On Tuesday, April 15, the Student Government Association (SGA) convened for their weekly meeting. They discussed the renovation of Shaffer and Remsen Halls with members of the administration before moving on to committee voting procedures and agenda-making with the new Executive Board, who were elected last week.
The presenters of the upcoming renovation plans on Homewood campus included Associate Vice Provost for Student Engagement and Dean of Students Brittini Brown; University Registrar and Associate Vice Provost Amynah Mithani, Senior Director of University Student Services, Planning and Design Lorena Permuy; Associate Vice Provost for Finance and Administration and Divisional Business Officer for Student Services Mary O’Connell; and Senior Director for Planning and Architecture Lee Coyle.
The main focus of each project is to provide more community spaces in learning buildings, visibility in lecture halls, and comfortable corridor spaces. Another point of interest is the adaptability of classroom spaces; renovations aim to make each room adaptable to the needs of highly populated lectures and active learning courses through the installment of new furniture. Shaffer and Remsen Halls will also both receive aesthetic updates.
Coyle also explained that these two buildings have been chosen for remodeling partially because they do not meet fire martial standards. A member of the senate then asked Coyle if all other campus buildings meet the Baltimore county codes, to which Coyle replied that they do not and that the university is prioritizing renovations in campus buildings that do not currently meet those standards.
The projects are both set to be finished by the beginning of the Fall 2025 semester, at which point classes and after-class activities will resume. The Student Disability Services office, located in Shaffer Hall, will be accessible through phone or email throughout the Summer 2025 term.
Students who wish to report issues regarding the functionality of other on-campus buildings can scan the QR code distributed to all buildings by the Facilities and Real Estate Department.
The meeting then progressed to an introduction of the new Executive Board and the election of the next President of the Senate, Srigouri Oruganty. Committee chair elections followed, where new heads of Academic Affairs; Student Services; Health, Safety and Sustainability; Civic Engagement; Internal Affairs; Finance; Student Organizations; and Programming were selected by the senate.
An amendment to the SGA constitution was then proposed by the Executive Board, who advocated for the removal of certain SGA positions. The amendment was tabled by the senate for further discussion at the meeting next week.
At the close of the meeting, a QR code was presented to introduce the SGA Mentorship Program. It was decided that all further concerns and topics of interest will be discussed at the next general body meeting.
