Grievances

The Texas College Democrats grievance process is intended to resolve internal disputes that may arise among members of the Federation; this process is not a legal proceeding. This process is prescribed in the Federation's Bylaws and is simplified here for your benefit. If you are in immediate need, please contact the Department of Equity and Inclusion here.

Grievances are not intended to resolve disputes about the Federation's governing documents or rules. (For example, if the Bylaws were violated.) Please refer all questions about the governing documents or rules to the Committee on Rules here.

Filing a Grievance

To file a grievance, please email the Director of Equity and Inclusion here. You may also file a grievance with any Elected Officer of the Federation's Executive Board. Their emails can be found here.

Please include the following in your email:

The name and contact information of the complainant(s)
The name of the chartered chapter(s) of which the complainant(s) is/are member(s) of
The name of the respondent(s)
The name of the chartered chapter(s) of which the respondent(s) is/are member(s) of
The type of incident
- Grounds for filing include incidents of discrimination, sexual assault, harassment, and abuse of power. This can include but is not limited to, violations of privacy, physical altercations, verbal altercations, intimidation, cyberbullying, stereotyping, microaggressions, and conflicts of interest.
A detailed account of the incident with any supporting evidence attached

Please familiarize yourself with the grievance process below.

Step 1: Impanelment

Within three days, a Grievance Commission will be impaneled. The Commission is made up of five randomly selected elected officers from the various chartered chapters and caucuses. There are some individuals who cannot be impaneled; for example, a student of the same institution. See the Bylaws, Art. 9, §3a-b for more information.

The Elected Officer with whom the grievance is filed, once the Commission has been impaneled, will notify the Speaker of the Council, who chairs the Commission, and the complainant(s).

Step 2: Investigation

The Commission will investigate what is alleged in the grievance and may call witnesses. The Commission must conclude its investigation within thirty days and adopted a written report of its recommendations.

If a respondent in a grievance is an Elected Officer, the report is sent to the Council. If no respondent in a grievance is an Elected Officer, the report is sent to the Director of Equity and Inclusion.

Step 3: Action

If the report is sent to the Council, the Council may adopt the Commission's recommendation or amendment them by a two-thirds vote. (The Council is empowered to remove an Elected Officer from office, for example.)

If the report is sent to the Director of Equity and Inclusion, the Director may accept the recommendations of the Commission or may impose sanctions of greater or lesser severity. The Director is also able to refer the report to the Executive Board if they feel such is necessary.