The MSU STT Graduate Student Organization (STT GSO) is a structured, self-governing, and student-led university organization that fosters graduate student participation in the academic governance of STT, promotes student success, and supports an enjoyable graduate school experience marked by unity, collaboration, integrity, and dynamism.

 

GSO Constitution

ARTICLE I: NAME AND PURPOSE

 Section 1: The name of this organization shall be STT Graduate Students’ Organization (hereafter referred to as ‘organization’) at Michigan State University.

Section 2: The purpose of this organization shall be to foster graduate student participation in the academic governance of the Department of Statistics and Probability (hereafter mentioned as ‘Department’), promote student success, and support an enjoyable graduate school experience marked by unity, collaboration, integrity, and dynamism; through a formally established mechanism within the framework of the Bylaws of the Department of Statistics and Probability (hereafter mentioned as ‘STT Bylaws”).

Section 3: The members of the graduate student constituency of the Department, as defined in Section 2 of the STT Bylaws, having resolved to constitute a structured self-governing organization as outlined in Sections 1-2 under this Article adopted and gave to themselves this Constitution which shall serve as a guiding document, on the Wednesday, the 15th of April 2026.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: This organization will abide by the Michigan State University Non-Discrimination Policy:

Subsection 1: The organization shall not discriminate on the basis of age, color, gender, gender identity, disability status, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or weight.

Section 2: Only MSU Students are eligible to be members of the organization. Non-MSU students may participate in the organization’s activities in any capacity from time to time as determined by the President.

Section 3: Membership shall be attained by enrollment in the M.S. or Ph.D. programs offered solely by the Department of Statistics and Probability in the College of Natural Science, Michigan State University or by approval of a request to join by the President and the Vice-President.

Section 4: Membership shall be retained by continued enrollment in any of the M.S. or Ph.D. programs offered solely by the Department of Statistics and Probability in the College of Natural Science, Michigan State University unless barred by the effect of a Removal Proceeding provided for under Article IV of this Constitution.

Section 5: Membership shall be revoked for violations of this constitution or for not abiding by institutional policy including Spartan Life. Decisions of removal of any member shall only be decided by a two-thirds majority vote of the members in a meeting called for Removal Proceedings described under Article IV (Section 3) in this Constitution.

ARTICLE III: OFFICERS

Section 1: The following officers shall be established annually to lead the organization:

Subsection 1: President shall be elected annually to serve for one year from May 15th of the current year to May 14th of the following year. Their duties and responsibilities shall be as follows.

1. To supervise and coordinate general affairs of the Organization as the chief executive.
2. To respond to student/department administration needs that require coordination between the department administration and the graduate student constituency as defined in the STT Bylaws.
3. To call for a vote/meeting of the General Body as and when necessary to assist in decision-making and fulfill the objectives of the organization.
4. To act as one of the two student representatives in the Committee of the Whole and the Student Advisory Council as specified in the STT Bylaws.

Subsection 2: Vice-President shall be elected annually to serve for one year from May 15th of the current year to May 14th of the following year. Their duties and responsibilities shall be as follows.

1. To assist the President in the supervision and coordination of general affairs of the organization.
2. To assist the President in their duties with documentation and maintenance of an event calendar for the organization including but not limited to colloquia, cultural, community events (like Department Picnic, Game Day), reading club meetings.
3. To interpret this Constitution whenever there is a dispute/disagreement/ambiguity in any of its contents. Vice Presidential interpretation shall be final and can only be overturned by a 2/3rd majority vote in a meeting of the General Body.
4. To act as one of the two student representatives in the Committee of the Whole and the Student Advisory Council as specified in STT Bylaws.

Subsection 3: Secretary shall be appointed annually to serve for one year from August 16th of the current year to August 15th of the following year. Their duties and responsibilities shall be as follows.

1. To convene, preside over meetings, maintain meeting minutes and/or conduct a democratic vote of the General Body as and when required by the President or the Constitution.
2. To represent the department in the NatSci Student Advisory Council and the Council of Graduate Students (COGS MSU).
3. To call for annual officer elections and conduct them as per the procedures listed in this Constitution under Section 3 of this Article. If the Secretary is a nominee for the office of President/Vice-President, they must delegate this specific responsibility to the Graduate Program Coordinator of the Department of Statistics and Probability.

