Committee Constitution

Constitution of the Lakeside Apartments Committee – Enacted August 18, 2015

Princeton University

ARTICLE I. NAME AND AUTHORITY

Section 1: Name

This organization is named the Lakeside Apartments Committee, and will hereafter be referred to as the ‘Committee’. This document will be referred to as the ‘Constitution’.

Section 2: Purpose

The purpose of this Committee will be to advocate on behalf of Lakeside residents to the broader Princeton community, provide a forum for open discussion for residents on issues affecting our community, communicate those issues to Princeton administrators and ACC, plan and fund social events, and help manage and administer shared community resources.

Section 3: Authority

The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order will govern the Committee in all applicable cases in which they do not conflict with this Constitution or special rules of order that the Committee adopts.

Section 4: Definitions

A ‘resident’ is defined as an adult who 1) lives in Lakeside Apartments 2) is known to the Housing Office of the University as a resident of the apartment at Lakeside where they live and 3) is, or was within the last 30 days, a graduate student at the University or the spouse or domestic partner of a graduate student. A ‘member of the Committee’ is a person holding an elected office described in this Constitution. The ‘Committee’ is defined as all members of the Committee acting in concert under Article I, Section 3 and other areas of the Constitution.

ARTICLE II. MEETINGS

Section 1: Regular Meetings

The Committee shall hold meetings regularly during the academic year at a time and place decided by the Committee. The Committee must meet at least once a month at a regular, recurring meeting time. The Committee will notify residents of the time, date, and location of each meeting at least 48 hours in advance. If a majority of the Committee members wish to cancel a meeting, they may do so by filing a written request with the Chair and residents must be notified of the cancellation. Residents must be notified at least 24 hours in advance of a cancellation.

Section 2: Special Meetings

Special meetings of the Committee may be called by the Chair or by request of any four Committee members or by request of 20 residents. All members of the Committee must be informed of a special meeting at least 72 hours before the proposed time.

Section 3: Participation

All residents are entitled to 1) attend all meetings 2) make motions 3) raise parliamentary questions and 4) participate in Committee discussions. Part of a meeting may be closed to proxies and all non-Committee members by a two-thirds vote of the Committee. No business may be transacted or votes taken in a closed session; only discussion may occur.

Section 4: Quorum

A quorum consists of at least one-half of the members of the Committee or their designated proxies. If it is found that a quorum is not present, the meeting may be held, but no business may be transacted or votes held. In the event that quorum is not reached, the Chair may decide to hold an electronic vote among Committee members prior to the next meeting. The Chair must announce this decision at the Committee meeting.

Section 5: Proxies

Proxies must present written or email authorization to the Committee before assuming their seats. Proxies may not transfer their proxy to another person. Proxies must be residents of Lakeside Apartments and they shall have the full privileges of a member during the meeting for which they have been approved, except the right to participate in closed meetings.

Section 6: Roll Call Votes

Roll call votes shall be held if requested by any resident. They shall be taken alphabetically with the presiding officer voting last.

Section 7: Tabling of Motions

Any motion may be postponed until the next meeting if requested by two members of the Committee. Any given motion may not be postponed more than twice. This section is designed to allow members of the Committee to discuss the proposed motion with other residents.

Section 8: Delaying of Motions

Implementation of a motion approved by the Committee may be delayed at the request of a Committee member by up to 72 hours to allow time for that person to complete a formal referendum as per this Constitution. If a proper petition is not submitted to the Chair within 72 hours of the delay request, action may be completed on the motion as approved. A second delay may not be granted. The request for a delay may be overridden if the Chair and Vice Chair concur that the motion constitutes an emergency measure requiring immediate action. An override does not preclude the formation of a referendum petition; it only has the power to deny a delay request.

ARTICLE III. COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Section 1: Definition

All Committee member positions shall be elected annually according to the terms of Article IV and shall serve one-year terms. There shall be no limit to the number of terms an individual Committee member may serve. Each Committee member shall have one vote.

Section 2: Terms of Office

All Committee members take office once their election is certified, and serve until the election meeting as described in Article IV, Section 3. All Committee members are required to attend monthly meetings and assist in Committee events. In the event that a Committee member terminates their residence in Lakeside Apartments, they shall be removed from the Committee and the office shall be considered vacant, to be filled as described in Article IV.

