Constitution of the Mathematics Graduate Students Organization


Article 1 - Name:

The name of this organization shall be: Mathematics Graduate Students Organization, in short MGSO.


Article 2 - Purpose:

1.The organization shall encourage communication among students, faculty, and staff, and contribute to a rich social life in the department.

2.It shall be a source of support and information for all graduate students.

3.It shall actively promote cultural exchange and scientific dialogue.

4. The organization shall provide an environment where students in the mathematics department can practice their presentation skills as well as view the techniques of others.


Article 3 - Membership Requirements:

1.Membership in the MGSO is not influenced by aspects of gender, race, religion or national origin.

2.Active members: Active members of the MGSO are all currently registered graduate students in the Department of Mathematics at Texas A&M University at College Station. Membership is automatic and can not be revoked.


Article 4 - Officers:

1.This organization shall have three officers. They are: President, Vice-President, Secretary.

2.The officers have to be active members of the MGSO.

3.Term of office is one calendar year. The transfer of power to the new officers shall be at the end of spring semester, so the new team will have the summer term to prepare for the coming academic year. If an officer graduates, loses their graduate student status, or retires from office during the academic year, the remaining officers appoint a replacement officer.

4.Duties of officers: The President calls and leads the meetings of the MGSO. He/she shall be responsible for all duties not specified for the Vice-President or Secretary. The Vice-President leads the MGSO in the absence of the President. He/she assists the President as needed and is responsible for the maintenance of the MGSO web site. The Secretary takes minutes at meetings, sends out newsletters and other communications and assists the other officers as needed.

5.At the end of spring semester, the officers shall pass all relevant documents on to their successors. This includes in particular the password for the MGSO-account on the department's computer network. All important documents shall be kept on that account in order to be accessible to future officers.

8.Regular meetings of the MGSO officers shall be held at least once a semester: at the beginning. Additional meetings can be called any time upon request by any member to the President. Invitations to the meetings shall be given by the President.

9.Quorum shall be everybody in attendance at such a meeting; simple majority shall suffice for all decisions, except alterations to the constitution.


Article 5 - Elections:

1.Elections for officers shall be held in April for the upcoming academic year.

2.All active members may run for office, but only for one. If a member has been nominated for two offices, he/she has to decide before the election which office he/she will run for.

3.If for a specific office only one member has been nominated and decided to run, he/she is considered elected. For this office no election will be held.

4.Procedure: All active members may vote in an election. The candidate with the most votes is elected. If a tie is reached, both members can become co-officers, if they agree on that. Otherwise, a new vote is called. The election officers shall announce the names of the candidates no less than one week before the voting deadline.

5.Election officers: The elections shall be organized by two election officers, who are chosen at an MGSO-meeting, or appointed by the President. They must be active members. Election officers may not run for office in the election they are administering.


Article 6 - Presentations:

1.Presentations hosted by the MGSO will be conducted, at a minimum, biweekly unless preempted by holiday or finals.

2.Selection of the speakers shall be by simple majority of the MGSO officers.

3.Unless expressly stated by the speaker and the GSO officers, talks will be restricted to MGSO members only.


Article 7 - Dues:

The MGSO does not collect any dues.


Article 8 - Amendments and Revisions:

1.For amendments or revisions the text of the old article and the proposed change have to be announced via the WWW and on the bulletin board with a minimum of two weeks deliberation time. Voting shall take place by a non-anonymous email-in vote of MGSO members within a two week voting time. A majority of 2/3 of the votes received shall suffice.

2.The Secretary and the Vice-President arrange publication of the changed constitution.


Approval of Constitution:
This constitution was introduced at the MGSO-meeting on June 21, 1999 and subsequently approved via email-vote by the MGSO officers on June 23, 1999.