Subsection 4: Colloquium Committee Representative shall be appointed annually by the President to serve for one year from May 15th of the current year to May 14th of the following year. Their duties and responsibilities shall be as follows.

1. To represent the graduate student constituency in the department’s colloquium committee as specified in the STT Bylaws.
2. To organize and ensure the conduct of regular student seminars throughout the year.

Section 2: To be eligible to hold an office position a student must be a student at Michigan State University, be in good standing with theorganization, and satisfy the following conditions by the time of election/appointment.

Subsection 1: (Enrollment) The student must be enrolled in one of the M.S. or Ph.D. programs offered both solely and jointly by the Department of Statistics and Probability in the College of Natural Science, Michigan State University.

Subsection 2: (Continuing Enrollment) The student must not be expecting to graduate out of the Department in the upcoming Fall and Spring Commencements.

Subsection 3: (Satisfy STT Bylaws-requirement) The student must be a member of the graduate student constituency as defined in the STT Bylaws if the position is of President, Vice-President or Colloquium Committee Representative. Additionally, the student must be a doctoral student of the Department as understood in the STT Bylaws if the position is of Colloquium Committee Representative.

Section 3: The following guidelines shall constitute the election/appointment process for officers.

Subsection 1: (Call for Nominations) The Secretary shall call for each member of the organization to nominate not more than one candidate for each of the offices of President and Vice-President between March 15 and March 31 of each year. In the Secretary’s discretion, late nominations may be accepted no later than April 9.

Subsection 2: (Verification of Eligibility) The Secretary shall review the constitutional eligibility of each nominee to hold office as specified in Section 2 of this article. Subsequently, the Secretary shall do the following.

1. Inform disqualified nominees privately of their disqualification and their right to dispute said disqualification in writing to the Secretary AND Vice-President, no later than 2 p.m. Eastern Time, April 4.
2. Confirm privately the willingness of eligible nominees to run for office(s).
3. Accept any disputes to disqualification by disqualified nominees received in writing on or before April 6, review them with the Vice-President under Constitutional guidance and communicate the final decision to the disputant.
4. Publicly disqualify with justification any candidate found to engage in unethical means at any point in time before and during the election.

Subsection 3: (Election Plan) After confirming candidates, the Secretary shall do as follows.

1. Discuss, entertain, accommodate and/or resolve any concerns and suggestions raised by confirmed candidates regarding the procedures to be adopted for free and fair elections including but not limited to the election meeting schedule, limits on speeches/debates/Q&A, and limits on absentee-voting, in a manner that is transparent and mutually agreeable to all candidates running for each office.
2. Inform confirmed candidates of the final election plan and that they may be subject to public disqualification if found to be engaging in unethical conduct at any point in time before or during the election, no later than 12 p.m. Eastern Time, April 9.
3. Announce the Final List of Candidates and Details of the Election Meeting to all members of the organization no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Time, April 10.

Subsection 4: (Election Meeting) The Secretary shall convene the election meeting in a physical setting on April 15 or on the next business day if April 15 is a weekend/department holiday. Special arrangements under the Secretary’s discretion may be made to accommodate only a reasonable absence of a candidate in a manner not disputed by fellow candidates contesting for the same position(s).

Subsection 5: (Voter Eligibility) All members of the graduate student constituency as defined in the STT Bylaws shall be eligible to vote in the elections for the positions of President and VicePresident provided they are in good standing with the organization and they satisfy the following.

1. The member must participate/attend the election meeting sufficiently enough to evaluate all candidates running for an office through whatever platform(s) candidates engage in according to the election plan to present their case for why they should be voted to a particular office.
2. The member has been granted special arrangements, for justified reasons only, by the Secretary with agreement of all candidates running for a particular office to vote in absentia for that office.
3. The member is not the Secretary.

Subsection 6: (Presidential Pitch and Election) The Secretary shall call upon Presidential candidates in alphabetical order of their last name and preside over the presentations of pitches/Q&As/Debates or any other plan in the manner specified and mutually agreed upon by the candidates earlier. Subsequently, the Secretary shall conduct a closed plurality vote among eligible voters to elect the President. The President-elect’s candidature for Vice-President, if any, shall be disqualified immediately.

