Bylaws of the Graduate Student Council

These Bylaws were first written more or less from scratch over the course of winter and spring quarters of 1999

These Bylaws were updated on January 4, 2013, to include all changes up until then. Sjoerd A.L. de Ridder, GSC Parliamentarian, 2012-2013

Article I: General

Section 1: Philosophy of the Graduate Student Council

The Graduate Student Council shall serve the interests and advocate on behalf of the graduate population. The Graduate Student Council shall also organize programming for, and encourage the development of, the graduate community. Because the input and viewpoints of all members of the graduate population are important, the GSC shall make all decisions by consensus, unless otherwise specified in the Constitution, the Association By-Laws and Policies, or these By-Laws.

Section 2: Definitions

The GSC shall refer to the Graduate Student Council.
The graduate population shall be all members of the Association in graduate or professional degree programs.
The elected members of the GSC shall be those who were selected in either a special or general Association election.
The appointed members of the GSC shall be those who were chosen, in accordance with the Constitution and these By-Laws, to fill vacant GSC seats.
The voting members of the GSC shall be those who are eligible to vote in the votes mandated in the Constitution, the Association By-Laws, or these By-Laws. It shall encompass both the elected and appointed members of the GSC.
The members of the GSC shall be the elected members and the appointed members, and all other members of the graduate population present at a GSC meeting.
A seat on the GSC shall be considered vacant if the individual occupying it has resigned, ceased to be a member of the district to which the seat corresponds, been expelled from the GSC, or died.
Majority for the purposes of the GSC regardless of source document, shall always require more votes for than against. Therefore, a tie will cause a motion to fail.
Unless otherwise specified, a vote of the GSC shall be a vote by the voting members of the GSC only.
A graduate student organization or GSO shall refer to any student organization whose membership and/or audience is drawn substantially from the graduate population, with the exception of the GSC.

Section 3: GSC Policies

The GSC Policies shall contain the details of the organizational structure of the GSC. They shall contain information sufficiently important to require some form of GSC approval to change, but sufficiently malleable that the rigidity of the GSC Bylaws modification procedure would be inappropriate.
The GSC Policies shall govern in all cases where they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitution, the Association Bylaws, these Bylaws, or the Association Policies.
The GSC Policies shall be included as an Appendix to these Bylaws.
The GSC Policies may be modified by consensus of the members of the GSC. In the event that consensus cannot be reached, a majority of GSC’s voting members is required to modify GSC policy.

Section 4: Rules of Order

The Chair (or her/his designee) shall be responsible for ensuring that the meetings are run in a fair and efficient manner. The voting members of the GSC may overrule any particular decision of the Chair (or her/his designee) in this regard by majority vote.

A. Voting Procedures

Quorum consists of a majority of the non-vacant GSC seats, and must be present for any GSC business to occur.
Ex-officio members are not counted towards quorum and are not given a vote.
Unless otherwise specified in the Constitution, the Association Bylaws, or these Bylaws, each decision of the GSC shall be made by the consensus of those members of the graduate population present at the meeting during which the decision was made.
Consensus cannot be reached if any GSC member objects.
In the event that consensus cannot be reached, the procedure shall be a majority vote by the voting members present.
Abstentions are not counted for the purposes of determining the result of a vote, and as such are not de facto “no” votes.

C.

Minutes from a previous meeting shall be approved at the next regular meeting. Any approved actions, e.g. funded event, that would occur before the next regular meeting will have immediate effect, but may be overturned by the normal reconsideration procedure.

D.

When consensus on appropriate procedures cannot be reached and no established procedure exists, Robert’s Rules of Order shall be used to govern the GSC except here inconsistent with the ASSU Constitution, Joint Bylaws of the ASSU, GSC Bylaws, or GSC Policies.