Section 3: Eligibility

Any resident may run for any position, except for the position of Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and External Relations Delegate as described below. For a candidate to be eligible to run for a Committee position, the resident must have attended at least one monthly Lakeside Committee meeting within one calendar year of the election date. Please note: Merely attending a previous election within the past 12 months does not apply and does not fulfill the meeting requirement. For each position, if no candidate meets this requirement, then candidates who have not attended a meeting are eligible to run. Candidates who expect to be absent for more than one month during the academic term should not run for Committee positions.

Section 4: Chair

The Chair schedules Committee meetings and contacts residents to ensure they are aware of meeting times. The Chair sets the agenda for each meeting and runs each meeting.The Chair is also empowered to serve as a spokesperson for the Committee and to oversee the other Committee positions and ensure that other Committee members carry out their duties in a timely fashion. The Chair ensures that the decisions of the Committee are carried out. The Chair can create subcommittees at their discretion.The Chair is a member of all subcommittees and appoints the subcommittee chairs and members, subject to Committee review. The Chair must have served on the Lakeside Committee for at least one term. If none of the candidates meet this requirement, then candidates who have attended at least two meetings are eligible to run. If none of the candidates meet this requirement, then any resident is eligible to run. The Princeton University Graduate School requires that the President or Chair of a student organization be a graduate student.

Section 5: Vice Chair

The Vice Chair performs the duties of the Chair in their absence and assists the Chair if their responsibilities are particularly heavy. The Vice Chair is a member of all subcommittees and works closely with the Chair. The Vice Chair is responsible for maintaining the Constitution, managing Committee member attendance and participation, and acting as Parliamentarian of the Committee. Due to the provisions on the Chair, the Vice Chair must be a graduate student.  The Vice Chair will also be in charge of quarterly clean-ups and maintenance of the storage room.  

Section 6: Secretary

The Secretary is responsible for all Committee records except those specifically assigned to others. They record the minutes from every Committee meeting, include the names of all in attendance, provide the minutes to the webmaster for publication, issue notice of special meetings and disseminate other information as directed by the Committee. They preserve written reports from all subcommittees as they are submitted. The records of the Secretary shall be open for inspection to all residents of Lakeside Apartments.  The secretary will also organize and forward emails addressed to the committee.

Section 7: Treasurer

The Treasurer is responsible for keeping track of Committee funds, organizing and tracking receipts. They are responsible for all the Committee’s financial transactions, keeping permanent financial records, and submitting written reports to the Committee as directed. The financial records shall be open for inspection to all residents of Lakeside Apartments. The Treasurer shall keep copies of all financial reports presented to the Committee and shall coordinate with the Graduate School and Housing Office to maintain financial accounts. The Graduate School requires that anyone managing the financial transactions of a student organization must be a graduate student. The Treasurer is responsible for co-administering Lakeside’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. This provision does not require the Treasurer to be present during the non-academic summer months. The CSA also depends on robust volunteer efforts from participating residents, and if insufficient volunteer help is available, the Committee may suspend its operation.

Section 8: Social Chair

The Social Chair is responsible for organizing all social events for the Committee. They publicize events to residents and the community and shall delegate tasks pertaining to each event to other Committee members and residents. They are responsible for registering events with the graduate school and with American Campus Communities (ACC) and are the point of contact for each social event. They are also responsible for event budgeting, and work with the Treasurer to apply for additional funding for events if necessary. The Social Chair also procures food and supplies for the event, publicizes the event, and assists in set-up and cleanup or may recruit other members of the community to assist with these tasks.

Section 9: Webmaster

The Webmaster is responsible for the maintenance and content of the Lakeside Apartments website. They will update information on the site, upload meeting notices and minutes and be the point of contact for any web-related questions. The Webmaster and Chair have access to the Lakeside residents’ mailing list and any other community mailing lists.

Section 10: Garden Coordinator

The Garden Coordinator is responsible for the Lakeside community garden. The Garden Coordinator oversees the upkeep of the community garden, organizes garden cleanup and maintenance with members of the garden, maintains a mailing list for the gardeners, assigns plots for residents who wish to garden, and is the point of contact for any garden-related matters. The Garden Coordinator must be present during the gardening season. The Garden Coordinator shall, with Committee approval, set dues for garden membership. Any changes to these dues from those of the previous year must be approved by a majority of Committee members at a regular Committee meeting prior to the beginning of the gardening season for those changes to take effect.