 Subsection 7: (Vice-Presidential Pitch and Election) The Secretary shall call upon Vice-Presidential candidates in alphabetical order of their last name and preside over the presentations of pitches/Q&As/Debates or any other plan in the manner specified and mutually agreed upon by the candidates earlier. Subsequently, the Secretary shall conduct a closed plurality vote among eligible voters to elect the Vice-President.

Subsection 8: (Tie-Breaker) The Secretary shall vote to break any ties in a Presidential/Vice-Presidential Election.

Subsection 7: (Colloquium Committee Representative Appointment) The Colloquium Committee Representative shall be appointed by the President-elect, in their discretion, subject to confirmation of the Vice-President-elect and fulfillment of the appointee’s eligibility for office.

Subsection 8: The President-elect, Vice-President-elect and Colloquium Committee Representative-to be shall be declared to the membership of the organization and the Department on or before May 1.

Subsection 9: (Secretarial Appointment) The Secretary shall be appointed by the President-elect in consultation with the VicePresident-elect, subject to fulfillment of the appointee’s eligibility for office. This appointment shall be announced to the General Body on or before the first business day of the Fall Semester.

Section 4: In case an officer fails to fulfill their duties and responsibilities, misrepresents the membership or fails to abide by institutional policies, an officer may be censured or removed by impeachment following the below procedure.

Subsection 1: (Proposal Protocol) A member may propose a censure or no-confidence motion against the President/Secretary in writing to the Vice President. A member may propose a censure or no-confidence motion against the Vice President/Colloquium Committee Representative in writing to the Secretary.

Subsection 2: (Censure/Impeachment Proceedings) Once a proposal is received by the appropriate office and all attempts to resolve the matter privately have been exhausted, the following shall be done.

1. The Secretary (or Vice-President if the Secretary is the defendant) shall convene and preside over a General Body Meeting to discuss a censure motion or initiate impeachment proceedings, as is appropriate. 
2. The censure/no-confidence motion shall be announced by the officer who received the the proposal. 
3. The defendant shall be allowed reasonable opportunity to defend themselves following which the motion shall be discussed by the members in attendance, in the absence of the defendant. Unjustified absence of the defendant shall be considered to have met the standards of ample opportunity given to the defendant to defend themself.
4. If the defendant is the President/Vice-President/Colloquium Committee Representative, a closed vote shall be conducted amongst all attending members in good standing with the organization that are a part of the graduate student constituency as specified in the STT Bylaws, following adequate disscussion.
5. If the defendant is the Secretary, a closed vote shall be conducted amongst all attending members in good standing with the organization, following adequate disscussion.
6. The Censure/No-confidence motion shall be adopted by simple majority.
7. A Removal Proceeding as listed under Article IV in this Constitution may be initiated and conducted within an Impeachment Proceedings after a No-Confidence motion is adopted.

Subsection 3: (Consequences of Censure) If a Censure motion is adopted, the officers shall restrict or nullify the action(s) of the defendant that was the cause for said motion. If this Censure motion is a second Censure motion adopted against the defendant in the same tenure, they shall be placed in ‘bad standing’ with the Organization for a 1-year period effective immediately.

 Subsection 4: (Consequences of Impeachment) If a Noconfidence motion is adopted, the defendant shall be impeached from office effective immediately. The impeached officer shall be placed in ‘bad standing’ with the Organization for a 1-year period effective immediately.

Section 5: In the case of an officer vacancy, the following guidelines shall guide succession.

Subsection 1: A premature Vice-Presidential vacancy caused by any reason other than impeachment may be filled by an appointee appointed by the outgoing Vice-President, subject to fulfillment of Subsections 1, 2 under Section 2 of Article III.

Subsection 2: A premature Presidential vacancy caused by any reason or a premature Vice-Presidential vacancy that is not resolved by Subsection 1 under this Section shall be filled by following this order: President > Vice-President > Secretary.

Subsection 3: A premature Secretarial vacancy including one resulting from following Subsections 1, 2 under this Section shall be filled by Presidential appointment subject to fulfillment of Subsections 1, 2 under Section 2 of Article III.

