Constitution:
Article
I - Name
The Name
of this Organization shall be the Political Science Students Association and
shall herein be referred to as the PSSA or the organization.
Article
II - Purpose
It is
the intention of the PSSA to facilitate interaction and familiarity between
declared and undeclared Columbia College Political Science majors and
concentrators, on the one hand, and the Political Science Department faculty,
on the other. This purpose is founded upon the principle that both
students and professors benefit from greater familiarity and interaction with
one another.
It is
also the intention of the PSSA to provide relevant information to declared and
undeclared Political Science majors and concentrators regarding further
involvement in the subjects and organizations that interest them as students of
Political Science or to which the faculty of the Political Science Department
is connected.
To these
ends, the PSSA shall endeavor to encourage student/faculty communication and
cooperation through various programs and events carried out over the course of
the academic year.
Article
III - Membership
The PSSA
shall be structured in order to encourage maximum individual involvement in the
organization, regardless of a member's official class, title or rank. We
shall presume that all members will contribute out of a sense of both duty and
enthusiasm and will solicit member input whenever possible.
The
following clauses regarding membership are not open to amendment:
1. The membership of the PSSA is open to
Columbia undergraduates and students of all affiliated colleges.
2. Membership is confirmed by one or more of the
following:
a. Election to the PSSA executive board
b. Declaration of the Political Science major
c. Placement on the membership list prior to major declaration
Article
IV - Structure and Responsibilities of the Executive Board
Section
1 - Purpose
This
Article hereby establishes the Executive Board of the PSSA and enumerates its
responsibilities. If any Executive Board member does not adhere to the
rules, regulations and responsibilities set forth in this Article, the
President, with the approval of the Executive Board, may ask the member to
leave the Board.
Section
2 - Meetings
The Executive
Board of the PSSA shall hold regular meetings at least once a week during the
academic year. Executive Board meetings shall be structured in a way that
encourages input from every Board member. One Board meeting every month
shall be open to the academic community at large. Pursuant to Article
III, Executive Board members shall demonstrate exceptional commitment to the
PSSA and are therefore expected to attend all meetings and shall not miss more
than three during the academic year.
Section
3 - Officers
The
Executive Board shall consist of the following positions:
1. President. The President shall call the
meetings of the Executive Board and of the general body. He or she shall
determine the agenda for and preside over all such meetings. He or she shall
maintain the Internet list-serve, through which the membership of the PSSA may
be notified of meetings and events.
2. Vice-President. The Vice-President
shall maintain close contact with the President and serve as a proxy should the
President be unable to perform his or her duties. The Vice-President
shall keep careful records of meeting agendas, minutes of the meetings, and the
meeting and event schedule of the PSSA. At the beginning of every
Executive Board meeting, the President shall call upon the Vice-President to
provide an update of the Board's monthly schedule. He or she shall, by
the morning following each meeting, provide all members of the Executive Board
with an overview of the prior meeting's minutes. Weekly e-newsletters will be
his/her responsibility.
3. Secretary. The Secretary shall inform
the Webmaster of upcoming PSSA events and general body meetings, while giving
the Webmaster adequate time for him or her to update the website. The
Secretary liaise with other clubs and organizations both
on and off campus. It is the Secretary's duty to create flyers for events
and meetings as needed and to allocate advertising and marketing
responsibilities.
4. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall maintain
an account ledger on expenditures to date, create budget proposals as needed,
and maintain strong and friendly relations with the Student Development and
Activities (SDA) board. At Executive Board meetings, immediately
following the Vice-President's update on the monthly schedule, the Treasurer
shall inform the Executive Board of the account balance to date.
5. Sub-Field Representatives. Each
Sub-Field Representative shall plan and oversee at least one event individually
each semester and shall plan one Major Advising Event each semester in
tandem. Sub-Field Representatives shall liaise with professors and have
strong knowledge of the course offerings in their respective sub-fields.
There shall be one Representative for each of the following sub-fields:
a. American Politics
b. International Relations
c. Comparative Politics
d. Political Theory
e. Economics-Political Science
6. Underclass Representatives. Underclass
Representatives shall plan one event in tandem for each semester as well as
plan a New Majors Social in the spring semester. Underclass
Representatives shall liaise with the First Year/Sophomore Academic Advising
Center (FYSAAC) and book rooms for PSSA events as needed. There shall be
one Representative for each of the following classes:
a. Sophomore (Second-Year)
b. Freshman (First-Year)
7. Webmaster. The Webmaster shall be in
charge of updating the PSSA website in a timely manner. This includes,
but is not limited to, posting upcoming events and body meetings, as well as
links to relevant sources of information.
Executive
Board members shall attend at least seventy-five percent of PSSA events in
accordance with their academic course schedules.
Section
4 - Elections
Election
Procedure
The
electorate shall be comprised of the current Executive Board of the PSSA.
A candidate for a position on the Executive Board must receive more than fifty
percent of the votes of those present. If no candidate receives more than
fifty percent in the election for any position, the two candidates with the
most votes will participate in a run-off. Members of the Executive Board
may participate as candidates in the election.
No one
member of the PSSA, confirmed or otheriwse, may hold
more than one of the offices listed in Section 3 of Article IV.
Resignation-The procedure for resignation by a member of
the Executive Board of his or her office is initiated by the submission of a
letter addressed to the Executive Board of the PSSA, delivered at or prior to a
meeting of the Executive Board. A meeting of the Executive Board may be
called for this purpose and requires the attendance of at least half of the
Executive Board members. In the case of resignation, the remaining
members of the Executive Board shall call a General Meeting of all Executive
Board members and candidates, and initiate an immediate electoral procedure to
fill the vacant position within 2 weeks following the resigning officer's
leave.