Section I. Name. The name of the organization shall be the English Graduate Student Body (EGSB).

Section II. Object and Purposes. The EGSB shall provide a unified voice of the graduate students in the English department for purposes of safeguarding and advancing their position as students and instructors at the University of Mississippi and as professional scholars by
 

A. disseminating information to new students;

B. presenting the ideas, concerns and views of the English graduate students to the faculty and administration;

C. promoting the scholastic and professional development of English graduate students within the English Department, on the UM campus, and in organizations and events outside the University's domain.

Section I. Enrollment. There shall be no active member who is not enrolled as a student at the University of Mississippi.

Section II. Statement of Fairness. There shall be no discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation or national origin.

Section III. Scholarship. All full members must maintain an overall grade point average of at least 3.0.

Section IV. Eligibility of Membership. Any student admitted for a graduate degree in the English department is a member of the EGSB. Any English student admitted provisionally may participate as a non-voting member.

Section V. Active Membership. An active member of the EGSB shall be any member with the right to vote in the EGSB. Any member not specifically barred by any section of Article II may declare active membership by signing the annual official roll of active members held by the secretary.
 

Section I. Numbers and Titles. The officers of the Executive Committee shall be the president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer.

Section II. Election of Officers. Officers and committee chairs shall be elected by the membership present at the yearly organizational election meeting, subject to Article VI. A slate of candidates shall be presented by the Nominating Committee at least one month before the general election.

Section III. Term of Office. Officers shall be elected to serve one-year terms. An officer may serve no more than two full terms in a particular office. Officers shall assume their positions at the close of the regular semester in which they were elected. No person shall hold more than one position or office simultaneously, but may serve on any committee, per Article VI, Section I, subsection A.

Section IV. Vacancy.
 

A. President. In the event that the president is, for any reason, unable to serve, the vice-president shall serve as president until the next general election.

B. Vice-president, secretary and treasurer. In the event that the vice-president, secretary or treasurer are, for any reason, unable to serve, the president shall call upon the Nominating Committee, within one month of the announced vacancy, to present a slate of candidates to fill the vacancy. The successor will be chosen by a vote of the EGSB and will serve until the next general election.

A. The Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall have all executive powers of the EGSB excepting any specifically retained by the membership at large.

B. Individual Duties. In addition to duties of the Executive Committee each officer shall have the following duties:

1. President. The president shall preside at each meeting of the full EGSB and at meetings of the EGSB Executive Committee. The president may call general meetings of the EGSB and of the Executive Committee. He or she is responsible for lending continuity and direction to the EGSB both through a stated platform of specific goals and by overseeing the work of individual committees and ensuring that committee work is accomplished in a timely manner. The president should foster the recruitment of new EGSB members as well as the participation of current members. The president should be a department and campus leader.

2. Vice-president. The vice-president will assume the role of Minority Advocate--representing opposing views in executive committee meetings, in addition to those duties that the President shall assign. The vice-president will preside over meetings in the event that the president is required but unable to attend. The vice-president should bring to the office specific goals to be accomplished during his or her term in office and should work effectively with the president to increase continuity within the EGSB.

3. Secretary. The secretary shall take minutes at executive and general membership meetings to be kept in an annual historical chronicle. The secretary is also responsible for maintaining an annual, official roll of active members; for taking the roll at meetings; for organizing a communication system to notify members of upcoming meetings and events; and to distribute the chronicle and newsletter of the EGSB to its members.

The secretary may form a special committee to produce the newsletter detailing the progress of all committees as well as items of special interest to the English graduate students.

4. Treasurer. The treasurer maintains monetary resources and records, solicits funds and donations, and sees to the timely disbursement of expenses. The treasurer must submit a yearly budget to be approved by the members in the beginning of the academic year, and a budget report at the end of the academic year, as set forth in Article VIII.

The treasurer may form a special committee to organize fund-raising, formation of a budget, and financing of social gatherings, which shall work closely with both the Executive Committee and the Planning Committee.

Officers of the organization shall hold and maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0, not be on disciplinary or academic probation, and shall be fully admitted students to the University of Mississippi English Graduate Program.
 

Section I. Representatives to Faculty Committees. Representatives shall be elected to serve on faculty committees, and are responsible for informing the faculty committee chair of their position, for attending every possible meeting, and for keeping the EGSB abreast of all issues raised by the committee. Positions which bear on academic issues of the Freshman/Sophomore teaching programs require that the officers holding them have experience in teaching and concurrently hold a graduate instructorship in English.

