This Constitution will serve as the guiding principle of the Governing Board at Barnard, hereafter referred to as GBB, in order to ensure the fair governance of all groups that fall under it and the responsible allocation of student activity fees.

In compliance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and other federal, state and local laws, and in accordance with our values, Barnard College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, disability, or sex[1], gender identity or expression, in the administration of any of its educational programs and activities or in its employment practices.

In addition, Barnard College does not discriminate on the basis of alienage or citizenship status,marital partnership status, military status, arrest or conviction record, predisposing genetic characteristics, caregiver status, or victim status for the following offenses: domestic violence, stalking, and/or sex offense, in its employment practices.

Barnard College has designated the Director of Nondiscrimination and Title IX to handle all inquiries regarding its efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under these laws. The Director of Nondiscrimination and Title IX may be contacted.

In addition to the Barnard College Anti-Discrimination Statement, no persons shall be denied membership or office based on their major of study and/or political beliefs.

We are responsible for representing, advocating for, and recognizing all student organizations on campus. Dedicated to serving and representing the interests of all recognized groups, GBB strives to enhance the mission of Barnard College by supporting student organizations that foster and enrich our community through coordinating allocations from councils, providing financial resources to groups, and facilitating the creation and maintenance of spaces in our community for underrepresented and marginalized social groups.

GBB is dedicated to recognizing, representing, and advocating for student clubs and organizations at Barnard College. GBB operates on behalf of the undergraduate student councils and governing boards whose functions do not fall under any other governing boards unless dually recognized. GBB serves the following five purposes:

1. Serving and representing the interests of its groups;
2. Enhancing the mission of Barnard College by supporting student organizations that foster and enrich the community;
3. Allocating funding and providing financial resources to groups;
4. Facilitating the creation and maintenance of spaces in the Barnard community for underrepresented identities and marginalized social groups;
5. Collaborating with the Student Experience and Engagement  office as well as the other governing boards of Columbia University to maximize campus opportunities and events for the greater student body.

Section 1 – Executive Board

The GBB Executive Board shall consist of the following officers:

Clause 1. Executive Chair, whose powers and responsibilities include managing all external relations, working on behalf of the clubs with all members of the administration, cooperating with the other members of the Student Leadership Collective and the other governing boards, presenting a budget outline at F@CU, making policy changes to better serve the needs of all clubs, and setting the agenda for weekly board meetings. The Executive Chair will also organize all Town Hall meetings. The Executive Chair is responsible for attending weekly meetings with the Student Experience and Engagement (SEE) advisor.

Clause 2. Vice Chair, whose responsibilities include organizing and leading Constitutional review, which shall occur at least once a year. The Vice Chair will be the point of contact for the recognition and derecognition of clubs, monitoring club activities and status, overseeing all Town Hall meetings and the GBB Election process, and reserving campus spaces for GBB and Town Hall meetings. The Vice Chair will assume the responsibilities of the Executive Chair in the event of a vacancy.

Clause 3. Finance Chair, whose responsibilities include overseeing club spending, sending and receiving academic year budget request applications in the spring semester, maintaining GBB’s internal budget, attending and presenting a budget outline at F@CU, and reviewing, summarizing, and presenting student group GBB sponsorship applications. The Finance Chair will oversee the sponsorship process in collaboration with the Assistant Finance Chair. The Finance Chair has final power to accept requests while following GBB budget guidelines.

Clause 4. Assistant Finance Chair, whose main responsibility is to document sponsorship requests for GBB/SEE records and facilitate communication with Student Organizations regarding sponsorship status and budget. Additionally, the Assistant Finance Chair will co-manage financial documents with the Finance Chair, assist with F@CU preparation, and send academic year budget requests to Student Organizations at the beginning of the Fall semester.
 
Clause 5. Communications Chair, whose responsibilities include managing the Governing Board’s Google Drive, taking meeting minutes and attendance, website maintenance in collaboration with the SEE Office, sending out bi-weekly newsletters, managing all social media sources on behalf of the board, advertising and promoting on behalf of GBB, and promoting all clubs and activities. The Communications Chair is also responsible for maintaining correspondence via the GBB email account and responding to all inquiries from club representatives. The Communications Chair will work with the Vice Chair to create Town Hall materials.
 
