The Constitution
of the
GRADUATE ASSOCIATION
OF
AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS (GA³)

ARTICLE I : PURPOSE

1. Promote student well-being.
1. Academic: Qualifying/General exams, curriculum, etc.
2. Quality of Life: Cost-of-living, stipends, etc.
2. Establish a formal student-department relationship.
1. Provide a forum for faculty and administration feedback from the student body.
2. Maintain student awareness concerning important topics or changes in the department.
3. Foster a sense of professional and personal community within the department.
1. Within the student body.
2. Between students and faculty.
4. Increase department presence and student involvement throughout MIT.
1. Represent department consensus to outside groups.
2. Inform department of Institute-wide events or issues.

ARTICLE II : MEMBERSHIP AND OFFICERS

1. Membership
1. Any graduate student in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics is eligible to become a member of this organization.
2. One is considered a member of the GA³ if he/she serves as a Laboratory Representative, a Representative to the GSC or as an appointed Member-At-Large.
3. This organization will not discriminate based on any characteristic listed in MIT's Nondiscrimination Statement.
4. If this organization charges any monetary dues, there will be exceptions made for students that cannot afford these dues.
2. Membership Structure
1. This organization will consist of a General Council and five standing committees.
2. The five standing committees will be the following,
1. The Executive Committee
2. The Academic Committee
3. The Communications Committee
4. The Social Committee
5. The Finance Committee
3. The General Council will consist of [at least] ten (10) members: the Laboratory Representatives, the MIT Graduate Student Council Representatives and the Members-At-Large.
1. There shall be one Laboratory Representative from each of the major laboratories (10) within the AA department
2. The laboratories within the AA Department with Representatives to the GA³ shall be:
   
   

3. The Laboratory Representatives shall be selected by members of their respective laboratory.
4. The Members-At-Large (arbitrary number >= 0) shall be appointed by the council in special circumstances.
3. The Executive Committee will consist of at least four (4) officers: the President, Vice President, Treasurer and MIT Graduate Student Council Representatives.
1. The President, Vice President and Treasurer shall also be Laboratory Representatives or Members-At-Large.
2. The President, Vice President and Treasurer shall be elected by the General Council from amongst the Laboratory Representatives and the Members-At-Large.
3. The MIT Graduate Student Council Representatives cannot simultaneously be Laboratory Representatives.
4. The MIT Graduate Student Council Representatives shall be selected from the department graduate student body in accordance with GSC selection regulations (the number of Representatives shall be based on the size of the graduate student body).
4. All other committees will be comprised of members of the General Council.
1. All Laboratory Representatives must serve on a committee.
2. Laboratory Representatives will choose which committee to serve on, or will be appointed by the Executive Committee.
3. All committees will be subsets of the General Council. Ad-hoc committees may be formed at any time by the Executive Committee.
4. Any member, whether Officer, Laboratory Representative or Member-At-Large may serve on a committee.
5. Each committee will be directed by a committee head.
1. The Executive Committee will be headed by the President
2. The President will appoint the committee head of all other committees.
2. Duties of Officers and Members
1. President
1. The President shall be the official representative of the group to the AA Department, to any other organization and to MIT.
2. The President will preside over all Executive and General Council meetings.
3. The President shall be responsible for determining the time and location of meetings and publicizing this to the group.
4. The President can access organizational funds in the absence of the Treasurer
2. Vice President
1. Fulfills all presidential duties in absence of President.
2. Maintains record of council proceedings and facilitates elections.
3. Treasurer
1. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the finances of the group.
2. The Treasurer is required to sign all checks/vouchers of the group.
4. MIT Graduate Student Council (GSC) Representative(s)
1. Fulfills prescribed duties of Departmental GSC Representative.
2. Make the GA³ aware of Institute-wide student issues.
3. Represent the views of the department to the GSC.
5. Laboratory Representative (10)
1. Represents concerns of laboratory members to the Council.
2. Reports information from the Council back to their fellow laboratory members.
3. Fulfills duties prescribed to him/her by Council as necessary.
6. Member-At-Large (arbitrary number >= 0)
1. Fulfills duties prescribed to him/her by Council as necessary.
7. Committee Head
1. Sets the agenda and goals for their Committee.
2. Directs and delegates the work and initiatives of the Committee.
3. Reports to the Executive Committee and the General Council.
3. Elections
1. Elections of Executive officers shall occur at the conclusion of every spring semester, or when an officer steps down.
2. Any Member-At-large or Laboratory Representative is eligible to run for Executive office.
3. The term of Executive office runs from June 1 till until May 31, the following year.
4. The Laboratory Representatives are elected or appointed by their respective laboratory as necessary.
5. The term of the Laboratory Representatives lasts until the Representative chooses to step down.
6. Quorum for elections is two thirds of the group.
7. Any member is elected if he or she wins a majority of the voting members.
8. If more than two people are running and no one wins a majority, then the person with the fewest votes is dropped from the ballot and votes are recast.
4. Removal : Officers and Representatives may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the members.

ARTICLE III : MEETINGS

1. Meetings for the General Council shall be held at least every month.
2. Meetings for the Executive Committee shall be held as necessary.
3. All meetings shall be presided over by the President, unless he/she is absent, and in that case the Vice President shall preside.
4. General Council meetings shall be open to the entire graduate student body.
5. All decisions shall be made by a majority vote of all members present.
6. Quorum for a meeting shall be one third of the members of the organization.

ARTICLE IV : AMENDMENTS

1. Amendments shall be presented by any member of the organization.
2. Amendments shall be passed by a majority of the members present.
3. Quorum for amending this constitution shall be one third of all members of the organization.
4. Meetings with Amendment voting shall be announced at least one week ahead of time.

ARTICLE V : ASA GOD CLAUSE

The GA³ agrees to abide by the rules and regulations of the Association of Student Activities, and its executive board. This constitution, amendments to it, and the by-laws of this organization shall be subject to review by the ASA Executive Board to insure that they are in accordance with the aforementioned rules and regulations.