Student Elections

There are six (6) GSA Executive Council positions which will be elected from and by the senators elected from each graduate program.

Each officer shall be a matriculated graduate student enrolled in a graduate program at Hunter College.

Officers shall be elected by the Senate at its May meeting, from its own membership, for a one-year term, subject to recall by a two-thirds vote.

The Executive Council of the GSA shall comprise the following officers

President
Duties:
1. To serve as the spokesperson for graduate students at Hunter College and the GSA Executive Council, and to express their concerns and interests to Hunter College’s Administration and Staff, students-at-large and the media;
2. To preside at functions of the GSA;
3. To preside at meetings of the Senate and of the Executive Council;
4. To act as liaison on behalf of the GSA;
5. To coordinate the allocation of supplemental funding sources;
6. To create new employee positions (contingent upon approval by the GSA Executive Council);
7. To serve as a member of the Auxiliary Enterprise Board (AEB); and
8. To serve as a member of the College Association Board (CA).

Vice President for University Relations
Duties:
1. To attend University Student Senate (USS) meetings;
2. To supervise the proper functioning of the graduate lounge, including but not limited to coordinating all events clubs desire to set in the graduate lounge and assisting the Treasurer in hiring a Lounge Attendant;
3. To attend Technology Fee Committee meetings;
4. To assist the President in acting as liaison on behalf of the GSA with the Dean of Students and College President; and
5. To act as liaison on behalf of the GSA with graduate departments, including those departments not represented by graduate clubs.

Vice President for Club Relations
Duties:
1. To maintain a database of all graduate clubs at Hunter College;
2. To represent the Brookdale, Social Work, and MFA Campuses of Hunter College, including, holding office hours at and/or making regular visits to these campuses;
3. To act as liaison on behalf of the GSA with all graduate student clubs, including regular communication and reminders about important regulations and deadlines;
4. To assist clubs in using allocated monies during the fiscal year, including assistance with the four required club events;
5. To assist the Treasurer in helping graduate student clubs prepare and modify budgets and properly complete, submit and revise the required documents for reimbursements or other payments; and
6. To act as mediator to graduate student clubs, assisting in organizational or leadership matters.

Treasurer
Duties:
1. To be responsible for the receipt of all monies;
2. To disburse graduate student activity fee funds as voted by the Senate and Executive Council;
3. To keep records of all financial transactions;
4. To be responsible for club chartering and budget allocations;
5. To assist the president in the coordination and allocation of supplemental funding sources;
6. To assist the VPUR in hiring a Graduate Student Lounge attendant;
7. To serve as a member of the Auxiliary Enterprise Board (AEB); and
8. To assist the President with his/her duties as a member of the College Association Board (CA).

Communication Officer
Duties:
1. To be responsible for public relations of the GSA;
2. To be responsible for all aspects of the G-Blasts including compiling announcements of graduate club events open to the Hunter College community, promoting funding opportunities available to individuals and clubs and announcing important matters to the graduate student body. The Communication Officer shall forward finalized G-Blast text to the Dean’s Office for distribution approximately once each week;
3. To be responsible for the timely creation, update, and maintenance of the official Hunter GSA website and on-line calendar.

Sustainability Officer
Duties:
1. To conduct an annual survey of graduate student attitudes, opinions and general awareness of issues related to social, economic and environmental sustainability, preferably in the fall semester;
2. To coordinate a planning effort with faculty, staff and students to create and implement a Sustainability Action Plan for Hunter College.
3. To coordinate and support campus-wide sustainability initiatives;
4. To promote campus sustainability awareness and responsibility through presentations, demonstrations, published articles, tabling and other outreach and education events; and
5. To promote opportunities for students to conduct research and further their knowledge in the field of sustainability and coordinate independent study opportunities in collaboration with Hunter College faculty.

GSA Senate

The Senate shall be composed of one Senator from each graduate program, duly elected if necessary) by the graduate student body of said program.
Senators shall hold office for one academic year, shall be eligible for reelection, and unless otherwise unqualified, shall hold office until a duly elected replacement is elected.

The Senate shall meet regularly during the fiscal year in October, December, March and May. A special meeting of the Senate may be called by the President of GSA at his/her discretion or upon the petition of twelve senators.

