On Tuesday, March 25 the Student Government Association (SGA) convened for its weekly meeting.
The meeting opened with a presentation by Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs Lee Hawthorne, who provided updates on the Hopkins Student Center (HSC), which will feature a student exhibit space for artwork and additional meeting rooms. The administration also plans to provide platters and menus for events and will hire students to work at the HSC welcome desk; the hiring process will begin in summer.
The meeting transitioned to cabinet reports, during which Vice President Amy Li and Advisor Jessica Snell reminded members of the upcoming SGA election information sessions. Attendance at one session is required to run for a position in SGA. Elections will be held on April 8. Chair of Programming Tim Huang then drew attention to the upcoming Freshman Formal on April 12, the Freshman Festival on March 29 and the Junior Formal on March 28, encouraging registration from the student body.
Sophomore Class Senator Omotara Tiamiyu then announced that the first Student Services Grievance Hall Initiative will be hosted on March 30 at 5:30 p.m. in the Levering Hall Lounge. Finally, sophomore Class Senator Tarini Basireddy reported that the Committee on Academic Affairs is in the process of creating a website consisting of student reviews of various courses.
SGA then transitioned to the first readings of three bills. School of Arts and Sciences Senator Daarian Rouhani presented The Board of Directors Amendment, which aims to enhance transparency and collaboration between SGA committees, which was moved to the Committee on Internal Affairs. Huang then presented the JHU SNACK Packs Funding Bill for a mental health support program. The bill was moved to the Committee on Finance. Finally, Huang presented the Chair of Programming Bylaws Update Bill. The bill stated that the Chair of Programming currently has too much of work and that changes had to be made to encourage students to run for the position. The bill reduced the responsibilities of the position, including making attendance at the Class Programming Council meetings optional for the Chair, and was moved to the Committee on Internal Affairs.
Huang then announced an SGA Constitution update, which further limited the responsibilities of the Chair of Programming and considered the writ of certiorari presented by former SGA member Jackson Morris. In light of its content, Huang proposed that SGA executive board meetings should not be open to the public. The bill was moved to the Committee on Internal Affairs.
The meeting then transitioned to a second reading of the Miss Black and Gold Pageant Funding Bill, presented by Akosa Obianwu of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, which seeks financial assistance from SGA to promote their annual pageant competition. The bill passed.
Freshman class president Jason Yu then presented the Earth Fest Funding Bill, which seeks funding for the creation of an mural using bottle caps during Earth Fest, an event celebrating sustainability for Earth Day. The bill was passed.
School of Engineering Senator Amy Xu then presented the Academic Affairs Study Event Funding Bill, which aims to secure funding for an event to promote Academic Affairs and SGA to the student body as a welcoming space. The event will be held on on April 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Levering Lounge. The bill passed.