Subsection 4: If in the exercise of Subsections 1, 2, 3 under this Section, the new Vice-President is not a member of the graduate student constituency as defined in the STT Bylaws, the new VicePresident shall not perform the role specified in Subsection 2-d under Section 1 of this Article.

Subsection 5: A premature Colloquium Committee Representative vacancy shall be filled by Presidential appointment of an eligible member subject to confirmation by the Vice-President and office eligibility.

ARTICLE IV: OPERATING PROCEDURES

Section 1: General Body Meetings

Subsection 1: (Timeline) Meetings of the members of the Organization shall be called by any Officer from time to time between May 15 to March 15 of the following year to discuss affairs, seek opinions, and obtain consensus of graduate students in the Department of Statistics and Probability, as and when the officers deem it necessary.

Subsection 2: (Agenda and Function) These meetings shall serve legislative functions for the organization. Meetings may be open agenda or agenda-specific.

Subsection 3: (Mandatory Scheduling) The following meetings are mandatorily called by the officers as part of their roles:

1. A minimum of one open agenda physical meeting must be held between August 1 to September 15 with mandatory attendance of all officers to discuss agenda relevant to the Fall Semester.
2. A minimum of one open agenda physical meeting must be held between January 1 to February 15 with mandatory attendance of all officers to discuss agenda relevant to the Spring Semester.

Subsection 4: (Meeting Conduct) Meetings shall be managed in the spirit of Robert’s Rules of Order for usual business with the following guidelines:

1. The Secretary shall convene and preside over any meeting called by the Officers. The Secretary shall also conduct voting as and when required, and shall only vote to break a tie.
2. Resolutions shall be adopted by simple majority of membership in attendance unless they concern matters for which specials guidelines are provided for in this Constitution.
3. Every member in attendance of a meeting is usually allowed one vote on any issue.
4. On some issues, the President and Vice-President in consensus may direct the Secretary to restrict voting to a specific subset of the membership on matters that only pertain to that subset.
5. On some issues, the President and Vice-President in consensus may direct the Secretary to expand voting to members not in attendance.

Section 2: Calendar Maintenance and Active Representation

Subsection 1: The Officers shall ensure the smooth maintenance of a Calendar that incorporates all activities, workshops, colloquia, CW Meetings, Student events, department events relevant to graduate students, and any other relevant item.

Subsection 2: The Officers shall ensure active representation of the graduate students before the department administration with good faith and reasonable transparency.

Subsection 3: All meetings provided for in this Constitution within, before, and after this Article must be held in conjunction with other activities/workshop/colloquia to the extent reasonable to incentivize maximum participation with specific agenda addressed in a manner that prioritizes efficiency and accuracy of representation.

Subsection 4: The Officers may form and disband committees from time to time to delegate roles and execute functions of their office and execute accurate representation, in their discretion.

Section 3: Removal Proceedings

 Subsection 1: If any member of the Organization in good standing sees reason to propose the removal of a fellow member from the GSO, they may propose said removal to the President, anonymously.

Subsection 2: If the President sees justification for removal based on the proposal or if the proposal is seconded by another member in good standing and the President deems all other options to have been exhausted, the President shall direct the Secretary to convene a general body meeting for removal proceedings.

Subsection 3: The defendant subject to removal proceedings shall be provided the right to defend in the aforementioned meeting, following which a discussion shall be conducted among members present in the absence of the defendant. Following sufficient discussion, the motion to remove the defendant shall be adopted if a 2/3rd majority of membership in attendance votes in favor.

Subsection 4: The President, Vice President, Secretary, and Colloquium Committee Representative cannot be subject to removal proceedings before Impeachment from Office. Effectively, no officer can be removed by removal proceedings.

Subsection 5: If a motion to remove is passed, the defendant shall cease to be a member of the Organization effective immediately.

They shall automatically not be considered in ‘good standing’ with the organization, be barred and deemed ineligible for any activity/position/privileges afforded to members by this Constitution.

Subsection 6: Members subject to removal may request to rejoin the Organization after one year since removal if they have rectified whatever issues that justified their removal. Any other arrangement for inclusion before a period of one year since removal shall be subject to a membership vote requiring 2/3rd majority.

