Constitution – Criminal Justice Doctoral Students' Association

Criminal Justice Doctoral Students’ Association (CJDSA)

of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Constitution

I. 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.”

II. 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

A. Voting Membership

The voting membership of the CJDSA shall be comprised of seven CJDSA Board members, with six elected by and from the matriculated students in the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program, and the seventh CJDSA Board Member being the Doctoral Student Council (“DSC”) Program Representative receiving the highest number of votes in DSC elections. In the case that no DSC Program Representative is elected, a seventh student shall be elected by and from the matriculated students in the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program.

B. 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.

IV. Officers

A. Board Members

The six 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 Board meetings during the academic year;
Organizing and hosting CJDSA social and networking events; 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.

2. Vice-President

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

Organizing and chairing the CJDSA all-student 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 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.

3. 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 Board meetings and the CJDSA all-student meetings;
Managing and updating the CJDSA website; and
Acting as the primary disseminator of information to students.

4. Chair for Business

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

Keeping and maintaining any and all financial records of the CJDSA;
Preparing preliminary annual budgets for the CJDSA;
Soliciting donations and writing grants for the CJDSA;
Coordinating with the Criminal Justice Doctoral Student Council Program Representatives regarding the use and reimbursement of Doctoral Student Council Program allocations; and
Managing all CJDSA monies.

5. 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;
Organizing and managing CJDSA events at professional conferences;
Aiding students in applying for professional development grants;
Providing student resources on professional development and teaching;
Acting as co-representative of the CJDSA, along with the President, in matters involving adjunct-related issues;
Obtaining requests for professional development workshops and guest speakers and communicate them to the Executive Officer of the Criminal Justice Program; and
Hearing and acting upon student concerns related to adjunct-related issues.

6. DSC Program Representative

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

Acting as primary liaison to the CJDSA in all DSC-related matters;
Reporting to the CJDSA on DSC business; and
Communicating DSC business to the student body at CJDSA all-student meetings.

B. 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.

C. 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.

D. 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.

V. 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.

VI. 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 Chair for Elections.

Nominations for Board Members shall open by midnight on March 1, 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 15. Students shall be notified of their nomination within three days and shall be presumed to accept nomination unless they decline nomination in writing by midnight on March 25.

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 April 1, and the election period shall be closed at midnight on April 15. 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 Chair for Elections, 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 Chair for Elections, the President shall assume this responsibility.

Students shall be notified of their election in writing within three days, by midnight on April 18^th, and shall be presumed to accept election unless they decline in writing by midnight on April 25th.

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 Chair for Elections unless that position is the one that has been vacated. In that event, the President 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.