Carnegie Mellon University
Student Government  ›  Graduate Student Assembly  ›  Upcoming Events  ›  General Body Meeting Presentation Guidelines

Premise:

Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) is the branch of student government that represents all graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). GSA contains representation from each department and college, in the form of ‘GSA Reps’ who carry voting privileges. The affairs of the organization are overseen by the Executive Committee comprised of seven elected members and an Events and Program Coordinator. These 90+ reps and the Executive Committee meet once a month at a GSA General Body Meeting (GBM) to carry out the business of the organization. These GBMs are usually held on the first Wednesdays of each month from 5-7pm. Since the GBM take place only once a month and the agendas tend to be packed, the following metrics are being implemented for those who wish to present at a GBM in order to better manage the precious time at Reps Meetings

Metrics:

  1. If an individual, group of individuals or an organization wishes to present at a GBM, they may request the same by emailing the GSA President at least two weeks before a scheduled GBM. The request must contain the reason(s) for wishing to present at the GBM, in addition to demonstrating the following:

    1. The content of the presentation is relevant to graduate students.

    2. The content of the presentation either:

      1. Conveys important resources that are valuable for all graduate students that GSA Representatives should be aware of, or

      2. Has a well established actionable request (i.e. feedback from the GSA Representatives or a vote on a resolution).

        1. Requests for funding will not be entertained at a GBM. If you wish to request funding from the GSA, please email GSA VP of Finance to explore our different avenues for funding.

  2. If the GSA Executive Committee requires more clarification on the content, they may ask the individual(s) to present at their regular weekly meeting to ensure that the content is relevant for graduate students, before allowing presentation at the GBM.

  3. The GSA Executive Committee will determine whether the content is relevant for presentation at GBM, and how much time will be allotted to the individual(s). Since the agendas tend to be full and finalized weeks in advance, the GSA President will determine which of the monthly GBMs the individual(s) would be invited to present at. Please note that due to prior scheduling requests, the individual(s) may be allocated time to present during a future GBM.

  4. If the individual(s) have been allocated time to present at a GBM, they must email their slides, hand-outs, or any presentation material to the GSA President at least 24 hours before the start of the said GBM.

  5. When presenting, the individual(s) must adhere to the time allocated to them.

    1. In case they go over their allocated time limit, the Chair of the meeting shall move the GBM to either the actionable request, or the next agenda item.

  6. In case the individual(s) do not arrive prior to the start time of their presentation, their time to present at the GBM may be forfeited.

Note:

The GSA Executive Committee reserves the right to refuse the individual(s) to present at a GBM if it believes that the content of the said presentation may not be relevant to graduate students or their interests at large. Additionally, it also reserves the right to refuse the individual(s) to present at GBM if the content of the presentation does not align with GSA’s vision, mission or Strategic Plan. Such issues may be raised by graduate students during the ‘Open Floor’ section near the conclusion of the meeting. The GSA Executive Committee does recognize that exceptions should be made in special cases, such as a quickly arising issue or the busy schedule of University Administrators such as the President or Provost of CMU.