Article II: Graduate Student Council Organization

Section 1: Composition

A. Graduate Student Council Districts

Members of the GSC shall be elected from the following districts:
1. The School of Business: 1 member.
2. The School of Earth Sciences: 1 member.
3. The School of Education: 1 member.
4. The School of Engineering: 2 members, who must be from different departments.
5. The School of Humanities and Sciences, Humanities: 1 member.
6. The School of Humanities and Sciences, Natural Sciences: 1 member.
7. The School of Humanities and Sciences, Social Sciences: 1 member.
8. The School of Law: 1 member.
9. The School of Medicine: 1 member.
10. Members at-large, chosen from the entire graduate population: 5 members.
Although a member of the graduate population may seek election in both the at-large and a single non-at-large district simultaneously, s/he may only serve as an elected member from one.
Unless otherwise indicated by the candidate, a candidate for a non-at-large district shall also be a candidate in the at-large district.
Multiple GSC District Membership
1. Those members of the graduate program who have, at the time of the election, been admitted to degree programs administered by schools or departments in different districts shall have multiple district membership.
2. They shall be eligible to vote in elections in any one non-at-large district in which they qualify as a member, in addition to the vote(s) they are eligible to cast in the GSC at-large district.
3. They shall be eligible to seek election from any one non-at-large district in which they qualify as a member, in addition to being able to seek election in the GSC at-large district.

B. GSC elections

The Spring Quarter General Election shall be a GSC election. Members shall be chosen in this election for all seats.
To determine candidates elected to at-large seats in the GSC spring election, the winners of the non-at-large GSC districts will first be tabulated. These candidates will be removed from the list of at-large candidates. Of the remaining candidates, the 5 receiving the most votes in the at-large election will be elected to the GSC.
There may be a GSC election during the fall quarter. This shall only occur if either the seats in 4 non-at-large GSC districts, or a total of 7 GSC seats in any districts, are vacant. Seats filled by appointed members shall not be considered vacant.
In a fall election, members shall only be chosen for vacant seats and seats in any district filled by appointed members.
If a non-at-large seat becomes vacant, an elected GSC member from the at-large district who is also member of the vacant seat’s district may be switched into that vacant seat. This shall not be considered an appointment.

C. Appointment of GSC members

Vacant voting member positions should be filled by the GSC as quickly as is reasonably possible.
Appointees to vacant GSC district seats must be members of the district to which the vacant seats corresponds.
Appointments to fill vacant seats shall last only until the next election.
Vacant seats shall be filled with the candidate who received the next highest number of votes in the previous election.
If there is no student among those who received votes in the previous election willing and still eligible to serve, the GSC shall fill the position.
If a voting at-large member of the GSC is of the correct district to fill a district vacancy, they are promoted to fill the district slot automatically. If more than one voting member fits this criteria, their district votes in the election determines who is moved to the district slot.
To fill the originally or now vacant slot, the GSC shall perform a search. The search shall last at least one week, with notice given at: the previous GSC meeting, the GSC mailing lists, and any other communication means deemed fit to make all members aware the opening exists.
When one student is applying for a vacancy, the appointment must be confirmed by a majority vote. When more than one students is running for the vacancy, the winner shall be determined by exhaustive ballot, with elimination of the candidate with the least votes after each round.

D. Term of Office

After each GSC election, the old and new elected members of the GSC shall meet jointly until the second meeting after the GSC election results have been certified.
At the second meeting after the certification of the results of a GSC election, the new elected members of the GSC shall select a Chair. At that point,the term of office of the new elected members of the GSC shall be considered to have begun.
Voting members of the GSC whose term of office has expired shall be encouraged to continue participating in the GSC.
A voting member of the GSC shall not be considered to have taken office until s/he attends her/his first GSC meeting and accepts her/his election or appointment.
An elected member of the GSC shall serve until s/he vacates her/his seat, or until her/his successor takes office, whichever comes first.
An appointed member of the GSC shall serve until s/he vacates her/his seat, until her/his successor takes office, or until the appointment expires, whichever comes first.