Clause 6. There will be 6 representatives for the general body, which will include one from each of the following sub-categories of Student Organizations: Performance Groups, Publications/Media Groups, Cultural/Identity-Based Groups, Academic/Pre-Professional Groups, Activist Groups (Special Interest), Hobby Groups (Special Interest).

Responsibilities of these liaisons will include: 

1. Establishing and maintaining open channels of communication with their respective student organizations
2. Informing their respective organizations of all GBB events, deadlines, and updates
3. Attending 1 meeting of each organization they represent per academic year and providing GBB with comments, concerns, and other notable information regarding the meeting.
4. Being involved in the recognition process for incoming clubs and organizations that fall under a representative’s subcategory

Clause 6a. During the duration of their tenure on the Governing Board, a general representative must be an active member of a student organization in the subcategory they represent. However, they may not be the President or Treasurer of a GBB recognized club.

Clause 7. Should a GBB board member choose to resign during the academic school year, they must provide a month’s notice to ensure the smooth transition of responsibilities. Prior to announcing their resignation, the board member must speak with the current Executive Chair and advisor. 

Clause 8. During the month-long transition period, a special recruiting process from the remaining members of the current board will be held to fill the vacant position. During this period, however, the resigning board member is still responsible for fulfilling their described duties. Should a special recruiting process fail to fill the vacant position, responsibilities shall be redistributed permanently amongst sitting board members. 

Clause 9. Should the Executive Chair resign, the Vice Chair will fill the vacancy upon advisor approval.

To be a recognized group under GBB, a group must:

Clause 1. Have a mission statement that aligns with the values of GBB and Barnard College. 

• Subclause 1. Must serve or benefit the Barnard student community through programs, activities, events, performances, meetings, etc.

    
Clause 2. Be composed of at least ten (10) undergraduate students at Barnard College/Columbia University, including the E-Board.
 
Clause 3. Have at least 4 executive board members: President (or equivalent), Vice President (or equivalent), Treasurer (or equivalent), and one other executive member.

• Subclause 1: Have at least one member of the executive board be a Barnard student.
• Subclause 2. Have at least three members of the executive board be continuing undergraduate students or non-graduating seniors, as elected in Spring semester.

 
Clause 4. Present an appropriate constitution and membership list to GBB upon applying for Club Recognition. The constitution must contain all of the information required by the most updated GBB constitution template.

• Subclause 1. Constitutions must state a clear and unique mission or purpose that is not duplicative or deemed too similar to an existing recognized group.

Clause 5. Have a Club Logo

Clause 6. Have a social media presence

• Subclause 1: Follow the GBB Instagram account (@gb_barnard)

Clause 7. Be accessible to all Barnard/Columbia community members regardless of protected status as defined by the Title IX/Non-Discrimination Office in their Notice of Nondiscrimination.

• Subclause 1: Identity-based groups (such as women-only, ethnicity-, or nationality-based groups) cannot deny membership to folks that are not a part of that identity as is covered by Clause 7.

Clause 8. If groups have existing third party financial accounts, groups must close those accounts and deposit funds in Barnard student group financial accounts within 30 days of being recognized. 

Clause 9. Not be affiliated with a political party, candidate, or organization, be it a national or political organization.

Clause 10. Not charge membership fees to any of its members, nor shall a Barnard or Columbia organization require dues from Barnard students.

• Subclause 1: Club allocations cannot be used to pay national chapter dues.

Clause 11. Clubs recognized after Fall 2013 may only be recognized by one governing board. They will not be able to obtain dual recognition.

Clause 12. Cannot have been de-recognized by another governing board within the last academic year.

Clause 13. Accept and abide by all policies mandated by Barnard College and city, state, and federal law.

Clause 1. Clubs recognized by GBB that are in good standing with GBB and SEE:

1. Can reserve space on Barnard and/or Columbia’s campus pending availability
2. Gain an advisor from the Student Experience and Engagement Department who oversees the group’s self-selected club subcategory
3. Access to financial resources including a financial account
   1. Submit a budget request to receive funding for an academic year
   2. Have the ability to apply for GBB Sponsorships
4. Can request a table at Barnard’s Club Fair
5. Can hang fliers on Barnard/Columbia’s campus in accordance with the Barnard College (Columbia University) Posting Policy

Clause 2. Club recognition shall be held on a rolling basis in the Spring semester

Any group applying for Club Recognition must:

Clause 1. Submit the GBB Club Recognition Application.

