Government of Undergraduate Student Housing

Constitution

Preamble

We the residents of the University of California Irvine Residence Halls, in order to ensure cooperation, coordination among residents presiding in the halls, to establish policies for the betterment, to provide closer relationship with the university community, provide educational, representational, and social benefits for the individual, do ordain and establish this constitution of the Government of Undergraduate Student Housing, University of California, Irvine.

Article I - Organization Name
Section 1
a.) The name of the organization shall be the Government of Undergraduate Student Housing, hereafter referred to as GUSH.

Article II- Membership
Section 1
a.) All residents of the University of California Irvine residence halls, with the exception of complex coordinators, shall be members of GUSH.

Section 2
a.) Each member of GUSH shall pay dues of $1 per year. Funds will be distributed as follows:  $1 shall be designated as GUSH funds.

Article III – Officers abbreviations
Section 1
a.) The GUSH Coordinating Board, or GUSH-CB, shall be comprised of the GUSH Executive Board, or GUSH-EB, and GUSH Elected Representatives, GUSH-ER.
b.) The GUSH Executive Board consists of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Communications Chairperson, and Programming Chairperson.
c.) The GUSH Elected Representatives consists of two (2) Elected/Hired Representatives and one (1) At Large Representative from Arroyo Vista. Two (2) Elected/Hired Representatives and one (1) At large representative from Campus Village. Two (2) Elected/Hired Representatives and two (2) At Large Representative from Mesa Court. Two (2) Elected/Hired Representatives and two (2) At Large Representative from Middle Earth.
d.) The two (2) Elected/Hired Representative from each community shall be from each respective community council: Arroyo Vista Student Council (AVSC), Campus Village Student Association (CVSA), Mesa Court Council (MCC), and Middle Earth Community Council (MECC).
e.) There will be at least one advisor, GUSH-A.
f.) Apart from the two elected/hired Representatives and the At Large Representatives from each community there will be an RA or HA Chair from each community. All RA and HA GUSH members are eligible for this position.

Article IV – GUSH-EB
Section 1 The Executive Board
a.) The Executive Board officers shall serve a one year term beginning on July 1 and ending June 30. No person may hold more than one elected office. The GUSH-EB officer must maintain a minimum cumulative 2.2 GPA for the employment term.

Section 2 Duties of the Executive Board are, but not limited to:
a.) The President will oversee the GUSH-CB meetings. The President has the executive power of GUSH. He/she shall serve as the representative of GUSH, the ex officio member of all communities, have the power to appoint with the approval of GUSH-ER special executive and standing GUSH committees. The President has the power to call and administer all GUSH elections, with the exception of impeachment. The President serves as chairperson of the constitution and bylaws reviews committee. He/she will write a transition report at the end of his/her term. He/she shall serve ten hours of office hours per week.
b.) The Vice President shall keep accurate records of all GUSH meetings. Publish GUSH minutes and carry out necessary correspondence of GUSH. He or she shall act as the business manager of GUSH. He or she is also charged with keeping records of GUSH-ER and all committees outside of GUSH (TBD). The VP shall serve on the constitution bylaws committee and on the GUSH judiciary review board. The VP will also chair the GUSH elections committee
and manage the spring quarter elections. The VP will work with the Communications Chairperson to coordinate publicity. The VP will serve eight hours of office hours per week. The VP will attend all GUSH-EB retreats and workshops. The VP will write a transition report at the end of his/her term.
c.) The Treasurer shall maintain the financial records of GUSH. Prepare to present a quarterly budget, and submit it to approval to GUSH-ER at the beginning of each quarter. The treasurer will supervise the collection and distribution of funds within GUSH. He/she will coordinate the financial aspects of fundraisers. He/she will approve spending of all GUSH-EB members. The Treasurer will serve eight hours of office hours per week. He/she will write a transition report at the end of his/her term.
d.) The Communications Chair will handle publicity, be responsible for making posters, flyers, and table tents. He/she will oversee representative recruitment and retreats. He/she will serve as the National Communications Coordinator. He/she will maintain affiliation to NACURH and PACURH. He/she writes and submits bids for national regional awards. He/she will serve eight hours of office hours per week.
e.) The Programming Chair is responsible for coordination and overseeing all GUSH committees, excluding any financial oversight committees, housing committees, and other on-campus committees. He/she should act as a historian, consistent and accurate recording of all GUSH events. He/she is responsible for Sand Castle’s Day. He/she is responsible for starting out each meeting with an ice breaker. He/she will keep a comprehensive calendar and have oversight representative to the regional national conference. He/she will serve eight hours of officer hours per week.