Each Senator has one vote at the Senate meeting and elections.

The Senate shall elect from its membership the officers of the Executive Council. In the absence of the Senate, the incumbent officers are elected by the predecessors of the previous fiscal year.

The Senate shall require periodic reports, at least annually, from the Executive Council. In the absence of the Senate, individual officers shall report to the Executive Council at large on a monthly basis.

The Senate shall have the power to create standing and ad hoc committees.

Membership on committees is not restricted to Senators.

The Senate shall act on behalf of the GSA, subject to the purposes and limitations contained in the constitution. The Senate delegates to the Executive Council, the implementations of policy decisions, the revision of bylaws and articles when deemed necessary and the general administration of GSA.

If you are considering running for office or planning a referendum, please join us for a Candidate Workshop to learn about the rules governing the elections, how to organize a campaign, your eligibility, campaign deadlines, and more!

Prospective USG Candidate Workshops

• Tuesday, February 7 at 2:00pm
• Thursday, February 9 at 5:00pm
• Tuesday, February 14 at 2:00pm
• Thursday, February 16 at 5:00pm
• Tuesday, February 28 at 2:00pm
• Thursday, March 2 at 5:00pm

USG Candidate credit confirmation
for senate candidates who wish to confirm their group number.

• Tuesday, February 7 3:00-4:00 pm
• Thursday, February 9 4:00-4:45 pm
• Tuesday, February 14 3:00-4:00 pm

All workshops will take place via Zoom. To register and access the workshops, please click the link below.

• Register for a USG Candidate Workshop
• Passcode:  910053

Prospective GSA Candidate Workshops

• Thursday, February 9 at 6:00 pm
• Thursday, February 16 at 6:00 pm
• Thursday, March 2 at 6:00 pm

All workshops will take place via Zoom.  To register and access the workshops, please click the link below.

• Register for a GSA Candidate Workshop
• Passcode:  910053

Election Packets

Election packets are available from February 3 to March 11, 2023.

The declaration form, nominating petition, candidate statement and picture must be submitted by Monday, March 13, 2023 by 6:00 p.m. (Late submissions will not be accepted – NO EXCEPTIONS.)

• Undergraduate Student Government Election Packet 2023-2024 (PDF)
• Graduate Student Association Election Packet – 2022-2023 (PDF)

Declaration Forms

• 2023-2024 Undergraduate Student Government Candidate Declaration, Petition and Statement Form
  Undergraduate candidates must use this form to declare their candidacy and submit their petition, statement and photo
• GSA senator or Executive Council Member Declaration Form
  Graduate students interested in serving as a GSA Senator or Executive Council Member MUST submit this form
• 2023-2024 Student Government Election Document Submission Form
  Candidates must use this form to submit all other election documents

Additional Forms

• USG Nominating Petition
  All candidates who wish to appear on the ballot must submit non-returnable petitions for candidacy of 150 signatures per slate or 25 signatures per independent. Signatures must be from currently enrolled undergraduate students. All signatures will be confirmed with emails to students who have signed the petition.
• Referendum Petition Proposal
• Referendum Petition Statement
• Financial Statement
  Projected winners must submit a financial statement, even if they did not spend any funds on campaigning.
  Deadline: 10:00 am on Tuesday, May 2, 2023
• Election Campaign Violation Appeal
  Candidates may use this form to report allegations for campaign violations or to appeal the outcome of the elections.
  Appeals to SERC are due May 2, 2023.
  Appeals to the College President are due May 19, 2023.

USG Elections take place
from Monday, April 24 (12:01 am)
to Thursday, April 27, 2023 (11:59 pm)

Note: The Residence Life Commissioner will be elected only by residents living in the three (3) Residence Halls. This voting will be included on the general electronic ballot.

GSA Senate Elections take place
from Monday, April 24 (12:01am)
to Thursday, April 27, 2023 (11:59 pm)

*if applicable

If you have additional questions about the Student Elections and procedures not answered above, please contact us:

• Miesha V. Smith, Student Elections Review Committee (SERC) Chair, Director of Student Life
• Teneia Wooten, Assistant Director of Student Activities

We wish all of you the very best