• Subclause 1. The following information concerning each member shall be included: name, class year, school affiliation (BC, CC, SEAS, GS), and e-mail address.
• Subclause 2. The Club Constitution (see template)

Clause 2. Be active for one semester (at least 7 meetings) prior to submitting their application

• Subclause 1. Their application must include attachments of their club meeting minutes (see template)
• Subclause 2. GBB will reserve space for one activity of a club under consideration prior to recognition. This allows GBB to determine the potential of the organization to contribute to Barnard College campus life. A member of GBB shall attend this event to evaluate its success or lack thereof. (Please note: Funding is not supplied.)

Clause 3. Hold at least 4 meetings with the club’s general body before applying for club Recognition

• Subclause 1. The club’s general body must include more than the club’s executive board (See: 10-member requirement) 

Clause 4. Be prepared to present an overview of their organization to GBB

• Subclause 1. Clause 4 only applies to student groups for whom GBB requires more information following the initial review of the application based on the criteria below.
  • Subclause 1a. A mission statement that closely matches that of an existing group; lack of supporting documentation; not fulfilling the 4 general body meeting requirements; missing documents in their application; and other reasons at the Board's discretion.

Clause 1. The activation of all clubs shall be renewed at the beginning of each Fall semester upon submission of the Club Recognition process.  A club that registers will be active for the entire academic year.

• Subclause 1. All information on the registration form must be filled out. This includes the contact information of all club officers and club emails.
• Subclause 2. Newly recognized clubs must also reregister.

Clause 2. If a club fails to reregister, the club shall be placed on probation, the terms of which are determined by GBB, the club’s SEE advisor, and Student Experience and Engagement (SEE).
 
Clause 3. If a club fails to register for four consecutive semesters, the club will be officially deactivated through the de-recognition process. Should they wish to become active again, the group must re-apply for Club Recognition.

Clause 1. At the beginning of the year, the Finance Chair and the Assistance Finance Chair will provide all clubs with the updated GBB Financial Guidelines.
 
Clause 2. Clubs are required to hold at least one in-person event each semester.

Clause 3. Each club is required to meet with its SEE Advisor at least once a semester. If a club fails to meet with its advisor, the club shall be placed on probation.
  
Clause 4. All clubs are required to attend BLT.

• Subclause 1.  To access funds and the ability to book space on campus, clubs must also complete Barnard Leadership Training (BLT) following their reregistration.
• Subclause 2. BLT takes place in the Fall and Spring semesters
• Subclause 3.  Although newly recognized clubs are not permitted to submit an academic year budget request immediately following their recognition, they have the ability to apply for GBB Sponsorships following their completion of Barnard Leadership Training (BLT).

Clause 5. All clubs are required to reregister before the start of the new academic year.

Clause 6. Clubs must notify GBB of changes in organization leadership and constitution within 5 business days. 

• Subclause 1. Clubs must update MillieLINK to reflect their updated leadership and documents. 

Clause 7. Clubs are required to let GBB know if they are no longer interested in being recognized under GBB jurisdiction. 

• Subclause 1. This includes if a Club is seeking recognition from another governing board.

Clause 1. Clubs may be designated to a probationary period as determined by GBB and SEE Advisor, taking into consideration individual circumstances.

Clause 2. Reasons for probation include but are not limited to the following GBB constitution violations:

1. Failure to hold one in-person event each semester unless otherwise communicated
2. Failure to meet with the club’s SEE advisor at least once per semester
3. Failure to complete BLT by established deadlines
4. Violations of Barnard College/Columbia University policy
5. Failure to attend three consecutive GBB Town Halls

If a club placed on probation continually fails to meet the aforementioned criteria, they risk de-recognition.

Clause 1. Conditions for club de-recognition include:

• Subclause 1: Any serious violation of the conditions stated in the GBB Constitution
• Subclause 2: Having been on probation for one semester
• Subclause 3: Any violation of Barnard’s Code of Conduct

Clause 2. The Communications Chair will arrange a meeting between GBB, SEE, and the Executive Board of the club in question and present its findings.