E. Leaves of Absence and Proxies

All leave of absence and proxy authorizations must be submitted in writing or via email to the Chair and secretary of the GSC prior to the start of the meeting.
A leave of absence or proxy request may be approved at the discretion of the Chair of the GSC; this decision may be overridden by a majority vote.
At the beginning of any meeting,the Chair must report on any active leave of absences granted and the proxies present at that meeting.
A voting member of the GSC may request a leave of absence for up to one quarter, if they are away from Stanford for an extended period, and must appoint a proxy.
A voting member that needs to miss a single meeting due to a conflict (e.g. travel, illness) may appoint a proxy for that meeting, however the Chair should be vigilant this is not abused.
A proxy serves as a full voting member of the GSC until the end of the granted leave of absence, the end of the meeting in the case of a non-leave proxy,they become ineligible to serve as a voting member, or such time as the position they are a proxy for would normally end.
Best efforts should be made to appoint a proxy from the same district. If a person from that district cannot be found, any grad student eligible to serve as a voting member can be appointed,with preference towards those already active with the GSC.
GSC seats whose members are on a leave of absence, and which have not been filled by proxies, shall not be considered vacant.

F. Removal of Voting GSC Members

A voting member of the GSC shall be automatically suspended upon missing 4 GSC meetings in any one 3-month interval.
A member represented by a proxy at a GSC meeting or amember on a leave of absence shall not be counted as absent.
In the event that any voting member of the GSC misses more than 50% of the duration of the scheduled meeting, this non-attendance should be counted as one absence.
A voting member of the GSC shall be automatically expelled upon failing to attend both of the two GSC meetings after the meeting at which s/he was suspended.
A voting member of the GSC may be removed by a 2/3 vote, provided that previous notice was given at the previous meeting. Grounds for removal shall include, but not be limited to, violations of University regulations.

Section 2: Officers

A. General Matters

Shall be chosen by exhaustive ballot. A voter casts a single vote for his or her favorite candidate. If no candidate receives a majority of votes then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and a further round of voting occurs. This process is repeated for as many rounds as necessary until one candidate has a majority.
May be removed by a 2/3 vote, provided that previous notice has been given.
May be paid a salary, as specified in the operating budget.

B. Chair

Shall call, set agendas for, and preside over all regular meetings of the GSC, unless s/he has designated another elected member of the GSC to perform these tasks.
Shall have secondary signing authority for the GSC accounts.
Shall serve as a representative of the GSC on the Executive Committee.
Must be an elected member of the GSC.

C. Financial Officer

Shall have primary signing authority for the GSC accounts.
Shall be responsible for drafting the GSC budget and keeping track of GSC finances.
Shall serve as a representative of the GSC on the Executive Committee.
Must be an elected member of the GSC.

D. Secretary

Shall be responsible for keeping accurate minutes of all GSC meetings, and making them publicly available at least 48 hours before the next meeting.
Shall keep track of attendance at the meetings.
Shall make the agenda publicly available at least 24 hours before the meeting.

E. Equipment master

Shall be responsible for attendance to the GSC equipment.
Shall keep track of damages and losses of GSC equipment.
Shall administer the GSC equipment rental policy.

F. Other Officers

The GSC shall have the ability to create, by consensus, whichever officer positions are needed, with whatever structure and membership it deems appropriate to the task at hand.
If the position is filled, the position can be dissolved by a 2/3 vote of the GSC. If the position is vacant, the position can be dissolved by consensus.

G. Co-Officers

Any officer position can be filled by more than one member of the GSC, provided that each co-officer would be eligible to hold the position individually.
Duties of co-officers’ position can be divided between those individuals in any method that best serves the graduate student community.
All or one of the co-officers can be removed by a 2/3 vote, provided that previous notice has been given.
Salaries of the co-officers shall be paid according to a mutually acceptable arrangement agreed upon by all co-officers of a particular position.

