Constitution Bylaws and Position Descriptions

BY-LAWS:

I. ELECTION BYLAWS
Preamble: Candidates seeking to represent the interests of fellow students must, at all times, conduct themselves with the utmost regard for professional standards of behavior. In entering oneself as a candidate for elected office, every student is expected to demonstrate the virtues and values esteemed by the Georgetown University School of Medicine community. For additional details please see the Student code of professionalism Appendix O.
1. Any candidate in violation of the election rules is subject to disqualification from the election at the discretion of a majority of the members of the Election Committee.
2. The Election Committee will be comprised of 5 members: One member from each class, ideally a member of the professionalism committee, and at least one member of the executive council. None of the members of the Election Committee may run for elected office. In the event that after all reasonable attempts a position cannot be filled, or in the event of a withdrawal from the Election Committee, the Executive Council president may appoint a replacement member, with all deference to representation from all four classes given. The Executive Council shall appoint one member of the Elections Committee to chair the committee and report to the Executive Council on election proceedings.
3. All candidates seeking to run for election must declare their candidacy to the Election Committee by midnight of the date specified by the Election Committee.
4. The Election Committee will allow each candidate to submit a 300-word statement that will be posted on a website which will be available to the appropriate voter audience prior to the election. Voting will be done online, and the email will link an online voting poll so that respective classes may vote for candidates. The candidates will be listed on the poll in alphabetical order according to last name, with a photo and a written statement (required by all new candidates, regardless of class), next to the candidate’s name.
5. Candidates who are members of Student Council or who are seeking an appointed (non elected) position need not submit a written statement or photo. 6. No more than fifty dollars ($50), or goods and services valuing in total fifty dollars, may be spent on a campaign by the candidate or any other person or organization. The Election Committee will, at their discretion, monitor and oversee the financial expenditures of all campaigns.
7. Candidates running for Class and Executive Council positions must abide by the campaign guidelines set in the constitution. This includes:
A. Campaign material distribution in person or in mailboxes is permissible, but is limited to one object placed in the mailbox each day
B. Flyers and posters of any size may be used, distributed or posted during a campaign, but must be taken down or cleaned up as soon as possible after polls close. The Election Committee reserves the right to withhold the election results until are materials are removed.
8. Any evidence of slander, sabotage, or tampering with another candidate’s campaign material must be reported to the Elections Committee immediately and may result in the offending party’s disqualification and may be deemed a violation of the Student Code of Professionalism. Last Revision Approved by the Student Council 04/09.

II. FUNDING POLICY BYLAWS
PURPOSE:
To aid student organizations and clubs in applying for recognition/funding by following the subsequent procedure:

