Constitution

Criminal Justice Doctoral Students’ Association (CJDSA)

of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Constitution

  1. Name

The name of this organization shall be the “Criminal Justice Doctoral Students’ Association,” hereafter “CJDSA.”  The name of the student governing body of this organization shall be the “Criminal Justice Doctoral Students’ Association Board,” hereafter “CJDSA Board.”

  1. Purpose

The purposes of the CJDSA Board shall include but not be limited to:

  1. Promoting an atmosphere of community and sociability for the welfare of students in the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program;
  2. Representing the interests of and establishing and enacting policy for students in the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program;
  3. Ensuring student representation on all Criminal Justice Doctoral Program standing committees and Graduate Council and hearing reports of those student representatives;
  4. Facilitating professional development of Criminal Justice doctoral students by providing necessary resources and support and fostering connections with program alumni; and
  5. Undertaking other initiatives as needed and as decided by the students to improve any aspect of the program in which students have a rightful role.

III. Membership

  1. Voting Membership

The voting membership of the CJDSA shall be comprised seven (or eight) CJDSA Board members, with six elected by and from the matriculated students in the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program, and the seventh (or possibly eighth) CJDSA Board Member being the Doctoral Student Council (“DSC”) Program Representative(s) receiving the highest number of votes in DSC elections. In the case that no DSC Program Representative(s) is/are elected, a seventh (or eighth) student shall be elected by and from the matriculated students in the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program. A petition must be submitted to the DSC in this event.

  1. Non-Voting Membership

The non-voting members of the CJDSA shall include, ex officio, all student representatives to program standing committees, all student representatives to Graduate Council, and all other DSC Program Representatives. Non-voting members shall have voice at all meetings.

  1. Officers
  2. Board Members

The seven CJDSA Board Members are listed as follows, along with their duties:

  1. President

The duties of the President shall include but not be limited to:

  • Communicating student concerns to the Executive Officer of the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program and working to relieve those concerns;
  • Scheduling and chairing CJDSA Closed-Board meetings during the academic year;
  • Organizing and hosting CJDSA social and networking events; 
  • Managing and supervising elections of CJDSA Board Members; 
  • Ensuring compliance with GC and Graduate Council bylaws on the election of student representatives to standing program committees; and
  • Serving as a primary liaison to the CJDSA in all communications with outside persons, organizations, or agencies, including but not limited to the John Jay College community.
  1. Vice-President

The duties of the Vice-President shall include but not be limited to:

  • Organizing and chairing the CJDSA Open-Board meeting each semester;
  • Serving as a secondary liaison to the CJDSA in communications with the Executive Officer, and outside persons, organizations, or agencies, including but not limited to the John Jay College community;
  • Serving as a primary liaison to the CJDSA for members of program standing committees and the Graduate Council; 
  • Serving as a non-voting proxy in the absence of an assigned CJDSA Board Member
  • Serving as a secondary CJDSA representative alongside any other Board Member requiring assistance; and
  • Fostering relationships with alumni of the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program to benefit the professional welfare of current students and cultivate a network of alumni–student connections.
  1. Chair for Communications

The duties of the Chair for Communications shall include but not be limited to:

  • Keeping records of and distributing minutes and notes from CJDSA Closed-Board meetings and the CJDSA Open-Board meetings;
  • Creating CJDSA-event related material;
  • Managing and updating the CJDSA platforms; and
  • Approving all CJDSA-related material and disseminating information to students.
  1. Chair for Strategic Planning

The duties of the Chair for Strategic Planning shall include but not be limited to:

  • Keeping and maintaining any and all financial records of the CJDSA;
  • Coordinating with DGSC Rep for reimbursements;
  • Soliciting donations and writing grants for the CJDSA;
  • Organizing funded events (guest speakers, book talks, and end-of-semester gatherings; and
  • Reviewing the duties of each elected position and the organization’s constitution and disseminating the review results to the executive board annually.
  1. Chair for Teaching and Professional Development

The duties of the Chair for Teaching and Professional Development shall include but not be limited to:

  • Acting as primary liaison to the CJDSA for teaching and professional organizations, including but not limited to the Adjunct Project;
  • Serving on the Curriculum Committee;
  • Providing student resources on professional development, grants, and teaching;
  • Creating and maintaining a repository on adjunct-related materials and resources;
  • Creating and maintaining a repository of CRJPhD-recommended courses provided by the Graduate Center;
  • Acting as co-representative of the CJDSA, along with the President, in matters involving adjunct-related issues;
  • Organizing and chairing professional development workshops; and
  • Hearing and acting upon student concerns related to teaching and professional development issues
  1. Chair for International Student Affairs

The duties of the Chair for International Student Affairs shall include but not limited to:

  • Acting as primary liaison to the CJDSA for international student’s interests relating to research opportunities, mentorship support, financial challenges, and more;
  • Supporting international students with adjusting to a new country;
  • Providing international students with resources available through the Graduate Center and John Jay College; and
  • Advocating for policy consideration on behalf of international students’ interest
  1. Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The duties of the Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion shall include but not be limited to:

