Constitution

Following is the constitution of the Graduate Association of Recreation and Leisure Studies (GARLS).                                      

Date Accepted: September 24, 1992

Date Amended: September 21, 2000

Date Amended: October, 2020

Article I: Name

The name of the organization shall be “Graduate Association of Recreation and Leisure Studies” (GARLS) of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies (RLS), the University of Waterloo, hereafter referred in other areas as the “Association”.

Article II: Mandate

The mandate of the association is to promote a sense of community among RLS graduate students and to provide a formal channel or voice through which RLS graduate students may be represented in other area of university affairs.

Article III: Objectives

The aims of the Association shall be:

• to promote interaction among members of the Association;
• to acquaint incoming graduate students with departmental and university procedure;
• to act as the official voice of the graduate students of the department for academic and administrative purposes;
• to nominate and elect a representative to the Graduate Student Association (GSA);
• to nominate and elect representatives to departmental and university committees;
• to organize social events for the benefit of the Association’s members;
• to promote contact with alumni of the department; and
• to financially support members through a “GARLS Support Grant” with respect to conference registration costs (see Article X).

Article IV: Membership

1. All registered full-time graduate students in the Department, whether registered as thesis or professional option, shall be considered members of the Association. Qualifying students are not considered full members of the Association, although they will be represented and considered affiliated members. A membership fee of $5.00 for each term registered full-time or $2.00 part-time will be required. Payment of the membership fee is optional. Any changes to the membership fees are determined by the Graduate Student Association of the University of Waterloo

Article V: Officers

1. The Association Executive committee will consist of:
   • President
   • Vice President
   • Secretary
   • Treasurer.
   1. The remainder of the Association board shall consist of:
   • two (2) Research Symposium Co-Chairs
   • Electronic and Social Media Coordinator(s)
   • Lunch and Learn Coordinator(s) 
   • Community Outreach Coordinator(s)
   • Social Events Coordinator(s)
   • GSA Representative
2. Members of the executive committee shall serve as representatives to the following committees:

3. The term of office for all officers shall be a one-year period to a maximum of two years in one position, renewable only for the same position. The election of the President and Treasurer shall take place at the Winter Term Graduate Meeting (WTGM) and the election of the remaining Association Officers shall take place during the Fall Term Graduate Meeting (FTGM). Each officer, whether executive or general, shall take office after a two-week transitional period facilitated by the outgoing officer in the event that they are still present in the department. Alternatively, it will be the responsibility of the president to provide this support.
4. The President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Vice President, shall be permitted to hold a maximum of three, Representative Departmental/Faculty Committee position at any given time.
5. The Executive Committee of the Association shall be responsible for keeping the members informed of graduate student related Departmental and Faculty affairs and for the annual renewal of Association policies and procedures.

Article VI: Nomination and Election of Officers

1. Nominations (including self-nominations) for the positions of President, Secretary and Treasurer will be received in writing or verbally to the current President or Secretary during the last month of the winter term. These positions will be voted on at least three weeks prior to the Symposium.
2. Nominations for the Vice President, Symposium Co-Chairs, Electronic and Social Media Coordinator(s), Lunch and Learn Coordinator(s), Community Outreach Coordinator(s), GSA Representative, and a Social Events Coordinator(s) will be will be received in writing or verbally to the current President or Secretary following the first GARLS meeting in September and will be voted on at the second GARLS meeting in October.
3. An election will take place during the first 2 weeks of October. During this meeting, the graduate students who have been nominated for the position of Vice President, Symposium Co-Chairs, Electronic and Social Media Coordinator(s), Lunch and Learn Coordinator(s), Community Outreach Coordinator(s), GSA Representative and Social Events Coordinator(s) shall be granted two minutes each to share their ideas for the positions. Following their brief statements, the graduate students will be granted 15 minutes to ask questions. Questions may be to an individual nominee, or the entire collective. After the 15-minute question period, graduate students will anonymously submit a vote to appoint individuals to each position. The votes will be calculated and announced by the end of the meeting and the newly-elected positions will enter a 2-week transitional period, after which, they will take on the entirety of their roles as stated in the constitution.
   1. The 15 minute question period can be extended if it is the will of the room.