1. The organization must complete the documentation required by the Student Organization Policy and submit all paperwork to the Executive Council Treasurer no later than two weeks after the first SOM Student Council Meeting.
2. The organization must petition SOMSC for recognition. SOMSC may require presence of the petitioning organization’s leadership at the monthly meeting.
3. The voting members of SOMSC will then vote as to whether or not SOMSC supports the organization’s petition for recognition.
4. If SOMSC is in support of the petition, the petition will be forwarded to the Associative Dean of Student Affairs for final approval.
5. SOMSC will then inform the organization of the result of its petition.
SECTION ONE: The Executive Council has the responsibility of distributing the money at the Council's disposal in accordance with the goals of the Council (see Preamble). The Executive Council shall decide what guidelines it will follow except where outlined below.
SECTION TWO: Each student shall be assessed a student activities fee annually to be collected by the Bursar at the beginning of each academic year. This money shall be distributed in accordance with the Council Bylaws as explained at the first student council meeting.
SECTION THREE: The Executive Council Treasurer will be present at the first monthly meetings, once at the beginning of the fall semester and once at the beginning of the spring semester. All clubs must be present at the fall and spring meetings; all clubs new that year will present again for funds at the spring meeting, along with all clubs new that spring. Clubs may not solicit funds outside of the two designated funding meetings held each year. Allocation and distribution of funds will remain at the discretion of the Executive Council.
SECTION FOUR: The Executive Council shall receive for review applications for funding from the following sources:
A: Any GUSOM medical student as an individual.
B: Any active in-house (i.e. SOM) Organization.
C: Any active national organization having a duly recognized chapter at SOM.
SECTION 5: The Executive Council may decide in what form-said applications must be submitted. Failure to follow those guidelines shall be grounds for the Executive Council to refuse action on said application.
SECTION 6: The Executive Council shall consider in its review of an application for funding from the following:
A: Whether the goals of the Council will be fulfilled.
B: Whether other sources of funding are available for use to support the activities of the organization seeking funding.
C: Whether the proposed budget is fair and accurate.
D: Any other factor the Executive Council deems appropriate to consider, including past activities, success of the group or project, membership size and benefit to the Georgetown community.
SECTION SEVEN: In considering each application, the Executive Council shall abide by the following restrictions:
A: Applications from in-house organizations and from GUSOM chapters of national organizations shall be allowed for organizational expenses and activities exclusive of travel expenses, convention fees, donations to political/lobbyist causes, officer planning meetings. Monies will be provided such that activities are open to the student body at large and listed on the student Event Calendar. The amount will be determined annually by the Executive Council based on level of activity, membership and previous year’s usage of allocated funds. The club must use the money as efficiently as possible and shall be in charge of determining what services they deem worthy (speaker honoraria, dinners, etc) .
B: Conference Reimbursement: The Student Council will allocate a minimum of three thousand ($3000.00) annually toward the support of a project(s) or endeavor(s) originating from GUSOM students, that benefits the Georgetown Medical community. Activities can include, but are not limited to, community outreach, community service, research, and other scholarly pursuits. These monies may be allocated to one or divided among many applicants at the discretion of the Council. Applications shall be solicited to be reviewed at a designated meeting in the fall and spring semester, and the recipient(s) shall be determined at that time, or at a time to be determined.
C: In the event that a Student Council member seeks to solicit Student Council funding for his/her own club, that member must excuse themselves from that portion of the funding meeting while their application for funding is reviewed.
SECTION EIGHT: Meetings of the committee shall be held according to the Bylaws of the council in regards to quorum and voting requirements. Individuals or representatives or organizations applying for funding shall be notified of Student Council meetings at least one week before the meetings, and their presence is required for action on their application. Upon reviewing each application, the Executive Council shall go into executive session and vote to recommend or not recommend said application for funding.
SECTION NINE: All recipients of funds will be expected to provide the Treasurer (or his/her designate) an accounting of all the S.C. funds received. This shall be performed in the following manner:
A: The requests and receipts shall then be provisionally approved by the Executive Treasurer and sent to the Bursar.
B: Provisionally approved requests and receipts shall be subject to final approval by the S.C. at the following S.C. meeting. Student group treasurers/individuals are to be notified of the date and time of the S.C. meeting so they may be present to address any questions or concerns regarding their budget if they so choose.
D: In the event that a group/individual's spending is deemed to be out of keeping with the approved budget, the group's treasurer/individual will be held accountable for the refunding of the amount spent to the S.C. Should this fail to occur, S.C. may, at its discretion, undertake further action to recover these funds including, but not limited to presentation of the discrepancy to the Dean of Students.
E: Clubs should designate one individual to act as club treasurer, and this individual will be responsible for reporting all transactions directly with the Executive Council Treasurer.
SECTION TEN: All recipients of funds from the Council shall be required to report to the Council on their activities.
SECTION ELEVEN: The following exceptions to the above policy shall be permitted:
A: Each class shall receive a minimum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) at the start of each school year, to be used by the Class Council.
B: The senior class shall be allowed to apply for additional funds to cover expenses associated with fourth year class activities (i.e. graduation party, yearbook) if such funds are available.
C: Any unused funds left in the Council's account at the end of each academic year shall be "rolled over" and added to the available funds for the upcoming year.
SECTION TWELVE: Yearbook funding: funding for the senior class yearbook shall come from each of the respective medical school classes without the help of Student Council funds.
SECTION THIRTEEN: Golden Apple funding: The Executive Council is expected to donate at least fifteen hundred ($1,500) dollars to the GUSOM Annual Golden Apple Gala. Clubs and organizations are also expected to donate at least twenty-five ($25) dollars to the Golden Apple Gala.

