By-Law Review Working group: call for participants

A motion at the March 23 General Assembly was passed to create a working group to review the Geograds By-Laws and propose changes, and to pass them by our lawyer. This should only take a few hours over the course of the summer or could take place in September before the next GA.

Any members interested in participating should email gpe.grads@gmail.com.

Advertisement

Geograds Election results and Geograds in other elections

Geograds Election Results

The results of the Geograds election verified by the Chief Returning Officer with the Dean of Students.

• VP Social and Events (MEnv/DEA): Marion Macé (MEnv)
• Treasurer: Étienne Guertin (MSc.)

Congratulations Étienne and Marion!

Unfilled positions will go to by-election in September:

• President
• VP Communications / Secretary
• VP Internal (MSc./PhD.)
• VP Internal (MEnv./DEA)
• VP Social and Events (MSc./PhD.)

We encourage new members to consider running for one of these positions. It’s a great opportunity to get involved in the GPE community!

Geograds Elected in other associations

Some of our members were elected to represent graduate students in other associations.

• Maida Hadziosmanovic
  as GSA Arts & Science Director
• Jeremy Tessier 
  as TRAC Representation and grievance officer

Congratulations Jeremy and Maida!

Yearly Report and GA minutes

Thank you to everyone who made it out to the General Assembly on March 23rd. The meeting minutes are available here and the updated yearly report presentation is also online!

General Assembly Minutes

• March 23 2017 Geograds General Assembly Minutes

Minutes of past GAs and council meetings can be found in the Documents section of this site.

Yearly Report

The report of the activities for the year was presented at the GA but we have updated since then so take a look! Includes a timeline of the GPE Federation Accreditation process and some photos from our events:

• 2016-17 Geograds Yearly Report

Special trivIA event

Please join us

THIS Wednesday April 5th at 6:15 pm

for a

@ Le Centre Sheraton Hotel –
Ballroom East Room on Level 4

1201, boulevard René-Levesque Ouest, Montreal, Quebec H3B 2L7 [map]
fb event

Bring a team or join a table for the chance to win fantastic prizes

Free event – Open to all – Limited seats – Arrive early – No reservation necessary

***Free DRINKS***

Do not hesitate to bring your friends and colleagues.

This is a side event to the IAIA conference.

 http://conferences.iaia.org/2017/

Looking forward to seeing you at this Special TrivIA Event!

—

The TrivIA Organization Committee

Students of the Masters of Environmental Assessment

Departement of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University

General Assembly Agenda & Proposed By-Law Changes

General Assembly & 2017-18 Elections

Thursday, March 23, 2017
5:30 – 7:00pm in H-1267
Nilufar falafel and salad will be served
To be followed by GA-Chill (location TBD by vote)

Proposed Agenda:

Announcements (Open to anyone – 5mins)
Call to Order

1. Appoint Chair, Secretary, Time Keeper (3 mins)
2. Approval of Agenda (3 mins)
3. Approval of minutes of the General Assembly of Sept 15, 2016 (3 mins)
   • view the minutes here
4. Geograds Yearly Report 2016-17 (Kiley, 8 mins)
5. Budget Report 2016-17 (Étienne, 8 mins)
6. TRAC Report (Jeremy, 5 minutes)
7. By-law Changes Proposals (10 mins)
   • See this proposal for details of changes proposed
8. Elections (15 mins)
   • Appoint Chief Returning Officer (CRO)
   • Discussion of positions and responsibilities
   • Collection of nomination forms
9. New business
   • Mae Anne’s Goodbye Gift (5 mins)
   • Teacher Assistant pay & contract changes discussion (15 mins)
   • Resolutions to Department (if any)
10. Other business (5mins)
    • Endorsements (if any)
11. By-Election results (CRO)
12. Motion to hold GA-Chill event at [ location TBD ] after we adjourn
13. Motion to Adjourn

(Est running time: 1:30)

*Quorum is 5% of membership or 10 members, whichever is higher. 

[>> for all the details on the positions and nominations for Geograds council, see the previous post ]

General Assembly & 2017-18 Elections

The next GEOGRADS General Assembly:

• Thurs March 23, 2017
• 5:30pm-7:00pm in H-1267 (Urban Lab)
• Food will be provided 🍴
• Followed by GA-CHILL (drinks etc) at a location TBD by vote!!

The proposed agenda for the General Assembly is posted here. Feel free to submit items to the agenda, such as endorsements, to gpe.grads@gmail.com until March 19th.

>> Did you know??<<

The General Assembly is where you can have a direct voice in the organisation that represents you! You can bring proposals to the assembly. Here are just a few types of things you can do at general assembly:

• endorsements (causes to support)
• amendments to the by-laws (the rules that Geograds is run by)
• resolutions for the Geograds Council (for example, resolve that Geograds only buy fair-trade coffee)
• resolutions to bring to the Department or the University (for example, calling on them to remove investments from fossil fuels or make Indigenous studies mandatory to graduate)
• ………We can even vote on a name for our inflatable palm tree!