ARTICLE V: AMENDMENTS

Section 1: Amendments to this Constitution can be proposed from time to time so as to adapt to changing times and situations. In such occasions, the following guidelines provide a formal mechanism to amend the Constitution.

Subsection 1: (Proposal) An amendment to the Constitution may be proposed by any one of the following.

1. The Officers may discuss and deem an amendment necessary, following which the Vice-President may propose the amendment to the membership after May 15 and before February 28/29 of the following
2. At least 2/3rds of attendees of any General Body Meeting in session may deem an amendment necessary, following which the Vice-President is required to propose the amendment to the
3. If 4 years and 360 days have passed since the last amendment, a special Constitutional Meeting must be called for by the Vice-President to table any need for amendments to the Constitution within the next five days. Amendment(s) may be proposed as an outcome of this

Section 2: No Constitutional Amendment shall be proposed that may infringe on institutional policies of Michigan State University, the Department of Statistics and Probability, and the STT Bylaws.

Section 3: Once an amendment is proposed to the membership by announcement, a ten day period is required for the following.

Subsection 1: The need for amendment(s) and their effect(s) must be communicated clearly to the membership. An open and transparent feedback channel must be instituted (such as reply-to-all by email).

Subsection 2: At least one brief meeting or an arrangement typical of Office Hours by the Vice-President must be announced and conducted within this ten day period to allow for discussions, debates, and concerns.

Subsection 3: Details on how to vote on the proposed amendment must be clearly communicated during this ten day period.

Section 4: Following the ten-day period, amendments proposed with or without changes, in their final form, shall be voted on according to the following guidelines.

Subsection 1: Voting on the Constitutional Amendment proposed shall be openly conducted by the Secretary using ballot in the Department of Statistics and Probability, and/or electronic means over a span of three business days with verification of membership and eligibility to vote.

Subsection 2: Only members in good standing are eligible to one vote each. However, amendments pertaining to the roles of the

President, Vice-President and Colloquium Committee Representative that come from STT Bylaws, namely representation in the Committee of the Whole/STT Student Advisory Council/STT Colloquium Committee shall be voted on only by members in good standing that are also a part of the graduate student constituency as defined in the STT Bylaws.

Subsection 3: An Amendment will only pass if so favored by a 2/3rd majority of votes cast.

Section 5: Following a successful vote on any amendment, the following shall be executed by the Vice-President.

Subsection 1: The Constitutional amendment shall be included in the Appendix of this Constitution along with details of time and date of adoption and signature of the President against it.

Subsection 2: If the amendment edits or removes an existing provision of this Constitution, a reference shall be included against the existing provision with a note on the footer of the same page citing the amendment included in the appendix.

Subsection 3: If the amendment adds a provision to this Constitution, a reference shall be included against the new provision(s) with a note on the footer of the same page citing the amendment details included in the appendix. Formatting of size, font, indent, and other features of the Constitution shall be kept consistent.

Subsection 4: Amendments will always supersede pre-existing provisions in the case of any conflict.

ARTICLE VI: Ratification

Ratification of this constitution shall be confirmed by a ⅔ majority of the organization membership.

ARTICLE VII: Disbanding

Section 1: The organization may be disbanded by a ⅔ majority vote of the membership in good standing. 

Appendix for Amendments as specified in Article V

 Section 1: (Format) The Amendments shall be numbered and referred to within the text of the Constitution. Their details shall be described in this Appendix. The format for Amendments here is described by example below. This Section may be removed after the first amendment and further amendments may follow the pattern created by the First Amendment.

Amendment 1: [Article X Section Y Subsection Z], [Article X1, Section Y2, Subsection Z3], …, [Article Xn Section Yn Subsection Zn] were edited/removed as ratified and adopted within the provisions of Article V of this Constititution, on [Day], [Date].

• [Name of President], [Signature]

Amendment 2: [Article X Section Y Subsection Z], [Article X1, Section Y2, Subsection Z3], …, [Article Xn Section Yn Subsection Zn] were added as ratified and adopted within the provisions of Article V of this Constititution, on [Day], [Date].

• [Name of President], [Signature]