Section 3: GSC Meetings

Meetings of the GSC shall be called by the Chair of the GSC or her/his designee, or by the President of the Association. The individual calling the meeting is responsible for ensuring that adequate public notice of the meeting is given. If not a regular scheduled meeting, adequate notice shall be at least 48 hours prior to the meeting time, unless approved in writing or via email by 2/3 of the voting members.
The GSC shall meet during any week classes or finals are in session. No more than 14 days may pass between regular meetings. The summer schedule must be announced before the end of Spring Quarter.

Section 4: GSC Committees

The GSC shall have the ability to create, by consensus, whatever committees are needed, with whatever structure and membership it deems appropriate to the task at hand.
If the committee has at least one member, the committee can be dissolved by a 2/3 vote of the GSC. If the committee does not have a member, the committee can be dissolved by consensus.

Article lll: Funding

Section 1: General

A. The Usual Method for Approving Allocations

Unless otherwise specified in the Constitution, the Association By-Laws, or these By-Laws, all allocations of funds shall be made by consensus of the GSC members.
All meetings at which consensus funding allocations are made must have at least 1/3 of the voting members of the GSC present.
Officers and/or representatives of a GSO present at a GSC meeting shall not be included in the consensus required to approve funding allocations for that organization.
Decisions involving funds must be made publicly available within one week of the GSC meeting at which they were made.
Unless otherwise specified in the Constitution, the Association By-Laws, or these By-Laws, the voting members of the GSC may, by a majority vote, override any allocation of funds made by consensus. This may only take place at the first GSC meeting after the minutes of the meeting at which the initial consensus allocation occurred are made publicly available.
The allocated funds shall not be drawn upon until the override period has elapsed. During this period, the organization receiving the allocation spends money at its own risk.

B.

All allocations of funds over $250 shall require explicit approval in the minutes of the GSC.

C.

Transfers of funds from a group’s reserve account to its operating account shall be done by the Usual Method for Approving Allocations.

D. Schedule

The fractions of the base amount of the GSGF and Special Fees collected in each quarter shall be specified in the Funding Policies of the GSC.
Allocations shall be made on a rolling basis. Funds may be made available for the remainder of the current quarter, for subsequent quarters, or for the remainder of a fiscal year.

E. Funding Committee

The Funding Committee shall review funding and Special Fee requests from all Graduate Student Organizations, and present a recommendation on each to the GSC.
The Funding Committee shall consist of a subset of the members of the GSC, chosen by consensus.
A member of the Funding Committee may be removed by a 2/3 vote of the GSC.
No member of the Funding Committee shall formulate a recommendation for a request from a GSO of which s/he is a member.
The procedure for formulation and review of requests shall be specified in the GSC Funding Policies.
The Chair of the Funding Committee shall be chosen by the Funding Committee.

Section 2: Graduate Student General Fee

A. General

The GSGF shall refer to the Graduate Student General Fee.
The purpose of the GSGF shall be to fund the basic operating and programming expenses of graduate student organizations, as well as the in- house programming of the GSC.
The index of inflation that shall be used to calculate the annual increase in the base amount of the GSGFis the Consumer PriceIndex.
The overall budget of the GSGF for the current year shall be published in each year’s Elections Handbook.
Elected and appointed officers and staff members of the Association may inspect and make public the financial records of anyGSO receiving funds from the GSGF, except as specified in the Constitution, the Association By- Laws and Policies, or these By-Laws.

B. Partitioning of GSGF

The GSGF shall be partitioned into two sections before the beginning of the fiscal year. The first shall be called the GSO partition, and the second shall be called the GSC partition.
Transfers of funds across the partition
1. Transfers of funds from the GSC partition to the GSO partition shall be made by the Usual Method for Approving Allocations.
2. Transfers from the GSO partition to the GSC partition
  1. Funds not allocated from the GSO partition during the quarter that they were initially available shall roll over to the following quarter, with the provision that of the total funds available that quarter, they shall be allocated first.
  2. Funds that have rolled over to a subsequent quarter once, and which remained unallocated by the end of that subsequent quarter, shall automatically revert to the GSC section of the GSGF.

