a period of minimum one week under the supervision of the PGSS CRO.

10e: Position vacancies during the course of the year shall be filled (if judged necessary) by a majority vote of the executive committee.

Article XI – Affiliation

The CSGS shall be affiliated with the Post Graduate Students Society of McGill University (PGSS), as provided for by that body’s constitution.

Article XII – Adoption and Amendments

12a: This constitution has been initially adopted by a two thirds majority of a General Meeting of the CSGS.

12b: Amendments to this constitution shall be made by email using the online voting system of PGSS and under the supervision of the PGSS CRO.

12c: Notice of proposed amendments shall be posted on the CSGS website and through
McGill-assigned email addresses at least one week before the beginning of the voting period.

12d: Amendment(s) will be voted through the PGSS voting system for a period of one week minimum, and will pass by a simple majority of members voting.

Article XIII – CSGS Equipment

13a: CSGS execs have to appoint one executive the task of supervision and guardianship of CSGS-owned equipments which must be listed on the CSGS webpage. This list shall be kept up-to-date and all the documents/receipts must be with the current CSGS accountant. (Suggested exec for the job – VP social, but a new exec for this job can also be hired).