Article V – GUSH-ER Duties
Section 1
a.) Each member of GUSH-ER shall serve a term of one (1) academic year.
b.) Each individual community council has the responsibility to select their Elected/Hired Representatives for the GUSH-ER.
c.) The At Large Representatives shall be any GUSH member living in the community.
d.) One RA or HA will be elected from each community by their representative community council or in the same way that their At Large Representative is elected. All RA and HA GUSH members are eligible for this position.
e.) All GUSH-ER positions to one person, however if they are unable to make it they can send a proxy.
f.) Only members of the GUSH may hold an office.
g.) No person may hold more than one elected office.

Article VI - Judiciary Review Board
Section 1
a.) Shall interpret any question(s) concerning the Constitution.
b.) Review cases of inappropriate actions taken by members of the GUSH-CB.

Article VII - Meeting Procedures
Section 1
a.) 3/5 of GUSH-EB must be present to conduct a GUSH-CB meeting.
b.) In the absence of both the President and Vice-President, the coordinator of the GUSH-CB will be Treasurer.
c.) GUSH-CB will meet every Monday.
d.) GUSH-CB will not meet during “dead weeks” or finals week.
e.) GUSH-CB meetings will be a minimum of one (1) hour.
f.) Special meetings can be called by 3/5 of the GUSH-EB.
g.) Minutes will be taken by the Vice President at every meeting.

Section 2
a.) GUSH-A must be present to conduct GUSH-EB and GUSH-CB meetings.
b.) GUSH-EB will meet every week.
c.) GUSH-EB shall not meet during ‘dead weeks’ or finals weeks.

Article VIII – Affiliation
Section 1
a.) This organization shall be affiliated with the National Association of College and University Residence Halls also referred to as NACURH, and therefore this organization is also affiliated with the Pacific Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls referred to as PACURH, and shall abide by its constitution and by-laws and this constitution and/or the rules, regulations or policies of University of California, Irvine.

Article IX – Voting
Section 1
a.) Items that require a vote must be submitted to GUSH-EB to be placed on next available agenda.

Section 2
a.) Resubmissions and appeals will be allowed at the GUSH-EB’s discretion.

Section 3
a.) All GUSH-ER shall have one vote.

Section 4
a.) In the event of a tie, GUSH-EB will have the tiebreaking vote.
b.) Each GUSH-EB member will have a tiebreaking vote contributing to a collective vote for GUSH-CB.

Section 5
a.) The quorum required for a vote is nine (9) GUSH-ERs.
b.) There needs to be at least one (1) member from each community in attendance for there to be a vote.
c.) Actions that are voted on will pass with a majority vote.

Article X – Elections
Section 1
a.) Elections for GUSH-EB positions will be held in spring quarter of every year.
b.) Any full-time undergraduate student is eligible to run as long as they remain an undergraduate during their term.
c.) Candidates must have a minimum cumulative 2.2 GPA to run.

Article XI – Impeachment
Section 1
a.) The impeachment process will be conducted by the Judicial Review Board.

Article XII – Amendments to the Constitution
Section 1
a.) Can be initiated by anyone in GUSH-CB.
b.) An official amendment form must be filled out to GUSH-EB who will place it on the as the next available agenda item.
c.) All GUSH-ER shall have one vote.

Section 2
a.) In the event of a tie, GUSH-EB will have the tiebreaking vote.
b.) Each GUSH-EB member will have a tiebreaking vote contributing to a collective vote for GUSH-CB.

Section 3
a.) There must be 5/9 of GUSH-ER present with at least one (1) member from each community in attendance for there to be a vote.
b.) Amendments that are voted on will pass with a 2/3 majority.