Section 11: External Relations Delegate

The External Relations Delegate acts as a liaison between the Committee and external bodies including the GSG, ACC, the Facilities Department, the Housing Department, the Transportation & Parking Office, the Graduate School, Public Safety and the Office for Information Technology (OIT). The Delegate must attend (or make all reasonable efforts to find a proxy for) all meetings of the GSG Assembly, the GSG Housing Committee, and the Graduate Housing Advisory Board (GHAB). The GSG requires that a housing delegate must be a graduate student.

Section 12: Housing Priority of Committee Members

The University grants eight slots for housing priority that shall go to the eight presiding committee members.  Residential housing committee members are traditionally granted housing priority by the University. Should the number of housing priority slots granted be fewer than the number of Committee Members, the Committee shall assign the slots as it sees fit.

[Section 13: Removal of Committee Member – modified and turned to its own article in the 2026 Constitutional Referendum]

Section 14: Storage Closet Privileges

All and only members of the current Lakeside committee will have access to the key code to the Lakeside storage closet.  This key code will not be given to residents, but members of the Lakeside committee will coordinate to provide access for community items and events.  The Vice-Chair will oversee the maintenance/organization of this closet.

ARTICLE IV. ELECTIONS

Section 1: Eligibility

Any resident may vote in the elections. Any resident may run for any office, subject to any constraints in the description of the position they are running for in Article III. No resident may run for more than one office simultaneously. It is the duty of the sitting Lakeside Committee to notify residents of the upcoming election at least one month in advance. This notification shall include a deadline for residents to declare their candidacy, which may be any time in the week prior to the election.

Section 2: Election Committee and Chair

In fall 2015, elections shall be held in September and will be administered by the Provisional Lakeside Committee. Thereafter, elections shall be held in accordance with the following rules.

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Section 3: Election Procedures

Voting happens virtually via a Google Form (or similar platform) owned and managed by the Committee’s Graduate School Advisor. The Advisor must be a non-student employee of the university (e.g. Assistant Director for Student Affairs and Residential Life or an equal position). No member of the Committee will have access to the votes. The Advisor will verify that all votes are from Lakeside residents, and will announce the results of the election via email within 3 days of the conclusion of the election.

Candidates will submit statements to the official Lakeside Committee email, and those statements will be posted on the website by the Webmaster as they are received.

In the event of a tie at the conclusion of voting, there will be a runoff election between the tied candidates, also administered via Google Form by the Committee’s Graduate School Advisor.

[Section 4 + 5 incorporated into Section 3 in the 2026 Constitution Referendum]

Section 6: Contesting Results

Once the results have been certified, any candidate or Committee member may contact the Committee’s Graduate School Advisor to express concerns with the ballots or election materials. If, within 15 days of the conclusion of the election, a signed petition is presented by a) at least 5 members of the Lakeside Committee, or b) 50 percent of voters, contesting that the election for one or more positions was irretrievably flawed, the contested position(s) are considered vacant and shall be filled in by the procedure described in Section 8.

Section 7: Taking of Office

The elected candidates take office once the Committee’s Graduate School Advisor announces the results. Former position holders must meet with any incoming position holders at least once to aid transition into the role.

Section 8: Vacancies

After an elected position is vacated, the vacant position shall be filled by special elections. The exact timing of special elections is at the discretion of the Committee. If a vacancy will only or primarily exist during the summer (when the Committee does not conduct town halls or regular meetings), the Committee may decide whether or not a special election is necessary. In the case that the Committee does not find a special election necessary, the position can remain vacant until the regular election in the fall. These elections shall be held in accordance with the established procedures. All vacancies shall be filled only for the remaining terms of office.   

ARTICLE V. REFERENDA

Section 1: General

Referenda may be called to ascertain whether the Committee is acting in accordance with the opinion of a majority of the residents of Lakeside Apartments. A referendum may be called by presenting the Chair with a petition signed by at least 20 percent of Lakeside residents.

Section 2: Powers of the Referendum

Any motion except those dealing with the removal of a Committee member may be reconsidered by a referendum. Referenda function to permit the reconsideration of a single motion that has been voted on by the Committee. Until a referendum has been held, the motion will be considered suspended.