APPENDIX A: DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS

SECTION ONE: No one Council member shall hold more than one officer position on the Council at any one time (i.e. President, Vice-President, Secretary, or Treasurer).
SECTION TWO: The Executive Council President shall serve as the principal link between the administration and the Student Council. He/she shall meet monthly with an appropriate Dean of the School and shall also serve as the direct link between the Administration and the SOM student body.
1. Executive Council President: the President is to delegate and ensure that the operations of the student council are running smoothly. He/She should be familiar with the duties and responsibilities of all the class councils and the Executive Council, i.e. Winter Carnival, Golden Apple, Career Nights, etc. The President shall also serve as a liaison and a resource between the administration and the student body, as well as between student groups.
2. MS-IV Class President: the President is to delegate and ensure that the operations of the class council are running smoothly. He/She should be familiar with the duties and responsibilities of his/her respective class i.e. Senior Week
3. MS-III Class President: the President is to delegate and ensure that the operations of the class council are running smoothly. He/She should be familiar with the duties and responsibilities of his/her respective class i.e. String of Pearls
4. MS-II Class President: the President is to delegate and ensure that the operations of the class council are running smoothly. He/She should be familiar with the duties and responsibilities of his/her respective class i.e. Golden Apple, Iron Med Triathlon
5. MS-I Class President: the President is to delegate and ensure that the operations of the class council are running smoothly. He/She should be familiar with the duties and responsibilities of his/her respective class i.e. Annual Powder Puff Game, Winter Carnival
SECTION THREE: The Executive Council Vice-President and class Vice Presidents shall, in the absence of the President, preside over the Council and perform all the duties of the President.
SECTION FOUR: The Executive Council Recording Secretary and Class Secretaries shall keep and post in an appropriate place all minutes of the meetings of the Student Council/Class Council; he/she shall also keep a separate list of attendance to all the meetings and update the Student Events Calendar with Executive Council/ Class Council events and meetings.
SECTION FIVE: The Executive Council Corresponding Secretary shall edit and publish the SOM newsletter, the Under the Cupola. He/She shall send monthly student council meeting reminders to the entire student body one week prior to the monthly scheduled meeting. He/She shall also send monthly reminders to the Class Council responsible for providing food for the student council meeting one week prior to the scheduled meeting.
SECTION SIX: The Executive Council Treasurer and the Class Treasurers will be responsible for managing the accounts of the Student Council/Class Council throughout the year. He/she must make quarterly reports of the Student Council/ Class Council’s overall budget.
SECTION SEVEN: The Executive Council Representative shall expand and maintain the student website with Keysite Enterprise software, run online elections for Golden Apple Awards and Student Council positions with Keyform software and give access to the student Event Calendar and student webpages. The Representative shall promote the use of the online Event Calendar by classes and club organizations.
SECTION EIGHT: Other members of the student council shall provide information to the Student Council through reports given at the monthly Student Council meetings.



APPENDIX B: STANDING COMMITTEES

The Executive Council or Class Council shall appoint student representatives to the following standing School of Medicine Committees as indicated:
• Professionalism and Ethics Committee - appointed from each class by the voting class council members of that class.
• Beautification Committee - appointed from each class by the voting class council members of that class.
• Election Committee - appointed by the Executive Council in accordance with item 2 of the Election Bylaws.
• Graduation/Seniors Committee - appointed from MS- IV class by the MS-IV voting class council.
• String of Pearls - appointed from MS-III class by the voting MS-III class council members.
• Golden Apple Committee - appointed from MS-II class by the voting MS-II class council members.
• Iron Med Triathlon - appointed from MS-II class by the voting MS-II class council members.
• Annual Class Auction - appointed from MS-I class by the voting MS-I class council members.
• Orientation Committee - appointed from MS-I class by the voting MS-I class council members.
• Powder-Puff Committee - appointed from MS-I class by the voting MS-I class council members.
• Winter Gala Committee - appointed from MS-I class by the voting MS-I class council members.

The number of positions available on each standing committee from a particular class shall be determined at the discretion of the voting class council of that class, but shall not be zero. Deference shall be given to the filling of standing committee positions as indicated above, but in the event of any standing committee position remaining vacant after a reasonable time following elections, the Executive Council shall have the power to appoint representative(s) from the respective class to that position.

