The Student Government Association (SGA) held its weekly general body meeting on Sept. 5 to discuss the Phi Delta Theta (Phi Delt) Crab Fest Funding Bill, the Academic Senators Bylaw Update Bill and the Board of Trustees Resolution.
Phi Delta Theta Crab Fest Funding Bill
Senior Class Senator Sabour Shaik and Phi Delta Theta Representative Maahi Ameer presented the Phi Delta Theta Crab Fest Funding Bill. The proposed legislation asks SGA to contribute to the funding of the fraternity’s upcoming event, Crab Fest, which they intend to host on Oct. 7 from 2–6 p.m. on the Freshman Quad.
- Ameer said that this would be a great way to engage with the community, especially because organizing it during Family Weekend and Hoptoberfest would enable them to “align it up with a great opportunity to reach a large amount of people that otherwise wouldn't be there at any other point of the year, especially families but also alumni.”
- Senior Class Senator Mufasa Cruz Moreno asked for a justification for the total expense of the event and further questioned if the expected number of participants, 350, was a logical estimate considering that the event was previously held in a relatively smaller space. Ameer responded that, at that time, the event was intentionally held with a smaller budget and audience due to COVID-19 restrictions.
- President of the Senate Dalhart Dobbs asked how much the organization would be contributing, remarking that the event was a large-scale one. Ameer answered that Phi Delt would be covering the cost of the crab and may use more of its own funds for other extra expenses such as side dishes.
- Chair of Programming Shalala Leny asked if the organization would be hosting any other fundraisers. Ameer talked about the possibility of raising money through T-shirts and Baltimore Orioles games.
- Ameer added that they would be meeting to prepare the event layout plan this week in response to a question about the event’s contingency plan.
- A number of members of the senate had specific questions about the event expense calculations and the organization was asked to give a detailed budget with definitive numbers.
- The bill will be forwarded to the Finance Committee.
Academic Senators Bylaw Update Bill
Sophomore Class Senator Timothy Huang and Junior Class President Resham Talwar presented the Academic Senators Bylaw Update Bill as part of the efforts to amend the SGA Constitution. The bill in question aims to have academic senators on the Academic Affairs Committee to “allow students to make changes in all academic aspects between schools,“ yet distinguishes the roles and goals of the academic senators from those of the Academic Affairs Committee.
- Cruz Moreno stated that SGA should expand the Academic Affairs Committee if a large majority of academic senators want to join this committee.
- Talwar clarified that the academic senators would be meeting the vice deans of their schools.
Board of Trustees Resolution
Talwar and Vice President Jackson Morris shared the edits they made to the Board of Trustees Resolution, which was first presented during the SGA meeting on August 29. The bill calls upon the Board to amend its system to annually nominate two faculty trustees for four-year terms in addition to one graduate and one undergraduate trustee for two-year terms.
- Mary Ann Dickson, president of the Alumni Council of the Johns Hopkins Alumni Committee, and the Homewood Campus undergraduate student body were added to the list of people and organizations that this resolution would be transmitted to.
- Sophomore Class Senator Gabriel Granados questioned how the bill was going to be publicly disseminated to the student body. The Senate Body suggested a few methods such as email, QR code posters and Sidechat.
- The resolution passed unanimously.
Resham Talwar is a former Finance Chair and a current contributing writer for The News-Letter. She did not contribute to the reporting, writing or editing of this article.