C. GSO Partition

The GSO partition shall be used for allocation to graduate student organizations.
Operations and programming funding by the GSGF shall pursue some of the following goals:
1. Provide a broader educational and cultural experience for graduate students.
2. Enhance interdepartmental social interaction among graduate students.
3. Strengthen the campus-wide sense of community among graduate students.
4. Make the graduate school experience more valuable and enjoyable for all graduate students.
Graduate Student Organizations seeking funds from the GSGF shall submit a funding request to the Funding Committee.
Graduate Student Organizations seeking funds from the GSGF shall have the right to send a representative to any GSC or Funding Committee meeting at which their funding allocations are discussed.
No funds from the GSO partition may be allocated to a group that is not a Voluntary Student Organization registered with the Office of Student Activities.
No funds from the GSO partition may be allocated to a student organization that is not a graduate student organization.
No funds from the GSO partition may be allocated to a group that receives funds from a Special Fee levied, in whole or in part, on the graduate population.
The GSC reserves the right to cancel or suspend an allocation if its funds are not being used within the specifications of the allocation. Notice shall be given to the organization receiving the allocation before funds are made unavailable to it.
Modifications of the specifications of an allocation, excluding the total amount allocated, may be made at the discretion of the financial officer or by the consensus of the GSC. Modifications of the total amount may be made by the Usual Method for Approving Allocations.
The total amount allocated to each Graduate Student Organization, and a summary of the budget associated with the allocation, shall be published in the next Elections Handbook.

D. GSC Partition

The GSC shall prepare an annual budget for the GSC partition, tobe called the GSC partition budget, at or before the beginning of the fiscal year.
Modifications to the GSC programming budget may only be made by the Usual Method for Approving Allocations.
The GSC partition budget for the current year shall be published in each year’s Elections Handbook.

Appendix I: Election Policies

Violations of University rules in an attempt to influence the outcome of an election shall be grounds for disqualification.

Appendix II: Funding Policies

Section 1: Application Procedure

A.

To be reviewed by the Funding Committee, funding and Special Fee requests shall contain the following information, in separate sections:
1. For General Fee funding requests, a signed funding agreement form, which shall contain:
  1. The name of the organization requesting funds.
  2. The name(s), email address(es), and phone number(s) of the member(s) making the request.
  3. The ASSU account number for the organization.
  4. A certification that the organization will comply will all terms and conditions for use of funds specified in the Constitution, the Association By-Laws and Policies, and the GSC By-Laws and Policies; and the allocation approved by the GSC.
2. For Special Fee requests:
  1. The name of the organization requesting the fee.
  2. The name(s), email address(es), and phone number(s) of the member(s) making the request.
  3. The ASSU account number for the organization.
3. A brief description of the group, including a list of previous major activities (if any) and an estimated percentage of its active participants that are members of the graduate population.
4. A budget, following the format of a sample provided by the Funding Committee. it shall contain:
  1. The time period for which the allocation would be effective.
  2. An itemization of all sources of funding and all expenses.
  3. A breakdown of expenses for each specific activity of the organization.
  4. Line item numbers as defined by the Students’ Organizations Fund.
  5. Description of each line item as necessary.
5. Answers to the following questions:
  1. How do the activities to be funded pursue the goals of the GSO partition?
  2. From what other sources is the organization obtaining or seeking funds?
  3. (If applicable) Have the organization’s previous funded and non-funded events been successful?

B.

To assist organizations in the preparation of applications, the Funding Committee shall publish a guide describing the goals of the GSO partition, terms and conditions for use of funds, and all application procedures,and containing a sample application and funding agreement form.

C.

Applications shall be kept on file and made available by the Financial Officer.

Section 2: Review Procedure

A.