Representatives to faculty committees are assigned tasks and allowed to attend faculty meetings only as the members of the faculty on said committee deem appropriate; therefore, a representative's particular position and duties do not wholly originate within the EGSB. Hence, representatives to faculty committees are exempt from the prohibition against concurrent offices in Article VI, Section I, subsection A.

The following are the committees that the EGSB currently has representation on:

A. Assessment Committee.

B. Awards Committee.

C. Department Chair's Advisory Committee.

D. Freshman English Committee.

E. Graduate Studies Committee.

F. Sophomore Textbook Committee.

G. Undergraduate Studies Committee.

A. Academic Issues Committee. This committee is designed to address English graduate students' problems and concerns regarding the academic standards or policies of the English Department, Graduate School, and University. This committee will be charged with soliciting and compiling requests from English graduate students for changes in academic policy. This committee should also devise and implement a mentoring system for new graduate students.

B. Ad-Hoc Committee. The chair of the ad-hoc committee will be responsible for directing the efforts and attention of the committee members to specific or immediate problems or needs of the EGSB. The chair and members of the ad-hoc committee will be responsible for establishing and maintaining a current handbook of standards, policies and activities for English Graduate students, called the E-Book. The chair of the committee has the right to request that the President call a meeting to contend with immediate problems affecting English graduate students.

C. Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee should solicit and accept self-nominations from members wishing to be placed on the yearly general election slate: this slate must be presented to a meeting of the general membership one month before the election. The chair of the Nominating Committee is responsible for distributing the platform and goals of each nominee to the membership and should be able to explain to any interested member the duties and requirements for each position.

D. Planning Committee. The Planning Committee shall assist the secretary in maintaining an accurate list of the graduate students in the English Department, should organize and promote social activities among the graduate students, and plan for presentations and keynote speakers as part of the professional development of the EGSB.
 

Section I. Officer Election Procedures.

A. Nominations.  Anyone wishing to run for an office must submit a one paragraph statement of qualifications and goals for the office to the Chair of the Nominating Committee by the last day of February. This statement shall be made public to the membership after the slate of candidates is presented per Article V, Section II, subsection C. As per campus procedure, no one may run for more than one office; however, one may serve on any and all committees.

B. Elections.   Elections are to be held in the first full week of April. New officers and committee chairs will assume their positions after the close of the spring semester. All officer elections will be by secret ballot.

A. Quorum for Officer Elections.  A quorum of one-half of the active membership must be present for officer elections. A simple majority of those voting will carry the nominee.

B. Quorum for Votes on Issues and Proposals.  A quorum of one-third of the active membership is necessary to vote on any issue affecting the EGSB. A simple majority of those attending will carry the issue or proposal.

Section I. Regular Meetings.  The EGSB will hold at least two regular meetings per semester. Unless extreme circumstances warrant an extension (which must be approved by vote), all meetings should last no more than one hour and fifteen minutes.

Section II. Special Meetings.  The President, in conjunction with the Executive Committee, may call emergency/planning meetings as needed.

Section III. Summer Meetings.  No meetings in which issues are passed will be held during the summer semesters.

Section IV. Agenda.  The agenda at regular meetings will include:

A. Call to Order.

B. Membership count.   The Secretary shall physically verify and record the number of full members present.

C. Reading of the previous minutes.

D Announcements.  Announcements should be made prior to all regular business and should be limited to five minutes.

E. Old Business.

F. New Business.

G. Adjournment.

Section I. Acquisition. No member of the EGSB shall be required to pay any fee whatsoever to the EGSB for the privilege of membership or the right to vote. The treasurer may solicit donations from any source, including members, but no member may accept privilege arising therefrom.

Section II. Expenditures.

A. Budget.  The yearly budget shall reflect the desires of the EGSB and should fulfill the stated duties of the Object and Purposes put forward in Article I, Section II of the constitution. No expenditures not listed in the budget nor classified as incidental according to Article VIII, Section II, subsection B may be made without a two-thirds vote of the membership present at the meeting in which such is proposed. The budget for the fiscal year must be agreed upon by vote at the first meeting of each year no later than September 30.

B. Incidentals.  The Secretary and Treasurer may defray minimal operating costs of the EGSB without voting approval. A minimal operating cost is defined as something necessary for keeping the meetings and records and/or one that does not exceed five percent of the treasury.

Section I. Amendment.  This constitution may be amended at any time by a two-thirds vote of the entire active membership.