Clause 3. Clubs who have been derecognized are able to go through an Appeals Process through a neutral party in the Student Experience and Engagement Office

Section 1 - Eligibility

Clause 1. Executive Board positions are open to any continuing full-time undergraduate student at Barnard College, Columbia College, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, or the School of General Studies.

Clause 2. GBB Board members cannot be abroad or graduate early during their terms.

• Subclause 1: If a current board member decides to study abroad, their position on the board will be terminated. In the event that the board member returns to campus, they may reapply for a position on GBB but are not guaranteed re-election to the board.

Section 2 - Election Procedures

Clause 1. All candidates for a GBB position are required to submit a statement of intent to be made available to the voting population on the date of the election.

Clause 2. Election of GBB Board Members:

• Subclause 1. Candidates for each position will submit an electronic application. 
• Subclause 2. Upon completion of the application, successful candidates will be selected to participate in interviews with the existing members of GBB. If the applicant is currently on the Board, the interview will be with a member of the Student Experience and Engagement Office. Any existing GBB members running for reelection are unable to interview candidates.
• Subclause 3. Select candidates will then provide a platform expressing their interest and qualifications for their candidacy in the desired position 
• Subclause 4. If GBB finds that a different position would better suit the candidate, GBB can appoint the member to a different position than the one for which they applied.
• Subclause 5. Candidates’ platforms will be made available to the voting population, the Executive Boards of GBB Recognized Groups, on the date of the election.
• Subclause 6. A majority vote (51 percent) of the quorum is necessary for election to GBB.
• Subclause 7. Non-GBB members can not apply for the Executive Chair position or the Finance Chair Position. An exception will be made in the instance that current serving members are unable to have the position.

Section 3 - Resignations

Clause 1. If any member of the board resigns, a new representative may then be appointed by a simple majority of GBB. Refer to Article II, Clauses 7-9.

Section 4 - Impeachment and Removal

Clause 1. Grounds for impeachment shall include serious abuse of membership privileges, neglect of the duties set forth in GBB’s Constitution, or deliberate violation of GBB’s Constitution.

Clause 2. Impeachment proceedings will be handled internally by the Board:

• Subclause 1. The most senior GBB member will request a meeting with the advisor to discuss impeachment. 
• Subclause 2. In the event that the Board chooses to impeach the Executive Chair, then the Vice Chair shall request their impeachment with GBB’s advisor. The advisor shall then organize a meeting with the board members in favor of impeachment and investigate the grounds for impeachment. The final outcome shall be determined by the advisor.
• Subclause 3. All impeachment matters shall be reported to GBB’s constituents when a final decision is made.

Section 5 – Vacant Positions

Clause 1. Applications for the vacancy shall be solicited from the Barnard/Columbia student body. 

• Subclause 1. Refer to Article X, Section 2 for the election procedures.

Amendments to the GBB constitution must be approved by a majority (51%) of student leaders at Town Hall. 

Clause 1. A draft of the proposed amendment(s) will be provided to the clubs prior to the Town Hall. 

Clause 2. All Constitutional amendments must be presented at the Fall semester Town Hall.

The Governing Board at Barnard (GBB) is dedicated to representing, advocating for, and recognizing clubs at Barnard College. GBB supports clubs’ efforts to promote student activity and learning outside of the classroom. We collaborate with the other members of the Student Leadership Collective (SGA and McAC), the Barnard administration, and other governing boards of Columbia University to maximize campus opportunities and events for the greater student body. GBB recognizes groups with members from all undergraduate schools at Columbia University and enriches communities at Barnard and Columbia by providing resources to connect students through clubs, organizations, and events.

Our mission is to uphold the values of Barnard College by promoting the personal and intellectual development of students as leaders. We hold GBB clubs and their members to the high expectations of Barnard College: rigorous standards, self-awareness, holistic learning, and social accountability. Reflective of the Barnard mission statement, GBB believes that participation and leadership in student clubs will empower students “to achieve the personal strength that will enable them to meet the challenges they will encounter throughout their lives.” We strive to provide a strong sense of community and dedication to student life on Barnard's campus.
 

Please send an email to spaceres@barnard.edu with questions about Barnard Events Management.

For questions about Columbia University Events Management, please go to http://uem.columbia.edu/

Due to policy changes, GBB no longer honors dual recognition with an already recognized club from any other governing board.