The Executive Council shall also have the power to appoint student representatives to newly created or ad hoc committees of the SOM.
All Standing Committee chairs or their designee are required to report to the Student Council at the monthly meetings.
The Professionalism Committee shall operate under the SOM Code of Professionalism as adopted by the Student Council
The Beautification Committee shall seek approval from the Dean of the School of Medicine and the Executive Council before renovating or implementing any permanent change to the SOM.
Membership on Committees is open to all full-time medicals in good-academic standing.
Prior to the appointment by any one class council of any standing committee positions, the newly elected voting class council shall hold an open interest meeting during which persons wishing to fill appointed positions may officially declare their interest to the voting council for specific appointed positions. The time, location, and intent of the interest meeting shall be adequately publicized to all members of the class by the voting council, and the interest meeting must be scheduled with the intent of allowing broad attendance; if these conditions are not met, the Executive Council has the authority to require that additional interest meeting(s) be held prior to filling of appointed positions. Each voting class council may, at its discretion, require position statements from potential appointees.

Additional Descriptions of Class Officer Positions

Each Class Council will be comprised of Five elected Class Officers: one President, one Vice-President, one Secretary, one Treasurer, one Class Representative. These Class officers may then appoint persons to fulfill the following non-voting positions: Historian, webmaster, social committee members, Beautification Committee member, Professionalism Committee member, and any other positions deemed appropriate by the Class Officers. In addition, each class will elect Student Faculty Liaisons (SFL), and Student Medical Education Committee (SMEC) members who will be non-voting members of the student council. The numbers of appointed class officers will ultimately be determined at the discretion of the voting elected class officers.


Time Commitment: All student council members are expected to attend the Student Council Meetings in the student council office at the back of Caduceus at 7pm on the first Tuesday of every month from September through June. Meetings last approximately two hours, executive council meets separately immediately following the student council meeting. Newly-elected officers are expected to attend the September council meeting in the Fall and the May meeting in the spring.

Elections: Each fall near the beginning of the semester the incoming first year class elects their class officers. Each spring near the end of the semester the first, second, and third year classes elect new officers for the upcoming year. The Election Committee shall run the election.

President:
Time commitment: meetings once per month 2-2.5 hrs each. various events planning (depending on the help you have) take several days to organize.
Actual duties: Winter Carnival organization, Powder Puff game clean up and concessions, Holiday Party, Birthday Celebrations (coordinated with 2nd years), Auction, End of the Year BBQ
Suggested duties: Birthday Celebrations separate from other classes, get Social Committee going.

Vice-President:
Same as President, help brainstorm new activities

Treasurer:
Time commitment is variable, depending on if events are coming up. But, generally only requires a few hours a month plus added time for special events.
Duties include managing the class banking account (including opening up an account) and being responsible for reimbursements, collecting class dues, assisting with fundraisers, and setting budgets while working with the other class officers.
Work with the administration more in regards to collecting dues/fees.

Secretary:
Time commitment varies...it is reasonable but when there are a lot of class activities the time increases.
Duties: Relay information from council at large to the class and anything that the class officers discuss. Organizing various events: Powder Puff, Winter Carnival, after exam events, Auction, 2nd year BBQ and all the class activities that occurred during first year. Attend monthly student council meetings (Tuesday evenings). Work with the deans and faculty. Meet with professors post exams and finals to give feedback to the departments

Class Representative:
Time commitment: A few hours a week at most, more time commitment needed around class events and during periods of the planning of events
Actual duties: Bring concerns from students to monthly student council meetings for discussion / resolution. Provide information to students concerning issues involving our class. Provide support to other members of the student class council regarding organizational issues, class events, and class fundraising.
Suggested duties: Be involved with organizing some sort of electronic (web based) class discussion forum as a way for students to easily express concerns or get information about class issues.

Class Historian:
Collect photos (digital or otherwise) and anecdotes for the class yearbook to be assembled spring of 4th year. Will be responsible for recruiting editors and staff.

Webmaster:
Maintain the Class webpage. No experience necessary, just diligence about posting the info your classmates need in a timely fashion, and recruiting a webmaster for the incoming class. Training will be provided by the webmasters for the upper classes. Of course, if there's someone out there who is a computer geek, that's great, too!