4. The Winter Term Graduate Meeting (WTGM) will take place during the last week of classes. During such time, if desired, the graduate students who have been nominated for the position of president, secretary, and treasurer shall be granted five minutes each to share their ideas for the positions. Following their statements, the graduate students will be granted 20 minutes to ask questions. After the 20 minute question period, graduate students will anonymously submit a vote to appoint individuals to each position. The votes will be calculated and announced by the end of the meeting and the newly-elected positions will undergo a 2-week transitional period, after which, they will take on the entirety of their roles as stated in the constitution.
   1. The 20 minute question period can be extended if it is the will of the room.

5. The Executive Committee shall have the power to appoint new officers, for any position, made available by any reason, during an academic year in progress, excluding the roles of President and Treasure.

6. All meetings with votes must take place publicly, with quorum, and be announced no less than 2 weeks ahead of the scheduled voting day.
   1. All meetings that involve an election are to be scheduled a minimum of two weeks in advance.
   2. All election meetings are to be announced to all GARLS members two weeks in advance, and be a public meeting.
   3. Applicable supporting documents pertaining to the election must be distributed via email to GARLS members 2-weeks in advance.
   4. All election meetings must meet quorum (10 full-time or part-time members of GARLS).

Article VII: Duties of the Officers

President

The president is the official representative of the association at all times. They have co- signing authority on the Association’s bank account. They are responsible for ensuring meeting agenda and minutes are prepared and made available to the membership for every meeting. The president will chair all meetings unless otherwise designated by the president. The president will hold the following positions on the following committees: RLS Dept. Liaison, RLS Department Meetings; AHS Faculty Liaison, AHS Faculty Council.The following task must be accomplished with regards to the president’s representation on the committees:

1. are to attend all meetings of the committee(s) to which they are appointed or elected;
2. are to give appropriate input to committee representatives in order to represent the ‘voice’ of the RLS graduate students;
3. must notify the vice-president promptly should they be unable to attend any meeting in order to allow the president the opportunity to appoint a replacement representative;
4. maintain their respective committee documentation (i.e., meeting minutes) in good order and be able to submit copies of such documentation to the Executive Committee at its request;
5. report, if requested, at the TGM and at other Association meetings; and
6. post minutes of committee meetings promptly in a designated location and see that that Association, in general, is aware of the events of their respective committees.

Vice President

The Vice President will be responsible for:

1. Representing GARLS on the following committees: AHS Student Appeals Committee, and sit as the Teaching Assistant Representative at RLS Department Meetings
   1. are to attend all meetings of the committee(s) to which they are appointed or elected;
   2. are to give appropriate input to committee representatives in order to represent the ‘voice’ of the RLS graduate students;
   3. must notify the president promptly should they be unable to attend any meeting in order to allow the president the opportunity to appoint a replacement representative;
   4. maintain their respective committee documentation (i.e., meeting minutes) in good order and be able to submit copies of such documentation to the Electronic and Social Media Coordinators(s) to post to the appropriate channels.
   5. report, if requested, at the TGM and at other Association meetings; and
2. Acting as the GARLS representative when issues concerning Teaching Assistantships and/or Research Assistantships arise.
3. Assuming the duties of the President in their absence, with the exception of the disbursal of GARLS funds.
   1. Nominations for this position will be held during the first General Meeting of the Fall term followed by a vote at the second General Meeting of the Fall.
   2. If the position of secretary is unfilled, and a replacement is not appointed, the responsibilities of the secretary will fall to the Vice President.

Secretary

The secretary will be responsible for:

1. representing GARLS on the following committees: RLS Dept. Liaison, RLS Graduate Affairs Committee
   1. are to attend all meetings of the committee(s) to which they are appointed or elected;
   2. are to give appropriate input to committee representatives in order to represent the ‘voice’ of the RLS graduate students;
   3. must notify the president promptly should they be unable to attend any meeting in order to allow the president the opportunity to appoint a replacement representative;
   4. maintain their respective committee documentation (i.e., meeting minutes) in good order and be able to submit copies of such documentation to the Electronic and Social Media Coordinators(s) to post to the appropriate channels.
   5. report, if requested, at the TGM and at other Association meetings; and
2. attending to and/or ensuring that items for meeting agendas are accepted and posted prior to meetings;
3. taking care of membership correspondence (i.e., notice of meetings, deadlines, sympathy cards, etc.); and sitting on the Research Symposium Executive Committee.