Groups applying for GSO partition funds will be notified of the time and location of all relevant meetings at least 48 hours in advance. If either the Funding Committee or the GSC fails to meet the requirement and the group is not able to send a representative to the meeting as a result, the group may, within one week, request that their application be re-evaluated at a time when a member of their organization is able to attend.

B.

The Funding Committee shall consider the answers to the following questions when formulating its judgement of an application:
1. What is the target population for the organization and its activities?
2. How will the organization’s activities be advertised?
3. How realistic and specific are the activities and budget figures?
4. Is the allocation a fair and efficient use of the GSO partition?
5. If applicable, have the organization’s previous funded and non-funded events been successful?
6. Does the organization’s activities provide sufficient value for the amount of money allocated?
7. Does the organization’s activities make a unique contribution to the community?

C.

The GSC has set the following policies regarding specific types of funding:
1. Courses offered for credit: Courses offered for credit in a department should, in general, be funded by that department. The GSC realizes, however, that departments are sometimes reluctant to fund a new course. Because of this, the GSC may partially fund a new course for up to two (2) academic years. After that time, it is expected that the department will take over funding the course.
2. Conferences: The GSC may help subsidize conference registrations for conferences if such a conference is significantly related to an organization’s activities. This will be limited to $50 per person for up to six (6) people for conference registration.
3. Travel: The GSC has set a standard mileage rate of $0.25 per mile for up to $5 per person. For conferences, the six (6) person limit applies.
4. Funding for regular group activities: The GSC understands the importance of having regular, consistent meetings for organizations. However, the GSC will not provide funds for regular group meeting expenses, including space rental, food, and other meeting costs.
5. Events held off-campus: There is a significant concern that off-campus events are, by their nature, limited in appeal and scope. The GSC does not generally fund such events, except in the cases where they are: (a) easily accessible by the graduate student community, and (b) appropriate facilities are not available on campus. These exceptions are made at the discretion of the funding committee. In no case will the GSC fund off-campus recreational activities.
6. Advertising events using flyers and newspaper ads: The GSC does not generally provide funding for flyers and newspaper ads. Groups are instead required to post their event to the GSC-events email list, and encouraged to contact the Stanford Daily to see if they will cover the event.
7. Seed funding: In recognition of the need to encourage more graduate student involvement is GSOs, the GSC may provide seed funding to cover a significant portion of a group’s expenses in its first year of operation. After that, the group should attempt to diversify their funding sources, as the GSC is likely to reduce its level of support, depending on budgetary considerations and the availability of alternative funding.
8. Community service events: Community service, for the purpose of GSC funding, is defined as an activity or event in which Stanford students work together to promote community, learning, health, or social well-being for themselves and for others. The GSC will consider funding community service events and activities of GSOs through the regular funding process provided that:
  1. the service work takes place on campus or in the San Francisco Bay Area, and
  2. funds are used in a way that encourages the involvement and enrichment of the participating Stanford graduate students.
9. Inclusiveness: In funding GSO events or activities-including, but not limited to those that may have religious or political overtones-the GSC seeks to promote cultural understanding and the free exchange of diverse viewpoints. With this in mind, GSOs seeking event funding should demonstrate a concerted effort to welcome and promote the participation of diverse segments of the graduate student community. Events and activities involving politically charged issues should focus on the education of the general community regarding the history and relevance of the issue. The GSC will not fund events or activities that:
  1. have any appearance or tone of exclusivity,
  2. create an environment where a given segment of the graduate student population are made to feel unwelcome at the event due to religious, political, or other conviction,
  3. require prayer or involve campaigning.

D.

The Committee shall prepare a brief recommendation to the GSC regarding each proposal. At the first GSC meeting after preparation of the recommendation, the Committee shall summarize the application and present its recommendation.

Section 3: Terms and Conditions for Use of Funds

A.

The Financial Manager shall notify an organization when funds become available to it.

B.

The Financial Manager may, at his/her discretion, grant extensions to the ending date of an allocation to ensure that all transactions are cleared. No extension may be granted beyond the end of the fiscal year to which the allocation applies.