Section 3: The Referendum Committee

The Referendum Committee shall be composed of: 1) the Secretary as non-voting Chair,

2) two residents in favor of the issue and 3) two residents opposed to the issue. The Referendum Committee shall plan, publicize and supervise each referendum. The Chair shall appoint a Referendum Committee within 48 hours after receipt of a referendum petition.

ARTICLE VI. AMENDMENTS

Section 1: Regular Amendments

Any amendment of this document may be proposed at any meeting of the Committee by petition of either 1) three Committee members or 2) twenty residents. It must be presented in writing and in the exact wording in which it is to be incorporated. The Committee shall then organize a vote in accordance with the procedures in Article IV (including advance notification for discussion of the proposed amendment). A two-thirds affirmative majority of residents that responded to the poll, either at the meeting, electronically, or through absentee vote, is required for passage. If the amendment is proposed by residents, there must be a quorum of 15 percent of all current residents, and the amendment must pass by two-thirds affirmative majority of the voters.

Section 2: Committee Amendments

All of Article III, except for Sections 1 and 2, may also be amended by the Committee. Such amendments must be proposed in writing at regular meeting, and all residents must be informed of the amendment text and the time and place of the vote a week before the Committee votes on the proposed amendment. A two-thirds affirmative roll-call vote of the Committee is required for passage, and a quorum of 5 committee members or their proxies must cast non-abstaining votes.

ARTICLE VI. IMPEACHMENT

Section 1: Motion for Impeachment

1.1. If a Committee member has committed one or more impeachable offenses, outlined in Article VII, Section 3, another Committee member (“Impeaching Member”) may make a private motion (“the Motion”) to impeach this Committee member (“Offending Member”).

1.2. The Impeaching Member must communicate the Motion in writing to the Committee’s Graduate School Advisor. The Motion is valid if it satisfies both the following conditions:

• Explicitly refers to any plausible grounds for impeachment (as outlined in Article VII, Section 3), and 
• The Motion is seconded by another Committee member (“Seconding Member”). 

1.3. The Seconding Member is not assumed to be in support of impeachment.

1.4. Upon receiving the Motion, the Graduate School Advisor must verify that the Motion is valid, and respond accordingly. 

• If the Motion is not valid, the Graduate School Advisor must respond to the Impeaching Member with an explanation of why it is invalid within 2 business days of its receipt.
• If the Motion is valid, the Graduate School Advisor must proceed with the Impeachment Process, outlined in Article VII, Section 2. 

Section 2: Impeachment Process

2.1. The Graduate School Advisor, being independent from the Committee, is to take charge of the Impeachment Process. 

2.2. The Impeachment Process is initiated when a valid Motion is received by the Graduate School Advisor. Within 4 business days of receiving a valid Motion, the Graduate School Advisor should:

• Appoint an Impeachment Referee. The Impeachment Referee should be neither the Offending Member nor the Impeaching Member. By default, the Impeachment Referee should be the Committee Chair. If the Committee Chair is either the Impeaching Member or Offending Member, then the Vice Chair should be the Impeaching Referee. If both the Chair and Vice Chair are directly involved as Impeaching and Offending Members, then the Secretary should be the Impeachment Referee. 
• Inform the Offending Member about the Motion. The Graduate School Advisor must share the Motion with the Offending Member, after removing identifying information about the Impeaching Member and Seconding Member where applicable.  

2.3. The Offending Member shall be given an opportunity to respond to the points raised in the Motion. The Offending Member must submit this (“the Response”) to the Graduate School Advisor within 3 business days from notice by the Graduate School Advisor.

2.4. The Graduate School Advisor should work with the Impeachment Referee to formulate a recommendation about whether the Offending Member should be removed (“the Recommendation”). 

• The Graduate School Advisor should send both the anonymized Motion and the Response (where applicable) to the Impeachment Referee as soon as possible. The Graduate School Advisor should do so within 2 business days of receiving the Response, or if there is no timely response, within 7 business days of the Motion.

