Constitution

CONSTITUTION OF THE BOSTON UNIVERSITY BIOSTATISTICS STUDENT ASSOCIATION

PREAMBLE

We, the members of the Boston University Biostatistics Student Association do hereby establish this Constitution in order that our purpose be realized to its fullest extent.

ARTICLE I:  NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Boston University Biostatistics Student Association henceforth referred to as the BSA.

ARTICLE II:  PURPOSE

The purpose of the BSA is to foster an environment where its members can meet to discuss and debate current issues in the field of Biostatistics.  This group strives for the promotion of ideas in Biostatistics, as well as networking with like-minded individuals within Biostatistics and related fields.

ARTICLE III:  MEMBERSHIP

The membership of the BSA shall consist of graduate students admitted to degree-granting programs in the fields of Mathematics, Statistics, and Biostatistics through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and School of Public Health at Boston University.  This group also extends an offer of membership to students of other departments and programs that express an interest in Biostatistics.  Any student in the BSA membership may participate in activities of the BSA.

The BSA openly admits students to its membership and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, personal appearance, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, or on the basis of rights secured by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

ARTICLE IV:  OFFICERS

This organization will consist of four officers:  president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.

1.  President

The President shall:

  1. Plan and facilitate general and special meetings of the BSA.
  2. Provide general leadership.
  3. Stay in touch with and motivate committees on a regular basis.
  4. Resolve serious disagreements among members.
  5. Act as a main point of contact for the BSA.
  6. Work to advance the growth of the BSA.

2.  Vice President

The Vice President shall:

  1. Assume the position of leadership in the absence of the President.
  2. Assume the duties of the president if he/she is no longer able.
  3. Preside over meetings and events if the president is unable.
  4. Stay in touch with committees on a regular basis.
  5. Act as a point of contact for the BSA.

3.  Secretary

The Secretary shall:

  1. Keep minutes of all meetings and activities of the BSA.
  2. Maintain rule observances at stated meetings.
  3. Maintain an updated membership list of all official members.
  4. Record amendments to this Constitution.

4.  Treasurer

The Treasurer shall:

  1. Be the sole signatory for the funds of the BSA.
  2. Handle all accounts.
  3. Set a budget and manage the BSA funds.
  4. Be responsible for the signing of all paperwork with the Student Activities Office.

5.  Faculty Advisor

The Faculty Advisor shall:

  1. Attend meetings.
  2. Provide counsel to the organization’s officers.
  3. Facilitate communications between Biostatistics faculty and the members of the BSA.

All executive officers of the BSA shall be graduate students at Boston University currently registered with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and/or the School of Public Health.

ARTICLE V:  OPERATIONS

Section 1.  Voting Eligibility

Those members meeting all requirements of active membership as set forth in Article III shall be granted voting privileges.

Section 2.  Elections

All officers shall be elected by a majority vote of eligible voting members of the BSA.  All elections shall be held on an annual basis during the month of May before the last day of classes.  All candidates must be members meeting the requirements of active membership to be nominated and elected.

The President will take nominations from the floor, the nomination process must be closed and the movement seconded.  The nominated parties will be allowed to vote.

All voting shall be done by secret ballot to be collected and tabulated by the Secretary/Treasurer and one voting member of the BSA appointed by the outgoing President.

The meeting at which voting will take place must be announced at an official meeting of the BSA immediately prior to the voting meeting.

Section 3.  Removal

Any officer of the BSA in violation of the purpose or Constitution may be removed from office by the following process:

  1. A written request by at least three members of BSA.
  2. Written notification to the officer of the request, asking the officer to be present at the next meeting and prepared to speak.
  3. A two-thirds (2/3) majority vote is necessary to remove the officer.

Section 4.  Meetings

All meetings will occur on a monthly basis or other regular basis at a time selected by the BSA.  All meetings are open to any graduate student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Public Health. 

The President and Vice President are expected to attend all meetings.

Meetings and will follow the procedure set forth:

  1. Attendance
  2. Report by the President
  3. Committee reports
  4. Vote on all committee motions and decisions
  5. Any other business put forward by members of the club
  6. Dismissal by the President

Section 5.  Proposals

A proposal can be brought to the floor by anyone in the BSA membership.

Once the proposal has been presented, a preliminary poll shall be taken amongst all members of the voting body present.

If there are any votes not to approve the proposal, an iterative round of discussion and polling will occur as follows.  After sufficient discussion of the proposal, another poll will be taken.  After the second and each subsequent poll, there are three possible outcomes: 

  1. The proposal is approved unanimously.
  2. It is decided that there are problems with the proposal that might be worked out with further discussion, in which case another round of discussion and polling takes place.
  3. It is decided that there is too much dissent, which further discussion will not alleviate, and the proposal should be dropped for the present. 

It will be the goal of the BSA to build consensus among its members.  In some cases it may not be possible to reach consensus, in which case a proposal may still be approved if at least two-thirds of the entire BSA voting body approve of the proposal.  Members of the BSA not present at the meeting may give their vote to the President directly.

ARTICLE VII:  AMENDMENTS

The Constitution is binding to all members of the BSA, but the Constitution is not binding unto itself.

Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed in writing by any voting member of the BSA at any meeting at which two-thirds of the voting members is present.

These amendments will be placed on the agenda for the next regular meeting.

Proposed amendments will become effective following approval of two-thirds majority vote of active members.