  • Serving on the Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion;
  • Disseminating information from John Jay and the Graduate Center related to diversity, equity, and inclusion;
  • Hearing and acting upon student concerns related to diversity, equity, and inclusion; and
  • Working with the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program to provide diversity, equity, and inclusion workshops; and
  • Fostering relationships with community organizations focused on improving diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Criminal Justice field. 
  1. DGSC Program Representative(s)

The duties of the DGSC Program Representative shall include but not be limited to:

  • Acting as primary liaison to the CJDSA in all DGSC-related matters;
  • Coordinating with the Criminal Justice Doctoral Student Council Program Representatives regarding the use and reimbursement of Doctoral Student Council Program allocations;
  • Reporting to the CJDSA on DGSC business; and
  • Communicating DGSC business to the student body at CJDSA all-student meetings.
  1. Tenure

The tenure of CJDSA Board Members shall be July 1 – June 30 of the following year.  The tenure of all committee members and officers shall be co-terminous with their positions as representatives.

  1. Recall

The DSC Program Representative(s) shall be subject to recall according to the procedures enumerated in the DSC Constitution.  The other six voting CJDSA Board Members are subject to recall from the CJDSA, either by a signed petition of two-thirds of the matriculated students in the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program, or a three-quarters majority vote of the CJDSA Board. A Voting Board Member cannot be recalled unless he or she has been notified in writing at least five business days before the presentation of the petition to the CJDSA or before the meeting at which the motion may be entertained.  All student representatives to program standing committees and Graduate Council are subject to recall from their respective committees by the same procedure.  

  1. Volunteer Committees

The CJDSA Board shall be permitted to select volunteers from the current student body to serve on ad-hoc temporary committees for the purposes of carrying out specific events. 

  1. Meetings

The CJDSA Board is required to meet at least three times per semester, with the first meeting of the semester held within 30 days of the start of classes in that semester.  At the beginning of each meeting, a CJDSA member who is not the President shall be designated as the secretary of that meeting with the consent of the majority of the voting members.  All meetings shall be governed by the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, and comply with the New York State Open Meeting Law and the Freedom of Information Law.  All members of the public may attend any meeting of the CJDSA without vote and also without voice unless so recognized to speak by the President.  Members of the public may not attend portions of meetings conducted in a legitimate executive session unless so authorized by the President.

Once per semester, the CJDSA Board shall hold an all-student meeting to communicate Board actions and plans to the student body, and to serve as a space for airing of student concerns.

  1. Elections

The election of the DSC Program Representative(s) shall take place each spring under the supervision of the DSC.  The election of the other six CJDSA Board Members and student representatives to program standing committees and Graduate Council shall take place each spring under the supervision of the President.

Nominations for Board Members shall open by midnight on March 1st, and notice shall be sent to all matriculated students in the program at least three days in advance.  Any matriculated student in the program may nominate any other matriculated student in the program, including him or herself.  All nominations shall be submitted in writing.  The nomination period shall be closed as of midnight on March 6th.  Students shall be notified of their nomination within two days and shall be presumed to accept nomination unless they decline nomination in writing by midnight on March 12th.

Elections shall be conducted through any verifiable and time-stamped medium accepted by a simple majority vote of the CJDSA.  Separate ballots shall be prepared for each committee, and write-in votes shall be allowed on any ballot.  All ballots must be sent by midnight on March 14th, and the election period shall be closed at midnight on March 23rd.  Ballots submitted after this time shall be considered invalid.

The student representatives to each committee shall be those nominees who received the most votes in that election, with the total number of representatives not to exceed the total number of seats for that committee.  If a student is nominated on several ballots, the votes received on one ballot shall not count toward the other(s).  Tied votes shall be decided by the President, who shall first ask the tied candidates to decide among themselves who shall serve and, lacking consensus among or response from all candidates, shall draw names in a chance lottery.  In the case of a tie involving the sitting President, the Chair for Business shall assume this responsibility.

Students shall be notified of their election in writing within two days, by midnight on March 25th, and shall be presumed to accept election unless they decline in writing by midnight on March 30th.

In the event of a recall or resignation of a Board Member, the student with the next highest number of votes for that position in the most recent election shall be asked to assume the vacated position.  If that student is unavailable or ineligible, appointments shall be made in order of students receiving the next highest number of votes until all alternate candidates are exhausted.  In the event that no alternate candidate is selected through this process, a special election for the vacated position may be held.  This special election must follow the same procedures as that for regular elections, with adjustment made only to specific dates, and shall be supervised by the President unless that position is the one that has been vacated.  In that event, the Chair for Business shall assume this responsibility.

VII. Amendments

A proposed amendment to this Constitution may be considered by the CJDSA upon written presentation to it by any voting member thereof.  Written notice of the proposed amendment shall be sent to every voting member at least ten business days before the meeting at which it is to be considered.  An amendment may be passed by a two-thirds majority vote.  An amendment adopted by the CJDSA shall be distributed to students in the program for ratification.  The amendment shall be considered ratified unless rejected by a simple majority vote, with at least 10% of the students in the program responding within 20 business days of distribution. 



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