How? The best way is to send your item to gpe.grads@gmail.com to have your point added to the agenda (please do so by March 19!). Or you can come to the GA and add it to the agenda there.

Geograds Council NOMINATIONS:

In accordance with our bylaws, we announce the nomination period for Geograds Council positions 2017-2018.   Nominations for Geograds Council will be presented at the General Assembly.

• Nomination period (7 days): March 16, 2017 – March 23, 2017.
• Uncontested positions will be acclaimed at the General Assembly on Thurs, March 23, 2017.
• If contested, a campaign period of 3-business-days will be followed by a ballot vote on Weds, March 29, 2017.
• Successful officers begin their positions on June 1st 2017.

To nominate yourself for a position (see below for list of positions):

1. Print and complete the nomination form (download here)
2. Collect at least three signatures from registered graduate students of the GPE department (MSc, MEnv,DEA, PhD).
3. Present completed nomination form to the General Assembly on March 23, 2017.

ELIGIBILITY FOR ELECTIONS:

• Candidates must be registered in the MSc, MEnv, DEA or PhD program in the Department of Geography Planning and Environment, and be a student in Good Standing with the Office of the Dean.
• Candidates must not be graduating within the term of the position (i.e. June 1 2017 – May 31, 2018)

POSITIONS:

1. President
2. VP Communications / Secretary
3. Treasurer
4. VP Social and Events (MSc)
5. VP Social and Events (MEnv/DEA)
6. VP Internal (MSc)
7. VP Internal (MEnv/DEA)

Duties as described in the GEOGRADS By Laws. Note that duties can be shared if agreed upon by fellow officers:

The President shall be responsible for:

• Act as President of the Board of Directors.
• Act as Chairperson at all regular Council meetings, and at GEOGRADS General Assemblies.
• Arrange for the annual General Assembly to be held the subsequent academic year, irrespective of their presence therein.
• Oversee the day-to-day management of the GEOGRADS, and ensure all other Council members are performing their duties as defined below.
• Direct the implementation of Council resolutions.
• Act as the liaison between the GEOGRADS and the GSA, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and all external organizations.
• Be the official spokesperson of the GEOGRADS.
• Publish an Annual GEOGRADS report summarizing the GEOGRADS achievements and activities during the term.
• Have authority to create committees and delegate unto them the powers and task that he/she chooses.
• Carry out any other duty the council deems associated with the role of the President.

The Vice-President Communications / Secretary shall be responsible for:

• i. Act as Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the GEOGRADS corporation.
• ii. Assume responsibilities of President in the absence of the President.
• iii. Recording and distributing minutes at all regular Council meetings, and General Assemblies.
• iv. Be the GEOGRADS archivist and ensure the continuity of the Association’s institutional memory.
• v. Publishing a newsletter at least twice in each of fall and winter semesters.
• vi. Developing online media and working with the media to advance causes that council deems important
• vii. Carrying out any other duty the council deems associated to the communication function.

The Treasurer shall be responsible for:

• Act as Treasurer of the GEOGRADS corporation.
• Chairing the Budget Committee meetings.
• The custody of all records, ledgers, receipts, or documents belonging to, or dealing with the financial affairs of the GEOGRADS.
• The GEOGRADS accounting process and of all receipts and disbursements.
• The administration of funds according to the GEOGRADS and for the preparation of all financial statements.
• Carrying out any other task the Council deems associated with the Association’s finances.

The two Vice-President Social and Events shall be responsible for:

• Managing the Graduate Lounge.
• Organizing guest lectures and other extra-curricular events.
• Organizing social functions.
• Carrying out any other duty the Council deems pertinent to the V.P. Social and Events portfolio.

The two Vice-President Internal shall be responsible for:

• Serving as the GEOGRADS liaison with the faculty, staff, and undergraduate student associations within the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment.
• Coordinating Geography, Planning and Environment graduate student representation on the University’s academic and administrative organs, along with the President.
• Carrying out any other duty the Council deems pertinent to the V.P. Internal Portfolio

GPE Federation Accreditation Vote Feb 13 – 17

 

Over the last few years Geograds, along with the undergraduate student associations of the department for geography (GUSS) and urban studies (UPA), have been seeking to become an officially accredited student association as the GPE Federation, representing all students of the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia.

The next step is a referendum-style ballot vote. It will take place the week of February 13-17 (the week before Reading Week).  All GPE students (undergraduate and graduate) are eligible to vote.

For more information about what the accreditation is and what effects it might have, the GPE federation will be hosting an information session on Tues Jan 31 from 4:30-6:00 in H-1267. The facebook event can be found here.

The following message is from Mariah Gillis, the Chief Elections Officer for the accreditation vote: