Preamble

The Black Graduate Student Association does hereby dedicate itself to the enhancement of the graduate experience for African-American students. These efforts extend across the entire spectrum of the graduate experience. This experience includes but is not limited to; facilitating the transition from undergraduate to graduate school, providing academic support, recruiting, and providing opportunities for fellowship. This organization will also seek to expose the Georgia Tech community to elements of African-American culture.
 

Article I – Name

The name of this organization will be "Black Graduate Student Association" (a Georgia Tech Student Organization) hereafter referred to as BGSA
 

Article II – Purpose

Section 1.

The purpose of the BGSA will be to:

1. To assist African-American graduate students by providing information and resources vital to initial and continued success at Georgia Tech.
2. To give African-American graduate students the opportunity to fellowship and bond through social outings and activities.
3. To provide opportunities for African-American graduate students to network with faculty, staff, and industry members.
4. To represent the interests of the African-American graduate student body with respect to the institute.
5. To communicate with African-Americans interested in graduate school especially at Georgia Tech.
6. To participate in outreach activities and programs to uplift the community.

The BGSA and its membership will abide by the rules set forth by the Georgia Institute of Technology and its affiliates.
 

Article III – Membership

Section 1.

Membership in BGSA shall not be based on sex, race, religion, ethnic group or national origin.

Section 2.

There shall be no upper limit for the number of members in BGSA.

Section 3.

1. Full membership shall be open to any graduate student enrolled and in good academic standing at Georgia Tech.
2. Associate membership shall be open to any student enrolled at Georgia Tech, any member of the Georgia Tech faculty and staff, and any Georgia Tech Alumni.

Meeting attendance is not mandatory to maintain membership.
 

Article IV - Voting

Section 1.

1. Full members as defined in Article III Section 3.1 who have paid dues shall be eligible to vote.
2. Only one vote per eligible member will be allowed.

Article V – Officers

Section 1.

The organization shall have the following officers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary.

Section 2.

1. The President is to represent the organization, oversee all organization’s functions, preside over meetings, provide guidance, and to seek the attainment of organizational goals.
2. The Vice President is to assume the responsibilities of the President, if the latter is absent. The responsibilities of the Vice President also include assisting the President and overseeing committees.
3. The Treasurer serves as the primary custodian of all of the organization’s accounts, facilitates monetary exchanges, and will assume the position of the Vice President, if the latter is absent.
4. The Secretary shall maintain a record of the meeting minutes (Executive and General Body) and be responsible for the timely distribution of this record to the membership. The responsibilities of the Secretary also include the maintenance of the organization’s documents and membership directory.

Officers shall be elected by the vote of the members specified in Section 1 in Article IV. General elections shall be held before the end of the spring semester of each academic year. The elected officers shall preside over their respective offices on the first day of the following fall semester, unless otherwise specified in the by-laws of the organization. Special elections shall be held to replace officers who resign or are removed from office before the completion of their term. The members shall be notified in a timely manner before the Election Day and shall be given the option to vote via electronic mail or at the elections meeting. The nominees with the majority vote shall take office.
 

Article V – Committees

1. The Community Services Committee is responsible for organizing activities that promote community involvement.
2. The Fundraising Committee is responsible for ensuring financial stability of the organization via fundraising activities.
3. The Information Technology committee is primarily responsible for keeping the general body informed and educated with regards to information technology advances. A secondary responsibility of the Information Technology committee is to maintain the organization’s forms of information dissemination, such as the mailing list and the WWW pages.
4. The Public Relations Committee is responsible for the recording of the organization’s activities via photography and the production and maintaining of a corporate sponsor brochure.
5. The Recognition Night Committee is to plan the recognition dinner each semester. The recognition dinner is held primarily to honor the organization’s graduating Master's and Ph.D. students.
6. The Social Committee is responsible for organizing social events for membership.
7. The University Relations Committee is responsible for coordinating the organization’s involvement in activities sponsored by the institution. The committee is also responsible for keeping the membership informed of current events with respect to the institute.

Article VI – Meetings

Section 1.

General body meetings shall be held bi-monthly.

Section 2.

Executive board meetings shall be held bi-monthly.