Treasurer

The treasurer will be solely responsible for:

1. representing GARLS on the following committees:AHS Faculty Liaison, AHS Graduate Affairs Committee; and University of Waterloo, RLS Department Liaison, Health and Wellbeing Advisory Council
   1. are to attend all meetings of the committee(s) to which they are appointed or elected;
   2. are to give appropriate input to committee representatives in order to represent the ‘voice’ of the RLS graduate students;
   3. must notify the president promptly should they be unable to attend any meeting in order to allow the president the opportunity to appoint a replacement representative;
   4. maintain their respective committee documentation (i.e., meeting minutes) in good order and be able to submit copies of such documentation to the Executive Committee at its request;
   5. report, if requested, at the TGM and at other Association meetings; and
   6. post minutes of committee meetings promptly in a designated location and see that that Association, in general, is aware of the events of their respective committees.
2. collecting and banking membership fees;
3. overseeing the annual budget of the Association;
4. obtaining signing authority on the Association’s bank account for the president and treasurer;
5. sitting on the Research Symposium Executive Committee.

Research Symposium Co-Chairs (Two Positions)

The research symposium co-chairs will be the chairpersons of the Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium and will be responsible for coordinating and supervising the planning, organization and implementation of the symposium. They will give an overview of the Symposium to incoming graduate students at the FTGM and delegate responsibilities. All delegated positions will be supervised by the Symposium Co-Chairs. Further, they will function as the chairpersons of the Research Symposium Executive Committee which will consist of the GARLS treasurer, an Association liaison who will communicate the actions of the committee to Association members, and a Faculty representative. Nominations for this position will be held during the first General Meeting of the Fall term followed by a vote at the second General Meeting of the Fall.

Social Committee Coordinator(s)

Social Coordinator(s) is responsible for:

1. Facilitating, promoting, and coordinating social events for the benefit of the members.
2. Each term, the Social Committee Coordinator must plan one social event.
3. Nominations for this position will be held during the first General Meeting of the Fall term followed by a vote at the second General Meeting of the Fall.
4. These duties may be executed by an individual or pair of individuals whom share the title and above responsibilities.

Lunch and Learn Coordinator(s)

Lunch & Learn Coordinator(s) is responsible for:

1. Organizing and promoting informal discussions (e.g. brown-bag lunches) where interested faculty and grad students may exchange ideas and become better acquainted with the work of others from within and without the department.
2. Each month, the Social Committee Coordinator must facilitate one academic seminar.
3. Nominations for this position will be held during the first General Meeting of the Fall term followed by a vote at the second General Meeting of the Fall.
4. These duties may be executed by an individual or pair of individuals whom share the title and above responsibilities.

Electronic & Social Media Coordinator(s)

Electronic & Social Media Coordinator(s) is responsible for:

1. Enrolling in and completing the University of Waterloo online Electronic module
2. Maintaining the GARLS webpage, through the University of Waterloo official website
3. Ensuring that the minutes from all ATM’s and the Association’s records are maintained and shared on the appropriate channels;
   1. Executive meeting minutes and all ATM minutes are to be posted to the executive Microsoft Teams Account and the official GARLS webpage, via the University of Waterloo
4. Collaborate with the RLS Social Media Specialist to create a grad student presence on RLS social media accounts, including:
   1. Instagram
   2. Twitter
   3. LinkedIn
5. Nominations for this position will be held during the first General Meeting of the Fall term followed by a vote at the second General Meeting of the Fall.
6. These duties may be executed by an individual or pair of individuals whom share the title and above responsibilities.