Social committee members:
Coordinate class social events with emphasis on variety and inclusion of upperclassmen.

Beautification Committee member:
Work with Executive Council, Student Council and Dean's Office in improving the aesthetics of the School of Medicine, keeping Caduceus and their own classrooms clean, comfortable, etc for students.

Professionalism Committee member:
Time committment: determined entirely by the individual. Depends on the number of projects working on. This year, a few hours every month.
Actual duties: to address issues of professionalism that arise during the school year and to continuously remind the student body of the important code of professionalism that all students work under.
Suggested duties: participation in curriculum reform and organizing speakers to address issues in professionalism

Student Faculty Liaisons (SFL):
Serve as the go-between between your classmates and professors for exam gripes, questions and comments. Goal is to improve student life and facilitate communication with faculty.

Student Medical Education Committee (SMEC) members:
Time commitment (preclinical advisory committee) - 3 meetings a month (maybe some extra task force meetings) so no more than 5 meetings a month about one hour each. Mandatory meetings: Preclincal advisory meeting (with faculty and deans to discuss curriculum and school issues), SMEC meeting with smec members of all four years, student class meeting (at least one smec member to brief what happened in other meetings).
Actual duties/suggested duties - come prepared to meetings to bring up student issues. Nothing can be changed if the student reps do not bring up the issues for their respective med class. Will be assigned to different task forces for things that are currently changing within the curriculum and the school. Last year they put together a huge survey for the med students, we fit the survey according to our year, and tallied the results and will hopefully have statistical info to make certain changes that were complaints from a majority of students.

Descriptions of Executive Council Positions

One postition on the executive council is held open for incoming first years each year. The position which will be held open for the class of 2013 will be Exec Council Corresponding Secretary.

Executive Council President:
Basically the job of Exec. President is to delegate and make sure everything is running smoothly and everyone is getting along and has the opportunity and resources they need. One should be familiar with the duties of all the classes and exec council: events, dances, career nights, and what not. The big thing I think I do mostly is providing people a resource and diplomacy between the administration and students and then again between student groups as well. So it kind of help to have a hand in everything and know about what everyone is doing that way you are kind of a generalist and know how to help everyone with what they are trying to get done. And then following up on everything going on. The toughest part is keeping a pulse on the school and knowing who is doing what and following up on things.

Executive Council Vice President:
Fill in for the President whenever he/she is unavailable. Assist the other Exec Council offices with running Career Nights and help them complete their duties.

Executive Council Treasurer:
Oversee student council budget.
Allot funds to all clubs and organizations.
Process reimbursements of all funds submitted by various clubs.
Balance accounts and decide the validity of purchases within the Georgetown system.
Additional activities: Help with various school wide events. Often the one responsible for food and supplies. Responsible for organizing at least 2 of the career nights, possibly more.

Executive Council Recording Secretary:
Take minutes at all meetings and posting them on the student website.
Send emails to the student body throughout the year on behalf of the Executive Council members.
Keep the online Event Calendar up to date with meetings, events or other activities. In August, the Recording Secretary must post on Event Calendar the dates and times of the student council meetings for the entire year. Training will be provided on how to use the software.

Executive Council Corresponding Secretary:
Publish the student newsletter, Under the Cupola, each month during the fall and spring semesters one week after each monthly student council meeting.
Send monthly student council meeting reminders to the entire student body one week prior to the scheduled meeting.
Send monthly reminders to the Class Council responsible for providing food for the student council meeting one week prior to the scheduled meeting.

Executive Council Representative:
Duties: Expand and maintain student website with KeySite software, run online elections for Golden Apple Awards and Student Council positions with KeyForm software, and moderate the Discussion Forum with KeyTalk software. Training will be provided on how to use the software. Promote use of online Event Calendar by classes and clubs--let treasurer know to withhold funds if clubs are not posting events in a timely fashion.
Time Commitment: Attend monthly student council meetings, meet with other executive council members as needed. Technology-based duties take from 1 to 10 hours a week, with the average being two or three hours per week. Normally this is extremely flexible, but there are time-sensitive items such as running elections.