Section II. Statement of Limitation.  Nothing contained in this constitution shall in any way limit the final authority of the University of Mississippi.

Section III. Ratification.  Ratification of this constitution shall be following approval of two-thirds of the active membership, and approval and acceptance of the Committee on Student Organizations and/or the Office of the Dean of Students.

Section IV. Statement of Finality.  Upon ratification of this constitution, all previous constitutions shall be null and void.

In order to comply with University policy regarding membership in student organizations, as set forth in Article II, the official roll of active members, held by the Secretary per Article III, Section V, Subsection B, Item 3, shall hereafter be renewed at the beginning of every Fall and Spring semester. Formerly, the roll was renewed annually; however, Article II, Section I is dependent upon enrollment and we do not enroll annually but by semester.

A member of the Body must sign the roll, indicating enrollment as a student, each regular semester in order to maintain the rights and responsibilities of active membership set forth in Article II, Section V. Signing the roll during the summer semester is not required, per Article VII, Section III.
 

The Nominating Committee will no longer be a separate entity within the EGSB, and the duties of the former Chair of the Nominating Committee, as described in Article III, Section II, and Article V, Section II, Subsection C, shall be subsumed henceforth by the Vice-president. The Vice-president may solicit a interim committee to assist her or him with this task as he or she desires.
 

The Planning Committee will no longer be a separate entity within the EGSB, and the duties of the former Chair of the Planning Committee, as described in Article V, Section II, Subsection D, shall be subsumed henceforth by the Chair of the Academic Issues Committee. To reflect this change, the Academic Issues Committee shall be from this point on renamed the Graduate Development Committee, as it must promote our interests in building curricula and faculty as well as fostering community through professional and social events.
 

Section I. In the event of any abdication or unfilled office other than that of President, for any reason whatsoever, the Vice-president shall follow the procedure set forth in Article III, Section IV, Subsection B. The President need not call this action; the Vice-president shall initiate the procedures, make the vacant position known to the Body through the accepted public channels, and gather the slate of candidates as soon as possible after learning of the vacancy.

Section II. The resultant emergency election shall be held not less than two weeks nor more than one month from the announced vacancy. The Vice-president may not reject any candidate willing to submit a statement of purpose and run for office.

Section III. In the instance where the office of Vice-president is vacant, including the results of a Presidential resignation per Article III, Section IV, Subsection A, the duties of nomination and election set forth in Articles III and VI, and Amendments II and IV shall fall first to the Secretary, then to the Treasurer, and finally to the President. If the entire Executive Committee is vacant, the entire Body must meet as soon as possible and hold a general election in a democratic fashion to fill the Executive Committee. In this instance only, nominations must be received by the Body by the candidate him- or herself at the time of the election.
 

The statement of purpose, written by a candidate for office and distributed by the Vice-president, was designed to prove to the Body that the candidate was serious in his or her desire to represent and work in behalf of the Body. In Article VI, Section I, Subsection A, this statement was described as a "one-paragraph statement of qualifications and goals;" however, there shall be no restriction on length, either minimum or maximum, to this statement. Let the length and involvement of the statement reflect to the Body the character of the candidate.

The basic requirements of the statement are only that it be written and submitted to the Vice-president or representative thereof, per procedures established in Articles III and VI, and Amendments II and IV; and that it express the personal desire to run for an office to the active membership of the Body.
 

Per Article III., Section V., Subsection A.—powers and duties not specifically retained by the Body—the President shall have the power, as appropriate, to either preside over, act as representative to, or appoint a voluntary representative from the Body membership to any committee, group, or association, provided such position is not made subject to Body election.

The President and Vice-president will be responsible for EGSB representation to the Graduate Student Council, formerly known as the Associated Graduate Student Body. The President may appoint representatives to the Graduate Student Council; however, if no member agrees or the appointed members fail to attend Graduate Student Council meetings, the President and the Vice-president must represent the EGSB.

In order to comply fully with the paragraph above, the President must give an account of Graduate Student Council meetings to the Body within one week. The President may assign this report to the Vice-president if the latter attended. The Body shall likewise be informed within one week if the EGSB was not represented at Graduate Student Council meetings. These Graduate Student Council provisions include only official meetings and the annual Graduate Student Council Forum; they do not require attendance at GSC-sponsored social functions.
 

The EGSB may collect dues. The amount of dues will be set by majority vote, initially $2.00 per semester. The Treasurer will collect the dues, which will be required for active membership and voting rights.