C.

Unless otherwise specified by the GSC, title to all tangible property purchased, in whole or in part, through the use of funds from the GSGF shall vest with the ASSU, and possession shall devolve upon the ASSU in the event of the dissolution of the GSO possessing the property.

D.

A GSO shall be considered to be dissolved upon the receipt of a declaration of dissolution by its membership, failure to register with the Office of Student Activities for 15 months, or after a declaration of dissolution by the GSC following reasonable efforts to contact the last known officers of the GSO. All allocations to a GSO shall end upon dissolution of that GSO.

E.

Advertisements for events funded by the GSGF shall cite the GSC as a sponsor or cosponsor.

F.

The maximum amount of funds from the GSGF that may be allocated to a graduate student organization in a single fiscal year is $6,000.

Section 4: Verification

A.

An organization receiving an allocation shall submit a followup report to the Funding Committee within two weeks of the end of the allocation. The followup report submitted by an organization shall indicate an estimate of the number of members of the graduate population participating in the funded activities, and an itemization of actual expenses made by the organization.

B.

The Funding Committee may seek independent reports on the success of an organization’s activities from those who attended one or more of them. The Committee may arrange to send volunteers to gather information for such a report.

C.

Follow Up reports shall be kept on file and made available by the Financial Officer.

Section 5: Collection Schedule

Equal fractions of all fees shall be collected in the Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters. No fee shall be collected in the Summer Quarter.

Appendix lll: E-mail Policies

Section 1: General

A.

The GSC shall have the following email lists and e-mail alias:

distribution list: reaching the graduate student population.
announce list: reaching all students interested in GSC activities andmeetings.
email alias: gsc@assu (reaching the secretary), gsc-chair@assu (reaching the chair), gsc-fo@assu (reaching the financial officer), and gsc-fc@assu (reaching the funding committee chair).

B.

The GSC shall nominate an Email Coordinator to manage and update the GSC mailing lists. The Email Coordinator shall manage the membership of the lists, and the recipients of the alias.

Section 2: Distribution List

A.

The GSC shall maintain an email list that reaches as much of the graduate population as possible, subject to constraints of University email usage policies, policies of any sub-lists, and courtesy to those who may receive multiple copies due to overlapping sub-lists.

B.

The GSC Chair, the Email Coordinator, and any others approved by the GSC shall have exclusive rights to administer the distribution list and send emails.

C.

The distribution list shall reside on a mail server owned by the GSC.

D.

The GSC general list shall be used to provide information that is time-sensitive and potentially useful to any given student from a large subset of the graduate population. “Useful” in this case means that the information could enhance student’s quality of life, or help students participate in the graduate community life. Examples of appropriate uses include announcementsfor:
1. University housing deadlines
2. ASSU elections
3. University committee openings
4. Social events promoted by the GSC or GSPB that target the entire graduate population
5. Significant GSC projects or advocacy efforts

E.

At a GSC meeting, or in a prior email to GSC members, the Email Coordinator shall review items to be posted to the list. Members may propose items for inclusion, which shall be approved by the E-mail Coordinator, the GSC Chair, or the GSC. The Email Coordinator shall attempt to consolidate announcements in order to reduce posting frequency.

Section 3: Announce List

A.

The announce list is the formal mechanism to advertise GSC meeting times and agenda, funding committee meetings, and to publicize GSC decisions or events. The GSC officers shall have exclusive rights to post to the list.

B.

Any graduate student shall be added to the Announce list upon request.

Section 4: Email Alias

A.

The GSC shall maintain email alias for the chair, financial officer, and funding committee chair of the GSC. The GSC shall create other email alias as deemed appropriate.

B.

The gsc@assu alias will be the general email address to contact the GSC and shall be received by the Secretary. The GSC Secretary shall forward the email to the relevant members with copy to the GSC Chair.