Community Outreach Coordinator(s)

Community Outreach Coordinator(s) is responsible for:

1. Planning, facilitating, and coordinating events that will strengthen the relationships between the RLS community and neighboring departments or organizations
2. Coordinating philanthropic and/ or social justice-oriented campaigns that support current events.
3. Nominations for this position will be held during the first General Meeting of the Fall term followed by a vote at the second General Meeting of the Fall.
4. These duties may be executed by an individual or pair of individuals whom share the title and above responsibilities.

Graduate Student Association Representative

The Graduate Student Association Representative will be responsible for representing GARLS on the following committee: Graduate Student Association Board as the GSA Representative.

The Graduate Student Association Representative:

1. is to attend all meetings of the committee to which they are appointed or elected;
2. is to give appropriate input to committee representatives in order to represent the ‘voice’ of the RLS graduate students;
3. must notify the president promptly should they be unable to attend any meeting in order to allow the president the opportunity to appoint a replacement representative;
4. must maintain their respective committee documentation (i.e., meeting minutes) in good order and be able to submit copies of such documentation to the Electronic and Social Media Coordinators(s) to post to the appropriate channels;
5. must report, if requested, at the TGM and at other Association meetings.

Article VIII: Committees and Organization

Any committee or organization formed by members as representative of the Association must be approved by the membership of the Association, which requires a majority of 50% plus one. Committees and organizations must submit a mandate statement and a list of involved members to the Association Executive for recommendation of acceptance to be put to the membership of the Association. One representative of each of the recognized and approved committees or organizations of the Association will be granted a position on the Association Executive.

Article IX: Meetings

1. Term General Meeting (TGM):
   1. There must be at least one TGM each academic term convened on a convenient date (Monday to Friday), normally during the last week of the first month or first week of the second month of each term.
   2. Written, or electronic (e.g., e-mail), notification of the TGM shall be given to each member at least ten days in advance of the date set for the TGM.
   3. During each academic term:
      1. Any member can petition a member of the executive to call a meeting at any time;
      2. A notice for meetings must be placed on the graduate student’s information board at least one week prior to each meeting;
      3. The position of chairperson and recorder shall change from meeting to meeting.
2. The constitution may be amended from time to time at a meeting of quorum or more.
3. Quorum shall include no less than ten full-time and/or part-time memberships, including the executive members.

Article X: GARLS Support Grant

With the objective of assisting members who wish to attend conferences but are unable to because of financial constraints, GARLS can award 1 or 2 members with a “GARLS Support Grant” (GSG). The following conditions apply.

1. All GARLS members may apply for a GSG.
2. To apply for a GSG, a “GARLS Support Grant Application” must be completed.
3. GSG applications will be filed and be available from the Treasurer and completed applications must be returned to the Treasurer.
4. The Treasurer will keep one copy of the GSG application on file and provide a second copy to the accepted member(s).
5. Final decisions on who receives the GSG(s) are made by the Treasurer and President, who must both sign the GSG cheque(s). If there are more than 2 applicants, the Treasurer, President, and the applicants will have a meeting to decide exactly how the grant will be allocated and used. An attempt will be made by the Treasurer and President to use the grant as flexibly as possible.
6. The only application requirement for a GSG is that the member must be “in need” of financial assistance to attend a conference, as declared by the member.
7. A maximum of 2 members in any one year (Sept. - Aug.) may receive a GSG.
8. The GSG will not exceed $100 (or $50 each for 2 members). This amount will vary depending on the financial circumstances of GARLS at the time of application.
9. The member(s) who are applying for a GSG will be made known to the Association members. This ensures an open forum for discussion among the members and prevents misuse of the Grant.
10. The GSG is intended to support members’ attendance at conferences that correspond to their interests.
11. Whenever possible, applicants should plan to pay the pre-registration fee, which is commonly lower than the regular fee.

Article XI: GARLS Electronic and Social Media Accounts

1. The GARLS official email address is to be used to send all official GARLS related content:
   1. garls@uwaterloo.ca
   2. The email address password is to be changed annually, during the presidential transitional period.
   3. The president and vice president are permitted to have access to this account.
2. The GARLS official Qualtrics account is to be used to conduct any department-wide electronic survey:
   1. garls@uwaterloo.ca
   2. The account’s password is to be changed annually, during the presidential transitional period.
   3. All members of the executive are permitted to have access to this account.