How to Edit the ECSE GC Constitution

Welcome! This guide explains how to edit these bylaws even if you've never used LaTeX before. Don't worry—it's actually quite simple.

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📋 Quick Start

The main document is main.tex. Open it in any text editor (VS Code, Google Docs, Notepad, etc.) and start editing!

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🔍 Understanding the Structure

Think of the document like an outline:

• Articles = Main sections (like "Article I. Name")
• Sections = Subsections within articles (like "Section 1. Equal Opportunity")

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✏️ Making Common Edits

Change the Document Title or Date

Find this section at the top of main.tex:

\textbf{\orgname} Bylaws

Effective: November 19, 2025

Simply change the date to whatever you want. That's it!

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Update Organization Name

Find this section near the very top:

\newcommand{\orgname}{ECSE Graduate Council}
\newcommand{\orgshort}{ECSE GC}
\newcommand{\depname}{ECSE}

Replace these with your organization's names:

• \orgname = Full name (used in formal contexts)
• \orgshort = Short abbreviation (used in text)
• \depname = Department name

That's literally all you need to change. The rest of the document updates automatically!

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Edit Article or Section Content

Just find the text you want to change and edit it directly. For example:

Before:

The name of this organization shall be the \textbf{\orgname}.

After:

The name of this organization shall be the Super Cool \textbf{\orgname}.

You can ignore all the LaTeX formatting—just change the actual words!

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🎯 Important Parts to Know (But Keep Simple!)

Creating a New Article

To add a new article, use this template:

\Article{V}{Your Article Title Here}

Your content goes here. Just write normally!

Replace the number (I, II, III, etc.) and add your title.

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Creating a New Section Within an Article

To add a section inside an article:

\Sec{1. Your Section Title Here}

Your content goes here.

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Adding a Bulleted List

If you need a list, wrap it like this:

\begin{enumerate}[label=\alph*)]
    \item First item
    \item Second item
    \item Third item
\end{enumerate}

The \alph*) means bullets will show as a), b), c). Just add more \item lines as needed.

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Making Text Bold

Wrap text in \textbf{...}:

\textbf{This text will be bold}

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🛠️ Viewing Your Changes

Option 1: Use VS Code (Easiest)

1. Install the "LaTeX Workshop" extension in VS Code
2. Open main.tex
3. Click the green "Build" button (or press keyboard shortcut shown in the extension)
4. A PDF preview appears automatically!

Option 2: Use Online LaTeX Editor

1. Go to https://www.overleaf.com
2. Create a free account
3. Upload all files from this folder
4. Edit and see changes in real-time

Option 3: Don't Preview (Just Edit)

Just edit the text and send the updated file. Someone else can compile it when needed!

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⚠️ Important: Don't Delete These!

Never remove or heavily modify:

\documentclass[11pt]{article}
\usepackage{...}
\definecolor{...}
\titleformat{...}

These are the "magic" that makes the document look nice. If you accidentally delete something and the document breaks, just restore the file from backup.

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🚨 Common Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

Mistake	Why It's Bad	Fix
Deleting { or } brackets	The document won't compile	Use Ctrl+Z to undo
Using special characters like & or # without escaping	Causes errors	Write \& instead of &
Removing entire lines of formatting	Document breaks	Use Ctrl+Z to undo
Changing text inside \newcommand{...}	Won't work properly	Only change the content, not the structure

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📝 Step-by-Step Example: Editing Article I

Original:

\Article{I}{Name}
The name of this organization shall be the \textbf{\orgname}.

What you want to change: Add a sentence about the organization's purpose.

After editing:

\Article{I}{Name}
The name of this organization shall be the \textbf{\orgname}. 
We are dedicated to supporting our members.

That's it! No special formatting needed.

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❓ I'm Stuck!

• The document won't compile: Check for missing or extra { } brackets
• Text disappeared: Use Ctrl+Z to undo
• Something looks weird: Check for typos in the text you edited
• Still confused? Compare your changes to the original version

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💾 Saving and Sharing

1. Save your changes (Ctrl+S or Cmd+S)
2. Send the updated main.tex file to your team
3. Someone compiles it to PDF for official use

That's all you need to know! The bylaws editing is that simple.

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Happy editing! 🎉