Appendix IV: GSC equipment rental Policy

Section 1: General

A. Eligibility

Equipment will only be rented to members of the ASSU. Priority is given to the following entities (in order); GSC Social chairs, GSPB, VSO’s, CA’s, members of the GSC. Equipment rental is a privilege, not a right. Eligibility can be denied on discretion of the Equipment Master, the Equipment Masters decisions can be appealed during GSC meetings.

B. Method and timeline of request

By contacting the equipment master per email(equipment@gsc.stanford.edu). Priority of requests shall be assessed 5 work days prior to requested date. Requests made less than 5 work days in advance are honored on discretion of the Equipment Master. Requests made less than 2 work days in advance shall generally not be considered.

C. Rental Duration

In order to accommodate the Equipment Masters schedule and rental for other events, this shall be determined on discretion of equipment master. The pickup and dropoff times shall generally be communicated 2 work days in advance. Drop off shall generally be the next day.

D. Rental Fee

Rental fees have been set at an all time low of $0.

E. Rental Refundable Deposit

There is a refundable deposit required from individuals (GSC members). Equipment valued higher than $50 it is set at 25% of the equipment value. For equipment valued lower than $50 it is set at $10. There is no refundable requirement from GSC social chairs, GSPB and VSO’s and CA’s.

F. Late Return

Loss of refundable deposit and loss of eligibility of future rental upon Equipment Master’s discretion.

G. Equipment Damages, losses and thefts

Equipment loaner is liable for any damages occurring to the equipment. Prior damages must be reported to the Equipment Masters within three hours of pickup. Regular wear and tear are generally not considered damages. An attempt of settlement shall be made and discussed during a GSC meeting. Generally, in the case of complete damage, loss or theft, the loaner shall have to replace the equipment. For exceptional cases of damages, loss or theft, the GSC reserves the right to file a complaint of misconduct with the Organization Conduct Board or a complaint of a Fundamental Standard Violation with to the Office of Community Standards.

H. Equipment List

The equipment masters maintains a public list of equipment; pertaining a serial number, equipment name, reference number, picture, value and rental refundable deposit, along with proof of purchase. An abbreviated list will be available online.

Appendix V: GSC Social Committee

Section I: General

A. History

The GSC social chair has been a longstanding GSC position and organized numerous events. Due to the increase workload for this position, GSC passed a bill on Nov. 6th, 2019 to formally establish and fund a social committee and dismantle the position of GSC social chair.

B. Composition

The social committe shall be composed of a chair and several members. The committee chair position replcaes the GSC social chair position and must be a current GSC member. Members of the committee can include both GSC members and general members of ASSU, at the discretion of the committee chair.

C. Responsibility

The social committee is responsible for organizing large scale social events at the discretion of the GSC. The committee chair must report to the GSC every week and provide social update for the council.

Section II: Funding

Appendix VI: Revision History

Sjoerd A.L. de Ridder, GSC Parliamentarian, 2012-2013 Adam L Beberg, GSC Parliamentarian, 2007-2009 Harris Shapiro, Parliamentarian,2000-2002

Section 1: 1998- 1999 Session

Initial creation.

Section 2: 1999 – 2000 Session

Funding Policy Amendments

Section 3: 2000 – 2001 Session

Addition of the email list Policies

Section 4: 2002 – 2003 Session

GSC Bill 0103FC Expansion of explicit policies regarding the funding of Graduate Student Organizations (GSOs)
4-BL-1 Modification of GSC Bylaws to Clarify the Process of Determining Winners of At-Large Seats.

Section 5: 2006 – 2007 Session

2007-02-28 Co-Officer provision.

Section 6: 2009 – 2010 Session

2009-09-02 Modifications to Voting, Membership, and Proxies.
2010-02-03 Modification to officer election and descriptions.

Section 7: 2012 – 2013 Session

GSC-2012-3 GSC equipment rental Policy.
GSC-2012-4 GSC equipment master position.

Section 8: 2019 – 2020 Session