• Within 3 business days of receiving this information, the Impeachment Referee should issue a recommendation about whether the Offending Member should be removed (“the Recommendation”). The Impeachment Referee should do this in consultation with the Graduate School Advisor. If the Impeachment Referee does not submit a recommendation in time, the Graduate School Advisor will make an independent recommendation, which will be treated as the Recommendation. 
• Within 2 business days of receiving the Recommendation from the Impeachment Referee, or, within 5 business days of sending the Motion to the Impeachment Referee if no submission is received, the Graduate School Advisor must separately communicate the Recommendation to both the Offending Member and Impeaching Member. 
  • If the Recommendation does not recommend removal, then the Impeachment process terminates without removal. 
  • If the Recommendation recommends removal, the Offending Member may voluntarily step down from their position, and the Impeachment Process terminates with removal. The Offending Member must communicate this decision to the Graduate School Advisor, Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary. The vacant position will be filled according to Article IV, Section 6. The Offending Member who steps down voluntarily is NOT impeached, and can run in future elections that take place more than one calendar year following their removal. 

2.5. If the Recommendation recommends removal, and the Offending Member does not step down within 5 business days from receipt of the Recommendation, the Impeaching Member can submit a request for mediation to the Graduate School Advisor. 

• This request must be submitted within 10 business days from receiving the Recommendation. Otherwise, the Impeachment Process terminates without removal.
• If a request for mediation is submitted on time, the Graduate School Advisor must convene a meeting involving the Impeaching Member, Offending Member and the Graduate School Advisor within 5 business days of receiving the request. 
  • The Impeaching Member and Offending Member will have the opportunity to discuss their disagreements, mediated by the Graduate School Advisor. The goal of mediation is for the Offending Member and Impeaching Member to come to agreement either for removal or for termination of the Impeachment Process.  
• If disagreement about removal persists after the meeting, the Impeaching Member may immediately request an Impeachment Vote.

2.6. If an Impeachment Vote is requested at the end of the mediation, the Graduate School Advisor must announce this to all members of the Committee within 2 business days of the mediation. 

• The Motion, the Response, and the Recommendation must be shared with the Committee with this announcement. 
• The Graduate School Advisor and Impeachment Referee should select a date for an Impeachment meeting to be held within 2 weeks of the mediation. All Committee members will have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions at this meeting. 
  • Attendance is compulsory for the Offending Member, Impeaching Member, Impeachment Referee, and Graduate School Advisor. 
  • Attendance at this meeting is strongly encouraged, but not compulsory for all other Committee members. 
• The Graduate School Advisor and Impeachment Referee must also set up an anonymized form to collect votes from the Committee, for impeachment or against impeachment. This should also be sent to the Committee 1 business day before the Impeachment Meeting. Each member of the Committee, including the Impeaching Member, Offending Member, and Impeachment Referee, must be able to vote up to 24 hours after the Impeachment Meeting. 

• If at least ¾ or 6 members of the Committee, whichever is higher, vote in favor of impeachment, the Offending Member will be removed from the Committee. The vacant position will be filled according to Article IV, Section 6. Otherwise, the Impeachment Process terminates.

• The Graduate School Advisor must announce the result of the Impeachment Vote to the Committee within 1 business day of the conclusion of the vote. 

• A Committee member who has been removed from the Committee via an Impeachment Vote has been successfully impeached, and cannot run for a Committee position at any point in the future.

2.7. Throughout the Impeachment Process, the Impeaching Member and Seconding Member should be anonymous to the Offending Member by default until mediation. Both the Impeaching Member and Offending Member should be anonymous to other Committee members until either removal, or the announcement of an Impeachment Vote.

Section 3: Impeachable Offenses

If a Committee member engages in one or more of the following actions, they are susceptible to impeachment: 

• displaying gross negligence in fulfilling their duties as outlined in Article III and creating undue burden for other Committee members; 
• targeting or harassing another Committee member or student, thereby creating a hostile or unsafe environment; 
• behaving unethically in their capacity as a Committee member and negatively impacting the Lakeside community, such as mishandling funds.

Notes on the creation of this document:

This document was created based on the Constitution of the Lawrence Apartments Committee, last modified in 2011 and the Butler Committee Bylaws. This document was created by Julia Wittes (jwittes@princeton.edu), Mircea Davidescu, Christine Philippe-Blumauer, David Cho and Maria Rogers and modified and edited by all present at the August 2015 meeting of the Provisional Lakeside Committee.

The Constitution was last amended through a referendum in April 2026 by the 2025-2026 Lakeside Committee made up by Sophia Koval, Isabelle DeSisto, Christopher Branner-Augmon, Phillip Raftopoulous, Cecelia Ramsey, Jan Ertl, Clément Herman, and Yiying Tan.